The Prince Albert Timberjaks are set to face the Saskatoon Royals in the opening round of the PJHL Playoffs, nicknamed the Survivors Series. Here, the Timberjaks are seen celebrating a goal against the Delisle Chiefs during a playoff game on Feb. 22, 2025. (Image Credit: Logan Lehmann/paNOW)

By Logan Lehmann

Playoffs

Timberjaks ready to rumble against Royals in PJHL playoffs

Feb 21, 2026 | 11:53 AM

The Prince Albert Timberjaks are back in the postseason for the third time in their three-year history.  

The Jaks edged out the Carrot River Outback Thunder for the final playoff spot and will face off with the Saskatoon Royals in the first round.  

P.A. narrowly clinched over Carrot River beating them in the standings by two points, where the Timberjaks finished with a 15-25-2 (W-L-OTL) record and the Outback Thunder with a 14-26-2 record. Meanwhile, the Royals ended the season as one of the top five teams in the league, narrowly missing out on the North Division title with a 27-10-5 record. The Saskatoon Quakers, Westley’s, and the Martensville Chiefs tied for first finishing with 62 points. 

The Timberjaks and Royals are no strangers to one another, having met six times during the regular season. P.A. only won one of those games, coming back on Dec. 2 in a 4-1 victory at the Northern Regional Rec. Centre. Saskatoon has also outscored Prince Albert 25-14 across those previous meetings. 

Across the season series, Timberjaks forward Ryan Lepitzki led in the scoring department with 3G-2A-5P, followed by Gareg Painter with 2G-1A-3P, Nick Jensen with 0G-3A-3P, and Brody Andersen with 1G-2A-3P. In goal, Josh Henry and Brayden Lyons split duties, where Henry has 138 saves with a .902 save percentage and Lyons has 94 saves with a .931 save percentage. 

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Meanwhile, Tyler Hale headed the Royals against P.A. in the regular season with 3G-5A-8P, followed by Cole German with 1G-5A-6P, Spencer Chestolowski with 2G-4A-6P, Hunter Jaeb with 1G-4A-5P, and Eithan Awasis with 3G-2A-5P. The crease was split evenly across the six meetings between Miller Klein and Ethan Rathgeber. Klein has 95 saves with a .922 save percentage, while Rathgeber turned aside 99 shots with a save percentage of .943. 

Game 1 of the best-of-three series begins Saturday in Saskatoon with a 7:45 p.m. puck drop at Rod Hamm Arena. Game 2 will be played less than 24 hours later on Sunday at the Northern Regional Rec Centre in Buckland at 3 p.m., and if necessary, a deciding Game 3 is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Saskatoon. 

The winner will advance to face the Saskatoon Westley’s in the North Division semifinals. 

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com