The Yorkton Terriers have a five game winning streak going. They claimed both games of the recent home and home series with their Highway 10 rivals the Melville Millionaires. The double win also earned the Terriers the Park's Cup for the most wins in head-to-head play for the current season. It also extended Yorkton's lead to seven points over their nearest rivals, the Kindersley Klippers, in the SJHL Sherwood Conference.
Friday night the Terriers pulled out a 5-3 win over the Mils at the Melville Stadium.
The Millionaires took a two goal lead after 20 minutes of play on goals by Lucas Froese and Tyson Newell.
A pair of second period powerplay goals got the scoring underway for the Terriers to tie the game at two after two periods. Riley Paterson scored the first of two goals to pull the Terriers within one goal assisted by Brent Struble and Clarke Breitkreuz. Brant Remenda notched the tying marker assisted by Breitkreuz and Jeremy Boyer.
Justin Buzzeo gave Yorkton a brief lead early in the third period assisted by Boyer.
Michael Rogoschewsky tied the game at three with a powerplay marker.
Paterson scored the go-ahead goal for Yorkton, his second of the game, a late third period powerplay marker assisted by Remenda.
Breitkreuz added the insurance marker, an empty net goal with less than a minute left in the game.
Saturday, the Terriers staged a second identical 5-3 win over the visiting Millionaires at home in the Farrell Agencies Arena.
Breitkreuz, who had a four point game with two goals and two assists to claim the first game star title, opened the scoring for Yorkton with the lone first period goal assisted by Devon McMullen and Paterson.
Michael Desjarlais tied the game early in the second period before the Terriers exploded for three goals to take a 4-1 lead after two periods.
Craig Eisenhut scored Yorkton's second goal to re-establish the Terrier lead assisted by Buzzeo and Boyer.
Boyer added Yorkton's third goal, a powerplay marker midway through the second period assisted by Breitkreuz.
Struble made it 4-1 for Yorkton to round out second period scoring assisted Breitkreuz and Paterson.
Breitkreuz rounded out Terrier scoring with his seond of the game, an early third period powerplay goal assisted by Boyer and Remenda.
The Millionaires rallied for two goals late in the final frame, one each by Rogoschewsky and Newell. Unfortunately for Melville it was too little too late as Yorkton clinched the 5-3 win.
Terrier head coach Trent Cassan says he's happy to claim the Park's cup. "It's a small reward for winning the head-to-head matchups," he says.
Cassan also states, "Anytime you win both games a home-and-home weekend series it feels good no matter who you're playing."
To come back and win a game after being down early shows a lot of character, he says of his players.
The Terriers have suffered a lot of injuries lately. That's hockey, says Cassan. The team will just have to take things day by day as the season winds down. Brendon Poncelet and Keon Vick both returned from the walking wounded recently which provides the Terriers with some solid performance.
While it's important to get players healed up and back into the game, injuries also provide other players to step up into roles.
Coming back from behind to win Friday as well as playing the second game in the series Saturday with a winning attitude was big for the team, Cassan suggests.
He was happy with Terrier netminder Warren Shymko's performance in both games, noting he made some big saves in the second period Saturday night. The playoff like atmosphere of the home-and-home series with Melville is a good experience for a young goaltender like Shymko, Cassan suggest. He has full confidence in both goaltenders all season. When Peters had an injury, Shymko was ready to take over. "He's been solid for us all year," Cassan sums up.
A team picks one another up. There may be times when the players pick up the goaltender when he's not on his game by scoring timely goals. There are other times when the goaltender backs up mistakes by his front five. "That's a big part of being a team," says Cassan.
He says the team's resiliency in bouncing back after the loss to Kindersley several weeks ago. It also shows their sense of responsibility and maturity in coming back with a string of wins, Cassan closes.
