Dave Leaderhouse
Herald Staff
The Prince Albert A&W Bears have done something no other team has ever done in the history of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League – they swept the Notre Dame Hounds in a season series.
Megan Sloboshan’s goal with 41 seconds left in regulation time lifted the Bears to a 3-2 victory over the Hounds and completed the season sweep. Prince Albert won 4-3 on Saturday in the first game of the weekend doubleheader in Wilcox and two weeks ago at the Art Hauser Centre the Bears recorded 3-1 and 5-1 triumphs.
The Bears and Hounds are the only two teams to ever win the league championship with Notre Dame having claimed five of the six previous titles. The Hounds have been the premiere club year in and year out, but this season with Notre Dame icing a club in the western juvenile league, the playing field has been levelled and Prince Albert has taken advantage of the situation.
The weekend results improve the Bears’ record to 16-3-0-3 and solidified their hold on second place in the overall standings. Prince Albert is now seven points up on the Weyburn Gold Wings and with just six games remaining on the schedule they need three victories to secure home-ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Bears still have a chance at finishing first, but they are going to need some help as they trail the undefeated Regina Rebels by six points. Prince Albert is in Regina on the final weekend of the regular schedule for a crucial doubleheader, but by then the results might be moot if no other team can steal a couple of wins from the league leaders.
Crystal Berube and Kelly Regnier also scored for the Bears on Sunday with Sarah Olson turning aside 13 shots in the Prince Albert goal for the win. Lexi Van Camp chipped in with a pair of assists.
It was a big weekend for Regnier as on Friday it was announced that the third-year forward signed a letter of intent to play next season with the University of Regina Cougars.
Regnier’s goal on Sunday, coupled with a pair of assists she recorded on Saturday, moves her into third place in the league scoring race with 19 goals and 17 assists in 21 games. Regnier is the all-time leading scorer in Bears’ history with 95 points.
On Saturday, it was Kaitlin Willoughby leading the offense as the Bears’ captain scored three times and added an assist. Tylor Lindsay had the other Prince Albert goal with Jessica Vance setting a franchise record with her 21st victory after she stopped 19 shots in the Bears’ net.
Prince Albert, which is closing in on posting its best-ever record in regular-season play, returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to the Battlefords to face the Sharks. The Bears now have 35 points on the season and need six more points to surpass the team-best of 40 set in 2009-10. Prince Albert stays on the road next weekend when they travel to Melville for a doubleheader against the Prairie Fire with their final home game scheduled for Feb. 12 when they will host the Saskatoon Stars.
