The Prince Albert Predators battled the heat and their opponents on route to a 23-3 drubbing of the Saskatoon Swat on Wednesday.
Temperatures soared to 26 C prior to the 8 p.m. start time, but it was much warmer inside Kinsmen Arena where the Predators jumped out to a 7-0 first period lead and never looked back.
“It was pretty hot in there, but we overcame that and we came out with the win,” Predators forward Matthew Cudmore said.
“They’re kind of our rivals and we always tend to kick it up a notch against them.”
The Predators had already clinched first place in the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League heading into Wednesday’s contest, but were still looking for a bit of payback. The club has won every game but one this season—a 15-15 tie with the Swat in their season opener on April 25.
Coach Lucas Wells said the Predators have a few small things to work on heading into the playoffs, but overall the team played well in their regular season finale.
“We just came out fast and aggressive,” Wells said. “I think that we used our speed and our physicality and our size to our advantage. We played an in your face style, which I don’t think they were anticipating, and that definitely worked to our advantage.”
Brayden Rieger led the way for Prince Albert with four goals and nine assists on the night. Ryley Prediger and Cole Barmby also had four goals each, while Cudmore and Talon Sandry had hat tricks.
Rookie Logan Rieger had two goals, while Braden Shewchuk, Mason Crain, and Theran Lysitza had one goal each.
The Predators led 7-0 after the first, and 15-1 after the second. Luca Treppel, Everett Breniser, and Andy Gao had the goals for the Swat.
The Predators are off until Saturday, July 19 when they face either the Moose Jaw Mustangs or the Swift Current Wolverines. The two clubs will meet in a single-game semi-final in Moose Jaw on Saturday.
Both Wells and Cudmore said the Predators are focused on their own play, and not on who they’ll face in the finals.
“It’s just business as usual,” Wells said. “We’re not going to harp too much. We’ll take it one game at a time.
“We’ll treat it as a regular season game to a degree. Obviously, the pressure and the expectations are a little bit higher and … the younger guys will feel that, but at the end of the day it’s just another lacrosse game and we’ve just got to go out and play our game.”
“I don’t think any of us really care who we play in the finals,” Cudmore added. “It’s just a matter of how we play.”
The PGLL final is a best-of-three series, with the Predators hosting games two and three on Saturday, July 26. Game Two starts at noon at Kinsmen Arena, while Game Three takes place at 7 p.m. if necessary.
Game One is scheduled for Saturday, July 19.
