Weekend rink report: Bears to play for gold at Canadian Crown, Mintos sweep three-in-three

The team is in Devon, AB this weekend for the Canadian Crown Championship, a 12-team tournament featuring teams from across Western Canada.

After winning the ‘Landale Signs Pool’ and finishing the round-robin third overall with a 2-0-0-1 (W-L-T-OTL) record, Prince Albert clinched a spot in the A Finals on Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 victory over the winners of the ‘Sawmill Leduc Pool’, Lloydminster Steelers, for a chance at the championship.

Bears forward Marly Dumanski opened the scoring early in the second period while short-handed, before Kalie Cole answered back for the Steelers a few minutes later. It stayed that way until 14 seconds into the third when Jersie Andersen put P.A. back on top with her fifth goal of the tournament.

Later in the frame, lightning struck twice for Andersen as she potted her second of the contest to double the lead. In the final minutes, Skylar Heinrichs got Lloydminster back to within one, however, Nikita Krayetski stood tall in net making 41 saves in the game to help the Bears clinch an A Finals berth.

Prince Albert will get set to face a familiar foe in the Swift Current Wildcats for the championship on Monday, which is set for a 12:00 p.m. puck drop.

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Mintos sweep three-in-three in Southern Sask.

The Prince Albert Mintos were perfect in their trip through the Southern part of the province this weekend.

The Mintos spent Friday night and Saturday afternoon in Estevan battling the Bears, while they closed out their trip in Moose Jaw on Sunday afternoon versus the Warriors.

In both their games against the Bears, P.A. won 6-3 and 4-2 respectively with Carter Bergen leading the charge across both games netting two goals and two assists. Kanyan Unger and Brock Kolibab both had three points in Estevan, while Connor Howe, Landin Frank, and Kelan Simmonds all had two.

Josh Henry and Jayden Blanchette split the games in goal against the Bears. Henry tallied 32 saves on Friday while Blanchette followed up with 26 stops on Saturday.

In Moose Jaw, the Mintos kept on the gas and tallied an identical 4-2 over the Warriors. Howe stayed hot, leading in the points department with two assists. Unger scored against his former team in Sunday’s win, Staiden Parenteau notched his first at the AAA level, and Simmonds and Lincoln Rogers both collected their third goals of the season. Henry got the nod between the pipes and turned aside 44 shots.

With the three wins, the Mintos improve to 5-3-0 (W-L-OTL) and rise to third in the standings after a league-leading eight games played.

Prince Albert is back at home for their next matchup, welcoming the Estevan Bears to the Art Hauser Centre for a pair of games to close out the season series.

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Timberjaks split weekend set to kick off homestand

The Prince Albert Timberjaks welcomed the last two PJHL Champions to the Northern Regional Rec. Centre (NRRC) to help kick off a four-game homestand.

On Friday, the Jaks hosted the reigning champs Saskatoon Quakers, where the visitors showed why they won it all last season. The Quakers prevailed 6-3 led by Cole Barry’s two goals. Brayden Lyons played in net for P.A. and made a whopping 51 saves in the loss, compared to the 30 stops Brady Kashuba made at the other end for Saskatoon.

Despite the defeat, things turned for the better a day later as the Jaks claimed victory over the 2023 Champs Pilot Butte Storm. In 4-1 fashion, Leon Natomagan and Keethan Isbister both had a goal and an assist, while Luke Evans and Brody Anderson were the other goal scorers for P.A.

Like Lyons, Keegen Dansereau faced a plethora of shots in goal, turning aside 54 shots as the Timberjaks improve to 2-3-0 (W-L-OTL) on the season.

P.A. now gets set to welcome the Saskatoon Royals to Hockeytown North on Thursday night. Puck drop is at 7:30 at the NRRC.

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Elsewhere:

WHL – The Prince Albert Raiders opened their B.C. road trip on Saturday with a 5-4 loss against the Cougars in Prince George. The loss extends the Raiders winless streak to five games as they get set to face the Rockets in Kelowna on Monday.

U18AA – The Lake Country Timberwolves continued their hot start to the season, picking up two more wins in shutout fashion over the Warman Wildcats (4-0) and North West Stars (15-0). The T-Wolves now improve to 3-0-0-0 (W-L-OTL-T) as they have yet to give up a goal this season (defeated the Parkland Elks 7-0 in season opener last weekend).

Female U18AA – Currently sitting at 1-1-0-0 (W-L-OTL-T), the Prince Albert Family Pizza Foxes are shooting for their second win of the season on Sunday in Swift Current. The Foxes are set to face the Wildcats at 7:45 p.m.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

by Logan Lehmann

Weekend rink report: Bears to play for gold at Canadian Crown, Mintos sweep three-in-three

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