The Yorkton Terriers’ offence got off to a fast start as Jye Zawatsky opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game, converting on a 2-on-1 with Gabriel Courchesne for his 17th goal of the campaign.
The Yorkton product wasn’t finished there. Nine minutes later, Zawatsky struck again, this time finishing a stretch pass from defenceman Tyler Palin, who picked up his eighth point in his last nine games.
Special teams were quiet in the opening frame, with the Terriers going 0-for-2 on the power play and the North Stars unable to convert on their lone opportunity.
Yorkton controlled the pace throughout the period, outshooting Battleford 18–6 after twenty minutes.
In the middle frame, the goals kept coming from Jye Zawatsky as he completed the hat trick on a setup from Léonard. Moments later, it was Léonard’s turn to join the scoring, as the Drummondville, QC product jammed home his 26th goal past Spencer Michnik, bringing an end to his night. Kaeden Serpa came on in relief.
Serpa was immediately tested when Ryder McDonald was awarded a penalty shot, but the Terriers forward was unable to convert.
The North Stars’ offence briefly came to life with a pair of goals just minutes apart. Carter Geysen and Josh Knittig found the back of the net, with Knittig’s marker coming shorthanded, cutting the Terriers’ lead in half.
Yorkton answered back on the power play as Vinay Junek potted his 13th of the season to restore the three-goal cushion. Tylan Henrikson and McDonald picked up the assists on the play.
After forty minutes, the Terriers held a commanding 26–12 advantage in shots on goal.
The visitors added another in the third period to pull within two, as Gavin Granger beat Callum Creig through traffic.
That would be as close as the North Stars would get, however, as the Terriers locked things down the rest of the way to secure a 5–3 home victory and close out the month of January with an impressive 8–3 record.
Creig earned his 18th win of the season, turning aside 18 shots in the process.
It’s a quick turnaround for Yorkton, as they welcome the Nipawin Hawks to Westland Arena for a 3:00 p.m. matinee.
