Sunday, February 28, 2010

Straker Sits For Two Playoff Games

Swan Valley Stampeders' 20-year-old D Cody Straker, who had 2 assists in Friday's 4-3 win in Game 1 in Portage (and was named first star on our broadcast), received a match penalty at the end of the game, and has been assessed a 2 game suspension.

Straker will miss tonight's Game 2, and Tuesday's Game 3, and will be eligible to play again Thursday when the Stampeders host Game 4.

It's definitley a loss for the Stamps' powerplay, which struck twice in Game 1 on Straker point shots getting deflected, but either Evan Morden or Brendan Mitchell are capable of checking into the lineup and logging significant minutes.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Terriers Square Survivor Series

Troy Smukowich (centre) opened the scoring, and set up Cody Zubko (right) in the second period, as the Yorkton Terriers scored 3-straight powerplay goals enroute to a 5-1 win over the Melville Millionaires Saturday night, tying the Best of Five Sherwood Survivor Series at 1-1.

The line of Smukowich, Zubko and Ryan Griffiths (left), has combined for 4 goals and 9 points in two games to start the series. Zubko has 3-goals and 4-points.

Devin Peters made 28/29 saves, while Deszi Wiens allowed 5 goals on 27 shots in the Melville net.

Millionaires' coach Jamie Fiesel didn't mix words on our Post Game Show.

"We were just as bad or worse than we were last night (Game 1), we just didn't have a miraculous finish this time. We've played 6 periods of pathetic hockey, and if we keep it up, guess what? Short season."

"They beat us at every position. Their top players were better than our top players, their secondary guys were better than our secondary guys. Their 'D' moved the puck better than ours, and their goaltending was better. And I'm probably getting out-coached."

The Best-of-Five is now a Best-of-Three, with Game 3 Monday in Melville (7:15 / 7:30 on GX94). Game 4 goes the following night in Yorkton, with someone having a chance to wrap things up.

Stamps/Mils Take 1-0 Series Leads

Myles Stevens scored twice, leading the Swan Valley Stampeders to a 4-3 win in Portage in their first round MJHL playoff series.

Stevens opened the scoring just 2:19, snapping a wrist shot over the glove of Jason Kasdorf. His second goal came :26 into the third, a deflection on the powerplay, which stood up as the winner.

I just looked back in my 2007-08 season book, and Game 1 of that series also saw Swan win 4-3 on the road, and Stevens also scored twice in that one!

Darcy Riddell and Chris Reimer also scored, while Cody Straker added two assists.

Jayme Janzen stopped 23/26 shots for the win.

Swan was 2/5 on the PP, Portage was 2/12. Seven of their chances came in the third period.

After the buzzer, when all the players were on the ice, a bit of a scrum ensued, and Stamps' Coach Dwayne Kirkup said on our postgame show suspensions could be pending. The latest I heard, and this isn't official, is both Kirkup and Portage Coach/GM Blake Spiller could be suspended for Game 2 (for not controlling their bench), and possibly one Stampeder player. I won't name names because the league will make it's ruling, I would assume in the next 24 hrs.

For the record, not one but TWO radio stations (GX94 / CFRY-Portage) broadcasted the game, and 1065 fans took in the game. That's a full house in that barn.

Game 2 is Sunday in Swan (7:15 / 7:30 on GX94).

----------------------

While calling the game in Portage, I was following the online scoring of the Yorkton/Melville game, hit 'Refresh,' and it said 4-1 Yorkton with about 4:30 left. Hit 'Refresh' again, and it was 4-4 going to overtime.

Melville scored three times in the last three minutes, and Matt Kinnunen scored on a short-handed breakaway just 1:33 into the extra frame to complete the comeback and the Mils lead the Best-of-Five 1-0.

Jordan Reeve scored two of Melville's three quick goals, while another defenseman, Tyson Newell had the other. Cody Gross scored early in the third, rounding out their 4-goal frame.

Yorkton was up 2-0 after one and 3-0 after two, getting two goals from Cody Zubko, the others from Ryan Griffiths and Drew McDermott.

For the record, the non-broadcasted game saw 659 fans turn out. A season-low for a Yorkton/Melville game. Okay I'm done!

Game 2 goes tonight (SAT) in Yorkton (7:15 / 7:30 on GX94).

Friday, February 26, 2010

Getchya Popcorn...

Terrell Owens with a pre-cursor to the playoffs I couldn't say better myself!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

GX94 Playoff Preview: (5) Yorkton Terriers @ (4) Melville Millionaires

Yorkton (24-30-3-1) 52 pts vs Melville (29-26-2-1) 61 pts

Regular Season

Yorkton's Leaders
Points:
Jordan Menke (44), Kevin Stringfellow (30), Torey Stott (26) in 36 GP
Goals: Menke (20), Stott (15), Stringfellow (12)
- Adam Moar had 12g and 30p, a good chunk of which coming with La Ronge
Assists: Menke (24), Stringfellow (19), Clarke Byczynski (15)
D-Man Points: Byczynski (22), Austin Bourhis (21), McDermott/Tendler (8)
Rookie Points: Bourhis (21), Brent Struble (19), Nathan Murray (14)

Melville's Leaders
Points:
Logan Herauf (65), Matt Kinnunen (52), Michael Jordan (45)
Goals: Kinnunen (30), Herauf (27), Jordan (20)
Assists: Herauf (38), Michael Desjarlais (28), Jordan (25)
D-Man Points: Austin Krahenbil (27), Jordan Reeve (20), Derek Wasylyshen (12)
- Justin Hollinger had 17g-23a-40p playing forward/defense.
Rookie Points: Desjarlais (38), Dane Bonish (18), Mark Owen (13)

Season Series
Every game was close, but the Millionaires went 6-and-3 against Yorkton, while the Terriers did pick up single points for OT losses on two occasions, going 3-4-2 against the Millionaires.

Oct/9 @ YOR: 4-2 YOR
Oct/11 @ MVL: 8-6 MVL
Nov/20 @ MVL: 4-3 (OT) MVL
Nov/21 @ YOR: 2-1 (OT) MVL
Nov/27 @ Showcase: 4-3 YOR
Jan/1 @ MVL: 7-6 MVL
Jan/2 @ YOR: 2-1 YOR
Feb/5 @ YOR: 3-2 MVL
Feb/6 @ MVL: 7-4 MVL

In Melville
Melville: 4-0-0-0
Yorkton: 0-3-1-0

In Yorkton
Yorkton: 2-1-1-0
Melville: 2-2-0-0

Yorkton won 4-3 at the Showcase in Battleford.

Melville out-scored Yorkton 37-32.

Head-to-Head Stats

Yorkton
Jordan Menke (2g-9a-11p)
Kevin Stringfellow (2g-6a-8p)
Cody Zubko (5g-2a-7p) in 6 games
Torey Stott (6g-1a-7p) in 5 games
Brent Struble (3g-4a-7p) in 7 games

Melville
Matt Kinnunen (7g-4a-11p)
Justin Hollinger (7g-4a-11p)
Michael Jordan (4g-7a-11p)
Jordan Reeve (1g-9a-10p) in 6 games
Logan Herauf (5g-3a-8p)
Dane Bonish (2g-3a-5p) in 5 games

Between the Pipes
Devin Peters got a taste of the Highway 10 rivalry in last years playoffs, and will shoulder the load for the Terriers, up against newly-acquired Deszi Wiens for Melville, who's only played one full game against Yorkton.

Yorkton
#29 Devin Peters: 17-17-1-0, 2.97 GAA, .897%, 1 SO
*#30 Luke Boechler: 4-7-2-1, 2.77 GAA, .909%, 3 SO
#35 Warren Shymko: 0-2, 3.53 GAA, .851%

*Boechler continues his battle with Leukemia in hospital in Regina and will no doubt be the Terriers' biggest fan through this series. Shymko has been called up to backup Peters.

Peters vs MVL: 2-3-1, 3.93 GAA, .863%
Boechler vs MVL: 1-1-1, 4.58 GAA, .874

Melville
#35 Deszi Wiens: 9-4-0-0, 2.97 GAA, .914%, 1 SO
#34 Zach Rakochy: 7-11-0-1, 3.34 GAA, .898%

Wiens vs YOR: 2-0, 3.75 GAA, .884%
Rakochy vs YOR: 0-2, 4.24 GAA, .887%
Brady Wilyman vs YOR: 3-0, 2.49 GAA, .927%
Chris Jackson vs YOR: 1-1, 4.03 GAA, .862%

Basically any goalie on either team involved in any of the 8-6, 7-6, or 7-4 games in Melville don't exactly have pretty head-to-head numbers! How bout Brady Wilyman? The 20-year-old is currently with the Trenton Golden Hawks of the OJHL, where he went 8-and-3 since joining them, with a 2.82 GAA, and .919%. He also got the win in their first playoff game over Couchiching on Wednesday.

Backend Offense
In my series preview from last year, I talked about how much offense came from the Yorkton Terrier blueline, with the likes of Greg Coburn and Kirk Byczynski. This year, only Clarke Byczynski (22) and Austin Bourhis (21) are the only two Terrier D-men with double digits in points. Former WHLers Blaine Tendler and Drew McDermott would have, had they been Terriers all season. Melville's about the same, Austin Krahenbil and Jordan Reeve have supplied most of the offense from the backend, with Derek Wasylyshen's 12 points the next highest among Melville rear guards. However Justin Hollinger usually moves back to the point on the powerplay and has a lethal shot from there. Newcomer Tyson Newell has also shown signs of a guy who can put points up from there.

You Again?
Yes, four straight years of playoff matchups between these two teams, who are located roughly 23 minutes apart on Highway 10. Melville's won each of the last three, a 7-gamer in the South Final in 2006-07, a 4-game sweep in 07-08 after the Mils won the Selection Series and Yorkton won the Survivor Series, upsetting Estevan. It went the distance again last year, 7 games in the 2 vs 3 first round matchup, and every year the Millionaires have had home ice, and they do again.

Players involved in all four series

Yorkton:
Cody Zubko
Melville: Michael Jordan

Both are now 20-year-old captains, after cutting their teeth in the league as 17-year-old rookies.

Players involved in each of the last three playoff series

Yorkton (5)
Jordan Menke
Rylan McDonell
Kevin Stringfellow
Cody Zubko
Kurtis Decker

Melville (5)
Matt Kinnunen
Michael Jordan
Jordan Reeve
Austin Krahenbil
Tyson Melnychuk*

- Melnychuk spent the bulk of the playoffs with Fort Knox (PJHL).

Players involved in the last 2 series

Yorkton (9)
Jordan Menke
Rylan McDonell
Kevin Stringfellow
Cody Zubko
Torey Stott
Nick Dietrich
Kurtis Decker
Clarke Byczynski
Devin Peters

Melville (11)
Tyson Melnychuk
Matt Kinnunen
Logan Herauf
Michael Rogoschewsky
Cody Hanson
Brayden Metz
Michael Jordan
Jordan Reeve
Craig Karius
Justin Hollinger
Austin Krahenbil

First Timers in the Yorkton/Melville Playoffs

Yorkton (14)
Struble
Miller
Griffiths
Murray
Patterson
Smukowich
Moar
Tendler
Leismeister
Niebrandt
Bourhis
Vick
McDermott
Shymko

Melville (11)
Desjarlais
Bonish
Owen
Kennedy
Lazo
Gross
Pond
Wasylyshen
Newell
Wiens
Rakochy

Captains Collide One Last Time

Melville's Michael Jordan and Yorkton's Cody Zubko were both 17-year-old rookies in 2006-07 when the Mils and Terriers squared off in the playoffs for the first of four straight times.

Now, they're both 20 years old, wearing the 'C' for their respective clubs, as they get set to battle eachother for a fourth and final time.

If my counting's right, and if they met 10 times in the regular season in 2006-07 (which the old format used to have), altogether these two have seen eachother 53 times (reg. season/playoffs) in their careers, and it'll be close to 60 by time it's all said and done.

2006-07: 10 reg season + 7 playoffs
2007-08: 8 reg season + 4 playoffs
2008-09: 8 reg season + 7 playoffs
2009-10: 9 reg season (Showcase) + ??? playoffs
___________________________

53 head to head meetings

I had a chance to talk to both captains prior to the playoffs. Michael's is a little longer because I plan to run it during our first broadcast of the series, Game 2 in Yorkton on Saturday.

Michael Jordan




Cody Zubko


GX94 Playoff Preview: Swan Valley Stampeders (3) @ Portage Terriers (2) MJHL

Swan Valley (34-22-2-4) 74 pts @ Portage (35-17-4-6) 80 pts

Regular Season

Swan Valley Leaders
Points:
Myles Stevens (78), Ryan Marshall (76), Chris Reimer (61)
Goals: Marshall (38), Reimer (37), Stevens (27)
Assists: Stevens (51), Marshall/Darcy Riddell (38), Reimer/Carter Selinger (35)
Defenseman Points: Brent Wilson (42), Paul Bonar (39), Cody Straker (23)

- Shelby Gray had 46 points in 43 games. Had he played the full season in Swan, his pace would have left him with 66 points, third on the team.

- My favourite Stampeder stat? Ryan Marshall led the MJHL with 8 short-handed goals. The next highest total was 4.

Portage Leaders
Points:
Tyler Moore (74), Cole Brunet (50), Stephane Pattyn (41)
Goals: Moore (30), Shaq Merasty (26), Cole Brunet (20)
Assists: Moore (44), Brunet (30), Pattyn/Zach Tulley (29)
Defenseman Points: Tully (38), Justin Minoletti (28), Kyle Krzyzaniak (20)

- Not the same offensive punch as Swan, but the Terriers are deep, work their tails off, and always seem to play their best hockey this time of year.

Season Series

The wins were split down the middle, and the two teams went to shootouts 3 times, but Portage won the final two meetings, including a convincing 5-0 decision to ensure themselves home ice near the end of the season.

Sept/23 @ SV: 6-3 POR
Oct/23 @ POR: 5-4 (SO) SV
Nov/27 @ SV: 7-6 (SO) SV
Dec/4 @ POR: 2-1 SV
Dec/13 @ SV: 3-2 (SO) POR
Jan/16 @ SV: 4-2 SV
Jan/30 @ POR: 4-3 POR
Feb/13 @ POR: 5-0 POR

- 5 of 8 decided by one goal! Swan's wins were all by 2 goals or less.

Swan Valley's record: 4-3-0-1 (9 pts)
Portage's record: 4-2-0-2 (10 pts)

In Portage: Swan 2-2, Portage 2-1-0-1
In Swan: Swan 2-1-0-1, Portage 2-1-0-1

Head-to-Head numbers:

Swan Valley
Shelby Gray (5g-6a-11p) in 7 GP
Myles Stevens (4g-7a-11p)
Bonar/Marshall/Reimer (6 pts)

Portage
Stephane Pattyn (3g-5a-8p) in 6 GP
Cole Brunet (3g-5a-8p)
Moore/Wiebe/Merasty (5 pts)

Between the Pipes

Swan Valley
#29 Jayme Janzen: 15-17-0-3, 3.33 GAA, .907%
#33 Caden Unger: 9-2-1-2, 2.92 GAA, .903%, 1 SO

As a Stampeder, Janzen went: 10-8-0-2, 3.21 GAA, .906%

Janzen vs POR: (w/ Wayway) 2-2, 3.25, .902
Janzen vs POR: (w/ Swan) 2-1-0-1, 2.45, .913
Unger vs POR: 0-1, 4.00, .833

Portage
#33 Jason Kasdorf: 19-10-2-3, 2.55 GAA, .911%, 2 SO
#1 Jordan Washburn: 10-4-0-1, 2.65 GAA, .904%, 2 SO

Similar numbers, and Kasdorf (17) and Washburn (19) shared most of the minutes down the stretch. Still, I don't think Kasdorf has LOST his starting job, and I wouldn't doubt that's who the Stampeders see.

Kasdorf vs SV: 2-2-0-1, 2.95, .887, 1 SO
Washburn vs SV: 1-0, 1.85, .933

Kasdorf's numbers do dip slightly against Swan, especially the sv%, which was also helped out by his 19-save shutout at the end of the season.

We Meet Again
Maybe my favourite series I've called in 5 years of doing this was when the 4th place Stampeders took the 1st place Terriers to 7 games in the 2007-08 playoffs (play-by-play highlights below). Steph Vigier scored in 2OT in Game 1 on the road, short-handed by the way! Portage won Game 2 in Swan, and Game 3 back at home. Stamps had a convincing win in Game 4 to tie the series. Then, Darcy Riddell appeared to give Swan the series lead back with an overtime goal in Game 5, but it was waved off... and the reasoning was that Terrier goalie Cody Pollon's helmet came off as he tried to make the save. Portage captain Mike Audino scored in 2OT. Vigier struck again in overtime in Game 6, sending the series back to Portage for Game 7. Devin Reinhardt opened the scoring for Swan, but they went on to lose 5-1.

Returning members from that series 2 years ago:

Swan (5)
F Myles Stevens
F Darcy Riddell
F Chris Reimer
D Cody Straker
D Paul Bonar

Everyone except Bonar were 18 then, and 20 now. Bonar was just 16 and is back as an 18 year old.

Portage (3)
F Tyler Moore
F Phil Letkeman
F Luke MacInnis (didn't dress much, if at all if I remember right)

Stampeders making their playoff debuts (11)
F Ryan Marshall (travelled with the team in 07-08 series)
F Brad McDonald
D Evan Morden
F Connor Pennell
D Dylan Trowell
F Jeff Peel
F Cramer Coulthart
F Jeff Riddell
D Bredan Mitchell
F Terrence Jorgenson
G Caden Unger

**Carter Selinger and Shelby Gray will both play in their first MJHL playoff games, although they are both former Weyburn Red Wings and I'm not positive if/how much they played in the post-season with their former team.

Does Size Matter?
None of the Stampeders' forwards who've been regulars all year are over 6'0" OR 200 lbs (Terrence Jorgenson is 6'2", 220). Portage has EIGHT forwards OVER 6'0", and six who are 200 lbs or more.

Special Teams

Stampeders
Powerplay: 24.2% (3)
vs Portage: 6/39 (15.4%)
Penalty Kill: 78.2% (8)
vs Portage: 30/37 (81.1%)

Terriers
Powerplay: 25.7% (1)
vs Swan: 7/37 (18.9%)
Penalty Kill: 82.3% (3)
vs Swan: 33/39 (84.6%)

Analysis
It'd be easy for the Stampeders to be disappointed they don't have home ice advantage in this series, after watching a 9 point lead slip away and finish 4 points behind Portage. While the Stamps clearly didn't finish like the team they were between November and January (going 19-7-2-3, then 3-5-0-1 in February)... they still would have got 2nd with two more Portage losses. But the Terriers went 11-and-0 to finish the season, and took control of that spot. Like I said, easy to be disappoined, but at the same time, they can put February behind them with a fresh start in the post season, and they can also hope the fresh start will be the Terriers' hot streak is also behind them. Swan Valley and Portage are made up quite differently. Swan scored a few more goals, but gave up 55 more on the season, as the Terriers allowed just 173 goals on the season, just 4 more than the league-leading Dauphin Kings. Stamps' D Paul Bonar had 39 points on the season, 9th best on his team, while that total would have him 4th for the Terriers. As per the "size" stat posted above, in a long series physical play is often a big factor, and the Stamps will have to stay away from the rough stuff and play THEIR game, which is fast-paced and skilled to have success. Coach of the Year Nominee Dwayne Kirkup, in his rookie season will lead the Stamps into Portage tomorrow (FRI) for Game 1, against one of the most decorated active coaches in the league in Blake Spiller, whose Terriers are back-to-back MJHL champs. These teams have played some great games against eachother, and I wouldn't be shocked to see some more of the "overtime magic" we saw two years ago when they met!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Remember This?

The Swan Valley Stampeders are set to face the Portage Terriers in Round 1 of the MJHL Playoffs... a rematch of the seven game beauty from two years ago.

I made this little 'mix-down' before Game 7, which the Stamps lost 5-1, and Portage went on to breeze past Dauphin and the Saints to win the league.



Series Preview to Come...

Kinnunen Hits 30 as Mils Finish With 29W

Only 4 players in the SJHL finished the season with 30-goals, and Melville's Matt Kinnunen was the fourth and final, doing it on the final night of the regular season, with 29 seconds left in a 7-1 win over the visiting Estevan Bruins.

Logan Herauf finsihed strong with 2g-2a, his centreman Michael Desjarlais scored for a second straight game, with 1g-3a, and Justin Hollinger put up 2a, as that line combined for 10 points (4g-6a).

Michael Rogoschewsky, Dane Bonish, and AP call-up Jordan Paddock from the Regina Pat Canadians also scored for the Millionaires, while Zack Rakochy made 28/29 saves in Melville's final regular season game.

Melville went 11-and-2 in their final 13 games, finishing the season with a record of 29-26-2-1.

They'll host Yorkton for Game 1 of the Sherwood Survivor Series Friday at 7:30.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Broadcast Dates Set For First Week of Playoffs

Here are the upcoming dates and times for our Junior 'A' Hockey teams' playoffs. On nights where both series are going on, the broadcasted game will be listed first, while we'll try to have a second reporter at the other rink phoning in updates.

Fri/Feb/26
Swan Valley @ Portage 7:15/7:30 Game 1
Yorkton @ Melville 7:30 Game 1

Sat/Feb/27
Melville @ Yorkton 7:15/7:30 Game 2

Sun/Feb/28
Portage @ Swan Valley 7:15/7:30 Game 2

Mon/Mar/1
Yorkton @ Melville 7:15/7:30 Game 3

Tue/Mar/2
Swan Valley @ Portage 7:45/8:00 Game 3
Melville @ Yorkton 7:30 Game 4

Thu/Mar/4
Yorkton @ Melville 7:15/7:30 Game 5 *if nec
Portage @ Swan Valley 7:30 Game 4

------------------------

That's all we know for sure right now, it all depends how long the Yorkton/Melville series goes as to when they next series vs Weyburn will start.

The remaining SV/POR dates are...
Game 5: Sat/Mar/6 @ POR
Game 6: Mon/Mar/8 @ SV
Game 7: Wed/Mar/10 @ POR

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Harvest To Face Mintos in "AAA" Midget Playoffs

The Yorkton Harvest spent a good part of the first half of the season at or near the top of the SMAAAHL standings, but with a recent funk were in 8th. However a strong finish saw the Harvest win their final four regular season home games, and get into a tie for 6th spot, but the tie-breaking formula deemed Moose Jaw would finish 6th, and the Harvest 7th.

Yorkton will face the always tough Prince Albert Mintos in the 2 vs 7 matchup, with dates yet to be set, though I've heard rumours some or all series will begin Tuesday.

The Harvest swept this weekend's home series against the Beardys Blackhawks, winning 4-2 Saturday and 4-1 Sunday.

The Yorkton Harvest finished the regular season with a record of 20-19-4-1, good for 45 points. The Mintos were 31-7-4-2 (68 pts).

Leading scorer: Riley Storozuk (24g-30a-54p) in 43 games.
Leading D-Man: Damon Severson (9g-25a-34)
Severson's only 15, and will most likely be the WHL's Kelowna Rockets next season, having already played 5 games with him this year, and one with his hometown Melville Millionaires.

Swan Valley - Portage Dates

Game 1: Fri/Feb/26: @ Portage

Game 2: Sun/Feb/28: @ Swan Valley

Game 3: Tue/Mar/2: @ Portage

Game 4: Thu/Mar/4: @ Swan Valley

Game 5: Sat/Mar/6: @ Portage * if nec

Game 6: Mon/Mar/8: @ Swan Valley * if nec

Game 7: Wed/Mar/10: @ Portage * if nec

*I'm about 99% sure that with both Swan/Portage and Yorkton/Melville starting on Friday, we'll be doing Game 1 in Portage, because it's not a home game for any of our local teams. I'll confirm that first thing tomorrow morning with my higher-ups, and post as much of a broadcast schedule as I can.*

TENTATIVELY... it'll probably look like this to start...

Fri/Feb/26: SV @ POR Game 1
Sat/Feb/27: MVL @ YOR Game 2
Sun/Feb/28: POR @ SV Game 2
Mon/Mar/1: YOR @ MVL Game 3

I would say that much is FOR SURE
-----------------

Tue/Mar/2: SV @ POR Game 3 / MVL @ YOR Game 4*
(My guess is the Yor/MVL game... although it's a home game, it could be a series-clincher)

Wed/Mar/3: NOTHING

Thu/Mar/4: YOR @ MVL Game 5* / POR @ SV Game 4
(Definitely Yor/Mvl if there is a game)

-----------------

The rest is up in the air as of now... will know more Monday.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Terriers/Stamps End Regular Seasons With Losses, Set For Playoffs

Jordan Menke scored 6 times in his last 6 games, including once in Saturday's 3-2 Yorkton Terrier loss in Weyburn to become the first Terrier in 3 years to score 20 goals.

In my three seasons at GX94, the Terriers have always been in the playoffs, but have always had 'defense-first' clubs, and no one had scored 20 since the 2006-07 season when Jordan's brother, Justin Menke, along with Chad Nehring and Derek Serdachny each eclipsed the 20-goal plateau.

Adam Moar also scored in his final regular season game for Yorkton, who wrap up the regular season with a record of 24-30-3-1 (52 points).

The Terriers visit Melville on Friday to kick off the Best-of-Five Survivor Series.

Melfort also clinched 3rd in the Bauer Conference and will face Battleford in the first round, while La Ronge meets Humboldt in the Bauer Survivor.

----------

Swan Valley's sort of limping into the playoffs, ending the season with a 9-4 loss in Dauphin. The Stamps went 3-5-0-1 in the month of February, and along with a double-digit Portage Terrier winning streak down the stretch, the Stamps wound up 3rd, and will start their first round series on the road vs the Terriers.

Carter Selinger scored twice for the Stampeders in Dauphin, giving him 17-goals and 52-points while playing in all 62 games in his 20 year old season. The other two 'iron men' for Swan this season were fellow 20 year olds Darcy Riddell and Chris Reimer.

Shelby Gray and Brent Wilson also scored on Saturday.

Shane Luke put up 5-points for Dauphin, to pass his linemate Ryan Dreger and win the MJHL Scoring crown with 101 pts. Dreger led the league with 53 goals. No one else scored 40, although if he's in the lineup, Selkirk's Taylor Dickin's sitting on 39 and has one last chance to hit 40 on Sunday.

Like their leading scorer, the Kings as a team also put up 101 points in the standings, including 50 wins. Pretty incredible with a 62 game schedule.

Swan Valley, who were predicted to be basement-dwellers in most pre-season picks, went 34-22-2-4 in 2009-10. Not too shabby.

Stay tuned for playoff schedules!

Mils 5 @ Humboldt 1

Matt Kinnunen scored three times, giving him 29 on the season as the Melville Millionaires won their final road game of the regular season 5-1 in Humboldt.

Cody Hanson (1g-1a) and Michael Desjarlais also scored. Desjarlais snapped a 15-game goal-less drought with his 10th of the season.

Deszi Wiens was :40 away from his 2nd shutout as a Millionaire, when Bronco D-man Josh Roach beat him late. Wiens made 21/22 saves, as the Mils out-shot Humboldt 39-22.

Melville has to wait until Tuesday to finish their regular season when Estevan comes to town, for a game that Coach Jamie Fiesel says will be a "glorified "AAA" Midget game." Saturday's win ensures the Mils will finish the year above .500 (28-26-2-1).

Wayway Ends Season, Regel Ends Jr Career in Style

In his final Junior 'A' Hockey game, Wayway's Ryan Regel (pictured) scored a hat trick, ending the campaign with a team-high 27 goals.

Fellow 20-year-old Dan Kelsey also scored, his 16th of the year, as the Wolverines swept their final weekend of the season in OCN with a 4-2 win on Saturday.

Captain Niko Grose is the only other graduating 20-year-old, and was held off the scoresheet in his final game, but still ran away with the team scoring lead, putting up 65 points (22g-43a) in 58 games.

Brett Gagnon got the final win of the year in goal for the Wolveirnes, and after going 9-29-0-1 in 2009, the Wolverines turned the ship around, with a record of 14-8-0-1 since January 1st.

Best wishes to Grose, Regel and Kelsey as they pursue further hockey and/or careers this off-season. We'll recap the season with Wayway Coach Barry Butler on Tuesday's Coach's Show at 10:40.

Swan To Finish 3rd, All MJHL Series Set / Montgomery Strikes Gold!

The Swan Valley Stampeders will finish 3rd in the MJHL's Sherwood Division and visit the Portage Terriers in Game 1 of the Division Semi-Final next weekend, after losing 6-1 to the Neepawa Natives, coupled with Portage thumping the Blues 7-1.

Those two games alone end any questions of teams moving up or down in the standings, and thus all 4 MJHL first round playoff series are set.

Sherwood

(1) Dauphin vs (4) Neepawa

(2) Portage vs (3) Swan Valley

Addison

(1) Saints vs (4) Blues

(2) Selkirk vs (3) Winkler

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The game we had on GX94 saw the Wayway Wolverines defeat OCN 6-3 on the road.

Shane Goodrunning (1g-2a), Dan Kelsey, Bobby Janzen, Jens Meilleur, Joe Carney and Ryan Regel scored for the Wolverines. Stephane Robidoux chipped in with 2a, and Chris Jackson made 24/27 saves.

The Wolverines wrap up the season with another game tonight (SAT) in OCN.

That was also our final regular season broadcast on GX94.

Our playoff broadcast schedule will be on this blog as soon as the Swan/Portage dates are set (hopefully by Monday).

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The Yorkton Terriers struck first, but went on to lose 4-3 to the Notre Dame Hounds, while out-shooting them 40-19. Warren Shymko got his first start in goal as a Terrier.

Jordan Menke scored twice, giving him 19 on the season. He'll have one chance (tonight in Weyburn) to become the first Terrier to score 20 goals since the 2006/07 season.

Menke's scored 5 times in his last 5 games to give himself the opportunity.

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Melville's in Humboldt tonight (SAT), but have to wait until Tuesday to finish the season when they host Estevan.

The Mils host Yorkton in Game 1 of the Sherwood Survivor Series Friday night. Game 2 goes the following night in Yorkton.

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The Ochapowace Thunder evened their Best-of-Five PJHL South Division Survivor Series with the Assiniboia Southern Rebels at one game a piece, with a 5-3 win on home ice Friday night.

Game 3 goes tonight in Assiniboia. Game 4 Monday in Ochap.

-------------------- And Russell, MB's Jon Montgomery won GOLD in Men's Skeleton at the 2010 Olympics.

We had Jon's mom Joan on the air leading up to the event, and hope to get Jon on today (SAT), or Monday at the latest.

(From the Canadian Press)

Jon Montgomery is Canada's latest gold medallist. The 30-year-old from Russell, Manitoba, captured Canada's fourth gold medal of the Vancouver Olympics in the men's skeleton. Mellisa Hollingsworth of Eckville, Alberta, whom everyone was expecting to deliver in the women's version of the event, was fifth.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Catching Up

Being on the road this week I got a little behind posting my usual audio. Coach's Shows are now all up to date by clicking the link.

Here are a couple other recent interviews with a pair of former NHLers.

Hall of Famer and 1961 Stanley Cup Champion Bobby Hull was in town for the Yorkton Terriers' Sportsman's Dinner & Auction on February 13th.



Jeff Odgers is back in his hometown (Spy Hill, SK), playing Senior with the Rocanville Tigers, and coaching his son's Yorkton Bantam 'AA' team.
(He doesn't have the handle bars anymore!)

Stampeders' Chances At 2nd Spot...?

A great thing happened for the Swan Valley Stampeders last night.

The Winnipeg South Blues had a late third period comeback, before losing in overtime to the Selkirk Steelers 4-3.

But that single point gives the Stampeders a much better opportunity at sneaking back into 2nd, and here's why.

Had the Blues lost in regulation, their fate would have been sealed in 4th spot, which would have also guaranteed Winkler 3rd in the Addison. Swan's trying to catch Portage for 2nd, and the Terriers' final two games are against the Blues (tonight at home), and Winkler (tomorrow on the road). I'm thinking their remaining opponents wouldn't have the same urgency if their spots were already locked up.

The Blues are now 2 pts back of Winkler for third, and if they beat Portage tonight in their final regular season game, they'd be tied with Winkler, and the Blues have the tie-breaker (head-to-head). That would also put the pressure on the Flyers to win vs Portage on Saturday.

Now, let's not kid ourselves. Portage has won 9 straight games and will be just as urgent as the Blues & Flyers, because they want home ice in the first round, and even one win for them in their last two games would force Swan Valley to win both of their remaining contests.

The Stampeders host Neepawa tonight, and go to Dauphin tomorrow.

Those two teams know where they're finishing (playing eachother, with Dauphin 1st, Neepawa 4th), but Neepawa's also been hot lately, and have given the Stamps fits at times. Dauphin's made it clear they want to hit the 50-win plateau, an incredible feat which has only been done a handful of times.

AND... these are both Sherwood Division rivals with Swan, and I'm quite sure Bryant Perrier's Natives and/or Marlin Murray's Kings would love to be the reason(s) why the Stampeders won't have home ice advantage.

A Swan loss and Portage win tonight, and 2nd/3rd would be decided already. If not, it'll come down to the final night of the season for both teams tomorrow (SAT).

Exciting stuff!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Terriers Win Big / Mils Drop Second Straight

The Yorkton Terriers scored three times in each period of a 9-4 win over the Estevan Bruins on Wednesday for their second win in a row.

The line of Kevin Stringfellow (1g-2a), Rylan McDonnell (1g-2a) and Brent Struble (1g-1a) combined for 3 goals and 8 points, while Cody Zubko and Troy Smukowich both had a goal and 2 assists on the night as well.

Game Summary

The Terriers host Notre Dame tomorrow (FRI), before finishing the regular season Saturday in Weyburn.

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Melville lost 3-1 in Battleford, but aside from a pair of costly turnovers in the first period, you could argue the Mils were the better team on the night.

The Millionaires out-shot the Stars 16-9 in the first frame, and came out of it down 2-0. Final shots on goal were 37-26 Melville, but Graham Hildebrand had his 'A' game all night, stopping 36 for the Stars.

Derek Wasylyshen was the only Millionaire to beat the 18-year-old Hildebrand, and his first SJHL goal came near the midway point of the third period.

During the 9-game winning streak for Melville, their powerplay went 30%, but was 0-for-6 last night, which included a 1:28 5-on-3 early in the game.

The Mils travel to Humboldt Saturday, and wrap up their regular season Tuesday on home ice against Estevan.

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Of the two sticks in the middle, which one do you think belongs to 5'8" Logan Herauf, and which one to 6'0" Cody Gross?

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Streak Ends in Eston

The Melville Millionaires lost 4-2 to the Kindersley Klippers Tuesday night, starting their two-game trip with a loss, and ending their league season-high 9-game winning streak.

Michael Jordan hit the 20-goal plateau in the first period, while Matt Kinnunen took over the team lead with his 26th in the second. Both goals came on the PP, as the Mils went 2-for-4.

The Millionaires wrap up the trip tonight in Battleford against the North Stars (7:20 / 7:30 on GX94).

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Kirkup/Reimer Up For MJHL Awards

Swan Valley Stampeder Coach Dwayne Kirkup (left) is up for the MJHL Coach of the Year Award, while Stamps' F Chris Reimer is a nominee for the Hockey Ability & Sportsmanship award.

A full list of nominees can be found here.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Holiday Monday Night - MJHL

Just putting the final touches on some prep for the weekend roadie to Kindersley (Eston) and Battleford with the streaking Millionaires. A few tidbits from Monday:

OCN 2 @ Swan Valley 3
- Marshall, Peel, Stevens score for Swan.
- With Myles Stevens' goal, he's now tied for 3rd on the all-time Stampeder list with 224 career points with Trevor Derlago. Stevens is just 2 points back of Tyler Czuba for 2nd, with 2 games remaining. No one's catching Ian Lowe's 307 pts anytime soon!
- Portage also beat Selkirk 3-1, their 9th straight win, so they stay 2 pts up on Swan with 2 games left. If the two teams end tied, Swan would get 2nd spot. They're tied in head-to-head wins, and they have more overall wins. However it's tough to argue the Terriers have the inside track at this point. If they win once in their last 2 (vs Winkler, @ Blues), they'd force Swan to win both at home against Neepawa (FRI) and in Dauphin (SAT). Of course if Portage wins their last 2, they clinch regardless.

Dauphin 5 @ Wayway 3
- Last home game of the year for the Wolverines, who only have a weekend double-dip in OCN remaining. Justin Christian, Dan Kelsey and Ryan Regel scored for the Wolverines, who managed just 17 shots on Joe Caligiuri.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Terriers Win on Luke Boechler Night

(The banner seen above was unveiled before tonight's Terrier home game in honour of goaltender Luke Boechler, who's battling Leukemia).

An emotional start to the game ended with a spirited finish, as the Yorkton Terriers rallied for a 2-1 win over the Kindersley Klippers on Sunday night.

Luke Boechler's parents were at ice level prior to puck-drop, and his Dad Brian said a few words.

The Terriers were down 1-0 after the first period when Kindersley's John Calkins scored late in the frame, and it stayed that way through two periods.

But, after going 0-for-their-last-17 on the powerplay, Kevin Stringfellow converted just after 12 minutes into the third with the extra man, and Cody Zubko scored the winner with just 1:13 remaining for the 2-1 win.

The 50/50 proceeds were going to a trust fund for Boechler, and the winner's share was over $900. Jim Eftoda won, and donated it back to the fund, meaning over $1,800 will go straight to the fund. What an awesome story. And that's not counting donations in the lobby tonight, which I don't have the numbers for right now.

I also understand Luke was listening online tonight, so I hope you enjoyed it Luke, and I'm glad your teammates got the 'W' for you. You know as well as anyone this season, sometimes 1 goal is all you can give up to have a chance to win, and Devin did just that tonight!

Fans can still feel free to send their support to Luke by clicking on his picture on the right hand side of the page. I'm amazed at the response so far, and they have plateaued a little in the last few days, which, I guess is to be expected a little, but they're always welcome!

Cody Zubko Post-Game



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Also want to congratulate the Ochapowace Thunder on clinching a spot in the Prairie Junior Hockey League playoffs!

The Thunder are in their second year in the league, and beat Regina today, and got help from Fort Knox, who beat Cypress, clinching 5th spot for Ochap and a date in the Survivor Series.

Their Coach and GM Danny McKay is now the Yorkton Terriers' Assistant with Trent Cassan, but he was pumped about the news tonight. The Thunder's Assistant Coach, who took over the coaching reigns from McKay, actually got kicked out tonight, and Trainer Ron Holloway stepped up and got the win!

I had a pop with Ronnie, Trent and Danny after the Terrier game and Ron was sure to give Danny a shot about him being the one on the bench who clinched them a playoff spot!

They'll play the Assiniboia Southern Rebels in the Best-of-Five Survivor Series, and start this Tuesday already in Assiniboia for Game 1.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Bobby Hull / 9 Straight For Mils / MJ Teams Both Blanked

(GX94's Randy Atkinson, Randy Atkinson's hero, and GX94's Sports and Play-by-Play guy as photogenic as ever. Yikes.)

I was a twinkle in my Grandpa's eye when Bobby Hull and the Chicago Blackhawks won the 1961 Stanley Cup, but boy is it cool to meet a legend of the game that like guy. Very down to earth, and one of the best there ever was. Hull was in town for the Yorkton Terriers' Sportsman's Dinner on Saturday, and I had a good chat with him this afternoon... and I'll post it in the next few days, and likely play it on a broadcast, or two. Probably tomorrow (SUN) when the Terriers host Kindersley, and maybe sometime in the playoffs.

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Make it 9 for the Melville Millionaires.

After losing each of their first 5 meetings with the Kindersley Klippers this regular season, the Mils beat the Klippers 4-1 on Saturday at Melville Stadium, now officially clinching home ice for the Sherwood Conference Survivor Series (series dates are posted below).

The Ex-Pats line of Cody Gross (1g-1a), Cody Hanson (1g-1a) and Brayden Metz (2a) combined for 6 points, while Jordan Reeve had two assists, Matt Kinnunen scored his 25th of the year, and Michael Jordan scored AGAIN. MJ has 5 goals in his last 4 games, and 9 points (6g-3a) in his last 6.

Zach Rakochy was in goal for a second straight night, turning aside 33/34 shots.

The Mils will have to beat Klippers again if they want to make it 10 straight wins, as they start a tough trip in Eston against the Klippers on Tuesday, then go to Battleford Wednesday.

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Swan Valley lost 5-0 in Portage, which means the Terriers are now 2 points ahead of the Stamps for 2nd place, each having three games remaining. That guarantees Portage a spot in the 2 vs 3 series.

Neepawa beat Wayway 1-0, and the Natives are now 6 points back of Swan for 3rd with 3 games left, so they could still tie them, and they do meet once more in SV.

Our two local teams are both on home ice on holiday Monday, with Swan home to OCN, and Wayway welcoming Dauphin.

Survivor Series Dates

I'm going to call these TENTATIVE dates, just to cover my behind, since I didn't really ask if I could post them, but it's looks like the Yorkton-Melville Sherwood Survivor Series we be played on the following dates.

Game 1: Fri/Feb/26 @ MVL
Game 2: Sat/Feb/27 @ YOR
Game 3: Mon/Mar/1 @ MVL
Game 4: Tue/Mar/2 @ YOR * if nec
Game 5: Thu/Mar/4 @ MVL * if nec


**If the series goes five games, the winner will go to Weyburn for the Sherwood Semi-Final on Saturday, however if it goes less than five games, the next round will start the Friday.

Friday Night

Gonna be brief tonight... already tired from the start of a "long weekend."

Melville 5 @ Notre Dame 3
- Mils win 8th straight game, longest streak of any SJHL team this season.
- Contrary to the online summary, Michael Jordan scored 2G, and Zach Rakochy played in his first full game since December 11th, making 23/26 saves.
- Mils host Kindersley tonight (SAT), and are now 7 points up on Yorkton for 4th.

Kindersley 4 @ Yorkton 1
- Jordan Menke scored Yorkton's only goal as the Terriers drop their third straight.
- Yorkton's chances of having home ice in the Survivor Series took a serious hit Friday, with their loss and Melville's win, they're 7 points back with 4 games left. One Melville win or Yorkton loss would mean Game 1 of the Survivor Series is in Melville.

Terrier Sportsman's Dinner & Auction is tonight (SAT) at the Gallagher Centre. Cocktails at 6:30... Bobby Hull is the guest speaker.

Saturday

Kindersley @ Melville

Swan Valley @ Portage
(Two teams are tied for 2nd in the Sherwood, with 4 games left)

Neepawa @ Wayway

Friday, February 12, 2010

Goalies Stick Together / Boechler Night

(Flin Flon's Matt Weninger is one of several Junior 'A' goalies throwing support behind Yorkton's Luke Boechler)

The Yorkton Terriers are having a "Luke Boechler Night" this Sunday when they host the Kinderlsey Klippers at 6:00. Fans can donate to a trust fund for Luke, and show support for the Boechler Family.

The 19-year-old was diagnosed with Leukemia a week ago today (Friday).

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I mentioned in the title that "Goalies Stick Together," because I found it remarkable how many of the comments for Luke have come from fellow netminders. The very first one came from Joel Danyluk, and Kyle Birch from Battleford was one of the first also. I think at least 6 goalies from the SJHL or MJHL have sent their best to Luke.

Matt Weninger of the Flin Flon Bombers is among them, and is stepping it up a notch.

Hi Craig,

This is Matt Weninger, I'm the goalie for the Flin Flon Bombers. I have grown out my hair since last years playoffs and am going to cut it for cancer on February 18th. Myself, Alex Lamontange, a local named Dan Hotel and my billet parents Hugh and Karen Bettger will all be shaving our heads and are currently taking donations. We are doing it through the Canadian Cancer Society with all proceeds going to the Cancer Society. After hearing about Luke's terrible news I was wondering if there is anything I could do to help his cause. Our initial plan was to keep this low key and local but after hearing this I was wondering if you may be interested in broadening it. I did not want to solicite on your blog but I was wondering if there was any way you could get it out there what we are doing and we will try to find anyway we can to help Luke out. I also respect the families boundaries and dont want intrude or to make a big situation if they dont want to.

Thankyou,
Matt Weninger

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Note the Facebook group...

its good that the terriers are doing something. we were thinking if people could make donations in luke's honor or something. it was quite a process to go through the Canadian Cancer Society and with little time til the date im not sure changing the fund distribution is an option. we havent counted the coins we have received in our pledge money and we were thinking we could donate that to him. there is a group on facebook for it as well. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=508119186#!/event.php?eid=336428650029&ref=ts or search playoff buzz. if you could promote it on your blog or radio station that would be much appreciated. any other ideas let me know.

thanks, matt

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Inside The MJHL: Episode 20 Ready To Listen To

Former Wayway Wolverine captain Carter Davis is one of our three guests on this week's edition of Inside the MJHL.

Davis has 20-points in 23 games in his sophomore season so far, playing NCAA Division III with the St. Scholastica Saints in Duluth, MN.

Also on this week's show are Selkirk Steelers' Coach Ryan Smith, and MJHL Player of the Week Devin Mitzner of the Dauphin Kings.

Wiens Earns First SJHL Shutout / Stamps Double Neepawa

Deszi Wiens (picutred) made 38 saves as the Melville Millionaires blanked the SJHL-leading Weyburn Red Wings 4-0 for their 7th consecutive win.

Colton Kennedy scored twice, Michael Jordan and Brayden Metz added the others as the Mils out-shot Weyburn 46-38.

Melville's now above .500 for the first time in a while at 25-24-2-1, and have now opened up a 5-point lead over Yorkton for 4th spot, still with a game in hand.

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Carter Selinger scored two first period goals, helping the Swan Valley Stampeders to a 4-2 win over Neepawa. The Natives out-played the Stampeders for the better part of the first period, out-shooting Swan Valley 14-6 in the opening frame, and 28-21 on the night.

Jayme Janzen made 26 saves in the win, and the Stampeder powerplay, which has lagged a bit of late, proved to the difference, converting on all three PP opportunities, while killing off Neepawa's one and only chance on the man-advantage.

Chris Reimer (36) and Myles Stevens (26) also scored for the Stampeders.

The Stamps pull back ahead of Portage by two points into 2nd place by themselves, but the Terriers now have a game in hand, and host Steinbach tonight (THU). Swan Valley then travels to Portage for a HUGE matchup Saturday night, in what is most likely a first round preview, and that Saturday game will go a long way in deciding home ice.

Neepawa COULD still get into that 2 vs 3 series, but they really needed this game to keep those chances more realistic. Now they're 10 points back of Swan for 2nd (with 5 games remaining), and 8 out of 3rd.

Hard to believe the Stamps have just 4 games left, and that was actually our last Stampeder broadcast of the regular season, as we're down to 5 regular season broadcasts... three of which are with Melville (starting Friday @ ND), one with Yorkton (Sunday vs KIN), and finishing off with Wayway next Friday in OCN.

Playoffs are coming!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Stamps' Slump Continues / Wayway Wins in OT

The Swan Valley Stampeders have given the Dauphin Kings their share of fits this season, but Dauphin put a big stop to the Stampeders' momentum in the season series Tuesday night with a 9-3 decision on home ice.

Dauphin's top line of Ryan Dreger (3g-2a), Shane Luke (2g-3a) and Zeanan Ziemer (1g-3a) combined for 14 points.

Jordan Sinclair scored two for Swan, while Shelby Gray notched his 21st of the year early in the second period.

The Stamps can erase their most lopsided loss of the season from their memories quickly if they can have a better effort tonight (WED) against Neepawa (7:20 / 7:30 on GX94) back in Swan Valley.

Portage came from behind to beat Neepawa 4-3 (OT) to now tie the Stampeders for 2nd spot.

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The Wayway Wolverines continue to refuse to roll over, winning for the 10th time in their last 13 games, 4-3 (OT) over the visiting Winkler Flyers.

The Wolverines were up 2-0 after the first period on goals from Dave Williams and Niko Grose, but found themselves down 3-2 after two. Stephane Robidoux tied it midway through the third, before Pierre Landry scored the overtime winner. Landry was acquired from the Swan Valley Stampeders in the Jayme Janzen deal, along with 17-year-old prospect Kyle McLeod, who AP'd with Wayway for the second time last night, and assisted on the OT winner.

Wayway's 10-2-1 in their last 13 games, and now 12-5-0-1 in 2010.

At the end of our broadcast in Dauphin I said the Wolverines still aren't mathematically out of a playoff spot... but it turns out they are, since the best they can do is tie Winnipeg South for a cross-over, and you have to finish with MORE points than the team in the other division to take their spot. They could still pass OCN for 5th in the Sherwood, but would have to run the table and have OCN lose all of their remaining games. Regardless, this is a heck of a finish for a team that easily could have thrown in the towel long ago... it's fun to watch... they deserve a lot credit for knocking off teams ahead of them in the standings, seemingly night after night. Here's hoping they're back in the playoffs again next year, with this being their first year out following 3 years of making it.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Kinnunen/Reeve Nab Weekly Honours

(Matt Kinnunen named SJHL Player of the Week; Jordan Reeve top D-man)

A pair of Melville Millionaires picked up weekly SJHL awards. Melville's on a 6-game winning streak, which included three games last week, during which time, 20-year-old F Matt Kinnunen racked up 6g-1a-7p. He finished the week with a hat trick and one assist in a 7-4 win over Yorkton on Saturday. Kinnunen has 10 points (7g-3a) during a 5 game point streak, and has vaulted his season totals to 24g-21a-45p in 51 games. His 24 goals equals his previous career total, scoring 14 as a rookie in 2007-08, and 10 last season.

Runners up included Melville teammates Michael Jordan (2g-3a-5p) and Mark Owen (2g-4a-6p).

Defenseman Jordan Reeve put up 7 assists in three games last week, including a pair of 3-assist performances... a 9-2 win in Estevan on Tuesday, and the 7-4 win vs Yorkton Saturday night. Reeve's battled injuries all year, infact the last two seasons, but his 'A' game is starting to re-emerge that we saw from him as a rookie in '07-'08, now with 16-points in 22 games.

Melville goes for their 7th straight win when they host the first place Weyburn Red Wings Wednesday night.

Boechler in a Battle

With permission from the Boechler family, I am passing on information that Luke, a 19-year-old goalie with the Yorkton Terriers, was diagnosed with Leukemia late last week, and is beginning treatment in Regina today (Monday, February 8).

The following is a portion of an email from Luke's dad Brian:

Luke is now in the Pasqua Hospital (in Regina) - feeling quite well and in good spirits - awaiting chemotherapy which begins (today, Monday). Doctors tell us the first two rounds of chemo will run over the next 42 days (21 days each) and further treatment/action will depend on how he responds once this chemo is completed. The course of the treatment is likely to run for close to 6 months - and it is possible that he may be required to stay in hospital throughout.

Our family would like to thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers.

May God's blessings be with you all - and if you find the time, please sneak in a little prayer for Luke.

- Brian & Jeannine Boechler

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Luke's 19 years old, and in outstanding shape, being a triple-sport athlete, excelling in hockey, football and baseball, and that can only help him in this fight.

The guy STILL shares the SJHL lead in shutouts (as of Feb/8) with 3 this season (tied with Weyburn's A.J. Whiffen, Flin Flon's Matt Weninger, and La Ronge's Adam Bartko), and has played FAR less minutes than the three goalies he's tied with. He's a great goalie and an even better young man.

This is bigger than hockey, and I encourage anyone reading... Terrier fans, Melville fans, or anyone else regardless of your affiliation to leave a comment at the bottom of this posting, and I'll make sure Luke gets the link and can view them. Of course, you don't HAVE TO leave your name, but I think it'd be nice to at least include a first name and where you're from, to make it more personal.

Luke's status on Facebook says: 'You will not win, because I will not lose.'

Please join me with your thoughts and prayers for Luke and his parents, brother and sister through this time.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

High-Flying Wolverines Win Again

A 3-in-3 weekend, with all games at home, saw the Waywayseecappo Wolverines rack up 5 of a possible 6 points, with a record of 2-0-0-1.

The lost 3-2 (SO) to the Saints on Friday, beat Swan Valley 3-2 (SO) on Saturday, and had a 3-1 win over OCN Sunday night, as the Wolverines gave up just 5 goals in the three games, and not including Dave Williams' empty-netter to round out the scoring Sunday, they only had to score 6 over the weekend.

After a scoreless first period, OCN's Kory Kimpinski got the Blizzard on the board early in the second. Jordan Holovach (pictured) tied it on the PP with his second of the season, before Jens Meilleur got the winner in the third, also on the powerplay. Holovach (1g-1a) then helped set up Williams for the empty-netter. Captain Niko Grose added two assists, giving him 21g-39a-60p in 53 games this season.

While they kept the goals against to a minimum, the Wolverines also kept the shots against down, as Brett Gagnon only needed 20/21 saves for the victory.

Wayway's now 9-2-1 in their last 12 games, and are home again on Tuesday against the Winkler Flyers. I updated the post below with the 2010 standings, and with Sunday's win, the Wolverines now lead the entire Sherwood Division in points in the new year, as well as winning percentage.

Wayway Tops MJHL Sherwood in 2010

There's a silver lining in every season, and for the Wayway Wolverines, it's been their incredible turn-around in the calendar year. Here's how the Sherwood Division standings would look if the season began January 1st, and since teams have played anywhere from 13 to 17 games, they're ranked by winning percentage.

1) Wayway Wolverines: 17 GP... 11-5-0-1... 23 pts... 676%

2) Portage Terriers: 17 GP... 10-5-2-0... 22 pts... .647%

3) Dauphin Kings: 14 GP... 9-5-0-0... 18 pts... .642%

4) Swan Valley Stampeders: 14 GP... 8-5-0-1... 17 pts... .607%

5) Neepawa Natives: 17 GP... 10-7-0-0... 20 pts... .588%

6) OCN Blizzard: 14 GP... 4-8-1-1... 10 pts... .357%

*As of Feb/7/10

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Kinnunen Strikes Again vs Terriers / WAY over SV in SO

In another typical high-scoring Highway 10 Battle in Melville, the Millionaires beat the Yorkton Terriers 7-4 on Saturday. Matt Kinnunen followed up his 2 goal performance on Friday with 3 goals and a helper, giving him 5-goals and 6-points over the weekend. Jordan Reeve and Mark Owen had 3-assists each, Michael Jordan had 1g-2a, Logan Herauf, Dane Bonish and Brayden Metz each had goals.

Doing the scoring for Yorkton was Jordan Menke (1g-1a), Ryan Griffiths, Kevin Stringfellow and Adam Moar.

Melville led 3-0 late in the first, before the two teams combined for 4 goals in the final two minutes of the opening period, 3 of which by Yorkton, and it was 4-3 Mils after one. Deszi Wiens was pulled from the Melville goal, allowing 3 goals on 10 shots. Zach Rakochy stopped 21/22 the rest of the way. Devin Peters played the whole game for Yorkton, and while he gave up 7 goals on 20 shots in the first 40 minutes, he stopped all 16 he faced in the third.

Over a thousand fans took in the game, and exactly 2736 patrons watched the final home-and-home of the regular season between the two clubs.

Melville retains the Parks Cup, going 6-3-0-0 against Yorkton in 9 regular season meetings (including a neutral site game @ the Showcase in Battleford). Yorkton's record vs Melville was 3-4-2-0.

The Mils have now (quietly) won 6 straight games. I saw quietly because they won three, had a week off, and have won three again, and had to check twice to make sure it is infact 6! That's a season high winning streak for the Blue and White, who host Weyburn Wednesday at 7:30.

Yorkton's off until Friday when Kindersley's in town. The Klippers are in Yorkton Friday, Melville Saturday, and Yorkton again on Sunday (6:00).

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The Wayway Wolverines were involved in a shootout for a second straight night on home ice, and after losing 3-2 to the Saints on Friday, they beat Swan Valley 3-2 on Saturday. The Stamps do get a point, but Portage also beat OCN, and have closed the gap to 2 points, with 6 games remaining, one of which is a head-to-head meeting in Portage.

Swan Valley's Jeff Peel scored the only goal of the first period... Richard Little tied it in the second, before Shelby Gray gave the Stampeders the lead back through two periods. Niko Grose tied it up on a late third period powerplay. Shane Goodrunning and Dave Williams scored in the shootout for Wayway, while Chris Jackson stopped both Ryan Marshall and Myles Stevens, and 26/28 in regulation and OT.

Wayway won the season series against Swan Valley, going 5-3-0-0, while the Stamps were 3-4-0-1 in the 8 head-to-head meetings.

Make the last place Wolverines 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. Swan Valley's 1-3-0-1 in their last 5, while Portage has won 5 straight games as they try to track down the Stampeders for 2nd spot in the Sherwood.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Kinnunen's 2G Lifts Mils Over Terriers

Infront of 1730 (One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty) fans (not bad for being on the radio), the Melville Millionaires stole a 3-2 road victory in Yorkton Friday night.

Matt Kinnunen (pictured) scored twice, including the game-winner, short-handed early in the third period.

Rylan McDonnell scored for Yorkton, his second in as many games to make it 1-0 Terriers after one. Cody Hanson tied it in the second, and Kinnunen gave the Mils the lead 1:03 later to make it 2-1 after two. He added his second just :30 into the final frame on a short-handed 2-on-1, before Yorkton captain Cody Zubko rounded out the scoring at 8:49.

Yorkton out-shot Melville 33-24, but Deszi Wiens made 31 saves, earning his, and the teams 5th straight win.

Melville (23-24-2-1) is now a point up on Yorkton (22-26-3-1), and have two games in hand as they get set to meet up again tonight (SAT) at Melville Stadium.

And I've seen enough of these home-and-homes the last couple years to know when one team wins on the road, the other team can just as easily do the same the next night.

"You tend to relax," explained Millionaires' Coach/GM Jamie Fiesel on our Post Game Show. "You think, well we won in their rink, we've got the sweep and you break out the brooms, but it's just not that easy, especially against this Yorkton team. They were the better team against us in the first period, and we were lucky to just be down 1-0."

It's a 7:30 face-off tonight (SAT) in Melville.

I started this post with a sarcastic line about the big crowd, because someone always gives me heck for doing a Yorkton/Melville game because "nobody will come to the rink," and it happened again tonight, once. I don't think I've ever seen a crowd much more than 1200 in Yorkton in my time here, and there were 1730 fans there, GREAT to see! Hopefully Melville gets the same or at least a similar turnout. These two teams provide great hockey... with the last SIX meetings decided by just one goal, and the two before that by 2 goals. Meeting 9 of 9 is tonight, and both teams clinched the playoffs after Friday as well. Melville clinched with their win, and Yorkton did with Estevan's loss. Both teams could still mathematically catch Kindersley, but it would mean running the table and the Klippers losing out, so let's face it... it's a Yorkton/Melville Survivor Series.

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The Wayway Wolverines lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Winnipeg Saints on Friday as they continue to be a scrappy opponent down the stretch.

They even led 2-0 just three minutes in on goals by Ryan Regel and Ashley Howie.

Brett Gagnon made 32/34 saves against his old team, and stopped 3/4 in the shootout, but Justin Leclerc stopped all 4 Wolverines he faced. Wayway still took 15 of a possible 20 points in their last 10 games (7-2-0-1), and host Swan Valley tonight (SAT).

Portage and Neepawa both won on Friday, which puts Portage only three points back of the Stamps for 2nd, and Neepawa 8 points back. All three teams have played 55 games (7 left).

Mils (22-24-2-1) @ Terriers (22-25-3-1)

Odds are, and I'd put my money on it, the Mils and Terriers will start the Best of Five Sherwood Conference Survivor Series against eachother on Friday, February 26th. So why don't we call this the "unofficial" start of a "Best of Seven"... just three weeks early!

It's a huge weekend for these two teams, as they continue to jostle for position and try to out-do the other for 4th place and home ice in the elimination series. They've exchanged position in the standings, I would guess 4 times in the last week or so, with Yorkton taking a one point lead into the weekend, and also having played 2 more games.

Season Series
The "Parks Cup", which goes to the winner of the Yorkton-Melville season series, will once again come down to the final weekend home-and-home. The 8 game season series was split 4-4 last year, and Melville retained it for a third straight year with the tie-breaker being goals for and against. What it might also come down to this season, is whether or not the neutral site game at the Showcase counts. Yorkton won 4-3 in North Battleford in late November. I don't see why it shouldn't count, but I heard a rumour it doesn't. I'll try to find that out before puck drop! Here are each team's record against eachother so far.

Counting Showcase
Melville: 4-3-0-0 (8 points)
Yorkton: 3-2-2-0 (8 points)

Not counting Showcase
Melville: 4-2-0-0 (8 points)
Yorkton: 2-2-2-0 (6 points)

Now that I look at it though, if Melville wins even once, it should be theirs. They'd be no worse than 5-4-0-0 (10 pts) while a split would leave Yorkton at 4-3-2-0 (10 points) (counting Showcase), and if it comes to that I would think the tie-breaker would be wins.

But what if it's a split, and Yorkton loses in overtime and Melville loses in regulation? The Terriers would then be 4-2-3-0 (11 pts) while Melville would be 5-4-0-0 (10 pts). The Mils would have more wins, but Yorkton would have more points!

Too much math, and really, it's only for bragging rights. These two teams are more worried about 4th place than any regular season trophy they could win.

- Whoever wins tonight's game will officially clinch a playoff spot. They will both have their playoff post season tickets punched if they split, OR if Estevan loses a game over the weekend.

Head-to-Head Stats

- Still no Torey Stott for the Yorkton Terriers. Stott's scheduled to return to Yorkton and get back to skating very soon (if not today), but is not expected back in the lineup for several days still. He still leads the team in goals (15), and has more than one-third of them (6) against Melville in the 5 games he's played against the Mils.

- Jordan Menke's taken over the team lead in points (14g-22a-36p) for the Terriers, and leads the club with 9 points (1g-7a) against Melville.

- Cody Zubko's played 4 games against Melville and has 4g-1a-5p against them, while Brent Struble has 3g-2a-5p in 5 games.

- Yorkton and Melville have been involved in a couple high scoring games this year, 8-6 and 7-6, both in Melville, and both Melville wins, and thus Terrier goaltenders don't have their best numbers against the Mils. Devin Peters has a 3.42 GAA and .877 %, while Luke Boechler's GAA is 4.58, along with a .874% vs Melville. Boechler was supposed to start in Wednesday's home game against Estevan, but fell ill, which meant Peters started and was backed up by Yorkton Harvest G Kale Thomson. Devin made 24/25 saves in a 5-1 win.

- As for the Millionaires, it looks like Justin Hollinger has taken over from Kale Dolinski as "Terrier Killer." Dolinski earned the nickname after scoring clutch goal after clutch goal against Yorkton in his 3 year SJHL career, and this season, Hollinger's amassed 7g-4a-11p in 7 games vs the Terriers. Yowza! Michael Jordan (3g-4a) and Logan Herauf (2g-5a) have 7 pts each, playing in all 7 games, while D Jordan Reeve has put up 1g-5a-6p in just 4 head to head meetings.

- A handful of Millionaires will be playing in their first Highway 10 rivalry game tonight, and they've all had a big impact since coming to Melville. F Colton Kennedy (7 games... 4g-4a-8p), F Cody Gross (4 games... 2g-3a-5p), D Tyson Newell (6 games... 1g-1a-2p), and G Deszi Wiens (5-3-0-0, 3.49, .900%)

- As mentioned, Wiens hasn't seen Yorkton yet this season, while Zach Rakochy, who hasn't started a game since December 11th, has a 5.08 GAA and .869% against Yortkon this season.

- Mils' leading scorer Logan Herauf (24g-31a-55p in 49 games) has 6 game point streak coming into this one (5g-3a-8p).

Behind the Bench
Trent Cassan will go up against Jamie Fiesel for the first time, after Ed Zawatsky was relieved of his duties as Yorkton Coach/GM early this week. Fiesel has a great clip about his relationship with Zawatsky on and off the ice on this week's Melville Coach's Show.

Special Teams
Yorkton's powerplay is second last in the league at 15.5%, but against Melville it's an eye-popping 12-for-34, or 35.3%. Their PK got knocked out of top spot by La Ronge, but it's second best at 85.4%. The Mils' PP is 8th at 18.1%, PK has struggled a bit, sitting at 77.4%, 10th best in the SJHL.

Here's hoping we see two good crowds and two beauty games this weekend.

Our overnight guy Ryan Gilbert may have said it best the other day when he said on the air, "I'm gonna be there I don't care what anyone says. And I'll have my popcorn... AND my pop."

Follow Ryan's lead.

We're on the air with tonight's game, starting with the Pre Game Show at 7:20, Play By Play at 7:30 from Farrell Agencies Arena.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Home Wins For Yorkton/Swan Valley

(Photo taken by the BlackBerry of "fill-in" public address announcer Darin Lanigan. Thanks Lanny!)

Trent Cassan got his first win as Yorkton Terriers' Interim Head Coach, a 5-1 decision over Nipawin on Friday.

The game was full of fights, especially in the third period with the game out of reach.

Kevin Stringfellow (8), Kyle Miller (3), Rylan McDonnell (7), Riley Paterson (3) and Clarke Byczynski (6) scored for Yorkton, while Devin Peters made 24/25 saves in the win. Ryan Kerpan faced 45 at the other end.

Yorkton's back ahead of Melville by one point for 4th, the Millionaires have two games in hand, and the two rivals hook up twice this weekend, Friday in Yorkton (on GX94) and Saturday in Melville.

CAN'T WAIT!

Cassan Post Game



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The Swan Valley Stampeders blew a late third period 3-1 lead against OCN, but Shelby Gray made sure the Stamps still got the 2 points, scoring :28 into overtime for the 4-3 OT victory, snapping a 3 game slide.

The Stamps NEEDED this one, as their lead is back to 7 points over the Portage Terriers, although Portage now has two games in hand. Neepawa lost 11-1 in Dauphin which keeps them 3 back of the Terriers and now 10 behind Swan Valley. Neepawa's played one more game than Portage and one less than Swan.

Brad McDonald opened the scoring for the Stampeders, while Chris Reimer added his 34th and 35th of the season.

Shots were 21-21 after two periods, but OCN out-shot Swan 20-5 in the third, 41-27 on the night. Jayme Janzen got the win making 38 saves.

Swan Valley (32-18-2-3) has 7 games left, and go back to Wayway on Saturday night. Then next week they go to Dauphin on Tuesday and host Neepawa Wednesday, both games are on GX94 and are our final two regular season Stampeder broadcasts of the season.

Wolverines Hold Off Stamps / Robidoux MJHL D-Man of the Month

A little of everything on last night's broadcast as the Wayway Wolverines beat the visiting Swan Valley Stampeders 4-3.

After the Stampeders dominated the play in the first 5 minutes, Wayway scored two quick powerplay goals and built a 3-0 lead after one period on goals by Richard Little, Jens Meilleur and Dan Kelsey. Chris Reimer and Ryan Marshall got the Stamps within one in the second, before the teams traded short-handed goals in the third. Ashley Howie scored his second MJHL goal, and second in the last week on a short-handed breakaway, right after the Stampeders had all kinds of pressure and drew the penalty. Then with only 3 and a half minutes left, Cody Straker took a penalty for Swan, but Darcy Riddell pounced on a turnover and found Ryan Marshall for his second of the game and team-high 37th of the season.

The Stamps killed off the rest of the penalty and came close to tying it, but couldn't beat Chris Jackson in the final seconds. Jackson made 39/42 saves to get the win, Wayway's third straight and 7th in their last 9 games. The Stampeders dropped their 3rd straight and the middle of the Sherwood Division gets that much tighter.

Wayway's got three home games this weekend, the Winnipeg Saints Friday, Swan Valley again on Saturday, and OCN Sunday.

Swan Valley's home tonight (WED) against OCN at 7:30 as they try to avoid a 4th straight loss. Neepawa beat the Saints on the road on Tuesday and are now 3 points back of Portage for 3rd spot, and 8 back of Swan. Both teams have one game in hand on the Stampeders. Swan has 8 games remaining, 4 at home, 4 on the road. They're in Portage once and home to Neepawa twice. They also host OCN twice, go to Dauphin twice and Wayway once.

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Wayway D Stepahne Robidoux had 2 assists in Tuesday's win over Swan Valley, and was also fresh off being named MJHL Defenseman of the Month, picking up 2g-13a-15p in 13 games in January.

I had a quick chat with the 18-year-old after the game.




Wayway F Niko Grose was runner-up for Player of the Month, which went to Winnipeg Saints' G Justin Leclerc.

-----------------------Are the Melville Millionaires hitting their stride at exactly the right time?

The Mils won their 4th straight, in style, 9-2 in Estevan on Tuesday.

Colton Kennedy had a break-out game for Melville, with 3g-1a-4p. Mark Owen scored twice, Logan Herauf had a goal and two assists, Cody Gross had 1g-1a, Matt Kinnunen and Michael Jordan also scored while defensman Jordan Reeve added 3 assists and Derek Wasylyshen set up a couple.

The Mils went 3/8 on the powerplay, while also giving up 2 goals on 4 Estevan chances. Deszi Wiens made 23 saves in the win as the Mils out-shot the Bruins 38-25.

Melville's off until their weekend home and home with Yorkton. The Terriers host Nipawin tonight (WED) in Trent Cassan's first game as Interim Head Coach.

The Mils and Terriers continue to play leap-frog. Melville's now back in 4th spot, one point up on Yorkton with a game in hand.

Last night's result also NEARLY mathematically elimates Estevan from playoff contention, which would also officially clinch playoff spots for both Yorkton and Melville. The Bruins are 12 points back with 7 games left.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Stamps (31-17-2-3) @ Wolverines (17-34-0-1)

Judging by the records above, you'd almost think this one would be "no contest."

But as of right now, the Wolverines are the team playing better hockey, in the last week and the last month. A few game notes ahead of tonight's broadcast...

- Swan Valley was a third period comeback away from going pointless on a 3 game swing, but exploded for four third period goals in a 5-2 win in Winnipeg South on Thursday. They went on to lose 4-3 in Portage Saturday and 4-2 in Winkler Sunday afternoon. That was the first time the Stampeders lost back to back games in regulation time in just over three months (Oct 25/30).

- Wayway went 1-and-10 in December, but turned the tables in January going 8-and-5. After not winning back to back games all season until the new year, they did it 3 times in January, and finished the month going 6-and-2 in their last 8 games, most recently a 2-0 win in OCN on Saturday. Brett Gagnon stopped all 29 shots he faced, joining fellow Wolverines' goalie Chris Jackson in the shutout club for the month of January.

- Wayway is 12-11-0-1 on home ice, and 5-and-23 on the road. Two of those 5 road wins came over the weekend. Away from home, Swan Valley is 13-11-2.

- Swan Valley's Carter Selinger leads the Stampeders with 9 points (all assists) in 6 games against Wayway. Darcy Riddell has 5g-3a-8p.

- Wayway's Ryan Regel has 1g-5a-6p in five games played against Swan.

- Shelby Gray has been Swan's top scorer over their last 10 games with 7g-8a-15p. Myles Stevens has 13p, as does Ryan Marshall, and Chris Reimer has 12.

- Niko Grose of the Wolverines tops even Gray's totals in his last 10 matches, with 7g-10a-17p. The defense pairing of Stephane Robidoux (2g-10a-12p) and Steven Duda (9a) have also been on fire offensively in their last 10.

- Special Teams could play a factor tonight. Swan Valley's PP is tops in the MJHL at 25.4%. The Wolverines' PK has risen of late, now up to 8th 79%. Their PP however is still in the basement at 15%, while Swan's PK ranks 6th at 79.6%. Wayway is 1-for-25 on the powerplay against Swan Valley this season, good for just 4% in the season series. That powerplay goal came off the stick of Preston McLeod in the first period of a 3-1 Wolverines win, October 14th in Swan Valley. Since then, they're 0 for their last 18.

- In the standings, the Stampeders sit 5 points up on Portage for second spot in the Sherwood Division. Wayway's 17 points out of a cross-over spot with 10 games left. A loss tonight would almost mathematically eliminate them from playoff contention.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Terriers' Interim Coach Trent Cassan

Cassan Takes Terrier Head Coaching Reigns With 8 Games Regular Season Games Left.

Terrier President Lyle Walsh Comments

Terriers relieve Ed Zawatsky of Coach/GM Duties as of Jan/31/10.

Zawatsky Relieved of Duties With Terriers

Ed Zawatsky, the Head Coach & GM responsible for 2 of the Yorkton Terriers' 4 league championships has been relieved of his duties with the club.

Team President Lyle Walsh made the announcement at the Gallagher Centre this morning. Assistant Coach Trent Cassan has been named Interim Head Coach.

Much more to come.

TERRIERS CALL PRESS CONFERENCE

Yorkton Terriers President Lyle Walsh has called a press conference for 11:15 this morning at the Gallagher Centre.

It's February!

Welcome to a new month, the month where Junior 'A' Hockey Playoffs start!

Like last season, it looks like three of our four GX94 teams will take part in the post season, and once again there's a very good chance the Yorkton Terriers and Melville Millionaires will see eachother, this time in the Survivor Series (4th vs 5th).

While last year, it was Wayway sneaking into 4th place in the MJHL Sherwood and Swan Valley missing out, this year the Stamps will be back in the post season, anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the Sherwood, while unfortnatley the Wolverines, who've been on a tear in January will be on the outside looking in, 17 points back of a potential playoff spot with 10 games remaining.

Odds are the Stamps will face Portage or Neepawa in round one, as they try to lock up home ice in the first round, 5 points up on the Terriers and 10 ahead of the Natives.

Happy February 1st! The Playoffs are coming.