The Yorkton Terriers had an exciting weekend in a two-game series against their longtime rivals, the Melville Millionaires. It ended with another two wins for the Terriers to tack on to their record.
On Friday night, the Terriers bussed along highway 10 to the Horizon Credit Union Centre in Melville.
The first period lacked action, and ended without a goal on the scoreboard for either team.
But in the second period, Yorkton came back ready to play and racked up three goals.
The first goal was scored by Jared Legien, with assists from Tyler Baier and Cody Dubas.
The second goal was, again, scored by Jared Legien. The assists came from LJ Naccarato and Tyler Baier.
The third and final goal for Yorkton was scored by Shane Sherban, with assists from Dakota Odgers and Regan Seiferling.
In the third period, Melville came back to score one goal, but that would be the end. The final score was 3-1 for the Terriers.
On Saturday night, the Terriers hosted the Millionaires at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
The game was closer than the previous night, and for a while, looked like it might end in favour of the Millionaires.
A quick goal for Yorkton, just 26 seconds into the game, put the Terriers on the scoreboard first. The goal came from Matthew Perkins with the assists from Quinton Hobbs and Dexter Robinson.
But that goal was reciprocated just three minutes later when the Millionaires scored on a powerplay. The first period ended with a score of 1-1.
The second period of play saw nothing from the Terriers, but the Millionaires racked up another goal, pushing them ahead of the Terriers 2-1. It was clear that there was a lack of energy on the ice and in the arena, so the Terriers would have to do something to fix that going into the third.
So how do you light the spark in a Terriers versus Millionaires game?
A big hit from Matthew Perkins about halfway through the period got things started, and resulted in a clump of Terriers and Millionaires against the boards.
Eventually the dog pile separated into one vs. one fights. Kevin Wolf wrestled a Millionaire in the center circle as Quinton Hobbs traded punches farther down the ice. Hobbs and Wolf, as well as Millionaires Mitchell Torrens and Dryden Wust, left the game on game misconduct penalties.
It was evident that the fights sparked the Terriers. Just two minutes after the game action resumed, Shane Sherban scored for the Terriers to tie the game. His assist came from Dexter Robinson.
And then, just ten seconds after the second goal, Regan Seiferling weaved through Millionaires defenders and scored, bumping the Terriers ahead 3-2. The assist on the third goal came from Dexter Robinson, giving him three points that game.
After the game, Terriers head coach/GM Casey O’Brien wore his biggest smile of the season.
“We’ll take it. Anytime it’s Yorkton and Melville, if we can get a sweep here, we’ll take it,” he said.
O’Brien said it was only the second time this year that the Terriers have come back to win after being down going into the third period. So what can he say to his players before that third period, in hopes of boosting their spirits and seeing some goals?
“I just tried to calm the troops down, and worry about playing a good, hard 20. I asked a couple of guys to be spark plugs,” he said. “I said go out, get some big hits, get some shots, block some shots and get some energy going.”
“I think the turning for us was the fight, the little line brawl there. It kind of woke our guys up and next thing you know, we scored two quickly.”
One of those ‘spark plugs’ was Matthew Perkins, whose hit in the third period brought the game back to life.
“He’s been very good. Somebody who maybe doesn’t show up on the score sheet all the time, but he’s a great penalty killer,” said O’Brien. “He’s a hard working guy, a great team guy and you can go quite a long way when you have guys like him in the lineup.”
The Terriers are in the final stretch of the regular season, with only five games remaining. Their next one will be on Friday night at the Farrell Agencies Arena in Yorkton, when they host the Kindersley Klippers at 7:30 p.m.
The Klippers sit in ninth place in the standings, with a record of 23-26-1-0 for a total of 47 points at the time of print. This puts them just three points behind the Terriers, who hold a record of 23-25-4-0 for 50 points.
The Terriers and the Klippers have faced off only twice this season, with the Klippers taking the win in both games.
