The calendar year of 2015 was one of great success when it comes to the Yorkton sporting scene.
The city saw several hockey titles from atom through to midget either make their way to town or remain in Yorkton for yet another season.
Yorkton also laid claim to a baseball league and provincial title and once again successfully hosted an international curling event that saw thousands of people flock to the city.
So without further ado, here are the top five sports news stories of 2015.
5. Habs play charity game
On November 26 of this year the City of Yorkton played host to a charity game that pitted a team of local hockey players against Montreal Canadien alumni that included two-time 50 goal scorer Stephane Richer, super pest Jocelyn Lemieux, former Vezina Trophy winner Richard Sevigny and one of the toughest players to ever play, Chris ‘Knuckles’ Nilan.
The Habs team was coached by NHL legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur and helped the local Big Brothers, Big Sisters charity raise over 10-thousand dollars. (For more on this, see the article titled ‘Canadiens alumni help BBBS eclipse 10 grand’ from the December 2 edition of Yorkton This Week)
4. Bantam Terriers represent at Westerns
The end of the 2014/15 bantam hockey season saw the Yorkton UCT Terriers (now Xerox Terriers) win their second SBAAHL title in as many years and go on to represent Saskatchewan at the 2015 Western Canadian Bantam ‘AAA’ Championships, where they finished in fourth place despite playing some strong hockey.
The UCT Terriers held their own as big-time underdogs amongst the top ‘AAA’ teams from Western Canada, losing their first two games before trouncing Brandon 7-3 and upsetting the eventual Western Canadian champion North Shore Winterhawks 7-6, handing the Winterhawks just their sixth loss in over 70 games.
Although they lost their bronze medal game to Winnipeg, the UCT Terriers put together one of the best hockey seasons a Saskatchewan bantam ‘AA’ hockey team has had in many years and because of that and the strong performance at Westerns they have earned the fourth spot on the top five sports stories of 2015 list. (For more on this, see the article titled ‘Yorkton UCT Terriers finish fourth at Westerns’ from the April 8 edition of Yorkton This Week)
3. Record six players selected at WHL Draft
Yorkton is known throughout the province as one of the most dominant hockey cities in Saskatchewan, so it makes sense that every year some of the Yorkton-area players would be selected in multiple drafts.
In 2015 however, there was a total of six Yorkton players selected in the WHL Bantam Draft – the most Yorkton players selected in the history of the WHL Bantam Draft.
Carson Miller went to Prince Albert (21st overall), Kaleb Bulych was selected by Vancouver (27th overall), Keenan Taphorn was drafted by Kootenay (34th overall), Brett Kemp went to Everett (41st overall), Kaeden Taphorn joined Bulych in Vancouver (47th overall) while Reid Perepeluk was the final Yorkton player drafted, going to Prince George (114th overall). (For more on this, see the article titled ‘Six Yorkton players selected at WHL Draft’ from the May 13 edition of Yorkton This Week)
2. Yorkton hosts Canadian Open
For the second consecutive year Yorkton played host to an international curling event as the Grand Slam of Curling once again stopped in the city to hold the Canadian Open of Curling.
The top 16 men’s and women’s curling teams battled it out from December 8-13 to see who would be named the Canadian Open champion.
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan took the women’s title with an 8-7 win over Jennifer Jones while Toronto’s John Epping knocked off 2014 champion Brad Gushue 7-4 to win the men’s title.
Yorkton’s Steve Laycock finished with a record of 3-3, falling in the quarterfinals to Epping 6-4. (For more on this, see the articles titled ‘Laycock falls in Canadian Open quarters in Yorkton’, ‘Epping takes Canadian Open title from Gushue’ and ‘Homan downs Jones in Canadian Open finale in Yorkton’ from the December 16 edition of Yorkton This Week)
1. Senior baseball titles
Winning isn’t an easy thing to accomplish. To win, a team must work hard, have chemistry and be able to battle through tough situations.
In 2015 three local senior baseball teams found the perfect combination of luck, skill and teamwork resulting in a trio of provincial titles.
The Parklan Padres, Yorkton Orioles and Yorkton Yankees all marched their way to victory with the Padres claiming the Twilite Masters title with a 5-4 win over the Regina Drifters in Estevan.
The Orioles, meanwhile, lost the final game of the 2015 Twilite Maxi Provincials to the Regina Drifters 7-6, but were crowned Provincial champions after the Drifters were stripped of the title for using an ineligible player.
Finally the Yankees took the 2015 Provincial Senior ‘A’ title doubling up Meadow Lake 6-3 in the final for the third Yorkton-based Senior Provincial title of the season.
In addition to the Provincial title the Yankees also won the SESBL regular season and playoff title and were named the Sask Baseball Team of the Year. (For more on this, see the articles titled ‘Padres perfect at Twilite Masters Provincials’, ‘Yankees take provincial Sr. title’, and ‘Yorkton Orioles named champs after Drifters stripped of title’)
