Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
If not for a poor stretch in their season opener, the Prince Albert Mintos could be taking to the road for the first time this weekend with a perfect record intact. As it stands, the Mintos finished a four-game homestand on Thursday to open the 2026-27 Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League regular season with a 3-1-0 ledger following a convincing 5-1 decision over the Tisdale Trojans at the Art Hauser Centre.
“I’d rather learn that lesson in Game 1 rather than Game 44,” stated Mintos’ head coach Tyson Dallman referring to the 3-2 setback to the Battlefords Stars on opening night. “We’ve taken a big step forwards. This is not a game to do sexy things; we have to be tough on the forecheck and tough on defence.”
The Mintos were solid in all facets of the game on Thursday and the hard work paid off. Rookie defenceman Rhett Franklin opened the scoring with his first goal at the Midget AAA level early in the opening frame and after Jacob Tait had evened the score Prince Albert rebounded with goals 36 seconds apart by Burke Whitter and Xander Pritchard to stake the Mintos to a 3-1 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
There was no scoring in the middle stanza although the Mintos did have one goal disallowed when the officials said there was goaltender interference on the play. While Dallman did not appear to be upset by the ruling, he did question the call.
Beau Anholt and Madden Dell completed the scoring for the Mintos midway through the third period with Dell also collecting an assist on Anholt’s tally to give him five points in the last two games. Dell now leads the Mintos in scoring with three goals and four assists overall.
Cohen Kuntz finished the game with 31 saves in the Prince Albert net while Kohen Morrow was tested 30 times in the Tisdale goal.
The Mintos will now head to Wilcox this weekend for a twin bill against the Notre Dame Hounds. Those two clubs just faced each other a week ago in Prince Albert with the Mintos winning 9-0 and 5-3. Dallman says getting out on the road will be a nice change for the club.
“It will be good to get out there and be in a hotel and spend time on the bus,” says Dallman. “It will get everyone away from the daily routine.”
A lengthy break will follow this weekend’s trip to Wilcox with the Mintos not returning to action until Oct. 15 when they will head to Saskatoon to face the Blazers. Next home game for Prince Albert is Oct 17 with the two-time defending league champion Regina Pat Canadians paying a visit to the Art Hauser Centre. The Mintos and Pat Canadians will also square off on Oct. 18 at the AHC.
GAME NOTES – Cooper Sawatsky picked up a couple of assists on Thursday giving the veteran defenceman six on the season…While the Mintos have had an impressive start it kind of pales to what the Moose Jaw Winmar Warriors are doing. Runners-up a year ago to Regina, the Warriors have exploded out of the gate winning all four of their starts including a 7-0 decision over Swift Current on Thursday. Moose Jaw has outscored their opponents 27-3 to start the season…While it is still really early, the Mintos with three wins on home ice so far are already creeping up on the eight they won all year at the AHC last season. A successful weekend against Notre Dame would also have them chasing down the six wins they had all last year on the road. Again, it is really early, but things are looking up for the club.
