It was an 11 goal thriller at the Legends Centre in Warman, but the Yorkton Terriers find themselves on the wrong side of the score-sheet, yet again, falling to the Battlefords North Stars 6-5. The power-play was flying going 3/7 on the night, while Tyson Janzen had a goal and two helpers, and Kishaun Gervais posted a pair of markers.
The first period was all North Stars as they scored twice. Ryland McNinch got the icebreaker after picking up the puck on an offensive zone face-off and backhanding it over the shoulder of Jacob Herman. Then, on the power-play, a wrist shot from the point by Jake Southgate hit a Terriers defender, eluding Herman. For Southgate it was his fifth goal of the season.
Battlefords would extend their lead to 3-0 in the second period. Dylan Esau would find Tanner Klimpke on the backdoor, and Klimpke finished the play beautifully, wristing the shot over Herman. But the Terriers would not roll over and quit. On a four minute power-play, Janzen’s wrist shot bounced off the pad of Ulrik Roussel right onto the tape of Clay Sleeva’s stick, who buried it to make it 3-1. On the same power-play, Janzen would score his first goal of the season, sliding down the left half wall and rifling the puck past Roussel to make it 3-2. However, the North Stars would restore their two goal lead on the power-play. Sam Witt receiving a Steven Kesslering pass in the slot, buried it past Herman to make it a 4-2 game. Yorkton would come back to within one before the end of the period. Gervais picked up the puck in the face-off circle and snapped it into a mostly open net, vacated by a falling Roussel, making the score 4-3.
Both teams would continue to go back and forth in the third. Gervais posted his second goal of the game, spinning around a defender before backhanding the puck through the legs of Cameron Beson, who replaced Roussel, tying the game up at 4-4. Battlefords would regain their lead, when a centering pass from Ethan Scriven hit a Yorkton Terrier in front of Herman, deflecting the puck past the surprised net-minder. The orange and grey wouldn’t go away. On their seventh opportunity on the power-play, a rebound off the pads of Beson would find its way to Carson Henry, who made no mistake tying the game at 5. Unfortunately, with less than three minutes left, the North Stars would strike on the power-play with Southgate scoring his second goal of the game, making it 6-5. Despite continued pressure to wrap up the game, the Terriers were unable to find the equalizer.
Jacob Herman stopped 31 of 37 shots, while Ulrik Roussel stopped 11 of 14 and Cameron Beson made 14 saves in the win.
For Yorkton, it was their third loss in a row and they have now dropped six of their seven games. They will now head back to the Parkland Region for a home and home series against the Melville Millionaires. Puck drop on Friday night will be at 7pm at the Horizon Credit Union Centre in the Rail City. The game will be broadcast on GX 94 with the pre-game show starting at 6:50pm.
