Mintos drop season opener to Battlefords

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Kacy Turberfield and Alex Kowalyk got the Battlefords out to a 2-0 lead after the first period, before Caleb Philp and Ethan Janzen pulled Prince Albert back to even following the second. The Stars came out buzzing to start the third as Nash Coquet used his speed to blaze past the Mintos defence to pot the eventual game winner just three minutes into the frame. 

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Mintos general manager Chris Bourdon said there are some things to iron out in the coming practices, but that’s to be expected in the first game of the year. 

“The team’s coming together and there’s moments during the game where you’re hoping for better things. I think our passing needs to improve [and] our neutral zone game looked a little bit unorganized.” 

“For now, obviously we’re not happy with the loss, but at the same time a 3-2 game, 2-2 going into the third period, the team showed really good resilience in the second period coming back from a 2-0 first period deficit. I think it shows a lot of character for the players and we’ll bounce back.” 

The Mintos now gear up for their first weekend set of the season as they host the Notre Dame Hounds for a pair of games. The first is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. and the second is a go for Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Art Hauser Centre. 

COMPLETE BOX SCORE 

The Stars came out of the gate hungry and generated several scoring chances early, each being defused by Mintos netminder Cohen Kuntz. It took until the midway mark of the period before the Battlefords broke through, when Turberfield went far side on Kuntz for the opening goal. Then, 1:14 later, Kowalyk cashed in to double the Stars lead heading into the second. 

Less than a minute into the frame, P.A. put the pressure on and caught the Battlefords on their heels, resulting in Philp finding the back of the net to cut into the lead and making it 2-1. The teams then traded trips to the penalty box before the Mintos found their groove again late in the period, resulting in Janzen’s first of the season to tie it at two. 

In the third, Liam Harris was assessed a minor penalty and as the penalty was ending, Coquet collected the puck from his goaltender and went end to end, using his lightning speed to get by the defenders and cash in on his first of the season by going short side on Kuntz. 

Less than two minutes later, Xander Pritchard was assessed a double minor for checking Aaron Kowalyk in the head, resulting in a four-minute powerplay. The Mintos penalty kill stood tall and killed of the lengthy man advantage, however, Kowalyk left the game shaken up with an injury to his left arm and did not return. 

With three minutes to play, the Mintos pulled Kuntz in favour of the extra attacker and although there were chances, Cody Marciniuk stood strong in the final moments to give the Stars the 3-2 win. 

Battlefords and Prince Albert will meet again on Nov. 25 at the Art Hauser Centre. 

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com