YORKTON - When the Yorkton Terriers scored in overtime in North Battleford Feb. 8, it was more than another Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League win, at least for head coach Mat Hehr.
The win on a Tuesday night in North Battleford, far from hometown fans, was the 100th of Hehr’s SJHL career.
“It was pretty exciting. It was definitely a nice feeling,” Hehr told Yorkton This Week.
While Hehr said it was great to get the milestone, he hadn’t been aware the win in North Battleford was the big win, until after it was over.
Hehr said when he went into the dressing room after the game the players were all cheering his 100th win.
“It kind of surprised me,” he said, learning afterwards the players had been tipped off to the significance of the win by assistant coach Scott Musqua.
Hehr said the staff of course played a big role in the wins.
“It was our 100th win as a staff … The assistant coaches are a big part of it,” he said, adding assistants Scott Musqua and Zach Rakochy have been with him since he took the heading coaching role with the Terriers, his first as a head coach in the SJHL. “I’m proud of the way we’ve built this organization and team.”
The players of course ultimately win games, and Hehr said they were a huge part of the 100 wins.
“A coach can only do so much,” he said.
The wins accumulated for Hehr and his staff were through some of the most unusual times ever in hockey and life in general.
“It’s definitely been a tough couple of years with all the adversity . . . The unknowns around everything,” he said.
That includes readying for the current season with an unknown roster – only Tyson Janzen being in his fourth year, but the team has come together for 20 per cent of Hehr’s 100 wins.
“Initially we didn’t know what we had after COVID,” he said, adding the team has come together nicely. “. . . I expected it to be more of a rebuild year. I’m pleasantly surprised.”
