Jason Kerr
Daily Herald
The Prince Albert Predators clinched first place with a pair of victories over the weekend.
The Predators held off a resilient Swift Current Wolverines squad for a 16-12 win on Saturday, then followed it up with a comfortable 19-3 win over Moose Jaw on Sunday. Predators head coach Lucas Wells said they were glad to lock up top spot in the Prairie Gold Junior Lacrosse League
“We had a good bounce back game on Sunday,” Wells said. “(We) took the game over early and didn’t let our foot off the gas, which was nice to see.
“Sunday was a huge statement win for us, beating the second place team (and) clinching first place overall, so it was a nice win,” he added.
The Predators came out firing in Swift Current, scoring two goals in the first minute and racking up a 9-4 lead at the first intermission. However, the Wolverines bounced back with a strong second period, outscoring Prince Albert 4-2. In the third, Prince Albert outscored Swift Current 5-4, which was enough to secure a 16-23 win.
Talon Sandry led the way for Prince Albert with four goals, while Matthew Cudmore had three, and Ryley Prediger, Chase Lehner, and Braden Shewchuk had two. Logan Rieger, Koltin Fyrk, and Oliver Volek had one goal each.
In goal, Volek turned away 44 of 56 shots to secure the win.
Grady Henderson led the way for Swift Current with a hat trick, while Shane Cornelson and Ryder Turko led all Wolverines with five points each.
“I think in the first period we were aggressive on loose balls, (and) aggressive on defence,” Wells said. “(The) offence was moving the ball really well, and then as the game progressed going into the second period we were up 9-3 … we kind of got complacent defensively. (We) took some bad penalties, offence couldn’t really put the ball in the net.
“We were hitting a tonne of posts and that trend just kind of continued into the third period. Luckily for us we were able to still squeak out a win, made some big defensive stops at the end of the game”
Prince Albert led from start to finish on Sunday, jumping out to a 4-0 first period lead against the second place Mustangs. The Predators led 5-1 at the first intermission and 14-1 at the second.
Brayden Rieger, Braden Shewchuk, Matthew Cudmore, Ryley Prediger, Talon Sandry, Chase Lehner, Cole Barmby, Logan Rieger, and Luke Eggerman all scored for the Predators. Rieger led the way with two goals and six assists.
“We got up early quick, and we never took our foot off the gas that entire game,” Wells said. “It was nice to see.”
The Predators are back on the floor Wednesday evening when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Saskatoon Swat. Game time is 8 p.m. at Kinsmen Arena.
The predators close out their schedule with a home game against the Swat. That game is scheduled for July 1, but Wells said it will likely be moved to July 2.
The two victories mean Prince Albert has clinched first with a 9-0-1 record. The Mustangs sit second at 7-3-0, while the Wolverines are third.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
