Danny Klughart is getting ready for the chance to play against the top golfers on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada circuit.

After capturing his third straight Saskatchewan Men’s Mid Amateur title at the Elmwood Golf Club in Swift Current in July, the Prince Albert golfer earned an exemption to the Elk Ridge Open, which will be held from Sept. 9-11 at the Elk Ridge Resort in Waskesiu.

“It’s really exciting to have my first pro start close to home,” Klughart said on Tuesday.

“The support that I’ve received so far from the management group up at Elk Ridge and the local golf community here in Prince Albert has been amazing. It’s going to be a very special experience next week.”

Klughart was one of six Saskatchewan golfers to earn sponsor exemptions for the tournament, as he’ll be joined by Saskatoon’s Phil Jonas, Elk Ridge head professional Ryan Wells, Saskatoon’s Josh Nagy and Men’s Lobstick champion Trevor Bloom, who grew up in Canwood and now calls Kelowna, B.C.

2021 Saskatchewan Amateur champion Roman Timmerman of Saskatoon also earned an invite, but he’ll be unable to attend as he’s getting ready to start his senior year at Southern Arkansas University.

“I’m not sure of the exact number but I think there’s going to be 12 to 15 golfers from Saskatchewan coming up for the tournament, so that’s going to be really exciting,” Klughart said.

“I’m going to be playing a practice round on Wednesday with (Saskatoon’s) Ty Campbell, (Kipling’s) Carson Harcourt and (Saskatoon’s) Steven Duchscher before the tournament, and I know that Kade Johnson (who is from Yorkton and turned pro last month) is also going to be here for the event.”

Klughart is just coming off of a trip to Fort McMurray, Alta. last week, where he finished in a tie for 25th at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Men’s Championship.

“I didn’t quite play as well as I wanted to up there,” Klughart said.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit off the tee for a couple of weeks now and that’s something that I’ve been working on here before I head up to Elk Ridge. If I can get better off the tee and I get my putter and short game tightened up, I should be okay.”

The Elk Ridge Open marks the first time that the Mackenzie Tour has been in Saskatchewan since 2016, when the Dakota Dunes Open wrapped up a nine year run at the Dakota Dunes Golf Links just south of Saskatoon.

“The course is similar to Waskesiu and Cooke,” Klughart said. “It’s fairly narrow and not overly long, but the biggest thing is to keep the ball between the trees. If you find yourself having to whack the ball out of the bush, you probably aren’t going to have a long week up there.

“The greens are also to be a lot faster than they usually are up there as well, so it’s going to be fun to play there under pro standards.”

Klughart isn’t setting any major goals for the tournament, but he hopes to make the cut for the three-round event.

“It would be a lot of fun to play the whole weekend, but I just want to enjoy the whole experience as it’s something I might not have the chance to do again,” Klughart added.

The tournament will officially get underway at 2 p.m. Tuesday with an opening ceremony, which will include a ceremonial tee-off by honorary chair Graham DeLaet and Premier Scott Moe.

That event, Wednesday’s practice round and the three-round tournament is free for fans to attend, thanks largely to the support by event sponsors Callaway Golf and Molson Coors.  

As is this case with any new venture, those in charge of the Highway 3 Baseball League weren’t quite sure what to expect when they began their inaugural campaign in June.

When the circuit looked back on the 2021 season during their league meeting on Aug. 22, they were ecstatic with how everything transpired.

“The feedback that we got from everyone was that it went better than they could have hoped,” league board member Adam Morrison of Birch Hills said.

“When we first started talking about this league we had an idea that we would probably get a decent turnout for games, but the crowds that we got from the communities were awesome and the skill level of the baseball that was on display was great to see.”

The five-team circuit, which featured the Birch Hills Brewers, Humboldt Dodgers, Pasquia Angels (who had players from Arborfield and Carrot River), Prince Albert Royals and Tisdale Rangers, opened up their season on June 15 and were able to slowly allow fans to their diamonds as the COVID-19 restrictions were lessened around the province.

“I think the crowd support was probably the biggest surprise, as I know our smaller communities had 100-plus fans at every game,” Morrison said.

“The overall community support was amazing to see. There was a lot of buzz on social media and around town from different age groups. You had people in high school who were coming out to the games and people who played for these teams back in the 1970’s to show their support.”

The Brewers would come away with the league championship on Aug. 12 as they completed a clean sweep of the Rangers.

“In all honesty, you could have made a case for all five teams to win the league this year,” said Morrison, who is a player for the Brewers. “In our case, it just seemed like everything clicked at the right time for us in the playoffs as we had timely hits and limited our errors.

“The overall skill level in our league was very strong and it was great to see just how polished everyone was after a long layoff.”

While a start date has yet to be finalized for the 2022 campaign, the league is accepting applications for new teams.

The application, which can be found on the league’s Facebook page, must be submitted by Nov. 30.

“Obviously we want the league to expand, but we want to make sure that the communities we are going into are stable,” Morrison said. “We don’t want to be in a situation where we have teams forfeiting games due to a lack of numbers.”

The league is also looking at finishing up their season at an earlier date as they want to wrap things up before the August long weekend and the senior provincial championships.

Will host Lloydminster in pre-season game on Sept. 12

Sunday’s on-ice sessions at the Art Hauser Centre were a long time coming for the Prince Albert Northern Bears.

The Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League club hosted a prospect camp and also welcomed their regular players back on the ice for a practice session as they began their preparations for the 2021-22 season.

“Even going back to last fall, the anticipation level is a lot higher,” Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby said.

“I think there’s a little more optimism compared to last season and it’s nice to be able to think ahead on things as we’re getting closer to normal and hopefully have a full season ahead.”

Sunday’s camp allowed the Bears to get a closer look at the upcoming players in the Under-15 age group that will be moving into the Under-18 ranks this fall.

“I think this is the first time in a couple of years that we have been able to have a prospect camp like this,” Willoughby said. “It was a smaller group with around 40 players but that’s a nice number to work around as it gives our coaches the chance to work with them through the drills.

“We anticipate that a lot of those players will be playing for local teams this season, so we’ll have the chance to see them in person as the year goes on and watch how they progress.”

The Bears also held an on-ice session with their returning players on Sunday, as they gear up to host the Esso Cup next April.

The club was to have held the event in 2020 and 2021, but both events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That 45-minute practice as basically a warmup to get the feet moving and have the girls get used to touching the puck again in certain situations,” Willoughby said. “I thought the practice had a really good pace to it.

“Our next two weeks are going to be full practice sessions as we get ready for our pre-season slate in September and early October. It’s going to be a really busy stretch, but we’re all excited for it.”

The Bears will begin their exhibition schedule on Saturday, Sept. 11 in Lloydminster against the host Steelers, with a rematch slated for Sunday, Sept. 12 at the Art Hauser Centre at 1:30 p.m.

The team will then travel to Calgary for the Firestarter Tournament from Sept. 16-19 before going to Swift Current for a league showcase event on Oct. 2 and 3.

Their regular season slate will start off with a four-game road trip, which begins on Oct. 9 and 10 against the Regina Rebels.

After visiting the Battlefords Sharks on Oct. 14 and the Saskatoon Stars on Oct. 17, the Bears will return to the Art Hauser Centre on Oct. 21 for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Sharks.

“We didn’t really have a large turnover of players from last year’s team,” Willoughby said.

“I think there’s a lot of strengths with this group. Our defence and goaltending are just as good as any in the league and I think our forwards are going to be tenacious and very hard to play against. We should get scoring from all over the lineup and I’m really excited to be coaching this team.”

Curtis Olsen will once again join Willoughby on the bench this season, while Steve Young and his daughter Morgan have also joined the coaching staff.

“It’s going to be a really unique experience to have my daughter joining me on the bench,” Willoughby said. “Morgan’s not too far removed from playing in U Sports (for the Saskatchewan Huskies) and she’s not that much older than the girls on the team, so I think she’ll be a really good role model for them.

“Steve brings a wealth of knowledge to our team as well, especially with his experience in the WHL (as a head coach for the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Prince Albert Raiders). We’re really excited to have him be a part of our team.”

After missing out on last year’s championship flight final, Kim Brown regained her spot as the top golfer at the Fountain Tire Ladies Lobstick tournament at the Waskesiu Golf Course.

Brown, who grew up in Prince Albert and now calls Saskatoon home, captured her fifth title in the last seven years on Friday as she defeated three-time champion Kathy Ziglo of Saskatoon.

“It’s always a nice feeling to be able to take this trophy home,” said Brown, who previously won the tournament in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. “The Lobstick tournament is always a great week and I really love being up here at Waskesiu.”

After earning the top seed in the championship flight by defeating Moose Jaw’s Lorie Boyle and Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry in a playoff on Tuesday, Brown continued her strong play in the match play portion of the tournament as she earned victories over Saskatoon’s Dana Kidd and Dianne Bethune.

“I felt like the playoff was sort of where I got into my groove, which I stayed in for the next couple of days,” Brown said. “That really got me into the mind frame that you need to do well in the tournament.”

Brown had built up a four-hole advantage after just six holes in Friday’s final, but had to hold off a hard-charging Ziglo on the back-nine.

Her lead was cut down to one after Ziglo made a par on the par-four 15th, but Brown was able to seal the deal by getting her approach shot on the par-four 17th to just a few feet from the hole, which Ziglo would later concede.

“It was nice to get that cushion early on, but I know that Kathy is going to bring her very best in a final and I couldn’t take anything for granted,” said Brown, who faced Ziglo in the 2015, 2018 and 2019 championship flight title contests.

“I just tried to stay steady for the rest of the day. I had a few hiccups there in the middle but I was able to pull it together and made a good tee shot on (the par-three) 16 and I was able to carry that over to 17.”

“I started off a little slow and you never want to give Kim a bit of a head start as she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Ziglo added. “I just started grinding away there as the match went on and I tried to win one hole at a time.

“I missed an uphill birdie putt on 11 that would have allowed me to put some pressure on her and I also missed a putt on 13, but once she made that great approach shot on 17, I knew it was pretty much over.”

While Ziglo was unable to repeat as Lobstick champion, she was just pleased to be back at Waskesiu after surviving a battle with COVID-19 that had her in the ICU last December.

“Flip, I might not have even been alive for this,” Ziglo said.

“I wasn’t able to play three days in a row this year and I was worried that I wouldn’t make it through the tournament as I was starting to have trouble breathing and I was losing my strength. Thankfully, it all turned out okay.

Ziglo, who previously won the tournament in 2012 and 2014 before her triumph last summer, defeated Fry in a rematch of the 2020 final and followed that up with a semifinal win over 2016 champion Abra Thompson of Saskatoon.

“I think Brooklin is someone that I’ll always have to make sure that I’ll have to play hard against for the rest of my life,” Ziglo said. “She’s a great kid and a great golfer.

“Neither Abra or I played great in the semifinal, but I was able to do what I needed to do in order to stay ahead of her during our match.”

The rest of the results from Friday’s finals are as follows:

Championship Flight Consolation: Dana Kidd over Brooklin Fry

First Flight: Denise Hersikorn over Megan McKenzie

First Flight Consolation: Tammy Bezaire over Rosie Charles

Second Flight: Donna Morin over Maureen Bowerman

Second Flight Consolation: Heather Torrie over Andrea Ring

Third Flight: Kelly Kreinke over Shelia Palmer

Third Flight Consolation: Rose Halbach over Cheryl Reichel

Fourth Flight: Lorna Gilbert over Cheryl Dougan

Fourth Flight Consolation: Elaine Carriere over Jeanette Bear

Fifth Flight: Lynn Braaten over Arlene Segin

Fifth Flight Consolation: Cindy Pittman over JoAnn Doepker

Sixth Flight: Ruth O’Carroll over Karen Cumbers

Sixth Flight Consolation: Janet McElligott over Carol Spanks

Seventh Flight: Angela Prystay over Kris Gunn

Seventh Flight Consolation: Bronwyn Cowan over Susan Snell

Eighth Flight: MJ Chuey over Deb Young

Eighth Flight Consolation: Nancy Penner over Carole Rucks

Ninth Flight: Deb Krawchuk over Margo Marushak

Ninth Flight Consolation: Mary Page over Karen Drewitz

Tenth Flight: Adriana Lacoursiere over Elaine Noonan

Tenth Flight Consolation: Amber Thomas over Joanne Seitz

Eleventh Flight: Karen Cottrell over Judy Reynolds

Eleventh Flight Consolation: Sheree Selin over Kathy Pringle

Twelfth Flight: Joan Sanderson over Maxine Beck

Twelfth Flight Consolation: Terri Kachur over Nikki McGregor

Thirteenth Flight: Cheryl Sutton over Lisa Yuel

Thirteenth Flight Consolation: Bernice Paulhus over Kristie Steel

For the first time since a 6-3 home win over the Saskatoon Blazers on Nov. 15, 2020, the Prince Albert Mintos were back on the ice at the Art Hauser Centre this past weekend.

The Saskatchewan Male Under-18 AAA Hockey League club officially kicked off their 2021-22 campaign with their annual fall camp, which wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with the green and gold intrasquad contest.

“Everybody was pretty pumped up to be back out there,” Mintos head coach Tim Leonard said. “From our first practice session on Saturday morning right through the scrimmage on Sunday, you could tell that the effort was there from everyone.

“It was a great weekend all around. It was fun to watch the kids playing again and it was great to have a chance to meet the parents and enjoy the game of hockey once again.”

The two-day camp also marked the first major on-ice activity for the Mintos since Leonard was announced as the head coach for the team in March as the replacement for Danton Danielson.

He had previously served as the bench boss for 10 seasons before being hired by the Prince Albert Raiders as an assistant coach in 2012 and returned to the Mintos prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign and was with the team until January 2016.

“The league’s changed drastically in terms of how fall camps go compared to when I first started coaching,” Leonard said. “When you come to fall camp now, most teams only have a few spots to give out, which is different from before where there were no guarantees and you would have 120 players show up for the camp.

“That’s the way it is now though.  People want to know where they are going to be playing going into a new season and you have to follow suit and sign players up in order to stay competitive.”

While the majority of the Mintos roster was announced during the off-season, there are still spots open on this year’s squad, especially with Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League training camps taking place over the next few weeks.

“We probably have at least four guys that have a legitimate shot at playing in the Western Hockey League and we won’t know their status until the teams make their final roster decisions,” Leonard said. “It’s awesome if they make it to the WHL as it’s our job to help develop our players to reach that next level, but if they come back, that’s just a bonus and makes the program that much better.

“While there are still those question marks that won’t be answered right away, we feel like we have the kids that can fill those spots if we need to fill them.”

The Mintos are now preparing for a four-game pre-season slate, which will get underway on Saturday, Sept. 11 when they’ll visit the Tisdale Trojans.

The Trojans will then visit Prince Albert on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m., while the Warman Wildcats will travel to the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday, Sept. 18 for a 7 p.m. contest before hosting the Mintos the following afternoon.

“We’ll probably give some of our younger kids a taste of the league and what it’s like during those first couple of exhibition games before we try to get down as close we can to our full team and get more of our systems in place in those final two games,” Leonard said.

The Mintos will open up their regular season slate on Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Art Hauser Centre with a 1:30 p.m. tilt against the Swift Current Legionnaires.

The Under-18 circuit’s pre-season schedule will start on Wednesday as the Wildcats will take on the Battlefords Stars at the Access Communication Centre in North Battleford.

U18 Attack capture bronze; U13 squad finishes fourth

The home field advantage at Prime Ministers Park worked in the Prince Albert Attack’s favour this weekend during the 2021 Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association field lacrosse provincial championships.

All three local squads made it to the medal round on Sunday, with the Under-15 team picking up a silver medal, the Under-18 program earning a bronze medal and the Under-13 group finishing out the tournament in fourth place.

“We’re really happy with how things went,” Javan Bexson of Prince Albert Lacrosse said. “Our Under-15 team came through with a strong weekend, the Under-13 team had an excellent showing for how young they are and our Under-18 team bounce back from some rough moments to end the weekend on a strong note.”

“The future is bright for the sport of lacrosse in Prince Albert and I hope that this weekend helped to put some fresh eyes on the game and we can see more kids coming out in the future, especially in the field lacrosse side of things.”

After finishing third in the round-robin, the Under-15 Attack picked up a 10-7 quarter-final win over the Sturgis Trojans and a narrow 11-10 triumph in the semifinal against the Saskatoon Generals before dropping a 13-2 decision in the final to the Regina Reign.

“This was an outstanding result for our Under-15 team,” Bexson said. “They came together as a team more than any field lacrosse team I’ve ever been a part of in Prince Albert and I think the friendships that they developed over the course of this year really contributed to their success.

“We knew that Regina was going to be a very strong team as we had faced them a couple of times already this year. They are an absolute powerhouse and we knew what we were going to be up against here in the final.”

Prince Albert’s Brayden Reiger led the Under-15 tournament in scoring over the weekend with 32 points (30 goals and two assists) in eight games.

The Under-18 Attack rebounded from a 16-2 setback against the Saskatoon Guardians in the semifinal on Sunday morning in impressive fashion as a dominant second quarter propelled them to a 16-10 victory over the Regina Reign to capture the bronze medal.

“It’s a great feeling to end the weekend like this,” said Tyson Perreault, who scored five goals in the contest. “This was the first time that we played at home and it felt awesome to come away with a medal at Max Clunie Field.

“We didn’t have the best start but we came to play as the tournament went on. We started doing more of our plays and we were getting to loose balls, which allowed us to play the type of game that we like.”

The Sturgis Trojans captured their second consecutive Under-18 title as they earned an 11-7 triumph over the Guardians.

Meanwhile, the Under-13 Attack earned their ticket to the final four bright and early Sunday morning with an 11-9 win over the Weyburn Rattlers.

Although they dropped a 12-1 semifinal contest to the eventual champion Regina Reign and came out on the wrong end of a 17-5 decision in the bronze medal game to the Saskatoon Watchmen, it was still a strong first showing at a provincial championship for the team.

“It was awesome for these kids to finally get a chance to play against other teams after the whole COVID-19 situation kept us from having a provincial championship for a couple of years,” coach Matt Robin said.

“It was definitely a different experience for our guys as they were getting used to paying in front of their friends and families, but I think they all had a great time and it’s something they can all learn from going forward.”

Following two days of round-robin action at Prime Ministers Park, the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association will crown three provincial champions on Sunday in Prince Albert at the 2021 Field Lacrosse Provincials.

All three teams for the Prince Albert Attack are still in the hunt for medals, with the Under-18 Attack already qualified for the semifinals, which will see them take to Max Clunie Field to face the Saskatoon Guardians at 9:30 a.m.

The Under-15 Attack will take on the Sturgis Trojans in a quarter-final game at 8 a.m. at the Prime Ministers Park East Field, with the winner facing the Saskatoon Generals in the semifinal round later this morning.

Meanwhile, the Under-13 Attack will be going up against the Weyburn Rattlers in a quarter-final contest at 9 a.m. on the Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field for the chance to take on the Regina Reign in the final four.

Today marks the first time that field lacrosse provincial medals will be handed out since the 2019 tournament in Sturgis.

Prince Albert was to have held the provincials in June 2020, but they were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saturday Scores

Under-13 Division

• Moose Jaw Mustangs 16 Saskatoon Watchmen 5 (Kashton Smith (Moose Jaw) Five Goals)
• Regina Reign 12 Prince Albert Attack 6 (Jackson Dunn (Regina) Four Goals)
• Moose Jaw Mustangs 16 Weyburn Rattlers 4 (Lachlan Clark (Moose Jaw) Five Goals)
• Regina Reign 12 Saskatoon Watchmen 6 (Jackson Dunn (Regina) Three Goals)
• Regina Reign 19 Weyburn Rattlers 4 (Jack Robertson (Regina) Six Goals)
• Moose Jaw Mustangs 17 Prince Albert Attack 1 (Hayden Nidesh (Moose Jaw) Four Goals and Four Assists)
• Saskatoon Watchmen 12 Weyburn Rattlers 3 (Gavin Clements (Saskatoon) Five Goals)

Under-15 Division

• Saskatoon Generals 14 Weyburn Rattlers 5 (Nate Gallant (Saskatoon) Three Goals and One Assist)
• Yorkton Fighting Pikes 7 Sturgis Trojans 6 (Jerin Keough (Yorkton) Three Goals – Xage Miraflor (Sturgis) Three Goals)
• Regina Reign 11 Prince Albert Attack 5 (Ryan McDonald and Cashton Seaborg (Regina) Two Goals and One Assist)
• Saskatoon Generals 9 Sturgis Trojans 8 (Bode Rachey (Saskatoon) Six Goals and One Assist)
• Prince Albert Attack 15 Yorkton Fighting Pikes 4 (Brayden Rieger (Prince Albert) Five Goals and One Assist)
• Regina Reign 21 Sturgis Trojans 2 (Jacob Panko (Regina) Five Goals)
• Weyburn Rattlers 10 Yorkton Fighting Pikes 4 (Sawyer Leko (Weyburn) Three Goals – Jacob Boal (Yorkton) Four Goals)
• Regina Reign 9 Saskatoon Generals 6 (Jax Jeannot (Regina) Two Goals – Bode Rachey (Saskatoon) Four Goals)
• Prince Albert Attack 17 Weyburn Rattlers 7 (Brayden Rieger (Prince Albert) Four Goals)

Under-18 Division

• Sturgis Trojans 12 Regina Reign 2 (Shae Peterson (Sturgis) Four Goals and One Assist)
• Saskatoon Guardians 15 Regina Reign 4 (Matthew Mackintosh (Saskatoon) Four Goals)
• Sturgis Trojans 13 Prince Albert Attack 7 (Toby Olynyk (Sturgis) Four Goals)
• Prince Albert Attack 11 Regina Reign 10 (Bauer Swystun (Prince Albert) Three Goals – Braxton MacAngus (Regina) Three Goals)

Sunday Schedule

Under-13 Division

• 9 a.m. – Prince Albert Attack vs. Weyburn Rattlers (Quarter-Final – Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field)
• 10:15 a.m. – Moose Jaw Mustangs vs. Saskatoon Watchmen (Semifinal – Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field)
• 11:30 a.m. – Regina Reign vs. Prince Albert/Weyburn Winner (Semifinal – Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field)
• 1:30 p.m. – Bronze Medal Game (Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field)
• 3 p.m. – Gold Medal Game (Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field)

Under-15 Division

• 8 a.m. – Prince Albert Attack vs. Sturgis Trojans (Quarter-Final – Prime Ministers Park East Field)
• 9:30 a.m. – Weyburn Rattlers vs. Yorkton Fighting Pikes (Quarter-Final – Prime Ministers Park East Field)
• 11 a.m. – Saskatoon Generals vs. Prince Albert/Sturgis Winner (Semifinal – Prime Ministers Park East Field)
• 12:30 p.m. – Regina Reign vs. Weyburn/Yorkton Winner (Semifinal – Prime Ministers Park East Field)
• 3:30 p.m. – Bronze Medal Game (Max Clunie Field)
• 5 p.m. – Gold Medal Game (Max Clunie Field)

Under-18 Division

• 8 a.m. – Sturgis Trojans vs. Regina Reign (Semifinal – Max Clunie Field)
• 9:30 a.m. – Saskatoon Guardians vs. Prince Albert Attack (Semifinal – Max Clunie Field)
• 12:30 p.m. – Bronze Medal Game (Max Clunie Field)
• 2 p.m. – Gold Medal Game (Max Clunie Field)

After dropping three straight meetings to the Prince Albert Whiskey Jacks, the Saskatoon Badgers earned a measure of revenge on Wednesday evening.

In the fourth meeting between the two sides in as many weeks, the Badgers picked up a 21-20 triumph over the Whiskey Jacks in a closely contested matchup at the Saskatoon Rugby Club Field.

“It was a fantastic game to watch,” Darcy Murphy of the Whiskey Jacks said.

“The rugby between both teams has been getting better and the competition was there from start to finish on Wednesday.”

The Whiskey Jacks’ other matchups with the Badgers also went down to the wire.

They started off the summer series with a 15-10 win at Max Clunie Field on July 27, followed that up with a 33-26 triumph on Aug. 4 in Saskatoon and picked up a 20-19 home win last Tuesday.

“I think what’s really helped us in all four games this year is our ability to keep things simple,” Murphy said. “That’s really added to our game, especially with this being a shortened season and the fact that we’ve limited practice time compared to what you’ve usually had.

“Saskatoon is way ahead of us though when it comes to the technical side of the game, which you could see on Wednesday. During the first half, we probably had possession of the ball for about 65 per cent of the time, but if we made a mistake they would take it down the field and score on us.”

The Whiskey Jacks got their points through a seven-point team penalty try and a try from Tristan Franc, while Colm Cournane kicked two penalty kicks and a convert.

Dakota Matthews, Rob Belanger and Matt Allen all had successful tries for the Badgers, which also earned six points from convert attempts by Reid Smyth.

While their four-game summer series has now concluded, the Badgers and Whiskey Jacks will square off one more time before the year ends as they’ll take to the pitch in Saskatoon on Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m.

“Year-end bragging rights will be on the line in that one,” Murphy said.

“This four-game series helped to save men’s rugby in Prince Albert and it’s been well worth it. It motivated us to get back on the field and we’ve had a lot of enthusiasm, new commitments and guys returning to the team during this short period of time.”

Nearly a year and a half after they were originally granted the opportunity to host the Saskatchewan Field Lacrosse provincial championships at Prime Ministers Park, the Prince Albert Lacrosse Association finally welcomed the top teams in Saskatchewan to their home field.

Friday marked the first of three days of games at the facility, which was to be the host for the event last summer until the COVID-19 pandemic forced a delay in the competition.

“It was a fantastic day,” Prince Albert Lacrosse Association president Javan Bexson said. “We had beautiful weather for the most part and everyone seems happy so far.

“We have to give huge kudos to the City of Prince Albert. The facility here is in fantastic shape and the people that I’ve talked to that have come from out-of-town have told us that everything is top notch. It’s awesome to see everything come together.”

The Prince Albert Attack have three teams competing this weekend, which marks the first time a field lacrosse provincial championship has been held since the 2019 tournament in Sturgis.

“I think the guys are doing good so far, but there was defiantly some nerves for our Under-13 and Under-15 teams,” Bexson said.

“It’s a very exciting moment for them and our Under-18 team to be playing at home. For a lot of them, it’s their first provincial experience and that always brings new thrills and excitement.”

Round-robin play runs all day Saturday, with the showcase game being an 8:30 p.m. encounter between the Attack Under-15 team and the Weyburn Rattlers.

The gold medal matchups will be held on Sunday afternoon at the Prime Ministers Park Soccer Field and Max Clunie Field.

Friday Scores

Under-13 Division

• Saskatoon Watchmen 14 Prince Albert Attack 7 (Gavin Clements (Saskatoon) Four Goals and One Assist – Bryden Netmaker (Prince Albert) Three Goals and One Assist)
• Moose Jaw Mustangs 11 Regina Reign 6 (Hudson Haydon (Moose Jaw) Three Goals – Jackson Dunn (Regina) Three Goals)
• Prince Albert Attack 12 Weyburn Rattlers 12 (Cashian Sandry (Prince Albert) Seven Goals – Alex Labrecque (Weyburn) Four Goals)

Under-15 Division

• Saskatoon Generals 11 Prince Albert Attack 9 (Carson Welsh (Saskatoon) Four Goals – Brayden Rieger (Prince Albert) Five Goals)
• Regina Reign 18 Yorkton Fighting Pikes 1 (Ryan McDonald (Regina) Four Goals)
• Weyburn Rattlers 14 Sturgis Trojans 10 (Caleb Singer-Scherle and Jack Missal (Weyburn) Three Goals – Xage Miraflor (Sturgis) Four Goals)
• Saskatoon Generals 17 Yorkton Fighting Pikes 3 (Nate Gallant (Saskatoon) Four Goals)
• Prince Albert Attack 20 Sturgis Trojans 9 (Brayden Rieger (Prince Albert) Six Goals and One Assist) – Xage Miraflor (Sturgis) Five Goals and One Assist)
• Regina Reign 22 Weyburn Rattlers 5 (Jaxon Lenz (Regina) Five Goals)

Under-18 Division

• Saskatoon Guardians 6 Sturgis Trojans 6 (Jeremy Wudrick (Saskatoon) One Goal and Three Assists – Zane Bayer (Sturgis) Three Goals and One Assist)
• Saskatoon Guardians 15 Prince Albert Attack 13 (Jeremy Wudrick (Saskatoon) Five Goals and One Assist – Braden Shewchuk (Prince Albert) Five Goals)

Attack Saturday Schedule

• 10:30 a.m. – Under-13 Attack vs. Regina Reign
• 11 a.m. – Under-15 Attack vs. Regina Reign
• 2 p.m. – Under-15 Attack vs. Yorkton Fighting Pikes
• 2 p.m. – Under-18 Attack vs. Sturgis Trojans
• 4:15 p.m. – Under-13 Attack vs. Moose Jaw Mustangs
• 5 p.m. – Under-18 Attack vs. Regina Reign
• 8:30 p.m. – Under-15 Attack vs. Weyburn Rattlers

Guillermo Salazar is currently enjoying the best week of his golf career.

After winning the junior boys division at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour’s event at Elk Ridge last Sunday, Salazar followed that up on Friday by defeating Saskatoon’s Chase Pochylko in the championship flight final at the 2021 Coca-Cola Junior Men’s Lobstick at the Waskesiu Golf Course.

“It feels really good to be on a high wave of momentum at the moment,” said Salazar, who is from Calgary but has spent his summers at Waskesiu for the last decade. “I’m not sure how long this is going to last so I’m just trying to enjoy it.

“The Junior Lobstick is an event that I’ve wanted to win for a while and to be able to do it is pretty amazing.”

Salazar, who reached the semifinal round at the 2018 tournament, trailed by two holes early on in the final but turned things around after making an eagle on the par-five sixth.

He took the lead from Pochylko with a par on the tenth hole and kept up a two-hole cushion through the back nine.

“Whenever you get an eagle that really gets the blood flowing and I was able to carry that momentum into the next few holes,” said Salazar, who reached the final after victories over 2020 runner-up Will Blake, Max Regier and Hudson Malinoski.

“I played really aggressively at Elk Ridge last weekend and I kept that approach up here, which I think led to my success this week. I did get into a little bit of trouble sometimes with that approach, but my mental game was strong and that kept me in the hunt for both tournaments.”

Although he was unable to close the gap on Salazar, Pochylko kept the pressure on his opponent with key par putts on the back nine before he conceded the match on the 17th hole.

“I thought I had control of things on the front nine, but the eagle that Guillermo made on the sixth hole really turned things around,” said Pochylko, who golfs out of the Riverside Country Club.

“He tied things up with a birdie on the eighth hole and I just made a couple of mistakes there on the back nine that cost me in the end.”

While he didn’t come away with the win, Pochylko easily surpassed his previous best result at the event, as he was the runner-up in the third flight consolation bracket in 2016.

“My ball striking wasn’t quite as strong as I wanted it to be, but my putting was really good and I felt great here all week,” said Pochylko, who picked up wins over Darien Herlick, defending Junior Lobstick winner Alex Swinnerton and Luke Cote earlier this week.

“The match I had with Alex on Wednesday was one of the best I’ve ever been involved in. I would have been pleased with my week had I lost to him, so to make it this far is something that I’m really happy about.”

The results from Friday’s other flight finals were as follows:

• Championship Flight Consolation: Jackson Wingert over Will Blake
• First Flight: Keaton Cote over Dade Bernatchez
• First Flight Consolation: Dane Giesbrecht over Van Taylor
• Second Flight: Jack Maharaj over Walker Cote
• Second Flight Consolation: Josh Silverson over Nikko Sebjanic
• Third Flight: Lincoln Rogers over Nate Bohmann
• Third Flight Consolation: Lachlan Rabut over Tyson Wawryk
• Fourth Flight: Easton Brown over Wyatt Nelson
• Fourth Flight Consolation: Jaxen Witt over Brennan Tyerman
• Fifth Flight: Trey Markus over Drake Ryce
• Fifth Flight Consolation: Clay Harmon over Brock Kolibab