The Prince Albert Prairie Dogs had mixed results as they started their Saskatchewan Field Lacrosse League (SFLL) season with a split at Max Clunie Field on Saturday.
Prince Albert started with an 8-7 loss to Sturgis 9-1-1 in a rematch of the Harvest Cup final from 2022 in their 10 a.m. game. The Prairie Dogs would rebound in the nightcap with a 10-5 victory over the Saskatoon Plainsmen.
Player-coach Matt Robin says he was happy with how the first day of the season went for Prince Albert.
“It went really well. The first game was a slow start, which is expected, lost by one. But that was against the team that we lost to the championship last year. It was a little slow, but we recovered on this next one here coming out and doubling the score. So, it was a good, good finish to the day.”
“It’s good to get see where guys are. There were a lot of teams missing a lot of players, but Sturgis came out with the full roster, and we came out with almost our full roster, and we measured pretty close in the first game of the year, everybody is just shaking off the nerves.”
Robin adds that the Prairie Dogs are looking to gel as a team as the season moves on.
“We just need to work on team play, just focusing on what we do, moving the ball and transitioning. Just playing locks, just having fun out there. Once guys have fun, then the guys start to relax and then we start just moving and just do what we need to do and put the ball in the net.”
“It’s tough to say when you’re playing to breakdown the game to see where you can improve on. Just talking with guys, it’s just basic things, being able to play together again and kind of harmonize to get those balls and move them like we need to do and run the offense and the defense we need to normally play to get to that championship level.”
Other results from the weekend saw the Moose Jaw Tommy Guns come away with a pair of victories over the Saskatoon Plainsmen and Yorkton Olden Knights. Sturgis 9-1-1 defeated Regina Southern Comfort 11-6 in their second game of the day. Yorkton defeated Regina in the 1 p.m. matinee 7-2.
The Prairie Dogs return to action on Saturday, Sept. 9 when they travel to Sturgis to take part in the Sturgis LAX Bash. They will take on the Saskatoon Plainsmen at 11:30 a.m. and the Yorkton Olden Knights at 4 p.m.
