DJ Brass made his presence felt in a big way Friday night, recording a hat trick to help lead the Yorkton Terriers to a 6-4 victory over the Virden Oil Capitals in their preseason opener.
Virden opened the scoring when Bryan Laing beat Terriers goaltender Brady Low to give the home side an early advantage.
The Terriers responded courtesy of Brass, who finished off a pass from Broden Wotherspoon to tie the game at one.
Yorkton grabbed its first lead of the night on a three-way passing play that ended with Kaden Sperle burying his first goal of the preseason. Kyler Bilokreli and Brayden Stephens picked up the assists.
The Oil Capitals answered on the power play, with Tyson Draper beating Low to make it 2-2.
Yorkton outshot Virden 11-10 in the opening period.
Neither team found the back of the net in the middle frame, with the Terriers continuing to hold the edge in shots. Yorkton carried a 23-17 advantage into the second intermission.
The offence came alive in the third period, with the Terriers finding the back of the net four times.
Brass continued his strong night by chipping his second goal high short side to restore Yorkton’s lead at 3-2.
Virden once again answered on the power play, as Draper scored his second of the night, this time beating Seth Gutenberg to even the game at three.
The Terriers responded with three straight goals to take control.
Layne McKechnie finished off a breakaway to put Yorkton back in front before Ashton Marzsalek added another to extend the advantage.
Brass then put the finishing touches on a monster night, completing the hat trick with an empty-net goal to give the Terriers a 6-3 lead.
The Oil Capitals got one back late with their goaltender on the bench, but the Terriers shut the door from there to secure a 6-4 victory in their first preseason action.
Yorkton and Virden will meet again tomorrow night at Westland Insurance Arena for a 7:00 PM puck drop.
