
On Pace: 30-26-0-2
In Summary
The Terriers became the SJHL's final team to hit the halfway pole, when they fell 4-3 to Estevan on Sunday. I expected the Terriers to hover around .500 and be somewhere in the middle of the pack, and be a hard team to play against come playoff time. They haven't had any extended losing streaks, and during a 6 game road swing, went 4-1-1. They also just had a 4 game winning streak snapped by Battleford over the weekend. The Terriers have a handful of core guys who've been to the SJHL final twice, like Brent Struble (injured in last year's playoffs), Riley Paterson and Nathan Murray up front, along with Kelly Leismeister on the backend, and Warren Shymko (backup for both finals appearances) in goal. The offense got a big boost with the additions of Tayler Thompson and Tyler Giebel from the WHL, although Giebel recently found a new WHL home in Red Deer, and scored in his first game in Regina on Friday. At times, the Terriers had as few as one 20-year-old on defense, and regularly have 4 defensemen dressed who are 18 or younger. With only three 20-year-olds up front, this team's young, but they're hangin' in there, and have every opportunity to grab a top-three spot.
What they have left: 29 games
15 Home
14 Away
Sherwood Conference: 16 games (7H, 9A)
Notre Dame: 5 (2H, 3A)
Melville: 4 (2H, 2A)
Kindersley: 4 (2H, 2A)
Weyburn: 2 (1H, 1A)
Estevan: 1 (1A)
Bauer Conference: 13 games (8H, 5A)
Nipawin: 3 (2H, 1A)
Melfort: 3 (2H, 1A)
Battlefords: 2 (1H, 1A)
La Ronge: 2 (2H)
Flin Flon: 2 (1H, 1A)
Humboldt: 1 (1A)
What To Expect?
After back to back trips to the league finals, and a lot of turnover... as much as the Terriers would love to be back there, there isn't near as much pressure on them to get there this year as there was last season. I do think they're a perfect dark horse, and they remind me a lot of the team they had 2 seasons ago, that upset three teams enroute to a Conference Championship, especially their forwards. They don't have one dominant line, but they've got four lines they can roll in almost any situation, including powerplay. Trent Cassan plays everyone, and that's why there's not a true 'fourth line.' Everyone gets equal 5-on-5 minutes, and that makes everyone better, in a long season. As far as the trade deadline, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Terriers do very little. With the makeup and youth of this team, they're already set up pretty well for the next couple years, but they've shown they can play with Weyburn, Estevan, and Melville, teams who are above them in the standings right now. They could certainly knock off any of those teams, regardless where they finish, even if they have to go the long way (Survivor Series) like they did two years ago. Because they're right in the pack, I don't see them dealing impact 20-year-olds to build for the future, but at the same time, I can't see them trading any of their youth FOR an impact 20-year-old. In my opinion, they could use one more defeseman with some size and some offensive ability, who can play the PP. If they can pull off a cash deal, or send a prospect for a veteran D, they might, but again... probably not if it means trading a key 92 or 93.
HALFWAY HARDWARE
Most Valuable Player
Zak Majkowski, F
Runners-Up: Riley Paterson, F; Ryon Sookro, F; Brent Struble
Most Underrated
Jeremy Johnson, F
Runners-Up: Riley Paterson, F; Devon McMullen, D; Keven Cann, D
Top Rookie
Curtis Oliver, F
Runners-Up: Ryon Sookro*, F; Jeremy Johnson*, F; Jamie Vlanich, F; The Norrish's, D
1 comment:
Interesting that Giebel has decided to return to the Terriers after one game with the Rebels! Great news for the Terriers though.
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