Bears earn weekend sweep over visiting Hounds

Dave Leaderhouse

Special to the Herald

The Prince Albert Mann Northway Northern Bears got back into the win column in convincing fashion on the weekend when they swept the Notre Dame Hounds in a pair of Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League contests played at the Art Hauser Centre.

On Saturday, the Bears got goals from five different players in outlasting the Hounds 5-1 and they followed that up with another offensive outburst when they built a four-goal advantage by the mid-point of Sunday’s tilt before hanging on for a 7-5 triumph. Entering this weekend’s action the Bears had scored more than four goals in a game just once.

“Winning gives you confidence,” stated Bears’ head coach Steve Young after Saturday’s victory. “I thought we had played a really good game in Swift Current (4-1 loss on Wednesday), but we came up short.”

“We wanted to have a really good game today and we did what we needed to do,” added Young.

The pair of wins snapped a five-game losing streak for the Bears and leaves them four points back of Weyburn for fifth place in the league standings. Weyburn, who has played two more games than the Bears, surprised the league-leading Battlefords Sharks 5-3 on Sunday handing the Sharks their first loss in regulation time this season.

Scoring for the Bears on Saturday were Aidyn Konechny, Addison Davidge, Shelby Booy, Andie Marshall and Londyn Hoffman with Jersie Anderson chipping in with three assists. Konechny paced the attack on Sunday scoring twice while single tallies were added by Hoffman, Olivia Trann, Gracie Reed, Rowan Clement and Emma Christison. Both Bears goaltenders saw action on the weekend with Maggie Schell stopping 20 shots on Saturday while Avery Brunen made 24 saves on Sunday.

“We still have to be a little hungrier when we lose the puck,” said Young. “We need to work harder to get the puck back.”

The Bears return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Saskatoon to face the Stars. Next home game for the Bears is Feb. 7 when the Stars will make a return visit to Prince Albert.

Tough weekend for Mintos

A three-games-in-three-nights weekend for the Prince Albert Mintos was as cold as the temperature outside as three lopsided losses by a combined score of 27-7 leaves them on the outside looking in for a Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League playoff berth.

After dropping a 7-3 decision to the Estevan Bears at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday the Mintos headed to Moose Jaw for a doubleheader against the second-place Warriors only to fall 11-2 on Saturday and 9-2 on Sunday.

The weekend results leave Prince Albert and the Saskatoon Contacts tied for ninth place, trailing the Battlefords Stars by five points and the Tisdale Trojans by six points for the final two spots in the post-season. The Mintos have two games in hand on both the Contacts and Trojans, but the Stars are on level ground with Prince Albert in games played.

Scoring for the Mintos on Sunday were Cohen Greenwood and Carter Wingert while Maxim Cooper had both tallies on Saturday. Prince Albert’s goaltending tandem of Jaden Blanchette and Wyatt Nelson likely had nightmares of flying rubber as they faced 62 and 61 shots, respectively.

The Mintos will try and right the ship on Tuesday when they host the Warman Wildcats at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Timberjaks earn a split

It’s not how you start, but how you finish and the Prince Albert Timberjaks have to be pleased with how they rebounded from a 9-2 setback against the Assiniboia Rebels on Saturday with a 3-1 decision over the Pilot Butte Storm in Prairie Junior Hockey League action on Sunday.

The split allows the Timberjaks to keep pace with the Carrot River Outback Thunder for fifth place in the North Division standings. The Thunder, who surprised the first-place Saskatoon Quakers 5-4 on Sunday, remain one point in front of the Timberjaks, who have two games in hand.

Trey Mudry, Taelan Casavant and Gareg Painter scored for the Timberjaks in the win over the Storm while Mudry had both markers in the setback to the Rebels. Josh Henry stopped 29 shots to collect the victory in the Prince Albert goal on Sunday while Brayden Lyons turned aside 37 of 46 shots on Saturday.

The Timberjaks return to action on Friday when they host the Martensville Chiefs at 7:30 p.m. at the Northern Regional Rec Centre.

PA Daily Herald

Dave Leaderhouse

January 28, 2026