Weekend rink report: Northern Bears sweep Weyburn, Mintos split in Southern Sask.

The club welcomed the Weyburn Gold Wings to town for the final time this season, playing two games that saw P.A. prevail in either.

Game one was played on Saturday afternoon where Mikiya Anderson got the party started in the first, giving the Bears the lead midway through the frame.

Following the marker, things went silent as either goaltender refused to budge. It took over two period of play before the lamp lit again, before Jersie Andersen put the final nail in the coffin for P.A., scoring an empty net goal with 37 seconds left in the game to seal a 2-0 shutout win in game one.

Collecting her first career AAA shutout between the pipes was Annika Neufeldt, stopping all 31 shots she faced.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (game one)

Game two began in favour of the Northern Bears once again with Arlise Schmalz breaking the ice just over six minutes in. In the final minute of the first, Neufeldt’s shutout streak came to an end when former Northern Bear Hannah Guttormson converted on the powerplay to tie the game at one heading into the second.

There, Weyburn claimed their first lead of the weekend when Kiah Shields scored midway through the period. About a minute later, Shields was assessed a four-minute major penalty for head contact, which turned into the Bears finding the equalizing goal in Zayda Summach to tie it at two.

With 28 seconds to play in the frame, the Bears recaptured the lead off the tape of P.A.’s own Gracie Reed, her first goal at the AAA level.

The Black and Orange only needed 61 seconds to double their lead in the third with Andersen collecting her second goal of the weekend and her second point of the game, putting the Bears in front 4-2.

With less than eight minutes left on the clock, Weyburn found some life when Julia Durr found the back of the net. But despite their efforts, Neufeldt stood tall the rest of the way and held on for the 4-3 win.

Neufeldt made 36 saves during the win in game two, helping the Northern Bears improve to 7-9-1-3 (W-L-OTL-SOL) on the season.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (game two)

P.A. is set for another two games next weekend however, it will be against different opponents.

On Saturday, the Northern Bears will play host to the Saskatoon Stars at the Art Hauser Centre for a 7 p.m. puck drop. Meanwhile on Sunday, the team will travel to the Battlefords to faceoff with the league leading Sharks at Battleford Arena. That game is slated to start at 2 p.m.

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Mintos split weekend set in Southern Sask.

The Prince Albert Mintos kicked off a three-game road trip this past weekend, playing the first two games in Southern Saskatchewan.

Game one was Saturday night in Wilcox where the Mintos paid the Notre Dame Hounds a visit for the final time this season.

After Rory Dewar made it 1-0 Hounds in the first, the Mintos exploded for five goals in the second while holding Notre Dame scoreless. The goals were each scored by a different player, including Evan Skoronski, Connor Howe, Luke Senick, Kelan Simmonds, and Landin Frank.

P.A. continued with their foot on the gas in the third when Frank tallied his second of the game and Carter Cole added another to give the Mintos a commanding 7-1 lead.

With more than 15 minutes to go now in the third, the Hounds could only muster the offence for one goal as Jayden Blanchette stood tall in net for the rest of the game, collecting the 7-2 win.

In total, Blanchette stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (game one)

Game two was a different tale as the Mintos squared off with the first place Warriors in Moose Jaw.

After Kanyan Unger got the Mintos on the board early to start the game, the Warriors swiftly answered back with two goals of their own, one from Kierin Osberg on the powerplay and the other from Carson Park at equal strength.

Before the end of the period though, P.A. managed to pull the score back to even with Cole’s tenth of the campaign to round out the first.

The second period was a goaltending battle as Osberg was the only one able to find the back of the net for his second of the game, giving Moose Jaw the lead entering the third.

There, the Mintos managed to tie it thanks to rookie Liam Acorn, whose timely marker was also his first at the AAA level.

Sadly, the game tying goal was as close as P.A. would get to the win. Carson Deichert scored the go-ahead tally on the powerplay for the Warriors at the midway mark, while Maxon Johnston sealed the Moose Jaw victory with an empty net goal in the dying seconds, making it 5-3 final.

Blanchette was given the start once again, where he turned aside 29 shots.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (game two)

With the split, the Mintos are sixth in the SMAAAHL standings with an 18-13-2 (W-L-OTL) record.

Prince Albert now gets 10 days rest before their next contest when they close out this three game road trip against the Stars in North Battleford on Wednesday, Jan 29. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Access Communications Centre.

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Elsewhere:

WHL – The Prince Albert Raiders were victorious in their two games this past weekend. The Raiders slaughtered the Swift Current Broncos on Friday, 7-1, before downing the Red Deer Rebels 3-1 on Saturday. The Raiders play again this Friday against the Saskatoon Blades with puck drop set for 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

PJHL (Jr. B) – The Prince Albert Timberjaks also had a pair of games this weekend. On Friday, the Jaks travelled to Regina to take on the Silver Foxes and came away with a successful hunt, winning 5-4. They will now go for three in a row during their second game of the weekend on Sunday in Saskatoon against the Royals. Puck drop for that game is set for 7:45 p.m. at Rod Hamm Arena.

U18 AA – The Lake Country Timberwolves collected another win on the campaign this weekend, winning their lone contest on Saturday over the North West Stars, 6-1.

Twin Rivers Hockey League (Senior) – WEEKEND RECAP

(Twin Rivers Hockey League)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

by Logan Lehmann

Weekend rink report: Northern Bears sweep Weyburn, Mintos split in Southern Sask.

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