It wasn’t the weekend that the Prince Albert Mintos would’ve liked as they dropped both games to the Moose Jaw AAA Warriors at the Art Hauser Centre.
Moose Jaw defeated the Mintos 7-4 on Saturday night and 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Mintos head coach Doan Smith says that the weekend serves a major wake up call for Prince Albert.
“They’re a good team. They’re one of the top teams in the league for a reason, and they play hard, and they play with their depth, and they’re good on the special teams. I give a lot of credit to what they do over there. On our side, we want to be better in lots of ways, but it’s a reality check for us. We’ve had a rough three-game stretch now where we’ve played some tough teams, and we haven’t gotten success. So now we have to look in the mirror and internally get back to what we’re good at. There’s no panic button on our end, but ultimately it’s a reflection time.”
In Saturday’s game, Ryan Gibbs (two goals), Kieren Osberg (two goals), Carson Deichert, Carson Park and Wade Franks scored for the Warriors. Moose Jaw converted on three of six power play opportunities
Prince Albert got tallies from Luke Senick, Simon Garchinski, Kelan Simmonds and Lincoln Rogers. The Mintos converted on one of three power play opportunities.
Jayden Blanchette made 35 saves in the game for the Mintos. Luke McKechnie stopped 25 shots for Moose Jaw.
A trio of power play goals turned out to be the difference for Moose Jaw in Sunday’s contest.
Keaton Lesperance would strike with 11:51 to go in the first period on the man advantage. Carson Deichert and Carson Park assisted on the play.
Kelan Simmonds would get the Mintos on the board with 5:12 to go in the first period. Lincoln Rogers and Carter Cole assisted on the play.
Kierin Orberg would score the lone goal of the second period with 7:29 to go.
In the third, power play markers from Gage Nagel and Carson Park would help the Warriors pull ahead of the Mintos.
Josh Henry made 35 stops for the Mintos. Kaleb Page made 21 saves for Moose Jaw.
After allowing six power play goals over the weekend, Smith says the Mintos will need to improve on special teams.
“It’s been a roller coaster for us. We’ve gone on streaks where both sides are really good. We’re on a streak right now where both sides aren’t so good. It’s back to simplifying the game. We have tons of offense. We have tons of creativity, but PK is hard work. On the power play, it’s not always the highlight reel play that we need to try to make. We need to execute simpler plays and stick to a game plan. Ultimately, it’s in a streak now where we need to be better. But again, we’re not panicking. We got the guys and we got the team to do it, so it’s just a matter of time.”
The task of returning to the win column won’t get any easier for the Mintos. On Wednesday, the Mintos welcome the Tisdale Trojans to the Art Hauser Centre, who are the hottest team in the SMAAAHL at the moment.
Smith says the Mintos need to come out ready to play.
“Tisdale’s won 10 in a row. Tisdale’s in the right direction and we’ve lost three in a row. It’s going to be a good game. They’re not to be underestimated, they work hard and play the right way. Their power play has been lethal and we have to get back to honest hockey, where teams chase us around, and we dictate the game.”
Puck drops at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
