Twenty-four wins. Eight losses. One shootout loss. Forty-nine points. First place in the SJHL. These are the numbers that have the Terriers as the talk of the SJHL and expectations and spirits high as players and coaches head home for the SJHL's Christmas break.
The Terriers sit atop their division and the league by a four point margin and hold the league's best offense with 129 goals scored in 33 games. The Terriers also hold the league's second best defense , a balance that can be attributed to the fact that they hold the deepest roster in the league, returning much of the 2011/12 roster with fresh faces who have stepped up and filled their roles.
"Depth was always the goal for us when we pieced together this roster, and now we have the team we wanted and got a lot of guys back from last year to give us a balanced roster" said Terriers head coach Trent Cassan.
A big part of the change has been the improvement in goal with the tandem of Kale Thomson and Dawson MacAuley giving the Terriers quality goaltending night in and night out. Save for the difficult stretch at the start of November when the Terriers were on the road for the weeks and Thomson has been on fire. A backup last season with MacAuley behind Warren Shymko in what was a goaltending carousel of sorts, Thomson has picked up his game in getting the majority of the starts this season his 14-4-1 record is second best in the league and a 2.48 GAA and .917 save percentage rounds out some solid statistics for the Yorkton product who has played his entire hockey career with the Harvest/Terriers. MacAuley has been equally as good in the number two role, going 7-2 with a 2.27 GAA and a .914 save percentage. A defense that is loaded in all three defensive pairings after the returns of John Neibrandt and Austin Bourhis has contributed to the hot goaltending, but the Terriers tandem has generally made all of the saves required to win so far.
On offense balance has been the key with no real standout players. Nathan Murray leads the team with 32 points and has been huge as a prototypical power forward at left wing, but seven other Terriers have twenty points on the year in the first 33 games. That balance on all four lines has created a scenario where one player can be the hero on any given night, something that has been seen on multiple occasions this year. To drive that statistic home the Terriers leading goal scorer has only 16 goals with a handful of others right behind with 15, giving them an offense that can't be contained by shutting down one line, something that will prove valuable in the spring and the playoffs. Brady Norrish has led all defensemen in points for the Terriers this year with 21 and is a huge feature on the powerplay.
Being in first place with twenty games left in the regular season has the Terriers heading into January/February with serious momentum and the goal of first place in the league and home ice advantage will be the focus going forward. Cassan feels good going into the break, "We have some good momentum going into the break and it is nice for the guys to get home to see their friends and families and heal some injuries so going forward we will be focusing on getting guys healthy and continuing the desire for success and keep working hard on and off the ice to prepare for playoffs."
Of the Terriers final twenty games, six will be against Notre Dame and Melville who are chasing them in the Sherwood Division. The Terriers final two meetings with the Mils will be December 30, and New Years Day while four meetings with the Hounds are on the horizon after an intense game at the FAA before the break that evened their season series at a win a piece. The Terriers will travel to Wilcox to face the Hounds on January 8 and 19 and host the Hounds February 1 and 13 to wrap up a season series that will likely feature the key games needed for the Terriers to secure home ice advantage.
The Terriers will start their post Christmas schedule with their longest road trip of the year as a three game Northern road trip to Wilcox, La Ronge and Nipawin will see the Terriers away from the FAA for thirteen days. Another three game road trip will consist of three of the Terriers final four games they head to Flin flon, Melfort and Nipawin before ending the regular season off on February 24 against the Battlefords Stars.
An even ten home and away games in the final twenty games will see the Terriers attempt to hold onto their four point lead atop the Sherwood and clinch the all important home ice advantage, but for now the Terriers are going to enjoy Christmas holidays atop the SJHL. After last year's early exit, there will be no complaints. The next twenty games will determine a lot, but one thing is for certain. As long as the Terriers stay healthy, they will be in the playoffs, and they will be ready to contend. With a balanced team and veteran players all around, it is hard to argue that the Terriers aren't the favorites at the Christmas break.
