Chapter 6: Bryson Yaschyshyn

Six straight wins, and for the first time this season, they're featured on the national rankings.

All is good in Dauphin Kings' land as the team prepares for two games this weekend. On Saturday, they'll host the Winnipeg Monarchs. On Sunday, they're heading to Winkler to play the Flyers. Over the weekend, Dauphin won two more games. They've now rallied off six in a row since an opening-night loss against Swan Valley.

Bryson Yaschyshyn has dazzled between the pipes in his first full season in the Blue & White.

"So far, so good," said Yaschyshyn. "We've had a little lighter schedule so far. We had a good test against Niverville. We came to play and got the job done."

After a convincing 8-1 win against the Monarchs, the Kings made the short trip to the CRRC to play the powerful Nighthawks. Niverville had won six straight games to start the season. Evan Panzer opened the scoring for Niverville late in the first. The MGEU East Division power didn't score again.

Havryil Simchuk tied the game early in the second, and Cam Jansa scored the game-winner early in the third. Dauphin added three more goals in the third to down the Nighthawks, 5-1. It was Niverville's first defeat and Dauphin's sixth straight win. Bryson was outstanding with 28 saves.

"We knew going into that game that the league probably didn't know how good we would be. Everyone knew that was a big test," added Yaschyshyn. "The boys wanted to prove that we're here to play and do it. We came out and got the win. It was a great weekend."

As the team's number one goalie, Yaschyshyn has been on fire to start the season. Since giving up five goals on 44 shots on September 19, Yaschyshyn has been nearly perfect. He had a 33-save shutout the following night before turning away 22, 17, and 28 shots in his next three starts. He has a 1.60 goals-against average and a superb .946 save percentage.

In his last four starts, Bryson has given up just three goals, and no more than one in any game.

"Yeah, I had a good summer of training, and I came to camp feeling good," he said. "The boys have been playing great in front of me. Our defensive core is solid, like it was last year. I have a lot of confidence in the group in front of me, and I'm pleased with how I'm playing."

Yaschyshyn had some high praise for his goaltending partner last year. Cole Sheffield was one of the best goaltenders the MJHL has seen in many years and played three full years in Dauphin. He was co-MVP in the league final and is now playing NCAA Division 1 with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

"He was a great guy to play with. I honestly wouldn't have wanted to play with anyone else. He was a great role model. He was smaller like me, so I could take some of the things he was working on and put them into my game," offered Yaschyshyn.

This year, Bryson has some praise for his new goaltending partner, Justin Perreault. He was acquired in a trade with the Winkler Flyers and has gone 2-0 with Dauphin so far. The duo of Yaschyshyn and Perreault has been stoning opponents from day one.

"He's a great guy and a very good goalie," continued Yaschyshyn. "He's a hard worker and a great teammate. I'm happy to have him as my goaltending partner."

One thing you may notice about Bryson is that he always joins his teammates on the blueline for O'Canada. This is not something that many goalies do. For Yaschyshyn, it's all about being with his brothers.

"My teammates and I all represent the same team, the same organization, and we share the same crest," continued Yaschyshyn. "If I have the opportunity to stand by my teammates, I always will. It's a culture thing as well."

Bryson and the group are back in action on Saturday night at Credit Union Place at 7:00 p.m. against the Winnipeg Monarchs. You can hear Bryson's full chat with Darnell Duff during the Dauphin Kings Power Play Show on Friday afternoon at 4:00.

Bryson was also the second star in this week's Parkland Source for Sports Three Stars of the Week, and he was voted an MJHL Star of the Week.