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Terriers streaking in playoffs

Up three-games-to-one on Hawks
Ryan Ouellette makes a save.

The Yorkton Terriers are one win away from advancing to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League semi-finals.

The Terriers put themselves on the doorstep to the next round thanks to a home ice win over Nipawin Wednesday at the Farrell Agencies Arena.

The Terriers had a dream start as Mason Mullaney scored on the powerplay 4:35 to take the early lead.

Chantz Petruic made it 2-0 at 8:33, and when Quinten Hobbs made it 3-0 22-seconds later the Terriers had chased Hawks starting netminder Declan Hobbs from the game in favour of Patrick Pugliese. Hobbs had faced only 10-shots in allowing three goals.

The Hawks would finally get on the board at 17:58 of the opening period as Walker Cote scored.

In the second only one goal was added to the scoresheet, an unassisted marker by Colby Brandt to make it a 4-1 game in favour of Yorkton. Brandt’s goal would come after taking the puck on a missed Hawk shot at the Terrier blueline and going in on a breakaway.

In the third Nipawin would make it interesting as Josh Lester would score only 2:03 into the stanza to make it 4-2, but that would prove to be all the offence the Hawks could muster, while Brandt would net a second unassisted marker, this one into an empty net to make it a 5-2 final.

Ryan Ouellette would earn the win in the Terrier net facing 34-shots, while Hobbs took the loss. Pugliese faced 30 shots in relief.

Terrier head coach Mat Hehr said he could not have drawn up a better start than to jump out to a 3-0 lead early.

“It sets you up pretty good for the rest of the game,” he said.

Hehr said the Terriers may have backed off just a bit after the early lead, but overall he is liking the effort, suggesting they’ve played at least 55-minutes of hard hockey every game, and that has been a key to being up three-games-to-one.

Brandt said the Terriers are just staying focused on the game right now,

“We’re just working hard … When you’re working hard, just as hard as they are, talent takes over,” he said.

As for chasing Hobbs from the game, Brandt said it was big.

“It feels pretty good to rattle his cage,” he said.

“Maybe we are in his head,” agreed Hehr, adding they went into the series wanting to make it hard for Hobbs. “… We wanted to get to the middle and try and get in his eyes.”

At the same time Brandt said the Terriers have all kinds of confidence in Ouellette in their net.

“He’s always going to play great for us … He just gets better and better,” he said.

 

 

The series heads to Nipawin for game five Friday. A game six, if needed, will be back at the Farrell Agencies Arena Sunday.