The Hawks got 32 stops from Gage Roberts but came up short in a 3-1 loss to Yorkton Friday. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)

By Nick Nielsen

Yorkton forced to Forfeit 3 games

Yorkton Terriers appealing SJHL decision to forfeit four games

Oct 22, 2024 | 5:00 PM

Late in the day on October 21, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League announced that they were adjusting the results of five games during the regular season involving the Yorkton Terriers after they dressed a player in their lineup who was not officially added to the team’s protected player list. The Terriers announced the next day that they plan to appeal the decision, believing that similar situations have occurred in the past without the same level of action taken.

When reached for comment, Terriers President Curtis Malysh said that a similar situation took place last year where the Nipawin Hawks were forced to forfeit a game against the Melfort Mustangs, but the punishment was not nearly as severe.

“We just feel that you know the penalty is a little bit more harsh compared to past events that have taken place for similar incidents. So we’re hoping that the appeal will will help justify that.”

As stated in section 4.1 of the SJHL Rules and Regulations:

INELIGIBLE PLAYERS

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4.1 No player shall be permitted to participate in a League game unless he appears on that team’s player protected lists. Notification of Protected Players Lists, Certified Players and Affiliated Players are to be completed through the electronic registration process. In addition to the right of the Commissioner to forfeit a game for the use of an ineligible player, the offending team will receive a mandatory fine of four hundred and fifty dollars ($450.00).

The decision affects the results of five games in total. The Terriers have been forced to forfeit three of their wins on October 11, 16, and 18 against the Nipawin Hawks, Estevan Bruins, and Melville Millionaires respectively. They lost two other games with an ineligible player in the lineup, October 6 against the Humboldt Broncos and October 12 against the Weyburn Red Wings.

For personal stats for the players dressed during those games, the goals and assists will still be tracked. For the team however, they will be stripped of all goals scored during those games, a total of 26, which could have an affect on the standings come playoff time. If the Terriers were to tie for a playoff spot and both teams are tied on the first two tiebreakers (number of regulation wins, and head to head points against each other), the third tiebreaker comes down to the team with the greater difference between goals scored and goals against.

On Tuesday, the Terriers announced via social media that they were going to appeal the decision.

“We owe it to our players, fans, and the entire Yorkton community to appeal this decision and uphold the integrity of our team,” said Malysh in the released statement.

It has not been made clear which player was the uncarded player in any of the games. It has been speculated however that the player in question is Keenan Ingram, who dressed in all five forfeited games after being acquired by the Terriers in a trade with the Weyburn Red Wings on October 4.