Terriers Clash With Bruins For First Time This Season

The Yorkton Terriers are on the road again, this time in Estevan, as the Terriers and Bruins clash for the first of six meetings this year. The Terriers will see a familiar face on the Bruins side tonight as former Terriers forward Cade Kennedy will make his Bruins debut tonight. Kennedy suited up for 80 games in a Terriers uniform, tallying 30 points. For the Terriers, it’s about stringing some wins together; since the Terriers mini-four game winning streak that got them hovering around .500 hockey, they have lost eight in a row and haven’t won since November 16th against the Nipawin Hawks. The Terriers sit eight points out of the final playoff spot that the 8th-seed Melville Millionaires currently occupy.

With Sleeva and Kennedy out the door, it opens opportunities for younger players like Jye Zawatsky and Shaden Duliak to seize the opportunity within the lineup.

Player to Watch:
A player to watch tonight is David Coyle. The North Vancouver product comes to the Terriers as the main piece in a trade that saw fan favourite and team Captian Clay Sleeva moved to the Melfort Mustangs. Coyle led the Mustangs in +/- on the season with 22 until the trade. He is also enjoying a successful season offensively, with 13 goals and 14 points in 31 games played. It’s no secret the Terriers have had troubles with the powerplay, and Coyle’s four powerplay goals already have him tied with the team lead with Aiden Knutson; look for him to be a potential threat on the man advantage tonight should they get opportunities.

A Look At The Opposition
For the Bruins, it’s been a rollercoaster of a season. Right now, they are 13-12-2 and sit in first place in the Viterra Division, but have only won two in a row just three times, their longest streak at four. The 2021-22 SJHL Champions and Head Coach Jason Tatarnic haven’t been afraid to add to this roster, as they have been one of the most active clubs in the league since Tatarnic arrived. This season, they brought in Turner McMillian after his release from the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets. They also added Felix Allard, a Quebec product who spent parts of three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois. McMillan has been a boost for the Bruins’ offence, with five goals and ten points in nine games. Allard has been a consistent producer on the backend, with 27 points in 27 games.

When you think of the Bruins, the first thing that comes to people’s minds is goaltending. Cam Hrdlicka has been one of the top goaltenders in all of the CJHL leagues. In the last two seasons, he racked up the wins for the black and gold, compiling a 41-17-1 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .921 SV%. However, for Hrdlicka, it’s been a different story, with a GAA over three and a save percentage under .900. They say a team will go as far as their goaltender takes them, and the Bruins hope their netminder finds his game in the second half of the season.

The puck drop is 7:00 PM from Affinity Place, and you can watch the game on Flo Hockey or listen in on GX94 with Benny Walchuk.