It was a week of ups and downs for the Yorkton Terriers that saw them beat the top team in the league, and then lose a pair of games against the Melville Millionaires.
Last Wednesday, the Terriers faced off against the Melfort Mustangs, who hold the number one spot in the league.
It was a close game that saw both teams battle to the very end, but a hat trick from Chantz Petruic gave the Terriers what they needed to beat the Mustangs 3-2.
The win came at a great time for head coach/GM Mat Hehr, who was officially given that title just last week.
He said his players knew that they had to show up and play their best against Melfort, and that’s exactly what they did.
“It was very exciting. The guys worked very hard and they definitely deserved the win,” Hehr said. “It’s always nice to beat a team that’s nationally ranked, but any team can win on any given night in this league. You have to show up in every single game and play a full 60.”
The excitement from Wednesday’s game wasn’t carried over to Friday night, when the Terriers hosted the Highway 10 rivals the Melville Millionaires.
The game lacked energy and the team lacked composure for the majority of the 60 minutes. A pair of goals in the third period gave a brief moment of hope, but that would soon be squashed. The Millionaires took the win 5-3.
The following night, the Terriers visited Melville for a chance to redeem themselves. But that would be far from the case.
The Millionaires took control of the game early, and never let go. In the end the scoreboard read 7-2.
Hehr said there was no beating around the bush about how his guys played over the weekend.
“We were just flat out bad this weekend. There’s no other way to put it. We didn’t have a heart beat, which is really disappointing considering it’s the rival team,” said the coach.
With only a few days to rest and recover, Hehr said they have to learn from their mistakes for their game on Wednesday night against the Estevan Bruins.
“We have to be mentally prepared to go into a battle against a division rival on Wednesday,” he added.
On the heels of the weekend’s losses came a big trade announcement from the Terrier organization. They traded captain Dexter Robinson on Monday morning to the Weyburn Red Wings in exchange for forward Matthew Jones and future considerations.
Hehr said it wasn’t his easiest decision, but one he made for both Robinson and the future of his team.
“Dexter was a great hockey player, great person and a great captain. He’s going to be missed in the community and in the dressing room, and I can’t thank him enough for all he’s given to the organization in the past two and a half years,” said Hehr.
“If we weren’t in the position that we were in in the rankings I definitely would have kept him. But right now we need to do a bit of retooling and get younger,” the coach explained.
Hehr has been busy with trades taking over the head honcho position with the Terriers, which comes as no surprise with the season they’ve been having. As the bottom team in the league, they have a long way to go to make it to a playoff spot at the end of the regular season.
The Terriers travel to Estevan on Wednesday night. They’ll then play in Humboldt against the Broncos on Saturday night, and they return to the Farrell Agencies Arena on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. to face the Broncos again.
