The push for the Founders’ Cup is down to two teams.
The Prince Albert Predators are still in the running for their first Founders’ Cup appearance in franchise history after a 15-6 win over the Saskatoon Swat in front of a raucous crowd at the Kinsmen Arena on Friday night.
Prince Albert got off to a hot start scoring six of the first seven goals and took a 6-3 lead into the dressing room after the first period.
Predators head coach Lucas Wells says the strong start was key for Prince Albert to get the fans behind them.
“I thought we were tremendous out of the gate. The boys were fired up. We took it personally. We’re still taking it personally when we go down and play Regina. They came out firing and they proved we can play. Guys got to understand that just because we’re from a small town, just because we play in a lower tier league, we can play lacrosse and I think our start helped. It got the crowd into it. The crowd was electric. I’ll say this forever, these are the best fans in the league and it’s the truth. These guys are the best. It was awesome in here.”
The second period was closer, but the Predators would outshoot the SWAT and outscored the visitors 3-2 in the middle frame.
Saskatoon was on a 4-2 run at one point in the game. Wells says the Predators did a good job of keeping their composure and not letting the game get away from them.
“Lacrosse games are about runs,” Wells says. “We went on a 5-1 run and they went on a 4-2 run. We just settled back, we relaxed and we just let them come back to use until we gained back that momentum. We pushed and we never stopped pushing after that.”
Prince Albert would pull away in the third period with a six goal outburst, holding the SWAT to just a single goal.
Matthew Cudmore led all scorers with eight points in the contest. Brayden Rieger contributed seven points and Talon Sandry added four for Prince Albert.
Austin Teniuk and Henry Elliott each recorded three points for Saskatoon.
Mason Hawkes earned the win in goal for the Predators making 31 saves on 37 shots. Justin Epema stopped 42 Prince Albert shots for Saskatoon.
The Predators advance to a best-of-three series with the Regina-based Queen City Kings with the winner advancing to the Founders’ Cup. Game 1 of the best-of-three series is on Friday night at the Kinsmen Arena. Ball drop is at 7:30 p.m.
sports@paherald.sk.ca