By Mike Stackhouse
The SJHL will have new Canalta Cup champions after the Yorkton Terriers upset the Nipawin Hawks 4-3 at The Cage on Tuesday night to win the best of seven series in the full seven games.
The Hawks, last year’s champions, were the number one seed after being the top club in the regular season and they were able to fight their way back after falling behind 3-games-to-1 in the series; but the Terriers showed tremendous perseverance in jumping out to a lead in the first period and they never trailed in the deciding game.
Jared Legien, who hadn’t scored a goal since January 22nd (a span of 13 games), got the Terriers on the board and he’d later add another. Legien had 35-goals and 65-points during the regular season. But, he went pointless in his last four regular season games (he also missed a month with injury) and was held to 3-assists in 9-playoff games heading into tonight.
There was a flurry of offense late in the second as Michael Makarenko scored 13-seconds after Legien made it 3-1 with his second of the game. Chantz Petruic answered that with his second of the game thirty seconds after the Makarenko goal.
Logan Moon scored in the third and Colten Gerlib had Nipawin’s other goal. Patrick Pugliese, who was a wall in net for two and a half games, was pulled after allowing four goals on 17 shots in two periods of game seven. It was just the second time since November 4th that Pugliese allowed 4 in a game. Declan Hobbs was perfect on 14 shots in the third but his teammates couldn’t get the equalizer.
Meanwhile, Ryan Ouellette was steady with 37-saves, posting a .921-SPCT in the series.
The Terriers will play the Battlefords North Stars in the semi-finals.
The Stars shell shocked Flin Flon with a three goal first period and then settled on a 4-1 victory, on home ice, in game seven to defeat the Bombers after allowing a 3-games-to-none series lead to evaporate when Flin Flon had won the last three. Four games in this series went to overtime, including a game five triple overtime game last Friday.
Quintin Loon-Stewardson had a goal and two assists (he finished the series with 3-goals and 7-assists) to lead the offensive attack. Brett Gammer opened it up five minutes into the game and then Loon-Stewardson set up goals by Seth Summers and Braydon Buziak late in the opening frame and that, pretty much, put it out of reach.
However, the Bombers did pepper Joel Grzybowski with 40-shots and had the advantage in that department 28-20 over the final two periods as they fought hard to get back in it.
Daylan Marchi broke the shutout with 6:05 to go but that was all Grzybowski would allow. Gabriel Waked made 31-saves in the Flin Flon net.
Grzybowski posted a 1.88 GAA and .948 SPCT in the series despite allowing five in a game six loss.
Tristyn DeRoose was the overtime hero for Estevan as the hometown Bruins held off Humboldt for a 3-2 overtime win in game seven of that series.
DeRoose had gone twelve games without a goal before getting the biggest of his Junior A career.
The Bruins went up 2-0 on goals from Will Koop and Eddie Gallagher nineteen seconds apart in the first period; but the Broncos had quick strikes of their own with Josh Patrician and Reagan Poncelet scoring 31-seconds apart early in the second.
The goalies were the story after that as Grant Boldt made 29-saves for the win and Rayce Ramsay was heroic despite the defeat with 38-saves to give his team a chance to steal it on the road.
Boldt really found his game after being pulled in game four, going 3-and-0 in games 5, 6, and 7 and posting a 1.45-GAA and .955 SPCT.
Estevan will play Melfort in the other semi-final. The Mustangs have been waiting on the sidelines since beating Kindersley 4-games-to-1.
It’s expected that both series will begin on Friday in Melfort and North Battleford, respectively. It’s assumed game two would be in the same locations on Saturday before the scene shifts to Estevan and Yorkton for games three and four next Tuesday and Wednesday; but schedules haven’t been release and won’t be until later on Wednesday.
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