Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
The Prince Albert Family Pizza Foxes have unofficially laid claim to top spot in the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League’s U13AA North Division standings after a perfect three-wins-in-three-nights weekend.
The Foxes trimmed the Warman Wildcats 4-3 on home ice on Thursday before routing the Northwest Sharks 9-1 and 13-2 in North Battleford on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The results, which improved the Foxes’ record to 19-2-1, have Prince Albert moving one point in front of Saskatoon after Saturday’s victory, but results of the Comet Fury game against Warman on Sunday are unavailable. The Foxes do, however, have one game in hand so it should be a battle right down to the wire.
Emma Trann led the way for the Foxes in the win over Warman scoring a pair of markers while Harlee Boyer and Emmerson Palchinski added singles. Trann, along with Zoey Walter, each had two goals in the first lopsided win over the Sharks with Palchinski, Boyer, Vada Martin, Taylor Briones and Avery Wallin scoring one apiece. In the second decisive win over the Sharks it was Abby Broad and Danica Finch pacing the attack with three goals each while Walter and Boyer each netted a pair and singles came off the sticks of Martin, Palchinski and Trann.
The Foxes, who were one of two local clubs to lay claim to a title at the recent 25th anniversary Foxes female hockey tournament, return to action on Feb. 14 when they will host the Parkland Phoenix at 5:15 p.m. at the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre. They will then complete the regular schedule with another three-games-in-three nights affair when they head down south on Feb. 20-22.
Numerous other local hockey teams were also in action over the weekend with varied results being recorded. Following is a summary of what each team did and what is next on their respective schedules.
U15AA Smitty’s Foxes – A 6-1 setback to the Northeast Aces dropped the Foxes record to 4-14-1-2 on the season. Beckly Bell had the lone goal for Prince Albert, which will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Warman to play the Wildcats. The next, and last, home game of the season for the Foxes will be played on Feb. 22 at 2:30 p.m. at the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre.
U18AA Family Pizza Foxes – Rylee Jensen had two goals and Maci Baillargeon added a single, but it wasn’t enough as the Foxes fell 4-3 to the Warman Wildcats in their lone outing of the week. The Foxes, who are fourth in the North Division standings with an 8-10-1-1 ledger, will be in Melfort on Wednesday for a date with the Northeast Aces. Next home action is Feb. 10 when the Saskatoon Comet Legends will pay a visit to the Kinsmen Arena. Puck drop for that match is 8 p.m.
U13AA SFS Buckeyes – The Buckeyes got goals from Cameron Fiddler, Brody Parenteau and Griffin Whitfield enroute to a 3-1 victory over Martensville in boy’s action from last Wednesday. The Buckeyes, who improved to 4-12-1 with the triumph, next see action on Feb. 14 when they will visit the Northwest Stars. The Buckeyes aren’t home until the end of the month when they will host a pair of Saskatoon teams on the final weekend of the regular schedule.
U15AA Venice House Pirates – Despite opening a three-games-in-four-nights slate with a 5-3 setback on home ice to the Warman Wildcats on Thursday, the Pirates kept first place in their sights with a pair of wins in Weyburn and Estevan on the weekend. Jordan Labelle, Caleb Philp and Carter Krahn scored for the Pirates in the loss to Warman while Philp and Jakub Palmer each had two tallies and Labelle added a single in a 5-4 decision over Weyburn. Philp once again led the attack in a 6-3 victory over Estevan when he had another two-goal outing while Palmer, Carter Kulczycki, Lachlan Vandall and Kaden Kohle had singles. Labelle chipped in with four assists. The Pirates, who are five points back of both Warman and the Saskatoon Stallions for first place in the North Division standings, will head to Meadow Lake and Saskatoon next weekend for games against the Northwest Stars and Bandits, respectively. The Pirates won’t be back on home ice until Feb. 22 when they will face the Stallions at 5:30 p.m. at the Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre.
U16AA R&W Collision Renegades – Coming off a three-in-three stretch last weekend the Renegades were idle this weekend as they prepare for a game in Martensville on Wednesday against the Marauders. Leading up to their week-long break the Renegades beat the Northwest Stars 3-2 and Martensville 2-1 while a 5-3 loss to the Regina Generals was sandwiched in between. Emmet Kihn, Nash Stacey and Jive Schultz scored for Prince Albert in the win over the Stars with Kihn and Finlay Cochrane scoring in the victory over Martensville. Jaxson Boyer, with a pair, and Ty Lucas provided the offence for the Renegades in the loss to Regina. The results leave Prince Albert with a comfortable six-point cushion atop the North Division standings and they also hold three games in hand on their nearest challenger, which is Martensville.
U18AA Lake Country Co-op Timberwolves – Despite a 7-6 setback to the Parkland Elks in their last outing the Timberwolves are still clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot heading into the final stretch of the regular season. Prince Albert, which led 5-3 after 40 minutes of action, had three goals from Carter Martin while singles were added by Jordan Probert, Kaleb Cournoyer and Lennon Fetterly. The Timberwolves return to action on Wednesday when they will host the division-leading Saskatoon Riverkings at 8:15 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena.
Finally, it wasn’t a good weekend for either the Prince Albert Mintos or the Prince Albert Timberjaks as both were soundly beat on their respective road trips.
The Mintos were outscored 7-2 and 6-3 in both of their games played in Estevan leaving them five points out of a playoff spot with just eight games left on the schedule. Xander Pritchard and Carter Hryciuk had the Mintos goals in the opening loss while Jakob Schmidt, Linden Abercrombie and Carter Wingert dented the twine in the finale. The Mintos, who were passed by the Saskatoon Contacts in the standings to now sit in 10th place, will host the Saskatoon Blazers on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.
The Timberjaks, meanwhile, got just a goal from Keethan Isbister in a resounding 10-1 loss to the Chiefs in Martensville on Saturday. Despite the setback Prince Albert remains just two points back of Carrot River for the final playoff spot as the Outback Thunder were blanked by the Westley’s 3-0 in Saskatoon on Sunday. The Timberjaks, who will host the division-leading Saskatoon Quakers at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Northern Regional Rec Centre, are down to just seven games left on the schedule with a key head-to-head tilt against the Thunder set for Feb. 13 in Carrot River.
The Mann Northway Northern Bears were idle on the weekend, but they will get back to work on Saturday and Sunday when they will host the Saskatoon Stars in Saskatchewan Female U18AAA Hockey League action at the Art Hauser Centre. Game time for both of those contests is 1:30 p.m.
