The Prince Albert Northern Bears finished their weekend at the Female World Sport School Challenge with a 2-2 record after a 3-2 loss to the Parkland Chiefs and a 4-2 win over the Pembina Valley Hawks.
Head coach Steve Young says Prince Albert could’ve easily finished the weekend at 3-1, but took plenty of positives out of the tournament.
“That 3-2 loss, we hit the post and then they came down and scored, so that game could have gone either way. The next day, I thought our girls responded well and worked hard and did a lot of good things. It was a 2-2 weekend, but at the same time, as a group (we are) understanding who we are and what we have to do down the stretch here.”
The Bears would come up short in their Friday afternoon contest against the Parkland Chiefs with a 3-2 loss.
The teams would trade goals in the first period as Kirby Gray would open the scoring at the 10:08 mark of the first period with her second goal of the tournament. Brooklyn Cochrane had the lone helper.
Just fourteen seconds later, Tristyn Endicott would even up the score.with her first goal of the weekend. Julia Cey had the only assist.
Raelyn Vezeau would give Prince Albert the lead with 17:46 to go in the third period. Ella Clarke and Bree Purcell assisted on the play.
Less than forty seconds later, Tara Knight would knot up the score for Parkland. Reese Boquski assisted on the play.
Jordan Woloski would give Parkland the lead with just 1:10 to go in the third period to secure the win. Hannah Reagh and Kirby Gray assisted on the play.
Prince Albert would fall behind early in their Saturday game as Sophie Armit would give Pembina Valley an early 1-0 lead just over a minute into the first period. Jessica Anderson and Ava Dalebozik assisted on the play.
Zayda Summach would tie the game for Prince Albert with her second goal of the weekend at the 17:26 mark. Kinley Brassard had the lone helper.
Marly Dumanski would give the Bears the lead at the 7:20 mark of the second period with her first goal of the tournament. Summach and Maci Nowosad assisted on the play.
Jessica Anderson would tie the game with 14:18 to go in the third period with an unassisted marker, her second goal of the tournament.
Kinley Brassard would respond for the Bears at the 12:49 mark with her first goal of the tournament and second point of the game. Summach and Nowosad assisted on the play.
Tristyn Endicott would ice the win for Prince Albert with an empty net goal in the dying seconds.
The Bears are looking to build upon the momentum they’ve gained from the tournament. Prince Albert currently sits in last place in the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League (SFU18AAHL) with a 2-13-2-3 record.
Young says the weekend will provide the Bears a good burst of momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
“It’s positive for sure. At this time of year, you have to build on all your positives. I know down the stretch here, we are at home with more games and we’ve played well at home. Every little building block we can use, we’re prepared to use. But the girls know they have to work hard and be prepared to do their role as players to help this hockey club.”
“You get the understanding that in hockey you can’t let the foot off the gas. You have to make sure that you’re ready to work hard and do the right things and when you can do that anybody can win. All these learning things that we’ve learned during the season and then this tournament now have to take here in our last stretch.”
The Bears return to action on Thursday, Feb. 8 when they welcome the Saskatoon Blades to the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
