The week was not kind to the Yorkton Terriers.
In three Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League games, the Terriers failed to find a point. The trio of losses leaves Yorkton with a record of 9-32-2-2 for 22 points, last in the Viterra Division, 12 back of third place Melville. Estevan leads the Viterra with 57, three up on Weyburn with 54.
There were goals aplenty at the Farrell Agencies Arena Saturday.
Weyburn started the action with a pair of powerplay goals only 1:06 apart, the first at 5:26 of the first period by Jeremy Velazquez, the second from Jordan Kazymyra.
Then, only 24-seconds after the Wings had scored their second goal, Quinten Hobbs got one back for Yorkton with a short-handed effort.
With 1:09 left in the first Kyle Sargent tied the game 2-2 for the Terriers.
In the second Kazymyra again struck early with a powerplay marker only 2:04 into the period.
Erik Olson made it 4-2 with an unassisted marker.
Hobbs would get one of those back for Yorkton. Sean Olson rounded out the second period scoring leaving Weyburn up 5-3.
Terrier Matthew Jones scored 54-seconds into the third and again at 6:46 to tie the game 5-5.
Unfortunately, that was the end of the offence for the home team, as Ben Hiltz, William Cruise and Velazquez with his second of the night would give Weyburn an 8-5 victory.
Joe Marcouiller took the loss in the Terrier net facing 29 shots, with Arik Weersink getting the win facing 42.
“A couple of mental lapses cost us the game,” offered Terrier head coach Mat Hehr.
Hehe said offensively the Terriers were good enough to have won the game.
“Usually when you score five goals and have 40 shots, you end up winning,” he said, adding that it was at least good to see the team getting some “puck luck” in scoring five.
But with the game tied 5-5, Hehr said the Terriers had “three sort of mishap” situations where miscommunication resulted in Wing goals.
“It was three sort of fluke goals against us that ended us,” he said.
Friday night the teams played in Weyburn and after a scoreless first period the Wings took complete control.
In the second Dexter Robinson scored what would become the game-winner 3:07 into the frame.
Connor Payne and Jordan Kazymyra on the powerplay made it 3-0 before the end of the middle stanza.
In the third, Jessie Young, and powerplay goals by Mike Eskra and Ben Hiltz, made it 6-0 for a Weyburn win.
Arik Weersink recorded the shut-out facing only 16 Terrier shots, while Marcouiller took the loss facing 42.
Hehr was not pleased with his team in Weyburn.
“It was one of our worst efforts of the year,” he summed up.
January 30, Yorkton travelled north to Nipawin to face the Hawks.
The host Hawks scored the opening goal of the game as Josh McDougall scored at 8:13.
Chance Petruic tied the game, only to have Daven Smith restore a one-goal lead before the end on the first.
McDougall would add a powerplay goal on the second for the Hawks to make it 3-1 through 40-minutes.
It would be the powerplay that put Yorkton back into the game in the third as Brendan Mark made it 3-2 at 7:03.
Smith would add an empty-netter to secure a 4-2 Hawks win.
Joe Marcouiller took the loss in the Terrier net facing 34-shots, as Declan Hobbs took the win facing 35 shots for Nipawin.
“I thought we had a great game,” offered Hehr, who noted the Hawks are the number three ranked team at their level in Canada. “It could have gone either way.”
Up coming
Friday, Feb. 9, the Melville Millionaires will visit the Farrell Agencies Arena, with Yorkton making a return visit to face their Highway #10 rivals Saturday.
Hehr said the games on the weekend are “massive rivalry games” against the team they have to catch to make the playoffs. “… The season is on the line this weekend.”
