Prince Albert Northern Bears head coach Steve Young (left) shakes hands with Mann Northway's principal dealer Mark Ripley during their official sponsorship announcement (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Female Hockey

Northern Bears announce long term partnership with Mann Northway

Aug 31, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The Prince Albert Northern Bears are teaming up with Mann Northway for many seasons to come.

As Mann Northway’s dealer principal Mark Ripley explained during an announcement on Thursday, he’s excited to sponsor the Bears and support female hockey in the community.

“We had the opportunity when Al [Dyer] asked us if we could do it and immediately, we said yes,” he said. “The team has been around for a number of years and for us to be able to come in and show some support and help out, we couldn’t be more excited.”

The sponsorship is a long-term deal with the team, however, the actual length of the sponsorship was not revealed.

Ripley added that he didn’t want to be just another company giving money, rather he wanted to be involved with the team and the female hockey community as much as possible.

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“I think if you’re from Prince Albert, you’ve seen that we’re out in the community and we like to be there,” he said. “We always say write a cheque and that’s great, but we want to make sure that we’re there and I think we can provide some assistance to the team and organization outside of the rink. So, helping with the girls and supporting them is what we want to do.”

Your 2023-24 Prince Albert Northern Bears along with Mann Northway’s Mark and Tori Ripley. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW staff)

Northern Bears head coach Steve Young spoke on the new sponsorship, calling it a thrilling day for the organization and for female hockey.

“For both, I think it’s very exciting. Girls’ hockey is really coming along and for [Mann Northway] to want to have a hand in it and to be a part of it is big for the community and girls’ hockey,” he said. “I think we’ve done a good job in landing the right sponsor and we’re excited about it.”

Mark’s wife and former hockey player, Tori, also spoke to the media regarding the deal, saying she’s happy to see more support come to female hockey not just in Prince Albert, but across the country.

“As a female who played hockey my whole life in female sports, the boys always get a lot of support and it’s hard for the women because they don’t get as much support. There’s more opportunity for women in hockey now and I want to support that and Mark wants to support that and like I said, it doesn’t get as much support as male sports do. So, this was important to us and near and dear to my heart to help the girls.”

The Northern Bears hit the ice for preseason action on Sept. 17 and get the regular season underway on Sept. 30.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com