Thunderbirds on the clock to end WHL’s Memorial Cup woes

Colton Dach scored a key goal in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

Will the Seattle Thunderbirds end the WHL’s drought when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup?

That will be the burning question for WHL followers when the Thunderbirds take the ice in the title game of the CHL’s championship tournament. They will go up against the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts on Sunday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C., at 4 p.m. local time. The winner claims junior hockey’s most prestigious trophy in the Memorial Cup.

On paper, this has the makings to be a heavyweight tilt that produces a classic of a championship game. Both the Thunderbirds and Remparts have been two of the CHL’s top clubs throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

The Thunderbirds topped the WHL’s Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Thunderbird proceeded to win the league title posting a 16-3 mark.

The Remparts finished first overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-12-1-2 record and were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Remparts proceeded to win the league crown posting a 16-2 mark.

In the round robin game held this past Monday between the two sides at the Memorial Cup tournament, the Remparts slipped past the Thunderbirds 3-1, but Seattle held a 36-22 edge in shots on goal. Both teams posted identical 2-1 records in the round robin portion of the event, and the Remparts were given first place and a bye to the event’s championship game due to the head-to-head victory over the Thunderbirds.

Brad Lambert scored Seattle’s first goal in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

Seattle downed the OHL champion Peterborough Petes 4-1 in a semifinal contest on Friday to advance to the tournament’s championship game. With the win over the Petes, the Thunderbirds were officially put “on the clock” to try and end the WHL’s drought when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

The Edmonton Oil Kings were the last team from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup, and that victory came back in 2014. Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league of not being able to win the Memorial Cup spanning six seasons from 2015 to 2019 and 2022. The Memorial Cup tournament wasn’t contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Clubs from the WHL became eligible to play for the Memorial Cup on a regular basis in the 1970-71 campaign. If the Thunderbirds lose in the CHL’s title game on Sunday, the WHL’s drought will grow to seven seasons creating a new distinction for the drought.

Since the WHL first hit the ice as a circuit for the 1966-67 campaign, the longest it has gone without a Memorial Cup win is seven seasons. That drought included years the WHL wasn’t eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup as the circuit was originally viewed as an “outlaw league” by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association that governed the game in Canada at that time.

The WHL didn’t have any Memorial Cup victories in its first seven seasons of existence, and that winless run came to an end when the Regina Pats won storied trophy for the third time in team history to conclude the 1973-74 campaign.

Kyle Crnkovic scored Seattle’s third goal on Friday.

For a moment, the possibility existed that there wouldn’t be a WHL team in this year’s championship game at the Memorial Cup tournament. On Thursday, the Petes met the host Blazers in a standings tiebreaking game as both teams were 1-2 in round robin play.

Despite not winning the WHL title, the Blazers had a fairly stellar campaign in 2022-23. They finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Blazers won their first eight straight games in the WHL Playoffs to advance to the Western Conference Championship Series. They fell in six games in that set to the Thunderbirds.

The Petes were the Cinderella team of CHL’s post-season. They finish 10^th in the overall OHL regular season standings with a 35-29-2-2 record. Despite being an afterthought when the post-season began, the Petes proceeded to win the OHL title posting a 16-7 record in the OHL Playoffs.

In the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup tournament, the Blazers pummeled the Petes 10-2 on May 28. The Blazers held a 4-1 lead early in the second period of Thursday’s tiebreaking game and appeared to be set to cruise to victory.

The Petes caught fired and evened the score 4-4 by the end of the second period. The contest ultimately went to overtime and Petes 19-year-old left-winger J.R. Avon scored the winner at the 10:54 mark of extra time to give the Petes a 5-4 victory.

Going into Friday’s semifinal between the Petes and Thunderbirds, one had to wonder if the Petes were going to see their Cinderella run through to getting their hands on the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately for the Petes, the fact that they were playing their fifth game in seven days caught up with them on the fatigue front.

Thomas Milic made 27 saves in Seattle’s Memorial Cup semifinal win.

The Petes looked fatigued in that clash, but they stayed in the game thanks to a spectacular effort by their star netminder in Michael Simpson. Simpson kept the Thunderbirds off the scoreboard until being beaten by star Seattle centre Brad Lambert with 4:28 remaining in the second period. Lambert’s tally gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 edge.

Power forward Colton Dach scored 88 seconds into the third to push the Thunderbirds lead out to 2-0. The Petes responded 73 seconds later with a goal from left-winger Brennan Othmann to cut the Seattle lead to 2-1.

Seattle put the contest away with a goal by star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic just before the midway point of the frame and an empty-net tally from standout left-winger Nico Myatovic to round out the 4-1 win. 

Star netminder Thomas Milic made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds, while Simpson turned away 43-of-46 shots in the campaign ending setback for the Petes.

Unfortunately for the loaded up Thunderbirds, they could be running into a buzzsaw with the Remparts, whose level of play might be raised by their own emotional motivation. The Memorial Cup title game could be the last ride with the Remparts for “Saint Patrick.”

Hockey legend Patrick Roy, who is the Remparts head coach and general manager, is involved in speculation with regards to NHL head coaching vacancies. The Remparts players could be motivated to see the 57-year-old Roy departs on an ultimate high note.

The Remparts starting star netminder William Rousseau has been solid during the tournament stopping 87-of-95 shots for a .916 save percentage and a 2.93 goals against average.

Nico Myatovic scored an empty-net goal on Friday night.

You can expect the Thunderbirds will give their best to try and win their first Memorial Cup title in team history. If they fall in the CHL’s title game on Sunday, one has to wonder how far the WHL’s Memorial Cup drought will go.

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 start 5-0-1 in bubble

Kyle Crnkovic and the Blades are rocking the Regina bubble.

The bubble life seems to suit the Saskatoon Blades just fine.

Playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Blades have jumped out to a 5-0-1 start to begin their abbreviated 24-game regular season. They lead the WHL’s East Division that contains the circuit’s five Saskatchewan clubs and two Manitoba squads.

A bubble is being utilized for regular season play in the East Division due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The 2020-21 campaign is basically a developmental season, and the Blades are maximizing their opportunity to get back in the ice.

In their latest outing on Monday, the Blades downed the Brandon Wheat Kings in a high scoring 6-4 affair.

The Saskatoon side was paced by left-winger Kyle Crnkovic had two goals and an assist, while left-winger Colton Dach had one goal and two assists.

Crnkovic experience a milestone as he picked up his 100^th career regular season point in the win. In 124 career regular season games with the Blades, Crnkovic has 35 goals and 66 assists for 101 points.

Wyatt McLeod, Blake Stevenson and Caiden Daley rounded out the scoring for the Blades.

Right-winger Lynden McCallum led the way for Brandon offensively with two goals and an assist, while Ben McCartney and Nolan Ritchie had singles.

Koen MacInnes stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ethan Kruger turned away 22-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (3-2-1).

Chase Wouters is playing in his final season with the Blades.

The Blades scored their final goal into an empty net.

During their 5-0-1 start, the Blades have benefitted from timely offence and strong play from their defencemen and goaltending. The Blades have allowed two or fewer goals in four out of their six outings.

Offensively, the scoring has been fairly spread out through the Blades lineup. Stevenson, Crnkovic, Tristan Robins and Evan Patrician are tied for the team lead in goals at three.

Stevenson tops the Blades in scoring with three goals and four assists for seven points to go with a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

Crnkovic, Robins and Dach have six points each. Daley and captain Chase Wouters each have five points, while 16-year-old rookie left-winger Brandon Lisowsky, Alex Morozoff and Rhett Rhinehart each have four points. Rhinehart is the leading scorer among all Blades defencemen.

Veteran netminder Nolan Maier, who turned 20-years-old in January, has continued his star play. The Yorkton, Sask., product has won all four of his starts posting a 1.74 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

MacInnes, who is in his second season with the Blades, has a win and an overtime setback in his two starts posting a 2.98 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Blades head coach Mitch Love and his staff have to be enjoying how things have come together in the team game for their hockey club. Of course, the Blades coaches are always looking for ways to allow their players to improve.

For the players individually, they have to be happy that they are creating good video footage for scouts.

Wouters and Daley, who are both centres, and McLeod, who is a defenceman, are playing through their overage campaigns. They are looking to leave a final good impression on professional scouts or potentially create an opportunity with a Canadian university team at the U Sports level.

Colton Dach has six points in six games for the Blades.

Robins is a 19-year-old centre who has a signed NHL Entry Level contract with the San Jose Sharks, and he trying to show the Sharks they were wise to select him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and sign him.

Veterans like Crnkovic, Maier and Rhinehart are trying to show professional teams they have been overlooked.

Dach is trying to make a good impression for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and Lisowsky is showing he has the potential to obtain star status in the WHL sooner than later.

Last season, the Blades had locked up a playoff berth with a 34-24-2-3 record before the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Blades so far are showing they were ready to take that next step. They return to action today taking on the Swift Current Broncos (8 p.m., 98.3 Cool FM).

Overall, it is great the Blades have been able to hit the ice in 2020-21 to show what they’ve got.

SJHL cancels rest of 2020-21 season, other observations

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League cancelled the rest of its 2020-21 campaign on Tuesday.

The junior A hockey circuit had hoped to complete its 2020-21 season playing in a bubble format in Weyburn. A total of seven of the circuit’s 12 teams were committed to completing the season including the Estevan Bruins, Flin Flon Bombers, Kindersley Klippers, Humboldt Broncos, Melfort Mustangs, Nipawin Hawks and Weyburn Red Wings.

The Government of Saskatchewan has denied the circuit’s return to play plan and had asked the SJHL to wait another two to three weeks before revisiting the plan. Concerns were raised about the rise of COVID-19 variant cases in Regina including the B.1.1.7 variant that was first found in the United Kingdom.

Weyburn is about 100 kilometres southeast of Regina. The Government of Saskatchewan announced a number of tighter restrictions for Regina and area on Tuesday in an attempt to curve the spread of variant cases.

The rise of variant cases and the fact the COVID-19 vaccination program in Saskatchewan is still in the more beginning stages was enough to bring an end to the SJHL’s plans. There were also concerns that one of the two hotels that was going to house teams in Weyburn was still going to be open to the public.

The SJHL last hit the ice for regular season play on Nov. 23, 2020.

Red Wings head coach and general manager Rich Pilon told 650 CKOM on Tuesday that a COVID-19 testing program that included weekly tests was planned for the proposed bubble environment in Weyburn.

The SJHL has said it now plans to focus on conducting a complete 2021-22 campaign.

Of course, the obvious disappointment from players and personnel from the SJHL surfaced regarding Tuesday’s announcement.

Some cried foul that the WHL is playing and the SJHL won’t play.

By the looks of things, the SJHL didn’t have timing on its side. COVID-19 variants weren’t a concern when the WHL’s East Division began playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

At the moment, COVID-19 variants are a concern, and that affected the plans for the SJHL.

While the development sucks for the SJHL, this shows an example of how quickly things can still change in these COVID-19 pandemic times.

• Last Friday, Saskatoon Blades long time volunteer dressing room attendant Bobby Kirkness made it to Regina to see the Blades down the Prince Albert Raiders 3-1 in a WHL regular season game played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre. Kirkness, who is battling stage 4 liver and pancreatic cancer, watched the game from the stands. Following the game, both teams skated towards the location Kirkness was sitting, gathered together inside the Blades end and raised their sticks as one in salute. It was one of the most heartwarming and classiest moments in the rivalry between the Blades and Raiders. The Blades posted a story of that moment on their website, and it can be found by clicking right here.
• On Monday, the Swift Current Broncos downed the Prince Albert Raiders 5-2 in a WHL regular season game played in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina. The win allowed the Broncos to stop a 23 game losing streak that dated back to last season. The Broncos, who are 1-5 this season, are still going through a massive rebuild after loading up with a skilled veteran roster in 2017-18 to win the WHL championship and appear in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. Even during their losses this season, the Broncos have put forth a good effort on the ice.
• Regina Pats 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard has points in each of his first six WHL regular season games with the world’s oldest major junior franchise. On Tuesday, Bedard picked up an assist in the Pats 8-3 loss to the Winnipeg Ice playing in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina to keep his consecutive games point streak alive. Bedard has five goals and five assists over the Pats first six games. The North Vancouver, B.C., product was the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old.
• On Monday, Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nolan Ritchie was named the WHL player of the week for the week ending March 21, 2021. Ritchie posted three goals and four assists in three games in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina for the week of the award. The Wheat Kings posted a 2-1 record in those games.
• On Monday, Everett Silvertips goaltender Dustin Wolf was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week ending March 21, 2021. For the week of the award, Wolf won both his starts via shutout turning away all 40 shots he faced.
• On Monday, the CFL announced the list of players who have been invited to take part in the league’s virtual combine. The invitees include three members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in defensive backs Nelson Lokombo and Josh Hagerty and centre Connor Berglof. Along with the three Huskies, two members of the University of Regina Rams football team have also been invited to take part in the virtual combine including running back Kyle Borsa and linebacker Robbie Lowes.
• Tickets are on sale for the March jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Wednesday, March 31, April 30 and May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Monday, the NHL regular season contest between the Montreal Canadiens and the visiting Edmonton Oilers had been postponed after Montreal forwards Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were added to the NHL’s COVID protocol list. On Tuesday, the NHL announced the Canadiens have had their games through Sunday postponed. The league said it is expected the Canadiens will be able to reopen their facilities for practice this coming Monday pending COVID-19 test results over the next few days.
• In the world of sports entertainment, All Elite Wrestling has emerged as a true competitor to the WWE. AEW was founded on Jan. 1, 2019 and has a great two-hour show that airs on TNT in the United States and TSN in Canada called AEW Dynamite. The episode on March 17, 2021 closed with what was known in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a hardcore match between Dr. Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa. AEW called it an unsanctioned lights out match. It also marked the first time a women’s match was the main event on an AEW broadcast show. The match has gathered rave reviews from those the follow the sports entertainment world since it aired, and it might go down as the match of the year. The full match can be found on Youtube by clicking right here.
• With the emergence of AEW, it appears the WWE is beginning to push its boundaries once again. After the WWE bought out WCW in 2001, it pretty uncontested when to came to sports entertainment wrestling shows. Most independent promotions didn’t have the resources WWE had. As a result, WWE started to move back towards more PG programming that families could watch. That has noticeably changed over the last few months involving the storyline feud with Bray Wyatt, who is also known as The Fiend, and Alexa Bliss going against Randy Orton. In a pay per view held on Dec. 20, 2020, Orton burned The Fiend alive after a match. On the Jan. 25 episode of RAW, Orton interfered in Bliss’s match against Asuka for the WWE RAW Women’s title. Orton took out Bliss with his RKO finishing move costing her the title. The video of that moment on the WWE Youtube account nearly had five-million views in a week and currently has over seven-million views. The WWE usually tries to avoid moments where a male performer takes out a female performer. Bliss, who has supernatural powers in the storyline, tormented Orton for months resulting in an intergender match at the WWE Fastlane pay per view this past Sunday. Bliss won the match by raising The Fiend from the dead, and The Fiend took out Orton. Bliss proceeded to get the win the suggestive “straddle mount pin seen round the world.” The WWE used to do things like this on a regular basis during its Attitude Era that ran from 1997 to 2002, which included a period of intense competition against WCW from 1997 to 2000. Of course, Bliss’s straddle pin was done for the shock value. Orton’s wife, Kim, didn’t take to kindly to “the Moment of Bliss” involving her husband. On Sunday night, Kim put out a post on Twitter tagging Bliss which said, “You might have just F*&%ed up little girl.” The tweet reaction got a lot of play on the more tabloid media sites that cover the sports entertainment wrestling industry.
• Another reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still here happened to come from the WWE. On Monday, Charlotte Flair, who is viewed as the WWE’s greatest female performer, announced she hadn’t been on any of the company’s shows lately as she is at home battling COVID-19. Last Friday, WWE pulled Flair’s image off graphic advertisements for Wrestlemania 37 coming up on April 10 and 11.

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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Madden 2008 finally came out in these COVID-19 days

I dug out Madden 2008 for the PlayStation 2.

    Madden 2008 made its first appearance at my household during these COVID-19 self-isolation times.

    On Friday night, I finally dug out the PlayStation 2 and fired up the Madden 2008 video game. The franchise I was using was in off-season mode, so I didn’t play any actual full out games.

    I spent a couple of hours working through the very realistic off-season that was created in the game. In future versions of Madden, the off-season was toned down to fit with the hyper fast life most of North American society lives.

    Still, real football geeks more tilted to the fantasy side love the off-season mode in Madden 2008. I like it too, but I normally wouldn’t find time to play through something like that.

With society being shut down, I have been in the home office lots.

    With society being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked my off-season up to training camp and played through a couple of drills before packing it in for the night.

    Even just for playing the off-season, it was a fun change of pace.

    Over the past week, I think I have come to accept the fact the world won’t snap back to the way it was before the shutdowns that started to happen in North America on March 11 to try and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    At the moment, it is pretty safe to say the local sports world that I am involved in won’t be resuming normal activity for some time yet or at least until governments at all levels start lifting emergency measures and some travel restrictions.

I pulled out the Wayne Gretzky jersey on Thursday.

    While many things have shut down, I still kept busy this week. Usually, WHL playoffs would have started during this period of time, and I would be hyper busy.

    This week, I have been busy at a steady controllable pace.

    One thing I feel that has gone away for myself is the daily anxiety when it comes to checking messages and social media links for the first time each day. When the shutdowns first started to happen, I dreaded turning on any electronic device to see what new measures governments at any level might be bringing in.

    I like socializing, and I worried what it was going to be like to not be out at sporting events. A lot of my work involves getting out and meeting people.

    Over this past week, it hasn’t bothered me to work from home. Actually, most places I do to or spend time at away from home are now closed, so it is easy to spend time at home.

    With the extra time I have during the day, I have started into a habit of sleeping in. I’ve come to the conclusion that is allowing me to have the extra energy I need to carry on through the day and face anything that comes up.

I suspect I won’t be taking pictures of moments like these any time soon.

    Right now, there is so much uncertainty about how the world will unfold under the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The sports world, especially at the professional level, is really at the mercy of what governments elect to do with their emergency measures and travel bans.

    Even the Summer Olympic Games have been postponed until next year.

    Right now, there is so much speculation going around it is hard to know what to believe. There has been a fear the MLB, CFL, and U.S. college football seasons could be totally called off.

    I’ve heard speculation that society would be smart to stay in lockdown for a year.

    I’ve heard other speculation that this could let up in a month or two months.

The streets in my Saskatoon neighbourhood are quiet.

    Rod Pedersen, who does recovery and addictions work along with sports broadcasting, said and wrote the world is in a state of trauma.

    He said the two definitions of trauma he learned are “any situation your brain can’t comprehend,” or “a deeply distressing or disturbing event.”

    The COVID-19 pandemic is something the brain can’t comprehend, and it is an event that is deeply distressing or disturbing. I am pretty certain the world is experiencing trauma.

    As I have said before, I am just taking things day by day, because that is all anyone can control is how they react daily to something when it unfolds. The governments of the world have chosen their courses of action, and they aren’t going to change.

I’ve spent time reflecting and wondering when things will be normal.

    It feels weird to have not seen or covered a live sporting event since March 12.

    I try not to look too far ahead in the future, because that fuels anxiety. I am mindful that the world will likely be very different when the COVID-19 pandemic runs its course compared to where the world was before it started.

    In Canada, that last normal day was likely March 10.

    I hope this will be over by the middle of May, or the outlook will be better even two weeks from now. That is also an unknown.

    Until then, I just worry about finishing the most pressing task I need to get done that day, and try to spend some down time with family and friends.

    It is really the only way to proceed right now.

Robins cleans up on Blades awards, other notes

Tristen Robins won four Blades team awards.

    Tristen Robins was the man of the hour, when the Saskatoon Blades announced their team awards on Thursday night.

    The 18-year-old sophomore centre from Clear Lake, Man., had a breakout campaign leading the Blades in scoring with 33 goals and 40 assists for 73 points in 62 regular season games. Robins, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 173 pounds, posted a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Thanks to his efforts, Robins was named the WHL team’s top defensive forward, the most gentlemanly player, best forward and most valuable player.

    Due to government restrictions against gatherings of over 10 people at the present time, the Blades weren’t able to hand out their team awards after the final game of their regular season or at a team function.

    They neatly rolled out their awards via Twitter on Thursday night. They were able to produce great short videos with team supporters announcing the award winners.

    Captain Chase Wouters was another multiple award winner being named the club’s hardest working player and taking the team’s community minded award.
    Overager Scott Walford was named the Blades best defenceman. Left-winger Colton Dach, who was playing through his 16-year-old season, claimed honours as the Blades rookie of the year.

Captain Chase Wouters won two Blades team awards.

    Overage defenceman Nolan Kneen took home honours as the Blades hardest hitter. Sophomore rearguard Aidan De La Gorgendiere claimed the award as the club’s most improved player.

    Rookie 16-year-old centre Jayden Wiens claimed the Bentley Memorial Academic Award.

    Feisty overage left-winger Riley McKay captured the Fan’s Choice Award as the team’s favourite player for a second straight campaign.

    The Blades fan of the year award was given to Ryan Collinge.

    The Blades had locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season and had a 34-24-2-3 record in the regular season before the CHL cancelled the remainder of the regular season and entire post-season in the 2019-20 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Blades have to love the fact they have Mitch Bach as their new manager of communications. Bach was a skilled broadcast sports journalist, who spent a lengthy stretch at CHAT Television in Medicine Hat, Alta. The tribute videos he created for the Blades digital networks for overage players Kneen and McKay have been outstanding. The video for Walford is slated to run at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
• While there is great excitement in Regina the historic Pats will get to select Connor Bedard first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft on April 22, Saskatoon got to enjoy watching two highly touted bantam draft prospects play this past season. Forwards Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt had outstanding seasons playing as underage players for the Saskatoon Contacts midget AAA team. Yager had 18 goals and 24 assists appearing in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games. Heidt also played in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games piling up 17 goals and 20 assists. Bedard has exceptional player status to allow him to play full time in the WHL as a 15-year-old. Yager and Heidt were prospects for the exceptional status tag, but there hasn’t been any word if either of them would get that tag. Even if they don’t get that tag, they will be great additions for the WHL teams they join.
• With most gyms closed across the country and everyone trying to stay home as much as possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve seen pictures of a handful of home gyms come across various social media lines. Most have a partial old school feeling to them. Some of the coolest I’ve seen have been courtesy of track and field star Sage Watson, Hamilton Tiger-Cats long snapper Aaron Crawford, Saskatoon Hilltops receiver/kicker and star curler Rylan Kleiter and Hilltops alum and University of Regina Rams defensive lineman Garth Knittng.
• Big props to the crew I work with at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex for the newsletter that was put out this week. The lead front page column dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and sports was outstanding. Just to note, I did not have a hand in writing it, but it is fantastic. You can check it out 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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    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.

“Crank” up the party – Blades lock up playoff berth

Kyle Crnkovic celebrates his OT winner for the Blades on Friday.

    Kyle Crnkovic officially got the playoff party started for the Saskatoon Blades.

    On Friday night playing before 4,478 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades entered overtime locked in a 1-1 tie with the visiting Regina Pats. The host side went on the power play 29 seconds into the extra session, when Pats right-winger Riley Krane was given a minor penalty for tripping.

    Working on the power play, Crnkovic received a backdoor pass from linemate Tristen Robins by the right side boards in the offensive zone. Crnkovic quickly wired a shot on goal putting the puck in short side on Pats netminder Spencer Welke.

    The left-winger’s tally just 74 seconds into the extra session gave the Blades a 2-1 victory in the WHL regular season clash. 

Kyle Crnkovic came up clutch for the Blades on Friday.

    Saskatoon improved to 32-24-2-3 and officially locked up a berth in the WHL playoffs for the second straight year.
    “It felt like we were at like one (standings) point is all it took, and it felt like we were there forever,” said Crnkovic. “To have that now and secure a spot, now it is just trying to work our way up (the standings).

    “It is just trying to work our way up now and just keep playing hard.”

    The Blades had to battle through a tough break that went against them late in the third period. The hosts were nursing a 1-0 lead, and it looked that score would ultimately be the final result.

    With 43.5 seconds remaining in the third, a point shot from Pats defenceman Ryker Evans deflected up high into the air as a maze of bodies engulfed the crease area of the Saskatoon goal causing a net scramble.

Logan Nijhoff scores the late third period equalizer for the Pats.

    During the scramble, Krane ended up on top of Blades netminder Nolan Maier, and Maier’s catching glove got caught in Krane’s skate. When the puck came down, Pats left-winger Logan Nijhoff backhanded home the equalizer that forced a 1-1 tie.

    The officials went to a video review to determine if there was goaltender interference or incidental contact on the goalie to possibly disallow the goal but ruled Nijhoff’s tally was good.

    “There is not really much to say,” said Maier. “I don’t want to get too much into it.

Logan Nijhoff celebrates scoring the late third period equalizer for the Pats.

    “My glove was caught in his (Krane’s) skate and someone was on me and I couldn’t really move. The puck was able to find the back of the net. I like how the guys responded.

    “The guys were really positive on the bench. They were all awesome with me just trying to keep me under control and not kind of over think or get off my game. It is good.”

    Blades head coach Mitch Love was pleased with how his team bounced back after the Pats tied the game.

    “I thought our guys did a good job of resetting themselves, because it was a little emotional there at the end,” said Love. “I’ll be honest I wasn’t real thrilled with the call.

Tristen Robins picked up an assist on the Blades OT winning goal.

    “I had seen it and seen the overhead. It wasn’t just the incident. It was the few incidents leading up to it during the game that I felt like our goalie was being interfered with.

    “That is an argument for another day, but our guys stayed with it. We were composed. We earned that opportunity in overtime on the power play and got one past the young kid (Welke).”

    The Blades came out with good jump in the opening 20 minutes outshooting the Pats 16-11. With that noted, the Pats had the best scoring chance in the opening frame when left-winger Cole Dubinsky wired a shot off the post of the Saskatoon net.

    With 3:59 remaining in the second, the Blades took advantage of a positive bounce break. 

Spencer Welke makes one of his 37 saves in goal for the Pats.

    After the Pats coughed the puck up at their own blue-line, Blades rookie centre Colton Dach quickly fired home a shot from the right point that handcuffed Welke to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

    In the third, Robins had a huge chance to net an insurance goal for the Blades, but he fired a shot off the crossbar of the Regina goal.

    That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the third period and overtime.

    Maier stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Welke turned away 37 shots taking the overtime setback in his second career WHL start for the Pats as an associate player call-up.

    The Pats record moved to 21-33-5-2.

    Welke was playing for the Prince Albert Mintos, who have been eliminated from the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs. 

Nolan Maier (#73) held the fort in goal for the Blades.

    The Pats, who have been eliminated from contention for the WHL playoffs, have announced Welke will remain on their roster for the rest of their regular season schedule.

    The Pats were without their two regular goalies as Donovan Buskey is listed day-to-day with a hamstring injury, while Danton Belluk is out day-to-day with an upper body injury. The Pats had a backup goalie dressed and sitting on the bench who was not listed on the gamesheet.

    “Give the kid (Welke) credit over there,” said Love. “He is an AP goalie that played real well for them.

Ryker Evans controls the puck in the offensive zone for the Pats.

    “It was tight checking game on both sides, which has kind of been the season series so far.”

    Regina also scratched left-wingers Carter Massier with and upper body injury and Cole Carrier with an undisclosed ailment.

    Pats overage left-winger Robbie Holmes was sitting out the first of a four-game league imposed suspension, and right-winger Carter Chorney was sitting out the first of a three-game league imposed suspension. Holmes and Chorney were suspended for their actions in a melee that occurred at the end of a Pats 7-4 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors in Regina on Tuesday.

Colton Dach had the Blades first goal on Friday.

    Injuries were also piling up for the Blades. Overage defenceman Scott Walford is listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury and right-winger Randen Schmidt is also out with an upper body injury with his return timetable still to be determined.

    The Blades lost defenceman Rhett Rhinehart and right-winger Evan Patrician in Wednesday’s 4-3 setback at home to the Calgary Hitmen with undisclosed injuries.

    As a result, defenceman Marek Schneider, who is in his 16-year-old season, dressed for his sixth regular season game as an associate player call-up. Schneider was playing for the Mintos, and he is eligible to remain with the Blades for the rest of the 2019-20 campaign.

    Brandon Lisowsky, who is a 15-year-old left-winger, made his WHL regular season debut for the Blades. 

Nolan Kneen controls the puck for the Blades.

    The Blades selected Lisowsky in the first round and ninth overall in last year’s WHL Bantam Draft.

    Maier said the Pats always play his club hard and gave credit to Pats head coach Dave Struch for having his side ready.
    In their four head-to-head meetings this season, the Blades and Pats have gone to extra time three times and have each posted two wins.

    “That is just their culture in Regina,” said Maier. “Dave Struch is really committed to their hard work.

    “They give us a battle every night. It never changes with them. We know what we are going to get when we play the Regina Pats.

    “They just never quit, and they work hard all the time. That is all the credit to Dave Struch.”

    The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. from the Brandt Centre in Regina.

The Blades celebrate their overtime win on Friday.

    Love is expecting his club to be better in the second half of this weekend’s home-and-home series as opposed to last weekend’s home and home series against the Prince Albert Raiders.
    Last Friday, the Blades downed the Raiders 4-2 at the SaskTel Centre before getting dumped 3-0 one night later by the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    “We learned our lesson that way last weekend,” said Love. “That was mentioned to our group.

    “We have to make sure we remember what that was like. I think our start will be important in their building and just an opportunity to learn from last weekend. I’m intrigued to see where our team is at heading into tomorrow night.”

Ayres special guest at Blades Suits Up game

David Ayres, right, is pictured with a minor hockey team from Rosthern.

    The Saskatoon Blades brought in now famous NHL emergency backup goaltender David Ayres for their WHL Suits Up to Promote Organ Donation on Friday.

    Ayres became famous on February 22 for having to enter an NHL regular season game to play goal for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. After the Hurricanes starting and backup goalies were injured, the 42-year-old Ayres fulfilled his role as the emergency backup entering the contest in the second period with the visitors holding a 3-1 edge.

    He allowed goals on the first two shots he faced and turned away the next eight shots in a 6-3 victory for the Hurricanes. With that result, Ayres became the first emergency backup goaltender to earn an NHL win.
    At age 42 years and 194 days, he became the oldest goaltender to win his NHL regular season debut.

David Ayres, second from right, appears at the a ceremonial faceoff.

    He is the operations manager for the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ont., and is best known for being a Zamboni driver.

    Ayres had a kidney transplant in 2004, which has allowed him to live his life to the fullest.

    At the Blades Suits Up game, Ayres took part in the ceremonial faceoff before the contest, and he signed autographs during the first intermission. The line up to get his autograph was a lengthy one.

    For the Suits Up game, the Blades wore special Hockey Night in Canada themed jerseys and the coaches wore old school baby blue Hockey Night in Canada blazers. Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk also wore one of the old school baby blue Hockey Night in Canada blazers.

    The jerseys and blazers were auctioned off in a blind auction.

    All the proceeds raised from Friday’s game will be donated to Saskatoon’s Kidney Foundation Branch.

Burtney gets WHL Distinguished Service Award

Bernie Burtney, right, receives a WHL Distinguished Service Award.

    Long time Saskatoon Blades off-ice official Bernie Burtney was named a recipient of the WHL Distinguished Service Award on Friday night.

    Burtney was presented with his award by WHL commissioner Ron Robison in a pre-game ceremony before Friday’s WHL regular season contest that saw the host Blades down the Regina Pats 2-1 in overtime.

    Burtney is currently the off-ice officials supervisor for the Blades, and he has said this will be his final season working Blades home games.

    For about the past 30 seasons, Burtney has become a key figure in the Blades off-ice game operations. He is responsible for scheduling, interviewing, hiring and management of all off-ice officials at Blades home games.

    Burtney has conducted himself in a professional manner going above and beyond the normal requirements for the voluntary role. He rarely misses a game and shows up to the rink well in advance to prepare.

    During his time workings Blades home games, Burtney has consistently provided a welcoming atmosphere for off-ice officials and makes sure all are briefed and ready to perform their duties on arrival.

    The WHL Distinguished Service Award was introduced back in 2004 and is presented annually to individuals who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes on behalf of WHL franchises. In doing so, those individuals have made an extraordinary contribution at the club and league level over an extended period.

    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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Barlage pumped Hurricanes bump Blades jinx

Humboldt product scores key goal in Lethbridge win

Logan Barlage (#27) celebrates scoring for the Hurricanes.

    Logan Barlage was happy his family and friends didn’t have to see him lose at the SaskTel Centre.
    The third-year centre from Humboldt, Sask., is having a breakout season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have been floating in the top six of the overall WHL standings for much of the season. Despite the fact the Hurricanes are having a strong campaign, they hadn’t beaten the Saskatoon Blades in the first three head-to-head meetings between the two sides.

    Going into action on Saturday, the Blades had won five straight head-to-head meetings with the Hurricanes dating back to last season.

    That all changed on Saturday at the SaskTel Centre as Barlage scored a goal to help the Hurricanes skate away with a 4-3 victory to disappoint much of the 4,243 spectators in attendance.

    “It is good to win in front of family, and I think our team really needed this win,” said Barlage. “We’ve been talking about playing playoff hockey, and I think that we did that tonight.

Hurricanes C Logan Barlage (#27) screens Blades G Nolan Maier.

    “I am proud of the group.”

    Barlage entered the WHL on a full-time basis as a 16-year-old rookie before the start of the 2017-18 campaign with the Swift Current Broncos. The Broncos selected Barlage in the first round and fourth overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

    He was dealt shortly before the trade deadline of his rookie campaign to the Hurricanes, because the Broncos were loading up with veteran players to go on a run that ultimately saw them win the WHL title.

    Still, Barlage hadn’t piled up the points like he had coming up through minor hockey. During his first full season in 2017-18, Barlage had seven goals and 13 assists in 71 regular season games split between the Broncos and Hurricanes.

    Last season, Barlage had 15 goals and 24 assists appearing in all of the Hurricanes 68 regular season games. Despite not lighting up the scoreboard, Barlage said he just tried to focus on his effort and not dwell on his statistics.

Logan Barlage (#27) is having a breakout campaign for the Hurricanes.

    “It was just every day you have to get better,” said Barlage, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 205 pounds. “You can’t really worry about the points.

    “Obviously, sometimes you do that especially in your draft year. I think this year I really learned not to worry about it, because you never know how the season is going to go. I just focus on myself and getting better every day.”

    Barlage has found his stride this season posting 18 goals and 28 assists in 47 regular season games. He said the fact the Hurricanes coaches kept their faith in him helped create the breakout.

    “I think there has been lots of opportunity for me,” said Barlage. “I get to play lots.

    “I think that comes along with it learning how to play against other top players and just how to keep working on your skills and getting better every day. I think that has been big.”

Koletrane Wilson scored a goal for the Hurricanes on Saturday.

    When Barlage plays close to home, he likes to win. Due to the fact Humboldt is about 112 kilometres east of Saskatoon, Barlage had a number of family and friends in attendance at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday night.

    For most of the first period, it looked the Blades would have a good chance to continue their winning ways over the Hurricanes.

    The Blades stormed out of the gates getting a flurry of scoring chances.

    Just moments into the game, Blades left-winger Kyle Crnkovic drove a shot off the post of the Lethbridge goal.

    Shortly after that chance, Hurricanes netminder Carl Tetachuk had to slide across his crease to stone Blades star centre Tristen Robins on a point-blank shot.

    Tetachuk proceeded to deny Robins on a drive from the right slot to prevent the Blades from scoring on a third golden chance.

Brett Davis scored twice for the Hurricanes on Saturday.

    The Blades broke through at the 5:51 mark of the opening frame when Crnkovic deflected home a shot from the left boards from Slovakian import winger Martin Fasko-Rudas to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    The Hurricanes evened things up at 1-1 with 52.2 seconds remaining in the opening frame, when overage right-winger Brett Davis ripped home a power-play goal from the right slot to the stick side of Blades netminder Nolan Maier.

    That tally gave the Hurricanes a huge jump.

    Just 28 seconds into the second, Lethbridge right-winger Justin Hall passed the puck out from behind the Saskatoon net to Barlage, who potted his 18^th of the season to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 edge.

    Barlage admitted his goal was key in helping the Hurricanes build off the fact they tied the contest shortly before the first intermission.

    “I think it is a good momentum booster when we score goals and our team gets up for each other,” said Barlage. “When we had momentum, I think we really play off that, so I think it was an important goal.”

Kyle Crnkovic scored a pair of goals for the Blades on Saturday.

    The Hurricanes expanded their edge to 3-1 just under six minutes later with a short-handed goal by Davis. Davis got the puck in his down zone, blew past Blades right-winger Colton Dach who was manning the left point, zipped into the Saskatoon zone and put his second of the contest past Maier.
    Shortley after that tally, Blades feisty left-winger Riley McKay and Hurricanes right-wigner Nick Dorrington engage in a fight that mainly turned into a hugging match.

    With 4:52 remaining in the second, the Hurricanes surge continued as overage defenceman Koletrane Wilson fired a point shot through a screen to put the visitors up 4-1.

A group of young fans get into the action at the SaskTel Centre.

    Barlage said the whole surge resulted from the fact his team scored in the final minute of the first period and inside the first minute of the second.

    “We came in feeling good about the period,” said Barlage, who turned 19-years-old last month. “Then we go back out there and score a couple and get the lead.

    “I think that was ultimately why we won.”

    Before the second ended, the Blades got some traction and Crnkovic banked a shot from the left corner of the Lethbridge zone off Davis into the Hurricanes goal with 52.4 second remaining in the frame. That tally cut the Lethbridge lead to 4-2.

    Just 90 seconds into the third, the Blades trimmed the Lethbridge lead to 4-3 executing a perfect two-on-break. Right-winger Zach Huber broke down the right wing with the puck, fed a pass across the face of the Lethbridge goal to Dach, who netted his eighth goal of the season.

Hurricanes D Alex Cotton (#28) is stopped by Blades G Nolan Maier.

    McKay had a chance to net the equalizer on a breakaway during a power play for the Blades, but he was denied by Tetachuk. The Hurricanes held on from that point.

    Tetachuk stopped 26 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes (30-12-2-5). Maier turned away 17 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blades (25-20-2-2).

    Due to the fact the Hurricanes have three players in their 19-year-old years to go with their three overagers, Barlage, who is technically in his 18-year-old season, said his squad could still be considered a younger major junior team.

    Going forward, Barlage said his squad needs to keep striving to reach playoff intensity.

The Hurricanes celebrate their win on Saturday.

    “I think we just have to keep on playing hard,” said Barlage. “I think that is one thing I need to work on my game, and I continue to work on.

    “Since we have a young team, I think we just need to play that hard hockey and get ready for playoffs.”

    The Hurricanes return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Red Deer to take on the Rebels.

    The Blades get back at it on Wednesday when they host the Regina Pats at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    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.