YORKTON, SK — Before turning the page to a new season, the Yorkton Terriers took one last moment to celebrate the last one.
The Terriers raised their 2025-26 Bunge Division championship banner to the rafters at Westland Insurance Arena on Saturday night, commemorating their first division title in six seasons.
Then, they went to work on chasing another.
Yorkton scored the first three goals of the night and pulled away with three unanswered in the third period to open the 2026-27 SJHL season with a convincing 6-2 victory over the Estevan Bruins.
The home side wasted little time giving the crowd something else to celebrate.
Tyson Medernach opened the scoring on the power play, ripping home his first SJHL goal past Dylan Adams to give Yorkton a 1-0 lead. Thomas Ries picked up the primary assist, while defence partner Xavier Madore earned the secondary helper.
The Terriers killed off both Estevan power-play opportunities in the opening frame and carried a 12-6 advantage in shots into the first intermission.
Yorkton’s offence kept rolling in the middle frame with a pair of goals to build a three-goal cushion.
Brett Buckley doubled the lead, finishing off a 2-on-1 feed from newcomer Nathan Ramos for his first goal of the season.
Less than three minutes later, the Terriers struck again — this time shorthanded.
Jake Briltz stripped a Bruin of the puck at centre ice and sprung Austin Horbachewsky on a breakaway. Horbachewsky made no mistake, roofing his first of the season glove side past Adams to make it 3-0.
Facing a three-goal deficit, the Bruins began to push back and put the Terriers on their heels for stretches of the second period.
Estevan eventually broke through when Gunner Moore redirected a shot through the legs of Callum Creig, trimming Yorkton’s lead to 3-1.
The Terriers still held a 23-17 advantage in shots through 40 minutes.
Estevan carried that momentum into the third period, cutting the deficit to one just 58 seconds into the final frame. Lochlan Teteranko snapped a shot high glove side past Creig to suddenly make it a 3-2 game.
But that was as close as the Bruins would get.
The Terriers slammed the door with three unanswered goals to turn a one-goal game into a rout.
Mathys Morrissette restored the two-goal advantage, banking the puck off Adams and into the net for his first career SJHL goal.
Horbachewsky then struck for his second of the night, finishing off another setup from Ramos, who collected his second primary assist of the evening.
Briltz capped the scoring late to put the finishing touches on a 6-2 victory and a statement start to the Terriers’ Bunge Division title defence.
Creig was sharp when called upon, turning aside 25 of the 27 shots he faced. Adams surrendered six goals on 29 shots at the other end.
With the banner officially in the rafters and their first win of the new campaign secured, the Terriers now hit the road for three straight games next week, including stops in Warman and Kindersley.
