Dave Leaderhouse
Special to the Herald
It was no Picasso or Rembrandt, but in the end it was pretty enough for the Prince Albert Predators to open the defence of their Prairie Gold Lacrosse League title.
The Predators outlasted the Moose Jaw Mustangs 15-10 in junior lacrosse action on Sunday at the Kinsmen Arena.
“We were undisciplined and lazy in the first period, but the second period was more like what I expected,” a clearly frustrated Lucas Wells, the Predators head coach and general manager, said following the season-opening victory. “I was disappointed we fell back into some bad habits in the third (period).”
“We won so you can’t be too upset,” added Wells.
The Predators, who enter the season as three-time defending league champions and winners of the MacDonald Cup, emblematic of Western Canadian Junior B champions the last two seasons, jumped into a 4-1 advantage after 20 minutes of play and extended that advantage to 12-4 by the end of the second frame.
A steady stream of penalties in the final session, however, opened the door for Moose Jaw to close the gap, but in the end the Predators did what they had to do to pick up the win.
“We’re considered a physical team, but we spent more time in the box than we needed to,” said Wells. “We didn’t adjust our game to the officiating.”
Matthew Cudmore led the Predators offensively scoring three times and setting up five others while Ryley Prediger and Cole Barmby also netted three goals each. Chase Lehner, with a pair, was the other Predator with a multiple-goal effort while singles were recorded by Talon Sandry, Logan Rieger, Tucker Proedahl and Braden Shewchuk.
Ryder Gilroy moved into the league scoring lead with his five goals and two assists to pace the Mustangs while Cooper Bruce notched four goals to sit one point back of Gilroy in the individual scoring race. Colter Goodwill had the other goal for Moose Jaw, who are 1-2-0 in league play following the loss.
Oliver Volek had a busy game in the Prince Albert goal facing 53 shots while the Predators directed 42 shots at Joey Juchocz in the Moose Jaw net.
The Predators return to action Saturday when they will host the league-leading Swift Current Wolverines in a doubleheader that will see the first game played in Shellbrook at 2 p.m. followed by a second tilt at 7 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena. Swift Current improved to 3-2-0 on the season when they outscored the Weyburn Razorbacks 17-7 on Sunday.
Other lacrosse action from the weekend had the Prince Albert Outlaws return to senior PGLL action following a one-year hiatus, but the result was not what was hoped for as the Saskatoon Brewers easily moved to 3-0-0 with a 14-2 decision on Saturday.
Brody Holizki and Sawyer Elphinstone tallied for Prince Albert in a game that appears to have been mercy-ruled as nothing was posted for the second and third periods after Saskatoon built the lopsided advantage in the opening frame.
The Outlaws next see action when they will host the Winnipeg Blizzard on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena.
