The Prince Albert Predators made history Saturday night at the Kinsmen Arena.
The Predators defeated the Moose Jaw Mustangs 14-12 in a back-and-forth affair to claim their third consecutive Prairie Gold Lacrosse League (PGLL) title. Predators coach Lucas Wells was emotional after the final buzzer.
“It honestly doesn’t get old,” Wells said. “I was standing on the bench watching the guys celebrate and you get emotional, right? We started this journey back first week of January and then from there on, it’s just a non-stop grind … but it’s been a good journey. I love seeing the boys and all the hard work they do. It’s important for them, it’s important for PA Lacrosse. It’s important for the Preds organization. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Predators and Moose Jaw were tied 3-3 after the first period and 9-9 after the second period.
A key point in the game was at 8:29 of the third period when Cole Bamby and Tayt Beaven were each assessed cross checking penalties. The Predators managed to kill off both penalties.
“The five on three kill for us completely changed the dynamic of the game,” Wells said. “It immediately shifted the momentum back into our favour, which we didn’t have much of going into the third period.
“It was huge for us and we leaned on our defence all year, so for them to come up big and (goalie) Oliver (Volek) to come up big, it was awesome. It was nice to see.”
After killing off the penalty Sam Cooper gave the Predators the lead at 5:38 and Matthew Cudmore scored an insurance goal with under two minutes remaining.
“Once we tied it up, we kind of just completely took control which was huge for us,” Wells said. “I would like it a little bit earlier, save the nerves a bit, but all in all I can’t be more proud of this team.”
The Mustangs opened the scoring in the third period with a goal from Captain Braxton Mac Angus to take a 10-9 lead. Bamby tied it for the Predators nine second later at 17:23. Ryder Gilroy retook the lead for Moose Jaw at 15:44. The Predators tied it back up on Bamby’s third goal of the night to make it 11-11 at 12:13. Brayden Rieger added a goal at 9:06 to make it 12-11, but Gilroy tied the game for Moose Jaw at 8:50.
The Prince Albert Predators posed for the traditional group photo after claiming the 2025 PGLL Championship on Saturday night at the Kinsmen Arena.
The Prince Albert Predators Cole Bamby and Aidan Horn celebrate a goal during the Predators 14-12 win over the Moose Jaw Mustangs to claim the 2025 PGLL Championship at the Kinsmen Arena on Saturday Night.
Wells gave credit to both Volek and Mustangs netminder Joey Juchacz. Volek made 38 saves and Juchacz made 44 saves.
“The goalies played really well,” Wells said. “Juchacz still kept them in it at points, Oliver kept us in it at points. It was just a back and forth (game).”
The scoring opened with Riley Bender making it 1-0 for the Mustangs at 12:17 of the first period, at 11:33 Mustangs’ Captain Braxton Mac Angus made it 2-0. Brayden Rieger scored his first of six goals at 9:07 on the power play and added his second at 4:18. Kysen Mac Angus scored for the Mustangs at 2:49 of the first. The Predators evened things up 3-3 with one second left in the first with a goal from Rieger.
Wells said that it was a matter of collecting emotions in such an intense game.
“Us getting calmer and relaxing was the big thing,” Wells said.
“It was a game of high emotion and we just kind of slowly chipped away and I think our experience was part of that, that was huge,” he added.
The second period opened with Cooper scoring his first of the night 30 seconds in and Rieger making it 5-3 at 18:09. The Mustangs then scored two short-handed goals 20 seconds apart around the 17 minute mark from Carter Hudeyma and Gilroy to make it 5-5.
The Mustangs added another from Boone Bender at 15:38 and Hudeyma at 14:28 to make the score 7-5. Chase Lehner got the Predators back in the game with a goal at 8:41 and Rieger added his third at 7:08. Matthew Cudmore made the score 8-7 at 7:04. The Mustangs responded with goals from Nate Lewko and Carson Isnana to make it 9-8. The Predators tied the game 9-9 with a goal from Bamby with under four minutes left.
Wells said that the Predators leaned on the defence and Volek on Saturday.
“He was tremendous tonight as a as an underage goalie. He made the saves he needed to make. He made the saves he didn’t need to make. He kept us in the game, for I would say up until about the last 17 minutes, 16 minutes in the third period until we finally gained our legs and we kind of got confident and in control.”
The team lost 11 players from the previous championship team.
Brayden Rieger named MVP of the series and became the Predators all time leading scorer after a six goal, eight assists on the evening.
“It means a lot to bring these championships to PA,” Rieger said. “I felt like we’ve been growing PA Lacrosse throughout the year, so it means a lot.”
Rieger said the Predators have the largest fanbase in the league. He also said it means a lot to be named MVP for the playoffs.
Rieger credited Moose Jaw for putting up a tough fight.
“This was a great game,” he said. “They’re a great team, we weren’t expecting that.”
Regier agreed that the five on three penalty kill was a huge turning point.
“All of the momentum was for us after that,” he said.
Wells echoed Rieger comments about the fans at the Kinsmen Arena, who were loud througout the game.
“We have the best fans it’s not even close, it was so loud in here,” Wells said.
The Predators season isn’t over as they will look to defend their MacDonald Cup Western Canadian Junior B Championship beginning Wednesday, Aug. 6 in Abbotsford, B.C.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
