The Yorkton Harvest fell to the Notre Dame Argos for the second time in two weeks on Oct. 9.
The Harvest were clearly outplayed in the 2-1 loss, getting outshot 40-25 in Duncan McNeill Arena.
"We didn't play very well," said Harvest head coach Dan Cross. "It was definitely one of our worst games this year. They outshot us badly. We didn't generate enough scoring chances and the Argos were pretty hungry for the puck."
Following Argos forward Taylor Ross and Harvest sniper Tanner Jeannot exchanging goals throughout the first two periods, Damien Riat scored the game-winner at the 4:35 mark in the final frame.
A bright spot in the loss for the Harvest was the play of rookie goaltender Carter Phair. The Carnduff, Sk., native, who turns 15 in Dec., turned away 43 of 45 shots for a .955 save percentage.
"He played excellent for us," says Cross. "He gave us a chance to win and made a lot of key saves that kept us in the game. We have been really happy with how he has played for this year."
Yorkton native Matt Kustra stopped 24 of 25 shots at the other end of the ice in the Argos net.
The Harvest cleaned up their act of unnecessary penalties following getting their fill the weekend before against the Saskatoon Blazers. They only took one two-minute penalty against the Argos.
"That was good to see," says Cross on his team's lack of penalties. "I think it was mainly because of the officials. It was a very well officiated game. They let the guys play. One of the referees, Tarrington Wyonzek, is actually from Yorkton and he did a great job."
Yorkton now holds a 3-1-1-1 record in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League standings. Albeit it goes without saying that every coach is never completely happy with a record unless it's a perfect one, Cross is content with his club's start to the season.
"Eight out of 12 points is a pretty good start," says Cross. "We could have won some more games, but that's how hockey is. You can't win them all and you just got to keep on going forward. If we can keep this record up, we'll have a pretty good year."
Up next
The Harvest host the Tisdale Trojans at Farrell Agencies Arena on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. Followed by hitting the road on the weekend for back-to-back games against the Battlefords Stars.
