One of the youngest teams in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League just got younger.
It's not helping them a whole lot on the scoreboard though.
Coming out of their first game of 2012 playing against the league's top team in Beardy's, Yorkton lost their third-leading scorer when 16-year-old Jake McMillen suffered a season-ending collar bone fracture.
The team has had to make two call-ups to help tide them over.
Last Thursday night at the Farrell Agencies Arena, Yorkton took on the Notre Dame Hounds.
The Hounds are in similar position as the Harvest. Yorkton fell 3-2, despite a ferocious attempt to tie the game late in the game.
"It is rocky," admits head coach Jeff Odgers. "When you look at the wins and losses, look at the effort, we could have had four points," he said referring to the road games in Beardy's and Tisdale when Yorkton got one point out of four possible.
Add the injury to McMillen, and they have to reach down farther into the 'farm' system to pick up a couple more players.
Forward Kailum Gervais has been picked up by Yorkton Junior 'A' and Odgers does not expect to see Gervais again this season.
"There's been lots of changes," Odgers noted following the 3-2 loss at home vs. the Hounds.
As for McMillen, who had 13 goals and slightly fewer assists, has been one of only two Harvest forwards this season to notch a hat trickis "out most likely for the remainder of the season" Odgers reports.
On Sunday, Taylor Clark and Nicholas Pouliot scored for the Harvest in a 6-2 loss at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox.
Yorkton was outshot 36-22 and had a rough opening period in which they fell behind 3-0. Notre Dame scored three times on the power play and also got one shorthanded.
Next action for the Harvest will be this weekend when they play back-to-back games with the fourth-place Prince Albert Mintos.
Saturday afternoon's game starts at 3 p.m., and Sunday's game goes at 2 p.m., both are at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
