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Mintos give up four goals in third to lose 5-2 to Harvest

Oct 28, 2012 | 4:47 PM

“When you take a team lightly, that’s what happens.”

That was Prince Albert Mintos captain Jason Duret after his team collapsed in the third period, giving up four unanswered goals in the third to the Yorkton Harvest in a 5-2 loss.

The Harvest came into the game with just one win with a 1-7-0-1 record and lost to the previously winless Beardy’s Blackhawks on Saturday. Duret said the Mintos were aware of both of those facts and thought Sunday’s game at the Art Hauser Centre would be easy. The Harvest had other ideas.

“We have to learn from this, you can’t be doing that,” said the 17-year-old forward from Prince Albert. “Lots of these guys don’t know, they just look at the standings and see Yorkton in second last and they think we’re going to win.

“It’s a lot different in Midget AAA. No team’s aren’t good, these are the best-of-the-best in all of Saskatchewan.”

Dakota Odgers could just be the best Midget AAA player in the province, or is at least in the argument. He supported that argument by getting in four of the Harvest’s five goals, scoring two goals and setting up two others.

After starting the year with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, the 16-year-old Odgers was reassigned to the Harvest on Oct. 16, where his father and former NHL-veteran Jeff coaches.

In just four games at the Midget AAA level, Odgers has six goals and three assists and leads the league in points-per-game with 2.3.

Although the Mintos were aware of his talent and had plans and matchups in place to stop Odgers, they just couldn’t.

“It was a breakdown, a team breakdown out there,” said Mintos assistant coach Todd Becker. “It wasn’t one individual; we broke down as a unit.”

The Mintos trailed 1-0 after the first period when Chase McKersie banged one home 15 minutes into the game. The Mintos were outshot 9-5 in the first period and were out played and outworked.

Although they got a 2-1 lead after the a much better second thanks to goals from Justin Boyer and Adam Osczevski, they thought they had the game wrapped up heading into the third.

“When you come out flat, you’re going to get an earful for it,” said Duret. “We came out a little stronger (in the second) and thought we won the game but we didn’t.

“There’s still another 20 minutes to be played, we pooped the bed, I guess.”

Odgers scored both his goals in the third period and set up Eric Meyer for the fifth goal of the game. Ethan Bear had the game winner on the power play six minutes into the third period.

The Mintos (5-3-1-0) will play the third place Saskatoon Blazers (6-1-2-0) Thursday at the Art Hauser Centre.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter:@jeff_dandrea