Following their 3-2 loss to the Nipawin Hawks at home last week, the Yorkton Terriers split a home and home series with the Melville Millionaires over the weekend.
Despite outshooting the Millionaires 58-31 at the Melville Stadium Friday night, the Terriers picked up a single point in the SJHL standings following a 4-3 shootout loss to the Mils.
Brennan Tutt scored first for the Terriers early in the first period with a powerplay marker assisted by Keven Cann and Brenden Poncelet.
Michael Rogoschewsky tied the game for Melville with a powerplay goal to send the teams to the dressing rooms tied at one after 20 minutes.
Terrier defenseman Blaine Tendler notched Yorkton's second goal of the game in the second period assisted by Nathan Murray and Riley Paterson.
Melville's second powerplay goal of the game by Brayden Metz tied the game for the Mils again.
Zak Majkowski gave Yorkton a one goal edge after 40 minutes with a powerplay marker assisted by Davis Vandane and Yorkton netminder Devin Peters.
Lucas Froese saved the game for Melville with less than a minute remaining in regulation time with a timely goal to tie the game.
Following a scoreless overtime period, Cody Hanson slipped the puck by Peters to clinch the 4-3 win for Melville.
Saturday night the Terriers held off the hard charging Mils to claim a 4-2 win.
Majkowski opened the scoring for Yorkton midway through the first assisted by Kurtis Decker and Tendler.
Froese replied for the Millionaires to tie the game with a powerplay goal.
Vandane responded with a powerplay goal for Yorkton assisted by Tendler and Peters.
Clarke Breitkreuz added the game winner early in the second period assisted by Brent Struble and Robbie Ciolfi.
Kyle Mcleod notched an insurance marker late in the second assisted by Majkowski and Sam Rockwell.
The Terriers claimed the 4-2 win following a scoreless third period. Majkowski, who had a goal and an assist in the game was named first game star for Yorkton. While the Millionaires are tough rivals, the Terriers always look for two points in their own barn, he claims. "We come in here with an edge. No team's going to get past us on a Saturday night here, he adds.
Majkowski suggests he's getting a lot of 'puck luck lately. "The first goal was just a shot that trickled in past him (Melville goalie Zak Rakochy)," he admits.
After losing to Nipawin, the Terriers were happy with their performance against Melville to claim three out of four points in the two game series, Majkowski states.
The recent successes are the result of hard work on and off the ice, Majkowski says. "You can't come to the rink thinking it's going to be easy. It's going to be hard everyday," he advises.
Terrier head coach and GM Trent Cassan says the Millionaires put up a good game Friday night. Winning in Melville is tough and he feels the team did well to sneak one point out of the game.
The Terriers put up a pretty solid effort at home Saturday, he says.
He attributes the Hawk's win earlier on the week to their goalie who got comfortable early in the game and managed to shut the Terriers out. Cassan addressed the result in practice.
He points out the team's wins are the result of solid two way play where both offense and defense work together. The offensive players play at both ends of the rink. "If you want to take chances offensively, you have to be back checking. You have to be good along the wall in your own end too," Cassan explains. The offensive guys play penalty kill, block shots and finish checks just like everyone else does, he points out.
Saturday night marked the Terriers' 29th game, the midpoint in their season, Cassan notes.
