In spite of a home ice win Friday the Yorkton Terriers have slipped into a last place tie with Melville in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League鈥檚 Viterra Division.
The Highway 10 rivals both sit with identical records of 5-11-0-1 for 11 points, six back of Estevan, and 14 behind front-running Weyburn.
It was an old fashioned shoot-out at the Farrell Agencies Arena Friday as Humboldt paid a visit.
Regan Seiferling gave the host Terriers a lead with a goal 3:16 into the first period, a margin which held until the second period.
The Broncos would burst through with four second period markers, Daniel McKitrick and Wesley Shipton scoring powerplay goals with McKitrick and Corey Dambrauskas adding even strength efforts.
Brandon Sookro would respond for Yorkton with a pair of goals in the second frame, one of those with the man advantage.
In the third McKenzie Welke would score his seventh of the season to tie the score 4-4 at 2:02 of the third. Welke is sixth in rookie scoring in the league with 12 points, while brother Carson is third with 17 points.
Jordan Evans would give Yorkton a 5-4 lead with his seventh of the season at 17:44.
Sookro would complete his hat trick with an empty net marker, his 12th goal of the season, to salt away a 6-4 win.
Jakob Severson faced 23-shots in the Terrier net in securing the win, while Brett Clark faced 36 in the Broncos net to be tagged with the loss.
Sookro, who sits fourth in goals in the SJHL with 12, said the hat trick effort came from getting chances.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about finding that open ice, and finishing on the shots you get,鈥� he said, adding his line mates have been finding him when he has been open.
Sookro added he owes team Captain Corwin Stevely for passing him the puck for the empty meter.
鈥淗e could easily have put it in himself,鈥� he said.
As for the overall win, it was one the Terriers headed into the contest knowing they needed.
鈥淭his was a must win,鈥� said Sookro, who said the team was aware they will now be on the road for more than two-weeks, so they needed the victory on home ice to set them on a positive note.
Terrier head coach Trent Cassan said the team will basically be road warriors until 2016, with only five home games from now until the new year, one of those a neutral site affair.
鈥淪o we needed a win tonight,鈥� he said.
Cassan said with a young team they need wins to keep momentum on their side.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the winning streaks that move you up in the standings, it鈥檚 losing two-three games in a row that really drag you down (the standings),鈥� he said.
A win Friday gives the Terriers some much-needed 鈥渃onfidence moving forward,鈥� said Cassan.
The Terrier coach said the team 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 ever want to accept losing,鈥� so getting key wins keeps the team knowing it can compete and win.
Cassan said the Terrier offence has been clicking quite well, having scored 60-goals on the season, best in the Viterra. The team also has been at the top of the league in powerplay effectiveness.
However, the 75-goals allowed is tied for league worst with Melville.
The Terrier coach said some of the young Terriers are scoring but are also 鈥渟till learning to play a 200-foot game,鈥� adding being responsible on defence is something the team will need to continue to work on.
The Nipawin Hawks visited Oct. 27, and the visitors led 1-0 after the opening period thanks to a powerplay marker by Evan Mignault 5:38 into the game.
Regan Seiferling would use the man advantage to score 37-seconds into the second period to tie the score.
Nipawin would reclaim the lead at 11:05 on a goal by Brett Harasymuk.
Again the Terrier powerplay would come into play as Jordan McCausland again tied the score at 18:46.
The seesaw contest would continue as Blake Fournier scored for the Hawks 5:45 into the third to reclaim the lead.
Carson Welke would tie the game at three with a Yorkton goal at 12:31.
But the Hawks would finally get the game winner on the powerplay by Carter Doerksen at 16:50 for a 4-3 win.
Jakob Severson faced 33-shots in the Terrier net in taking the loss, while Kristian Stead had the Nipawin win facing 26.
听厂肠丑辞濒濒测
The Yorkton Terriers have announced that eighteen year-old defensemen Regan Seiferling (Moose Jaw, SK) has committed to play Division I NCAA college hockey for the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers beginning in either the fall of 2016 or 2017.
Seiferling is currently is his second season with Yorkton Terriers where he has registered four goals and five assists in 16 games played. Regan also serves as one of the Terriers鈥� Assistant Captains.
The 2014-15 season was Seiferling鈥檚 first season at the Junior A level as he made the rare jump from the Midget AA Moose Jaw Warriors. Despite not playing a full year of AAA Midget hockey Seiferling had a very good first year of junior hockey notching 4 goals and 11 assists while also being named the Terriers Rookie of the Year.
Located in Rochester, New York, RIT has an enrollment of over 18,000 students. The Tigers men鈥檚 hockey program plays in the Atlantic Hockey Conference at the NCAA Division I level. In the Tigers most recent season the hockey club was one win away from securing their programs second birth in the NCAA Frozen Four. The Tigers have played at the Division I level since 2005.
The Tigers currently have former Yorkton Terriers defensemen Brady and Chase Norrish (2011-14) on their roster. Both players are in their sophomore years at RIT.
Up next
Friday the Terriers will head to Estevan, then host the Bruins Saturday in a neutral site game in Esterhazy.
