The Yorkton Terriers eked out a 2-1 overtime victory over the Weyburn Red Wings Monday afternoon, slipping past the Wings for sole possession of sixth place in the Viterra Division. The loss was a controversial one for the Wings, as there were a number of what the fans at Crescent Point Place saw as missed calls by the referees. More than one Weyburn player left the game for precautionary reasons, including Red Wings netminder Carter Phair after he was run by Cole Keenleyside in the second period. Phair finished out the period, but the coaches opted to let him rest for the remainder of the game. Afterwards, Red Wings head coach Wes Rudy didn’t mince his words.

“We dominated them,” Rudy said. “It wasn’t even a close hockey game, and the other team had to do what they had to do to get our goalie out of the game to have any chance of winning it.”

Former Red Wing Nathan Hargrave stopped 40 of the 41 shots he faced, as the puck spent the majority of the time in the Yorkton zone throughout the game. At the other end, the goaltending tandem of Carter Phair and Shaun Fleming only faced 18 shots in total.

The Terriers opened the scoring in the first period, when Corwin Stevely scored his 14th of the season. He found himself open on the blocker side of Phair, and with a quick shot off the feed from Jordan Ross, buried the puck in the net. The Wings were quick to respond, though.


Carson Rose extended his point streak to eight games, when he scored his 20th of the year, stuffing the puck past Hargrave during a scramble in the Terriers crease. Jacob Wozney and Cole Woodliffe were credited with the assists on the goal. The Wing pressed hard to get the go-ahead goal in the period, outshooting Yorkton 10-4 in the first period alone. Hargrave, despite a number of scrambles and misplayed pucks, though, wouldn’t give up the second goal, and the two teams headed to the locker room in a tie.

The second period saw a lot of physical play between the two teams, with big hits being delivered by both teams. The fans, though, took exception to a few hits, notably when Donavon Lumb, a four-year veteran of the Wings, was hit awkwardly from behind into the boards in front of the Terriers bench, and when captain Mike Eskra was on the receiving end of a hit from behind on the opposite side of the ice a few moments later.

The Wings manager to put 15 more shots on Hargrave in the second period, looking to take advantage of the rebounds Hargrave gave up, but the puck somehow stayed out of the Yorkton net. Rose had a number of chances, as did Wozney, but the best chance went to defenseman Jamieson Ree, who rang a slapshot from the top of the slot off the inside of the post and out.

At the other end, the Terriers only tested Phair four times, but the game took a decidedly nasty turn with just over three minutes left. Terriers forward Cole Keenleyside cut in towards the net from the left wing, and right into and over Phair, showing no sign of slowing down. He was given a five minute major for charging, and a game misconduct. The play will likely be reviewed by SJHL president Bill Chow, who was also in attendance at the game. Phair finished the period, before being removed from the game for precautionary reasons by the coaching staff.

In the third period, the Red Wings kept up the offensive pressure, but couldn’t solve Hargrave a second time. He turned away 13 more shots, while at the other end, Fleming was only tested three times.

The physicality continued into the third, with a questionable hit by Terriers captain Corwin Stevely on Carson Scheschuk along the boards. With no call made on the ice by the officials, Wozney challenged Stevely, and the two had a spirited tilt, with Wozney coming out on top. Both were given five and a game misconduct for the fight.

With nothing solved in regulation, the two teams went to three-on-three overtime. Both squads exchanged chances at both ends, when a ping pong shot managed to go off of Jordan Ross, and in past Fleming to give the Terriers the 2-1 victory.

Yorkton now sits with 55 points, one ahead of the Wings for sixth overall in the SJHL, and second in the Viterra Division. Weyburn does have two games in hand, and will look to close the gap when they have a home and home series against Melville this coming weekend. It will start Friday night in Melville, and return to Crescent Point Place Saturday night. Both games will be broadcast on Red Wing Radio K106.