The wait is finally over, hockey fans! As the chill in the air starts to bite with the arrival of Fall over the weekend, and the ice glitters under the arena lights, we welcome the much-anticipated return of the hockey season.
Both the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Manitoba Junior Hockey League raised the curtain on their regular seasons this past Friday night, with the Yorkton Terriers, Melville Millionaires and Swan Valley Stampeders all in action.
Cruz FM and our sister station, GX94 were proud to be the game sponsors for the Terriers’ home opener on Friday night, as they welcomed the Weyburn Red Wings to town.
The Terriers got off to a fast start, with captain Jaron Desnoyers scoring just over a minute into the game, before adding two more in the first twenty minutes, completing a natural hat trick, to help the home side take a 3-1 lead after twenty minutes.
When the first period ended, that was the cue for me and my partner in crime, GX94 afternoon drive announcer Evan Montgomery, to head out onto the ice and fire out a few t-shirts to the big crowd in attendance at Westland Arena.
In the second period, Yorkton added to their lead, scoring twice more, including Desnoyers’ fourth of the game, to go up 5-1 after two periods.
The home side added one more in the third, to lock up a 6-1 victory on opening night!
Another great part of Friday’s action? A big announced crowd of 1,203! It was awesome to see so many friends come out to cheer on the Terriers!
Then, to wrap up the weekend in style, the Terriers headed to Weyburn on Sunday afternoon, where they roared back from a 2-0 deficit, to knock off the Wings by a score of 5-3.
It was a great opening weekend for the Melville Millionaires, too, as they swept a home-and-home with the Estevan Bruins.
The Mils won on the road, beating the Bruins 4-2 at Affinity Place to open the season on Friday, before returning to the friendly confines of C.N. Community Centre on Saturday night, where they pounded Estevan 7-2, in front of almost 1,200 fans.
So, both Yorkton and Melville are off to 2-0 starts.
Unfortunately, it was a rough start to the season for the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Despite a spirited comeback, the Stamps dropped their home opener, falling 6-5 to the visiting Northern Manitoba Blizzard, then dropping a 5-1 decision to the Blizzard on Saturday night in The Pas.
But, the great thing about this time of year, is that everybody is a contender, and there’s time to make adjustments and tweak lineups, to get teams performing at their best.
And once they get a couple of road trips under their belts, the players will get a chance to bond and grow even closer as a team.
You’ve got to love this time of the season… It’s that magical time of year when fresh ice awaits the skaters’ blades, and the roaring cheers of of the faithful fans echo through the stands. Each puck drop brings with it heartbeat-skipping excitement, every hard hit brings the fans to their feet, and every goal lights a fire in our souls. From the intensity of face-offs, to the magnetic pulls of power plays, to the excitement when tempers flare, and the angry players drop the mitts and duke it out… the allure of hockey captures us, pulling us into a world where speed, skill, strategy and toughness reign supreme.
It’s more than just a game- it’s a symphony of athleticism and passion, an orchestration of teamwork and individual brilliance. Let’s rally behind our teams, celebrate the rivalries (like the classic Highway 10 Rivalry between the Terriers and Millionaires), and cherish the camaraderie with our fellow fans. The journey from the opening game to the crescendo of the playoffs is as beautiful as an artist’s masterpiece in motion. The new season is upon us, and with it comes hope, dreams, and the sheer beauty of the sport we hold dear to our hearts.
Good luck to all of our local junior teams (including Fort Knox, of the Prairie Junior Hockey League) this season, as they chase the championship! Go get em’!
