Yorkton and area’s two female hockey teams – the Yorkton Gardon Bantam ‘A’ Crushers and the Parkland Midget ‘AA’ Lions – have moved one step closer to playoff glory, as both teams swept their SSFHL semi-final series’ to advance to their respective league playoffs.
Crushers
The Gardon Crushers – Yorkton Minor Hockey’s first official female hockey team – made short work of their semi-final opponents the Regina Cougars, picking up a 5-2 win in Game One before blanking the Cougars 5-0 in Game Two.
Taylor Halarewich, Reauna Blight and Sierra Meroniuk all picked up singles in Game One while Kaitlyn Sauser had a pair for Yorkton. Regina’s Alecia MacDougall responded with a pair for the Cougars to round out the scoring in a 5-2 Yorkton win.
Game Two was much the same as the first game of the series as the Gardon Crushers put five pucks past the Cougar net minder.
Shaelyn Myers scored three for the hattrick while MaKenna Zimmer and Brooke Schwartz also tallied in the 5-0 win.
Haley Schrader picked up the shutout between the Yorkton pipes – her second of the playoffs – to give her four wins in the postseason.
The win moves the Crushers to the SSFHL Bantam ‘A’ league final where they’ll take on the top ranked Moose Jaw Mavericks.
Lions
The Parkland Lions played in two completely different games in their SSFHL Midget ‘AA’ semi-final series against the Swift Current Titans, yet the result was the same – a Lion victory.
Game One saw both teams struggle offensively as Parkland’s Talyor Nagy and Swift Current’s Samantha Lemay frustrated the opposing offences.
In fact it was Parkland forward McKenna Davis that managed to score the lone goal of the game – a first period marker assisted by Jordan Holinaty and Chace Sperling – to give the Lions a 1-0 series lead with a 1-0 Game One win.
Game Two was similar only in result, as the Lions found four different ways to put the puck past Lemay while the Titans could solve Nagy just once.
Parkland regular season leading scorer Jordan Holinaty gave the Lions a 1-0 lead midway through the first period – a lead that lasted until just past the middle part of the second period when Reece Girodat evened the score with the first Swift Current goal of the series.
A Holinaty marker three minutes later gave Parkland back their one goal lead – a lead they increased twice more in the third period on goals by McKenna Davis and Delaney Aisaican – to take Game Two 4-1 and advance to the SSFHL Midget ‘AA’ final where they’ll battle the regular season champion Regina Ravens.
Up next
The Yorkton Crushers begin their league final series this Saturday in Moose Jaw with Game Two Sunday at Yorkton’s Kinsmen Arena. Meanwhile the Lions take on the Ravens tonight in Regina for Game One before hosting the Regina club Sunday in Kamsack for Game Two.
