The Prince Albert AA Family Pizza Foxes begin their playoff run on Wednesday against the Western Prairie Thunder. The Foxes are shown celebrating a goal during a playoff game against the Northwest Sharks last season. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Playoff hockey

AA Foxes begin playoffs against Western Prairie Thunder

Feb 26, 2025 | 2:00 PM

The Prince Albert Family Pizza Foxes are set to begin the climb to the top of the mountain.

The female U18 AA club embarks on their playoff run on Wednesday with game one of a best of three series against the Western Prairie Thunder.

The Foxes come in as the better team compared to the Thunder but not by much, with P.A. donning an 11-10-5-1 (W-L-T-OTL) record while Western Prairie sits one spot behind in the standings boasting a 10-13-2-2 record. The two have faced off three times in the regular season with the Thunder coming away with the season series, winning twice while tying once.

The Thunder also have two of the league’s top five scorers on their team in Sienna Kelly and Gracie Kampen. The two are third and fourth in scoring respectfully, with Kelly sitting at 40 points (24G-16A) while Kampen is a few behind with 37 (15G-22A).

Meanwhile, P.A. is led by alternate captain and upcoming Foxes graduate Natasha Gyoerick, who has 26 points (15G-11A) on the season. She’s followed closely by Nevaeh Bird-Clarke who trails by one point, donning 25 points (9G-16A).

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Between the pipes for the Foxes, veteran Sharon Head leads the way with an 8-4-2-0 record, tagging along a 2.05 GAA and a .932 SV%. Her counterpart, rookie Brianna Brataschuk, has been solid through her first AA season, posting 3-6-3-1 record with a 2.49 GAA and a .926 SV%.

On the other end of the ice, Western Prairie netminders Ella Rublee and Kya Kennedy both have similiar seasons across the board. Rublee is 5-7-1-2 on the year with a 3.00 GAA and a .911 SV%, while Kennedy is 5-6-1-0 this season with a 3.10 GAA and a .900 SV%.

This season marks the second straight year where the Foxes and Thunder have met in the playoffs. The two met in the second round of the 2024 postseason which saw Prince Albert prevail with a 2-1 series win.

Game 1 is set for 7:45 p.m. at Kinsmen Arena in P.A. before the series shifts to Dodsland for Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. If necessary, a series deciding Game 3 will take place on Sunday with puck drop set for 6:45 p.m. at Dave Steuart Arena in Prince Albert.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social