Every Monday morning, join Benny Walchuk and Yorkton Terriers Head Coach & GM Emery Olauson with a breakdown of game match-ups and the very latest from inside the Terriers locker room
Doug Falconer:
Good morning once again. It’s time for the Yorkton Terriers Coaches Show on GX94. I’m joined by the head coach and general manager of the Terriers, Emery Olauson.
Emery, you kicked off the second half of the season with a 3–2 win over Melville on Friday. What did you like most about your group’s response coming out of the break?
Emery Olauson:
I thought Callum Craig continued his form from before Christmas. He was great for us. We got timely scoring, and anytime you play Melville it’s going to be a tight, hard-checking game. I thought we did a fairly good job keeping them to the outside in our zone and did a decent job on the penalty kill.
I didn’t love our lack of discipline, and it felt like we couldn’t get our power play going, but overall I liked our compete level, I liked how we finished the game, and I really liked our depth. Our second, third, and fourth lines did a great job supporting the top line, especially with Henrikson and Zawatsky out. Those are big holes in the lineup, but I thought the guys did a good job filling in.
Doug Falconer:
Saturday night in Warman didn’t go the way you wanted, a 7–4 loss. What went wrong compared to Friday?
Emery Olauson:
Warman earned their bounces. It was their first game back after the break, they were excited, and they took advantage of our mistakes. We made too many of them, and they capitalized on their chances.
It was another night where they had several power plays compared to our one, and they made us pay. I thought we could have won the game, but they executed and we didn’t. We gave them the opportunity to steal one, and they did.
Doug Falconer:
You saw two very different games over the weekend. What does that tell you about where this team is at right now?
Emery Olauson:
We have to focus on the day-to-day process. Over our last 17 games, we’ve won 13, so the group is rolling pretty well. But in this league, if you don’t bring your best, you’re probably not going to be successful. That’s what happened.
We’ll address it in practice this week and get back to our consistent play. These are young players, and they’re going to have nights where mistakes happen. Missing Zawatsky and Henrikson makes a big difference, especially leadership-wise and offensively, and we had a couple guys dealing with the flu as well. When you combine that with mistakes, it snowballs.
We’re not going to overreact. We lost to a hungry team at home with good players. Earlier in the season we got the better of them, and this time they got the better of us.
Doug Falconer:
You’re back home Friday night hosting the Melfort Mustangs. What kind of test do they bring, and what will be the key for success?
Emery Olauson:
They’re the two-time defending champions. They’re currently outside a playoff spot, but they’re proud and playing hard. They’ll be hungry and desperate for points.
This will feel like a playoff-type game. They’ve got strong forward depth, they’re tough, and they have two good goaltenders. There aren’t many holes in their lineup. We need to play our game, execute on our chances, and make sure we’re ready to face their best.
Doug Falconer:
Finally, Team SJHL captured the Viking Cup in Camrose. What does that mean for the league, and how proud are you of Tylan Henrikson and Jye Zawatsky?
Emery Olauson:
It’s huge for the league. If you watch the SJHL every day, you know how competitive it is. There’s skill, physicality, and it’s a battle every weekend.
That tournament win puts a spotlight on our league, especially for the 20-year-olds. Going undefeated against top competition says a lot about the players selected and about the league itself. It creates opportunities at the post-secondary level.
We’re extremely proud of Jye and Tylan. They represented our team and the SJHL so well, just like they do every night for us. It was no surprise they had success, but coming home with a gold medal is something the entire league can be proud of.