Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
The Prince Albert Junior Predators first game away from the friendly confines this season was a huge success as a 16-9 triumph in Swift Current over the Wolverines on Saturday moved the three-time defending Prairie Gold Lacrosse League champions into a share of first place with five games remaining on the schedule.
“I thought yesterday (Saturday) in Swift Current we were dominant; a few minor mistakes, but that is going to happen,” said Predators’ head coach and general manager Lucas Wells on Sunday. “I thought overall it was our most complete game we played.”
In a unique, and even somewhat bizarre schedule, the Predators opened the season with six straight games at home going 5-1-0. Now that the calendar has flipped to June they will be on the road for six straight with Saturday’s game kicking off the lengthy road swing.
Matthew Cudmore, the PGLL’s all-time leader in assists and total points, once again led the Predators’ attack against Swift Current scoring four times and setting up four others. Chase Lehner also had a four-goal game with Sam Cooper chipping in with a pair. Cole Barmby, Ryley Prediger, Owen Bear, Sawyer Elphinstone, Talon Sandry and Tayt Beaven also scored for the Predators, who fired a whopping 92 shots at the Wolverines goal.
The Predators will look to break out of the tie for first they share with Swift Current when they travel to Winnipeg next weekend to play three games in two days. A doubleheader against the Blizzard on Saturday will begin the busy weekend with a single game on Sunday completing the trip to Manitoba.
“As we head into Winnipeg we are going to be missing quite a few guys,” says Wells of the fact that five players are unable to make the trip for a variety of reasons. “Winnipeg is a big, fast team and their goaltending is really good. I am excited to play there.”
In senior PGLL action it is unclear of what the status of the Prince Albert Outlaws is as the last three scheduled games have no results posted leaving the local entry with just a 1-3 record in the standings. They were to have played in Regina on Saturday and Moose Jaw on Sunday, but nothing has been recorded. In previous games the Outlaws had been relying on help from several Junior Predators to fill their line-up.
One other local club did see action on the weekend as the U17 North Saskatchewan Predators gained a split with the Regina Barracuda in Saskatchewan Box Lacrosse Association action on Sunday at the Kinsmen Arena.
Jaxson Morgan, with three goals and two assists, spurred the Predators to a 10-8 victory in the opening game. It was the Predators first win of the season as they had opened the campaign with four straight losses.
Townsen Robin, Jake Deobald-Holz and Luca Treppel also had strong games scoring two goals each while Andre Grobler rounded out the scoring with a single tally.
In the second game, Regina scored eight times in the middle frame and then hung on for a 14-10 decision. Finley Cochrane was the offensive star for Prince Albert in that game scoring three times while Morgan chipped in with a pair. Singles were added by Carter Kulczycki, Kaleb Larson, Robin, Deobald-Holz and Grobler.
The Predators return to action next weekend when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the undefeated South Sask Stealth for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday.
Both the U13 and U15 North Saskatchewan Predators were idle last week, but they will each host a Saskatoon Swat club on Friday at the Kinsmen Arena. The U13 Predators, who are 3-5-1 on the season, take to the court first at 6 p.m. followed by the U15 squad at 7:45 p.m. The U15 Predators, who are 2-3-3 this year, will then have a quick turnaround as they head to Moose Jaw on Saturday for a doubleheader against the Stealth.
