The Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League played in a two-game series against the Humboldt Broncos last weekend.
The two games ended in favour of the Broncos, after a 5-2 finish on the road, and a 5-4 overtime finish at home.
On Friday, the Terriers traveled to the Elgar Peterson Arena in Humboldt. A slow start for the Terriers put them back 2-0 after the first period of play.
In the second, they started making a comeback. Dakota Odgers made the first goal for the Terriers, with the assists coming from his line mates Shane Sherban and Jared Legien.
A few minutes later, the same line would do it again. The second goal came from Legien, with the assists from Odgers and Sherban.
But that would be it in terms of scoring for the Terriers. The Broncos kept them coming and ended the game on top, 5-2.
The following night, the Terriers hosted the Broncos at home in the Farrell Agencies Arena.
The first period was, again, a slow start for the Terriers which allowed the Broncos to rack up three goals. But with only 40 seconds remaining in the period, the Terriers showed some life and Kaleb Bell scored a top-shelf goal, with assists from Matthew Perkins and Kevin Wolf. The first period would end 3-1.
In the second, the Terriers scored another quick one, just a minute in. It was a short handed goal that came from Corwin Stevely, with assists from Jordan Ross and Kevin Wolf.
A few minutes later, the Broncos would score one more. But the Terriers then responded with another. Quinton Hobbs scored with assists from Dakota Odgers and LJ Naccarato. The second period ended with a score of 4-3.
In the third, the Terriers were the only team to score, bumping the score up to 4-4. The game-tying goal was scored by Shane Sherban on a power play, with the assists from Dakota Odgers and Jared Legien.
The tie sent the game into an overtime period. Jared Legien, Regan Seiferling and Corwin Stevely took the ice for the Terriers. They had a quick breakaway, but the puck was blocked by Humboldt’s goalie Garrett Mason.
Shortly after that chance, the Broncos had their chance on the other side of the ice during a line change for the Terriers. The open man was able to put the puck past Terriers’ goalie Nathan Hargrave. The Broncos took the win and the two points, while the Terriers left the ice with one point.
After the game, Terriers’ head coach and GM Casey O’Brien said the first period killed them in both games.
“One thing we tried to focus on this week was stronger first periods, but it just didn’t work out that way,” he said. “We could have packed it in after it was 3-0 tonight.”
He said the Terriers had their chances on the ice, but the puck just didn’t want to go in. But he was happy with his team’s perserverance.
“I think the turning point was Dexter Robinson’s hit,” said O’Brien, referring to his forward’s hit and fight late in the first period. “It kind of gave us a little spark.”
Looking at team stats, Jared Legien leads the way in points with 38 to his name, coming from 18 goals and 20 assists. Second to him is Jordan Ross with 28 points coming from 10 goals and 18 assists. And in third place is team captain Corwin Stevely, who has 26 points from 12 goals and 14 assists.
Goalie Nathan Hargrave is still sitting in the fifth place goalie spot in the SJHL.
The Terriers have only twelve games remaining in regular season play at time of print, and O’Brien said their goal is to win nine of those.
They are currently in eighth place in the league with 44 points. The sixth to ninth place teams are only separated by a total of two points. This puts imporantance on those next twelve games for the Terriers. To ensure their spot in the playoffs which start in March, the Terriers must be at least sixth in the league standings. Otherwise they will have to play for the right to progress in a survivor series.
The Terriers play a neutral site game in Fort Qu’Appelle on Friday night, but return to the Farrell Agencies Arena on Saturday night to take on the Weyburn Red Wings, who currently own that sixth place spot.The Red Wings are one spot above the Terriers in the Viterra division of the league with 45 points to the Terriers’ 44 points.
The Weyburn Redwings and the Yorkton Terriers have faced off five times so far this season. The Red Wings lead the season series three games to two.
The puck will drop at 7:30 on Saturday night.
