The Yorkton AAA Midget Rawtec Maulers have had a mixed week.
The first game of the week saw the Maulers travel to the Duncan McNeill arena to face the Notre Dame Hounds on Feb. 7.
It was Notre Dame’s game from the outset, with the team getting on the board first with a power play goal by Josselin Dufey, with assists from Will Lavigne and Kenzie MacKinnon. Notre Dame’s scoring continued in the first with Trey Funk with assists from Coalson Wolford and Keaton Sorensen, and then a third goal from Keaton Sorensen with assists from Cam Recchi and Trey Funk.
Yorkton did end the third with a goal, with Massen Ziola finding a way past Hounds goaltender Thomas Wardle, with assists from Austin Dycer and Carter Dereniwsky.
The remainder of the scoring was from Notre Dame however. The only goal of the second period came from Josselin Dufey with assists from Will Lavigne and Jake Dale.
In the third, Keaton Sorensen got his second goal of the night. Cam Recchi and Kenzie MacKinnon got the assist. The evening ended how it began, with a power play goal for Notre Dame, this time from Brendan Kerr. Hunter Livingston and Thomas Dodds had the assist.
The final score of the game was 6-1 for the Hounds.
The weekend saw the Maulers in North Battleford, with a loss and a win against the Stars.
The first game began with an unassisted, shorthanded goal from the Stars’ Nicholas Steciuk. The Stars got their second with a power play goal from Tye Scherger with assists from Luke Fennig and Boston Maxwell.
The second period had the majority of the scoring. It began with the Stars getting on the board, with a goal from the Battlefords’ Shayde Peterson with an assist from Carson Dobson. The Maulers got on the board soon after with a power play goal from Rylan Donald with an assist from Carter Dereniwsky.
The Stars’ countered near the end of the period with two goals in rapid succession, the first from Josh Groenwold with an assist from Nicholas Steciuk, the second by Quinn Strang with the assist from Brendan Albert.
The Maulers did start the scoring in the third, with a goal from Jayden Harris with assists from Brett Fogg and Carter Dereniwsky. It wasn’t enough, and Battleford scored their sixth goal of the night later that period, with a goal from Colby Ralston. Logan Holm got the assist. The final score was 6-2 for the Stars.
Sunday was a much better day for the Maulers, as their second day in the North Battleford Civic Centre started the way every hockey team wants it to, with a goal. Jayden Harris put the Maulers on the board first, with Rhys Maksimow and Carson Dereniwsky getting the assist.
The Stars met that goal with one of their own, with Luke Fennig putting them on the board. Shayde Peterson got the assist.
The Maulers pulled ahead again at the end of the period, with a power play goal from Rylan Donald. Justin Broekel and Jayden Harris got the assist.
The Maulers also started the scoring in the second, with a goal from Massen Ziola. Rhys Maksimow had the assist.
The Stars used the rest of the period to tie the game, with goals from, Carson Dobson and Josh Groenwold. Colby Ralston and Shayde Peterson got the assist on the first and from Brendan Albert and Cale Tuer-Treble got the assist on the second.
The tie in the third, thanks to the game winning goal from Massen Ziola. Josh Peppler and Brandon Von Hagen had the assist on that one.
Interim head coach Dalane Lamb said that the effort on Sunday was really nice to see.
“It was really nice to see, guys just going out and playing the game, and not worrying about anything else or any distractions. It really showed in our play on the ice.”
The problems on the weekend were partially due to some untimely penalties on the part of the Maulers, and Lamb said they also broke down defensively in the earlier game, leading to the loss.
But he’s proud of how the team responded after the loss on Saturday, bouncing back in their second chance against the same team.
The Maulers will spend this week meeting the Regina Pat Canadians, with the first game on Monday night in Regina, and the second in Yorkton on Feb. 13. Lamb said that the team has to be careful against the Pat Canadians.
“Any time you make a mistake against Regina they usually put it in the back of your net.”
The first game, at the end, looked similar to their first game against the Stars on the weekend.
The first period belonged to Regina, with the Pat Canadians getting four goals in the period. The scoring began with two power play goals. The first from Adam Kydd with the assist from Parker Hendren and Blake Swetlikoff and the second from Josh Romanyk with assists from Noah Kuntz and Cal Caragata. They continued scoring, with a goal from Cole Sillinger, with Parker Hendren and Carter Belitski getting the assist, and another from Carson Whyte with assists from Sebastian Eger and Alex Liskowich.
A fifth goal came in the second, with Carter Belitski getting the only goal of the period, with assists from Johnny Carmichael and Carson Whyte
The third began with yet another Regina goal. Cole Sillinger got on the board with help from Alex Liskowich and Josh Romanyk.
Hope was not lost in Yorkton, and the team worked to get on the board after six goals from the competition. The first came from Rylan Donald with assists from Carter Dereniwsky and Massen Ziola, the second from Troy Bryksa with an assist from Massen Ziola.
The effort was not enough to overcome the large deficit, and the game ended with a score of 6-2 for the Regina Pat Canadians.
Beyond the game Wednesday, the Maulers are also looking forward to a special game on Saturday, Feb. 16 against the Prince Albert Mintos. It’s their annual Pink the Rink fundraiser, with all money raised going to Brayden Ottenbreit’s Close Cuts for Cancer. Lamb said everyone on the team has been affected by cancer in some way, so it’s a special game for the team.
“It’s definitely something where we’re hoping to see a large turnout and raise a lot of money.”
