Offenses came to the forefront at the Mel Hegland Uniplex in La Ronge to tonight as the Ice Wolves hosted Yorkton in game three of their playoff series.
The Hyundai Terriers and Ice Wolves entered the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League contest tied at a game apiece in the best-of-seven series, and the outcome of the crucial game three was in doubt right up to the final buzzer.
La Ronge took an early lead on a goal by Chad McIlwain 6:21 into the game.
At 16:55 Chantz Petruic tied the contest for Yorkton, only to see the Ice Wolves inch ahead with a powerplay goal from Spencer Kennedy at 19:21.
La Ronge went up 3-1 only 1:21 into the second period as Grant Longtin scored another powerplay goal.
The Terriers would roar back as Keenan Taphorn scored at 5:14, and Petruic with a man advantage marker at 14:34 knotted the contest 3-3 through 40-minutes of play.
In the third the Terriers pulled ahead early when Kaeden Taphorn scored at 3:30, and the lead grew to 5-3 at 5:23 as Keenan Taphorn scored his second of the contest.
The Ice Wolves took a bite out of the Terrier lead at 13:54 as Kennedy scored his second of the night.
Kaeden Taphorn’s goal at 16:11 re-established a two-goal lead for Yorkton at 6-4.
But the host team would try for the late comeback as Booker Chacalias scored at 17:03 to make it 6-5, but from there the comeback stalled at the Terriers had a 6-5 win, and took a series lead two-games-to-one.
Matthew Pesenti was the winning netminder facing 46-shots in the Yorkton net, while Xavier Cannon took the loss facing 34-shots for La Ronge.
The two teams are back in action for game four of the series Wednesday, again in La Ronge.
