The Yorkon Terriers found a way to win a pair of games late and in the process held onto second spot in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Sherwood Conference.
The Terriers sit with a record of 7-7-1-1 for 16 points, five back of Melville with 21. Weyburn sits third with 12, and Estevan now resides in the conference cellar with 11.
The Terriers latest win occurred Saturday over Estevan, a Yorkton home game played in Moosomin.
Cortlan Proctor gave the Terriers a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season and the only one of the first frame Saturday.
Keegan Allison tied the game with a Bruin goal, the only marker of the second.
Josh Ellis scored 2:37 into the third for a Yorkton lead, only to have that lead evaporate when Zach Douglas scored a Bruin powerplay goal at 4:47.
The 2-2 deadlock was short-lived as Dylan Johnson scored on the Terrier powerplay at 7:15. Johnson would then add a last-minute, empty netter to round out a 4-2 Yorkton win.
Dawson MacAuley faced 41-shots in recording the win in the Terrier net, while Brett Lewchuk faced 36 in the loss for Estevan.
Halloween night La Ronge hit the ice in Yorkton to face the Terriers.
Brandon Sookro started the scoring with a Terrier powerplay marker 13:38 in. It was the lone goal of the opening frame.
Sookro struck again at 9:32 of the second to give the home team a 2-0 margin.
But that lead would evaporate as Joel Blacquiere and Adam Moghrobi scored for the Icewolves to send the game to the third tied 2-2.
Connor Kortko gave La Ronge its first lead of the night scoring 5:48 into the third.
But Sookro would complete a game-long natural hat trick at 7:22 to knot the score at threes.
The remainder of regulation time solved nothing, so the game went to the five-minute, four-on-four overtime.
Dylan Baer would give the hometown fans their Halloween treat popping the OT winner 54-seconds into extra time, with Sookro earning an assist for his fourth point of the night. MacAuley also drew an assist and earned the win in the Terrier net facing 32-shots.
Luke Grassl took the loss for LaRonge facing 36.
Sookro said the hat trick was big because of what it meant to the team.
"It feels amazing. We're starting to jell as a team," he said, adding, "It's never about how I do, it's about the team."
That said Sookro admitted the three goals was a confidence builder, adding he credits his linemates Kailum Gervais and Kurt Johnas.
Sookro said the trio have just been put together as a unit, and they seem to be clicking, noting they are all bigger players who create opportunities using that size to their advantage.
"We can create some open ice," he said.
Terrier head coach Trent Cassan said the line looks to work well together so far and the Terriers needed a second line to step up.
We had one real consistent line," he said, adding he has been trying some different combinations "to see if we can't spark another one."
The Sookro/Gervais/Johnas trio seems to have found the spark their coach spoke of.
"They all bring something a little different," he said.
Cassan too noted their size, all being over six-feet and 180-pounds.
"At our level that's pretty good size," he said.
As for the rebound win in overtime after seeing an early two-goal lead evaporate, Cassan said the team needs the push back.
"We needed to have a response," he said, adding "La Ronge had a good push back," after they fell behind and the Terriers had to match that.
As for letting the lead slip away, Cassan said the Terriers might have tried to get too careful in the second period.
"We were making too many small plays instead of just advancing the puck," he said.
Loss last Wednesday
The Terriers hosted Flin Flon last Wednesday and held a 2-0 lead through 20-minuetes of play on goals by Sookro and Zach Zadorozniak.
But the Bombers roared back with four unanswered goals in the second period to take the lead. Tyson Empey, Parker Evans-Campbell and Alex Smith with a pair did the damage.
Thirty-six seconds into the third Chris Rauckman would make it 5-2 Flin Flon.
Dylan Baer would add a powerplay marker for Yorkton, before Dean Allison popped the Bombers sixth of the night, a short-handed, empty-net effort at 18:10 to round out a 6-3 victory for the visitors.
MacAuley allowed five on 34-shots in the Terrier net, while Simon Hofley had the win for the Bombers facing 33.
Up next
The Terriers were scheduled to play in Weyburn last night (Tuesday), but results were not available at press time.
Friday the Terriers head to Kindersley, move over to play the Battlefords North Stars Saturday and then switch back to again face the Klippers Sunday.
