From the Yorkton Terriers dominating the SJHL in 2012-13 all the way to their fifth Canalta Cup Championship through to the Sacred Heart Lady Saints soccer team winning provincials, 2013 has been very eventful and successful for Yorkton sports. What follows are the Top Five sports stories of 2013 as written by the impeccable Calvin Daniels, the knowledgeable Kelly Friesen and Randy Brenzen, the latter of which may not have been able to witness each moment listed, but can tell you how great it is to see this type of success for Yorkton teams.
1. Terriers tops dogs in SJHL (April 17)
2. Yankees win second straight title (August 21)
3. Saints capture provincial soccer title (October 30)
4. Peewee AA Terriers in a class of their own (April 3)
5. Chupa helps Amaruks to treble (December 18)
Honourable mention goes to the following articles that you can find on www.yorktonthisweek.com. Marshall heads to Illinois for college ball (by: Kelly Friesen, August 14), MacAulay cracks Regina Pats (by Kelly Friesen, September 11) and Lady Saints take tournament (by: Randy Brenzen, December 11).
1. Terriers top dogs in SJHL
The top sports news story in Yorkton over the last year is without a shadow of a doubt the Yorkton Terriers winning their fifth SJHL championship since their inception in 1972.
The Terriers took an offence by committee approach all throughout the 2012-13 season as leading scorer Nathan Murray just barely managed to crack the top 20 in league scoring with 42 points (14 goals and 28 assists). However the goaltending duo of Kale Thomson and Dawson MacAulay as well as the diminutive yet stalwart defence corps led the Terriers to a league-best 36-14-1-3 record and 76 points, one up on their rival Melville Millionaires in the SJHL's Sherwood Division.
The Terriers then marched through the playoffs, going 12-5, downing the Estevan Bruins 4-games-to-1 in the first round before ousting the enemy Millionaires 4-games-to-2 in the Sherwood Division finals.
Yorkton then met with the always dangerous Humboldt Broncos in the Canalta Cup finals. Fortunately Horsepower Hockey fell victim to the dogged determination of the Terriers, resulting in a 4-games-to-2 Canalta Cup Final series victory for the Terriers and their fifth SJHL title, sending the Terriers to the first ever Western Canada Cup in Nanaimo, BC.
Unfortunately for the Terriers that was where their magical 2012-13 season ended when they fell 1-0 to the eventual Royal Bank Cup champion Brooks Bandits, despite carrying the play for much of that semi-final game.
You can find the original article, written by Calvin Daniels, online at www.yorktonthisweek.com titled "Terriers top dogs in SJHL".
The runner-up for the top story of 2013 involves yet another Yorkton sports team bringing home a league championship.
Although the Yorkton Yankees were the top team in 2012 with a 12-1-1 record, no one expected them to be downright dominant in 2013. Not even Yankees team captain Mark Jacobs. ""We weren't quite sure how good we would be," said Jacobs at the end of the season.
Yet dominate they did.
The 2013 Yorkton Yankees of the Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Senior Baseball League (SESBL) ran roughshod through league play going 13-0-1 in 2013, before putting a stamp on their near perfect season with a 5-0 playoff performance, sweeping both the Russell Bulls and the Langenburg Indians for their second consecutive league title.
The only blemish, if one could call it that, on their otherwise perfect SESBL season was a 3-3 tie with the Willowbrook Royals on Friday, June 21 in Willowbrook that put a stop to the Yankees 11 game winning streak going back to the 2012 SESBL finals.
With roughly the same roster returning for the 2014 season, the Yankees have a chance to solidify their place among the top SESBL dynasties in league history.
To read the original article, written by Kelly Friesen on August 21, please visit www.yorktonthisweek.com. The article is titled "Yankees win second straight title".
It was a banner year for the 2013 Sacred Heart Saints Ladies soccer team. Led by striker Rita Fetsch the Saints not only made it back to the 2A provincial final for the second straight season, but they won it in decisive fashion, 4-1 over the three-time defending Bishop James Mahoney Saints to avenge their 2012 finals defeat and secure Sacred Heart's first ladies soccer provincial championship.
What's more, the Sacred Heart Saints did it on their home turf, outscoring their two opponents 9-5 in the process (Sacred Heart also beat Notre Dame 5-3 in the semi-finals), with six of those goals coming from the golden foot of Fetsch.
To check out the original submitted article please go to www.yorktonthisweek.com and search for the original article titled "Saints capture provincial gold".
"I'm very proud that there isn't any showboating and the kids win with class," said the Sherring Gold AA Terriers head coach Chad Korczak following the conclusion of the AA Peewee Terriers 2012-13 season.
As well he should be. The 2012-13 Sherring Gold Terriers went into the record books as one of the most successful peewee hockey teams in Yorkton history, winning the Â鶹´«Ã½AV Sask Minor Hockey League (SSMHL) peewee regular season (20-0-0) and playoff titles (5-0-0), the 2012-13 peewee provincial championship (beat Prince Albert 10-4 and 7-3) as well as the 21st annual Peewee Classic Tournament in Regina.
In total the 2012-13 Yorkton Sherring Gold AA Peewee Terriers posted a 49-1-1 record with their only blemishes coming by way of a tie against the Regina Prairie Storm and a loss to Spruce Grove in a tournament in Lloydminster.
To reacquaint yourself with the original article please visit www.yorktonthisweek.com and find the original article titled "Peewee AA Terriers in a class of their own", which was published on April 3 and written by Kelly Friesen.
The fifth and final article in the 2013 Top Five belongs to Yorkton's own Kylie Chupa.
The 5'6 power hitter helped her SIAST Kelsey Amaruks win not one, not two, but three titles (known as a treble) in their 2013 volleyball season, taking home the 2013 PAC (Prairie Athletic Conference) regular season title, the Provincial College Volleyball Championship and the Western Canadian College Open Championship.
Chupa is proof that volleyball within Yorkton is alive and well and her success in 2013 will no doubt inspire other local volleyball athletes to pursue their dreams and careers on the volleyball court.
To read the original article please visit www.yorktonthisweek.com and find the original article "Chupa helps Kelsey Amaruks to treble".
With an amazing 2013 sports year in the books for the City of Yorkton and it's athletes and teams, one thing is clear. The year of 2014 will have some large shoes to fill.
Luckily for 2014 Yorkton athletes and teams will be one year older and one year wiser, meaning sports success should once again flow into Yorkton at a rate that most will be unable to believe.
