The Prairie Hockey Academy’s U16 prep team was able to pick up a win and a loss against the Regina Capitals over the weekend to start their 2020-2021 season.

The U16s won 5-0 Friday at the Barkman Arena over the Regina Capitals, with Rowan Calvert scoring a pair and adding an assist.

They lost 6-4 to Regina the next night.

“Friday, we played our systems and our game plan pretty much to a T, and had a lot of success” explained head coach Micah Abbott. “Saturday I think we got a little bit too confident in our game and the other team came out and worked hard. But there are definitely some things we learned and can grow on, and some things we did really well.”

The U16s came storming out of the gate at Barkman Arena Friday, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the first while outshooting the Capitals 20-4. The final shots were 40-28 in the game, and other scores were Ryder Knutson, Jace Bymoen and Clark Furman. Austin Seibel stopped 28 shots between the pipes in the shutout.

Saturday, the PHA U16s were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead but fell 6-4. Furman scored twice, with Knutson and Matthew Healey picking up singles. Michael Malinowski saved 24 in the PHA net.

The outings were good, considering the U16s are often up to two years younger than some of their opponents.

“They didn’t look out of place at all,” said Abbott. “Physically I think we kept up with them. We’re the same speed, but yeah, they looked really good.”

PHA has several Moose Jaw players helping them out this year, including Calvert, Liam Fitzpatrick and Ty Pratte.

The U17s weren’t able to get both of their scheduled games in last weekend, but they were able to get their Saturday match in at Swift Current, edging the Broncos 3-2. Chad Schindel, Ethan Dekay and Drew Molde each scored for the U17 prep team, as Justin Dueck stopped 26 of 28 shots in the win.

The next game both of these PHA teams will play against each other won’t be too much of a road trip – the U16s and U17s will play Friday and Saturday at the Barkman Arena against each other. Games are 7 p.m. both nights.