Mintos open home stand with loss to Contacts

Lucas Punkari
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Mintos open home stand with loss to Contacts

The 2018-19 Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League season has been filled with ups and downs so far for the Prince Albert Mintos.

After snapping a six-game losing streak with an impressive 6-0 road win over the Moose Jaw Generals Sunday, the Mintos were back at the Art Hauser Centre in an attempt to keep their winning ways going Tuesday night.

Instead, the opening contest in a six-game home stand ended up not going their way as they fell 5-2 to the Saskatoon Contacts.

“Our work ethic has been there, but we just haven’t been able to execute here lately,” Mintos head coach Ken Morrison said.

“It’s just the little things that we need to be consistently better at, such as making passes and limiting our turnovers at the oppositions blueline. Those are all aspects of the game that we are going to be working on getting better at, along with hopefully getting a few guys back from injury here soon so that we can have a full lineup.”

Portland Winterhawks prospect Gabe Klassen scored a highlight-reel goal to give the Mintos the lead in the first period, but they would soon have to deal with a Contacts side that was determined to tie up the proceedings.

After a number of chances, Riley Girod equalized the contest with 6:14 left on the clock in the middle frame and Caleb Cherry put the visitors in front on a shot from a bad angle that beat Spencer Welke just three minutes later.

“I thought our first period was really good, but our second wasn’t what we wanted to see as the level of play dropped down quite a bit,” Morrison said

“We were still working hard though and we were only down a goal to start the third, but then one of their guys (Jaeden Mercier) was able to come down and take a shot that went off one of our defenceman and in the net. That was a bad break for us.”

The Mintos clawed to within a goal on the power play midway through the third period as Dawson Springer potted home his 19th marker of the season, which is one ahead of Cole Sillinger of the Regina Pat Canadians and Holden Knights of the Beardy’s Blackhawks for the league lead.

That would be as close as the Mintos would get though, as Davin Griffin scored on a breakaway with less than five minutes to go.

The fifth round pick by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft would then put the puck in an empty net a few minutes later to seal the victory.

“The guys stuck with it and kept working to try and battle back, but we just couldn’t seem to find those goals tonight,” Morrison said.

Griffin had a three-point night to lead the way for the Contacts, who are fifth in the league standings with a 14-10 record and are gearing up to face the Tisdale Trojans Sunday.

“We had a really good showing this weekend down in Swift Current and tonight was just a continuation from those games against the Legionnaires,” Contacts head coach Marc Chartier said.

“We have a number of young guys on our team this year and it usually takes them a couple of months to get used to the speed of the midget game and how much time you have to make plays. We’re starting to see those players progress and we’re seeing some great results.”

Chase Hamm made 30 saves for the Contacts, while Welke turned aside 33 shots for the Mintos.

Prior to Tuesday’s contest, the Mintos found out that Klassen, Marek Schneider, Ashton Ferster and Logan Cox will be representing the program on Saskatchewan men’s hockey team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta.

“It’s obviously pretty exciting for those guys, especially as they are all from here,” Morrison said.

“It was a little disappointing though that (defenceman) Chase (Friedt-Mohr) didn’t get a chance there as I thought he deserved a shot. However, I’m sure that will be some extra motivation for him going forward.”

Next up for the 12-13-1-0 Mintos, who are tied with the Blackhawks for seventh place in the standings and are five points ahead of the Battlefords Stars in the race for a playoff berth, is a 7 p.m. meeting with the Yorkton Maulers at the Art Hauser Centre Friday.

Strong start to season for Crusaders senior boys

Lucas Punkari
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Strong start to season for Crusaders senior boys

 

Having watched his team earn a pair of runner-up finishes to start off their tournament slate, Carlton Crusaders senior boys’ basketball head coach Tim Strom is pleasantly surprised with how well the start of the season has gone.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t think we’d be playing this well after our first two weekends,” Strom said.

“We lost four of our starters and six of our Grade 12 players to graduation, so we have seven new rookies in the lineup. However, the way we are playing at the moment is better than how we played at the end of last season.”

The Crusaders started off their season with a trip to the final at their home tournament on Dec. 1, where they lost to the Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartans.

They returned to the championship game this past weekend in Warman, but ended up coming up short against the Notre Dame Hounds.

“We’ve had a number of guys step up into different roles and we have a bunch of player providing scoring for us in those tournaments,” Strom said.

“Last year, we had one or two players that would provide the bulk of our points, but so far this year we’ve had five players who are consistently putting together eight to 10 point showings. The team has been moving the ball and sharing the scoring, which makes us a lot more effective.”

In addition to a balanced offence, the Crusaders also have a slightly different style of play than they’ve had in years past.

“We were a very tall team last year but we lost a number of our big guys due to graduation,” Strom said. “Although we don’t have a lot of size, we do have a lot of speed on this year’s roster, which we’ve made our strength.

“If you combine that with the fact that we have a number of guys on the team that are in their third year and have waited their turn to play on a regular basis, that’s probably played a key role in our strong start.”

The Crusaders will be back in action this weekend for a two-day tournament in Birch Hills.

Bears capture bronze at Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament

Lucas Punkari
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Bears capture bronze at Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament

In a field that featured some of the best female midget hockey programs in Western Canada, the Prince Albert Northern Bears turned in their best performance of the season over the weekend.

After a 7-2 win over the Regina Rebels Sunday afternoon in Wilcox, the Bears were able to come away with a bronze medal from the 2018 edition of the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament.

“I think it’s a real testament to how our girls are really coming together as a team and how they are all playing for each other,” Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby said.

“It may not show in our results in the league at the moment, but everything was clicking for us down there over the weekend and I think you’ll see that carry over into the second half of the regular season.”

Having lost a hard-fought 5-4 semifinal affair to the Notre Dame Hounds a day earlier, the Bears bounced back in style Sunday as seven different players found the back of the net against the Rebels.

“It’s obviously a tough game to be in for both teams as we each had close losses and just missed out on being in the gold medal game,” Willoughby said.

“With that said, you might as well put the effort in because it’s a chance to end the weekend on a high note. It was a tentative start for us early, but we were able to take the game over and had a strong showing from everyone on the team.”

The Bears clinched their spot in the playoffs by finishing first in Pool A play with a 3-0 record.

They edged the Eastman Selects of Manitoba by a score of 4-3, topped the Northern Alberta Xtreme prep school program 3-2 and defeated the Lloydminster Steelers in a 2-1 affair.

“In each of those games, we jumped out to the lead,” Willoughby said. “There were are few times where our opponents were able to whittle down that lead, but the girls were able to handle those challenges and that helped us a lot in the round-robin.

“We played well in the semifinal against Notre Dame, but we ended up running into some penalty trouble and allowed a few more goals than we would have liked. The girls worked hard to try and force overtime, but we just ran out of time.”

Although the Bears had a number of key contributors to their success, Miranda Heidt’s offensive output in the round-robin was something that stood out to Willoughby.

“I think she had six or seven goals for us in the first three games,” Willoughby said.

“When you have players like her doing that on offence, plus a solid team defence that limits our goals against, that can be pretty tough to beat.”

It was also a strong weekend for the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League as the top four teams at the tournament came from the eight-team loop.

“Everyone knows that if you don’t show up to play against anyone in this league, you are going to be in for a tough night,” Willoughby said.

“The level of play in our league has stepped a lot from where it was five years ago, and I think what you saw this weekend was a true testament to how female hockey is doing in our province.”

The Saskatoon Stars captured the gold medal Sunday with a 3-1 win over the host Hounds.

The Bears will be back in action this weekend as they go on the road for a pair of games against the Swift Current Wildcats.

They will then host the Battleford Sharks on Friday, Dec. 21 and Saturday, Dec. 22 at the Art Hauser Centre in their last games before Christmas.

Maier marvelous as Blades blank Raiders

Lucas Punkari
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Maier marvelous as Blades blank Raiders

Nolan Maier and the Saskatoon Blades did something Sunday that no one else has done in the Western Hockey League this year.

They held Brett Leason without a point and kept the Prince Albert Raiders off the scoresheet.

In a tightly contested battle at the SaskTel Centre, Maier turned aside all 32 shots that came his way as the Blades edged the Raiders by a score of 1-0 to hand the top team in the Western Hockey League their first regulation loss in 22 games.

“I think this speaks volumes from what we can do as a group, especially with how we played against the top team in the league,” Maier said after picking up his second clean sheet of the campaign.

“To be able to get a shutout glorifies things a little bit with what I did, but our team was able to hold them to under 20 shots in the first two periods. This is a real statement win for us to the rest of the league.”

Maier saved some of his best work for the final frame, as he made a huge kick save to rob Leason in what proved to be the best chance for the WHL scoring leader to extend his 30 game point streak.

A couple of minutes later, Maier was able to shut the door on Justin Nachbaur as he looked to redirect a pass from Ozzy Wiesblatt.

Although the Raiders suffered their first regulation loss since a 4-3 road affair against the Red Deer Rebels on Oct. 6, head coach Marc Habscheid was pleased with his team’s effort as they wrapped up a busy three-in-three weekend.

“When you have the travel back and forth to Brandon, and a physical game like the one we had at home last night, it’s not easy,” Habscheid said. “We were a little fatigued early on, but I’m really proud of how the guys worked through it.

“It wasn’t quite our ‘A’ game, but I thought we probably deserved to win this one as we were able to outchance them quite a bit. We had some point blank chances at the end, but their goalie (Maier) was able to stop them all.”

After Tristen Robins’ second period marker, which allowed the crowd of 6,334 to toss a variety of stuffed animals onto the ice, the Blades blueline showcased their talents in slowing down the dangerous Raiders offence.

“Prince Albert has a number of players that can make you pay if you make a mistake, which is what happened to us the last two times we played them,” Blades defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus said.

“We were committed to playing well in our own end right from the start. We didn’t plan on scoring five goals tonight. We wanted to play our game on defence and let the goals come to us.”

Nolan Keeen had the lone assist for the Blades, who improved their record to 19-10-3-1 and are 16 points back of the Raiders for the top spot in the East Division.

In his final game before heading off with Leason to Hockey Canada’s World Junior Selection Camp in Victoria, B.C., Ian Scott turned in another excellent showing for his team as turned aside 26 shots.

Next up for the 28-2-0-1 Raiders is a home affair with the Edmonton Oil Kings Wednesday at 7 p.m.

They will then visit the Swift Current Broncos Friday before hosting their East Division rivals Saturday in the annual Teddy Bear Toss game at the Art Hauser Centre, in what will be their final game before Christmas.

Post-Game Notes

The last netminder to shutout the Raiders was Brody Willms in a 2-0 win for the Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 4 of the 2018 WHL Eastern Conference quarter-final.

Prior to Maier’s performance Sunday, Logan Flodell was the last Blades goaltender to blank the Raiders in a 1-0 contest on Oct. 29, 2016.

With Leason’s run coming to an end, Portland Winterhawks forward Cody Glass now holds the longest point streak in the WHL at 16 games.

Raiders blueliner Sergei Sapego had a goal for Belarus on Sunday afternoon in Fussen, Germany as they opened up play at the IIHF Division I World Juniors with a 5-3 win over Norway.

Aliaksei Protas was also in the lineup but did not have a point for Belarus, who take on France tomorrow morning.

In addition to the two imports, Lane Kirk was the other scratch for the Raiders.

Blueliners Jake Kustra, Zachary Ashton and Majid Kaddoura did not dress for the Blades, while Kristian Roykas Marthinsen is currently playing for Norway at the Division I World Juniors.

Sunday’s Scores

  • Calgary 6 Kamloops 3 (Egor Zamula – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Everett 2 Spokane 0 (Bryce Kindopp – Two Goals – Dustin Wolf – 21 Saves – Third Shutout This Season and Seventh Career)

Tuesday’s Schedule

  • Edmonton vs. Saskatoon – 7 p.m.
  • Kelowna vs. Kootenay – 8 p.m.
  • Kamloops vs. Red Deer – 8 p.m.
  • Prince George vs. Seattle – 9 p.m.
  • Portland vs. Victoria – 9 p.m.

Mintos end losing streak in Moose Jaw

Lucas Punkari
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Mintos end losing streak in Moose Jaw

The Prince Albert Mintos concluded a three-game road swing in style Sunday.

A five-assist performance from Chase Bertholet and a hat trick showing from Gabe Klassen were the keys to the Mintos success at Mosaic Place as they snapped a six-game losing skid with a 6-0 win over the Moose Jaw Generals.

Klassen also had an assist in the triumph, which saw Ashton Ferster dish out three helpers.

Alex Ozar, Andrew Schaab and Logan Cox also scored for the visitors, who received a 30-save showing from Spencer Welke as he earned his second shutout of the season.

Jaxson Taupert stopped 23 shots for the 7-16-1-2 Generals, who have lost their last four games and are in 10th place in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League standings.

Next up for the Mintos, who have a 12-12-1-0 record and are tied for seventh with the Beardy’s Blackhawks in the league table, is a meeting at the Art Hauser Centre Tuesday with the Saskatoon Contacts as they begin a six-game home stand.

Fonstad and Gregor help Raiders stay perfect at home

Lucas Punkari
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Fonstad and Gregor help Raiders stay perfect at home

With Aliaksei Protas and Sergei Sapego set to compete for Belarus at the IIHF Division I World Juniors in Germany, plus the upcoming loss of Brett Leason and Ian Scott to Canada’s World Junior selection camp, the Prince Albert Raiders are looking for players to step up in their absence.

Enter forwards Cole Fonstad and Noah Gregor.

The pair, who were joined on their line by rookie Ozzy Wiesblatt Saturday, were the key difference makers for the Raiders as they improved to 14-0 at the Art Hauser Center with a 5-2 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings.

“They are both intelligent guys that like to freelance out there, and it sometimes takes a little bit for guys with those tendencies to gel with each other,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.

“They are smart enough to figure each other out and I think you’ve seen that here in the last couple of games.”

Gregor led the offence with a goal and three assists, as the San Jose Sharks prospect was able to score for the 100th time in his WHL career after he converted a pass from Brett Leason in the third period.

“That’s a pretty cool accomplishment to have after being in the league for awhile,” Gregor said.

“I thought we had two strong games against Brandon after that loss to Swift Current (on Tuesday night). The key things that ‘Habby’ really focussed in on with us was being relentless and having a crispness to our game, which I think we showed over the last two nights.”

For Fonstad, Saturday’s two-goal performance was the fifth in his WHL career as the Montreal Canadiens draft pick extended his point streak to six games.

“Things didn’t go as well as I would have liked at the start of the year in trying to help contribute on offence,” Fonstad said. “It’s been nice to start making plays again, feel more confident with the puck and build chemistry with my linemates.

“Once you have a good idea of where the other guys are out on the ice, everyone just starts to get rolling and it makes things a lot easier.”

Max Martin and Leason both had a pair of helpers in the win, as Leason extended his point streak to 30 games and matched a run that Jordan Kyrou had with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting during the 2016-17 season.

Sean Montgomery and Kody McDonald also scored for the 28-1-0-1 Raiders, who received a 39-save performance from Ian Scott.

Although the Wheat Kings were without a number of players due to injuries and suspensions, they turned in a strong showing against the Raiders and were kept in the game by an excellent 42-save outing by Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Jiri Patera.

“I have to give Brandon credit,” Habscheid said. “They came out on the aggressive and they were in our face, which we didn’t handle all that well in the first period as we were getting frustrated after the whistles with them.

“The main message in the intermission was to play between the whistles and be aggressive, but to also play the right way. We were able to do that and started to tilt things back into our favour.”

Linden McCorrister and Luka Burzan scored for the 14-9-3-3 Wheat Kings, who have lost two straight games and are a point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Next up for the league-leading Raiders is a trip to Saskatoon Sunday for a 4 p.m. tilt with the Blades as they’ll look to spoil their annual Teddy Bear Toss game.

Following that encounter, the Raiders will host the Edmonton Oil Kings Wednesday before a home-and-home set with the Swift Current Broncos next weekend in their last games before Christmas.

Post-Game Notes

The biggest crowd of the season took in Saturday’s game as 3,107 fans entered the Art Hauser Centre.

The last time the attendance figure eclipsed the 3,000 mark was when 3,033 spectators attended last season’s regular season home finale against the Saskatoon Blades on March 16.

A total of 3,017 fans came to Game 5 of the 2016 Eastern Conference quarter-final matchup with the Moose Jaw Warriors, while 3,299 spectators were in the building for the 2015-16 regular season finale against the Blades.

Raiders captain Brayden Pachal had an assist Saturday to increase his point streak to five games, which matches a career high set earlier this season in a span that lasted from Nov. 16-24.

In addition to Protas and Sapego, who will make their debut at the Division I World Juniors Sunday at 1 p.m. Saskatchewan time against Norway, Lane Kirk did not dress for the Raiders Saturday.

With Braden Schneider, Jonny Lambos, Chase Hartje, Jonny Hooker and Lynden McCallum all out due to injuries, and Cole Reinhardt serving a one-game suspension for a boarding major penalty and a game misconduct he received for a hit on Pachal Friday in Brandon, the Wheat Kings called up forward Bode Hagan for his WHL debut Saturday.

An eighth round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, the 16-year-old from Alisike, Alta. has 32 points in 18 games this year for the OHA Edmonton prep school program.

Saturday’s Scores

  • Saskatoon 5 Moose Jaw 3 (Josh Paterson – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Edmonton 3 Kamloops 2 (Trey Fix-Wolansky Overtime Winner – Dylan Ferguson – 37 Saves)
  • Medicine Hat 4 Regina 2 (Ryan Jevne – Two Goals and One Assist)
  • Red Deer 6 Swift Current 2 (Brandon Hagel – Two Goals and Two Assists)
  • Portland 3 Prince George 0 (Shane Farkas – 22 Saves – Second Shutout This Season and Fifth Career)
  • Everett 2 Seattle 1 (Dustin Wolf – 43 Saves)
  • Spokane 4 Kootenay 3 (Eli Zummack Overtime Winner – Peyton Krebs and Jaeger White – One Goal and Two Assists)
  • Tri-City 8 Lethbridge 7 (Isaac Johnson Overtime Winner – Jake Elmer – Three Goals and Two Assists – First Career Hat Trick)
  • Vancouver 2 Victoria 1 (Jared Dmytriw Overtime Winner – Griffen Outhouse – 36 Saves)

Pre-Game Notes

Following their win in Moose Jaw Saturday, the Blades are second in the East Division standings with an 18-10-3-0 record, but are 18 points behind the Raiders.

Sunday’s contest is the third of the season between the East Division rivals, with the Raiders coming out on top in a 4-1 contest on Sept. 30 in Prince Albert and a 6-2 affair on Oct. 14 in Saskatoon.

This marks the second straight season that the Raiders have visited Saskatoon for the Blades’ Teddy Bear Toss game, as Cameron Hebig scored five minutes into the first period in his team’s 3-2 victory on Dec. 10, 2017.

Blades blueliner Jake Kustra is out for one-to-three weeks according to the WHL’s weekly report after he crashed feet first into the boards while battling for the puck against the Raiders on Oct. 14.

Saskatoon will also be without forward Kristian Roykas Marthinsen, as the Washington Capitals draft pick is playing for Norway at the IIHF Division I World Juniors in Germany.

Sunday’s Schedule

  • Kamloops vs. Calgary – 3 p.m.
  • Prince Albert vs. Saskatoon – 4 p.m.
  • Spokane vs. Everett – 6 p.m.

Raiders return to win column in Brandon

Lucas Punkari
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Raiders return to win column in Brandon

The Prince Albert Raiders made sure there wasn’t any residual effects from a 3-2 shootout loss Tuesday night against the Swift Current Broncos.

In the final leg of a season-long seven game road trip Friday, the league-leading Raiders bounced back with a 5-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings at Westoba Place.

“It was a real character win,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.

“I thought we played okay in Swift Current and we outshot them by quite a bit, but it’s still a loss at the end of the day. This is a group of guys that don’t like losing and they were determined to make sure that didn’t happen again tonight.”

The line of Cole Fonstad, Noah Gregor and Ozzy Wiesblatt led the way for the Raiders as they each had a goal and an assist during the second period of play.

Gregor and Wiesblatt’s goals would put the game out of reach for the Wheat Kings, as they each scored in a 25-second span late in the middle frame.

“All three guys are smart players with a lot of skill,” Habscheid said. “They played well off each other throughout the game, and that allowed them to generate chances on offence.”

Eric Pearce and Sean Montgomery also found the back of the net for the 27-1-0-1 Raiders, with Montgomery’s second period goal giving him a new single-season high in points with 30.

Brett Leason recorded an assist on Montgomery’s marker, which gives him a point in 29 straight games and the longest point streak in the WHL since the 1996-97 season.

Donovan Buskey improved his record to 5-0 on Friday as he made 24 saves.

“He’s one of those guys that is always working hard and has a positive attitude,” Hasbscheid said. “The guys want to play hard in front of him whenever he’s in goal, and Donovan’s played well when he’s had his opportunities.”

Linden McCorrister had a pair of assists for the 14-8-3-3 Wheat Kings, who saw a four-game win streak end Friday night.

Ben McCartney and Conor Gutenberg scored in the loss, while Jiri Patera made 36 saves.

The two sides will square off once again Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders have won their last five games at home over the Wheat Kings, with Brandon’s last win in Prince Albert coming in a 4-3 affair on Oct. 15, 2016.

Post-Game Notes

Prior to Leason’s recent dominance, Swift Current Broncos forward Aleksi Heponiemi had the longest point streak in the WHL’s ‘Internet Era’ with a 28-game run last year.

Stellio Mattheos and Luka Burzan entered Friday’s game with six-game point streaks, but they were both held off of the score sheet by the Raiders.

Lane Kirk, Sergei Sapego and Aliaksei Protas did not dress for the visitors, while the Wheat Kings scratched Braden Schneider, Chase Hartje and Lynden McCallum.

Raiders prospect Tyson Laventure has been selected to suit up for Alberta at the 2019 Canada Winter Games, which will be held from Feb. 17-22 in Red Deer.

A second round pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft, the 15-year-old from Lloydminster has 40 points in 21 games this year for the OHA Edmonton prep school program.

Nineteen WHL draft picks are on the roster for Alberta, with the lone exception being highly-touted forward Matthew Savoie, who is expected to be the top pick in next year’s draft and could be the first player to be granted exceptional status into the league by Hockey Canada.

Friday’s Scores

  • Moose Jaw 3 Saskatoon 2 (Tristin Langan – One Goal and Two Assists)
  • Calgary 3 Swift Current 2 (Isaac Poulter – 42 Saves)
  • Red Deer 4 Regina 3 (Brett Davis Shootout Winner – Max Paddock – 32 Saves)
  • Kelowna 2 Victoria 0 (Roman Basran – 16 Saves – First Shutout This Season and Second Career – Griffen Outhouse – 30 Saves)
  • Portland 5 Prince George 2 (Jake Gricius – Three Assists)
  • Spokane 6 Lethbridge 2 (Eli Zummack – Four Assists)
  • Seattle 4 Tri-City 1 (Matthew Wedman – One Goal and One Assist)

Saturday’s Schedule

  • Saskatoon vs. Moose Jaw – 7 p.m.
  • Brandon vs. Prince Albert – 7 p.m.
  • Kamloops vs. Edmonton – 8 p.m.
  • Swift Current vs. Red Deer – 8 p.m.
  • Prince George vs. Portland – 8 p.m.
  • Everett vs. Seattle – 8 p.m.
  • Regina vs. Medicine Hat – 8:30 p.m.
  • Victoria vs. Vancouver – 9 p.m.
  • Kootenay vs. Spokane – 9 p.m.
  • Lethbridge vs. Tri-City – 9 p.m.

Strong first half for Silvernagle rink

Lucas Punkari
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Strong first half for Silvernagle rink

Although Robyn Silvernagle and Prince Albert’s Kara Thevenot have curled together for a number of years, this season’s edition of their rink from North Battleford is more or less a brand new team.

As a result of the many lineup shuffles that occurred at the end of the most recent Olympic cycle, the Twin Rivers Curling Club squad brought in multi-time provincial champion Stefanie Lawton at third and also added a new second to the roster in Alberta’s Jessie Hunkin.

“At the start of the year, the biggest thing that you are doing is just trying figure out how everybody throws, what their tendencies are and what each other needs to provide help for their teammates,” Thevenot explained.

“It takes a bit of time to work through everything with practices and games, but now we have a good idea of how we want to play and we’ve been able to make a lot of shots and put pressure on our opponents.”

It didn’t take long for the Silvernagle squad to get used to one another, as they made the playoffs at six of the eight events they competed in during the first half of the 2018-19 season.

That included wins at Saskatchewan Curling Tour events in Humboldt and Saskatoon, along with a World Curling Tour title at the Red Deer Curling Classic last month.

“That win in Red Deer is probably the standout moment for us from the first half of the year,” Thevenot said. “It was a 28-team field with a lot of good rinks from around the world, so it was one of those events that you had a chance to earn a lot of points from with how strong the field was.

“We played really well all weekend and we ended up only losing one game while we were there. We were able to read the ice well right away, and that allowed us to make a ton of shots.”

With a ranking of eighth at the moment in the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings, the Silvernagle rink is expected to earn a bye into next month’s provincial playdowns in Humboldt as the top ranked team from Saskatchewan.

As a result of their strong play this season, the rink will also have a chance to play at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling’s Meridian Canadian Open, which will be held in North Battleford from Jan. 8-13.

“That will be a first for all of us on the team except Stefanie, so to be able to get a spot at the event is really exciting, especially since we haven’t had a chance to play in North Battleford with how the schedules have worked out in the past,” Thevenot said.

“Our main goal is to make it to the Scotties and represent Saskatchewan, but to be able to play in a Slam was something that was also a goal of ours for this season. It’s a chance to face some of the best teams in the world and it will be a great event to take part in before we go to the provincials.”

More accolades for Leason and Scott

Lucas Punkari
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More accolades for Leason and Scott

Brett Leason and Ian Scott have been honoured for the play once again by the Western Hockey League.

In an announcement made earlier this week, the top scorer and starting netminder for the Prince Albert Raiders were named the league’s player and goaltender of the month for the second time this year.

Leason had 24 points during the month of November and has recorded a point in all 28 games that the 26-1-0-1 Raiders have played in this season.

He leads the WHL in goals with 28, is fourth in assists with 33 and is tied with Edmonton Oil Kings forward Trey Fix-Wolansky for the most points in the league with 61.

Scott, who is a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, went a perfect 8-0 in November with a 1.63 goals against average, a .945 save percentage and two shutouts.

He also became the eighth netminder to score a goal in league history as he launched the puck into the net on Nov. 16 against the Tri-City Americans.

Heading into Friday’s road game with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Scott led the WHL in wins (22), goals against average (1.62), save percentage (.942) and shutouts (four).

The Raiders teammates have also been recognized by Hockey Canada for their play, as they’ve been selected to attend the selection camp in Victoria, B.C. next week for the upcoming World Juniors.

Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brayden Tracey won the rookie of the month award for November after recording 16 points in 10 games.

Around the WHL

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, an announcement will be made Monday by the owners of the Kootenay Ice that the team will be moving from Cranbrook, B.C. to Manitoba’s capital for the 2019-20 WHL season.

The team, which is owned by Winnipeg businessmen Greg Fettes and his business partner Matt Cockell (who also serves as the club’s president and general manager), will reportedly play out of the University of Manitoba’s Wayne Fleming Arena (a venue that seats just 1,400) for two seasons as a brand new 4,500 to 6,000 seat arena is built.

It would mark the first time a WHL club has been in Winnipeg since 1984, when the Warriors franchise moved to Moose Jaw after four seasons.

Wednesday’s Scores

  • Medicine Hat 6 Moose Jaw 5 (Ryan Jevne Overtime Winner – Jett Woo – One Goal and Three Assists)
  • Edmonton 6 Regina 1 (Trey Fix-Wolansky – One Goal and Three Assists)
  • Lethbridge 3 Kootenay 2 (Dylan Cozens Overtime Winner – Jake Leschyshyn – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Kamloops 3 Victoria 2 (Kyrell Sopotyk – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Kelowna 4 Tri-City 3 (Leif Mattson Shootout Winner – Nolan Foote – One Goal and One Assist)
  • Everett 4 Spokane 2 (Bryce Kindopp – One Goal and One Assist)

Pre-Game Notes

The Raiders and Wheat Kings have only played each other once this season, as the Raiders came away with a 6-0 triumph in Brandon on Saturday, Nov. 17.

Following a 4-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday night, the 14-7-3-3 Wheat Kings are on a four-game in streak and find themselves in a tightly contested battle with the Saskatoon Blades and the Moose Jaw Warriors for second place in the East Division.

The Wheat Kings are currently in fourth place in the standings, but they are just one point back of the Warriors and three markers behind the Blades.

Stellio Mattheos and Luke Burzan have played key roles in the Wheat Kings recent success, as the forwards are both on six-game point streaks.

Defenceman Chase Hartje and forward Lynden McCallum are both listed as day-to-day with upper body injuries, while Prince Albert product and second year blueliner Braden Schneider is week-to-week with a lower body injury he sustained against the Raiders.

Friday’s Schedule

  • Moose Jaw vs. Saskatoon – 7 p.m.
  • Prince Albert vs. Brandon – 7:30 p.m.
  • Swift Current vs. Calgary – 8 p.m.
  • Regina vs. Red Deer – 8 p.m.
  • Prince George vs. Portland – 9 p.m.
  • Victoria vs. Kelowna – 9 p.m.
  • Lethbridge vs. Spokane – 9 p.m.
  • Seattle vs. Tri-City – 9 p.m.

Mintos doubled up by Blazers

Lucas Punkari
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Mintos doubled up by Blazers

A third period barrage was too much for the Prince Albert Mintos to overcome Thursday night.

Despite holding a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes, the Mintos allowed four unanswered in the final frame as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the 21-6-1-0 Saskatoon Blazers at the Rod Hamm Memorial Arena.

Kootenay Ice prospect Karter Porosofsky and Cole Nagy had two goals to lead the offence for the Blazers, with Nagy’s performance moving him into a tie for the top scorer in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League with Cole Sillinger of the Regina Pat Canadians on 39 points.

Zach Gabruch had a goal and an assist for the hosts, while Josh Nagy and Prince Albert Raiders prospect Nolan Allan dished out a pair of helpers.

Alec Saretzky rounded out the scoring for the Blazers, who have won their last two games and hold a two-point lead over the Tisdale Trojans heading into a matchup of the two top teams in the SMAAAHL in Saskatoon Sunday.

Brett Mirwald turned aside 28 shots for the hosts to earn the victory.

Ethan Ironside and Portland Winterhawks prospect Gabe Klassen had a goal and an assist each for the 11-11-1-0 Mintos, who have lost five straight games but still have a six-point lead over the Moose Jaw Generals for the eighth and final playoff spot in the league.

Gavin Ingram had the other goal for the visitors, who received a 29-save showing from Spencer Welke.

The Mintos will continue a three-game road trip Saturday against the 14-4-2-2 Pat Canadians before a Sunday afternoon affair with the 7-14-1-2 Generals.

They will be back at home Tuesday to take on the 12-9-0-0 Saskatoon Contacts at the Art Hauser Centre.

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