MOOSEJAWTODAY -- A stellar run through the postseason saw the Moose Jaw Predators come away with a pair of championships in recent weeks -- including the biggest one of all.
The Predators first claimed the Moose Jaw Minor Hockey Crushed Can U13 B title and then used that momentum to win the Hockey Sask U13 AA Tier III provincial championship, capping off a near-perfect run through the playoffs.
After an impressive regular season that saw the Predators post a 16-2-0 mark while outscoring their opposition by more than 100 goals through 18 games, things didn’t change much in the Crushed Can playoffs.
After receiving a first-round bye, the Predators opened their run with an 11-2 victory over the Sharks before advancing to the league final with a 12-5 win over the Central Butte Flyers. With two lives in the championship final, the Predators left nothing to chance, wrapping up the Moose Jaw championship with a 9-5 win over the Assinboia Rebels on Mar. 24.
While all that was going on, the Predators were also in the midst of the Hockey Sask playoffs.
Things went just as smoothly in the first round, as the Moose Jaw crew took an 8-6 win over the Regina Blues in Game 1 of their best-of-three modified series before finishing things off with a 4-3 win in Game 2.
That led to the provincial final against the Saskatoon Wild Mustangs, where the Predators faced their first adversity of the playoffs.
Moose Jaw won the opening game in style 8-4 at the Bert Hunt Arena on Mar. 23, but couldn’t finish things off with a sweep after dropping a 5-4 decision in Game 2 back in Saskatoon.
With the series tied at a game apiece, the modified ruleset saw the teams play a 10-minute mini-game immediately after Game 2, with that contest acting as the third and deciding game.
The Predators had no difficulty in that contest, taking a 3-0 victory to claim the provincial title.
The Hockey Sask champions were led in scoring by Taylor Usher, who racked up an astonishing 53 goals and 93 points in only 18 games, averaging 5.17 points per game.
Interestingly enough, that wasn’t enough to win the Crushed Can scoring title, as Central Butte’s Dash Struck poured in 79 goals and 99 points over the same span.
Lucas Jones also had a solid campaign with 43 goals and 65 points for the Preds to finish third in league scoring, while Brayden Daicon scored 14 times and had 43 points to land fifth in the league.
Lachlan McGonigal and Cohen Bushko split goaltending duties for the Predators throughout the campaign.
