ESTEVAN, SK – David Coyle had a night to remember, scoring four goals and adding two assists as the Yorkton Terriers dominated the Estevan Bruins 10-4 at Affinity Place.
If you like goals, the opening twenty minutes were right up your alley.
The Terriers struck first on the game’s opening shot as Thierry Laliberte blasted a shot from the left circle, muscling it past Beck Boiteau to open the scoring. It was a standout moment for the rookie defender of the year.
The Terriers quickly piled on, adding two more goals just 24 seconds apart. Quinn Tavender and Carter Briltz found the back of the net to make it 3-0. The third goal chased Boiteau from the game after allowing three goals on the first eight shots.
Credit to the Bruins—they fought back. Kanye Huang tipped a point shot past Ethan Farrow to cut the deficit to two.
The Terriers, however, were soon rewarded with a power play, and they made the Bruins pay. William Léonard finished off a slick three-way passing play with Briltz and David Coyle, leaving him with a wide-open 6×4 to bury his ninth of the season.
The teams then traded goals just 50 seconds apart. Ewan Rennie capitalized on an unfortunate bounce in the Terriers’ defensive zone for his 12th of the year. Coyle responded by blasting home his 20th of the season.
The Bruins kept pushing, netting two late goals to pull back within one.
The Terriers outshot the Bruins 20-14 in a wild first period.
The second period, however, belonged entirely to the Terriers. The floodgates opened as they scored five times, including three from Coyle, who is now just one goal shy of the team lead with 23. It marked the second four-goal game by a Terrier this season—you may recall Desnoyers’ four-goal, five-point effort on opening night against Weyburn.
Desnoyers and Riley Cormier also added markers as the Terriers took a commanding 10-4 lead after forty minutes.
In the third period, surprisingly, there were no goals. However, tensions flared after a whistle in front of the net, leading to Quinn Tavender dropping the gloves with Chase Holt. Both players landed a couple of solid shots before Tavender eventually scored the takedown.
The Terriers got contributions from across the lineup, with 12 different players recording points.
With the win, the Terriers keep pace in the Viterra Division, sitting just three points back of Weyburn with a game in hand. They now have 28 wins on the season.
These two teams will meet again tomorrow night in Yorkton, with puck drop set for 7:00 PM.
