Sunday Kindersley sporting a 12-4-1-1 and 26 points, best in the Kramer Division, rolled into the Farrell Agencies Arena for Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action.
Yorkton outshot the Klippers 13-3 in the first period, but the score stayed 0-0.
Tayler Thompson finally broke the scoreless tie with a Terrier goal 10:04 into the second, the only marker of the frame.
John Odgers would give the Terriers a 2-0 lead with his first of the campaign, a powerplay marker 3:08 into the third.
Jared Pilet finally gave the Klippers a goal, a powerplay effort at 7:42.
Brady Norrish salted away the Terrier win, with a short-handed goal into an empty net, completing a 3-1 home ice win for Yorkton.
Kale Thomson earned the win in the Terrier net facing 20-shots, while Tyrell King saw 30-shots in the loss as the Klipper netminder.
In spite of out-shooting the Ice Wolves, the score was close, which did not surprise Odgers.
"They're a good hockey club," he said, adding "they were ranked number seven in Canada (last week) for a reason."
Assistant general manager Gord Pritchard, who was on the bench Sunday as assistant coach said given the Klippers Canadian ranking, they had anticipated a close game.
"You don't fake out getting ranked seventh in the country," he said, adding " They keep coming at you."
Pritchard said the Terriers did have a game plan, knowing the Klippers were playing their third game in three days.
"We had to play our game and take it to them the whole night," he said.
The Terriers did go at the Klippers, limiting them to 10 shots through two periods, but Kindersley put up a spirited third period effort.
"Surprisingly they had some gas left in the tank," admitted Pritchard.
Getting his first goal of the season was of course big for Odgers. He said the coach had told him "go park yourself in front of the net, and that's what I did."
A shot actually got hung up in the sleeve of Odgers jersey, and when he shook it lose, it dropped right to his stick blade. "I caught the goalie off guard," and put the shot in the net.
Pritchard called Odgers "a heart and soul guy" on the team, so him getting his first goal of the season got everyone on the team pumped up, giving them some extra jump to hold the lead.
The Terriers have been playing much steadier over recent weeks, and Odgers was asked what the difference has been.
Odgers said it's a case of the Terriers jelling as a team, with the rookie players finding how to mesh with, and contribute, along with the veterans.
"I think we're just coming together," he said.
The win pulled the Terriers to within one point of Melville for top stop in the Viterra Division.
Melville sits with an SJHL-best 27 points, with Yorkton having 26 based on their record of 12-5-1-1. Estevan sits third with 21 points, followed by Weyburn with 15
Road split
The Terriers were in LaRonge for a pair of games earlier in the week.
Thursday the Terriers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the opening frame in LaRonge.
Dalton Menke scored his first goal of the season at 2:31 of the opening stanza, followed by Tyson Enzie at 7:39 and then Tayler Thompson with a rare short-handed, powerplay marker at the 16-minute mark.
Jason Duret put the Ice Wolves on the board 3:25 into the second period.
Chase Norrish restored Yorkton's three-goal lead with a marker 11:08 into the second.
Dylan Johnson would add a fifth goal past LaRonge netminder Dasan Sydora in the third period for Yorkton to complete a 5-1 win.
The Terriers had a 40-shot night in securing the win, while the Ice Wolves had 29 on winning netminder Kale Thomson.
Pritchard said it helped the game was played in LaRonge's second rink, one with a larger ice surface than the Ice Wolves usual haunt.
"It's a surface similar to this. It was more comfortable for us," he said, adding with more room the Terriers could take better advantage of their team speed. "It really played into our cards."
Getting the first goal was big too, said Pritchard, adding getting ahead meant "not having to paw back" to get into the game.
Defensively the Terriers were stingy too.
"Our forwards were good on the back check, and the defence did a great job of blocking guys out," he said, which left most of the Ice Wolves shots coming from the outside, helping Thomson have a good night in net.
A night later the Ice Wolves would turn the tables in the two-game set.
Rhett Kehoe would give the home head a 1-0 lead 6:46 into the first period with a short-handed effort, a goal which proved to e the only marker of the frame.
Dalton Menke would tie the score 3:19 into the second, but the knotted score would last only 11-seconds before former Terrier Caley Bjork restored a lead for LaRonge.
Landon Robin would then add a powerplay goal at 4:57 for the Ice Wolves followed by a Sebastien Beauregard goal at 18:16 to give the Ice Wolves a 4-1 lead which would stand up through a scoreless third period.
Riley Medves was in the Terrier net for the loss facing 27-shots, while Tyler Fuhr backstopped the Ice Wolves win facing 22.
Pritchard said the Ice Wolves were back in their usual rink, where "they are very good at playing."
The smaller ice is something rookie Terriers had not experienced, and Pritchard said it is something "they have to get used to."
As for Medves getting the start, Pritchard said the netminder "played pretty well," adding it is tough on any player, and in particular on a netminder, who gets into action after a long time off. "It's tough for them to get the feel (of the game)."
Up next
Friday the Terriers are scheduled to host Weyburn, with Flin Flon headed to the Farrell Agencies Arena for a 6 p.m. start Sunday.
