The Sharks celebrate a third period goal during Sunday's season-opening win over Prince Albert. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Off to hot start

AAA Sharks show bite in home-opening win

Sep 26, 2022 | 1:00 PM

The Battlefords AAA Sharks’ killer instinct was on display Sunday, taking home a 5-3 win over the Prince Albert Bears in their home opener at Battleford Arena.

The Sharks saw five different players pitch in with a goal in the contest, as forwards, Greir Slabaida and Alexie Palchinski, and defencemen, Sawyer Norman, Mia Weber, and Mardi Wagner each got on the board with their first of the new season.

Slabaida opened the scoring for the team just past the midway mark of the first period, with Palchinski’s marker coming just a minute later to make it a 2-0 Sharks’ lead early.

After P.A. answered with a pair of their own from Sasha Malenfant, who scored in the final five-and-a-half minutes of the first and first minute of the second to tie the contest, the team again showed good resolve to weather the storm and put themselves back in the lead just prior to the second intermission.

Economic reconciliation

Saskatchewan First Nations, Métis see opportunity in purchase of Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp.

5h ago

First Nations leaders unveil items repatriated from the Vatican at History Museum

8h ago

CRIME

Ringing phone leads Battlefords RCMP to arrest robbery suspect

9h ago

Norman scored her first on the power play to make it a 3-2 Sharks advantage heading into the third.

Weber then stretched the lead to 4-2 Sharks on a set-up from Reece Hawkins, and after Claudia Lammers got the Bears back to within a single in a 4-3 game, it was again a lethal Sharks power play that proved the difference.

Wagner’s quick shot from the blue line through traffic made it 5-3 with just under five minutes to go in regulation; a lead the home side would take to the final horn.

Head coach, Ricci Girolami, said there was lots to like about the team’s performance in their opening game that they can take with them moving forward.

“It’s a nice thing to see when we are firing on all cylinders, we have some speed and we also have some size this year,” Girolami said.

“We’re not getting pushed around as much, and our kids are buying into our program, so hopefully we can keep seeing these wins come up as a result of their effort on the scoreboard for us.”

The Sharks will return to action next weekend for back-to-backs with the Weyburn Gold Wings, Sat., Oct. 1 and Sun., Oct. 2. Both taking place at Battleford Arena, Saturday’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday’s a 1:30 p.m. start.

—

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1