Terriers Look To Avoid Elimination On Home Ice
Photo Credit: Simple Shots By Jackie Story Coming In:
The Terriers are down to their last strike. With no margin for error, the Terriers have to win to keep their season going. The effort has been there for Yorkton. Games 2 & 3 the Terriers probably deserved a better fate, but the bounces didn’t go their way and now they are down 3-0 in the semi-final series. Getting pucks past Bilous has to be the number one priority. After scoring four goals in game 1, the Terriers only managed to score twice in the last two games combined. They outshot the Bruins in both those games, so you get the feeling that if they beat Bilous a couple times in game 4, the floodgates could open. DePape rebounded after a shaky game 1, and has given his team a chance to win. He must continue his strong play that he’s shown all season if the Terriers want to climb back into this series.
View From Estevan:
An elite team finds ways to win, and the Estevan Bruins are an elite team. Despite being outchanced and outworked, the Bruins took advantage of a couple lucky breaks in game 3 to come away with a 2-1 victory. Mark Rumsey has been very quiet this series, while Olivier Pouliot was held pointless in game 3. The difference makers for the Bruins in the series have been Mikol Sartor, Eric Pearce and Boston Bilous. Sartor has six points in the series, Pearce has four, while Bilous has put up two solid performances making at least 28 saves. The only alarm bell for the Bruins is how much they are being pushed around. Yorkton has been the way more physical of the two teams and it’s beginning to show. With injuries to Pouliot and Caelan Fitzpatrick, one has to wonder how long the Bruins can continue to take a pounding before they get worn down completely.
Hank:
A number of overagers are hoping game 4 isn’t their final junior hockey league game. One of those is Carson Henry. The 20-year-old has been very quiet in the playoffs so far. In eight games, the St. Albert product has no points. Henry has contributed in other areas, such as in the face-off circle and in the defensive zone, however, if the Terriers want to survive, they need to find some production from their overaged players like Henry. Henry is good at going to the net and finding rebounds. He’s come close to scoring on a few occasions during the postseason, and if he can find one, Henry could break out with a number of goals in the series.
Playoff Journey
Terriers win Best of 7 Quarter-final series over Melfort 4-3
Game #1: 4-1 Melfort
(Clarke Huxley – 2 goals, Joel Favreau – 27 saves)
Game #2: 4-3 Yorkton (2OT)
(Kishaun Gervais – overtime winner, Cade Kennedy – first SJHL goal)
Game #3: 2-1 Yorkton (OT)
(Greg Nelson – overtime winner and one assist, Kael DePape – 31 saves)
Game #4: 5-2 Yorkton
(Kody Norberg- 1st career SJHL goal & game winner, Kael DePape – 38 saves)
Game #5: 5-1 Melfort
(Marco Lopez – 1 goal & 2 assists, Dawson Leroux – 2 assists)
Game #6: 5-3 Melfort
(Ben Tkachuk & Nolan Doell – 1 goal & 1 assist, Kishaun Gervais – 2 goals)
Game #7: 3-1 Yorkton
(Erik Boers – 2 goals, Kael DePape – 32 saves)
Bruins lead Best of 7 Semi-final Series 3-0
Game #1: 7-4 Estevan
(Olivier Pouliot – 2 goals & 3 assists, Karsten Kruska – 2 goals)
Game #2: 3-1 Estevan
(Eric Pearce – 2 goals, Boston Bilous 30 saves)
Game #3: 2-1 Estevan
(Mikol Sartor – 1 goal & 1 assist, Boston Bilous 28 saves)
Yorkton Terriers Estevan Bruins
Powerplay: 6/37 – 16.2% (6th SJHL) Powerplay: 8/37 – 21.6% (4th SJHL)
Penalty Kill: 44/51 – 86.3% (3rd SJHL) Penalty Kill: 26/28 – 92.9% (1st SJHL)
Stats Leaders For Yorkton:
Goals: Gervais (5)
Assists: Gervais & Kruska (4)
Points: Gervais (9)
PIM: Hall (32)
Goalie: DePape 4-6-0, 3.15, 0.905%