Bears split weekend with Saskatoon

A 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon helped the Prince Albert Northern Bears pick up a weekend split with the Saskatoon Stars in SFU18AAAHL action at the Art Hauser Centre.

The win came after Saskatoon came back from down a goal after forty minutes to defeat Prince Albert by a 4-2 decision on Saturday afternoon.

Comparing the two games, Bears head coach Steve Young says he liked how Prince Albert stuck with it in the third period on Sunday.

“I think the biggest thing as we persevered today. Yesterday we were up on them and they worked hard to get back in the game and they did get back in the game. We knew today going into the game that it was important that we take this like a playoff game. It’s important to win games down the stretch and I thought the girls responded well.”

In Sunday’s game, the Bears opened the scoring with 3:49 remaining in the opening frame as Emma Christison would strike for her second goal of the season, coming unassisted.

Not even thirty seconds later, Mikayla Broadfoot would tie the game for the Stars with her 13th goal of the season with Maggie Freeman and Addison Frey picking up the helpers.

Prince Albert would take the lead going into the dressing room in the first intermission as Shelby Booy would strike for her first career U18 AAA goal with 1:21 to go. Arlise Schmalz and Olivia Trann picked up the helpers.

Prince Albert led the shots 15-4 after the first twenty minutes.

The lone goal of the middle frame would go the way of the Bears as Londyn Hoffman would find the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season with 4:06 remaining. Jersie Andersen and Marly Dumanski assisted on the play.

In the third, Olivia Trann would add an insurance marker for the Bears with her fourth goal of the season with 14:57 remaining in the final frame. Christison and Zayda Summach assisted on the play.

Young says he thought the Bears played a complete 60 minutes in the win on Sunday.

“I thought we were more conscious of the game today. I thought we placed pucks where we needed to. We didn’t spend a lot of time in our zone and it was important. You gotta learn through your mistakes quickly and I thought the girls responded well that way.”

Annika Neufeldt stopped 28 of 29 Saskatoon shots she saw in the winning effort. Adriana Bashnick made 27 saves on 31 Prince Albert shots in goal for Saskatoon.

Prince Albert has now faced the top two teams in the SFU18AAAHL over the past two weekends. After losing both games in Battlefords against the top ranked Sharks, the Bears picked up a sweep and were in both games against the second ranked Saskatoon Stars.

Young says Prince Albert has taken a lot from the last two weekends.

“I think the biggest thing is this league is very balanced. Battleford and Saskatoon are very good hockey clubs and when you’re playing them, you have to limit your mistakes. We’re proud of the girls that way and saying that, I think that any team you’re playing, we’ve got Notre Dame next weekend, anything can happen. The biggest thing for now is learning against those hockey clubs.”

The Bears return to action on Saturday afternoon when they welcome the Notre Dame Hounds to the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drops at 3:30 p.m.

Article from the Daily Herald Written By Nathan Reiter on Feb 18th, 2025