It’s already been a banner season for the Prince Albert Predators, but the team is still looking to prove they are the best in the west.
After winning the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League (PGLL) title late last month, the Predators are in Brooks, AB competing at the MacDonald Cup. The MacDonald Cup is a Junior B Tier II tournament featuring teams from across Western Canada.
Prince Albert is already 1-0 after defeating the Calgary Wranglers 16-1 on Wednesday afternoon.
Head coach Lucas Wells says he was pleased with the opening game for the Predators.
“Game one for us went incredibly well, I thought. I thought we pushed the pace defensively. We locked Calgary down. I think it was one of the most complete games we’ve played all year, apart from the first five to six minutes of us just kind of seeing what our opponent is going to do and measuring them out. I felt that we kind of took control and played a very complete and dominating game.”
There are five teams competing in the MacDonald Cup this year with two from Saskatchewan, and three teams from Alberta.
With the win over Calgary, Wells says Prince Albert can expect to see the best from their opponents moving forward.
“I think it kind of put all the other teams on notice. I think it was good for us but going forward now it also means we’re going to get the best from every team. They’re going to want to try and upset us or beat us so it’ll be challenging going ahead. I think overall it was a good statement win and it’s exciting for us.”
For the MacDonald Cup, teams were allowed to add players to their roster. The Predators made one addition to their roster adding Braxton MacAngus, who played in the PGLL for the Moose Jaw Mustangs this season. In 9 games, MacAngus posted 15 goals and 12 assists for Moose Jaw.
Wells says MacAngus was the only player he was interested in adding to the team.
“I wanted to bring on another guy, another good team guy, I felt could contribute to us winning. I know Braxton just from the last couple of years talking to him on and off the floor. I think he’s a very good, talented player. I think he’s an athlete, so it kind of made sense for us to bring him in. I don’t think that there were any other players in the province within the PGLL that I wanted to take. He was the one and only guy we were willing to take.”
After winning back-to-back PGLL titles and a chance to win a MacDonald Cup title, Wells says the Predators are building a strong reputation for lacrosse within the city and the province of Saskatchewan.
“I think it would be huge for the Predator organization. I think that we’re slowly building a brand in Prince Albert where we have guys that want to stay in PA, they want to play. Maybe if we do win this in the Tier II world, maybe you see at some point us go up to the Tier I world. There’s endless opportunities when you win championships because guys want to play there and they want to play on a winning team.”
Results from Prince Albert’s Thursday evening game against the Swift Current Wolverines were not available as of press time. The Predators will play two games on Friday taking on the Lakeland Heat at 10 a.m. and the host Southern Alberta Chaos at 4 p.m.
All MacDonald Cup games are streamed online free of charge at twitch.tv/macdonaldcuplax.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
