After beating the Melville Millionaires for the second straight SJHL post‑season, the Yorkton Terriers are ready to face the Battlefords North Stars in the second series of the playoffs. “We are through the first round of the playoffs now, so we are in bonus time and the boys have been working really hard,” Emery Olauson, the Yorkton Terriers’ coach, told CTV News on Thursday. Both the Terriers and the North Stars finished the season with 76 points, and Olauson thinks it will be a tight series. “They play a lot more like us than Melville does. They are going to counter, they are very offensive, and their special teams are really good,” the coach said. The Terriers are preparing with video work and by figuring out the strategies that may be used against them. “And then selecting a lineup that we think is going to give us the best chance,” he added. The team’s goalkeeper, Callum Craig, has been with the Terriers for two years and is averaging just over two goals against per game in the playoffs. “He is consistent. In that first round series I thought we faced a really good goaltender. But six out of four times, Callum was the stronger,” Olauson said. Craig will be important as the North Stars have one of the best scoring attacks in the league. It is not just the goalie and the top scorers who are on the Terriers’ side, but also last year’s experience, when they reached the league semi‑finals. “Now in the second round, we are looking to do better than we did last year. And I do think we are more prepared for it,” the coach said. Fans are excited and are filling the bleachers, averaging more than 1,600 spectators for the playoffs. Game one of the second series is on Friday in Yorkton.
