Fort St. John Huskies secure back-to-back wins, eye playoff momentum

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. —  Redemption was the theme as the Fort St. John Huskies opened 2025 with a pair of victories this past weekend. 

Friday saw the Pups earn a hard-fought win against North Peace by a score of 7-5, while a weekend affair with Grande Prairie earned a 6-3 victory.

With just a handful of games left in the STRIKE GROUP North West Junior Hockey League (NWJHL) season, head coach Todd Alexander wants his squad to have “all engines firing” as playoffs loom. 

He says each game down the stretch is a contest “against ourselves.”

“We strive to be better,” said Alexander.  “We try our best not to look at the opponent and focus on our game and what we’re doing.”

“You want to make sure that you’re doing your best you can to play all the way to that end of March to give yourself an opportunity to potentially play into that first week of April.”

With the Navigators edging Fort St. John in their last game before the holiday break 5-2 on December 21st, the team was energized on Friday night by captain Grayden Alexander.

He scored a pair of goals in the win.  Other scorers included forwards Ashton Underhill, Xavier Burgher, Colby Busche, Jonny Timmons, and defenceman Jordan LaGreca.

The 15-year-old Timmons was acquired via trade earlier this season and has responded with seven points in 12 games.

“He’s the type of player that can move up and down the roster,” says Alexander. “He’s got that type of attitude where he doesn’t care what his role is.”

Grande Prairie took Fort St. John by a score of 4-3 in overtime in their last game on November 15th, but this time, the Huskies came out ahead on January 4th. 

Ryan Ungstad had his 15th and 16th goals of the year, as two second-period goals took the wind out of the Wheat Kings sails.  Underhill also had his 15th of the year, earning the team’s star of the game.

The offensive output was rounded out by LaGreca, Burgher, and Sam Loewen, who scored his third of the 2024-25 season.

While the Huskies await a game against Dawson Creek on Friday, Alexander is looking ahead to another game with a chance for redemption: against La Crete on January 12th. 

While the teams split a pair of games in November, a bitter taste was left in the Huskies’ mouth in the last game in Fort St. John, where the NWJHL leading Lumber Barons thrashed the Huskies 8-1 on October 13th.

“That’ll be a big test for us,” said Alexander. “[The team] is looking forward to it also.”

“Last time, we took it on the chin, and we need to have a better response against them at home.”

Game time for Friday’s game is 8:00 p.m., while Sunday’s game is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the North Peace Arena.

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