The Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League played two games last weekend – one at home and one on the road.
The two close games both ended in wins for the Terriers.
On Friday, Dec. 2 the Terriers faced the La Ronge Ice Wolves in Yorkton at the Farrell Agencies Arena. The two teams had faced off in a two-game series in La Ronge just a few weeks prior, where Yorkton swept the series. On Friday, they took the win with a final score of 3-2.
The first period ended without a goal from either team.
In the second, La Ronge scored the first goal of the game just three minutes in. But the Terriers responded with two goals in the second. The first goal came from Quinton Hobbs and the second came from Tyler Baier.
In the third, the Ice Wolves scored again to tie the game up at two. But once again, the Terriers responded with another goal just minutes later. The game-winning goal was scored by Jared Legien on a power play.
Terriers’ goalie Matt Vernon recorded the win for the Terriers.
After the home game, Terriers’ head coach and GM Casey O’Brien said he thought the play was a little slower than they’d like.
“We found a way to get two points with a big powerplay goal at the end,” he said. “Overall Matt Vernon was very good as well - solid goaltending. Their goalie played very well, we just couldn’t get in the blue paint there to try to wack in a couple more but a win is a win.”
On Saturday, the team headed to Weyburn to face the Red Wings in an exciting game that ended in a shootout - the first of the season for the Terriers.
The first period didn’t look so promising for the Terriers, as the Red Wings racked up two goals.
In the second, the Terriers came back onto the ice ready to work – and that’s what they did. Captain Corwin Stevely scored the first goal for the Terriers on a powerplay. Cody Illerbrun scored another just seconds later, to bring the score up to 2-2.
The score remained tied at two throughout the third period, forcing the game into an overtime period. With no goals scored in the additional five minutes, the game went to a shootout.
The Terriers selected Corwin Stevely, Jared Legien and Regan Seiferling to take their shots, and all three put the puck in the back of the net, winning the game for Yorkton.
Goalie Nathan Hargrave recorded the shootout win for the Terriers against his former team.
The Terriers now hold a 13-13-3-0 record, which puts them in eighth place in their league of twelve teams.
The Terriers will be on the road for their next two games against Kindersley and Battlefords. They will return home to the Farrell Agencies Arena for a game against the Humboldt Broncos on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.