The eighth placed Yorkton Harvest knew they would be in for a tough fight against the Notre Dame Argos in their first round Best of 5 series in the SMAAAHL first round series, but they likely didn't plan for lady luck to be against them as well.
Yet that is what happened in Game 2 of their series with the highly touted Argos, who were the class of the league boasting many of the top players across the province out of Notre Dame's hockey academy and finished with 33 wins and just eight losses during the regular season. After a 8-0 loss to the Argos in Game 1 the Harvest kept the score to just a one goal deficit through 59 minutes thanks to stellar goaltending from Carson Bogdan before getting a crucial powerplay with just over two minutes left.
Failing to cash in on two powerplays earlier in the third period, the Harvest would finally break through to get the game tying goal. A pretty tic-tac-toe passing play through the Argos penalty kill would find Tanner Jeannot with a wide open cage and made no mistake tying the game with just under two minutes left to play. For the Harvest it looked like their opportunity for a Cinderella moment after a year where things didn't exactly go their way, but the hockey gods had other ideas as in their best chance to tie up the series and ensure a fourth game back in Yorkton the Harvest couldn't catch a break.
On the Argos first rush down the ice following Jeannot's tying goal, Taylor Ross would score on a chance out of nowhere to beat Bogdan after a spectacular night between the pipes on a rocket of a shot that even the best of goalies likely would have been scored on. With just 1:31 left on the clock it would be a soul crushing blow for a Harvest team that fought so hard to tie things up.
Yorkton would get one last chance at an open cage on one last powerplay chance to end the game, but it was just not meant to be for a team that after being outshot 41-13 in Game 1 went toe to toe with the best Midget team in the province. After the game head coach Dan Cross had nothing but praise for the effort his players put on the ice in the tough loss.
"You couldn't ask a team for more than what they did tonight and yeah we didn't get the win or get the game to overtime but that's hockey and we tried our best," said a proud yet gutted Cross after the Game 2 defeat. "It is playoff hockey and if what more can you ask for at this time of year as the eighth seed than having the game on the line in the final seconds so I am still proud of this group for digging deep and showing the spirit that they did."
Cross praised his veteran keeper in Bogdan, who after allowing 8 goals in the opening game of the series stopped 35 out of 37 shots and kept the team in the game long enough to give them the belief that they could get into the game.
"We asked Carson to step up and do a lot for us and he delivered tonight," said Cross. "I have said this a lot this year but you can't win games if you just score one goal most nights and our goaltending this evening was outstanding so full credit to Carson for giving us a great performance."
When asked about if the team believed they could compete with the Argos after getting blown out 8-0 in Game 1 Cross mentioned that the team grouped together and had the belief if they fought hard and executed a gameplan that anything was possible. "We came out flat in the first game and got caught off guard so we made sure that wasn't going to happen in our home rink and we showed that we could go toe to toe with them for three periods."
Going into a must win Game 3 down with their backs against the wall and their season on the line, the Harvest faced a monumental challenge going back to Wilcox to take on the Argos in a building that the Yorkton team historically struggles in. After a 8-0 loss and the heartbreaking late loss at home, Cross said all the team could do is try to keep fighting for their playoff lives the best that they could.
"The first game wasn't hockey after the first period where we came out flat and were down 5-0, but at this point of the season you can't make any excuses so we just have to keep doing what we always do," explained Cross before Game 3. "If we execute our gameplan and fight for three periods with full effort anything can happen so we just need to believe in ourselves and execute."
After Bogdan's horrific first period in Game 1, Cross made the tough decision to start rookie Carter Phair for the first time since his December injury. Phair who was 5-5-1 during his regular season appearances was looking like the Harvest's number one goalie all season and would get a chance at valuable experience in a high pressure situation during the elimination game.
As has been the story all season penalties would be the downfall of the Harvest in their final game of the season, costly fouls leading to goals to put Yorkton in the hole. Corwin Steveley's boarding penalty in the first period would lead to the Argos first goal on the powerplay from Dillon Dube with 7:28 in the first period.
In the second period a rare penalty shot would be the undoing of the Harvest as after keeping the Argos scoreless all period Damian Riat would be awarded a chance to use his shootout moves on the young Phair. Riat would make no mistake burying the goal to make the game 2-0 before a flurry of after the whistle penalties were handed out to both teams. Once the dust settled and cooler heads prevailed Corwin Stevely undid the damage with a goal just one minute later to send Yorkton into their potential final period of the 2013/14 season down just one goal.
The dagger from the Argos wouldn't take long as just 44 seconds into the third Notre Dame went up two goals yet again as Gage Ramsey's first goal of the playoffs would give the first place favourites some necessary insurance. To add insult to injury Riat would score one more goal in the final ten minutes to pour it on the Harvest, finishing their final game of their 2013/14 campaign with a 4-1 loss.
For the Harvest defeat was likely inevitable, but after their impressive second half run in 2012/13 and their thrilling five game first round series with the Regina Pat Canadians there was hope that the underdogs could keep it interesting even if they struggled their way to a 15-21-5-3 record in head coach Dan Cross' first season after success as an assistant with the team. In Midget AAA hockey roster turnover was the biggest challenge as high level players Dakota Odgers and Ethan Bear left to the WHL while leading scorers Nicolas Pouilot and Lynnden Pastachak left for the SJHL giving the Harvest a serious challenge in replacing the production of four talented players. Averaging three goals per game it was clear that Cross had to deal with a slight drop off in talent in his first year replacing former head coach Jeff Odgers. In fact, not one Harvest player broke the 20 goal mark this season and only veteran forward Chase McKersie averaged over a point per game. Offensive struggles which came to play in the playoffs where they scored just three goals in the three game sweep.
Still given the circumstances and the fact the Harvest made the playoffs it is hard to define the 2013/14 Yorkton Harvest season as anything but a success.
The team still made the playoffs comfortably with a five point cushion and a week left of the regular season to spare, pointing things in the right direction for the future.
Things can change quickly in Midget AAA hockey, but back to back playoff appearances show a level of consistency that the Harvest will try to build on next season. Next year's goal may just be getting out of the first round after two heartbreaking playoff exits in back to back seasons.
