Blades handled Malysjev departure well - D-man has to do what is best for him

Emil Malysjev elected to leave the Blades to play closer to home.

    In his one season with the Saskatoon Blades, Emil Malysjev left you wanting to see more.

    That makes his departure from the team tough to see. After going unselected in the NHL Entry Draft that was held June 21 and 22 in Vancouver, B.C., Malysjev informed the Blades he was staying in his home country of Sweden to pursue career opportunities in the game there.

    As a result, he wouldn’t be returning for an 18-year-old sophomore campaign in the WHL.

    Malysjev had informed the Blades brass for a lengthy stretch after the team’s playoff run came to an end what his thought process was. The club started preparing for the fact the Malysjev wouldn’t be back.

    That included selecting two defencemen from the Czech Republic in the CHL Import Draft held via conference call on Thursday in 19-year-old Libor Zabransky and Radek Kucerik, who will turn 18-years-old in December.

Emil Malysjev was solid in his own zone.

    Zabransky has played in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets, but after the Rockets released him on Jan. 12, he became available again for the Import Draft.

    In Malysjev’s case, the Blades did what was best for the player. He felt more comfortable staying home, and the team showed understanding and let him do what he thought was best for him.

    The majority of the players in the WHL are teenagers, and when all is said and done, about 90 per cent of them won’t skate in an NHL regular season game as a player.

    All players coming into the WHL will wrestle with the fact that one day they will no longer be active players in the game at a competitive level including the ones that go on to have NHL careers.

Emil Malysjev improved steadily throughout the 2018-19 season.

    You have to weigh if the experience you gain being away from home playing in the WHL is worth it. For every player, that evaluation will be different.

    For imports like Malysjev, you have to add in the fact he left his home country and family and friends behind to cross an ocean to play hockey in a new country and a new city. Import players have to work through learning and adjusting to a new culture and often a new language on top of figuring out what their new team expects from them.

    Malysjev was taking on all of that as a 17-year-old, but he did have an advantage in the fact he could speak English fluently.

    The blue-liner, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 190 pounds, was succeeding on all fronts.

Emil Malysjev could potentially make noise on the international stage.

    He improved greatly as the season progressed. Paired with overager Dawson Davidson, Malysjev appeared in 63 regular season games with the Blades posting three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Malysjev skated in all 10 of the Blades post-season games scoring a goal and posting an even-rating.

    He was rated 192^nd among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

    With Davidson and fellow overage defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus exhausting their major junior eligibility at the conclusion of the Blades run in the WHL playoffs, Malysjev was initially pegged at being a key returnee for the team.

Emil Malysjev was solid in his one full season with the Blades.

    However, that won’t be the case.

    With the improvement Malysjev showed last season, one had to wonder how much he would have improved had played with the Blades as an 18-year-old or even as a 19-year-old.

    Still, Malysjev might still find his way to the NHL or even a lengthy professional career playing in Sweden or somewhere in Europe. Some of the Blades might cross paths with Malysjev on the international stage.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him possibly skating with Sweden’s world junior team some day.

    Malysjev is doing what his best for him. As a teenager, he is still growing on many levels, and now he will continue that growth near the support system of his family and friends.

    The Blades helped him take a big leap forward in the game during his season in Saskatoon. Now, they are helping him by letting him go home, which is what he had his heart set on doing.

Raiders’ Kelly receives sweet Senators award again

Parker Kelly was a repeat award winner at Senators development camp.

    Parker Kelly was rewarded for the second straight year for a strong showing at the development camp of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

    On Friday, the Prince Albert Raiders power forward was presented the Jonathan Pitre Memorial Trophy as the hardest working player at the Senators development camp for a second straight year.

    The Camrose, Alta., product was a co-winner of the inaugural edition of the award last year with Brady Tkachuk.

    The award is named after Jonathan Pitre, who was also known as the “Butterfly Boy.” Pitre passed away in April of 2018 from recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, which is a rare genetic mutation that causes the skin to blister and fall off at the slightest touch.

Parker Kelly (#27) played a key part helping the Raiders win the WHL title.

    He bonded with many of the Senators players and was named an honourary scout for the team in 2014. Pitre raised more than $200,000 for research of the disease.

    Last season, Kelly had a big campaign for the Raiders setting career highs in goals (35), assists (32) and points (67) in 64 regular season games. He posted a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department, which was also a career high.

    Kelly helped the Raiders win the WHL championship posting eight goals, nine assists and a plus-19 rating appearing in all of the team’s 23 games in the WHL playoffs.

Parker Kelly lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    He is eligible to return to the Raiders as an overage player next season. Kelly signed an entry-level contract with the Senators in September of 2017 after a strong showing at their training camp that year, and it is highly likely he will play next season somewhere in the Senators system.

    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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Remarkable season breathes new life into Blades

The Blades give a final salute to the SaskTel Centre crowd on Sunday.

    Apathy had to be the biggest concern for the Saskatoon Blades at the start of their recently completed season.

    Way back on Sept. 20, 2018, I typed a column that said the Blades would make the WHL playoffs in 2018-19. I said I had a gut feeling the Blades would have a playoff spot locked up when March 2019 begins. You can even check that piece out by clicking right here.

    Having missed the playoffs for five straight seasons, I was expecting followers of the team to be so jaded they would fall down with laughter.

    Instead, that prediction was greeted mostly with silence, which might have been a more scary reaction. The playoff drought that included two heartbreaking near misses in 2016-17 and 2017-18 seemed to quell most enthusiasm for the team.

    It seemed people were waiting for the tangible result of a post-season playoff berth before showing any interest in the squad.

Kirby Dach is one of the Blades biggest stars.

    In 2017-18, the Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 record to fall three points shy of the Prince Albert Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second and final wildcard berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

Saskatoon had the seventh most points in the 12-team Eastern Conference, which meant two teams with records worse than the ones the Blades had made the post-season.

    I thought the nucleus was in place for the team to make a leap upwards in the standings. The Blades made a bigger leap than I had imagined.

    Fast forward to this past Sunday at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades were eliminated from the post season dropping a 6-3 decision to their archrivals, the Raiders, in Game 6 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series before 10,521 spectators.

    Following the contest, the Blades received a salute from the crowd including a nod of respect from most of the large contingent of Raiders followers.

    Along the way the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2013, while picking up honourable mention status in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They officially locked up a playoff berth on Feb. 23 with a 4-3 win after a tiebreaking shootout over the Kootenay Ice at the SaskTel Centre.

Nolan Maier ensured the Blades had solid play between the pipes.

    They swept the Moose Jaw Warriors, who were seventh overall in the WHL at 40-20-6-2, in the first round of the playoffs.

    The Blades bowed out to a Raiders team that topped the WHL standings at 54-10-2-2 and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    How crazy was this Blades season?

    Last Oct. 25, the Blades acquired a left-winger named Gary Haden, who was in his 19-year-old season, in a trade with the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for forward Logan Christensen, who was also in his 19-year-old season. The deal at the time didn’t raise too many eyebrows as both had relatively average major junior careers to that point in time.

    Haden went on to become “Uncle” Gary in Saskatoon posting 30 goals, 32 assists and a plus-23 rating in 55 regular season games with the Blades. In his first nine games of the campaign with the Tigers, Haden posted one goal, two assists and was a minus-four.

    The Airdrie, Alta., product became a fan favourite and one of the Blades most well-known players.

Emil Malysjev made huge strides in his rookie season with the Blades.

    The “Uncle” Gary moniker was coined by Blades manager of communications and community relations Tyler Wawryk, who often comes up with nicknames or catch phrases to associate with Blades players.

    Alanna Priestner, who is the wife of Blades general manager Colin Priestner, helped use those nicknames and catch phrases to create novelty T-shirts for six of the team’s players in Haden, Kyle Crnkovic, Kirby Dach, Max Gerlach, Riley McKay and Nolan Maier. The T-shirts became hot sellers and in the process that inventive move helped make them more household names in the city.

    The Blades had the skill on the ice to back everything up. On Monday, it was announced that three Blades members cracked NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

    Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 195 pounds, was rated third among North American skaters. The skilled centre finished third in team scoring recording 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in 62 regular season games.

Chase Wouters provided the Blades with stellar leadership as captain.

    Swedish import defenceman Emil Malysjev, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 187 pounds, cracked in at the 192^nd spot among North American skaters. He recorded three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating in 63 regular season games with the Blades and made great strides improving in his rookie WHL campaign.

    Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 173 pounds, was rated 22^nd among North American goaltenders. He posted a 36-10-6 record, a 2.64 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts in 53 regular season games.

    The Yorkton, Sask., product was invited to join Canada’s men’s team for the under-18 worlds that start Thursday and run through to April 28 in Ornskoldsvik and Umea, Sweden.

    Dach, Malysjev and Maier will all be entering their respective 18-year-old campaigns next season.

“Uncle” Gary Haden became a fan favourite with the Blades.

    The Blades had a great overage crew. Offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson was the team’s leading scorer recording 13 goals and 62 assists for 75 points. He posted a plus-27 rating appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games.

    Right-winger Max Gerlach was second in team scoring with 42 goals, 32 assists for 74 points. He was a plus-seven appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games.

    Defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus showed he was the ultimate pro. Acquired in a trade last Oct. 2 with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Schuldhaus appeared in 61 regular season games with the Blades posting eight goals, 23 assists and a plus-15 rating.

    Chase Wouters became the team’s charismatic captain, and he has two more years of eligibility remaining. He got the playoffs started in style scoring the overtime winner to give the Blades a 3-2 victory over the Warriors in Game 1 of their first round series at the SaskTel Centre.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Ryan Hughes (#53).

    McKay became a fan favourite for his feisty style of play. While he topped the WHL with 149 penalty minutes, he showed an offensive touch putting up 12 goals and 17 assists appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games.

    Ryan Hughes proved to be a slick right-winger acquired in a Jan. 10 trade with the Portland Winterhawks. In 61 regular season games split between the Winterhawks and Blades, Hughes recorded 30 goals, 39 assists and a plus-13 rating.

    Defenceman Nolan Kneen was another astute acquisition arriving from the Kamloops Blades last Nov. 26. In 55 regular season games split between the Blazers and Blades, Kneen posted six goals, 39 assists and a plus-24 rating.

    Colin Priestner and his staff have to be given huge credit for assembling the Blades roster. During the season, Priestner added seven players via that trade route that bolstered the defence and created more depth on the forward lines.

    Out of all the Blades staffers, Priestner had to have felt the biggest sense of relief that this season came to pass. The same likely goes for his father, Mike, who bought the team before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. 

    The reward finally came from all the rebuilding that took place in the previous five non-playoff years.

Kyle Crnkovic turned heads with his play as a rookie.

    Priestner’s biggest hire might have been bringing Mitch Love on board as head coach last May.

    Love joined the Blades after spending the previous season as an assistant coach and assistant to the general manager of the Everett Silvertips. He was on the Silvertips staff for a total of seven seasons.

    It seemed there were few veteran staffers from other WHL teams that tried to test the youthful duo on the gamesmanship front noting Priestner is 35-year-old and Love is 34-years-old. Both showed they have some veteran savvy on that front.

    The rest of the Blades coaching staff played a key role in the team’s results this season. Associate coach Ryan Marsh played a huge part in shaping the club’s play on the ice. Returning assistant coaches Ryan Keller and Jerome Engele and returning goalie coach Tim Cheveldae all added their positive influences.

The fans poured into the SaskTel Centre in big numbers in the playoffs.

    That trio is popular in the Blades dressing room and seems to keep cementing spots as lifers on the team.

    Off the ice, the Blades worked a big group game getting into the community with various events.

All the hard work finally paid off with more people arriving at the SaskTel Centre. For the longest time, it appeared the Blades would have their worst average attendance since posting a franchise worst record of seven wins, 52 losses, 11 ties and two overtime setbacks in 2003-04.

    A surge at the gates in late regular season games helped the Blades avoid that distinction as they drew an average of 3,911 spectators for their 34 home regular season dates. That was a slight improvement from the average attendance of 3,851 spectators per game the club drew for 36 home dates in 2017-18.

HC Mitch Love and his staff have given great guidance to the players.

    In their five home dates in the 2019 playoffs, the Blades averaged 7,428 spectators per game concluding with the massive 10,521 spectators that came out for Sunday’s game.

    In Saskatoon, the Blades have been rejuvenated.

    Of course, the composition of the Blades roster next season will have a different composition than this past season. The team leadership has to remind fans that every season writes its own story.

    There will be times that factors out of team’s control like injuries can derail a season.

    At the moment, all the excitement with the Blades feels new again. The team brought back its traditional blue and gold Pac-Man look before the start of the 2017-18 campaign believing these good times were around the corner.

The Blades gained new life in a big way in 2018-19.

    Going forward, you can be sure everyone on the Blades staff will do their best to try and make what happened this season become a habit and maybe get the team to hit heights it has never see before.

    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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Overagers proud to put Blades back on map

Max Gerlach (#9) and Riley McKay (#39) embrace after Sunday’s game.

    Brandon Schuldhaus would have loved to have played in his 50^th career WHL playoff game, but grizzled veteran still marvelled at how far the Saskatoon Blades have come.

    The Calgary product, who turned 21-years-old in February, has almost seen it all since entering the league at the start of the 2015-16 campaign appearing in 250 regular season games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Red Deer Rebels, Moose Jaw Warriors and finally the Blades.

    Having dressed for one regular season game early in the 2018-19 campaign with the Warriors, Schuldhaus was acquired by the Blades last Oct. 2 in a trade that sent a fifth round 2019 WHL Bantam Draft pick and a second round 2020 WHL Bantam Draft selection to the Warriors.

Blades D Brandon Schuldhaus marks Raiders LW Parker Kelly.

    In 62 combined games with the Warriors and Blades this season, Schuldhaus piled up eight goals, 23 assists for 31 points and a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department. His assists, points and plus-minus totals were career highs and his goal total matched a career high.

    Schuldhaus, who is known as an ultimate pro on the WHL circuit, was a key member on the Blades defensive unit.

    The Blades had a remarkable season finishing fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Saskatoon swept the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, before bowing out in six games to the Prince Albert Raiders in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.

    The Raiders, who finished first overall with a 54-10-2-2 record, claimed a 6-3 victory in Game 6 over the Blades on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre to pull the curtain on Saskatoon’s season. 

Brandon Schuldhaus played in 49 career WHL playoff games.

    That final game was played before a campaign high crowd of 10,521 spectators.
    “I think there is a lot for us to be proud of,” said Schuldhaus, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. “After not being in the playoffs for a few years, I don’t think anyone at the beginning of the year would have expected us to be having the team that we had and having the success that we had.

    “Obviously getting the city and the support behind us here this last few months it has been great. I think this is a really big year for the Blades as an organization, and I think there is a lot to be proud of.”

    Schuldhaus went to the WHL final with the Thunderbirds as a rookie in 2015-16 on a club that had stars like Mathew Barzal and Ethan Bear. Schuldhaus skated in 49 WHL post-season games between his time with the Thunderbirds, Rebels, Warriors and Blades.

The Blades faithful cheers one of their team’s goals on Sunday.

    Had the Blades forced a Game 7 in their series with the Raiders, which would have been played tonight in Prince Albert, Schuldhaus would have skated in his milestone 50^th playoff game.

    “It is obviously disappointing,” said Schuldhaus. “It is not the outcome we were looking for.

    “Just having some time to reflect on the season and the group that we have, there is a lot to be proud of. I think coming together as fast as we did. When we started this season, we didn’t have the same team we have now.

    “We have a lot of new additions and that kind of thing. I think it is a lot to be proud of the way we came together so quick and jelled as a group. I’m really proud of that for sure.”

Dawson Davidson had a career season with the Blades.

    Schuldhaus was one of seven additions that joined the Blades via the trade route this season and one of three veterans that were added to the back end along with Nolan Kneen and Reece Harsch, who are both in their 19-year-old campaigns.

    Schuldhaus’s sentiments were shared by fellow Blades overagers in Dawson Davidson and Max Gerlach.

    Davidson, who is an offensive-defenceman, was acquired by the Blades on Jan. 8, 2018 in a trade with the Regina Pats. The Blades sent import defenceman Libor Hajek to the Pats in exchange for Davidson, centre Tristen Robins and a first round selection in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Davidson entered the WHL at the start of the 2014-15 campaign with the Kamloops Blazers and was dealt to the Pats partway through the 2016-17 season.

    Appearing in all of the Blades 68 regular season games in this past campaign, Davidson topped the team in scoring with 13 goals and 62 assists for 75 points to go along with a plus-27 rating. His goals, assists, points and plus-minus totals were all career highs.

One of Dawson Davidson’s supporters displays a sign at the SaskTel Centre.

    Davidson, who turned 21-years-old earlier this month, was pleased to help the Blades reach a new high, while ended his time in the league on a personal high.

    “It has been a lot of ups and downs,” said Davidson. “Obviously, I’ve been with three different teams.

    “I’ve kind of seen the ways of junior hockey, but I couldn’t be more excited to end it off with a great organization here in Saskatoon. I feel like I got a lot better as a player, and that is kudos to my teammates and to our amazing coaches here, who kind of let me blossom into the player that you know I always felt I could become.

Raiders D Brayden Pachal and Blades D Dawson Davidson shake hands.

    “We made strides this year. I think at the start of the year not many people thought we were going to do too much. I think they thought next year was kind of our year.”

    Davidson enjoyed seeing bigger crowds pack into the SaskTel Centre as the regular season drew to a close and the march into the playoffs went on. The Blades averaged 3,911 spectators over 34 regular season home dates and that average burst to an average of 7,428 spectators per game for the team’s five home playoff dates.

    During Game 6 on Sunday, Davidson made sure to take a moment to take in the sight of seeing 10,521 spectators packing into his team’s home rink.

    “It was unbelievable,” said Davidson. “The fans here, I can’t thank them enough.

    “It has been absolutely amazing. Throughout the season and especially in the playoffs here, we could feel the whole city come behind us there. To see that crowd tonight, it meant a lot to us.”

Max Gerlach jets into the offensive zone for the Blades.

    Gerlach entered the WHL at the start of the 2015-16 campaign with the Medicine Hat Tigers. The product of Flower Mound, Texas, was dealt to the Blades on Jan. 10, 2018 in exchange for right-winger Bryan Lockner, a first round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a second round selection in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.

    From that first season, Gerlach has scored 30-or-more goals in each of his four seasons in the WHL picking up the nickname “Texan Sniper” along the way.

    This past season, the sharpshooting right-winger, who turned 21-years-old earlier this month, appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games piling up career highs in goals (42), points (74) and plus-minus (plus-seven).

    He plans on spending some down time in Saskatoon before heading home and figuring out what his next step in hockey is.

    “I am just going to enjoy some time here with my friends,” said Gerlach, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 160 pounds. “I’ll probably stay about a week or so.

Max Gerlach had a career high 42 goals this season.

    “It is a long drive back to Dallas, so I have some time to think about it. I will kind of see what is going to go on there. Like I said, I made a tonne of new brothers in there.

    “I feel really lucky. I couldn’t be happier to end my career as a Blade.”

    Gerlach said you could feel there was a different culture on the team when Mitch Love was brought in as head coach and Ryan Marsh arrived as an associate coach before the current campaign began. The Texan was pleased the Blades brought back Ryan Keller as an assistant coach.

    The now graduating player believes the team is in a good place under the leadership of owner Mike Priestner and general manager Colin Priestner.

    “With the organization, I think the Blades kind of used to be a team that you knew you could come in and kind of push around,” said Gerlach. “We definitely changed that here.

    “We know we are a team that doesn’t mind getting physical. We are going to beat you off the puck. We’re going to make life tough on you.

Max Gerlach scored in bunches his entire WHL career.

    “I think the organization is in super good hands from all the way to the top from Mike and Colin and then all the way down to the players and coaching staff and everything. I think the Blades are in a really good spot for the future.”

    Love said losing out to the Raiders stings. 
    Still, he was proud of how far the overagers and the rest of the players have brought the Blades as an organization.

    “I said that to the guys also after the game,” said Love. “You’ve rejuvenated Blades hockey in the community.

    “I think it worked from a hockey, slash, fan, slash, business perspective to play the Raiders in the second round of playoffs. It was the perfect storm for everybody.

The Blades give a final salute to their faithful at the SaskTel Centre.

    “I think just hockey in this area for both organizations, and especially in this city, that was pretty impressive to see.”

    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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“Captain Clutch” – Wouters pots OT winner in Blades return to WHL playoffs

Captain Chase Wouters (#44) is mobbed after scoring his OT winner.

    Welcome to the WHL playoffs Chase Wouters.

    With his Saskatoon Blades playing in their first post-season game since 2013, the club’s captain, who turned 19-years-old in February, put the capper on a storybook comeback night for his side.

    Backed by a crowd of 5,193 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades fell behind 2-0 to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors before rallying for a 2-2 tie that forced overtime. At the 3:23 mark of overtime, Wouters blew down the left wing of the Moose Jaw zone and lifted a backhand shot past Warriors netminder Brodan Salmond to give the Blades a 3-2 victory.

Chase Wouters sets a screen in front of the Moose Jaw goal.

    Wouters’ goal sent what is normally a reserved gathering at the SaskTel Centre during the regular season into delirium.

    “It is a pretty crazy feeling,” said Wouters, who is a career member of the Blades and hadn’t skated in a WHL playoff game until Friday. “It is something I will never forget that is for sure.

    “It was kind of a lot of hard work all game and got some reward. It is a pretty special moment. It is not only like for me.

    “It is for our group. We’ve worked all hard to this point, and this is kind of something we’ve wanted since we started the year. We got it, so it was good.”

    The win allowed the Blades to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven first round series with the Warriors. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Chase Wouters wins a defensive zone faceoff.

    Blades head coach Mitch Love said his side would have been happy to see anyone on their roster get the overtime winner, but the bench boss admitted it was great to see Wouters come through in that moment.

    “That is Watty (Wouters),” said Love. “He works hard.

    “He plays key rolls. He plays in every situation for us. It is overtime hockey.

    “You just get pucks to the net and see what happens. That is what happened in overtime tonight.”

    The Warriors drew first blood at the 3:03 mark of the second, when winger Kaeden Taphorn fired home the rebound of a shot taken by linemate Luke Ormsby to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

    Just 93 seconds after Taphorn’s goal, Warriors rookie centre Eric Alarie fired home a midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon goal to put the visitors up 2-0.

A young fan show support for Blade C Kirby Dach.

    The goal from the associate player call up from the Rink Hockey Academy prep team in Winnipeg, Man., was the first of his WHL career.

    Alarie turned 16-years-old in late January, and he is eligible to play with the Warriors for the rest of the post-season.

    Wouters admitted the players on his team had some early nerves to start Friday’s game, and said it was great the crowd was engaged in supporting his team through the rough moments.

    “It was definitely a little different atmosphere for sure,” said Wouters. “There was a good crowd tonight supporting us, and we appreciate that. It was great.”

    The Blades cut the Moose Jaw lead to 2-1 at the 7:21 mark of the second while working on the power play on a snipe from overage right-winger Max Gerlach. Gerlach converted a beauty backdoor feed from defenceman Nolan Kneen to get the host side on the board.

    With 8:12 remaining in the third period, the Blades evened things up at 2-2 to force overtime, when left-winger Riley McKay popped home a goal close in from the right side of the Moose Jaw goal.

Eric Alarie (#15) celebrates his first career WHL goal.

    His equalizer came off a rebound on a shot taken by Blades defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus.

    That set the stage for Wouters to come through with the overtime winner.

    Nolan Maier made 21 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. 
    Brodan Salmond turned away 35 shots to take the setback in goal for the Warriors.

    “It was a good bounce back from our group,” said Love. “That was playoff hockey.

    “It is those ebbs and flows of the game. We are just trying to stress to our guys just stay even keel, stay with the process, stay the course, all the stuff we talked about over a 68 game schedule. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of that.

Riley McKay had the third period equalizer for the Blades.

    “It took us awhile though. It took us probably a little longer that we would have liked.”
    Love said the Warriors came out with some good jump at the start of the contest.

    “They came out with a little bit of juice,” said Love. “I thought we were a little nervous and hesitant in our game. We found a way.”

    The Blades bench boss enjoyed how engaged his team’s fans were on Friday. Love said it was something his side noticed.

    “It was a great crowd tonight,” said Love. “We can’t thank the fans enough that showed up here tonight.

    “We need them again and again and again. That was awesome.”

    Love said Blades owner Mike Priestner was given the game puck, as Friday’s game marked the first time the Blades won a playoff contest since Priestner bought the team before the 2013-14 season. 
    The first year head coach said his side has to be prepared for a big push back by the Warriors on Saturday.

The SaskTel Centre crowd celebrates Chase Wouters OT winner.

    “We have to be ready for a huge response tomorrow night against that team,” said Love. “That team is going to come and battle hard.
    “I think they will be better. We’ve got to be even better.”

    Going forward, Wouters expects it to be easier for his side to take off at the start of future playoffs games now that the nerves of the first post-season contest have passed.

    “There won’t be quite as many nerves, but we still have to play our game like it is our last and get out there and put some work in,” said Wouters. “I think we just kind of got to do the same thing we did today.

Chase Wouters gives a young fan a stick after getting first star honours.

    “We outshot them by quite a bit there. We just have to continue to work and get a good rest tonight and comeback ready to work tomorrow.”

    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, Raiders party like it’s 1992 all over again

Blades G Nolan Maier stops Raiders C Sean Montgomery.

    It’s feeling a lot like 1992.

    On Friday, the Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders put on a show ensuring a season high 9,188 spectators got their monies worth at the SaskTel Centre. When the dust settled, a power play goal on a two man advantage by Blades overage right-winger Max Gerlach on a net scramble at the 7:17 mark of the third period broke a 2-2 tie and ultimately delivered Saskatoon to a 3-2 victory.

    The Raiders, who will finish first overall in the WHL regular season standings, saw their three game winning streak snapped as they fell to 53-10-2-2.

The Blades celebrate a winning goal from Max Gerlach (#9).

    The Blades, who will finish inside of the top four of the WHL standings, won a season high eighth in a row and their 15th out of their last 16 games to improve to 45-14-8. Saskatoon has posted its best record since going 56-13-1-2 in the 2010-11 campaign.

    You can be sure the fans in attendance supporting both sides were thinking how great it would be to see a playoff series between the two clubs.

    The first round opponents of the Raiders and Blades in the Red Deer Rebels and Moose Jaw Warriors respectively will have something to say first before anticipation can build regarding a Prince Albert versus Saskatoon playoff series.

    The last time the Raiders and Blades met in the post-season when they were this high up in the standings came in the 1994-95 campaign.

The Blades and Raiders scrum it up at the end of the first period.

    That year the Raiders posted a record of 44 wins, 26 losses and two ties to edge out the Blades, who had a mark of 41 wins, 23 losses and eight ties, for third overall in the WHL.

    They collided in the second round of the post-season with the Raiders sweeping a best-of-seven series 4-0. Prince Albert moved on to fall in a league semifinal series in seven games to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

    The most famous playoff encounter came a little earlier in the 1991-92 campaign, when arguably the rivalry between the two sides hit its highest peak.

Max Gerlach had the Blades winning goal on Friday.

    The Raiders finished second overall in the league standings with a record of 50 wins, 20 losses and two ties. The Blades were fourth overall in the WHL with a mark of 38 wins, 29 losses and five ties.

    The two squads collided in a best-of-seven WHL semifinal series, where the Blades prevailed 4-2. Saskatoon moved on to fall in the WHL final to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers in seven games.

    With the way the current playoff format is set up, a meeting in the league’s final four round is impossible this season, but the dreams are there for a second round meeting.

    Friday’s contest was a back and forth one.

Parker Kelly had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

    Both sides hit the ice with their regular rosters outside of the Raiders scratching overage forward Dante Hannoun causing Prince Albert to play 18-year-old defenceman Loeden Schaufler up front.

    The Raiders struck first 81 seconds into the contest on a well-executed offensive zone faceoff. Prince Albert centre Spencer Moe won the draw to left-winger Parker Kelly at the top of the faceoff circle, and Kelly wired home his 35^th goal of the season.

    Saskatoon evened things up at 1-1 at the 5:44 mark of the first period, when overage defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus fired home a long distance shot.

    To start the second, the Blades had a two-man advantage for 85 seconds due to Raiders penalty trouble at the end of the opening frame.

    Just 37 seconds into the second, Blades right-winger Ryan Hughes converted a backdoor feed from offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson to give the host side a 2-1 edge.

Ryan Hughes scored his 30th goal of the season on Friday.

    The tally was the 30^th goal of the season for Hughes.

    The star goalies on either side made some big saves in the second. Blades netminder Nolan Maier stoned Raiders overage centre Sean Montgomery in close.

    Raiders netminder Ian Scott robbed Blades left-winger “Uncle” Gary Haden with a glove save on a shot from point blank range in front of the Prince Albert net.

    The Raiders evened things up on the power play at the 4:49 mark of the third period, when overage centre Noah Gregor got the puck at the top of the right faceoff circle in the Saskatoon zone and fired home a shot to the top left corner of the Blades goal to force a 2-2 tie.

    That set the stage for Gerlach to score his winner moments later.

    Still, the Raiders had two chances to send the game to overtime inside of the final minute of the third period.

    Raiders rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, had an open shot from the left slot of the Saskatoon zone only to be denied by Maier.

Ozzy Wiesblatt drives a shot on goal near the end of the third period.

    A few seconds later, Raiders captain Brayden Pachal had a shot from the left slot, but his drive was blocked by Schuldhaus.

    Maier made 28 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ian Scott turned away 29 shots in goal for the Raiders.

    These two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

Could another barnburner be on tap to close the regular season for both clubs?

    It is a golden time to be a WHL hockey fan in northern Saskatchewan like it was in 1992.

    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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Raiders lock up top spot in WHL, capture Scotty Munro Trophy

Brayden Pachal had a pair of assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    It is feeling a lot like 1985 in Prince Albert.

    On Tuesday night before 2,385 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders thumped the visiting Swift Current Broncos, who are in a major rebuild, 6-0 in a WHL regular season contest.
  With the win, the Raiders improved to 51-9-2-2 to lock up first place overall in the league and capture the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for just the second time in franchise history.

    The Raiders, who are rated second in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, last finished first overall in the WHL standings back in the 1984-85 season, when they posted a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.
    Prince Albert proceeded to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in that campaign.

    In Tuesday’s game against the Broncos, the Raiders led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 after the second frame.

Ian Scott tied the Raiders record for shutouts in one season.

    Winger Dante Hannoun had a goal and two assists for the Raiders.
    Rugged forward Justin Nachbaur scored twice for the Raiders, while Sergei Sapego, Aliaksei Protas and Eric Pearce netted singles.

    Captain Brayden Pachal had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

    Ian Scott made 24 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders.
    The shutout win was the sixth of the season for Scott and it equals a Raiders club record for most shutouts in one season.

    Rejean Beauchemin had six shutouts for the Raiders in the 2003-04 season, and Luke Siemens had six shutouts in the 2012-13 campaign.
    So far this season, Scott has recorded a 35-7-3 record, a 1.90 goals against average and a .931 save percentage to go with his six shutouts.

    Riley Lamb turned away 33 shots to take the setback in the Broncos net.

    Swift Current sits last in the WHL with a 10-46-4-2 record.

    The Raiders and Broncos will go at it again on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Blades will starts playoffs playing at home

Dawson Davidson scored the winner for the Blades.

    The Saskatoon Blades will open their journey through the WHL playoffs at home.

    On Tuesday, the Blades locked up a second place finish in the WHL’s East Division downing the Warriors in Moose Jaw 4-2 before 3,014 spectators at Mosaic Place. With finishing second in the division, the Blades will have home ice advantage for a best-of-seven first round playoff series.

    The win over the Warriors was the fifth in a row for the Blades who improved to 42-14-8.

Saskatoon has won 12 of its last 13 games and is sitting securely inside the top four of the overall WHL standings.

    The Warriors jumped out to 1-0 lead in Tuesday’s game, when star left-winger Tristin Langan scored his 48^th goal of the season just 56 seconds into the first period.

Blades overage defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus proceeded to provide headaches to his former club.   
    The Blades acquired Schuldhaus in a trade with the Warriors in the early part of the season.
    Schuldhaus scored at the 15:02 mark of the first period to even things up at 1-1. The Calgary product potted his second of the contest at the 6:24 mark of the second to give the Blades a 2-1 advantage.

Brandon Schuldhaus scored twice for the Blades.

    The Warriors evened things up at 2-2 at the 11:55 mark of the second with a short-handed goal coming from star centre Justin Almeida.

    Just 20 seconds after Almeida’s goal, Blades star offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson drove home his 11^th goal of the season to put the visitors up 3-2.

    With under a minute to play, star centre Kirby Dach scored for the Blades to seal victory.

    Nolan Maier made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Brodan Salmond turned away 26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Warriors (35-19-6-2).

    Saskatoon improved its impressive road record to 22-8-3 with the win over the Warriors. The Blades have won four of the five head-to-head encounters with Moose Jaw this season.

    The Warriors return to action on Friday, when they travel to Regina to take on the Pats at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The Blades return home to host the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That contest will be the Blades’ “WHL Suits Up” with Don Cherry to promote organ donation game.

    Saskatoon will wear Don Cherry inspired suit jerseys for that contest. The jerseys will be silent auctioned during the game with the proceeds going to the Saskatoon branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Back in the Express with Haden

My story on Gary Haden in the Saskatoon Express.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a story on Saskatoon Blades left-winger Gary Haden.

    Haden was acquired in a trade early in the season from the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 51 regular season games with the Blades, Haden has piled up 28 goals and 30 assists and a plus-20 rating in the plus-minus department.

    He has taken on the nickname of “Uncle Gary.” The Blades have been selling “Uncle Gary” T-shirts at their store in the SaskTel Centre.

    Copies of the Express can be found in various locations around Saskatoon.
    The story on Haden 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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