One of the best second halfs in Yorkton's lengthy Midget AAA history came to an end over the weekend as the Yorkton Harvest ran out of magic in Game Five on the road to the Regina Pat Canadians, losing 2-1.
With a loss in Game Two at home and blowing a 2-0 lead in Game Three in Regina, the Harvest needed to win Game Four at the Farrell Agencies Arena in order to keep their season alive. In a season/playoff rivalry that has been as hotly contested as this Harvest/Canadians one has been, a Harvest win in Game Four seemed inevitable but the Canadians had only lost once to the home Harvest once all year making the odds stacked up against Yorkton.
The first period set the tone for the game as both teams struggled to create any real quality scoring chances with Carson Bogdan and Logan Flodell both showing their quality in between the pipes for the Harvest and the pat C's as they had done all series. A scoreless first period saw just nine shots between the two teams as both sides were playing very defensive hockey, blocking shots and not giving an inch once the other team had the puck past their blueline.
Tristan Frei continued his role as the villain for Harvest fans in the series, breaking the tie midway through the second period and scoring his fourth goal of the series to make it 1-0 for the Pat Canadians and putting the Harvest's season in serious jeopardy. The rest of the period remained scoreless with the Harvest going on the powerplay to start the third, giving them a chance to save their season.
During the powerplay, Dakota Odgers finally scored his first of the playoffs as the Broncos prospect who came back to play for his dad Jeff pumped some blood back into the Harvest's season with the goal one minute into the third. The cagey affair continued for much of the third, with the Harvest starting to get the majority of the chances outshooting the Pat C's 13-7. Logan Flodell continued his outstanding goaltending play, making 26 saves in regulation to force an overtime that seemed like it could have been a marathon with the way the two teams had played in regulation.
Jaden Kreklewich kept it short and sweet in sudden death overtime, banging home a rebound on Levi Morin's wrist shot from the slot to send the series back to Regina for the deciding fifth game. "It was a heads up play by Levi Morin to inch his way into the slot instead of trying to bang one all the way from the blueline and Kreklewich was there to make a big play" said an elated Jeff Odgers after the game.
Game Five on Saturday would determine the fitting end for a rivalry that ended with four regular season overtimes in a series where it would be a shame that a loser would come out of such an even season of hockey between two teams.
However there is no fairness in sports and what makes it great is what would make Game Five special for both teams, two evenly matched opponents would decide the fate of their seasons with sixty minutes of playoff hockey. Winner takes all.
Once again the combination of Tristan Frei, Mitch Lipon and Zachary Zborosky would torture the Harvest as Lipon opened the scoring just thrity seconds into the game off a Zborosky assist to take the lead and all of the momentum just a blink of an eye after the puck drop. Bogdan would keep the Harvest one goal down for the next thirty minutes of action, before Frei scored his fifth goal in the five game series to make it 2-0 and put serious doubts into the minds of the Harvest who now needed two goals in the next thirty minutes of play to keep their season alive.
Defenseman Turner Ottenbreit gave the Harvest hope with 17:30 left to make it 2-1, but despite 17 Harvest shots in the third period they could not beat Logan Flodell who held the Pat C's together for much of the series and ultimately gave his team the series win in a 2-1 final score. Outshooting the Canadians 35-21, the loss would be a bitter pill to swallow for a Harvest team that can hang their heads high knowing that they gave everything they had in the five game classic of a series.
Logan Flodell and Tristan Frei would be the difference makers in this series as Frei's five goals and Flodell's 1.24 GAA were the keys to the Pat Canadians series win. A talented group of Harvest players will now go into the offseason with players like Dakota Odgers, who already received a call up from the Broncos, having their sights on the WHL and many more looking forward to tryout camps this summer. Ethan Bear and Lynnden Pastachak will be amongst those players with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Red Deer Rebels having the two talented youngsters rights and likely won't be in Harvest jerseys next fall.
After an opening to the season that was a nightmare, the Harvest turned the ship around and had a winter that was filled with signature moments. The 2012/13 Harvest came up short, but won't be forgotten.
