The Yorkton Terriers were on the losing side of their two games against the Humboldt Broncos last weekend.聽
The action started in Humboldt on Friday night. It was the tougher of the two matches for the Terriers, who lost 10-2.聽
The Broncos started the scoring early, with their first goal coming just 15 seconds into the first period. The Terriers responded quickly with one from Kyle Sargent. By the end of the first period, the score was 3-1.聽
In the second, things really fell apart for the Terriers, as they gave up four more goals. The score was 7-1 going into the third.聽
Although the Terriers got one more in the third, it wasn鈥檛 near enough to overpower the Broncos, who racked up another three goals.聽
Going into Saturday鈥檚 game, the Terriers knew they had to be a different team that night.聽
Although it was a 5-2 loss, the final score doesn鈥檛 reflect how close Saturday鈥檚 match up was. The Broncos鈥� two final goals were scored late in the third period on an empty net.聽
The Terriers started the game fast and strong on Saturday night at the Farrell Agencies Arena.聽
They took a quick two-goal lead after goals from Cole Keenleyside and Shane Sherban.聽
The Broncos got one back halfway through on a powerplay. The score would sit at 2-1 for the remainder of the first period, and all of the second period.
Halfway through the third, the Broncos had a breakaway opportunity and slipped the puck past goaltender Ben Laidlaw. Their third goal came just a few minutes later, and the pressure was on for the Terriers to regain the lead they had held for the majority of the game.聽
In attempts to even the score, Terriers interim head coach Mat Hehr pulled the goalie in the last minute of play.聽
The attempt was unsuccessful, and the final score read 5-2.聽
Following Saturday鈥檚 game, Hehr said the downward spiral of the game came from the players not putting effort into the entire 60 minutes of play.聽
As for the game in Humboldt the night before, he said their second period was just atrocious.
鈥淟ast night we just didn鈥檛 come to play. We laid an egg. We were taking shortcuts all night, and it was a terrible game,鈥� said Hehr. 鈥淏ut we had a good rebound effort tonight, and we did more of the little things.鈥�
Hehr also praised goalie Ben Laidlaw for his effort on Saturday. He blocked 37 out of 40 shots.聽
鈥淗e did everything to keep us in the game. He was a rock back there,鈥� said the coach. 鈥淗e did a great job at giving us the chance to win.鈥澛�
While the decision about who will be the head coach of the Terriers moving forward is still up in the air, Hehr said while he鈥檚 still in charge, he鈥檒l be putting all the focus on their upcoming game against the Battlefords North Stars. 聽
鈥淲e have a full week off and get them on the back end of their road trip, so there should be no excuses for us to not come out with a great effort. We need to jump on them right off the hop,鈥� offered Hehr. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a lot of film, tweaking our systems and trying to focus on our game play.鈥澛�
The Terriers board of directors closed the head coaching/GM job hunt last Wednesday, and have been working on finding the best fit for the role ever since. They have not said when their decision will be made. They said they want to be quick, but also do not want to rush their decision.聽
The Terriers will host the Battlefords North Stars on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the F.A.A. At time of print, the North Stars were in seventh place in the league standings, with a 12-2-1-0 record for 25 points.聽
