Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
The light is dim, but the Prince Albert Mintos won’t quit until it is extinguished.
In what was easily their best game in the last couple of weeks, the Mintos gave the Saskatoon Blazers everything they had only to fall 5-4 in overtime in Saskatchewan Male U18AAA Hockey League action on Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre.
“This game had us going in the right direction,” said Mintos’ head coach Dion Antisin moments after the heart-breaking loss. “It was a good huge step for this group.”
Entering the game having lost six straight and falling five points out of the final playoff spot, the Mintos battled the third-place Blazers throughout Tuesday’s match and with a little luck could have had a better result.
“You don’t always get the bounces go your way,” acknowledged Antisin in reference to Cooper Sawatzky having the puck jump over his stick as he stared at a wide open net moments before Saskatoon scored the eventual game winner.
Saskatoon held a slight advantage in the first period grabbing a 2-1 lead on goals from Jeremy Wehrens and Kash Ringdal, but Burke Whitter and Carter Wingert tallied less than two minutes apart early in the middle frame to give the Mintos their only lead of the game.
The Blazers moved back in front on goals by Tatum Fouquette and Eric Grandberg before the second period was over with Whitter notching his second of the game early in the final session to bring things back on even terms.
“We have to learn to play with the lead,” said Antisin. “We have to find a way to be better on defence. Controlling rebounds in the D-zone, especially 5-on-5, we got away from that and it showed.”
Tyson Medernach ended the game just over three minutes into the extra period when his wrist shot from the face-off circle got past Prince Albert netminder Wyatt Nelson, who finished the game with 36 saves.
Prince Albert, which also got a goal from Cruz Stacey in the first period, moved a point closer to the Battlefords Stars for the final playoff berth, but with just seven games left on the schedule they are going to have to go on a run and hope for help from others if their season is to be extended.
“We just have to focus on one game at a time and move forward,” said Antisin. “We can’t worry about the past; we have to focus on what we can do.”
The Mintos will try and bridge the gap with the Battlefords when they head to Swift Current this weekend for a doubleheader against the Legionnaires. Prince Albert will then return home for what they hope won’t be their final two home games of the season when the Notre Dame Hounds visit the Art Hauser Centre on Feb. 14-15.
As a side note, the Mintos announced that their major fundraiser, The Minto Deal, is completely sold out. A number of prizes ranging from a snowblower to a gun safe will be given away on April 10 during a live broadcast on 900 CKBI Radio. The Mintos thank the sponsors of the event and general public for their continued support.
Timerjaks fall to first-place Quakers
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Prince Albert Timberjaks were defeated 6-1 by the first-place Saskatoon Quakers in Prairie Junior Hockey League action at the Northern Regional Rec Centre.
Keethan Isbister was the lone Prince Albert goal scorer and with the loss the Timberjaks remain two points back of the Carrot River Outback Thunder for the final playoff spot.
With just six games remaining on the schedule, the Timberjaks will head to Regina this weekend for games against the Silver Foxes and Capitals. Prince Albert has a game in hand on the Thunder and the final playoff spot could come down to a showdown in Carrot River on Feb. 13.
The Timberjaks’ final regular-season home game is Feb. 15 when they will host the Saskatoon Westleys at 3 p.m. at the Northern Regional Rec Centre.
