The Prince Albert Predators kicked off their Prairie Gold Lacrosse League (PGLL) season with a 15-15 tie against the Saskatoon SWAT at Kinsmen Arena on Friday night.
It was the first time Prince Albert has tied a game since Jun. 3, 2023. The Predators went undefeated in PGLL play last season.
Predator head coach Lucas Wells says it wasn’t the strongest game for Prince Albert.
“I thought we were very sloppy. We didn’t pick up a loose ball to save our life. I’ll go back and look at those and count how many we picked up, but face offs we were doing a good job and getting them to our guys. We just couldn’t pick up a loose ball to save our life. Ultimately, that was the difference and penalties. We had a lot of young guys in the lineup today, I think it was a good learning curve for them. The old guys that were in the lineup aren’t used to losing. I think it’s good for them. I think it’s good to realize just because you’ve been a big dog for two years doesn’t mean you’re a big dog for the third year.”
Saskatoon took a 3-1 lead after the opening twenty minutes of play with goals from Samuel Maxin, Drew Budd and James Mahussier. Logan Rieger had the lone marker for Prince Albert in the opening frame.
In the second period, the teams would trade goals with Saskatoon holding a one goal advantage at 9-8 going into the third period.
Saskatoon would have a two goal advantage going into the final minute of play, but Prince Albert would storm back with goals from Cole Barmby and Tucker Prodaehl to tie the game with 11 seconds left on the clock.
“Lacrosse is a game of runs.” Wells explained. “If you’re not on the right side of the run some days, you lose the games or you tie the game. I felt the guys battled back hard, especially when we were down three, killing a penalty. We scored three, tied up. All in all, we’re actually really happy with the game. I don’t think I could be too upset. If it was a loss, I’d be a lot more upset. But a point is a point at the end of the day.”
Offensively, the Predators would be led by Sam Cooper (1G, 6A), along with rookies Chase Lehner (4G, 2A) and Logan Rieger (3G, 1A). Saskatoon was paced offensively by James Mahussier (6G, 4A), Christian Morin (3G, 4A) and Colby Jones (1G, 4A).
The Predators return to action on May 3 when they travel to take on the Weyburn Razorbacks. Ball drop is at 7 p.m.
sports@paherald.sk.ca
