With a eight game road trip on the horizon the Yorkton Terriers headed into a two game homestand against the league best La Ronge Ice Wolves and Viterra Division rivals in the Estevan Bruins looking to earn maximum points before being booted from the Farrell Agencies Arena for the next couple of weeks in lieu of the 2013 Harvest Showdown. The long road trip is a tradition for the Terriers and with the potential of dropped points on the road, the veteran tested Terriers knew they needed two wins and did just that, making a statement against a early potential Canalta Cup foe in La Ronge in the process.
Trent Cassan opted to roll the dice heading into the game with the ice Wolves, starting first year goaltender Riley Medves who had just one SJHL win heading into the contest over the veteran starter in Kale Thomson. Early on the decision proved to not matter much as Medves got plenty of support from his teammates who started the game with two quick goals to make it 2-0 Terriers after the first period. Brady Norrish opened the scoring with his third of the season and rookie Tyson Enzie scored his second of the season to make it 2-0 heading into the break.
Top goalscorer Sebastien Beauregard scored his 12th and 13th goals on the season to help get La Ronge close, but goals from Derek Falloon and Chase Norrish in the second period were enough insurance for Medves to hold on for his second win of his SJHL career. It would be the second straight high profile contest that Medves earned a win in as the Nanaimo B.C. product won his first game against the Millionaires in Melville.
On Sunday the crease would be protected by Thomson as Cassan did what was expected and turned the reigns in between the pipes back to his starter after resting the 20 year old for the first game of a back to back. Against the Estevan Bruins Thomson recovered from an untimely miscue that gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead and never looked back, stopping 29 shots to hold the Bruins the rest of the way after Darcy DeRoose scored on an unlucky bounce that Thomson would like to have back.
With Thomson turning away the pucks for the second straight night the Terriers balanced scoring game into play. After four different players scored on Saturday, one more Terrier joined in on the fun Sunday as five different goalscorers found the back of the net. With Tayler Thompson leading the way with three assists, including two highlight reel passes that got the FAA off their feet, it was a long night for Bruins goalie Matt Gibney.
After the game Thompson talked about his three assists that kept him in the Top 5 in scoring for the second straight week. Typically a shoot first player in the early stages of his career with the Terriers, Thompson mentioned the key to his league high 13 assists has been doing the little things to make up for not having as many goals as he would like at this point of the season. "I don't have as many goals as I would expect to right now so I have been trying to make an impact in other areas and playmaking was something I focused on this offseason and it is nice to see it pay off on the statsheet," says Thompson who always takes the time to credit his linemates in Jordan Ross and Kailum Gervais for his success.
After losing 1-0 to the Humboldt Broncos on Tuesday the Terriers road trip has officially began, a stretch of nearly three weeks that will test the Terriers as they play some very tough North teams during that stretch something that will be even tougher with Trent Cassan off to help coach on the Canada West World Jr. A Hockey Challenge staff. Heading into the road swing Cassan notes that it is always a different challenge going into enemy territory, but he has faith in that a veteran laden team can get the job done.
"The Harvest Showdown is a big event for the City of Yorkton and as a franchise each player and coach knows that this road trip is coming each year and a lot of times we actually look forward to it as it is usually our first overnight portion of the calendar and sometimes it really helps form a bond with the team sleeping and eating together along with riding the bus from rink to rink."
The road trip can be hard on goaltenders who have to adjust to different rinks, for Thomson that is a non-issue for the 20 year old now on his third season with the club. "I have played in each SJHL arena now so I am familiar with my surroundings, but playing on the road is definitely a different challenge and I am excited for the challenge again this season," says Thomson.
Still trying to create a distance between themselves and the rest of the Viterra Division this road trip will likely be the defining stretch of the Terriers pre-Christmas portion of the regular season, whether or not they rise to the challenge of playing on the road for nearly three weeks will go a long way in determining how the standings look when the SJHL teams break in December.
