Weekend rink report: Mintos split, Northern Bears drop back-to-back contests while Timberjaks win two out of three

Their first contest saw them matchup with the league-best Regina Pat Canadians and they showed why they’re at the top.

P.A. was stomped 9-2 on Saturday night and were shutout 9-0 until the final moments of the game. It was then that the Mintos finally broke the goose egg when they scored back-to-back powerplay goals with less than three minutes to play.

Tensions also boiled over in the final frame as some players hit the locker room early. P.A.’s Kanyan Unger received a game misconduct for checking from behind and is eligible to return to the team on Monday. Meanwhile, Luke Senick was handed a two-game suspension for fighting with Regina’s Brodie Bowen and both players are able to return on Thursday.

Connor Howe had a goal and an assist in the loss and Landin Frank scored the other marker, while William Chabot and Carter Bergen managed an assist.

For Regina, Prince Albert Raiders prospect Jonah Sivertson tallied four goals while projected 2025 WHL Draft first overall pick Maddox Schultz collected four assists. Chase Surkan (2G-1A), Cooper Bratton (2G-1A), Ethan Young (1G-2A), and Ryan Ulmer (3A) each had three points, and Cruz Klapak, Eli Johnson, Brodie Bowen, and Cash Lanigan each had one assist.

Josh Henry started in goal and stopped 7/11 shots before being pulled midway through the first. Jayden Blanchette came in as relief and managed 29 saves on 34 shots.

On the other end, Taylor Tabashniuk got the win for the Pat C’s making 31 stops as Regina improves to 30-6-2 (W-L-OTL) on the year.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (Saturday)

Game two ran Sunday afternoon when the Mintos visited the Saskatoon Contacts and escaped with a 4-3 shootout victory.

Frank opened the scoring early in the first period before Jake Evans managed to tie it for the Contacts at the midway mark of the frame. Less than four minutes later, Bergen found twine to put P.A. back in from heading into the second.

There, some penalty trouble cost the Mintos as Evans tallied his second of the contest. Saskatoon would extend the lead a short time later thanks to Samuel Wardell as they carried a 3-2 advantage into the third.

It took just over five minutes for the Mintos to find the equalizing marker when Carter Cole potted his 11th of the season, which also ended up being the lone goal of the period.

After overtime solved nothing, a shootout was needed to decide a winner where Kelan Simmonds played hero for P.A., scoring in the fourth round to win it for the Mintos, 4-3.

Henry was back in goal for the Green and Gold, making 36 stops in the win to help Prince Albert improve to 20-16-2 on the campaign.

Meanwhile, Addy Price was credited with the loss, turning aside 27 shots as the Contacts fall to 10-24-5 on the year.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (Sunday)

The Mintos are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Battlefords to take on the Stars at the Access Communications Centre. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.

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Northern Bears drop back-to-back in Battlefords

The Mann-Northway Northern Bears are feeling the burn after dropping a pair of contests to the league-best Battlefords Sharks on the road.

Game one was a closely contested battle that saw the Sharks pull away with a narrow 3-2 victory.

Battlefords got the party started early in the first when Makayla Drabyk notched her fifth of the season in the frames only marker.

Now in the second, Maggie Rauckman doubled the lead just 2:18 into the period before the Bears finally showed some life. Caprice Harder got P.A. on the board while on the powerplay, while Zayda Summach scored later in the frame to, all of a sudden, tie the game. Nearly three minutes later though, Rauckman tickled twine again for Battlefords to put the Sharks back on top just before the end of the period.

The score stayed the same throughout the third as neither team could score again, as the Sharks took game one, 3-2.

Annika Neufeldt made 48 saves for the Northern Bears, while Cypress Classen made 24 for Battlefords.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (Game one)

Game two was played on Sunday afternoon and saw a nearly identical result.

After no score following the first and second periods, Rauckman broke the ice in the third scoring her third of the weekend and putting Battlefords in front. Londyn Hoffman responded for P.A. a short while later before the Sharks put the game to rest. Kahli Keen scored to make 2-1 roughly 90 seconds later and Sophie Brecht doubled the lead with 1:49 to play to seal the deal, 3-1.

Neufeldt was back between the pipes and turned away 38 shots as the Northern Bears fall to 8-12-1-3 (W-L-OTW-OTL) on the season.

Classen was also back in goal for the Sharks and made 30 saves to help Battlefords improve to a 19-2-2-2 record.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE (Game two)

The Northern Bears return to the ice on Saturday when they welcome the Saskatoon Stars to the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is set for 1:30 p.m.

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Elsewhere:

WHL – The Prince Albert Raiders are home from their three-game road trip through Southern Alberta. The Raiders fell 3-1 in Calgary on Wednesday and 6-1 in Lethbridge on Friday before collecting a 5-4 overtime win in Medicine Hat on Saturday.

PJHL – The Prince Albert Timberjaks had a successful weekend for their three-in-three at home. The Jaks knocked off the Saskatoon Quakers on Friday with a 4-3 overtime win and won in identical 4-3 overtime fashion on Saturday against the Southern Rebels. However, P.A. dropped the third and final contest of the weekend to the Rebels 6-2 on Sunday.

U18 AA – The Lake Country Timberwolves split their weekend in Unity taking on the West Central Wheat Kings. The Wolves fell 5-2 on Saturday night before redeeming themselves with a dominant 7-3 win on Sunday afternoon.

Female U18 AA – The Prince Albert Family Pizza Foxes were in Southern Saskatchewan and dropped their first game on Saturday by a 5-3 decision to the Southeast Goldwings. The Foxes played on Sunday against the Parkland Fire in Melville, but no score has been confirmed.

Twin Rivers Hockey League (WEEKEND RECAP)

(Twin Rivers Hockey League)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social

by Logan Lehmann

Weekend rink report: Mintos split, Northern Bears drop back-to-back contests while Timberjaks win two out of three

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