The Yorkton Terriers showed why they are considered a premier team in the SJHL. After a humbling 9-6 loss Tuesday in Kindersley, the Terriers bounced back with a 4-1 victory on the road in the Battlefords.
Brent Struble scored twice, and goaltender Devin Peters made 32 saves (according to the shot-total at the rink) in the victory.
The Battlefords North Stars certainly did not lack effort or scoring chances, but great goaltending and some botched execution were key factors in the Terrier victory.
The Terrier's opened the scoring 61 seconds in when Brent Struble converted on a two-on-one pass from Rob Ciolfi. Struble would quickly add his second of the game on the power-play. It was the only power-play Yorkton would receive all night, and Struble made it count.
The Star's looked tentative in the first eight minutes, but definitely picked it up towards the end of the first period. However the Stars were unable to convert on two powerplay chances and skated into the locker room down 2-0 after one period.
The Terriers added to their lead mid-way through the second period when Craig Eisenhut out-waited Graham Hildebrand on a point-blank chance. The play was created due to some hard-work from Jeremy Boyer behind the Star's goal.
The Stars finally converted offensively on an unlikely sequence at 12:38 of the second. The defense- tandem of Woody Klassen and Cody Folstad were exhausted from a lengthy shift, but a resilient Folstad was still able to win a battle in his own zone, and throw a pass to Cole Gibson who did the rest. Gibson skated in by himself and roofed a back-hand over Peters. For Gibson it was his fourth goal in the span of four games.
Early in the third period, Graham Hildebrand made some big saves to keep his team close, but the under-manned Terriers did a fine job at defending the North Stars down the stretch. The Terriers were already missing several bodies due to injury and suspension, and they lost the services of captain Blaine Tendler, and Rob Ciolfi in the third-period due to injury as well.
Devon McMullen added an empty-netter for Yorkton with 46 seconds remaining to seal the deal.
The rink shot-clock had the final shot tally at 41-33 favoring Yorkton. The Stars went 0-3 on the man-advantage while Yorkton finished 1-1.
The win gives Yorkton a four-point cushion on the Kindersley Klippers in the Sherwood Conference, while the Stars remain four points ahead of Flin Flon in the Bauer Conference, but they still trail Humboldt by one point.
The Stars will practice Thursday before heading to Nipawin Friday, and Melfort Saturday. Both games can be heard live on CJNB/CJNS.
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I'll have the audio recap of the game posted later this afternoon.
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19 comments:
Dan: Did you really think Yorkton looked all that great??? I thought the stars out numbered Yorkton with shots and the stars played real well. The first period was disastrous but after that we bared down and from the first period on, I thoguth NB was the better team... I dont really think we're too far off.. Boyer and Buzzeo were kept in check for the most part.. I thought we played well..
I don't think we were that far off at all. There's no doubt in my mind that we can play with anybody in this league, and beat them.
In saying that, I definitely thought that the Stars were way too fancy last night. Too many fancy passes, and too many missed nets.
The Stars could have had six goals in the second. They got one. Those are the breaks. They had opportunities, and last night they were simply unable to bury.
well that is the problem dan to fancy and way to inconsistent for this time of the year. yorkton made more changes then the stars and they dont look that out of sink like the stars do. so the question is this are the players not listening to the coaches or the coaches not coaching????? the stars have had to many chances since christmas to get themselves into 3rd spot and at 500 hockey and they always shoot themselves in the foot and put in a poor effort like last night. to some degree they played well but are powerplay stinks and if it not working the stars are done none of them want to pay the price in front of the net to get a goal, that needs to change and then the pucks will go in until then we will keep seeing there version of hockey instead of the way it needs to be played. the personal is there but all they want to do is play for themselves instead of there teammates. i hope they can get this fixed up soon because i want to see a long playoff run for these guys but with the effort we been getting it could be very short.
anonymous where the heck did you watch the game, look out of sink? Huh, I thought the boys played really good just didnt have the puck luck tonight which is gonna happen time and again. Hildy played awesome again, the Defense played very well against a powerful team that had to redeem themselves from the night before. I agree with Dano they were trying to make that fancy pass. To the Positive Anonymous this team is playing good and will get better, to the negative Anonymous maybe its time to go watch somebody cause all u do is complain. The biggest problem about last nights game was that the 50/50 was only $400 but i guess it will do. HAHA
I have to agree with SaskGolf. I don't think Negative Anonymous was watching the same game. Last night was far from a poor effort! We kept right up, if not outplayed a team that is supposed to be considered a favorite for winning the whole thing this year. I think the poor efforts come in to play when we can't beat the last place teams like Nipawin and Notre Dame. If we play against them like we did against Yorkton last night, we could easily blow up the scoreboard!! I also have to disagree on the playing for themselves instead of the team comment. If that was the case, you would think the boys would have shot more instead of trying to pass it around as much as they did! Great effort Stars!! Lets see that now for the rest of the season!!
Absolutely correct... We outplayed them for most of the 2nd period and some of the third. We had scoring chances and missed. The 3 on 1 instead of Phaneuf passing he should of shot.. It was a mistake.. We move on... I was very impressed with how the team played against the top team in the league... We basically got beat 3-1 by Yorkton because the last goal was an open net... Then we get beat by Laronge 2-1 (the 2 top teams in the league..) To me thats pretty good. If anytyhing I thought Yorkton was to fancy. They tried those behind the back passes all night.. We kept hitting them and they kept getting injured... We're def not too far off...
Yorkton could of also scored 6 or 7 goals easily. They showed why they are the dominant team in the south. They outhit, outplayed, and outhustled the Stars. It could have been 7 - 1. The one thing I noticed about the Stars is how long there shifts are. They could not keep up with the speed and short shifts of the Terriers.
to all that disagree with my post that the stars out of sink. well if they in sink why arent they in position for passes and when they are do not put on the tape. in the second period on the power play we have a 4 on 2 from are own blue line and we go offside come on give ur head a shake a team that is in sink dont do stupid stuff like that, how many times the stars offside compared to yorkton at least 5 times more so you tell me if that is in sink. you all right about are chances to score but yorkton had just as many i remember to dmen having to stop the puck on the goal line in the second to keep it close 2 times. saskgolf you are right they will get better just dont hold your breath for this year at this time of the season those little things they doing wrong should not be there and as far as puck luck you have to work hard to get it and they didnt work hard enough. i agree that we not far off but the stars been there to long to say they will come around. i hope they do, nothin more then i like to see them prove me wrong. by the one comment from anonymous agreeing i guess i am not far off. i talk to alot of fans that were there that agree with me thats why are attendence is what it is and your 50/50 only 400 bucks no body wants to come and watch effortless hockey, if they out played and out chanced yorkton yes then i be wrong but as a 60 min effort we out played yorkton for about 20 min and in jr hockey that not enough. i had one of the radio broadcasters tell me teams hated coming to play here because they get pounded in the boards but this year they have not got to worry about that the only one that does is wakelin and thats why we got galbraith and hannas and where are they sure not hitting like we need them too. are d not punishing other teams forwards like last few years. i am tired of sugar coating this team it is time to get at it put up or shut up.
Well i really think we should be looking at the coaching staff.I have been saying it from the beginning of the season.Why is it that the new players we got are all falling apart.There is a problem and i don,t think it,s the players.And last nights comment by coach pearson when he said the stars did,nt play to bad,what a bunch of BS.I don,t think he was at the same game.I feel it will be a short season if things don,t turn around.I hope i will be eating my words but i think i,am right.
We didnt play too bad. They out hit us and out chanced us??? Are you serious??? Where were you?? We hit them and hit them and hit them more.. I believe that because of our hitting 2 of there players are now injured because of it.... Yes we lost, but we had alot of glorious scoring chances and should of buried a few more... You look at the last few games that Yorkton has played. 9-6 loss to Kindersley.. Then they beat FF 4-0 and beat ND 9-1 and beat FF 5-2, for us to lose to Yorkton really 3-1 is pretty good. Our coaching staff is the best in the league... I've asked a few players about the coaches and every player i asked said that they love them... Phaneuf chose to come to the stars because of Ken.... In all honesty we cant expect to win a championship every year... Should Dean Brockman from Humboldt be fired??? He started the year at 12-1 now his team is 23-22.... They really havent made much of an improvement. The stars started at what 0-7 and now we're battling for 3rd place? Or what about Beatty 2 years ago when his team never qualified for the playoffs?? And the next year they won a league championship. Junior A hockey is all about cycles... and all teams go through them. When Ken took this team over he really didnt have a list at all... You look at our roster now and what Ken has done is phenomial. I am also told that some of the list players the stars have are some of the top players in western Canada... I think the battlefords biggest problem is that there are alot of blow hard fans that know absolutely nothing about the game but expect things to happen over night... Last year at the showcase I was talking to a scout there and this guy told me that Ken is regarded as one of the top Junior coaches in Canada and that the stars are VERY lucky to have him. Remember when the playoffs start every team startys at 0-0.... Be happy with the product on that is on the ice because some teams are lucky enough to have a post season...
To the last poster:: You are right... As long as the stars make the playoffs anything can happen.. This last game was my first game in about a month and I couldn't believe how much the stars have improved on defense. They did let a few odd man rushes down the ice but Yorkton did as well. I remember a 3 on 1 that the stars had that could of been a goal. I really think the coaching staff is the least of the problem on this team. My friend from Dauphin told me that Ken was the best in the business in the MJHL and that the SJ is very lucky to have Ken.. I really think this team has something that no other teams have.. You look at the make up of this team... You've 4 defense men that can all play on a first power play unit.. I dont think any other team can say that. Then up front you have 12 forwards that can all play. Then you add in a guy like Oak that brings the sand paper to the table and a kid like Wakelin that no one will out work. This last game I thought Oak and Wakelin did a very good job of getting in the face of Yorkton and Hitting every time they could. When the playoffs hit its not going to be a guy like Justin Buzzeo thats going to win you a playoff series its going to be a guy like Boyd Wakelin that will out work any one and give 110% on the ice. The playoffs are a whole new ball game. The finesse players will get hit and try and be too fancy, and the Boyd Wakelins will block shots will kill penalty's will hit anything in sight and will do the dirty work. I didnt see 1 Yorkton Terrier that was willing to pay the price around the boards. Both Oak and Wakelin and Galbraith were in the corners all the time hitting guys and getting pucks. The Yorkton guys were waiting for the stars to go in and get the pucks. Hard work and grit will win playoff rounds, Finesse and dangles might win a crowd in the rink.... The stars have showed that when a high powered offence like the Icewolves come to town they can play the defensive style only allowing 2 goals... Then a high powered offence like Yorkton the stars only allowed 3 goals (4 actually but the open net doesnt count in my mind). Going into the playoffs a team like the stars can be a scary thing.. Why?? Well because what are they going to bring??? Are they going to play the defensive game they palyed against Laronge and Yorkton or are they going to bring the run and gun style that they have played lots of this year?? Talking to a fan of another team he said that because of how the stars were up and down this year the other teams dont know what to expect... That can be a scary thing come playoff time.. To anonymous that said our new players we got are all falling apart. I think your out to lunch and should not post on here.. Cole Gibson is our newest player and the last time I checked he had 4 goals in 4 games?? Braeden Johnson has been playing great as well. You can tell hes a hard worker as well with lots of skill. I dont know your hockey background but it does take time to gel with new players. I thought if anything our new players have really impressed... Lastly why is no one ever complaining when the team is winning?? 1 loss and this blog goes bizarre. If the stars dont win. So what?? The stars didnt give up the whole farm in players and we will still be competitive next year. To me Junior Hockey is all about development and winning a championship is a bonus. I believe every grad from last years team expect 1 moved on.... Then this year 2 players (most in the SJ) went on to the top prospects team. Muench made the dub this year and Luhning played some games in the dub this year as well. How many Scholarships will we give out this year?? So if the coaching was bad, none of these players would be moving on.... Its all about devlopment... Folks hockey is a slippery game that is played on ice....
Last poster. Wow. you gave alot to think about. Your right. Would you rather say look at this ring I won, I won it with the Battlefords North stars, or would you rather say Look here " Ive got my diploma from an NCAA d.1 school on a scholarship from the Battlefords Northstars hockey team? I think its brainless. Or A player could say I was cut from the WHL i came back to the SJ and i got a chance to develop and now I'm back in the WHL, the Battlefords Northstars developed me and Now i am WHL ready.... I liked that last post.. A championship is always the ultimate goal but lets be realistic here one team wins it the rest dont...
I loved the last two posts. So much so that I wish you guys would share you're names, or at least where you're posting from. I don't think that solid blog contributions should be kept 'anonymous.' Thanks for weighing in.
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When i was commenting about new players i didn,t mean gibson and johnson they just came here and are very impressive now.What happened to all the rest we got .When came here it was WOW these guys are awesome.Now they are struggling.Why is that? Why did we get rid of kimery he was good on defence and could play forward.Wakelin and woody are the only two players that give 100% every game.I would want to have a player that can play forward and defence those kind of players are hard to come by.So why get rid of a player like kimery that is so versatile.Not saying ken made bad trades on the players we got they were pretty awesome when they got here and now struggling.I still stick to the point about the coaching is an issue.
Do we even have to answer that question?? Kimery was a liability every time he hit the ice.. He couldnt skate and wasnt all that physical. With the new players I am not quite sure who you are refering to? Gibson and Jonhson are the new players and they have been great additions. Who are the new players you are referring to then?
Probably Grondin- Only 27 goals.... haha.. Maybe Phaneuf...Only 62 pts.... Galbraith only 9 pts in 17 games.. More pts than he has ever had in his career. Its gotta be Neurauter that hes talking about.... Only 32 pts in 42 games from the backend.. I think its someone that is affilated with another team that has no clue whats going on. Probably jealous..
To the last poster i am a north star fan and been for years.And will be a fan i just think we have alot of talent on the team but things are not right when they are not consistent.So if your the expert tell me what,s wrong.At this point of the season everyone should be peaking and i don,t see that.
Whose not peaking?? Every player on the team has a certain job... Some of the guys are meant to score.. Some are meant to kill penalties... Some are even meant to stop pucks. Some are on the team beacuse they are muckers and grinders. Just because a player does not have 20 goals does not mean he isnt doing his job... This year the stars have alot of depth on all 4 lines.. Your top scorers arent going to score every night... Its the same at every level... Laronge never peaked till game 1 of the survivor series last year... I think you could say we are peaking actually. We started the year at 0-7 now we're 22-24... In our last 10 games we're 6-4 thats the third highest in our conference.... I'm still waiting to hear about these "new" players that are falling apart.... I think people come on here just to blab.
Hey buddy, it's sync not sink. If you want to come on a blog and bash something you clearly know nothing about at least put some effort into appearing intelligent.
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