Bears cool a hot Sharks’ goalie in OT; get 4 awards
The Prince Albert Northern Bears had little problems with the Battlefords Sharks in the regular season, beating them in their last 18 meeting and outscoring 28-7 in four wins this year. But the playoffs are a different animal.
The Bears eventually prevailed 2-1 in overtime Wednesday at the Art Hauser Centre thanks to Bears’ defender Jordan Ashe’s game winner in the extra frame, to give the Bears a 1-0 advantage in the first-to-three wins series.
If this game and the Bears-Sharks’ history are any indication, this series could be a long one. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, the Bears needed all five games to beat the Sharks and advance to the second round of the 2014-15 playoffs.
“It’s not uncommon waters that we just went through there. We’re happy with the way we played, but we got the win in probably the most difficult way possible,” Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby said. “We got what we wanted, but we have to make these sort of games easier on ourselves. We have to take advantage of our hard work. I’m not sure how many breakaways we missed, 2-on-1’s, but they can bite you if you don’t take advantage of it.”