After the first 22 games, it’s been a tale of two seasons so far for the Innovex Estevan Bears.
The Bears have reached the midway point of the 2025/26 regular season as the calendar flips to December with an overall record of (11-9-0-2). After a slow start with only 3 wins in their first 12 games, the club has rallied around each other to string together a 10-game stretch where the Bears earned at least a point. The Bears won 7 straight games from October 29th to November 22nd, and added another win between 2 shootout losses in their last three contests.
“You got to give the guys credit,” said Estevan head coach Ryan Pilon in a November 23rd SMAAAHL news article. “They stayed mature and there was a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“We want to cement ourselves (as a contender) and show this streak isn’t a fluke,” added Pilon.
The Bears have had contributions up and down the lineup, but have had a few players consistently scoring and climbing the overall leaders in the SMAAAHL. Bears’ captain Gunner Moore leads the way with 37 points (6th overall) in 22 games, including a team-leading 24 assists (5th). Assistant captain Brendan Jones paces the Bears with 17 goals (T-3rd) and fellow assistant Boston Schmidt isn’t far behind with 15 goals (8th). For rookies, forward Rhys Petersmeyer leads all first-year Bears’ skaters with 22 points (5th) with Rhett Amberson (17 PTS) and Ethan Boehm (11 PTS) scoring more frequently as the season goes on.
On the back end, defenceman Kayson Anderson leads blueliners with 22 points (6th) while 16-year-old defenceman Van Huebner has chipped in 11 points including 3 goals, which is tops among all Bears’ defencemen.
For goalies, it’s been Evan Hutcheon leading the charge and getting the majority of the workload in net so far. Hutcheon has played 995 minutes already, which is tops amongst all SMAAAHL goaltenders. His 11 wins are also first in the league at this point, with a .903 SV% (*5th) and 3.08 G.A.A. (*7th) rounding out a stellar first half in between the pipes. (*minimum 10 games played).
The Innovex Estevan Bears will play 16 of their final 22 games on home ice. One of those games (Jan. 10th vs Saskatoon Blazers) will be played in Weyburn, with all others at Affinity Place in Estevan. The Bears currently sit 4th overall in the league standings at 24 points, separated from 8th overall by only 3 points and currently 6 points behind Swift Current for 3rd overall.
The top 8 teams make the playoffs, with the top 4 squads earning home ice advantage in the quarterfinals. The Bears have made the postseason each of the last two years, but have been unable to advance to the semi-final round despite pushing Moose Jaw to a fifth and deciding game in the 2025 quarterfinals last spring.
