The Terriers emerged victorious in the first game of the season, putting Melville in its place 5-4. What started as a shutout at Melville's expense became a deadlock. While Yorkton held a solid lead in the majority of the first period, come 59 seconds left on the clock moving into second, the game very quickly turned into one of inches.
The first period was marked by a strong offense, with the Terriers, interestingly, seemingly drawing strength from their penalties to advantage. Yorkton's penalty kill resembled a power play, only adding fuel to the fire.
Just as strong one man down as they were on the powerplay, a few solid shots on goal closed out the first 20 minutes. By the last minute of the period, though, the free ride was over. Melville finally broke through to the Terrier's zone, netting their second goal of the night for a 2-2 tie, tempers flaring as the referees broke up a few punchouts. There were plenty of penalties to be had for the Terriers in the next period, but it didn't seem to matter.
Yorkton dominated their own penalty kill once again in the second period, controlling the puck well enough to have the crowd looking at the scoreboard to double check the power play. Red Bull may give you wings, but the Terriers clearly didn't need them -- all they needed was that powerplay.
If Bono was still cold in the Yorkton net after the first period, he warmed up halfway through the second. A two man advantage was almost enough for Melville to take the lead, but a disallowed goal saved the tie a little while longer, thanks to stellar defense by the Terriers.
The screaming and yelling of the crowd did little to improve the attentiveness of the referees, who let play go on nearly a full minute into a fight shortly after the Mils' power play. Again, the refs appeared to have blinders on after an injury with two minutes left in the period. For reasons unknown, the referees seemed to lose sight of the game in the last quarter of the second period, failing to blow the whistle almost a full minute into a fight, and then once more after a Terrier was injured, forcing the team to assist him off of the ice while play continued.
Asked later about the refs, Coach Mat Hehr was succinct.
"Definitely some interesting calls, that's for sure."
Melville dominated the beginning of the third period, keeping the puck firmly in the Terriers' zone almost the entire first half. Uncharacteristically clean hockey appeared on both sides, giving the refs a break from the whistle until late in the third, shortly after Melville had taken a two goal lead. After Melville's fourth goal, jeers from certain younger members of the crowd were heard as they stormed out of the arena, but loyal fans who stuck around for the last six minutes were rewarded by an impressive comeback. With a 5-4 win, the two jeering fairweather fans may have some explaining to do in the schoolyard Monday morning.
"We got into some penalty trouble, especially in the second period, but I thought our penalty kill was great. It really gave us a chance to win. Without them, it could have been a very ugly game," said Hehr.
Yorkton and Melville face off once again, this time in enemy territory: the rivalry continues tomorrow night in Melville at 7:30 pm, where the Mils will almost certainly be out for blood. With a solid powerhouse Terrier roster and some brilliant goaltending by Yorkton's Bono, whether they get it remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain: the Terriers won't make it easy for them.
