The Yorkton Terriers continued their winning ways this week downing Melfort and Humboldt at home before heading off to Weyburn Sunday night to take on the Red Wings.
Wednesday night the Terriers opened their last week of hockey for 2010 with a 4-1 win over the Melfort Mustangs at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
Following a scoreless first period, Riley Paterson opened the scoring for Yorkton early in the first second assisted by Craig Eisenhut and Nathan Murray.
Clarke Breitkreuz added Yorkton's second goal late in the period to send the teams to the dressing rooms with the Terriers holding a 2-0 lead, assisted by Robbie Ciolfi and Troy Dumais.
Lee Christiansen scored the Mustang's lone goal, a powerplay marker just 25 seconds into the third period to pull Melfort within one.
Kyle McLeod made it 3-1 for the Terriers assisted by Eisenhut and Zak Majkowski.
Eisenhut notched an empty netter with less than a minute in regulation time to put the game away for the Terriers.
Despite being outshot 38-28 by the Humboldt Broncos Saturday night, the Yorkton Terriers managed to stage a decisive 4-2 win over the Broncs as a result of some timely scoring and stellar work in goal by first game star, Terrier netminder Devin Peters.
Kevin Cann lit up the board for the Terriers in first period assisted by Breitkreuz and Sam Rockwell.
Justin Buzzeo tied the game for Humboldt less than a minute later with a powerplay goal.
Brent Struble made it 2-1 for Yorkton with his first goal of the night midway into the period assisted by Breitkreuz and Rockwell.
Majkowski extended Yorkton's lead to 3-1 in the third period assisted by McLeod and Keon Vick.
Jeremy Boyer pulled the Broncos within one goal with a powerplay marker midway through the period.
Struble administered the coup de grace with a solo empty net goal, his second of the game to claim both the 4-2 win for the Terriers and the secgame star nod for himself.
Following the game Struble attributes the Terriers' success to hard work and doing the little things right. "We're staying humble and confident and just working hard," he says.
"Once you get too high, things start going wrong. Trent (Cassan) tells us that and we listen to him because he knows what he's talking about," Stuble continues.
There's a lot of season to play remaining he acknowledges with a whole new year after the Christmas break. Playoffs are a whole other story, Struble suggests. "There's a lot of hockey to play yet, he declares.
He admits the season started slowly for him. Hard work and paying attention to doing the little things well saw the pucks going into the opposing net for him.
He also credits his linemates with helping him. "It's easy to play with those guys. They get open and we all work down low and we all can shoot and pass. It's a lot of fun playing with them," Struble states.
He says the team isn't looking beyond Weyburn at this point. A win would give the team some well deserved days off for Christmas, he admits.
He says the extended break leading up to the final three games was welcome. "We just came back refreshed, I think, Struble closes.
Terrier head coach and GM Trent Cassan denies that the coaching staff was mainly responsible for the team's success lately. Rather the players are a mature group who know they have a good thing going and have realized what has made them successful. "They've kept that hunger and they're having fun doing it," he comments.
Reflecting on Estevan's fortunes, Cassan says, "We control how we play and if we start worrying about other teams' circumstances it makes it harder."
He says the players have set the bar high as well as the expectations for themselves as a group so he doesn't need to put additional pressure on the team.
The Terriers remain composed for the most part, says Cassan. He admits mistakes will happen and they will give away some goals. "How you respond to them is key. It's a good group that does stay calm and composed. We don't really get too high or too low in different scenarios in a game," he explains.
He insists his players remain humble and modest. "It's a long season and we're a long ways from having won anything and we just have to keep that in mind and stay hungry," Cassan suggests.
He doesn't like the term 'comfortable' nor does he want his players to ever become comfortable. "In hockey you can never use the word 'comfortable'. You always have to get out of your comfort level. You have to keep pushing yourself to get better and this group has done this far," Cassan declares.
That said, he's pleased with the direction the team has taken to the midpoint in the current season.
New players have become good additions to the team and provided leadership along with some of the veterans, Cassan says.
Cassan says the Terrier staff have been working hard and deserve some time off over the Christmas break. They've done a very good job.
While he acknowledges its his job to scout out future possibilities, Cassan realistically points out, "I think you have to enjoy other things outside of hockey because the second half comes quick and then you're into the playoffs," he states.
He doesn't foresee changes, stating he likes his current group of players. That said, he'll always keep his eyes open and possibly make some inquiries. "We still have a couple guys in the Western Hockey League who we're not sure where they are at. So I can't see us making moves until after the beginning of January," Cassan states.
While it might have been a fitting end to the Terrier streak going into the Christmas break, the Terriers didn't win their last game before heading home for the holidays. The Weyburn Red Wings managed to squeal out a narrow 2-1win at the Crescent Point Place Arena in Weyburn with two first period goals.
Weyburn marksman Shawn Cowie did the damage with a pair of first period goals to hand the win to the Red Wings.
Justin Lamontagne scored Yorkton's lone goal assisted by Brenden Poncelet and Keven Cann.
The Terriers head into the break with a solid 10 point lead in the Sherwood Conference standings with 52 points.
The Terriers first home game following the Christmas break will be at home to the Melville Millionaires Thursday, December 30 at 7:30 p.m.
