Blades take Game 2 overtime classic 3-2 over Warriors

WHL’s Eastern Conference final all even at 1-1

The celebration is on after Fraser Minten scores the OT winner.

Two nights, two overtime classics.

The WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors is pure fire.

In Game 1 on Friday at the SaskTel Centre, star centre Brayden Yager scored at the 12:34 mark of overtime to deliver his Warriors to a 4-3 victory to open the best-of-seven series between the two sides.

In Game 2 played before 9,328 spectators at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday, star centre Fraser Minten played the role of overtime hero for the Blades. With the two sides locked in a 2-2 tie in the extra session, Minten broke into the Warriors zone on a two-on-one break with Lukas Hansen, who was in possession of the puck.

The Blades faithful cheers their team’s overtime winner.

Hansen entered the zone jetting down the right wing and made a backhand pass across the face the Moose Jaw goal to Minten, who was open for a backdoor feed at the left of the net. Minten made no mistake firing home his first game winning and overtime winning goal of the post-season to deliver the Blades to a 3-2 victory to the loudest cheers heard at the SaskTel Centre in the current WHL campaign. The tally came with 6:54 remaining in the extra session.

With the Blades win on Saturday, the Eastern Conference Championship Series is now tied 1-1.

The series now switches back to Moose Jaw for Games 3 and 4 set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. For the few tickets that remain for those contests, purchasers would be wise to pick them up as quickly as possible and get popcorn at the ready.

The Blades pile on top of Fraser Minten after he scored in OT.

With the way Games 1 and 2 played out in Saskatoon, it is highly likely the people attending Games 3 and 4 in Moose Jaw are in for a show. The skill on both sides has shown through, and the speed of how both teams get up and down the ice has been incredible.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne and Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary were constantly juggling their forward lines through the contest trying to find the final push that would give their respective side the edge.

The unsung heroes of the first two games might be Blades breakout netminder Evan Gardner and Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger. Both have come through with some big time saves to date in this series.

Fraser Minten’s OT goal was his first extra time tally of the playoffs.

As for Saturday’s game, the Blades came out with some jump. On an early power play in the first period, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was stopped in close by Unger.

After that big stop by Unger, the Warriors ensured they knocked the Blades fans into silence and gave reason for their fans to cheer like they were back in their team’s raucous old home rink the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was best known as “The Crushed Can.”

At the 12:33 mark of the opening frame, the Warriors broke into the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one with two of their high-end skilled players. Centre Matthew Savoie came down the left wing and made a pass over to star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert. Calvert blew home his fifth of the post-season to put the Warriors up 1-0.

Atley Calvert had the Warriors first goal on Saturday.

Just under five minutes later, Warriors offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker put home a smart midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Parker’s goal was one that would have made his older sister Mackenna, who starred for the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA team from 2014 to 2018, proud.

When first period came to a close, the Warriors held a 2-0 lead with the Blades holding an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.

The Blades rallied in the second. At the 11-minute mark of the frame, Blades star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk slid home a power-play goal from the top of the right faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1. Molendyk’s tally came off the rare four versus three power-play opportunity.

Kalem Parker scored to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

With 2:31 remaining in the second, Lisowsky potted a rebound at the front of the Moose Jaw net from a shot taken by Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov to even the score at 2-2. Sidorov finished the contest with a pair of assists, and he has points in his last four consecutive games piling up eight goals and four assists over that time.

In the final seconds of the second, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager tried to bury a shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net, but he was denied by a right pad kick save Gardner.

The Warriors came out flying in the third holding a 5-1 edge in shots on goal over the first eight minutes of the frame. After that surge, Gardener made a big stop on Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk at the left side of the Saskatoon net.

Tanner Molendyk scored the Blades first goal on Saturday.

The Blades responded with a push back in the second half of the third. Unger stoned Sidorov on a one-time shot from the right wing and later followed up with a big glove save on Lisowsky. That set the stage for overtime.

Early in the extra session, Gardner stoned Yager on a shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net. One of the most challenging moments Gardner had to deal with was collecting a high in the air weird bounce shot at the right side of the Saskatoon net. The netminder has to secure the puck while Warriors left-winger Martin Rysavy was right in his face.

Those stops allowed the Blades to ultimately win the contest on Minten’s winning goal, which actually came about by veteran savvy hard work from Blades gritty right-winger Vaughn Watterodt. Watterodt is skilled at agitating players on the opposition.

Blades fans celebrate a goal from Tanner Molendyk.

Before Minten scored, the Warriors were pressing for the winning tally in the Saskatoon zone. Mateychuk attempted to fire a shot on goal from the point, but his drive was blocked by Watterodt.

The Warriors defenceman followed his shot and attempted to get the puck back from Watterodt. Watterodt used his right stick hand to make a backhanded pass to the right wing that sprung Hansen on the two-on-one with Minten that resulted in the overtime winner.

While making the backhanded pass to Hansen, Watterodt made a quick and slick sleight of hand tug with his left hand on Mateychuk’s stick. That tug caused Mateychuk to tumble on the ice and prevented him from getting back to defend the Blades offensive rush the other way.

Brandon Lisowsky celebrates scoring the equalizer for the Blades.

That sequence happened so fast that depending on what angle you watched it from, you might have thought Mateychuk lost his balance and fell while battling Watterodt for the puck.

Savoie talked to officials on the ice about that whole sequence following Minten’s goal, but his arguments didn’t have any effect on changing the game’s outcome.

Gardner stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Unger turned away 34 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors.

Before the Eastern Conference final between the Blades and Warriors started, the series was expected to be a barnburner.

Brandon Lisowsky fires a shot on goal for the Blades.

During the regular season, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

After two games, the Eastern Conference final so far has managed to actually exceeded expectations of how good it could be.

Egor Sidorov had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Going into Game 3 on Tuesday in Moose Jaw, the Blades roster will get a boost as star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong returns after serving a four-game league imposed suspension. 

Armstrong was suspended for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct in the Blades 2-1 overtime win over the Red Deer Rebels at home on April 14.

Armstrong was given his infractions in Game 2 of that series with the Rebels after he bowled over Red Deer netminder Chase Wutzke.

In 62 regular season game split between the Wenatchee Wild and the Blades in 2023-24, Armstrong recorded 34 goals and 22 assists to go with a plus-24 rating in the plus-minus department. 

Vaughn Watterodt (#18) blocks a shot for the Blades.

In six post-season games with the Blades, Armstrong recorded five goals and three assists to go with a plus-four rating.

His return will give the Blades offence a boost.

Adding another good player is going to further increase the entertainment value of this series. Anyone involved with this series whether you are with the competing teams, game staffers or spectators should soak in the moment, because something special is going down.

Fraser Minten gives a stick to a young fan.

When the dust ultimately settles in this battle between the Blades and Warriors, it will likely be one of those things where you have to smile because it happened.

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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Warriors’ Yager breaks Blades hearts with OT winner

Moose Jaw takes WHL’s Eastern Conference final opener 4-3

The Warriors mob Brayden Yager after their OT win on Friday.

Late great Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports editor Doug McConachie would shaken the hands of any Moose Jaw Warriors fans on Friday night and told them they are supporting a great team.

Game 1 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the visiting Warriors and the host Saskatoon Blades was a post-season classic on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre. McConachie would have enjoyed Friday’s contest between the Warriors and Blades even if the visitors skated away with the biggest highlight of the night that was provided by a Saskatoon area product.

With the two sides locked in a 3-3 tie in overtime, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager roofed a midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to the top right corner of the goal at the 12:34 mark of the extra session to give Moose Jaw a 4-3 victory. 

Blades centre Lukas Hansen processes his team’s OT loss.

Big cheers went up from the sizable contingent of Warriors fans among the 8,973 spectators in attendance in an attempt to resurrect the spirit of team’s former rowdy home rink the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was also known as “The Crushed Can.”

Most of the spectators who were in attendance were cheering faithfully for the Blades. While they no doubt were disappointed by the end result on the scoreboard, they would have to admit Friday’s clash was an outstanding game.

The two sides engaged in a lot of back and forth play. The atmosphere in the building was great with fans often exchanging competing cheers.

Blades 19-year-old star import right-winger Egor Sidorov thrilled with a pair of goals. Warriors captain and offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk showed great presence controlling play on the ice recording a pair of assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Brayden Yager scored the OT winner for the Warriors on Friday.

The host side would get the first good initial jump in the contest.

Just 3:05 into the first period, the Blades broke through on the scoreboard on a goal from 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright. Wright got the puck at the left point, showed great patience, crept down close to the top of the faceoff circle and wired an off-speed shot past Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger.

The Blades continued to pour on the pressure, but Unger stood his ground. Before the midway part of the frame, he made a couple of slick glove saves off Blades left-winger Misha Volotovskii and captain Trevor Wong.

Saskatoon held a 12-3 edge in shots on goal with 10:50 remaining in the opening frame.

Egor Sidorov had a pair of goals for the Blades on Friday.

Before the frame ended, the Warriors came with some push back. Star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert had a close in chance on goal, but he put a shot over top of the Saskatoon goal.

With 3:01 remaining in the first, Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner had to come up big for the hosts. Warriors 19-year-old defenceman Kalem Parker had a couple of close in chances on the Saskatoon net, but Gardner came up with two big stops.

The rebound of the second shot went off to the left side of the Saskatoon net to Warriors veteran left-winger Brayden Schuurman. Schuurman tried to put the puck into the open side of the net, but he was denied by the right toe of Gardner.

In the second, Sidorov continued his hot play from the final two games of his club’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Red Deer Rebels recording six goals and two assists in those outings. Just 1:59 into the second frame of Friday’s game, Sidorov circled in the Moose Jaw zone and fired a midrange shot from just above the top of the left faceoff circle home to put the Blades up 2-0.

Charlie Wright had the Blades first goal on Friday.

The game’s momentum suddenly swung just 14 seconds later when Schuurman scored for the Warriors to cut the Blades lead to 2-1. Warriors centre Lynden Lakovic had the puck in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone and made a drop pass to Schuurman in all alone in front of the Saskatoon net.

Schuurman tucked home his third of the post-season to trim the Blades lead to one goal. The line of Schuurman, Lakovic and right-winger Rilen Kovacevic might have been the forward unit that had the strongest game between the two sides on Friday.

Just under six minutes later, the Warriors evened the score at 2-2 when Calvert deflected home a shot in front of the Saskatoon net taken by Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie midrange from the left side of the goal.

Denton Mateychuk had a pair of assists for the Warriors.

Following Calvert’s tally, dueling chants of “let’s go Warriors” and “let’s go Blades” broke out between the two fan bases in attendance.

Late in the second, Blades star centre Fraser Minten was denied twice on a rush into the Moose Jaw zone, and Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was unable to tuck home the puck at the left of the Moose Jaw net with Unger sprawled out.

With just under a minute to play in the second, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus wired a shot off the crossbar of the Saskatoon net as the visitors just missed a chance to take their first lead in the contest.

Just moments into the third, Kovacevic jetted into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. He tried to put a shot to the top right corner of the net, but he was robbed by a glove save from Gardner.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

With 4:02 remaining in the third, Warriors finally went ahead on the scoreboard when Savoie roofed a shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to the top left corner of the goal to put the visitors up 3-2. Savoie continued to live up to his reputation of being a clutch performer in the post-season building off of what he did in the WHL Playoffs the previous two years as a member of the Winnipeg Ice.

Despite falling behind on the scoreboard the Blades didn’t go away.

With 87 seconds remaining in the third and Gardner pulled for an extra attacker, it was vintage Sidorov as the star right-winger one-timed home a shot from the right wing to force a 3-3 tie and overtime. 

Brayden Schuurman scored the Warriors first goal on Friday.

The tally was Sidorov’s second goal of the contest as he continued to live up to his reputation as being a clutch performer in the post-season built in last year’s and this year’s WHL Playoffs.

Early in overtime, Blades defenceman Grayden Siepmann got stopped on an offensive rush, when his drive was swallowed up by Unger. 

That set the stage for Yager, who was having a fairly quiet night, to come through as the overtime hero for the visitors.

Gardner turned away 22 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Unger stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors.

Alexander Suzdalev, left, is checked by Matthew Savoie.

During the regular season, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Saskatoon advanced through the first two rounds of the WHL Playoffs with an 8-1 mark.

The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark. Moose Jaw advanced through the first two rounds of the WHL Playoffs with an 8-1 mark.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

The Warriors celebrate their OT victory on Friday.

The two sides go at it again in Game 2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. If Game 1 was any indication, fans should have their popcorn at the ready for Game 2 and be ready to be entertained.

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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Which goalie will be “the guy” in Blades versus Warriors?

WHL’s Eastern Conference final opens on Friday

Evan Gardner covers up a puck in goal for the Blades.

How bad does each goalie want it?

It might be unfair to just look at the guys playing between the pipes when it comes to a hockey playoff series, but the reality is the netminders are the first players anyone checks out when a team wins or loses in the post-season. When it comes to the conference championship round in the WHL Playoffs, a goalie making one or two impossible saves usually makes the different in which team moves on and which club heads into the off-season thinking about what might have been.

This year’s WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series features two clubs in search of their first league title as the Saskatoon Blades take on the Moose Jaw Warriors. The best-of-seven series begins on Friday with Game 1 set for 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

This also marks the first time the Eastern Conference final will be an all-Saskatchewan battle since 1993. Back in 1993, the Swift Current Broncos swept away the Regina Pats and advanced to win the WHL title.

In the 2023-24 campaign, the Blades finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and are 8-1 advancing through the first two rounds of the post-season. Saskatoon was also rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Warriors placed fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark and are also 8-1 in advancing through the first two rounds of the post-season.

Saskatoon is in the Eastern Conference final for a second straight year. Moose Jaw is in the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 2012.

Jackson Unger became the Warriors starting goalie this season.

Both teams are loaded at forward.

The Blades front end features captain Trevor Wong, who had 101 points in the regular season coming off 15 goals and 86 assists, star right-winger Egor Sidorov, who has 50 goals and 88 points in the regular season and star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky, who had 42 goals and 80 points in the regular season.

Saskatoon’s other top players up front include star centre Fraser Minten, who is a big prospect of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, Alexander Suzdalev, star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong, while Vaughn Watterodt, Lukas Hansen and Rowan Calvert provide great depth.

The Blades will be without Armstrong for the first two games of the Eastern Conference final as he finishes out a four-game suspension for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct in the Blades 2-1 overtime win over the Red Deer Rebels at home on April 14. 

Armstrong was given his infractions in Game 2 of the series with the Rebels after he bowled over Red Deer netminder Chase Wutzke.

The Warriors counter with 19-year-old star centre Jagger Firkus up front, who lead the WHL in regular season scoring with 126 points coming off 61 goals and 65 assists. Atley Calvert, who is a 20-year-old centre, had 47 goals and 95 points in the regular season for the Warriors, while centre Brayden Yager, who turned 19-years-old in January, had 35 goals and 95 points in the regular season.

Moose Jaw’s other top players up front include savvy veteran Matthew Savoie, Brayden Schuurman and Czech import Martin Rysavy, while Lynden Lakovic, Pavel McKenzie, Rilen Kovacevic and Ethan Semeniuk provide sound depth.

Trevor Wong posted 101 points in the regular season.

Both squads are sound on defence.

The Blades have no problem rolling out a group of seven on the back end in Tanner Molendyk, Charlie Wright, Ben Saunderson, John Babcock, Grayden Siepmann, Nicholas Andrusiak and Morgan Tastad. The Warriors counter with captain Denton Mateychuk, Kalem Parker, Lucas Brenton, Connor Schmidt and Czech product Vojtech Port.

In goal, the starters for both teams weren’t WHL starters a season ago. All eyes will be focusing to see how they handle the bright lights of the Eastern Conference final.

Evan Gardner had an outstanding breakout rookie campaign for the Blades. Gardner, who turned 18-years-old in January, appeared in 30 regular season games for the Blades posting a 21-5-2 record, a 1.91 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and four shutouts. The Fort St. John, B.C., product’s goals against average was the lowest in the WHL and his save percentage topped the circuit.

In the WHL Playoffs, Gardner has appeared in eight games for the Blades posting a 7-0 record, a 1.66 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout.

Unger is in his third season with the Warriors, and he has improved as he has carried the starter’s load in the 2023-24 campaign. In 54 appearances in the regular season, Unger, who turned 19-years-old in January, posted a 35-15-2 record, a 3.08 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and three shutouts. 

In nine appearances in the WHL Playoffs, Unger has posted an 8-1 record, a 3.29 goals against average, a .903 save percentage.

Jagger Firkus topped the WHL in regular season scoring.

If Gardner struggles, the Blades can turn to a star backup in Austin Elliott. Elliott, who is 19-years-old, was the Blades starter through the regular season and started the first game of the post-season dropping a 4-3 decision to the Prince Albert Raiders at the SaskTel Centre.

If Unger falters, the Warriors would have to turn to 17-year-old rookie Dimitri Fortin or have to dress 19-year-old veteran Evan May.

Going into Eastern Conference final, one would have to give the Blades the edge in net with Gardner’s performance this season and the fact the Blades can turn to Elliott if need be.

Still, the opportunity is there for the netminders on either side to create a reputation at the WHL level of being a championship level clutch puck stopper. Now we get to see who will be “the guy” in net and take their game to the next level.

Cougars, Winterhawks battle for Western Conference title

Zac Funk led the WHL with 67 goals in the regular season.

The heavyweight showdown that was expected at the start of the WHL Playoffs will take place in the WHL’s Western Conference Championship Series.

The Prince George Cougars will face the Portland Winterhawks in a best-of-seven set to determine who advances to the WHL Championship Series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the CN Centre in Prince George.

The Cougars finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 49-15-1-3 mark and have gone 8-1 in the post-season. Prince George topped the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Winterhawks finished third overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 mark and have won all eight of their outings in the post-season. Portland was rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Cougars are making their first appearance in the Western Conference final since 2007. The Cougars franchise has won one WHL title coming back in 1981, when the club was located in Victoria.

Since setting up shop in Portland on June 11, 1976, the Winterhawks have been one of the WHL’s most storied teams winning three league titles in 1982, 1998 and 2013. They also captured the Memorial Cup as CHL champions on two occasions in 1983 and 1998.

This will be Portland’s first appearance in the Western Conference final since 2015.

The Winterhawks were the original Edmonton Oil Kings franchise that existed in the Alberta capital from 1950 to 1976. During those years as the Oil Kings, the franchise claimed WHL titles in 1971 and 1972. The franchise won Memorial Cup titles in 1963 and 1966 before the WHL played its inaugural campaign in 1966-67.

Gabe Klassen had 106 points in the regular season.

Zac Funk, who is the Cougars 20-year-old star right-winger, topped the WHL regular season with 67 goals and finished second in scoring with 123 points. Forwards Riley Heidt, Terik Parascak and Ondrej Becher give the Cougars high end firepower up front.

Hudson Thornton, who is 20-years-old, topped the Cougars in defence scoring with 74 points coming off 18 goals and 56 assists.

Joshua Ravensbergen has had a breakout season as a 17-year-old rookie netminder for the Cougars. In 38 appearances in the regular season, Ravensberger posted a 26-4-2 record, a 2.46 goals against average, a .907 save percentage and six shutouts.

Star 20-year-old centre Gabe Klassen led the Winterhawks in regular season scoring with 106 points coming off 35 goals and 71 assists. James Stefan, Nate Danielson and Josh Davies give the Winterhawks explosive firepower up front.

Star 19-year-old defenceman Luca Cagnoni topped the WHL in defence scoring during the regular season with 90 points coming off 18 goals and 72 assists.

Jan Spunar, who is the Winterhawks star Czech import netminder, has had a stellar campaign. In 35 appearances in the regular season, he posted a 25-6-3 record, a 2.12 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts.

Due to the distance between Prince George and Portland, the Western Conference Championship Series will be conducted in a two-three-two format. The Cougars host Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, while the Winterhawks host Games 3, 4 and 5.

Overall, this series has the potential to be an all-time classic.

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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Blades’ Priestner one day should get executive of the year nod

From left, Colin Priestner with Trevor Wong and Steve Hildebrand.

Colin Priestner is a hockey guy.

Actually, he has been a hockey guy for some time now.

There was a time Priestner was known for being a folk-rock singer and songwriter, a high level tennis player, and a car dealership owner. Those were all roles he had filled at one point before his family bought the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades before start of the 2013-14 campaign, where father Mike assumed majority ownership of the club. Colin, who was 29-years-old at the time, became a managing partner of the team in early September of 2013.

Fast forward to the current day, and the now 40-year-old Priestner is the veteran general manager and president of the Blades. His Blades topped the WHL regular season standings in 2023-24 with a 50-13-2-3 record. They have made the Eastern Conference Championship Series for a second straight year.

The Blades open the best-of-seven conference championship series against the Moose Jaw Warriors this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. It will mark the first time since the 1993 post-season the Eastern Conference Championship Series will be an all-Saskatchewan battle. Back in 1993, the Swift Current Broncos swept away the Regina Pats 4-0 and advanced on to win the WHL Championship Series in seven games against the Portland Winterhawks.

This year’s Eastern Conference final has the potential to be a classic with the Warriors having finished fifth overall in the WHL regular season with a 44-21-0-3 mark. Both the Blades and Warriors are in search of their first WHL championship.

One day, Priestner should be tabbed as the winner of the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s executive of the year. It is actually too bad he didn’t win that honour last year or was named to be up for that honour this year.

Colin Priestner pictured in the Blades dressing room in 2016.

With that said, Seattle Thunderbirds general manager Bil La Forge took that honour on a league level a year ago and Warriors general manager Jason Ripplinger is the nominee for the East Division, which the Blades play out of, this year. Both are long time good executives, and you can’t argue against their respective nods.

Still, Priestner in the current day is best known as being the general manager of the Blades, and he has built a reputation of being an outstanding executive. When he became the Blades general manager before the start of the 2016-17 campaign, you can bet there was some skepticism around that move.

At that time, Priestner was still viewed as more of a hockey outsider and was thought of being a folk-rock singer and songwriter, a high level tennis player, and a car dealership owner. Of course, the thought was out there Priestner was able to hold the role of Blades general manager because his father was the majority owner of the team.

Colin’s younger brother, James Priestner, was known as the hockey guy in the family. James was a goalie in the WHL suiting up for the Kamloops Blazers, Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince George Cougars from 2007 to 2011. These days James is the frontman and chief songwriter Vancouver based band Rare Americans.

As the Blades were stuck in a lengthy rebuild due to the fact the Priestner family bought the team after hosting the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup - in 2013, the club turned heads trying new things on the business promotion side with theme nights, which included a Star Wars Night on November 28, 2015. There were people around the WHL that didn’t know at the time what to make of the Blades trying out new things on the promotional side.

Early on in his time as Blades general manager, you could sense Colin had a pretty good grasp of what he was taking on. He grew into his role quite quickly, and it safe to say he learned lessons observing various general managers he saw during his time on the circuit.

During his first season in the league in 2013-14, Lorne Molleken was still serving as the Blades general manager. While the Priestners would move in a new direction parting ways with Molleken following the 2013-14 campaign, Colin likely learned what it was like to have a strong and good passion for the team and how to treat people with class.

Colin Priestner, left, with Aidan De La Gorgendiere in 2017.

Molleken, in the roles of head coach and general manager, tried his hardest to see the Blades become WHL and Memorial Cup title winners. The Blades had a lot of great teams under Molleken’s watch, but they weren’t able to achieve those two much desired championship wins. No matter where Molleken goes in life, he will always be a member of the Blades, and Priestner got see what it was like when a team is more than a team.

Priestner got to see how former Brandon Wheat Kings head coach, general manager and owner Kelly McCrimmon, who is currently the general manager of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, built a team. McCrimmon is best known for being the master when it comes to making trades.

During his second season as the Blades general manager in 2017-18, Priestner showed how skilled he could be on the trade front leading and on the WHL Trade Deadline of January 10, 2018. The Blades at the time were trying to end a playoff drought that spanned four consecutive seasons. They were battling for a playoff spot in an East Division when that division might have been the toughest it has ever been.

Priestner made a series of deals that allowed the roster to still compete for a playoff berth that season, but really set the club to take off the following season. The Blades two best players in star centre Cameron Hebig and Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek were sent to the Memorial Cup hosting Pats as 19-year-old veterans.

On top of various draft picks that came back, the Blades landed 19-year-old offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson and 16-year-old forward prospect Tristen Robins from the Pats. Saskatoon also acquired 19-year-old star centre Max Gerlach from the Medicine Hat Tigers and centre Eric Florchuk from the Victoria Royals.

The Blades would finish with a 35-33-3-1 record finishing seventh overall in Eastern Conference, but with the playoff rules at the time mirroring the current NHL post-season rules, the Blades missed the playoffs by three points.

Colin Priestner, left, with Mitch Love in 2019.

The moves Priestner made were the right ones as Davidson, Gerlach, Florchuk and Robins would play key roles helping the Blades finish fourth overall in the WHL standings in 2018-19 with a 45-15-8 mark. Robins would become one of the Blades top players for the next three seasons. Priestner had found lots of success on the trade front since that time.

Another person Priestner likely picked up tips from came from observing Lethbridge Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt.

One day after the 2017-18 campaign ended, Priestner released head coach Dean Brockman, who was about 16 years older than Priestner. While Brockman was a great coach with a lengthy resume of success at the junior A level with the Humboldt Broncos, things just didn’t work out with him and Priestner. Those things happen in the world of hockey and no hard feelings are kept.

At a time when WHL teams often recycled veteran head coaches, Anholt out in Lethbridge hired 32-year-old Brent Kisio to be his head coach with the Hurricanes before the start of the 2015-16 campaign. Kisio had been a long time assistant coach with the Calgary Hitmen and was more than ready for a head coach opportunity.

Anholt went back to a previous era in the WHL, when the circuit saw a lot of good younger head coaches move on to the professional ranks. The Hurricanes experienced a fair amount of success with Kisio as head coach before he moved on to join the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL as an assistant coach.

Priestner went the younger route and hit grand slams with his next two head coach hires. In May of 2018, Priestner hired then 33-year-old Mitch Love to be the Blades head coach.

Love had been a long time Everett Silvertips assistant coach before joining the Blades. The Blades were one of the WHL’s top tier teams in the three seasons Love served as head coach before moving on to the professional ranks. He is currently an assistant coach with the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

Colin Priestner speaks at a press conference in 2019.

After Love left for the professional ranks, Priestner hired the Blades current head coach Brennan Sonne on July 21, 2021. Sonne was 34-years-old when he came to the Blades. He has been a Silvertips assistant coach for three seasons and head coach of the Angers club in the professional league in France for four seasons.

Before Sonne became Saskatoon’s head coach, the last time the Blades were in the Eastern Conference final was back in 1994, when Molleken was guiding the team as head coach. It is a safe bet to believe Sonne is going to get a professional opportunity sooner than later, but Blades fans can hope Sonne decides he could be to the Blades what Brian Kilrea was to the Ottawa 67’s.

Priestner likely picked up some lessons studying Medicine Hat Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. The biggest lessons there would be invest in and have empathy for your players.

Arguably the best work Priestner did as general manager was helping a pair of his best players in Aidan De La Gorgendiere and Egor Sidorov navigate rough waters there are no textbooks for.

De La Gorgendiere had to deal with the passing of his mother, Marla Meginbir, due to cancer on November 12, 2019 at age 51. At the time, De La Gorgendiere was skating through his 17-year-old sophomore season.

In the past, it was common that careers for WHL players that deal with the passing of a parent don’t end up being as successful as they should have been. The passing of a parent is a lot for a teenage aged player to deal with.

From left, Les Lazaruk, Colin Priestner and Lorne Molleken in 2022.

With Priestner’s help in that situation, De La Gorgendiere went on to become the Blades captain in his last two seasons with the club in 2021-22 and 2022-23 before graduating from the major junior ranks. He still has the potential to be in the NHL one day but at the moment is looking after his schooling playing for the storied University of Alberta Golden Bears Men’s Hockey Team in the U Sports ranks.

Sidorov is current the Blades star 19-year-old right-winger from Belarus, who posted 50 goals, 38 assists and a plus-eight rating in 66 contest in the 2023-24 regular season for the Blades. Late in Sidorov’s 17-year-old rookie season with the Blades, Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, and Belarus supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Due the instability in that part of the world, it was decided that Sidorov would remain in Canada. Priestner went the extra mile dealing with immigration to allow Sidorov to remain in the country.

With the support of Priestner and the Blades, Sidorov had a stellar 2022-23 campaign recording 40 goals, 36 assists and a plus-25 rating in 53 regular season games. He posted nine goals, 10 assists and plus-three rating in 16 appearances in the 2023 WHL Playoffs.

That resulted in Sidorov being selected in the third round and 85^th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Ducks on April 3.

Once he was drafted by the Ducks, Sidorov made it back to Belarus to visit his family.

If you’re a parent and you saw how spectacularly Priestner handled De La Gorgendiere’s and Sidorov’s situations, you would want your kid to play for the Saskatoon Blades.

Colin Priestner hugs Blades star RW Egor Sidorov.

Once viewed as the hockey outsider, Priestner has grown into an elite level general manager. On the side, he could still craft a good song or show off a few tricks on the tennis court when those opportunities present themselves too.

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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Sweep away - Blades turn out the lights on Rebels

Saskatoon advances to WHL Eastern Conference final

Alexander Suzdalev (#91) chases down a puck. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Like a young Mike Tyson, the Saskatoon Blades landed the knockout blow early.

“The Bridge City Bunch” pounced on a host Red Deer Rebels side that was compromised entering Game 4 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two sides. For the second straight night, the Rebels played a game without both of their regular goaltenders.

Second-year netminder Rhett Stoesser was out due to an undisclosed ailment. Stoesser has yet to dress for a game in the series against the Blades.

Breakout rookie puck stopper Chase Wutzke was out with an undisclosed injury. In the Blades 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2 on Sunday in Saskatoon, Wutzke was bowled over by Blades overage star left-winger Easton Armstrong on an offensive rush at the 5:59 mark of the third when the contest was tied 1-1.

Armstrong was given a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. On Monday, he was suspended by the WHL, and the league finalized that suspension at four games on Wednesday. Wutzke finished Game 2 playing heroically making 47 saves in the extra time setback.

With Stoesser and Wutzke out, the Rebels started associate player call up Taylor Tabashniuk, who turned 17-years-old in March, in net for a second straight night. He played this season with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team before joining the Rebels.

Peyton Shore suited up as the Rebels backup goalie as an associated player call up. Shore, who is 15-years-old, played this season for the Rink Hockey Academy’s Under-17 team in his hometown of Winnipeg, Man.

On top of the netminders who were out, the Rebels were without overage defenceman Elias Carmichael with a lower body injury. Carmichael did not appear at all in the 2024 WHL post-season.

Ben Saunderson (#2) makes a poke check. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Also, Rebels import right-winger Frantisek Formanek was out serving a one-game league imposed suspension for being assessed a spearing major and a game misconduct in the third period of the Blades 8-5 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday. Associate player call up Steven Steranka, who is 16-years-old, suited up for his first WHL game be it the regular season or playoffs after playing all of this past season with the Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team before joining the Rebels.

In Game 4 on Wednesday, the Blades stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and cruised to a 7-0 victory before 4,415 spectators. The win allowed the Blades to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0.

For a second straight year, the Blades advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series. They will play the winner of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Swift Current Broncos.

The Warriors downed the Broncos 5-2 in Game 4 of that series on Wednesday at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current to take a 3-1 lead in that set. The Warriors will try and close out that series Friday when they host the Broncos at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, which is also known as “The Hanger.”

Saskatoon’s series win over Red Deer means the Eastern Conference Championship series will be an all-Saskatchewan battle for the first time since 1993. Back in 1993, the Broncos swept the Regina Pats 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championships Series. Swift Current advanced to the WHL Championship Series where they got past the Portland Winterhawks in seven games.

As for Wednesday’s encounter between the Blades and Rebels, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov played the role of Tyson in Wednesday’s romp recording a hat trick, two assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department. He got things started wiring home his first of the contest from the top of the left faceoff circle just 3:12 into the opening frame to put the visitors up 1-0.

With Sidorov’s first goal, the Blades have now opened the scoring in all nine of their games in the 2024 post-season.

The Blades and Rebels scrum it up. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Just under three minutes later, the Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 on a short-handed goal by centre Rowan Calvert. Left-winger Misha Volotovskii sprung Calvert on a breakaway, and he went forehand to backhand putting his second of the post-season by Tabashniuk to give the Blades their two-goal edge.

With 3:12 remaining in the opening frame, Sidorov netted his second of the contest to give the Blades a 3-0 advantage. The 19-year-old, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, came in on the right side of the Red Deer net and put home a spinorama backhand shot.

Sidorov proceeded to pick up his first assist of the night on the Blades fourth goal. With 72 seconds remaining in the first, Sidorov got the puck to star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky. Lisowsky broke into the Red Deer zone and slipped a backhand shot five-hole on Tabashniuk to put the Blades up 4-0 heading into the first intermission.

The Blades built their 4-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal.

Just 2:15 into the second, Sidorov completed his hat trick. He jetted in the Red Deer zone chasing a dump in or a missed stretch pass from offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk.

The puck hit the back boards in the Red Deer zone and bounced right out to an approaching Sidorov. Sidorov potted home a shot where he put his stick between his legs for his 10^th goal of the post-season to give the Blades a 5-0 edge.

At the 13:03 mark of the third, Sidorov had a sweet helper on the tally that put the Blades in front 6-0 on the scoreboard. Holding the puck inside the icing line in the Red Deer end off to the right of the Rebels goal, Sidorov made a smart pass to Blades star centre Fraser Minten. Minten slid home his fifth of the post-season to give the Blades their six-goal edge.

Nicholas Andrusiak (#53) sets defensively. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

The Rebels ran into more tough luck as offensive-defenceman Hunter Mayo was given a double minor for high-sticking at the 3:33 mark of the third. That infraction will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

On the first half of the four-minute power-play, Blades import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev rounded out the game’s scoring potting home a shot from a sharp angle at the left side of the Red Deer net at the 4:52 mark of the third.

Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner had a solid night stopping all 26 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Blades. He made a huge stop on a Rebels power-play opportunity late in the third period to preserve his shutout bid.

Rebels offensive-defenceman Mats Lindgren sprung Rebels overage winger Carson Latimer on a contested breakaway. Latimer fired a shot on goal that was denied by a blocker stop from Gardner.

Lisowsky had a pair of assists to go with his goal. Blades defencemen Ben Saunderson and Nicholas Andrusiak each had two assists. Saskatoon was without utility forward Tyler Parr who has missed the team’s last five games with an undisclosed injury.

Tabashniuk turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels. His post-season starts in Games 3 and 4 were his first two career WHL games played in either the regular season or post-season.

Coming into the series between the Blades and Rebels, the Blades were tabbed as the favourites. They topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Rebels had an up and down regular season finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and eighth overall on the circuit with a 33-26-3-6 mark.

Last year when the Blades and Rebels met in an Eastern Conference semifinal, the Rebels claimed the first three games of the set, and the Blades rallied back to take the next four games to take the series 4-3. The Blades became just the third team in this history of the WHL to face an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series to rally back to take the set 4-3.

The Blades and Rebels shake hands. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

This year, the Blades didn’t need any comeback dramatics to eliminate the Rebels from the post-season. Outside of chaotic win in Game 3, the Blades played strong hockey and were full marks in sweeping the Rebels out of the WHL Playoffs.

The Blades were also opportunistic. When the Rebels encountered some rotten luck due to injuries and ailments on the goaltending front, an injury to an overage defensive-defenceman in Carmichael and a suspension to key winger in Formanek, the Blades showed no mercy when it came to piling up the goals.

When the moment came to eliminate a foe with short-handed roster, the Blades cashed in. Now, they move on to play a post-season series where the winner gets a trophy and a banner.

Huge thanks to Lachance for photo help

A big thank you goes out to Red Deer Rebels team photographer Taylor Lachance for the photos that appear in this post.

He did a tremendous job with these photos. The WHL has a tonne of talented team photographers, and they do an outstanding job of capturing memorable moments on the major junior circuit.

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Blades outgun Rebels 8-5

Saskatoon takes commanding 3-0 series lead on Red Deer

Ben Saunderson (#2) battles on the boards. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

It hadn’t been this easy to score since the original Woodstock in 1969.

On Tuesday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the goals came in bunches as the Saskatoon Blades faced the host Red Deer Rebels in Game 3 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The game was an entertaining one for the 4,411 spectators in attendance, but it was also likely a nightmare for the coaching staffs of both teams.

When the dust settled, the Blades skated away with an 8-5 victory and a seventh straight win in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Blades take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Saskatoon will attempt to close out the series in Game 4 set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

Game 3 began with a surprise as associate player call up Taylor Tabashniuk, who turned 17-years-old in March, started the contest in goal for Red Deer. Tabashniuk was playing his first career WHL game in either the regular season or post-season. He played this season with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team before joining the Rebels.

Peyton Shore suited up as the Rebels backup goalie as an associated player call up. Shore, who is 15-years-old, played this season for the Rink Hockey Academy’s Under-17 team in his hometown of Winnipeg, Man.

The Rebels had to dress the associated player call ups as both of their regular netminders were out of the lineup. Second-year netminder Rhett Stoesser was out due to an undisclosed ailment. Stoesser has yet to dress for a game in the series against the Blades.

Breakout rookie puck stopper Chase Wutzke was out with an undisclosed injury. In the Blades 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2 on Sunday in Saskatoon, Wutzke was bowled over by Blades overage star left-winger Easton Armstrong on an offensive rush at the 5:59 mark of the third when the contest was tied 1-1.

Armstrong was given a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. On Monday, he was suspended by the WHL with the length of the suspension to be determined.

Tanner Molendyk (#24) controls the puck. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Wutzke finished Game 2 playing heroically making 47 saves in the extra time setback.

In Game 3, the Rebels were thwarted on the first scoring chance of the contest just 13 seconds into the game. Rebels gritty left-winger Carson Birnie backhanded centred a pass from the right wing of the Saskatoon zone to the front of the Blades net to Rebels star centre and captain Kai Uchacz.

The puck deflected off Uchacz’s skate towards the Saskatoon net, but Blades breakout star rookie netiminder Evan Gardner made a sharp stop to keep the game scoreless. No one could have suspected the goal gusher that was to come at that time.

Shortly after that stop, the flood of goals started. Just 2:36 into the opening frame, Blades 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright fired home a shot from the left faceoff dot to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

The Rebels responded 14 seconds later when overage winger Carson Latimer, who was a one-time member of the Prince Albert Raiders, slid home a low shot to the right side of the Saskatoon net to even the score at 1-1. The officials video reviewed the tally and confirmed the goal did indeed count.

At the 7:31 mark of the first, Blades centre Rowan Calvert fired home a shot from the left faceoff circle to put the visitors back in front 2-1. 

Just 20 seconds later, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov blew down the right wing and got in alone on the Red Deer net. He snapped home a shot to the low left side of the Red Deer goal to give the Blades a 3-1 advantage.

With 8:24 remaining in the first, Birnie scored a short-handed goal off a midrange shot from the right wing boards to cut the Blades lead to 3-2.

The offensive surge continued in the second. Just 2:16 into the frame, Rebels second-year defenceman Quentin Bourne, who was playing right wing, fired home his first career WHL goal in either the WHL regular season or post-season to even the score at 3-3.

Kai Uchacz (#19) gets tied up. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

The Blades jumped back out in front 4-3 just 41 seconds later on the smart play by captain Trevor Wong. Rebels offensive-defenceman Mats Lindgren was slow to get possession of a loose puck in his own zone, and Wong stole the puck right out from under the rearguard. Wong quickly snapped a shot past Tabashniuk to give the visitors a one-goal edge once again.

With the teams playing four-versus-four hockey due to off-setting penalties, Sidorov scored his second of the contest to push the Blades lead out to 5-3.

As is a traditional Rebels trait, they didn’t quit. With 4:58 remaining in the second, Rebels star winger Kalan Lind scored on a wraparound to cut the Blades lead to 5-4.

After Lind’s goal, the Blades elected to pull Gardner. He stopped 16-of-20 shots sent his way. Austin Elliott turned away 16-of-17 shots playing the rest of the way in relief and would end up picking up the win in goal for the visitors.

Following the goaltender change, Sidorov proceeded to complete his hat trick tallying with 1:25 remaining in the second to give the Blades a 6-4 advantage heading into the second intermission.

The Blades pushed their edge out to 7-4 at the 6:27 mark of the third. Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky received a smart pass in the left slot from Wong and fired home his third of the post-season to give the visitors their three-goal edge.

At that point, the Rebels appeared to be sinking in quicksand. With 10:42 remaining in the third, Rebels import right-winger Frantisek Formanek pitch forked Blades defensive centre Lukas Hansen in the gut.

Formanek was given a major penalty for spearing and a game misconduct. His infraction will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Rebels proceeded to show more resilience as gritty left-winger Talon Brigley elected to make the highlight reels. While working the kill for Formanek’s major, Brigley took the puck away from Sidorov in the Red Deer zone.

Talon Brigley had a sweet goal. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Brigley jetting down the ice into the Saskatoon zone down the left wing, put a spinorama move on Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk and roofed home a shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net for a short-handed goal to trim the visitor’s lead to 7-5. The Blades finished 1-for-4 on the power play in the contest, while giving up two short-handed goals.

A short time after Brigley’s goal, Uchacz had a dangerous chance to score, but he was stopped by Elliott, who was able to freeze the puck. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne called a timeout after that chance to settle his players down and get them to refocus for the rest of the frame.

With 3:13 remaining in the third, the Rebels pulled Tabashniuk for an extra attacker. Hansen scored his first of the post-season into an empty net with 1:20 remaining in the third to round out the 8-5 final in favour of the Blades.

Tabashniuk turned away 31-of-38 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.

Wong collected three assists to go with his goal for a four-point night. Lisowsky had a pair of assists to go with his goal for a three-point night.

If the Blades are able to wrap up the series in Game 4 on Wednesday, they will ensure the Eastern Conference Championship Series will be an all-Saskatchewan battle for the first time since 1993. The winner of the series between the Blades and Rebels will face the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Swift Current Broncos.

On Tuesday, the Warriors downed the Broncos 5-3 in Swift Current in Game 3 of that series to take a 2-1 lead in that set.

Back in 1993, the Broncos swept the Regina Pats 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championships Series. Swift Current advanced to the WHL Championship Series where they got past the Portland Winterhawks in seven games.

Coming into the series between the Blades and Rebels, the Blades were tabbed as the favourites. They topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They took down their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a first round series.

The Blades celebrate their win. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

The Rebels had an up and down regular season finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and eighth overall on the circuit with a 33-26-3-6 mark. They took out one of their biggest rivals in the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in a first round series.

Last year when the Blades and Rebels met in an Eastern Conference semifinal, the Rebels claimed the first three games of the set, and the Blades rallied back to take the next four games to take the series 4-3. The Blades became just the third team in this history of the WHL to face an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series to rally back to take the set 4-3.

The Rebels face a bigger challenge to rally back to win this year’s series than the Blades did a year ago. Red Deer will try to make a series comeback, but it appears the Blades have way too much in their favour to let this one slip away.

Huge thanks to Lachance for photo help

A big thank you goes out to Red Deer Rebels team photographer Taylor Lachance for the first five photos that appear in this post.

He did a tremendous job with these photos. The WHL has a tonne of talented team photographers, and they do an outstanding job of capturing memorable moments on the major junior circuit.

Armstrong’s suspension could linger for Blades, other notes

Easton Armstrong in action on Sunday for the Blades.

Everyone on the Saskatoon Blades might be holding their collective breath with regards to how long Easton Armstrong’s latest suspension could run.

On Monday, the WHL suspended Armstrong for a length still to be determined for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct in the Blades 2-1 overtime victory over the Red Deer Rebels in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Armstrong, who is the Blades star overage left-winger, was suspended for bowling over Rebels breakout rookie netminder Chase Wutzke at the 5:59 mark of the third period, when the contest was tied 1-1.

Wutzke finished that contest making 47 saves in a heroic performance. He missed the Rebels 8-5 setback in Game 3 on Tuesday in Red Deer against the Blades with an undisclosed injury.

Armstrong’s suspension on Monday marks the third time in the last two seasons where he has been suspended by the WHL. In the Blades 3-2 regular season victory over the Broncos in Swift Current on February 10, Armstrong was given a major penalty for goaltender interference and a game misconduct resulting in a two game suspension.

In February of 2023, Armstrong served a two-game suspension for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct as a member of the Winnipeg Ice.

The WHL is likely evaluating Armstrong’s status as a repeat offender before offering an official ruling on his latest suspension.

Armstrong was acquired by the Blades in a trade very early in the 2023-24 campaign with the Wenatchee Wild. In 62 regular season games played between the Wild and Blades, Armstrong had career highs in goals (34), assists (22), points (56) and plus-minus rating (plus-24).

In six post-season games with the Blades, Armstrong has posted five goals, three assists and a plus-four rating.

• Offensive-defenceman and captain Denton Mateychuk had a pair of goals including the winner and an assist to power the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 5-3 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday. The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the set. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current.
• Left-winger Matteo Danis score 82 seconds into overtime to deliver the Prince George Cougars to a 4-3 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna in Game 3 of a Western Conference semifinal series. With the win, the Cougars lead the series 3-0. Prince George will try to close out the set in Game 4 on Wednesday set for 7 p.m. local time at Prospera Place in Kelowna.
• The Portland Winterhawks are leading their Western Conference semifinal 3-0 over the Everett Silvertips. They will try to close out the set in Game 4 on Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. The Winterhawks took Game 3 of the series 4-3 in overtime in Game 3 on Monday. Offensive-defenceman Carter Sotheran had the overtime winner for the Winterhawks. The series between the Winterhawks and Silvertips has faced the challenge of having to schedule around events at Everett’s rink.

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.