Male and female U18 AAA Hounds both league champions

Wilcox, Sask. -

The U18 AAA Notre Dame female and male Hounds hockey teams are both provincial champions in the same season for the first time since 2010.

The females defeated the Regina Rebels in double overtime to win the league. Kyra Anderson scored the game-winner to finish off the series.

“I saw the top corner was open, I called for the puck and was like ‘this better go in’ and I was so shocked [when it did], I fell to the ice in so much excitement,” Anderson said.

“Going into double overtime I was super exhausted, so when Kyra scored it was a sigh of relief,” Notre Dame Hounds defenceman Payten Evans said.

Anderson led the league this year with 11 game-winning goals. This is the sixth league title for the Hounds and first since 2012.

On the male side, the Hounds swept the Warman Wildcats in the league final Tuesday night in Wilcox. The Hounds are back-to-back defending league champions after winning in 2018-19. The last two seasons were cancelled due to the pandemic.

The females are now off to Hartney, Manitoba to compete in the West Region Championships against the Westman Wildcats. They will compete in a three game series that begins on April 22.

“We are just sticking to our game plan, changing nothing. It’s just another game because if we think of all the pressure then we don’t want our team to break down. We are just living in the moment, playing together, and having fun,” said hounds forward, Ryann Perrett.

The winner of that series will book their ticket to the Esso Cup, the National U18 AAA female championship. The Esso Cup began in 2009 and Notre Dame’s first and only title was in 2011.

The males will head to Virden, Manitoba to compete in West Regionals against three other teams. The tournament begins on April 28. The host Southwest Cougars and Thunder Bay Kings have secured their spot. The winners of the Winnipeg Wild and Brandon Wheat Kings playoff series will be the final squad.

The winner of West Regionals will go on to compete at the 2022 Telus Cup, the National U18 AAA male championship.

The Notre Dame Hounds are five time Telus Cup Champions and most recently won in 2018.

The only time two Saskatchewan teams have won Telus and Esso in the same year was 2014. (The Prince Albert Mintos and Weyburn Goldwings)

Okotoks Alberta will host the 2022 Esso and Telus Cups in May.

“It would be great to get both teams in Okotoks in the same week but we have some work to do here first,” Notre Dame Hounds director of hockey, Jeremy Mylymok said.

“Obviously it’s [the Esso Cup] also in the back of our heads but this [West Regionals] is a super important weekend and we’re really excited to see what happens,” Perrett said.