Kennedy Plays Hero in Overtime
Photo Credit: Simple Shots By Jackie YORKTON, SK- Cade Kennedy scored 57 seconds into overtime as the Yorkton Terriers defeated the visiting Melville Millionaires 4-3 to close out their home preseason schedule.
In a rematch from last night, the Battle of Highway 10 picked up right where it left off. Physical. It was a penalty-filled opening twenty minutes that saw each side get three powerplay chances. The best chance of the man advantage came off the stick of Terriers Veteran Forward Clay Sleeva as he got a shot through a screened William Dkye, but the Millionaires goaltender got the left shoulder on it, keeping it scoreless. This was Sleevas’ first preseason action. When Dylan Ruptash levelled Mills forward Euan Morrison, the crowd came to their feet. The road side nearly found the scoresheet late in the first period when Terriers defenceman Quintin Unriener turned the puck over out front of his net right to Millionaires forward Brenden Olson, but Terriers goaltender Caleb Allen was there to bail out the veteran defenceman, keeping it at zeros. The Terriers were outshot 14-7 in the opening frame.
In the Middle frame, the Terriers got into more penalty trouble, taking four minor penalties in total. Allen and the penalty killers did a superb job killing off all seven opportunities through two periods of play. The Terriers finally broke through offensively. Guess who. Dylan Ruptash took a pass behind the net by Jye Zawatsky, and he skated out front and roofed it short side on Dyke tying the game at one. Ethan Rau replaced Dyke after the goal as the Millionaires, just like last night, split their goaltenders 30 minutes each. Parker Dunn and Ruptash were given 10-minute misconducts late in the middle frame after mixing it up after the whistle. The Terriers were again outshot in the period this time, 12-5.
The third period was a back-and-forth goal filled 20 minutes. First, it was the Terriers grabbing their first lead of the night when Zawatsky slipped under a pair of Mills defenders and spotted Anthony Domina on the back post, and he proceeded to roofed it past the outstretched Rau, giving the Terriers a 2-1 advantage. The Mills levelled the score at two on the powerplay as Jase Konecsni took advantage of a mad scramble in front of Allen, who didn’t have his goal stick. After Konescsni’s original shot hit the goal post, it returned to the defender in the slot, and he beat Allen, tying the game. The Terriers, however, responded immediately. Shaden Duliak was the recipient of a Millionaires turnover in front of their bench, and he took off on a breakaway, outwaiting Rau, and just barely slid it past the goalline restoring the Terriers lead again. This time, it was up to the Mills to respond, and they did just that. Luc Bydal was sprung on a breakaway after a Terriers bounce in the neutral zone, and he beat Allen with a deke to the backhand, tying it at three, meaning for the second time in four games, the Terriers needed overtime.
Just 57 seconds into the extra frame, Terriers forward Cade Kennedy dashed down the left side, and Rau stopped his original shot, but Kennedy’s momentum took him to the net, and the puck went off his chest and into the net for his first of the preseason. Allen stopped 29/32 shots he faced in the victory.
With the win, the Terriers move to 2-1-1 in the preseason, and that wraps up home play for preseason action. They will close the preseason with games on the road in Waywayseecappo and Weyburn.