Dave Leaderhouse
Herald Staff
For the first time this year the Prince Albert A&W Bears have their backs up against the wall.
A 2-1 setback in Weyburn on Friday has pushed the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series between the Bears and Gold Wings to a fifth and deciding game with that match to be played on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.
Mackenzie Bauer’s goal with one second left in the second period stood up as the winner as the teams battled through a scoreless third period to send the series back to Prince Albert.
Madison Casavant scored the only goal of the opening frame and Kelly Regnier, with her 11th goal of the playoffs, tied it with under three minutes to play in the middle session. Kaitlin Willoughby assisted on the Regnier goal for her league-leading 11th assist of the post-season.
Jessica Vance turned aside 34 shots in the Prince Albert goal while Jane Kish was tested 32 times in the Weyburn net.
Of the eight games the two clubs have played this year, five have been decided by one goal and two others by a pair of tallies. Three of those games have also gone into extra time or a shootout so Sunday’s game is expected to be a thrilling conclusion to a season-long battle.
The winner of the series will meet the Regina Rebels in the championship final as the regular-season champion Rebels swept the Saskatoon Stars in the other semifinal match-up.
