Dave Leaderhouse
Herald Staff
Kaitlin Willoughby scored an unassisted marker with just under three minutes to play to lift the Prince Albert A&W Bears to a 2-1 victory over the Gold Wings in Weyburn on Sunday.
The win evens the best-of-five Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series at one game apiece with Game 3 scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.
The Gold Wings, who had skated to an impressive 4-1 victory in the opening contest in Prince Albert on Friday, opened the scoring on Sunday when Madison Colbow beat Jessica Vance midway through the opening period.
Kelly Regnier, the Bears’ leading scorer during the regular season and again in the playoffs, netted her ninth goal of the post-season four minutes later to even the score at 1-1 and the game remained that way until Willoughby broke the deadlock late in the game.
Prince Albert outshot the Gold Wings 38-24 with Jane Kish, the league’s first-team all-star netminder turning in a strong performance in the Weyburn goal and Vance also having a spectacular game as she shut the door over the final 50 minutes of the match to allow the Bears to escape with the win.
Following Tuesday’s game, the series will once again head back to Weyburn on Thursday and should a fifth and deciding game be necessary, it will be played in Prince Albert on Saturday.
The other semifinal series between the Regina Rebels and Saskatoon Stars also got under way on the weekend with the first-place Rebels winning both games – 6-1 and 3-1.
