The Yorkton peewee Terriers kept their program's tradition of winning going this past March by capturing a provincial "A" banner for the third consecutive year.
"We had an amazing group of guys," said Terriers head coach Noel Budz. "They worked really hard and earned everything they got. I couldn't have asked for a better team to coach."
As it is every year, Yorkton's peewee provincial squad was made up of top peewee hockey players at the "A" level in the area. Although it's a definite bonus to roundup the cream of the crop, it does pose somewhat of a challenge to generate chemistry between the players who didn't play together during the regular-season.
"Generating chemistry between the players was something we had to work on," said Budz. "But we had a very talented group, so it came easy to them."
In their first-round total-point matchup, Yorkton squeezed by Weyburn with a 5-4 goal differential. They won game 1 4-2, but dropped the second contest 2-1.
"We knew going in it would be a very close series," said Budz. "Both games were close, but we worked hard and had a little luck."
The Terriers didn't have much trouble in the second round against Swift Current, taking both contests 5-2.
"We played very well against Swift Current," said Budz. "The toughest part was the travel. We actually were only 45 minutes outside of Swift Current for our game against them there, but then that big snowstorm hit. So our game was cancelled and we had to turn back around."
In the championship series against Martensville, Yorkton controlled both of the games, winning 6-3 and 6-1.
"I was really impressed with how we played against Martensville," said Budz. "We worked hard and really clicked offensively."
As for next year, Budz believes there is a chance the Terriers could make it four provincial "A" championships in a row.
"There will be four or five key players returning, so they should be in good shape," he said. "The program always does well, so I wouldn't bet against them."
