Terriers Finding Their Game, Winners of Four Straight

YORKTON, SK: The Yorkton Terriers have hit their stride over the past couple of weeks. They are fresh off sweeping the SJHL Showcase in Warman with 5-2 and 5-4 wins over Melfort and Nipawin. 

A Major part of this four-game winning streak they are on has been the play of newly acquired goaltender Ethan Farrow. The Terriers traded for his rights from the Dansbury Hat Tricks of the NAHL two weeks ago, and he has stabilized the Terriers goaltending rather quickly. Farrow was recently named the SJHL Goaltender of the Week, posting a 2-0 record with a .939 SV% and a sparkling 1.96 GAA. He is a perfect 4-0-0 with a .925 SV% and a .248 GAA in his four starts in a Terriers uniform.  

Another recent acquisition has found his stride with the Terriers since coming over in a trade from the Lone Star Brahmas. Jeff Hammond went pointless in his first three games with the Orange and Black but scored a crucial goal in the Showcase vs Nipawin. He’s up to five points in eight games.

Jye Zawatsky may only be 5’6, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching the way he plays. He plays without fear and isn’t afraid to go into the hard areas to win a puck battle. Zawatsky has acclimated himself nicely into the SJHL. Recently, he has seen time on the top line with Captain Clay Sleeva and Dylan Ruptash. He scored the game’s opening goal vs Melfort and is up to five goals in his rookie campaign.

The Terriers have been getting lots of depth scoring over the past four games. At the showcase alone, they had nine different goal scorers. Aiden Knutson is piling up the goals. He leads the team with nine, and newcomer Jaron Desnoyers, who came over from the Fort McMurray Oil Barrons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, leads the way up front with 18 points in 20 games.

Head Coach and General Manager Emery Olauson is in his first year with the Yorkton Terriers. He spoke about the team’s play as of late and the emergence of Farrow.

“The boys are all starting to play a better team game, our pace has improved of late, and we have had timely goal-scoring throughout our lineup,” said Olauson.

“The addition of Ethan gave us some help in the crease, and he has been excellent, going 4-0 in his four starts since joining the club. Going into the showcase and taking regulation wins from teams as strong as Melfort and Nipawin should give us elevated confidence. We will look to continue to grow as a group as our schedule continues to get more challenging with another game on the road vs. Melfort and then hosting the Bombers, who are very deserving of their #1 rank in the country right now,” added Olauson.

The Terriers have been away from Westland Insurance arena for nearly a month, but they will play three of the next four at home before heading north for a three-in-three in Flin Flon, La Ronge, before wrapping up the trip in Humboldt.