The Prince Albert Mintos are set to face the Regina Pat Canadians in round one of the SMAAAHL playoffs, which start on Sunday night. The Mintos are seen celebrating a goal against the Swift Current Legionnaires on Sunday, Feb 23, 2025. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

AAA Playoffs

‘There’s no pressure’: Mintos set to take on league best Pat Canadians in round one of playoffs

Mar 2, 2025 | 12:01 PM

The Prince Albert Mintos are in the provincial capital Sunday to kick off their 2025 playoff run against the Regina Pat Canadians.

The Mintos come in as the lower ranked squad, representing the eighth seed while the Pat C’s come in as the best in the Sask. Male AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) as the number one seed. Regina is also #2 in the country among AAA teams, according to the Canadian U18 AAA Elite Hockey League.

“They’re a great team and they got some great players, and you know what, so do we,” said Mintos Head Coach Doan Smith.

“We got a group that has embraced bring this underdog mentality. The older guys don’t want it to end and the younger guys don’t want to flip the page to next year either.”

Smith guided Prince Albert to a 22-20-2 (W-L-OTL) record in his first year behind the bench, alongside fellow first year Minto coaches Frank Fazio, Brian Glynn, and Braxx George.

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In their season series, P.A. is 1-2-1 against Regina with the one win coming back on Nov. 3 when the Mintos outlasted the Pat Canadians with a 6-5 overtime win at the Art Hauser Centre. The Mintos last got a win in Regina on Dec. 2, 2023, when they doubled up the Pat C’s 4-2.

P.A. and Regina also met in round one of the playoffs two seasons ago, where the Pat Canadians swept the Mintos in three straight games.

“There’s no pressure,” continued Smith. “They’re first and they’re expected to beat us, but we know that’s not a guarantee for them, and we just want to make it difficult to slow these guys down. If they are going to beat us and if they are going to have success, then they’re going to have to earn it.”

It’s a three-way tie at the top for Mintos team leader in scoring with Prince Albert Raiders prospect and rookie Connor Howe, fellow rookie Brock Kolibab, and first year Minto Luke Senick each at 35 points. Howe tallied 20 goals and 15 assists while Kolibab and Senick had the same statline with 14 goals and 21 assists.

For Regina, they’re led by 14-year-old phenom and projected first overall pick in the 2025 WHL Draft Maddox Schultz, who dominated the league scoring 93 points (43G-50A) in just 44 games. He’s followed by Raiders prospect Jonah Sivertson who’s second in league scoring with 77 points (32G-45A), and behind him in third is rookie Chase Surkan at 73 points (28G-45A).

Between the pipes, the Mintos will look to second year netminder Josh Henry who had a great regular season, registering an 11-11-1 record with a 3.81 GAA and .895 SV%. Rookie Jayden Blanchette also had a stellar season, donning an 8-5-1 record along with a 3.62 GAA and .891 SV%.

In the other net, Taylor Tabashniuk is among the lead leaders in goaltending with a 19-4-1 record, 2.98 GAA, and .894 SV%. Meanwhile, rookie backup Adam Muntain has been just as good with a 14-2-1 record, 3.00 GAA, and .889 SV%.

“We need the older guys, younger guys, every guy to be at their best against a team like Regina and the beliefs and expectations are all the way through, from Guy A to Guy Z,” added Smith.

Game 1 is Sunday in Regina at 7 p.m., while Game 2 heads to Hockeytown North on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. Game 3 will shift back to Regina’s Co-Operators Arena #6 on Friday, Mar. 7 at 7:45 p.m.

If necessary, Game 4 will be played on Saturday, Mar. 8 in Prince Albert at 7:30 p.m., and Game 5 is scheduled for Monday, Mar. 10 at 8 p.m. in Regina.

A full SMAAAHL playoff bracket can be found here.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social