Bears capture C Division crown at Schwatz memorial tournament

The Prince Albert A & W Bears won 3 of 5 games this weekend at the prestigious Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament hosted by Notre Dame College in Wilcox and Milestone. 16 teams took part in the event from across western Canada including a number of teams that compete in the Junior Women's Hockey League, a newly formed international circuit.
 

The Bears opened the event Thursday with a 1-0 win over the Spruce Grove, Alberta Saints. Veteran Crystal Berube scored the Bears only goal in the second period, with Jessica Vance making 19 saves for the shut out. The Bears out shot the Saints 33-19.
 

Friday saw the Bears play two games to conclude round robin play, and lost both by scores of 4-3. In the morning draw, they matched up against the Westman, Manitoba Wildcats and dropped a narrow 4-3 decision. Jessica Lutz and Brooke Hobson each had a goal and an assist with Tylor Lindsay netting the other goal. Shayla Youngman was tagged with the loss in net. The Bears out shot their opponents 27-26.
 

Friday evening they took on the Balmoral Hall Blazers of Winnipeg, who play in the JWHL. The Bears took a pair of early leads, but the Blazers stormed back and led 4-2 after the first. Prince Albert held their own the rest of the way, closing to within 4-3 in the third, but could not find the equalizer. Lindsay with 2 and Kaytlyn Chickowski were the Bears goal scorers with Balmoral Hall outshooting PA 31-25 as Vance suffered the loss in net.
 

The Bears finished 3rd out of 4 teams in their pool and were seeded in the “C” Division for playoffs, taking on St. Francis Xavier in the C semi final Saturday. The Bears got off to a slow start and trailed 2-0 after forty minutes. Lutz scored two third period goals, the last one in the dying seconds with the goalie pulled to force overtime. Brooke Hobson was the OT hero scoring for the Bears who out shot St. Francis 48-26. Youngman picked up the win in goal.
 

Missing pet

'She means the world to our family': Woman seeks help in finding missing pet parrot

4h ago

BE CAREFUL ON THE ROADS

Semi flips outside P.A.; one of dozens of incidents on Sask. roads due to winter weather

4h ago

NO GO FOR BUSES

School bus routes outside P.A. canceled due to spring snowstorm

9h ago

That set up an all-Saskatchewan league C final as the Bears took on the Weyburn Goldwings Sunday. It was another defensive battle as the teams were scoreless through regulation and overtime. Chickowski, the Bears fourth shooter, finally beat Jane Kish to give the Bears the win and the C Title. The Goldwings outshot the Bears 43-19. Vance stopped all 43 shots plus all 4 Weyburn shooters to preserve the win.
 

The Bears return to league action on Tuesday, December 17 when they travel to Battleford. They conclude the home portion of their pre-Christmas Schedule hosting the Swift Current Wildcats Friday, December 20 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, December 21st at 1:30 PM at the Art Hauser Centre.

news@panow.com