Huskies good enough when they need to be in 3-0 win

Drever makes 30 saves in victory over Cougars

Goalie Camryn Drever dives on a loose puck during a net scramble.

Some good moments and a stellar outing by star netminder Camryn Drever allowed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey Team to overcome some holiday season rust.

On Friday playing before 511 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies blanked their provincial rivals the University of Regina Cougars 3-0 in the first U Sports regular season contest for both sides since returning from their respective Christmas breaks. Drever made 30 saves to pick up her 12^th career U Sports regular season shutout.

The fifth-year’s performance allowed the Huskies to overcome a determined Cougars side that carried play for a good two thirds of the contest.

Camryn Drever made 30 saves to pick up a shutout win on Friday.

“It wasn’t a very good game for us,” said Huskies head coach Steve Kook, whose team improved to 11-4-1-1. “It was a good thing that Cam was on her game tonight.

“We fought the puck the whole night. The plays were there. We just didn’t pull the trigger.

“We were lucky that we got a couple early, and I thought that we played the right way for about eight or nine minutes there. We took some stupid penalties – undisciplined stuff that we didn’t need to. We almost killed ourselves there tonight.”

The two sides started out Friday’s game playing fairly even. The Huskies, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, appeared to break things open scoring two goals 73 seconds apart inside the final four minutes of the opening frame.

Mallory Dyer scored the Huskies first goal on Friday.

With 3:58 remaining in the first, Huskies third-year centre Mallory Dyer potted her sixth goal of the season to give the host side a 1-0 lead. Positioned at the right side of the Cougars net, Dyer got her stick on a rebound from a shot taken by linemate Kara Kondrat and quickly popped the puck into an empty cage.

Just 73 seconds later, the Cougars turned the puck over in their own zone. The puck came to Huskies rookie defender Jacquelyne Chief, who wired home her second goal of the campaign to put the Huskies up 2-0.

When it seemed the Huskies had all the momentum after Chief’s goal, the Cougars found another gear. The visitors closed out the first period with a flurry of five shots to hold a 12-8 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

Jacquelyne Chief had the Huskies second goal on Friday.

With 10.1 seconds remaining in the first, Drever made a key glove save off Cougars winger Lauren Focht to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.

“I think it is tough maybe coming back from the break,” said Huskies third-year centre Desmarais. “It was our first game we got under our belt.

“It was a little rough off the start, but I think we got our legs under us just jumping back into it.”

The Cougars controlled play throughout the second period holding a 16-10 edge in shots on goal for the frame, which was a total that seemed to flatter the host side.

The Huskies had a huge chance to expand their lead, when star fifth-year centre Kennedy Brown, who is the squad’s captain, had a short-handed breakaway. Brown was denied by Cougars standout netminder Arden Kliewer.

Lauren Focht had a big first period chance to score for the Cougars.

A short time later, the Cougars had a huge chance to crack on to the scoreboard. Winger Makena Kushniruk centred the puck from behind the Huskies goal to linemate Paige Hubbard, who was positioned right in front of the home side’s net. Hubbard quickly fired a shot on goal, but the puck was swallowed up by Drever.

“Most of the first and just about all of the second, it was the Cam (Drever) show,” said Kook. “The thing about Cam’s game that is so good is that they get one (shot), but they don’t often get a second or a third.

“When we’re fighting the puck, it is important that Cam doesn’t give them that second or third, and that is what she does so well.”

Makena Kushniruk controls the puck in the offensive zone.

The Huskies proceeded to play a fairly strong shutdown style third period, where they outshot the Cougars 6-2. One of the two Cougars chances came on a Hubbard breakaway late in the frame, but Drever stoned the fourth-year winger keeping the visitors off the scoreboard.

Kondrat finished out the game’s scoring firing the puck into an empty net with 1:45 remaining in the third to round out the 3-0 win for the host side.

“I think we kind of noticed, yeah, that we did a little bit better in the third,” said Huskies fourth-year centre Kate Ball. “(It was) a rough start, but at least we got the win.”

Kara Kondrat had a goal and an assist for the Huskies.

Desmarais said her squad started to focus on playing more of a shutdown game in the third due to holding a two-goal advantage for most of the frame before Kondrat added her empty-net tally.

“I know when we are up in the third we like to focus on getting the pucks deep and getting fresh legs out there,” said Desmarais. “I think rather than getting a bunch of pucks on net like we want to in the first and second I think focused on getting the puck deep.”

Kliewer turned away 21-of-23 shots to take the setback in net for the Cougars, who fell to 5-12-1-1.

The Huskies and Cougars will go at it again on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The Huskies begin to celebrate their win on Friday.

“I think moving forward it will be a little bit better now,” said Desmarais. “We had to get that one out of the way.”

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Huskies put impressive cap on season at U Sports nationals

Women’s hockey squad takes home bronze medal

The Huskies had an impressive showing at U Sports nationals.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey team penned a happy ending to the most unique chapter in team history.

On Sunday at the MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown, P.E.I., the Huskies blanked the University of New Brunswick Reds 2-0 in the bronze medal game at the U Sports elite-eight women’s hockey championship tournament. The bronze medal win equaled the Huskies best result at U Sports nationals matching what the team accomplished in 2014.

The Huskies have made four trips to U Sports nationals in team history, and in a normal sports campaign, advancing that far in the post-season would be a success story in itself.

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, things in the sports world and outside the sports world haven’t operated like normal since the first stoppages in North America started back on March 11, 2020.

The 2020 U Sports men’s and women’s hockey tournaments along with the men’s and women’s volleyball tournaments got their first day of action in on March 12, 2020 before the rest of the action at those events was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

U Sports didn’t hold any national championships in the 2020-21 campaign. The Canada West Conference that the Huskies play out of didn’t take part any meaningful games in 2020-21.

On the Huskies front, no one knew what to expect out of the 2021-22 campaign after the whole conference had a season off. No one knew if there were going to be any stops or starts as the campaign went along.

The Huskies lost Jordyn Holmes to a broken leg at nationals.

Actually, there was no guarantee that the season would be played to a completion.

Still, the Huskies marched through the regular season posting an 11-7-2 record to finish fifth in the Canada West Conference standings. In the Canada West playoffs, the Huskies swept the University of Manitoba Bisons 2-0 in a best-of-three quarter-final series in Winnipeg and swept the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-0 in a best-of-three semifinal series in Calgary, Alta., to advance to the Canada West Championship Series and earn a spot at U Sports nationals.

In the Canada West final, the Huskies were swept 2-0 in the best-of-three set by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in Vancouver. The series closed with the Thunderbirds taking Game 2 of the series 1-0 in overtime.

After that bump in the road, the Huskies reset and ventured off to Charlottetown for U Sports nationals with a sizable contingent of supporters in family and friends. The Huskies were so good at nationals that it is possible they could have possibly won the whole thing, if two or three breaks went their way.

They opened play on the event’s second day on Friday taking on the Ontario University Athletics champion Brock University Badgers in a quarter-final contest. The fifth- seeded Huskies played arguably their best game of the season in that outing blanking the fourth-seeded Badgers 4-0.

At the 6:12 mark of the second period of that contest, rookie forward Sara Kendall ran it back to her days with the Swift Current Innovation Credit Union Wildcats under-18 female AAA team opening the contest’s scoring on a sweet backhanded wraparound.

The Huskies surged for three goals in the third with singles coming off the sticks of rookie defender Brooklyn Stevely and third year forwards Kara Kondrat and Nicole Fry. Kondrat picked up an assist on Fry’s empty-net tally and was named the Huskies player of the game in what might have been her best game at the U Sports level.

Kendra Zuchotzki turned heads as a rookie on defence.

Star third-year netminder Camryn Drever made 27 saves to pick up the shutout win for the Huskies. Netminder Tiffany Hau stopped 29-of-32 shots sent her way to take the setback in goal for the Badgers.

While the win over the Badgers was a great game for the Huskies, they did face adversity. Before Kendall scored her goal to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead, the team’s gritty, speedy, heart and soul third-year forward Jordyn Holmes broke her left leg on a crash into the boards and was lost for the rest of the tournament.

She had to have surgery on Saturday in Charlottetown to help start her injury recovery process.

In a semifinal on Saturday, the Huskies faced the top seeded Concordia University Stingers, who were the champions of the Reseau du Sport Etudiant du Quebec. Before the game, Holmes standing ovation from the crowd, when she arrived to cheer on her team.

In the semifinal contest, the Stingers came away with a 2-0 victory with Audrey Belzile and Maria Manarolis potting singles in the second period. Stingers netminder Alice Philbert made 20 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal.

Drever turned away 37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies. The Huskies put up a big fight but weren’t able to find a traction moment to start a comeback.

They almost got that traction moment with four minutes remaining in the third, when Kendall rang an in close shot off the post of the Stingers goal.

Camryn Drever cemented herself as a top goalie in U Sports.

The Stingers would advance on to blank the sixth seeded Nipissing University Lakers 4-0 in the U Sports championship game on Sunday to capture the Golden Path Trophy.

Before the tournament’s title game was played, the Huskies took the ice for the bronze medal game against the second seeded Reds, who were the Atlantic University Sport conference champions.

At the 7:51 mark of the first, the Huskies jumped ahead 1-0 on a blast from the left point by rookie defender Kendra Zuchotzki. 

At the 14:08 mark of the second, rookie forward Jasper Desmarais ran it back to her days with the Prince Albert Northern Bears under-18 AAA scoring a beauty goal on a three-on-one rush that ultimately sealed the 2-0 victory.

Desmarais blew down the right wing, got in close and roofed home a shot past Reds netminder Kendra Woodland.

Woodland made 23 stops to take the setback in goal for the Reds.

Drever turned aside all 17 shots she faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. The alumna of the St. Albert Slash female under-18 AAA team posted four shutouts in the Huskies nine total post-season games.

When Drever joined the Huskies, she came with the reputation of being a clutch goaltender having backstopped the Slash to Esso Cup titles in 2017 and 2018 as national female under-18 AAA hockey champions. Following this post-season run, Drever has cemented her place as one of the top goaltenders in all of U Sports.

Following the win over the Reds, Huskies veteran head coach Steve Kook got to put the first bronze medal around the neck of the team’s fifth-year captain in Bailee Bourassa. Bourassa is the lone fifth-year player on the squad.

Bailee Bourassa is a golden role model on and off the ice.

After receiving her medal, Bourassa presented the rest of the bronze medals to the rest of the team. 

Bourassa finished her degree in nursing and returned to the Huskies after deciding to pursue her master’s degree in nursing taking on the role of captain.

Having helped her hometown Weyburn Gold Wings in and Esso Cup title in 2014, Bourassa wanted to help the Huskies get a good restart this season after a season off in 2020-21. 

She played a big part in helping the Huskies stay relevant and show you can play high-level hockey in Canada’s U Sports ranks and get a sound education that can take you on to a great career when the playing days come to a close.

Bourassa has become the perfect example of the golden role model on and off the ice. She has always represented the team in the community with class and grace.

Forward Abby Shirley, who is the long fourth-year player on the team, was another key returnee who helped show the way and be a leader for the Huskies young generation.

Third-year defender Isabella Pozzi provided a steady hand to the Huskies back end, and she was named to the U Sports championship tournament all-star team. The Huskies have a rookie group on the back end who came into their own in the post-season and have the potential to be even better in future seasons in Stevely, Zuchotzki, Larissa Bohlken and Emily Holmes, who is Jordyn’s younger sister.

While she didn’t get any goals at U Sports nationals, third-year forward Kennedy Brown came through in clutch moments in the Canada West playoffs. She had her chances at nationals and will be another key returnee in future seasons.

Kennedy Brown came through with clutch post-season goals.

Overall, the journey the Huskies took to win a bronze medal at U Sports national on Sunday was unlike any season the Huskies have played to date. 

All the time players spent training on their own or as a team in a 2020-21 campaign that didn’t happen seemed worth it for sure after Sunday’s win.

During training time when there was no certainty of when the next game was going to be, some players had to be questioning if it was time to close the book as far as competitive hockey was concerned.

Credit has to go to all teams in U Sports for making the season happen and able to be played to a conclusion where a national champion was crowned.

After the NCAA still crowned a national women’s hockey champion in the Division I ranks in 2020-21, minor hockey players in the female game in Canada had to wonder if going down to the United States was ultimately going to be the place where they could play high-level hockey at the post-secondary level in the future.

Now, U Sports is back as a destination female players in Canada’s minor hockey system that want to continue playing high-level hockey at the post-secondary level.

The Huskies have shown they will continue to be a place where good things can happen in the classroom and on the ice whether you come from the province of Saskatchewan or any other community in Canada.

The Huskies renewed their legacy of being a great team to play for.

Ultimately, that reminder might be the lasting legacy of the 2021-22 Huskies team.

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Stars power play too hot for Bears in Game 1

Saskatoon downs Prince Albert 5-3 in SFMAAAHL finals opener

Mackenna Parker, right, hugs a teammate after scoring on the power play.

    The Saskatoon Stars power play was on fire, and that spelled trouble for the Prince Albert Northern Bears.

    On Friday night at the ancient Rutherford Rink, the Stars cashed in on all three of their power play opportunities to down the Bears 5-3 in the opening game of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series. The best-of-five series shifts to Prince Albert for Game 2 on Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    In Friday’s encounter, the Stars final three goals all came on the power play with star centre Grace Shirley scoring twice and star captain Mackenna Parker getting the other goal with the numbers advantage.

    “I feel like just going into it we were kind of all on the same page,” said Shirley about the power-play success. “We were talking in between shifts just like making sure that we all knew what we were doing out there.

    “We just worked hard when we were out there, and things went our way.”

Joelle Fiala had the Stars first goal on Friday.

    Joelle Fiala and Anna Leschychyn both scored for the Stars at even strength to give the host side a 2-0 lead in the first period.

    At the 12:13 mark of the second, defender Ashley Messier fed the puck down low to Shirley at the right side of the Prince Albert goal, and she sniped her first marker past Bears netminder Ryan Fontaine.

    After the Bears cut the Stars lead to 3-2, Shirley struck again on the power play at the 3:50 mark of the third taking a beauty feed from Leschyshyn in the left slot and burying her second goal of the contest to give the Stars a 4-2 lead.

    Shirley said the play of her teammates was the reason she was able to score twice.

    “They were both just really good passes,” said Shirley. “The first one Ashley (Messier) just made a really good pass, and I had time to shoot. It was just kind of a lucky goal that went in there.

    “The second one Anna (Leschyshyn) obviously just like made a really nice pass and found me in the slot. It was just great plays.”

Stars captain Mackenna Parker eludes Bears defender Jordan Ashe.

    The Bears, who enter the series as defending SFMAAAHL champions, always kept battling back ensuring no Stars lead was safe.

    After Shirley netted her first goal to give the Stars a 3-0 lead, Bears star winger Abby Soyko responded with a goal just 1:27 later to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 3-1.
    Before the second period ended, the Bears further trimmed to Stars edge to 3-2, when Jadyn Kushniruk passed the puck across the front of the Saskatoon net from the left wing and linemate Camryn Amundson tapped the puck into an empty right side of the goal.

Abby Soyko had the Bears first goal on Friday.

    When Shirley scored her second power-play marker in the third to give the Stars a 4-2 edge, Bears winger Jasper Desmarais responded just 60 second later to trim the Saskatoon lead to 4-3.

    With 5:41 to play in the third, Leschyshyn found Parker with a backdoor feed, and the Stars captain fired home a power-play goal to round out the scoring in the contest. Shirley also picked up an assist on Parker’s goal for a three-point night.

    “Obviously, they are a good team,” said Shirley. “No matter how much you are up, they are always going to go hard.

    “It is important that we play a whole 60 minutes, because we know they are going to do the same.”

    The Bears got on the power play with 1:54 to play in the third, and they pulled Fontaine with a minute to play to get a six-on-four advantage with the number of skaters on the ice. Prince Albert wasn’t able to find any more offence.

    Jordan Ivanco turned away 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Stars. Fontaine turned away 30 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bears.

The Stars celebrate their Game 1 series win.

    The Bears failed to score on their two power-play chances.

    While Prince Albert swept last year’s SFMAAAHL championship series 3-0, the Stars won the league title in 2015 and 2016.
    Saskatoon swept Prince Albert 3-0 in the 2015 SFMAAAHL championship series.

    Shirley was pleased her team could take Game 1 this year and against the Bears.

    “It was a good feeling to get the first one,” said Shirley. “We just have to focus on the next game and just keep playing hard.”
    After Game 2 on Sunday in Prince Albert wraps up, the two teams will play in Game 3 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Agriplace Arena.

Sophie Shirley named CWHL rookie of the year

    Saskatoon Stars alumna Sophie Shirley took home a big honour at the Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s annual awards show on Friday.

    The skilled 18-year-old centre was named the CWHL’s rookie of the year after a solid campaign with the Calgary Inferno. Shirley recorded eight goals and 11 assists in 26 regular season games to help the Inferno finish third in the seven-team league with a 17-7-1-3 mark, while also finishing third in team scoring.

    The Saskatoon product, who has been part of Canada’s under-18 women’s team and Canada’s national women’s development team, has committed to join the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team next season. Sophie is Grace Shirley’s older sister.

2018 Rookie of the Year - Sophie Shirley! (@InfernoCWHL) #WeAreTheGame #ClarksonCup2018 pic.twitter.com/3JIZ9dqAZ7

— CWHL (@TheCWHL) March 24, 2018

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Ball finds home with Northern Bears in Prince Albert

Kate Ball was a perfect fit with the Prince Albert Northern Bears.

    Kate Ball and the Prince Albert Northern Bears ended up being a match made in heaven.

    Before the season started, the 15-year-old Saskatoon product was kicking tires looking for a female midget AAA team where she would have a chance to contribute in an offensive role. On a whim, she decided to attend a tryout camp with the Bears, and head coach Jeff Willoughby asked if she wanted to play.

    Ball had a choice of playing with either the Saskatoon Stars in her hometown and the Bears. With the Stars returning almost all of their key offensive players from the previous campaign, the skilled centre decided to go play for the Bears.

    “It has actually been so exciting,” said Ball. “I love my team. They are just all like really awesome.

    “The room is just filled with like positive. We’re all like really nice to each other. It is just like really great.”

Kate Ball celebrates a goal with Jasper Desmarais and Camryn Amundson.

    With the Bears, Ball, who stands 5-foot-5, had a spectacular rookie season finishing second in team scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists in 28 regular season games. Prince Albert finished with its best record in team history going 22-6.

    In the post-season, the Bears won their first 11 straight contests sweeping the Stars in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series in three games and taking out Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats in a two-game sweep in a Western regional playdown series in Prince Albert.

    Those victories allowed the Bears to earn a berth in the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament for the first time in team history. The Esso Cup started on Sunday and runs to Saturday in Morden, Man.

Kate Ball (#21) battles for the puck behind the net in the offensive zone.

    While big goals were established on personal and team fronts before the season started, Ball was still a bit awestruck that those goals were realized.

    “I wasn’t expecting myself to do that good,” said Ball. “I guess just really good teammates just helped me a lot.

    “I actually never thought we would like come this far. I am just so proud of my team coming this far. It is just an amazing feeling.”

    Willoughby said the Bears were fortunate Ball decided to come to Prince Albert to play.

    “She’s been playing very consistent for us,” said Willoughby. “We’ve asked her to play an offensive role, and she jumped right into that.

    “She is always around the puck. She definitely knows where the net is. Her effort she has given is second to none.

    “Getting a point a game as a rookie is a pretty outstanding feet.”

Kate Ball, left, enjoys the Bears SFMAAAHL title win.

    Willoughby said it was cool seeing Ball improve on the ice and off the ice. Away from the game, the bench boss was impressed with how quickly Ball found a high comfort level with the rest of her Bears teammate.

    “At the start of the year, I think she was maybe a little bit to herself and shy like a lot of rookies would be,” said Willoughby. “I think she’s come along.

    “She’s really opened up. I think she is no different than the rest of them. They are all such good teammates, and they care about each other, and they care about what the other person is doing.

    “They want to help each other out, and that is exactly what Kate (Ball) has been doing.”

    Ball’s move to the Bears was also made easier by the fact nine other players from the Saskatoon area were also on the team. The Bears roster contains fellow Saskatoon products Jadyn Kushniruk, Kassidy Kicia, Kate Wagner, Sierra Parenteau, Hannah Koroll and Miranda Heidt.

    Also on the team are Warman products Jordan Ashe and Jasper Desmarais and Martensville’s Story Navrot.

Kate Ball cuts into the offensive zone for the Bears.

    Ball said she actually knew more players on the Bears than she did on the Stars due a lot to her experiences playing spring hockey. On the ice, she found magic playing on a line with Desmarais and speedy Debden product Camryn Amundson.

    “I’ve played with Jasper for four years, so we have like good chemistry,” said Ball. “Camryn, me and her just like clicked right away, so it was really great.”

    As for her start in the sport, Ball followed in the footsteps of her two older brothers Daylon and Justin. Daylon, who is now 21, finished his competitive playing days at age 16.

    Justin was with the Saskatoon Contacts last season, who played in the Telus Cup midget AAA national championship tournament, and he recently finished his 18-year-old rookie season in junior A with the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

    Kate’s brothers weren’t her only family members that made waves as competitive athletes. Her uncle Sheldon was a star quarterback first with the Saskatoon Hilltops and then the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. He has been the offensive coordinator of the Hilltops for the past 11 seasons.

Kate Ball piled up 30 points in 28 regular season games with the Bears.

    While she has had a lot of good influences to help her along in hockey, Ball found her own love for the sport.

    “I love skating,” said Ball. “Skating is my passion. I just love it.

    “I like the playmaking. It is just really fun.”

    Ball admitted beating the Stars in the SFMAAAHL championship series was a big highlight this season along with winning the Western regional over the Wildcats with a thrilling come-from-behind 7-6 series clinching victory in Game 2. The Bears were down 6-3 with 13:24 to play in the third period and closed the contest with four unanswered goals.

    She was pumped to go to Esso Cup and is also looking forward to playing two more seasons with the Bears. 

Kate Ball, left, and her teammates enjoy the Bears Western regional win.

    This season she continued to live in Saskatoon, and her parents drove to her to Prince Albert for practices and her games.

    Next season, Ball is planning to live with a billet family in Prince Albert.

    “I’m actually real excited to think about two more years,” said Ball. “I just love this group of girls and just being here. I think it will be good.”

    After her midget AAA playing days are done, Ball has a wish of where she would like to play on the post-secondary front.

    “Hopefully, I get to play with University of Saskatchewan, because it is like a mile from my house,” said Ball. “That would be really convenient.

    “If that doesn’t work out, then NCAA or college in the States that would be really good too.”

Bears pick up first win at Esso Cup

Camryn Amundson (#9) scored twice for the Bears on Tuesday at Esso Cup.

    On Tuesday in Morden, Man., the Bears picked up their first win at Esso Cup dumping the Summerside, P.E.I., based Mid-Isle Wildcats 6-1 at the Access Events Centre.

    Camryn Amundson and Jadyn Kushniruk both scored twice for the Bears, while Story Navrot and Miranda Heidt each netted singles. Ryan Fontaine turned away 13 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Bears.

    Madison Vincent had the lone reply for the Wildcats. Maggie Johnson turned away 57 shots to take the loss in goal for the Wildcats.

    The win allowed the Bears to improve to 1-2, while the Wildcats fell to 0-3.

    The Bears opened the Esso Cup on Sunday falling 2-1 to the host and Manitoba champion Pembina Valley Hawks. On Monday, the Bears dropped a 5-1 decision to the Pickering, Ont., based Durham West Lightning.

    Prince Albert returns to action on Wednesday taking on the Alberta-based St. Albert Slash. The Bears close their round robin schedule at Esso Cup on Thursday, when they face the Sherbrooke, Que., based Harfangs du Triolet.

    The top four teams in the round robin standings qualify for the playoff round. The semifinal round for the Esso Cup is set for Friday. The bronze and gold medal games will be held on Saturday.

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Northern Bears should let it loose and roll at Esso Cup

Prince Albert enters nationals with tonnes of pluses to lean on

The Prince Albert Northern Bears should play with no fear at Esso Cup.

    When the Prince Albert Northern Bears hit the ice at Esso Cup, they should skate like they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

    The Bears open play at the female midget AAA national championship tournament on Morden, Man., on Sunday, when they take on the host Pembina Valley Hawks, who are also the Manitoba champs.

    Prince Albert has been in a holding pattern since sweeping a best-of-three Western regional playdown series at the Art Hauser Centre against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats on April 1. The Bears are heading to the national championship tournament for the first time in team history.

    Pembina Valley clinched the Manitoba title on March 19, and they since participated in a pair of exhibition games against a pair of junior women’s teams that are based out of Winnipeg. The last of those was held on April 14 in Morden, Man., where the Hawks thumped the Manitoba Blizzard 6-0.

    The Esso Cup contains a field of six teams from across Canada. They play each other in a round robin, and the top four teams advance to the playoff round. The semifinals are held on April 28, and the bronze and gold medal games are both slated for April 29.

Brooke Hobson is the Bears fearless leader.

    At last year’s Esso Cup in Weyburn, the Brantford Ice Cats romped over the Express du Richelieu 10-3 in the championship final.

    All the teams at Esso Cup are good, and the squads at this year’s event won’t know how they stack up against each other until they start playing each other.

    Last year, the field was even as all the teams that made the playoff round sported 3-2 records. Out of the 19 games played over seven days, nine were decided by one goal and six had two-goal spreads. In the preliminary round, the Express downed the Ice Cats 5-4 in a contest that required a tiebreaking shootout.

    When the Bears take the ice at this year’s Esso Cup in Morden, Man., they should just go out and rock and roll with no fear. Prince Albert built a 22-6 regular season record and a perfect 11-0 in the post-season by flying at opponents with four lines that all have speed. They also have a solid group of defenders and two goalies that can help transition play up ice or shut things down in the defensive zone.

    The Bears, who are riding a 15-game winning streak, have many huge positives that are on their side. The biggest intangible is their culture is really good.

    When you see the players interact with each other at practice, in games or away from the rink, the family feeling is strong. You can tell the players care for each other a lot, and that aspect alone will win you a lot of games.

    Head coach Jeff Willoughby and his staff done a tremendous job in creating an atmosphere that allows their players to succeed.

    The Bears players are all good and have all contributed to their team’s success. All have grown immensely over the 2016-17 season.

Abby Soyko topped the Bears in regular season scoring.

    In captain Brooke Hobson, you might not find a better leader anywhere. The 17-year-old defender, who was a member of Canada’s under-18 national team, has the maturity of an adult. When you talk to her, you don’t realize you are talking to someone who is 17.

    She also has the right type of confidence in herself and her team. On top of all that, Hobson, who had 11 goals and nine assists in 24 regular season games, is invested emotionally in the Bears program having played five full seasons with the team. The skilled rearguard will move on to play with the Northeastern University Huskies women’s team in Boston, Mass., in the fall.

    The forward line of Kate Ball, Camryn Amundson and Jasper Desmarais have a chemistry that is second to none. Ball finished second in team scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists in 28 regular season games, Amundson was third in team scoring with 13 goals and 14 assists in 27 regular season games, while Desmarais was fourth with nine goals and 15 assists in 26 regular season games.

    Prince Albert product Abby Soyko, who is a 15-year-old forward, topped the Bears in scoring with 18 goals and 13 assists.

Centre Kate Ball piled up the points on a high-scoring line.

    While opponents will focus on shutting down the Bears visible top scorers, you never know when anyone else on the roster could hurt you. The best example of that is underage 14-year-old forward Brooklyn Anderson. The Shellbrook product had four goals and nine assists in 27 regular season games, but she came through with points at key times in the post-season.

    In the Western regional series clinching game, Anderson tipped home a point shot from defender Jordan Ashe with two minutes to play to break a 6-6 tie and deliver the Bears to a 7-6 victory over the Wildcats. The Bears were down 6-3 in that contest in the third period before they rallied back for victory.

    The Bears also have a great double punch in goal with Brooklyn Elek and Ryan Fontaine, and both have rotated starts throughout the regular season and post-season. As teams that make the playoff round will play seven games in seven days at Esso Cup, it is huge asset to have to goalies that can carry the load and rotate starts through the event.

The Bears hope to celebrate a number of goals at Esso Cup.

    When the run ends, the Bears will graduate Hobson and Elek along with forwards Ireland South and Sierra Parenteau. A national championship win would create the ultimate high to leave on.

    With that said, you never know how strong the rest of the field could be.

    Still, the Bears have had a highlight filled season. Sweeping away the Saskatoon Stars in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series was one highlight, because the Stars had won the SFMAAAHL title the two previous seasons.

    The other highlights were playing in front of an estimated crowd of 1,000 in Prince Albert in their Game 1 win at the Western regional and an estimated crowd of 1,200 in their Game 2 win. Those attendance figures are almost unheard of for female midget AAA hockey.

    They bested the crowds of just under 800 that attended each of the three games of the 2014 Canada West women’s hockey final at the Rutherford Rink, when the University of Saskatchewan Huskies downed the U of Regina Cougars 2-1 in a best-of-three set.

    The Bears have already accomplished a lot, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they did go all the way.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.