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| Gary Haden has been on fire for the Blades. |
Going into the current campaign, I predicted the Blades
would end their drought of not making the playoffs since 2013 and would qualify
for the post-season in a comfortable fashion.
With 16 games remaining on their regular season schedule,
the Blades haven’t officially locked down a playoff berth, but they are in a
comfortable position to make the post-season. They sit fourth overall in the WHL
standings with a 31-13-8 record.
On Tuesday, the Blades had a great night as they thumped the
Wheat Kings 7-3 before 3,090 spectators at Westoba Place in Brandon. The Blades
held a 1-0 lead after the first period and went up 3-1 before Brandon rallied
for a 3-3 tie.
Saskatoon exited the second period with a 4-3 edge and
rolled off three goals in the third.
Star sophomore centre Kirby Dach recorded his second career
WHL hat trick for the Blades, while Max Gerlach and Eric Florchuk both had two
goal nights. Star left-winger Gary Haden had four assists for Saskatoon, while Ryan Hughes had three helpers for the visitors.
Stelio Mattheos, Luka Burzan and Cole Reinhardt replied with
singles for the Wheat Kings.
Dorrin Luding turned away 25 shots to pick up the win in
goal for the Blades. Ethan Kruger, who is a 17-year-old rookie, stopped 30
shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (22-21-3-4).
Most wouldn’t have envisioned the Blades sitting in the league’s
top five for most of the campaign. I figured they might be sitting around 10th
as far as the overall standings were concerned, so competing for a spot in the
top five was beyond my expectations.
With the effort they have put in to date, the Blades deserve
to be sitting in the top five of the WHL standings.
 |
| Kirby Dach had a hat trick for the Blades on Tuesday. |
Still, they have experienced hiccup moments in recent weeks.
The Blades have learned how to win, and now they are in the process of learning
what it takes to hold the status of being one of the WHL’s top teams.
One of the most recent spots the learning curve hit was on
Jan. 26, when the Blades hosted the Swift Current Broncos at the SaskTel
Centre. After winning the WHL title last season, the Broncos are in a major
rebuild in the current campaign and sit last in the overall league standings.
When the Blades and Broncos met on Jan. 26, Saskatoon controlled
play for most of the contest and held a 4-2 lead heading into the final five
minutes of the third period. With 4:39 remaining in the third period, Broncos
captain Tanner Nagel scored on kind of a soft goal to cut the Saskatoon lead to
4-3.
All of a sudden, the Broncos youngsters had life, and the
Blades players seemed to grip their sticks. The Broncos tied things up to force
overtime.
In overtime, the Blades had a number of chances to get the
win. Ultimately, Finnish import left-winger Joona Kiviniemi scored for the
Broncos with 3.4 seconds remaining in the extra session to deliver the visitors
to a 5-4 victory.
Looking back, the Blades had to look at that contest as one
they should have closed out. They picked up one point in the standings and let
another point slip through their fingers.
One day earlier, the Blades dumped the Broncos 5-2 in Swift
Current thanks to a four-goal effort from Haden.
Following that win, Blades supporters had to be scratching their heads about
how the 5-4 overtime loss to the Broncos could materialize one night later in
Saskatoon.
 |
| Max Gerlach scored twice for the Blades on Tuesday night. |
The Blades still skated away with full marks for the victory
thanks to a 34 save performance by star netminder Nolan Maier and a two-goal
night from Haden.
On Saturday at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades hosted the
Central Division leading Edmonton Oil Kings in a heavyweight tilt. The game was
a barnburner and Saskatoon held a 3-2 lead going into the final four minutes of
the third period.
With 3:09 to play in the third, offensive defenceman Conner
McDonald scored his second of two goals on the night to cause a 3-3 tie and
force overtime. Just 30 seconds into overtime, star Oil Kings captain Trey
Fix-Wolansky scored the winner to give the visitors a 4-3 victory. McDonald
picked up an assist to complete a three-point night.
While this overtime loss was to a tough opponent, those
associated with the Blades had to feel it was tough to see the team get only
one point instead of two in the standings due to falling in overtime. They
outshot the Oil King 41-35 on the night.
Still it has to be emphasized the Blades are in a position
where they are trying to hold a spot in the top five in the league standings. That
is a big step up from just falling short of capturing the final playoff berth in
the Eastern Conference like in the past two seasons.
During the last two campaigns, the Blades saw a playoff berth
fall through their hands over the final 10 games of the regular season.
Those unsuccessful playoff pushes were a case of the team
learning to crawl before learning to walk.
At the moment, the glass is way more than half full for the
Blades.
Maier is having a solid sophomore campaign to follow up an outstanding
rookie season posting a 25-9-6 record, a 2.76 goals against average, a .908 save
percentage and two shutouts.
Haden has been on fire collecting points in five consecutive
games recording nine goals and four assists over that span of time. He has 25
goals and 27 assists in 48 games split between the Blades and the Medicine Hat
Tigers this season.
 |
| Eric Florchuk had two goals for the Blades on Tuesday night. |
Gerlach, who is an overage right-winger, has 31 goals and 22
assists in 52 regular season games, and he has scored 30 or more goals for a
fourth straight campaign, which marks every season he has been in the league.
Star centre Kirby Dach is plugging along netting 21 goals
and 34 assists to lead the Blades in scoring with 55 points in 48 regular
season games. Offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson is second in team scoring
with nine goals and 45 assists for 54 points appearing in all of his club’s 52
regular season games.
Kyle Crnkovic, who is a 16-year-old rookie left-winger,
provides excitement seemingly every time he touches the puck and is forming a
fan following.
Veteran blue-liners Brandon Schuldhaus and Nolan Kneen are a
formidable defensive pair.
Emil Malysjev, who is a 17-year-old rookie defenceman from
Sweden, is improving at a rapid rate.
First year head coach Mitch Love has a good understanding of
the pulse of the team and what steps need to be taken to keep the club moving
forward.
The Blades are very much sitting in a good place. It is great
they can keep learning and getting better from a position of strength.
Raiders return to form, rock Oil Kings
 |
| Brett Leason had a goal and two assists for the Raiders on Monday. |
On Friday, the Oil Kings, who lead the WHL’s Central
Division, skated into Prince Albert and downed the Raiders, who top the entire
WHL standings, 6-3 at the Art Hauser Centre. Following the game, the Raiders
admitted to a man they didn’t have their best effort.
When the two clubs met on Monday before 5,339 spectators at
Rogers Place in Edmonton, the outcome was very much a different one.
The Raiders, who are the top rated team in the CHL’s Top 10
rankings, held a 16-8 edge in shots on goal in the first period and exited the
frame holding a 1-0 lead on a goal from 16-year-old rookie centre Ozzy
Wiesblatt.
Just 37 seconds into the second, the Oil Kings tied things
up at 1-1, when centre Vince Loschiavo netted his 23rd goal of the
season.
At that point, the floodgates opened in a goal surge for the
Raiders.
 |
| Parker Kelly scored for the Raiders on Monday. |
In the third, 16-year-old rookie right-winger Jakob Brook
and star left-winger Cole Fonstad each scored singles to round out a 5-1
victory for the Raiders. Fonstad’s goal was his 22nd tally of the
season and is a new career high for the 18-year-old veteran.
Leason had two assists to go along with his goal.
Ian Scott turned away 25 shots as the Raiders improved their
WHL leading record to 43-7-0-2. Todd Scott stopped 41 shots to take the setback
in goal for the Oil Kings (29-16-4-4).
Prince Albert won three out of the four head-to-head
meetings with Edmonton this season.
With the final result pretty much imbedded on the
scoreboard, the contest contained a late third period fight between Raiders
defenceman Loeden Schaufler and Oil Kings rearguard Parker Gavlas.
Monday’s win was the start of a four game road trip for the
Raiders. They return to action on Friday, when they travel to Calgary to face
the Hitmen at the Calgary Corral at 7 p.m. Calgary time.
On Tuesday, the Raiders became the first team this season to
officially lock up a berth in the WHL playoffs, when the Saskatoon Blades
dumped the Wheat Kings in Brandon 7-3.
The Oil Kings return to action this coming Sunday, when they
host the Regina Pats at 4 p.m. local time at Rogers Place.
Brook slew foot a bizarre moment
 |
| Josh Brook made an uncharacteristic gaff on Saturday. |
On Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert, the
final buzzer sounded as the host Raiders downed the visiting Warriors 4-3. At
that moment, Brook, who is a 19-year-old star defenceman, slew footed Raiders
import defenceman Sergei Sapego, who is from Belarus.
As Brook was being led away from Sapego by the officials, a
scrum ensued when Raiders right-winger Justin Nachbaur tried to get at Brook.
Nachbaur ended up
getting tangled up with Warriors centre Tristin Langan.
When the dust
settled, Nachbaur was given a fighting major and a game misconduct. Langan was
assessed a minor penalty for leaving the penalty box, a fighting major and a
game misconduct. He was in the penalty box after taking a checking from behind
minor penalty with 67 seconds remaining in the third.
Brook didn’t receive
any infractions at the end of the contest.
Having watched Brook play a number of times since he entered
the WHL on a full-time basis in 2015-16, I thought the slew foot was out of
character for him. The fact he slew footed an opponent that doesn’t have the
history of being an agitator was even stranger.
 |
| Josh Brook (#2) skates away after slew footing Sergei Sapego. |
On Monday, the WHL suspended Nachbaur, who has a tough-guy
aura, for three games, and Langan was suspended for one game.
Nachbaur began serving his suspension on Monday, when the
Raiders thumped the Oil Kings in Edmonton 5-1.
No discipline came Brook’s way.
While a clean past reputation might have helped Brook, he
will likely be “Public Enemy #1” for the rest of the season when the Warriors
visit Prince Albert. Raiders fans always seem to have long memories with
regards to these sorts of incidents.
Honouring moms and billet moms is good
for WHL teams
 |
| The Blades honour their mom and billet moms on January 2018. |
The first team I saw do this was the Saskatoon Blades during
their parents’ weekend last season. Before one of their home games on that
weekend, the Blades brought the moms and billet moms of the players to the ice,
and the players presented the moms with flowers.
 |
| The Raiders honour their moms and billet moms on Saturday. |
The Blades did the same thing again this season as well.
On Saturday in Prince Albert, the host Raiders had almost an identical ceremony for the moms and billet moms of their players before their 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors.
On Saturday in Prince Albert, the host Raiders had almost an identical ceremony for the moms and billet moms of their players before their 4-3 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors.
When I took pictures of one of the Blades ceremonies, I saw
someone send a message on Twitter to another WHL club asking about doing
something similar.
The pre-game gesture is really meaningful to the moms and
billet moms.
I am not sure if the Blades were the first team to have this
sort of ceremony, but I hope more WHL teams follow what the Blades and Raiders
have done.
Beware of the Wildcats
 |
| Taylor Lind has sparked the surging Wildcats. |
The Wildcats are riding an eight-game winning streak that
started when they returned to action after their Christmas break. The streak
has vaulted Swift Current into third place in the SFMAAAHL standings with a
14-9-1 record.
The Wildcats have surpassed their win total from their
13-11-4 campaign last season.
Star captain Taylor Lind has piled up an incredible 14 goals
and 12 assists during the winning streak. The skilled and gritty centre leads
the SFMAAAHL in scoring with 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points.
The Shaunavon, Sask., product is the second all-time leading
scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL. Lind has one more season of midget eligibility
remaining and could have returned to take a solid run at being the circuit’s
all-time leading scorer.
She is set to graduate from high school a year early and
will play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks next season for
the Lindenwood University Lions women’s hockey team in St. Charles, Missouri.
Lind is the type of player that can will her team to new
heights, and you can bet she will do her best to leave a mark in her final appearance
in the SFMAAAHL playoffs.
 |
| Sara Kendall is having a career season for the Wildcats. |
Veteran 17-year-old forward Carissa Hogan has 11 goals and
13 assists and has come through in the clutch with a team-leading five game
winning goals.
Forward Ashlee Wolfe has found another gear in her
16-year-old season posting career highs in goals (seven) and assists (10).
The Wildcats are anchored by a solid crew on defence in
16-year-old Maddy McCleary and 17-year-old veterans Kate Wagner and Tobi Fontaine.
The team’s netminders in 15-year-old Amaya Girauder and
17-year-old Harper Davey are capable of doing big things, and if they get a big
shot of confidence from this string of success, they could give the Wildcats
another kick upwards in the confidence department.
It should be noted that the Wildcats haven’t beaten the
other three teams sitting in the top four of the SFMAAAHL standings in the
Saskatoon Stars, Regina Rebels and Prince Albert Northern Bears during their
winning streak.
Still, winning brings a lot of confidence, and the Wildcats
will have had lot of opportunity to smooth out their team game.
If they win their final four games in regulation, they will
lock up a third place finish.
The Wildcats return to action on Saturday, when they host
the Melville Prairie Fire at 11:30 a.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.
How far will the Wildcats roll go?
Hounds slip past Gold Wings 5-2
 |
| The Gold Wings celebrated a pair of goals on Tuesday. |
On Tuesday at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn, the Hounds
opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period and skated to a 5-2 victory over the
host Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings in a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey
League regular season contest. The Hounds held a 3-1 lead after the first
period and a 4-2 edge after the second frame.
Sophie Young scored the first two goals of the game for the
Hounds, who received singles from Anna-Liese King, Raea Gilroy and Claire
Nimegeers. Lyndsey Janes had three assists for the Hounds, while Kaitlyn Gilroy
had two helpers.
Mia Chretien and Sierra Meroniuk replied with singles for
the Gold Wings. Payton Mabee had two assists for Weyburn.
Rayanne Mckenzie made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal
for the Hounds (10-9-3). Amara Lewendon turned away 29 shots to take the
setback in net for the Gold Wings (1-22-1).
The Hounds return to action on Thursday, when they travel to
Regina to face the Rebels at 8 p.m. at the Co-operators Centre.
The Gold Wings return to the ice on Friday, when they host
the Prince Albert Northern Bears at 7:30 p.m. at Crescent Point Place.
Back in the Express with Davidson
 |
| Dawson Davidson wants to end his time with the Blades on a high. |
Davidson has appeared in all of the Blades 52 regular season
games and sits second in team scoring with nine goals and 45 assists for 54 points. His assist and point totals are career highs.
The Moosomin, Sask., product cracked into the WHL as a
16-year-old rookie in the 2014-15 campaign with the Kamloops Blazers. He was
traded to the Regina Pats partway through the 2016-17 season and was with the
Pats in their run to the WHL championship series, which they lost in six games to
the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Davidson was traded to the Blades last season. He has been a
key part in helping the Blades push into fifth in the overall WHL standings
with a 30-13-8 record.
The piece on Davidson can be found by clicking right here.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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