The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) Selects are back on the ice for season number two, opening up the season with a pair of games last weekend.
In their home opener Sept. 30, the Selects pelted the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) Flames, but weren’t able to break through, losing 1-0. The Selects, wearing orange Every Child Matters jerseys for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, went down one minute into the game, thanks to a shot by NCN’s Marcus Moody, and spent the rest of the game playing catch-up without success.
NCN goalie Ayden Biswanger put on a clinic, stopping all 50 shots the Selects put on him, while Odin Church ended up taking a 21 save loss in the team’s home debut. Both teams had a whopping 11 chances on the powerplay - neither team managed to make good on any of them.
Things changed the next day, as the Selects took over in an action-packed Sunday matinee, beating the Flames 9-7. While NCN’s Albert Sinclair Jr. would open the scoring early, the Selects battled right back, first with a goal by Owen Angootealuk, then one by Carson Ledoux, his first goal since returning to play after a battle with brain cancer last spring.
The Flames would put three goals in a row past Selects goalie Logan Grenier to go up 4-2, but the Selects would battle back on the strength of four goals by Nunavut import Kobe Tanuyak, who got the Selects within one, tied the game, put the Selects up a goal and then put them up 7-5 early in the third. Late goals by Kaden Eetuk and Mathis Bacon-Labbe clinched the win for the Selects - Grenier made 16 saves for the win, while Biswanger, playing his second game in less than 24 hours, stopped 40 of 49 shots.
This year’s Selects team features three players from Flin Flon and one each from Cranberry Portage, Denare Beach and Pelican Narrows. The team also includes a large contingent of talent from Nunavut - nine players in total hail from the territory.
The Selects will take on the reigning champion Peguis Juniors, the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season, in a pair of home games Oct. 14-15 at the Whitney Forum.
