How they got here:Yorkton: Finished 1st in the Sherwood Conference in the regular season standings, awaited the Survivor Series winner between Estevan and Melville. Estevan beat Melville in 5, and the Terriers swept the Bruins by scores of 4-2, 5-4, 3-2, 6-1.
Kindersley: Finished 2nd in the Sherwood, despite having one more regular season win than the Terriers. The Klippers knocked out 3rd Place Weyburn in 5 games in the Conference Semis.
On December 3rd, the Klippers held a record of 14-15-2. They won their next 8 hockey games after that, and went a remarkable 21-5-1 the rest of the way.
The Terriers' season saw them pick up points in 10 of their first 11 games. They had a 9 game winning streak from Nov/20 to Dec/17, followed immediately by a 7 game winless skid. They turned that around by going 10-3-2 in their last 15 regular season games.
Turning back the clock:
Before we look at this matchup, let's take a look back at last year's Conference Final between these two teams, an epic seven gamer that featured three games going to overtime, and 6 one-goal games. Remember Kindersley's West Central Events Centre had a fire early in the 2009/10 season, and most of their season, and all of their home playoff games, were held in the small community of Eston.
I'm stealing this recap from an old post from March 30th of last year, right before Game 7.
Game 1 - Yorkton 3 @ Kindersley 4 (OT)
Maybe the most "normal" game of the series. Teams traded goals all night, Yorkton never led, and Kindersley led 4 times, with Kevin Clark scoring on a short-handed 2-on-1 in overtime.
(Klippers led series 1-0)
Game 2 - Yorkton 7 @ Kindersley 4
The only game decided by more than one goal, but even this one was close. The Terriers got up 3-1, but Kindersley scored twice within 29 seconds of the second period to tie it. But, before the period was up, the Terriers sniped three in a 2:09 span.
(Series tied 1-1)
Game 3 - Kindersley 2 @ Yorkton 3
Where it REALLY started to get exciting. This marked the first of five straight one-goal games. Kindersley scored first, and lost. The Terriers scored on three consecutive second period powerplays 4:18 apart. The Terrier PP was clicking at over 50% in the series at this point.
(Terriers led series 2-1)
Game 4 - Kindersley 3 @ Yorkton 2
Another close, but wild one. One of the unsung heroes of the series, Riley Down opened the scoring for Kindersley, but the Terriers took the lead back. However, the see-saw continued, and the Klippers tied it, and won it, when Jordan Hoffman went straight ahead on an offensive zone faceoff, was untouched, and scored with 1:10 left.
(Series tied 2-2)
Game 5 - Yorkton 4 @ Kindersley 3 (OT)
Yorkton didn't lead until Troy Smukowich scored 5:24 into overtime, his league-leading 12th of the playoffs. Kindersley scored the first TWO goals, and lost. They went ahead 3-2 with 4:03 remaining, but Ryan Griffiths forced overtime with 39 seconds left.
(Terriers led series 3-2)
Game 6 - Kindersley 3 @ Yorkton 2
The shoe was on the other foot this time. Yorkton came out of the gates playing like they wanted to end it at home, got out to a 2-0 lead, but once it became 2-0 Terriers, the Klippers became the more urgent team, and kept it up for the rest of the night. The Terriers were fortunate to still have their 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, but Andrew Dommett cut the lead in half less than 5 minutes into the third. Riley Down tied it, and then with 22 seconds left, there was a faceoff in the Klipper zone, and someway, somehow, they ended up with a 3-on-1. Tanner Exner kept, shot, and scored with 4 seconds remaining to force a 7th game.
(Series tied 3-3)
Game 7 - Yorkton 4 @ Kindersley 3 (OT)
Dommett struck again for the Klippers, just over a minute into Game 7, but the Terriers led 2-1 after one, and 3-1 at one point. Cue the comeback, again. Braeden Adamyk made it 3-2 after two, and Dommett, yet again, would tie it early in the third. It stayed 3-3 through regulation, before Kevin Stringfellow caused a turnover at the Klipper line, and snapped the puck five-hole on Josh Thorimbert 6:39 into overtime.
(Terriers win series 4-3)
If you REALLY have time to kill... last year's series preview.
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How are they different from a year ago?
Kindersley? Not much. The Klippers graduated just three 20-year-olds from last year's team, including F Kevin Clark, who only saw action for about half the series due to injury. The others were Captain Jordan Braid, and defenseman Steven Turner. Goaltender Josh Thorimbert was just 17 last season, but got scooped up by Colorado College NCAA Division 1 for this season. Had he been in the Kindersley net this season, I think this series would be starting there. The Klippers struggled until they nailed down a true #1 goalie in Sean Cahill, and they haven't looked back since landing him. I'm counting 11 players on this Klipper team who played in the Sherwood Final last year. Taylor Wasden would have made it 12, but was out with injury.
Yorkton? Very different. 6 current Terriers were REGULARS in last year's playoffs. G Devin Peters, D Blaine Tendler, D Kurtis Decker, D Kelly Leismeister, F Brent Struble, F Riley Paterson played in all the games, while Keon Vick was injured, and Nathan Murray rotated in and out of the lineup and Justin Lamontagne saw little if any action in the series. Warren Shymko backed up Peters after spending the regular season anywhere from the WHL to PJHL as a 17-year-old, but didn't play any post-season minutes.
The Terriers' strengths are also a lot different that last year. While guys like Cody Zubko and Troy Smukowich put up double digits in goals in the playoffs, the Terriers didn't have a 20-goal scorer in the regular season. But their defense was deep, and Devin Peters was rock solid. Peters is back as a 20-year-old, and might have led the league in wins if not for an injury that sidelined him for the final month of the season. Their D has also been solid, but the WHL and one "futures" trade are responsible for 5 guys who would have been studs on this team, not being Terriers. Austin Bourhis (WHL, Prince Albert), Davis Vandane (WHL, Spokane), John Niebrandt (WHL, Kootenay), Clark Bycyznski (Futures Deal, MJHL Defenseman of the Year with Swan Valley) and Drew McDermott (Futures Deal/Quit Hockey). Four of those five played last year in Yorkton (Byczynski, McDermott, Bourhis were all Top 4 guys along with Tendler). Vandane was emerging as one of the top rookie defensemen in the SJ before Spokane came calling. Torey Stott and Rylan McDonell were also key pieces of last year's forward unit, but both left hockey before, or early in their 20-year-old seasons. BUT, as Trent Cassan has always said, "We can cry about who's not here, but I'd rather focus on who IS." And, on defense, a short, skinny kid from Moosomin named Devon McMullen has logged minutes in Junior 'A' Hockey as a 17-year-old, that most blueliners won't see until they're 19 or 20. Brant Remenda's been a difference-maker since joining the Terrier blueline from Nipawin on deadline day, and the Leismeister/Decker pairing continues to play sound, defensive hockey. Injuries have plagued the Terrier backend for much of the year, and Braeden Raiwet, Troy Dumais and Keon Vick have filled holes on defense, and up front, and have done outstanding wherever they've been needed. As the Terriers get close to healthy, who sits and who's in will be a tough call for the coaching staff, as everyone has earned their minutes all year.
Back to the forwards, it was a "all 4 lines contributing" kind of group in last year's playoffs, and while the Moar-Smukowich-Zubko, and Struble-Stringfellow-McDonell trios rose to the top, the Terriers have a whole lot more firepower at their disposal a year later. Clarke Breitkreuz, who, a lot of people think of as a returnee, went to Prince George (WHL) last Christmas, and wasn't part of the playoff run. He's back, and formed instant chemistry with newcomer and fellow ex-PG Cougar Robbie Ciolfi. The two "recruits of the year" for the Terriers were 20-year-old Craig Eisenhut, and 18-year-old Zak Majkowski. Both were unknown commodities from B.C., and the two of them put up 39 goals between them. And, the Terriers added the two biggest fish in the pond on deadline day, landing Jeremy Boyer (42 goals) and Justin Buzzeo (31 goals) from the Humboldt Broncos. These two are the two most exciting players I've had the chance to watch reguarly on a team I cover. The third line is built around sophomore Terriers Nathan Murray and Riley Paterson, and they seem to thrive this time of year. The Terriers are DEEP, and so are the Klippers. This one should be fun!
REGULAR SEASON LEADERS
Yorkton
Jeremy Boyer 50 GP (42g-45a-47p)
Justin Buzzeo 51 GP (31g-51a-82p)
Clarke Breitkreuz 51 GP (31g-37a-68p)
Robbie Ciolfi 47 GP (22g-30a-52p)
Brent Struble 55 GP (19g-33a-52p)
D- Blaine Tendler 47 GP (11g-16a-27p)
Playoffs
Ciolfi- 2g-6a-8p in 4 games
Buzzeo- 3g-2a-5p in 2 games
Murray- 2g-3a-5p in 4 games
Breitkreuz- 1g-4a-5p in 4 games
Boyer- 2g-2a-4p in 4 games
Kindersley
Johnny Calkins 25g-68p-93p
Braeden Adamyk 42g-40a-82p
Sanfred King 19g-45a-64
Andrew Dommett 22g-24a-46p (in just 34 games)
Taylor Duzan 27g-17a-44p
D- Kurt Leedahl 7g-26a-33p
D- Sean Flanagan 6g-24a-30p
Playoffs
Adamyk 5g-3a-8p in 5 games
Calkins 1g-6a-7p in 5 games
Dommett 3g-3a-6p in 5 games
Sonntag (D) 2g-4a-6p in 5 games
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Sep/23 @ YOR: 5-4 YOR
Oct/20 @ KIN: 4-3 (OT) YOR
Nov/27 @ YOR: 4-2 YOR
Jan/11 @ YOR: 5-2 KIN
Jan/25 @ KIN: 9-6 KIN
Feb/12 @ KIN: 4-3 (OT) KIN
**Terriers won the first three, Klippers won the last three. All three Terrier losses came after deadline acquisitions. Both teams had overall records of 3-2-1 against the other.
**In Yorkton, the Terriers were 2-1, Klippers were 1-2. In Kindersley, Klippers were 2-0-1, Terriers were 1-1-1.
**Kindersley out-scored Yorkton 27-24 in 6 head-to-head meetings.
HEAD-TO-HEAD LEADERS
Terriers vs Kinderlsey
Brent Struble 6 GP (3g-6a-9p)
Clarke Breitkreuz 6 GP (3g-4a-7p)
Justin Buzzeo 4 GP (2g-4a-6p)
Klippers vs Yorkton
Johnny Calkins 6 GP (2g-8a-10p)
Braeden Adamyk 6 GP (2g-6a-8p)
Andrew Dommett 3 GP (5g-1a-6p)
Wheaton King 3 GP (2g-4a-6p)
Jordon Hoffman 5 GP (5-goals)*
*Hoffman scored 13 goals in the regular season. Five came against the Terriers in 5 games!
In Goal
These two teams scored a lot against each-other, hence, the goalies' #'s weren't that pretty!
Devin Peters: 22-10-2, 2.95, .906%
vs Kindersley
3-1, 4.16 GAA, .872%
Playoffs
1-0, 1.00, .975%
(Warren Shymko 3-0, 2.67, .910)
Sean Cahill: 16-8, 3.01 GAA, .906%
vs Yorkton
3-1, 3.74 GAA, .878%
Playoffs
4-1, 2.50, .912%
SPECIAL TEAMS
Yorkton Regular Season
PP: 19.8% (6th) / PK: 80.0% (5th)
Playoffs
PP: 10% (9th) / PK: 77.8 (5th)
*The Terriers were 1/10 on the PP in the Estevan series. Only goal came on a 5-on-3. 10 chances in 4 games is very low, and they were also given the 2nd fewest powerplays in the regular season.
Kindersley Regular Season
PP: 19.4% (8th) / PK: 80.5% (4th)
Playoffs
PP: 13.3% (7th) / PK: 75% (9th)
X-Factors?
Yorkton: Nathan Murray. The Klippers won't look at the Terrier depth chart and say, "We gotta shutdown Nathan Murray. And he'll love that! In the shadows of some of the big names on the top two lines, Murray was one of Yorkton's best forwards in the Estevan series. He likes to work the cycle down low with linemate Riley Paterson, and whoever else makes up the trio, whether it be Brenden Poncelet, Zak Majkowski, or Keon Vick. They're a line built for the playoffs... and while they won't LEAD the team in scoring, I think they'll chip in, and it'll be a huge bonus if/when they do. I'm not sure Kindersley's defense really has a "weakest link", but there's no doubt the Murray/Paterson line won't be dealing with Kindersley's top two pairings much if at all.
Kindersley: Sanfred King. Pay too much attention to Dommett-Calkins-Adamyk, and the King Brothers will burn you. 20-year-old Sanfred, with 18-year-old Wheaton, and former Humboldt Bronco Spencer Braaten make up the Klippers' second line. Word is as many as three regular forwards (not from their top two lines but still impact guys), could miss some or all of the series, so this line will be counted on even more.
John Sonntag: Yes, two x-factors for the Klips. Sonntag will be the guy counted on most to make life miserable for the Buzzeo's Boyer's Breitkreuz's, etc. He's big, physical, mean, will fight, and added some offense in Round 1 against Weyburn with 6 points, to be named SJHL Defenseman of the Week.
Series Schedule
Game 1: Fri/Mar/18 @ YOR
Game 2: Sat/Mar/19 @ YOR
Game 3: Tue/Mar/22 @ KIN
Game 4: Wed/Mar/23 @ KIN
Game 5: Fri/Mar/25 @ YOR *
Game 6: Sun/Mar/27 @ KIN * (6:00)
Game 7: Tue/Mar/29 @ YOR *
*All games expect #6 are 7:30 starts. All can be heard on GX94, with coverage beginning at 7:15.
Can we crack the lid on this thing already?!?
4 comments:
Thought you would need a couple of days off already! Your chomping at the bit. Hopefully that newspaper guy aint on the Kindersly bus, hes like an itch that wont go away!
I took 2 sick days this week, including today.
And what did Josh ever do to you?!
Holy Anaysis Batman!!!
Can't get more detailed then that.... Good job; I'm ready for the series now!!!
You called it bang on with Paterson/Murray line, they were outstanding last night.
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