With spring on its way minor hockey season is coming to an end, with Saskatchewan Minor Hockey hosting its provincial playoffs in cities all across the province at all levels, and Yorkton added yet another banner to their total this month as the Bantam A Terriers finished their journey to provincial gold.
After a successful regular season travelling to tournaments and in league play, the Bantam Terriers faced Swift Current in the South Region semifinal. In the home/away two leg series the Terriers had no problem advancing to the South championship, beating Swift Current 7-0 in total goes over two games to advance to the championship where they would take on Estevan.
The South final was a bit more tricky for the Terriers, but an experienced team that included four provincial champions from two years ago persevered and beat Estevan 8-7 on total goals to win the series and advance to face North Battleford in the provincial final where another two game playoff would take place.
After a tight and emotional South final the Terriers game into the home leg of their series with the Battleford Barons flying as they won their first game of the series 7-1 at the Kinsmen in a rout that would give them the upperhand heading on the road for Game Two with a six goal cushion to hold onto, all but guaranteeing a provincial championship barring an epic collapse in Battleford.
The Barons gave the Terriers a much better game in Game Two, leading 3-2 after two periods, but were no match for the Terriers, led by captain Kade Johnson, who sealed the series and brought home provincial gold. A provincial championship that came rather easy for the Terriers despite their close call in Estevan saw an experienced group of Yorkton Minor Hockey players lead their team to an unforgettable experience in winning a provincial banner that will likely hang in the Kinsmen Arena.
It was a great weekend for the YMH program as the Pee Wee A/AA teams also took home provincial gold over the weekend, giving the city three banners this spring with action still going on at other age levels, with three banners at the Bantam/Pee Wee levels, good things can be in the future for the YMH program as their young and up and coming stars have earned a taste of victory to end the 2012/13 minor hockey season.
