The Yorkton Terriers played three games in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action over the past week. Two games were played on the road and one at home at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
The two road games against Nipawin and Melfort didn鈥檛 end in favour of the Terriers.
On Tuesday, Jan. 3 they faced the Nipawin Hawks and came away with a 5-0 loss. Goalie Nathan Hargrave recorded the game in net for the Terriers.
On Wednesday, Jan. 4 the Terriers traveled to Melfort to face the Mustangs, and again fell in the end. The final score was 8-3. Terriers鈥� goals were scored by Corwin Stevely, Dexter Robinson and Jared Legien. Matt Vernon played in net for the Terriers.
When asked about the two tough road losses, head coach and GM Casey O鈥橞rien said there were a number of factors that may have resulted in the losses.
鈥淲e played two very good hockey clubs,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ipawin is not an easy team to play,鈥� said O鈥橞rien.
He also mentioned the team鈥檚 previous series against Melville, which always includes a big hype.
鈥淚f people look at our schedule, every time we play our Melville series the guys get so fired up for it, it almost takes a week to emotionally get themselves back in,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e played Melfort very well, but we gave up four early goals,鈥� said O鈥橞rien. 鈥淚t could have been 8-6 or 8-7 if we buried our chances. The work effort was there, but maybe not the smarts on the road trip.鈥�
On Saturday, Jan. 7, the Terriers faced the La Ronge Ice Wolves in Yorkton. Although the game wasn鈥檛 the cleanest the Terriers have played, they got the job done and came away with a 3-1 win.
In the first period, the Terriers held control of the play and kept the pace of the game up. With about five minutes left in the period, Jared Legien connected with the back of the Ice Wolves鈥� net to secure the lead for the Terriers. The assists came from Shane Sherban and Jordan Ross.
In the second period, the play was dominated by La Ronge as the Terriers seemed to lack energy. But, a strong game in net by goalie Nathan Hargrave kept the lead in the Terriers鈥� favour. The second period would end without a goal for either team.
The third period looked better for the Terriers. Jordan Ross scored just three minutes into play, with assists from Jared Legien and Shane Sherban. But the Ice Wolves would respond a few minutes later with what would be their only goal of the game. The score was then 2-1. In the last minute of play, La Ronge pulled their goalie, which resulted in another goal for the Terriers on the open net. The third and final goal for Yorkton was scored by Jordan Ross, with the assists from Jared Legien and Regan Seiferling.
After Saturday鈥檚 game, Casey O鈥橞rien said he wasn鈥檛 overly satisfied with his team鈥檚 performance.
鈥淏ut, we found a way to win. It鈥檚 been a busy stretch coming back from the holidays, so us playing five games in the first nine days back can wear on the guys,鈥� said O鈥橞rien.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got two weeks now that we can really focus and improve on some stuff, and start preparing for that [playoff] push,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 like where we are.鈥�
The Terriers have moved into second place in the Viterra Division of the SJHL, and sit in sixth place overall with 39 points. The goal is to remain in that sixth place spot, if not higher, to ensure their place in the playoffs in March.
The Terriers hit the road for two away games this coming weekend against Flin Flon and Nipawin, before returning to home ice the following weekend for a two-game series against Flin Flon.
The next home game is on Friday, Jan. 20. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m.
