The puck has officially dropped for the 2022-2023 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League regular season and there were plenty of games for fans to enjoy over the weekend.
Friday Sept 16th:
The Yorkton Terriers spoiled the Estevan Bruins banner raising ceremony as they earned a 3-2 win on the road at Affinity Place. Clay Sleeva scored the game winner with just 6:48 remaining and Caleb Allen made 42 saves to help secure the win for the visitors. Jeromy Fortin and Evan Forrest scored for the Bruins in the loss.
Elsewhere in the Viterra division, the Weyburn Red Wings doubled up the Melville Millionaires by a score of 4-2. Kirk Mullen netted a pair for the Wings, while Riley See and Ethan Whillans also found the back of the net for Weyburn. Nicolas Samson had a goal and an assist for Melville.
The Flin Flon Bombers blanked the Melfort Mustangs 2-0 at the Whitney Forum. Cole Duperreault netted both goals for the Bombers in the win and Harmon Laser-Hume made 34 saves for his first shutout of the season.
The other Sherwood division match up Friday night saw the La Ronge Ice Wolves knock off the Nipawin Hawks 7-4. Ethan Strik found the back of the net twice for the Ice Wolves and the home side went 3/9 on the power-play in the victory.
Finally, the Battlefords North Stars earned their first road win of the season with a 4-3 win over Kindersley. Evan Waldie, Jordan Gibbs, Steven Kesslering, and Keiton Klein scored for the North Stars in the win, despite being outshot 40-38 in the game. Cameron Rimstad, Adam Paplawski, and Tylin Hilbig netted all of the offence for the Klippers, all in the 2nd period.
Saturday Sept 17th:
The Nipawin Hawks bounced back in a big way at home Saturday night as they earned a 5-2 victory over the Flin Flon Bombers. The win was highlighted by a four goal 2nd period which saw the Hawks score twice on the man advantage. Braxton Buckberger had a pair in the win and for the 2nd straight night Cole Duperreault of the Flin Flon Bombers had both of his teams goals.
The Yorkton Terriers completed the weekend sweep of the Estevan Bruins as they held on for a 5-4 victory in their home opener. The Terriers had five different goal scorers in the win, including the game winner by Aiden Knutson.
Also improving to 2-0 Saturday night at home was the Battlefords North Stars. Keiton Klein and Emmett Wurst each scored twice and Josh Kotai stopped 30 of 31 in the win for the Stars. Spencer Paplawski had the lone goal for the Klippers in the loss.
The Melfort Mustangs earned their first win of the season with a 5-1 victory over the La Ronge Ice Wolves. The balanced attack of the Mustangs saw 2 goals in the first, 2 in the second and 1 in the 3rd, with five different goal scorers. Kale Taylor had the lone goal for the Ice Wolves in the loss.
Finally, the final two teams to take to the ice in the regular season kicked off their seasons at the Elgar Petersen Arena in Humboldt as the Broncos hosted the Notre Dame Hounds. The home side would send the crowd home happy, as they earned an impressive 7-2 win, which was highlighted by 4 goals in the middle stanza. The Broncos also outshot the Hounds 55-14 in the win. However, the re-match between the two clubs which was scheduled for Sunday evening in Wilcox was postponed and will be made up on March 14th.
The league will have Monday off, but action will resume on Tuesday with a pair of contests. The Notre Dame Hounds will head to Kindersley to battle the Klippers at the West Central Events Centre as both teams look for their first win of the season. Meanwhile, the other contest will feature the two clubs who dawn the black and gold, as the Nipawin Hawks play host to the Estevan Bruins.
