The Mann-Northway Northern Bears lift the Canadian Crown championship last season. (File/Mann-Northway Northern Bears)

By Logan Lehmann

Road tripping

Northern Bears off to Alberta to defend Canadian Crown title this weekend

Oct 9, 2025 | 6:00 AM

The Mann-Northway Northern Bears are packing the bus and heading to Devon, Alta. this weekend as they get set to defend their Canadian Crown title.

Prince Albert captured the first-ever Canadian Crown championship last year, going 2-0-0-1 (W-L-T-OTL) in the round robin before winning the finals in a 2-1 shootout thriller against Swift Current.

Now a year later, Northern Bears head coach Steve Young said the team is looking to repeat their performance.

“Last year was a good tournament for them, and to win it all was good. I think the girls are excited. It’s nice to get away again early and have a tournament with that calibre of teams.”

Compared to the 12 teams that competed in 2024, the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2025, featuring clubs from throughout Western Canada. Prince Albert was placed in the Devon Dental Associates Pool (Pool A) alongside the North Shore Warriors and Vancouver Island Seals from B.C., and the Red Deer Chiefs from Alberta.

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“We’re excited to play those teams because we haven’t seen those teams before, but at the same time, we have to make sure we’re doing the right things with our hockey club,” explained Young.

“During the week here, we’ve gone over a lot of stuff that we have to be better at, and that’s what we want to take into the tournament.”

Before embarking on their trip, the club shared some exciting news as they announced their first college commitment of the year. Aidyn Konechny put pen to paper with the Lakeland College Rustlers in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) on Tuesday. 2025/26 will be her third year in the league, signing in P.A. after playing her first two seasons in the Battlefords.

“We’ve been able to bring her in and have her as a third-year player and just let her get accustomed to everyone and just play. I think Lakeland was very happy with her and her game and how she’s progressed over the three years.”

Young added that going to tournaments as big as the Canadian Crown often attracts the eyes of scouts, saying “there’s always someone watching.”

The Northern Bears first game of the tournament is scheduled for 8 a.m. Friday against North Shore, followed by their second game later that night at 5:30 p.m. against Red Deer, and their final round robin match against Vancouver Island on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

For more information about the Canadian Crown tournament, click here.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social