The Saskatoon Contacts' bench (orange) erupts following the go ahead goal by 14-year-old Riley Heidt. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

14-Year-Old Phenoms

Contacts’ young phenoms stun Trojans late

Oct 4, 2019 | 5:20 PM

The Tisdale Trojans’ home match-up against the Saskatoon Contacts garnered some extra attention.

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, two of Saskatchewan’s brightest prospects – forwards Riley Heidt and Brayden Yager – made their first visit to the Tisdale RECplex.

Yager and Heidt are the only players born in 2005 playing in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) as 14-year-olds after leading the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League in scoring with 103 and 99 points respectively as 13-year-olds.

To put their advanced development in perspective, they’re playing their Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft eligible season in Midget AAA, and they’re thriving.

Yager and Heidt each scored five points during their first two SMAAAHL games against the Notre Dame Argo’s during the league’s showcase in Warman.

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It looked as if the Trojans were about the hand the ’05 duo their first blank games on the scoresheet, until a late rush into the Trojans zone by Heidt started the series of events which led to him banking in a centering pass from Ty Albrecht. With 1:39 remaining in the third period, the Contacts led 3-2 and hung on for a 4-2 win following an empty net goal.

“The two ’05s made us look pretty silly on the last goal,” Head Coach Dennis Kubat told northeastNOW. “There were about three times where we could have got the puck out in the third and it didn’t happen; it costed us the game. I liked 18 minutes of that third period, and it’s just the little mistakes and second efforts that are the difference between a win and a loss in a one-goal game.”

The Trojans took the lead after the first period, thanks to Trenton Curtis’ wrist shot from the top of the right circle. Following a back and forth first period, the Contacts controlled the pace of play and chances, out shooting the Trojans 19-12 in the second frame.

Two goals nearly a minute apart – a sharp angle wrist shot from Albrecht and a blast from the right circle by Matthew Hodson – gave the Contacts a 2-1 lead and gave Trojans goaltender Hunter Lolacher slim margin for error going forward.

Kubat said the game was a fun one to watch for fans in attendance with back and forth play and odd-man rushes, although it’s not what he and his assistant coach Daven Smith intended.

“They’ve got a lot of skill and we kind of played right into them,” he said. “You’ve got to control the things you can control: your work ethic, playing the team structure we talk about, and not being an individual. You’ve got to work as a line and a unit of five. We got away from that and we’re lucky Hunter had a good second period and give us a chance to win in the third.”

The Trojans adjusted and outshot the Contacts 15-6 in the third period. After numerous clean looks at goaltender Chase Hamm, Curtis gloved the puck down, slapped it on net, and tied the game with over three minutes remaining.

One minute later, Heidt’s tying goal transpired, giving the Trojans their third straight defeat after losing both their games at the SMAAAHL Showcase in Warman (Moose Jaw Warriors 5-4 OT and Swift Current Legionnaires 5-3).

“I think it’s always good to have adversity on early in the year,” Kubat said. “We’ll see here what we’re made of. The biggest thing is we’re still young in the year. Compete, work hard, and make the easy plays. Hopefully we learn from those mistakes and next time it’s a different result.”

The Trojans begin a two-game road trip starting on Saturday, Oct. 5 against the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Trojans, Trenton Curtis (2) from Rylan Donald (1) and MacKenzie Carson (1), 0:44

Second Period

1-1, Contacts, Ty Albrecht (1) from Brett Leonard (1), 4:16

2-1, Contacts, Matthew Hodson (1) from Alex Bernauer (4) and Jacob Visentini (1), 5:32

Third Period

2-2, Trojans, Trenton Curtis 2 (3) from Kalen Ukrainetz (6) and Noah Wills (4), 16:42

3-2, Contacts, Riley Heidt (3) from Ty Albrecht (3) and Brayden Yager (2), 18:21

4-2, Contracts, Alex Bernauer (3) from and Matthew Hodson (6), 19:31 (EN)

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow