Sasha Malenfant lets out a roar while leading the flyby after scoring the Bears first goal of the Esso Cup tournament on April 23, 2023. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Esso Cup

Malenfant scores twice, Bears fall in Esso Cup opener

Apr 24, 2023 | 12:09 AM

PRINCE ALBERT, SK – The Prince Albert Northern Bears narrowly lost their opening matchup at the Esso Cup on Sunday night, falling to the Northern Subway Selects 4-3 at the Art Hauser Centre.

Despite what the scoreboard said, the Bears dominated the shot clock 37-24 where Prince Albert head coach Steve Young shared his thoughts on the quality of the shots rather than the quantity.

“It was a mixture of both,” he said. I thought the goalie made some good saves and then at the same time I think there was some shots where we could’ve had some more traffic, but that’s hockey. I’m proud of our effort tonight and our girls have to believe here one game at a time.”

Sasha Malenfant was awarded the Player of the Game for the Northern Bears, lighting the lamp twice in the contest. When asked what it was like to get the first goal of the tournament for PA, she said that it’s a memory that will live with her forever.

“It was so special,” she said. “I’ll remember it for the rest of my life, It didn’t feel real.”

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She added that when playing for a National Title, it has to be your best foot forward every game.

“Quitting’s not really an option. So we’re in it no matter what and we have to battle through it no matter the circumstances.”

Along with Malenfant, Kassie Ferster also found the back of the net for PA while Jazlyn Petreman, Julia Cey, and Tristyn Endicott each collected assists.

For the Selects, Laci Boyd also had a pair of goals while Bree MacPherson and Olivia Marks each tickled twine. Brooke Williams and Kendall Doiron each had a pair of helpers in the game while Erin MacNeil and Grace MacDougall both had one.

Bears netminder Brooke Archer made 20 stops for PA and Jorja Burrows turned aside 34 shots for the Northern Selects.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE

The Northern Selects jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after the Bears suffered a slashing penalty. Just five seconds into the man advantage, the Selects won the ensuing faceoff back to MacPherson who fired a shot that deflected off a defender and in for the lead.

However, the lead would last less than five minutes as PA came storming back. A Petreman pass connected with Malenfant on the rush who wristed home her first of the tournament and got the Bears on the board to knot the game at one after one.

The Selects came out with the heat to start the second, scoring twice in the opening three minutes with markers from Boyd and Marks.

But the Bears wouldn’t go away and got one back just over a minute later. Ferster’s shot came from the slot on the powerplay and Burrows got some of the shot, but not enough as the puck trickled over the line to cut the deficit back down to one.

Midway through the period, the Selects restored their two-goal lead thanks to Boyd’s second of the night to make it 4-2 heading into the third.

Prince Albert held their own in the final frame up until the dying minutes of the game. Malenfant capitalized on a turnover in the offensive zone and potted a backhand shot for her second of the night to pull the Bears back to within one.

But with limited time remaining, the Selects ran out the clock in their own end to seal their first victory of the tournament 4-3.

The Black and Orange look to redeem themselves tomorrow night at 7pm when they square off with the Fraser Valley Rush at the Art Hauser Centre. Meanwhile, the Selects get set to face the Étoiles de Laurentides-Lanaudière (Quebec Stars) tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann