Stars look to halt Selects’ “Cinderella” playoff run

The Stars are looking to advance to the Esso Cup.

    It will be a classic David versus Goliath matchup when the Saskatoon Stars tangle with the Ste. Anne, Man., based Eastman Selects in a best-of-three Western regional female midget AAA hockey playdown series.

    The two clubs open the best-of-three set on Friday at 3 p.m. Manitoba time at the T.G. Smith Centre in Steinbach, Man. Game 2 is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. local time and Game 3, if necessary, will be held Sunday at 12:30 p.m. local time. Both of those contests will also be at the T.G. Smith Centre.

    The series winner advances to the Esso Cup national female midget AAA championship tournament, which runs April 22 to 28 in Bridgewater, N.S. Saskatoon earned a berth in the Esso Cup in 2015 and 2016.

    The Stars play the role of Goliath posting a 24-3-1 regular season record to finish first in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League for a fourth straight year. They advanced through the SFMAAAHL playoffs with a 6-0 record and won the SFMAAAHL title sweeping the Prince Albert Northern Bears 3-0 in a best-of-five series. The Bears won the SFMAAAHL title, the Western regional series and advanced to the Esso Cup last year.

    The Selects play the role of David posting a 13-12-5 regular season record to finish fifth in the seven-team Manitoba Female AAA Midget Hockey League. They proceeded to roll off three upset best-of-five series victories to capture the MFMHL title.

    In quarter-final series, the Selects swept the Shoal Lake based Yellowhead Chiefs 3-0, and the Chiefs were 14-10-6 in regular season play. In a semifinal series, the Selects got past the Winnipeg Avros 3-1, and the Avros topped the MFMHL standings with a 25-5 record.

Joelle Fiala piled up 40 points in regular season play for the Stars.

    In the MFMHL finals, the Selects faced the defending league champion Pembina Valley Hawks, who are based out of Morden. The Hawks finished second in the MFMHL with a 20-8-2 record. On the strength of a pair of overtime victories to close out the series, the Selects prevailed 3-1 to capture the Manitoba championship.

    Stars captain Mackenna Parker topped the SFMAAAHL in scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games. She equaled the Stars team record for most points scored in one regular season at 60 first set by Emily Clark, who is a member of Canada’s senior national team, in the 2011-12 campaign.

    Stars forward Anna Leschyshyn finished second in SFMAAAHL scoring with 24 goals and 29 assists appearing in all 28 regular season games. Skilled centre Grace Shirley was fourth in SFMAAAHL scoring recording 30 goals and 18 assists in 23 regular season games with the Stars.

Parker and Shirley were members of Canada’s under-18 women’s hockey team.

    Winger Joelle Fiala piled up 18 goals and 22 assists to finish seventh in league scoring appearing in all 28 regular season games for the Stars.

    Sophomore defender Ashley Messier, who turned 16 in late March, was the Stars power-play quarterback leading all the team’s rearguards in scoring with three goals and 23 assists.

    The Stars have been rotating both of their goalies this season. Jordan Ivanco, who is the team’s 17-year-old veteran, posted a 12-1-1 record, a 1.76 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout in 14 regular season appearances. Arden Kliewer, a sophomore who turned 16 in early February, posted a 12-2 record, a 2.08 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and one shutout in 14 regular season appearances.

Ashley Messier quarterbacks the power play for the Stars.

    Centre Kylie Lesuk topped the selects in scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists in 29 regular season games. Left-winger Chelsea Dinnin was second in team scoring with seven goals and 11 assists in 24 regular season games.

    Defender Breanna McLennan was the power-play quarterback topping all Selects blue-liners in scoring with two goals and 15 assists appearing in all 30 of her team’s regular season games.

    Raygan Kirk is the Selects starter in goal, and she posted a 6-6-2 record, a 1.81 goals against average, a .937 save percentage and two shutouts in 14 regular season appearances.

    The last time a club from Manitoba claimed the Lanchbery Family Trophy as the Western regional playdown series winner was the Hawks in 2012.

Parker wins big Hockey Canada award

Congratulations to Mackenna Parker (Clavet, Sask.), the 2018 Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Female Player-of-the-Year Award winner! 🏆

This annual award is given to the player that most demonstrates good values, leadership and strong community involvement. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/zEYZldsMlL

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) April 6, 2018

    On Thursday, Hockey Canada named Saskatoon Stars captain Mackenna Parker as this year’s winner of the Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Female-Player-of-the-Year Award.

    The award is given annually to a player that most demonstrates good values, leadership and strong community involvement.

    Of course, Parker topped the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League in regular season scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists in 23 regular season games. She was named the winner of the SFMAAAHL’s most valuable player award and a first-team all-star.

    Parker is completing her final season of midget AAA eligibility and will graduate sitting second on the SFMAAAHL’s all-time regular season scoring list with 82 goals and 76 assists in 104 regular season games.

    In January, Parker helped Canada win bronze at the under-18 women’s world championship, which was held in Dmitrov, Russia.

Blades continue coaching makeover, release Thoma

Assistant coach Bryce Thoma addresses the Blades players during a practice.

    The Saskatoon Blades continued to makeover their coaching staff releasing assistant coach Bryce Thoma on Wednesday.

    Thoma, 35, joined the Blades in July of 2016 as a member of the coaching staff led by head coach Dean Brockman. Brockman was released by the Blades on March 18, which came one day after the club concluded the regular season missing the WHL playoffs finishing sixth in the East Division with a 35-33-3-1 record.

    Before joining the Blades, Thoma was a head coach and general manager in the junior A ranks with Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. From 2008 to 2013, he served as an assistant coach with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels under Jesse Wallin for most of that stint before working under team owner Brent Sutter, who reassumed the head coach position in November of 2012.

    Thoma, who is a Saskatoon product, is best remembered for playing four seasons with the Rebels as a defenceman from 1999 to 2003 collecting 15 goals and 49 assists in 261 regular season games. He was a member of the Rebels WHL and Memorial Cup championship team in the 2000-01 campaign.

    Following the conclusion of his WHL playing career, Thoma played three seasons for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team from 2003 to 2006 collecting seven goals and 24 assists in 69 regular season games.

    Like Brockman, Thoma had signed a contract extension with the Blades last August that was slated to expire at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

    Besides working with the Blades, Thoma is on the staff of Sadoway Conditioning in Saskatoon.

    On Thursday, a trio of players from the Blades including centre Kirby Dach and Chase Wouters along with netminder Nolan Maier were named to Canada’s men’s team for the under-18 world championships, which are slated to be held April 19 to 29 in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia.
    They will be joined on the Canadian team by winger Cole Fonstad of the Prince Albert Raiders.

    The Canadian team will begin to assemble in Etobicoke, Ont., for practices starting on Sunday before departing to Russia on April 10.

Back in the Express with Rush comic book story

James Zintel shows off the Saskatchewan Rush comic book.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a story on a comic book about the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush.

    The Rush had Saskatoon-based comic book creator James Zintel create a comic book about the team. It was sold as part of the Rush home game against the Rochester Knighthawks on March 24 at the SaskTel Centre, which the Rush marketed as their superheroes night.

    Zintel created a product that featured the Rush players, the Original 16 Crush Dance Team, Grandma Rush, Bruiser the Bulldog and the Rush Hulk.

    The Rush return to action on Saturday in a heavyweight clash against the Colorado Mammoth that is set for 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Rush sit first overall in the NLL with an 11-3 record, while the Mammoth are second overall with a 10-5 mark.

    The story on the Rush comic book can be round 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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Blades part ways with Brockman

Dean Brockman no long the Blades head coach.

    Two years of struggling down the stretch have cost Dean Brockman his position with the Saskatoon Blades.

    On Sunday a day after their regular season concluded, the Blades announced Brockman has been relieved of his duties as head coach immediately. Blades general manager Colin Priestner said the decision came due the fact the Blades were holding a playoff position late in the season over the past two campaigns only to miss the post-season.

    With five games remaining on their regular season schedule in 2016-17, the Blades held a three-point edge over the Calgary Hitmen for the last playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Blades won one of their final five games, while the Hitmen claimed five of their last six regular season contests to vault into a playoff berth.

    During this past season, the Blades held an eight point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders for the second wildcard spot when action concluded on Feb. 19. The Blades were two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for the first wildcard position. The Blades had 11 games remaining on their regular season schedule, while the Raiders and Wheat Kings had 13 contests each to play.

    Saskatoon posted a 4-6-1 record over those final 11 contests, which included a season ending three-game winning streak. The Raiders went 9-2-0-2 to leap into the second wildcard spot, and the Wheat Kings held the first wildcard spot going 9-4.

    “I felt we faltered, and I think some of the habits that were created and developed throughout the year showed themselves a little bit in those big important games,” said Priestner. “It is a results based business, and unfortunately, we didn’t meet the expectations, which is we feel the fans deserved a playoff team. I feel we have a playoff level team.

    “The fact that we were playing meaningless games at the end of the year with an eight point lead was extremely disappointing to me and our player and our coaches. Nobody was happy with what happened. The fact that it happened last year and it happened again this year just led us to the decision that we needed a new voice.”

    The Blades have missed the WHL’s post-season for five straight years, which is the team’s longest playoff drought in its history.

    Brockman joined the Blades as an assistant coach before the start of the 2014-15 season and moved up to head coach in June of 2016, when former head coach Bob Woods moved on to be an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Woods is now an assistant head coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

    Before joining the Blades, Brockman was best known for his 17 years in the junior A ranks working with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014. He started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

Dean Brockman works the Blades bench.

    During the 50-year-old’s run as head coach, the Blades posted a 63-68-10-3 record. Brockman is credited with 62 of those victories having to miss one of those wins to attend a funeral.
    The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 mark this past season to finish three points behind the Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

    Saskatoon actually ranked seventh overall in the 12 Eastern Conference due to its point total. With the record the Blades posted this season, they would have made the playoffs in 2015-16 and 2016-17 if they had posted the same mark in those campaigns.

    Due to the WHL’s playoff format where the top three teams in each division and the two best records after that in each conference make the playoffs, the Blades missed the post-season finishing sixth in the East Division.

    Priestner said talks were going on the past 10 days on what to do if the Blades missed the post-season. An actual parting of ways didn’t become clear until following the Blades 5-4 victory over the Raiders at the SaskTel Centre to end the regular season for both clubs on Saturday night.

    “Last night, Dean (Brockman) and I had a conversation after the game,” said Priestner. “We spent an hour talking about things.

    “It was clear at the end of the conversation that we were going to go in that direction.”

    The decision caught Blades sophomore centre Chase Wouters, who will entering his 18-year-old season in the upcoming campaign, off guard.

    “It was a surprise it happened so quick,” said Wouters. “I didn’t see it coming.”

    Wouters elected to not answer questions regarding coaching style. He said the fact the Raiders rolled off a nine game winning streak was really what did in his club’s playoff hopes.

    “We just couldn’t get the points when we needed them,” said Wouters. “That is what it just came down to.”

    When asked of the Blades were feeling heighten stress over their last 11 games to help cause their struggles, Priestner wasn’t sure if that was the fact that caused his club to fall out of a playoff position.

    “It is stressful, when you come into a team rebuilding a team,” said Priestner. “It is stressful when you haven’t made the playoffs in a few years, and it amplifies itself.

    “I am sure there was lots of stress. We all feel stress. We want to do well for this city.

    “Maybe there needed to be more levity. I don’t know what it was, but the team didn’t play to the way it played for the first 60 games in the last 12.”

Dean Brockman takes part in an old Blades press conference.

    Priestner noted there was one upswing over the club’s last stretch of 11 or 12 games.

    “I thought we played fine in the last three games when we were eliminated,” said Priestner. “We were really good.”

    Before the season started, Brockman along with assistant coaches Bryce Thoma and Ryan Keller all had their contracts extended to the end of the 2019-20 campaign. Priestner said no decision has been made on the fates of Thoma, Keller, veteran assistant coach Jerome Engele or goaltending coach Tim Cheveldae.

    Priestner added there is no timeframe to hire a new head coach as the decision to part ways of Brockman just became a reality and there were no candidates on who could possibly become the team’s next head coach.

    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 extend contracts of Brockman, Thoma and Keller

Blades HC Dean Brockman speaks to the media at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Saskatoon Blades solidified their coaching ranks for the foreseeable future.

    On Thursday, the team announced head coach Dean Brockman and assistant coaches Bryce Thoma and Ryan Keller have been signed to multi-year contract extensions that run through to the end of the 2019-20 season. Assistant coach Jerome Engele and goaltending coach Tim Cheveldae, who have been in their roles for a number of seasons, will also return for another campaign.

    Brockman, Thoma, Keller, Engele and Cheveldae all worked together as a unit in their present roles for the first time last season. Despite a large rash of injuries, they guided the Blades to a ninth overall finish in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 28-35-7-2 record to sit five points back of the Calgary Hitmen for the conference’s final playoff berth.

    While the Blades failed to make the post-season for the fourth year in a row, last season marked the closest the franchise has come to earning a playoff berth since being purchased by Mike Priestner before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. Priestner took over a club that faced a long rebuild after hosting the Memorial Cup championship tournament in 2013 and also loaded up to try and make a long playoff run in 2011, which ultimately ended in the second round.

    During a news conference held at the SaskTel Centre on Thursday, Blades general manager Colin Priestner, who is Mike’s son, said it was important for continuity to keep the current coaching staff together.

    “It was just something that was just logical for me and our management,” said Priestner. “It was just a trying season on all regards, and I think they just showed throughout the year they got better and better.

Blades GM Colin Priestner announces the coach contract extensions.

    “It was a no-brainer for us. It was just a logical extension of the work that they did last year, and we want to have these guys be a part of what we are building in terms of building a championship team and a championship type franchise.”

    Brockman joined the Blades as an assistant coach before the start of the 2014-15 season and moved up to head coach in June of 2016, when former head coach Bob Woods moved on to be an assistant coach with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Woods is now an assistant head coach with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

    Before joining the Blades, Brockman was best known for his 17 years in the junior A ranks working with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014. He started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

    Brockman was pleased to see his contract get extended to run in total for the next three seasons.

    “I think it is big, because it tells your players that I am going to be the guy that they are going to have to listen to over the next couple of years,” said the 50-year-old veteran bench boss. “You just develop that deeper rapport with them.

    “For me and I think the organization, it was important just to try and have some stability in this position.”

    Brockman added to was key to have Thoma, 35, Keller, 33, Engele, 66, and Cheveldae, 49, all back on the staff together for another season.

    “We have to be one unit,” said Brockman. “Having those guys back, it is great.

    “There is not a lot of awkwardness, because we know what everybody is thinking. It is just everybody knows how to react to things. Obviously, you tweak things throughout the year and see what you did wrong.

    “You want to make them right. It is easier to do it with guys that you know. When you don’t know the guys, there is always that stage where you get through that awkwardness.”

Brockman plans to be consistent in his style.

    “I’ve been a players’ coach all my life,” said Brockman. “I think my players respect me as I respect them.

    “That is something that you have to earn over time. Hopefully last year, I’ve earned that from them. I certainly earned it the other way.”

Blades HC Dean Brockman is ready for the season to start.

    With all the injuries that occurred last season, Priestner was impressed with how Brockman and his staff keep the players positive and the team moving forward.

    “The hits just kept on coming, and they dealt with them extremely well,” said Priestner. “I think the group that we had really jelled together over the year.

    “I think as an entire staff we came a long way from where we started. We really wanted to reward these gentlemen for the work they did.”

    The Blades open training camp on Saturday with player registration at the SaskTel Centre, fitness testing at the Elite Pro Performance Centre and ice sessions that run from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. 

    Camp continues all day Sunday and Monday with scrimmages at the SaskTel Centre.     

    All on ice sessions are open to the public.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.