The home stretch

By
Josef Jacobson
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Northern Bears rookies Alli Soyko (pictured) and Kate Wagner both scored their first midget ‘AAA’ goals in P.A.’s 10-2 win over the Battlefords Sharks at the Art Hauser Centre on Wednesday night. (Josef Jacobson/Daily Herald)

Bears defeat Sharks 10-2 in first of seven consecutive home games

All but three Prince Albert Northern Bears players made it on the score board as P.A. defeated the Battlefords Sharks 10-2 at the Art Hauser Centre on Wednesday night. The win kicked off a seven-game home stand for the Bears.

“We’ve got our next six games at home, so hopefully we can start a nice little run before playoffs and it’s definitely a good way to start,” Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby said, adding that the team has rediscovered its scoring touch.

“I think it’s been a lot of built-up frustration with not being able to score in the last maybe four or five games previous as much as we maybe should have so … not saying we’re frustrated, but maybe it all came out in one game today.”

Kate Ball and Ireland South both scored on the power play to put P.A. ahead by two in the first half of the opening period. Rookie forward Miranda Heidt then scored twice in 15 seconds to double P.A.’s lead to 4-0 after 20 minutes.

In the second period P.A. continued to light the lamp, with Abby Soyko, Alli Soyko Jadyn Kushniruk and Camryn Amundson increasing the Bears lead to 8-0. In the last minute of play former Bear Ensley Fendelet finally put the visitors on the board, but Abby Soyko promptly responded with another goal to give the Bears a 9-1 lead heading into the final frame.

The Sharks began the third with a goalie change, swapping starter Chloe Burt for Daneka Dickson. Kate Wagner scored for P.A. and Battlefords’ Jessie Herner added a power play marker to bring the final score to 10-2.

P.A. finished the match three-for-four on the power play and led the opposition in shots 42-21. Wagner and Alli Soyko both scored the first midget ‘AAA’ goals of their careers.

“It’s always nice to break that stat column there and get on board,” Willoughby said.

“Everyone’s got a goal now and … everyone can contribute offensively. They’ve shown it. And when you’ve got a team that’s well-rounded and scoring gets shared it can be a lot of fun.”

The Bears’ next game is Saturday, Jan. 28 when they face the Regina Rebels at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is 1 p.m.

“Against Regina, they’re an offensive team, we have to stay close to them,” Willoughby said.

“We know we’re going to get pressure. We’ve got to answer to their pressure.”

 

 

Game Summary:

Prince Albert 10, Battlefords 2

First Period

  1. Prince Albert, Ball 13 (Amundson, Hobson) 4:24 (pp)
  2. Prince Albert, South 7 (Ashe, Koroll) 6:33 (pp)
  3. Prince Albert, Heidt 4 (Kushniruk) 10:35
  4. Prince Albert, Heidt 5 (Navrot) 10:50

Second Period

  1. Prince Albert, Abby Soyko 13 (unassisted) 1:04
  2. Prince Albert, Alli Soyko 1 (Anderson, T. Fontaine) 7:34
  3. Prince Albert, Kushniruk 10 (Heidt) 11:04
  4. Prince Albert, Amundson 9 (Ball, Desmarais) 17:26 (pp)
  5. Battlefords, Fendelet 7 (Peterson) 19:10
  6. Prince Albert, Abby Soyko 14 (unassisted) 19:28

Third Period

  1. Prince Albert, Wagner 1 (unassisted) 12:23
  2. Battlefords, Herner 5 (White) 15:02

Goalies: Prince Albert –­ Ryan Fontaine, 16 saves (W, 8-4-0); Battlefords – Chloe Burt, 24 saves (L, 4-7-0).

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