Bears take home four league awards
Despite the end of the season not going how the Prince Albert Northern Bears would’ve liked, the team still brought home a total of four league awards.
The awards were presented on the ice prior to the Bears taking on the Swift Current Wildcats on Sunday night.
For the second time in three years, Bears head coach was named the Shannon Miller and Wally Kozak Top Coach after leading Prince Albert to a 10-15-2-3 record during the regular season. He was a co-winner of the award alongside Swift Current’s Terry Pavely in the 2022-23 season.
Young says the award wouldn’t be possible without the strong support network around the team.
“It’s an honour when your peers are voting for you and make a selection like that, obviously. My name’s on it, but the whole coaching staff is a big part of that. The players are part of that. Everybody ties into a big part of that. I’m honoured to win it, but it’s an award that everybody should be proud of.”
Rookie forward Jersie Andersen led the Bears in scoring this season. She says Young always knew what buttons to push and how to manage the game.
“He’s very calm and he know what he’s doing. He knows when to put certain players on the ice in the situations that we get in. He knows how to bring us back up and he deserves it all and I’m super proud.”
Graduating netminder Annika Neufeldt says Young is a great coach because he takes pride in representing the Northern Bears.
“He honestly really cares about our organization and what name he wants to put it as. He really puts a lot of effort into what he does and really it affects how we play.”
Neufeldt named Top Scholastic Player, second team-all star
For three years, Annika Neufeldt has been rock solid in the crease for Prince Albert. The 17-year-old Waldheim product posted an 11-9-0-0 record, a .929 save percentage and a 2.33 Goals Against Average and one shutout in 20 games for the Northern Bears this season.
Young says Neufeldt had a strong final season in the league.
“She’s another one that has come a long way, I thought this year she really came into her own and played that way she wanted to. I think for her, hockey is in her future and she wants to continue playing. I think this year will really help her that way, but most of all, she’s a very solid person.”
Thanks to her 97 per cent average in her Grade 12 classes at Carlton Comprehensive, Neufeldt was recognized with the Carol Scheibel Top Scholastic Player Award. It is the third straight season that a member of the Bears has took home the award with Julia Cey winning it last year and Jazlyn Petreman the year before.
In addition to being recognized for her academics, Neufeldt was named a second team all-star.
“I honestly feel very grateful to have them.” Neufeldt explained about the awards. “I had a rocky start to my season with the Bears at the very beginning and now being able to graduate and have these achievements is awesome but it wouldn’t have come without the team I had in front of me working hard and doing their part.”
Neufeldt plans to study business in post-secondary and hopes to achieve her dream of becoming a professional photographer.
Andersen named Rookie of the Year
It was a rookie season to remember for Jersie Andersen as the Meadow Lake product took home the Dana Antal Top Rookie Award.
In her first year at U18 AAA, she led Prince Albert in scoring with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 30 games played.
Young says Andersen improved tremendously as the season went along and will be a player Prince Albert will look to build around.
“We saw her last year at spring camp and we just felt she’s a player that was going to help our hockey club. She came in here, she worked hard and she had a good year as far as points and all those things. She’s the type of girl now that the tables are turned, she’s someone we’re going to be leaning on more next year. She’s going to have to take what she learned this year from the older players and take it into next year.”
Andersen, who just turned 16 back in January, says the close bond of the team made her want to be at the rink and continue to improve as a hockey player.
“Coming in, they were all sisters and I see them as a second family. I want to come to the rink after those hard days and I want to be around them. We’re going to miss the vets very much, but us players that are returning, we’ll be just as close as were this year. It’s a team to remember, that’s for sure.”
Article from Daily Herald March 12th, 2025 by Nate Reiter