PRINCE ALBERT -- It’s safe to say the Moose Jaw Mustangs went out on their shields in Game 2 of the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League Junior championship final on Saturday night.
But when you’ve had as dominant a season as the Prince Albert Predators have had, it almost seems like a league title is a foregone conclusion -- and when it came down to the brass tacks, they found a way to get things down.
Sam Cooper scored the eventual game-winning goal with 5:38 remaining in the third period and Matthew Cudmore added an insurance marker with 1:32 to play as Moose Jaw pressed for the tie, giving the Predators a 14-12 win at the Kinsmen Arena in Prince Albert.
As a result, the Predators win the best-of-three series two-games-to-none and claim their third-straight PGLL Junior championship.
The contest was a back-and-forth barnburner from start to finish, as neither team had much by way of control for very long though the first two periods. Prince Albert would score a pair, Moose Jaw would score three straight, the Predators would reply with three of their own, the Mustangs would get those back, and so on.
As a result, the game was tied 3-3 after the first period and knotted up at nine through two.
Absolutely nothing changed to start the third period, as Moose Jaw twice took the lead on goals from Braxton Mac Angus and Ryder Gilroy while Cole Barmby replied twice to see the game tied 11-11 at the 12:13 mark.
The Predators regained the lead with 9:06 remaining on a goal from Brayden Reiger, but Gilroy would reply for Moose Jaw only 36 seconds later, setting up the late-game dramatics.
Reiger finished with six goals and eight points to become the PGLL’s all-time scoring leader. Barmby ended up with a hat trick, while Cudmore and Cooper scored twice each. Chase Lehner had their other marker, while Talon Sandry recorded five assists.
Gilroy recorded a hat trick for the Mustangs, MacAngus and Carter Hudyma each had two goals and three points. Riley Bender, Nate Lewko, Kysen Mac Angus, Carson Isnana and Booner Bender had their other goals. Kash Smith and Lukas Salikin each had two assists.
Oliver Volek had 38 saves in goal for Prince Albert, while Joey Juchacz stopped 44 for Moose Jaw.
The Predators season isn’t over just yet, as they’ll look to defend their MacDonald Cup Wester Canadian Junior B Championship beginning Wednesday, Aug. 6 in Abbotsford, B.C.
