AAA hockey update: Mintos fall to Warman, Bears shutout Saskatoon
Dave Leaderhouse
January 29, 2026
Special to the Herald
Time is running out for the Prince Albert Mintos.
A 7-3 setback to the Warman Wildcats in Saskatchewan Male U18 Hockey League action on Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre leaves the Mintos five points out of the final playoff berth with just 10 games left on the regular-season schedule.
“They know where things are at in the standings, but we are trying not to focus on that,” said Mintos’ head coach Dion Antisin moments after watching his club drop its fourth straight and seventh in their last eight since the calendar flipped to the New Year. “I think maybe now there is a little bit of stress creeping in.”
Tuesday’s game was the Mintos fourth in five days and while the score appeared one-sided it was a far better performance than the three previous outings where they were outscored 27-7 in losses to Estevan and a doubleheader in Moose Jaw.
“We played much better than on the weekend,” said Antisin referring to the 11-2 and 9-2 setbacks to the Warriors. “In Moose Jaw we played like we had already lost.”
“We need to support each other, to have each other’s backs when we make mistakes,” added Antisin. “Every game is like a playoff game now.”
Prince Albert got off to a good start on Tuesday when Xander Pritchard tallied an unassisted marker one minute into the contest and when Beau Anholt banged home a pair of goals just 11 seconds apart early in the middle session to give the Mintos a 3-2 advantage it looked like the tide might have changed.
That was all the scoring the Mintos could muster, however. Sam Failler netted three straight goals to put Warman in front and Seth Gutenberg closed the door in the Wildcats’ net the rest of the way. Nixxon Arcand-Vandale, Koston Baliski, Dawson Baht and Weston Kostiuk, into an empty net, also scored for Warman while Gutenberg finished the game with 38 saves. Jaden Blanchette was tested by the same number in the Prince Albert goal, finishing with 32 saves.
The Mintos will try and close the gap on the eighth-place Battlefords Stars when they head south this weekend for a pair of games in Estevan. Next home for Prince Albert is Tuesday when the Saskatoon Blazers will provide the opposition at the Art Hauser Centre.
While the Mintos have struggled as of late the Prince Albert Mann Northway Northern Bears have been heating it up.
The Bears picked up their third straight Saskatchewan Female U18 Hockey League victory when they went into Saskatoon and blanked the Stars 6-0.
Andie Marshall paced the Bears with a pair of goals while singles were added by Londyn Hoffman, Addison Davidge, Reyn Siklenka and Zoey Krienke. Hoffman also had a pair of assists while Jersie Andersen also had a three-point night collecting three helpers.
Avery Brunen stopped all 46 shots she faced in not only posting the Bears’ first shutout of the season, but helping Prince Albert record its longest win streak of the season.
The Bears, who crept to within one point of fifth-place Weyburn with the victory, have a little bit of a break before they return to action on Feb. 7-8 for a doubleheader against Saskatoon. Both games will be played at the Art Hauser Centre.
