The Yorkton Harvest and Regina Pat Canadians went into overtime for the third consecutive time on Saturday, Feb. 2 in the Queen City-based Co-Operators Arena.
The result was no different from the last time these two clubs met in January at the Gallagher Centre, ending in a 3-3 draw.
"We have been having some really close games with Regina," notes Harvest head coach Jeff Odgers. "We both play hard and are hungry for the win."
Jaden Kreklewich got the Harvest out in front early, notching the lone goal of the first period at the 19:27 mark.
The Harvest and Pat Canadians exchanged goals in the second period with Dakota Odgers scoring for Yorkton and Emery Anderson lighting the lamp for Regina in that order.
Pat Canadians forward Mitch Lipon, who is the brother of Kamloops Blazers star J.C. Lipon, started to shift the momentum in favour of the Queen City Boys by potting a shorthanded marker in the first half of the third.
"That goal gave Regina some momentum," says Odgers on the Lipon marker. "He is just a very talented player with good speed and he made that goal happen. You never want to give up a goal when you are on the power play, but it is easier to swallow when a player of that calibre makes it happen."
Yorkton stormed back on the man advantage with Logan Herchak finding the back of the net in the last 10 minutes of the contest.
It seemed as though the Harvest were going to come away with a win, but they learned the hard way that it isn't over until the fat lady sings. Tristan Frel scored for Regina with only 23 seconds left on the clock to put the game into overtime.
"It was a hard fought game, so it is tough not to come out with the win in the last minute of the game," says Odgers. "Our goaltender (Carson Bogdan) was without his stick and one of our forwards didn't have his stick. We were scrambling and they made us pay for it."
The game ended in a tie after the Pat Canadians were unable to score on their power play opportunity in extra time.
With the tie, the 16-14-5-2 Harvest haven't lost since Jan. 6 when they fell 3-0 to the Moose Jaw Generals at home.
Yorkton currently sits in seventh spot in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League with 39 points. They are only one-point back of the Tisdale Trojans and Battlefords Stars for fifth place.
It seems the playoff spots are shaping up in the SMAAAHL. The 60-point Prince Albert Mintos have a stranglehold on first place. The 50-point Saskatoon Contacts, 48-point Pat Canadians, and 47-point Generals should make up the three remaining home-ice-advantage positions. That leaves the Trojans, Stars, Harvest, and 37-point Saskatoon Blazers in a dogfight for fifth spot. Mathematically, the 31-point Notre Dame Argos could sneak in; however, it seems very unlikely with only eight games left on their schedule.
Odgers doesn't have a preference for his squad's first opponent in the post-season.
"We know we can beat all of those top four teams," he says. "We have beat the Mintos twice; all of our games with the Pat Canadians have been close; we have beat the Contacts in their own barn; and we have beat the Generals, too. I don't think it really matters who we play. We want to finish as high as we can. But our opponent is going to be a good team no matter who it is."
Yorkton gets comfortable in the Gallagher Centre this week. They play three consecutive home games, squaring off against the Trojans on Wednesday, Feb. 6, the Notre Dame Hounds on Feb. 9, and the Pat Canadians on Feb. 10.
"Those are three huge games," notes Odgers. "They are our last regular-season homes games, so we want to make them count. They are some really good teams, but ideally we will try and get at least four points out of it."
