The Yorkton Terriers played a pair of road games last week, returning home with a split in the two games.
The split left the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League franchise with a record of 8-5-1-2 and 19 points best in the Sherwood Conference. Estevan sits second with 16 points, followed by Kindersley with 15, Notre Dame and Weyburn both with 12 and Melville with 11.
As for the week's action last Wednesday in Kindersley, the Terriers played a scoreless first period with the Klippers, then traded second period markers, with Brent Struble getting the Terrier goal.
In the third, each team scored a pair, Struble and Brennan Tutt for Yorkton.With the score knotted 3-3 after regulation time, the game went to overtime where Zak Majkowski would net the winner at 2:08 of the extra frame for the Terriers.
Devin Peters earned the win in the Yorkton net facing 40-shots."I was happy with the effort Wednesday night in Kindersley for sure," offered Terrier head coach Trent Cassan. "It was a good back and forth game."
Cassan said it was good to secure the win in overtime before the shoot-out which has not been good to Yorkton so far this season. With that in mind he admitted in overtime he went with three forwards and only one defenceman.
"It's risky," he admitted, but added he wanted to push for the win and it worked.A night later things did not go so well for the Terriers as they visited the Battlefords North Stars.
"On Thursday night, a different team showed up, or didn't show up," said Cassan.The Stars led 3-1 after the opening period and never looked back. They extended the lead to 6-1 after 40-minutes then traded two-goal third period efforts to win 8-3.
"Right from the start we weren't very good," said Cassan. "We dug ourselves a hole and never got out of it."
Cassan said even though the Stars had only four wins going into the game he tried to make sure the Terriers knew it was not a guaranteed win.
"I told them whatever the Battlefords' record was don't even pay attention to it, but I think we did," he said. He said the Terriers have to recognize "it doesn't matter what a team's record is, if you don't show up when it's a home game for them, you're not going to win.
"We should know as a league it's very deep. Certainly when you go on the road you can't take anything for granted."
Robbie Ciolfi scored a pair for Yorkton, with Clarke Breitkreuz adding the other.
Peters started the game but was pulled after allowing the sixth goal on 24 shots. Warren Shymko went the rest of the way allowing a pair of goals on 15-shots.
Up nextThe Terriers remain on the road this week. They were scheduled to play in Nipawin Tuesday (last night), but results were not available at presstime.
Friday and Saturday the Terriers play in LaRonge.
Next Wednesday Yorkton heads south to face Weyburn.
