After a Game One overtime loss in Humboldt, the Yorkton Terriers bounced back at the FAA to even up the series despite the early goaltending heroics of Matt Hrynkiw.
A fast paced and physical first period saw the Terriers get a wealth of chances as Tayler Thompson got the periods best scoring chance after some nifty stickwork showed off Thompson's world class hands before Hrynkiw made a stellar save in what would be the story of the first period. With the officials letting nearly everything go to start the game both teams had very little space to generate much quality scoring chances in the opening twenty minutes.
In the second period the refs finally started blowing the whistle as the Terriers were given three powerplays in the opening half of the second period as two David Stumborg penalties led to Terriers goals to make it 2-0. Patrick Martens scored his ninth of the playoffs off a nice feed from Dakota Odgers to find Martens open in the slot in front of the goal where he would make no mistake. Odgers would then tip in a Chase Norrish wrist shot from the blueline to beat Hrynkiw for the second goal of the period, giving Odgers three goals since his SJHL Playoff debut in Game Five against Melville. The Broncos would get on the board on the powerplay themselves in the second period as a nifty pass from the crease by Hrynkiw caught the Terriers penalty kill on a line change before Joey Davies shot sneaked just past Dawson MacAuley for his 13th goal of the playoffs.
Patrick Martens once again came up big for the Terriers to start the third, scoring on a rebound just 28 seconds into the third period for the eventually game winning goal. Humboldt made things interesting in the final five minutes after Ryan Aubertin's goal, but MacAuley stood his ground and the Terriers escaped with a 3-2 win. Huge considering the Terriers do not have home ice advantage in the SJHL Final.
A quick pace led to a combined 68 shots between the two teams in Game Two. Humboldt wound up leading the shot count 37-31 after being outshot by the Terriers in the opening game. Something that did not surprise Terriers assistant coach Casey O'Brein. "Humboldt has had a few 50 plus shot games in the earlier rounds of the playoffs and are one of the highest shooting teams in the league so with both teams skating really well and playing hard it wasn't a surprise to me that both of us got so many shots on goal" said O'Brein.
The Terriers powerplay has been extremely potent to begin the series with the first four Yorkton goals coming off the powerplay. A 4/8 rate on the powerplay has the Terriers scoring on half of their man advantage opportunities. Humboldt added two goals of their own on the powerplay in Games One/Two, making special teams a focal point for the Terriers coaching staff. "No matter what series it is special teams are going to be important, a blocked shot on the penalty kill can fire up a team and at the same time a timely powerplay goal can deflate your opponent so we have been looking at our special teams especially going into the series" explained O'Brein. O'Brein also mentioned that the Terriers have been looking to get more traffic in front of the net, something that has helped them garner more powerplay goals than in the Sherwood Final against the Millionaires.
Dakota Odgers has been the X Factor for the Terriers since joining the club after his AAA Yorkton Harvest and then WHL Swift Current Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs. The young forward played for three teams in one month, something that he says presented some adjustments but was an experience he embraced. "Of course I am battling fatigue, but so is everyone else in the playoffs after a long grinding season" said Odgers who also said that the opportunity has been a special one "It has been great getting to play a high level of Junior hockey all month and I have full respect for Trent and Casey and the rest of the Terriers staff for giving me this opportunity to get a ton of playoff experience and help this team win."
Odgers has three goals and two assists in four playoff games so far and his play will be a key in Game Three as the Terriers look to get the road win they need to win the Canalta Cup. After an OT win the Terriers coaching staff mentioned that they will be looking to repeat the same effort on Tuesday night in Humboldt. "We will look at the video tonight and make some adjustments we didn't see on the bench, but we felt we played a great game in Game One and that we have a great chance to get the road win we need." said O'Brein.
Expect Zak Majkowski to be back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch in Game Two. With Dakota Odgers addition the Terriers have been given the luxury to rest a forward each game and O'Brein indicated that every Terrier who sat Sunday night would be ready to go if needed, making it clear that the Terriers are 100% healthy at this point in time. Kailum Gervais left the ice with what appeared to be a hurt arm in the second period but returned for the third and should be in the lineup for Game Three.
Tuesday night will be a huge turning point in this series, with three more chances to win on the road the Terriers can grab a huge upper hand in taking away home ice from the Broncos early in the series. They almost did the job in Game One after Dakota Odgers heroics sent the game into overtime. Can they finish the job in Game Three? We will have to wait to find out.
