The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings found themselves down early in their game Tuesday night against the visiting Yorkton Terriers, and despite their best efforts, were unable to overcome the deficit, falling 4-1 at Crescent Point Place.
“Ten minutes off,” said Red Wings head coach Cody Mapes after the game. “We’re young and we’re not good enough right now to take 10 minutes off. The other 50 minutes of the game we were okay but we gave up about 15 shots and three goals in that 10 minutes and that is, unfortunately, the difference in the game.”
The Terriers would open the scoring in the game at the 9:05 mark of the first period when Steven Norum was able to get the puck past Dazza Mitchell. The Terriers followed it up with a shorthanded goal by Karsten Kruska with 2:22 left in the opening frame. Greg Nelson then scored with 37 seconds to play in the period to make it a 3-0 game.
The Red Wings would get on the board early in the second period. During a scramble around the Terriers' net, Matthew Reidy looked to go for a Michigan goal, and the puck would go off the shoulder of Kael DePape. It would bounce around the crease before Austyn Hansen slid it into the net to make it 3-1. Nolan Henderson was credited with the other assist on the goal.
In the third period, the Red Wings found themselves in penalty trouble early. Davis Chorney was given a two-minute minor for cross-checking in the offensive zone, a penalty the fans at Crescent Point Place vocally disapproved of. The fans weren’t the only ones to give the referees an earful, as Mapes would be assessed a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, and given a game misconduct by the officials.
“It gets frustrating, I'm not going to lie,” said Mapes after the game. “When it happens maybe, unfortunately, you say some things you mean but shouldn’t say out loud.”
The team seemed to respond to the ejection of Mapes, successfully killing off the two-man disadvantage, and putting pressure on the Terriers throughout the third period. However, a late penalty called against Nolan Henderson, that again the fans voiced their disapproval of, would result in a power play goal for Yorkton, giving them a 4-1 lead.
The game would end with a scrum starting behind the Yorkton net, with Erik Boers of the Terriers wrestling Jackson Hassman of the Red Wings to the ice with around 12 seconds left in the game. The officials allowed the scrum to continue while the clock wound done to end the game, and all ten skaters would find themselves behind the net. Officials worked to separate the players involved, but only two would be ultimately penalized with Carter Herman from the Terriers and Hassman receiving two-minute minors for roughing and game misconducts.
The two teams will now meet for the third time in a week on Friday, this time in Yorkton. You will be able to catch all the action in the game on Red Wing Radio BIG 106, starting with the pregame show at 7:15 p.m.