Raiders in seventh WHL championship OT heaven

Hannoun hero in 3-2 extra time victory over Giants

Dante Hannoun (#17) reacts to scoring the OT winner for the Raiders.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - The only thing missing on this night was video of the late “Grandma Raider” saying, “Once a Raider always a Raider.”

    Calla Grasley must have been smiling down on her team from heaven.

    On Monday before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, overage centre Dante Hannoun tapped in a backdoor feed from linemate Noah Gregor with 1:35 remaining in overtime to deliver the Prince Albert Raiders to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series.

    The contest was arguably the greatest game ever played at the Raiders storied home rink.

    With the win, the Raiders take the best-of-seven series 4-3, and they captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions.

The Raiders mob Dante Hannoun after he scored the WHL title OT winner.

    “Honestly, I blacked out,” said Hannoun about his OT winner. “It was Gregs (Gregor) who made an unbelievable feed to me backdoor.

    “I just tapped it in. Like I said, I blacked out. It was just slow motion. It was unbelievable.”

    The victory marks the first time the Raiders have won the WHL title since 1985.

    That year, the Raiders moved on to win the Memorial Cup under the guidance of then head coach and general manager Terry Simpson, who is a legend in Prince Albert hockey circles. The 1984-85 Raiders team featured the likes of Dan Hodgson, Dave Pasin, Emanuel Viveiros, Dave Manson and Ken Baumgartner.

    The current edition of the Raiders advance to this year’s Memorial Cup, which starts Friday and runs to May 26 in Halifax, N.S. 

The Raiders faithful erupts after Dante Hannoun’s OT winner.

    Prince Albert opens the tournament Friday against the host Mooseheads.

    Hannoun came to the Raiders in a trade in early January from the Victoria Royals. He was elated to score the overtime winner that gave the Raiders the WHL title, while playing in his final season of major junior eligibility.

    “I am just so grateful for this opportunity for the Prince Albert Raiders bringing me in here,” said Hannoun. “I’m so happy. I’m speechless right now.”

    Gregor was excited that he was able to set up the winner and that his team won the league title.

    “It feels pretty good,” said Gregor. “That moment that Hannoun was able to put that puck into the net, I kind of blacked out.

    “I just chased him down the ice. He was already at the other end of the ice before I could even look up, so it was pretty unreal. Overtime in Game 7, it doesn’t happen too often, so it was pretty amazing we were able to come out on the winning side.”

Dante Hannoun was a big trade addition for the Raiders.

    Monday’s game had various swings. Giants import centre Milos Roman scored at the 4:45 mark of the second to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

    Gregor brought the Art Hauser Centre faithful to life scoring with 5:05 remaining in the second to force 1-1 tie.

    At the 4:25 mark of the third, Gregor took a pass from import defenceman Sergei Sapego and sniped home a shot to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

    Just over four minutes later Roman scored for the Giants on the power play to tie things up at 2-2 and ultimately force overtime setting the stage for Hannoun to score his winner.

    Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason was pleased his club overcame the swings in momentum, and he was pumped when Hannoun scored the winner.

    “It was just pure joy and pure relief,” said Leason. “They battled.

    “They brought it to us. It was a hell of a game, and when that puck went in, the building erupted and so did the bench. It just went crazy here.”

Noah Gregor scored twice for the Raiders on Monday.

    Ian Scott, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, made 24 saves in goal for the Raiders. David Tendeck turned away 37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Giants.

    Scott was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs. The Calgary, Alta., product played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL post-season posting a 16-7 record, a 1.96 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and five shutouts.

    “It was pretty cool,” said Scott about the MVP. “I couldn’t have done it without this group of guys.”

    Scott was more pumped to win the WHL title for the people of Prince Albert and all the supporters of the Raiders.

    “The fan support through this whole playoffs is something I have never seen before,” said Scott. “They drive us a lot.

    “You could tell tonight just the way they were cheering that they fuel us.”

    Monday’s contest mark the first time the Raiders clinched a playoff series on home ice since 2005, when they defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-0 in Game 6 of a second round series.

Giants C Milos Roman set to fire a shot past Raider D Sergei Sapego.

    Before Monday, the Raiders had clinched each of their three previous series wins in this year’s playoffs on the road.

    Actually, the last time the Raiders won a major hockey championship on home ice came back in 1982, during the franchise’s final year in the junior A ranks. That season, the Raiders downed the Guelph Platers 8-4 in Prince Albert in the deciding game of the Centennial Cup championship series to become national champions at the junior A level.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said it was great the Raiders home crowd got to witness the spectacle that was Monday’s Game 7.

David Tendeck makes one of his 37 saves in goal for the Giants.

    He said he was proud of his players remembering how a couple of teams taunted the Raiders core two seasons ago, when the club was young and building.

    “We lost with class, and we won with class,” said Habscheid. “Now, these kids are champions, and it is something they can carry with them for the rest of their lives and good on them.

    “If these kids would have lost, it wouldn’t have been right. It wouldn’t have been right for what these guys have gone through the last two to three (years).”

    Habscheid said it was great to see overage centre Sean Montgomery become a WHL champion. Montgomery is a career member of the Raiders who has played a team record 345 regular season games with the club.

Raiders goalie Ian Scott (#33) stops Giants winger Davis Koch.

    “Look at Sean Montgomery and what he went through with the losing and the taunting,” said Habscheid. “If he would have lost today, it wouldn’t have been right.

    “I’m really happy for him.”

    Montgomery said it was surreal to see Hannoun score the overtime winner and realize the Raiders had won the league title.

    “It was just the best feeling of my life,” said Montgomery. “Skating down there and throwing all our stuff, it was unbelievable.

    “We’ve had some tough years, and to end it off on the most incredible year of my life, I can’t put it into words.”

Raiders fans cheer one of their team’s goals.

    During the WHL regular season, the Raiders and Giants were the circuit’s top two teams.

    The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Raiders eliminated the Red Deer Rebels, Saskatoon Blades and Edmonton Oil Kings on their way to the WHL final.

    The Giants eliminated the Seattle Thunderbirds, Victoria Royals and Spokane Chiefs on their way to the WHL final.

The Raiders celebrate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Vancouver last won the WHL title in 2006 and last won the Memorial Cup in 2007 as the host team.

    Before this year’s post-season, the Giants hadn’t won a playoff series since 2010. Giants head coach Michael Dyck was obviously disappointed his team couldn’t pull out the WHL final.

    Still, Dyck, who is in his first season guiding the Giants, noted not much was expected from his team at the start of the season, so he was really happy with what his club accomplished in 2018-19. He was pleased with how his club battled back from being down 3-1 in the series with the Raiders to force Game 7.

Sean Montgomery takes a spin with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Dyck said Vancouver’s overagers in captain Jared Dmytriw, winger Davis Koch and defenceman Dallas Hines contributed a lot to the squad.

    “I couldn’t be prouder of our group of guys right now,” said Dyck. “How far they came this season and the way they battled in this series and right through the playoffs, it is a reflection of the character of this group.

    “For our 20-year-olds that are moving on, they left a legacy here. They’ve been a huge part of the chance in the culture and winning some respect back. For our younger guys, what an experience it was for them and a foundation to build on.”

The Raiders are all smiles for the customary team photo.

    The QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and the OHL champion Guelph Storm round out the field at this year’s Memorial Cup.

    While Monday’s WHL championship win was a high, Montgomery is looking forward to play more hockey at the Memorial Cup.

    “It is exciting,” said Montgomery. “We’re going to enjoy this for tonight, and then get ready to 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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Dmytriw sees Giants through to force Game 7

Captain nets third period winner in 4-2 victory over Raiders

Jared Dmytriw, left, celebrates scoring the winner for the Giants.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – It’s true thanks to Jared Dmytriw.
    The WHL Championship is heading to a series deciding Game 7 for the first time since 2014.

    On Sunday in Game 6 of the WHL final, Dmytriw’s Vancouver Giants, who were facing elimination, were locked in a 2-2 draw with the host Prince Albert Raiders heading into the third period at the Art Hauser Centre.

    At the 3:40 mark of the third, Dmytriw, who is the Giants captain, backhanded home the rebound of a shot taken by linemate Lukas Svejkovsky to give Vancouver a 3-2 lead. That tally held up as the winner as the Giants pulled out a 4-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the Raiders 2,580 seat home rink.

    With the win, the Giants tie the best-of-seven series 3-3. A winner take all Game 7 for the Ed Chynoweth Cup and the WHL title is set for 7 p.m. local time Monday at the Art Hauser Centre.

David Tendeck stopped 36 shots in goal for the Giants.

    Vancouver was down 3-1 in the series before rallying back to force a Game 7.

    The last WHL final to go to a series deciding Game 7 came back in 2014, when the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Portland Winterhawks to take the league crown. Edmonton moved on to win the Memorial Cup.

    Dmytriw, who is from Craven, Sask., was pumped to score the winner on Sunday.

    “It was unbelievable,” said Dmytriw. “To get the lead at that point in the game was huge.

    “Then, we kind of locked it down. I thought the team played well down the stretch.”

    At first, things didn’t start well for the Giants.

    Just 53 seconds into the game, Raiders power forward Parker Kelly shot down the right wing, cut to the front of the Vancouver goal, took a shot and banged home his own rebound to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

Davis Koch scored two goals on Sunday for the Giants.

    The Giants weren’t shaken by the early Raiders goal. Overage winger Davis Koch and left-winger Owen Hardy netted singles to give Vancouver a 2-1 advantage in the opening frame.

Dmytriw was pleased with how his squad bounced back after falling behind early.

    “It has kind of been the identity of our group this whole year is to bounce back,” said Dmytriw. “We knew coming into tonight whether they got the first one or we got the first one we weren’t going to change our game.

    “We were going to stick to our game plan, and I was proud of the way the boys handled that adversity early and bounced back.”

    Before the first period ended, the Raiders evened things up at 2-2, when Kelly netted his second of the game with 32.2 seconds remaining in the frame.

Parker Kelly (#27) sets to pop home a rebound for a Raiders goal.

    The two sides proceeded to skate through a scoreless second period setting the stage for Dmytriw to net the winner for the Giants in the third.

    Koch potted his second goal of the contest with 14.2 seconds remaining in the third to seal the Giants victory.

    Ian Scott turned away 23-of-26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders. David Tendeck stopped 36 shots in a sensational outing to pick up the win in goal for the Giants.

    “I thought we were OK outside of a couple of things in our D-zone that could have been better,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. “I thought we missed a couple of assignments.
    “We weren’t as good as we could have been. They played heavy. We can be better in our own end, and that will help us out offensively.”

Raiders fans cheer on Parker Kelly’s first goal.

    Giants head coach Michael Dyck was pleased with the resiliency of his team.

    “I’m proud of the way we’ve played,” said Dyck. “Coming into a building that is not easy to play in, but I think we fed of the energy early.

    “I like the way we responded after giving up a goal in the first minute. I thought we played solid from there.”

    After the Giants went ahead 3-2, Kelly had a huge chance in front of the Vancouver goal to net the equalizer, but he was stoned by Tendeck.
    Looking back on the contest, Kelly thought his team might have had a bit of a lull after he scored the game’s first goal.
    “I thought our start was good,” said Kelly. “Maybe, we kind of let our foot off the gas pedal.

    “We can’t be doing that.”

Aliaksei Protas jets up the right wing for the Raiders.

    The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    When the Giants fell behind 3-1 in the series, they faced a tough challenge in attempting to pull even. After winning two straight, Koch was pumped to see his WHL career get extended for a second time.

    “It is nice to stave off elimination in those two games,” said Koch. “I look forward to tomorrow in Game 7.”

    In Monday’s Game 7, the Raiders will be facing elimination for the first time in the post-season. Still, Raiders captain Brayden Pachal is looking forward to playing a winner take all contest.

    “It is something you dream of your whole life,” said Pachal. “It is time for us to take control of that opportunity.”

    The winner of Game 7 on Monday will earn a berth to the Memorial Cup, and this year’s CHL championship tournament starts Friday and run to May 26 in Halifax, N.S.

The Giants celebrate an empty-net goal from Davis Koch.

    In order to get to that point, the Giants are trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the WHL final since the Victoria Cougars pulled off that trick in 1981 against the Calgary Wranglers.
    “We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Dyck. “We didn’t think about winning three games when we were down.

    “We thought about winning one. It was an opportunity to come back into here, and we just wanted to keep moving forward from there.”
    Habscheid has faith that his players will find a way to prevail in Game 7.

    “This is a special group that I coach here,” said Habscheid. “It is a great bunch of guys.

    “We treated Game 5 like it was Game 7. We treated Game 6 today like it was Game 7. We will treat Game 7 like it is Game 7.

    “We’re fine. If I was going anywhere, I’d take these 20 guys with me. They are great kids, they’re winners, and we like our chances tomorrow.”

Storm romps to 8-3 OHL title clinching victory

    A five-goal surge in the second period powered the Guelph Storm to an Ontario Hockey League Championship series clinching victory.

    On Sunday before 5,005 spectators at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, the host Storm fell behind 2-0 to the visiting Ottawa 67’s heading into the first intermission.

    The Storm exploded for five straight goals to start the second period to go ahead 5-2 and cruised to an 8-3 victory in Game 6 of the OHL final.

    With the win, the Storm took the best-of-seven series 4-2. Ottawa won the first two games of the series before Guelph closed things out with four straight victories.

    Dmitri Samorukov and Isaac Ratcliffe both scored twice for the Storm, while Cedric Ralph, Nick Suzuki, Domenico Commisso and Keegan Stevenson had singles. Commisso’s goal was scored into an empty net, when the 67’s pulled their goalie for an extra attacker while down 6-3 in the third period.

    Noel Hoefenmayer, Kody Clark and Sasha Chmelevski had singles for the 67’s.

    Anthony Popovich turned away 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick Andree turned away 31-of-38 shots to take the loss in goal for the 67’s.

    The 67’s were without star goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was injured in Ottawa’s 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2. DiPietro is reported to have a high ankle sprain.
    Suzuki was named the MVP of the OHL playoffs posting 16 goals and 26 assists appearing all of his team’s 24 post-season games.

    The 67’s topped the OHL regular season standings with a 50-12-4-2 record and were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Storm finished eighth overall in the OHL’s regular season with a 40-18-6-4 mark.

    Guelph advances to play for the CHL title in the Memorial Cup tournament, which starts Friday and runs to May 26 in Halifax, N.S.

    The Memorial Cup field includes the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and the host Mooseheads.

    The Storm opens play at the Memorial Cup on Saturday taking on the Huskies.

    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 have chance to post biggest home win since 1982

Raiders netminder Ian Scott focuses on the play down ice.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Tonight could be a night in Prince Albert that gives citizens those good chills for years to come.

    When the Prince Albert Raiders hit the ice tonight at 6 p.m. local time against the Vancouver Giants in Game 6 of the WHL Championship series, the Raiders will be looking to post their biggest home since 1982. If they down the Giants in front of a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders will win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as champions of the WHL.

    If the Giants prevail on Sunday, the Raiders will have a second opportunity to win the best-of-seven series at home in Game 7 on Monday. Prince Albert leads the WHL final 3-2.

    Believe it or not, the opportunities for hockey teams to win major championships on home ice are a rare thing.

    The last time the Raiders posted a victory in “Hockey Town North” which is as significant as what they will be trying to do in the WHL final came 37 years ago.

Bowen Byram leads the Giants in post-season scoring with 25 points.

    In May of 1982, the Raiders down the Guelph Platers 8-4 to win the Centennial Cup at the Art Hauser Centre which was then known as the Comuniplex and graduated from the junior A ranks as national champions. That win allowed the Raiders to sweep what was then the best-of-seven junior A championship series 4-0 and gave them their fourth Centennial Cup title.

    The Raiders proceeded to move up to the major junior ranks joining the WHL for the 1982-83 campaign.

    When the Raiders won the WHL title in 1985, they swept the best-of-seven league final 4-0 with the series clinching victory occurring in Kamloops against the Blazers.

    On May 18, 1985 in Drummondville, Que., the Raiders downed the Shawinigan Cataractes 6-1 in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament. The Cataractes were the host team of the event.

    The Raiders two most significant victories at the major junior level happened on the road.

    Actually, the last time the Raiders clinched a playoff series on home ice came back in 2005, when they blanked the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-0 in Game 6 of a second round series.

    Following that series win against the Tigers, the Raiders advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series falling to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the maximum of seven games.

Brett Leason leads the Raiders in post-season scoring with 25 points.

    After the 2005 post-season, the Raiders wouldn’t win another playoff series until this year. Of course, they have won three straight playoff series to make it to the WHL final.

    Each of those series was clinched on the road.

    The Raiders faithful hasn’t had the chance to see their team win a series on home ice since 2005.

Of course, the Giants aren’t planning to make things easy. They are trying to force a series deciding Game 7.

    On top of that, Vancouver is attempting to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the WHL final since the Victoria Cougars pulled the trick in 1981 against the Calgary Wranglers.

    During the WHL regular season, the Raiders and Giants were the circuit’s top two teams.

    The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The winner of the WHL final will earn a berth to the Memorial Cup, and this year’s CHL championship tournament is being held May 17 to 26 in Halifax, N.S.

    Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason tops the Raiders in post-season scoring with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. Standout overage centre Dante Hannoun is second in Raiders post-season scoring with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points.

David Tendeck will aim to hold the fort in goal for the Giants.

    Star netminder Ian Scott has been the only Raiders goalie to see the ice in the playoffs. In Prince Albert’s 21 post-season games to date, Scott has posted a 15-6 record, a 1.94 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and five shutouts.
    Star offensive defenceman Bowen Byram leads the Giants in post-season scoring with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points. Overage centre Davis Koch is second in Giants playoff scoring with three goals and 16 assists for 19 points.

    David Tendeck has emerged as the Giants post-season starter in goal. Appearing in 15 of the Giants 20 playoff games, Tendeck has posted a 10-4 record, a 2.41 goals against average and a .914 save percentage.

    The Raiders want to get the rare championship victory party started in P.A.

    Can the Giants still spoil the proceedings?

    We’ll find out at game time.

Huskies win second QMJHL title in last four years

    The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies returned to the pinnacle of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

    On Saturday, the visiting Huskies blanked the Mooseheads in Halifax, N.S., 4-0 before 9,602 spectators at the Scotiabank Centre in Game 6 of the QMJHL Championship series. With the win, the Huskies took the best-of-seven series 4-2 and captured their second league crown in four years.

    The Huskies last won the QMJHL championship in 2016 and advanced to the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament held that year in Red Deer, Alta. Rouyn-Noranda dropped a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker in the title game to the London Knights.

    Against the Mooseheads in Saturday’s QMJHL title clinching game, the Huskies led 1-0 after the first period, 2-0 after the second frame before rounding out the 4-0 final with a pair of goals in the third.

    Rafael Harvey-Pinard had a pair of goals for the Huskies including an empty-net tally, while Tyler Hinam and Alex Beaucage had singles.

    Samuel Harvey made 28 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. Alexis Gravel turned away 31-of-34 shots to take the setback in goal for the Mooseheads.

    Huskies defenceman Noah Dobson was named the MVP of the QMJHL playoffs posting eight goals and 21 assists in 20 games.

    The Huskies topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 59-8-0-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Mooseheads finished first in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference in the regular season with a 49-15-2-2 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    As Halifax is playing host to the Memorial Cup from May 17 to 26, both clubs already have berths locked up in the CHL championship tournament.

    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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Giants gut out 4-3 win over Raiders, stay alive in WHL final

Davis Koch scored for the Giants on Friday.

    The Vancouver Giants won on plain old guts.

    On Friday night, the Giants pulled out all the stops to pull out a 4-3 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders in a fire wagon style hockey contest in Game 5 of the WHL Championship series at the Langley Events Centre. With the win, the Giants cut the Raiders lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

    Game 6 is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. local time at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. If a Game 7 is needed, it will be held on Monday at 7 p.m. local time at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Friday’s game was a contest where Giants could have easily been watching the Raiders celebrate at centre ice with the WHL championship trophy - the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The two clubs didn’t put on the greatest display of defence, and there could have been way more goals in the game had it not been for the play of Raiders star netminder Ian Scott and Giants standout goalie David Tendeck.

    When the dust settled, the Giants were able to give a final salute to the 5,033 spectators in attendance among a joyous atmosphere for the home side. The Giants won because they played their most desperate game of the series, where the desperation could have been costly too.

Dylan Plouffe scored the Giants fourth goal on Friday.

    The Giants broke through on the scoreboard first at the 7:42 mark of the first period, when left-winger Brayden Watts fired home the rebound of a shot taken by linemate Jadon Joseph.

    The Raiders evened things up at 1-1 at the 10:44 mark of the first, when import left-winger Aliaksei Protas fired home the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Sean Montgomery.

    In the final seconds of the opening frame, the Giants had a golden chance to go ahead off a set play on an offensive zone faceoff. Vancouver won the draw to star offensive defenceman Bowen Byram, but he fired a shot wide of the goal.

    The two sides proceeded to engage in a wild and wide open second period.

    Just 2:45 into the frame, Tendeck got crossed up trying to give the puck to one of his defenceman causing the puck to be turned over. Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason passed the puck out to standout overage centre Dante Hannoun, and he fired a shot past Tendeck to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.

    Only 50 seconds later, the Giants evened things up at 2-2, when Byram fired home a shot from the left slot in the Prince Albert zone after taking a nice set up pass from Joseph.

Bowen Byram had a goal and an assist for the Giants.

    Vancouver went ahead 3-2 at the 9:24 mark of the second, when overage forward Davis Koch fired home the rebound of a shot taken by defenceman Seth Bafaro.
    The Giants expanded their edge to 4-2 at the 11:13 mark of the second, when rearguard Dylan Plouffe blew home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle.

    With 4:06 remaining in the third, the Raiders cut the Giants lead to 4-3, when star overage centre Noah Gregor received a pass from Ozzy Wiesblatt and lifted a backhander past Tendeck.

    Before the second ended, Gregor had a chance to tie things up on a breakaway, but he rang his shot off the post of the Vancouver goal.

    In the third, play was tilted inside the Vancouver zone as Tendeck stood on his head to preserve a one-goal win for his team. The Raiders had a 15-5 edge in shots on goal in the frame.

    Tendeck had to make a blocker stop off Raiders star left-winger Cole Fonstad. The Giants puck stopper also turned away a dangerous redirection chance from Montgomery.

    There was a nervous pause when Tendeck got the glove on a long off-speed shoot in that bounced off the ice from five feet in front of the Vancouver goal.
    The NHL Entry Draft selection of the Arizona Coyotes stopped 37 shots to keep his team’s season alive.

David Tendeck made 37 saves in goal for the Giants on Friday.

    Scott, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, turned away 26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.
    Leason finished the game with two assists and has scored points in his last eight consecutive game netting seven goals and six assists over that time.
    The Raiders had offensive defenceman Max Martin back in the lineup after he missed two games after taking an awkward fall in the boards in the Raiders 4-0 win in Game 2 of the WHL final in Prince Albert.

    Byram and Watts each had a goal and an assist for the Giants, while Joseph finished with two helpers.
    Saskatoon product Dawson Holt had an assist for the Giants in their win.

    The excitement of Friday’s game was something you would come to expect from the WHL’s two top clubs in the regular season.

    The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The winner of the WHL final will earn a berth to the Memorial Cup, and this year’s CHL championship tournament is being held May 17 to 26 in Halifax, N.S.

Dawson Holt had an assist for the Giants on Friday.

    The Giants are trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the WHL final since the Victoria Cougars pulled the trick in 1981 against the Calgary Wranglers.
    While desperation allowed Vancouver to pull out the win, the Giants will be hard pressed to win two games in similar fashion in Prince Albert in order to capture their first WHL title since 2006.

    The Raiders are in all likelihood coming out of Friday’s game thinking they should have won. Their confidence of locking up the series in front of their adoring fans has to be sky high.

    The Giants still face a daunting task of trying to push the series to a Game 7.

    The Raiders are still in perfect position to capture their first WHL title since 1985, and odds are still in their favour that they will prevail.

Storm win away from Memorial Cup after 4-3 win over 67’s

    The Guelph Storm are a victory away from earning a berth in the Memorial Cup after winning their third straight game in the Ontario Hockey League Championship series.

    On Friday, the visiting Stormed posted a 4-3 win over the host Ottawa 67’s in Game 5 of the OHL final played before 8,855 spectators at TD Place.

    With the win, the Storm take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, which they trailed 2-0 at one time. They will try to close the series out in Game 6 in Guelph on Sunday.

    Tye Felhaber gave the 67’s a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Guelph exited the opening frame holding a 2-1 edge on goals from Cedric Ralph and Isaac Ratcliffe.

    Early in the second, Alexey Toropchenko scored for the Storm to give the visitors a 3-1 edge. Sasha Chmelevski replied for the 67’s just under three minute later to cut the Storm lead to 3-2.

    Nate Schnarr tallied for the Storm to give the visitors a 4-2 edge heading into the second intermission.

    Felhaber scored his second of the contest in the third for the 67’s to cut the Storm lead to 4-3, but the host side couldn’t find the equalizer.

    Anthony Popovich turned away 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the 67’s.

    The 67’s were without star goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was injured in Ottawa’s 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2. DiPietro is reported to have a high ankle sprain.

    The Memorial Cup tournament for the CHL title runs from May 17 to 26 in Halifax, N.S.

Huskies hold 3-2 edge in QMJHL final over Mooseheads

    The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies will try to close out the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Championship series on Saturday to capture their second league title in the last four years.

    The Huskies took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series downing the Halifax Mooseheads 6-3 in Game 5 on Thursday before 3,428 spectators at Arena Iamgold in Rouyn-Noranda. Game 6 of the series is set for Saturday in Halifax.

    Game 5 contained some big momentum swings. The Huskies took a 4-0 lead in the first period, but the Mooseheads cut the gap to 4-2 heading into the first intermission.

    Halifax scored early in the third to trim the Huskies lead to 4-3. The Huskies sealed victory scoring two empty-net goals inside of the final minute of the third period.

    Rafael Harvey-Pinard netted a hat trick for the Huskies, which included the two empty-net goals. Peter Abbandonato, Jakub Lauko and William Cyr scored singles for Rouyn-Noranda.

    Arnaud Durandeau, Raphael Lavoie and Samuel Asselin replied with singles for the Mooseheads.

Samuel Harvey turned away 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who last won the QMJHL title in 2016. Alexis Gravel turned away 39 of 43 shots to take the setback in goal for the Mooseheads.

    As Halifax is playing host to the Memorial Cup from May 17 to 26, both clubs already have berths locked up in the CHL championship tournament.

    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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Leason, Scott put Raiders a win away from a party like 1985

Brett Leason scored the only goal of Game 4 of the WHL final.

    Brett Leason and Ian Scott took a big step towards cementing their respective statuses as Prince Albert Raiders legends.

    On Wednesday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., Leason scored the only goal in Game 4 of the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants and Ian Scott made 36 saves to give the Raiders a 1-0 victory before 4,626 spectators.

    With the win, Raiders took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Raiders will try to close things out and win their first WHL title since 1985 in Game 5 on Friday at the Langley Events Centre with a 7:30 p.m. start local time.

    After winning the WHL crown in 1985, the Raiders moved on to capture the Memorial Cup.

    If the Raiders win on Friday, they will be flying home to Prince Albert with the Ed Chynoweth Cup in hand as WHL champions on Saturday.

    The Raiders and Giants entered the third period of Wednesday’s game locked in a 0-0 tie.

    The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:21 mark of the third, when defensive defenceman Jeremy Masella and import left-winger Aliaksei Protas combined to spring Leason into the Vancouver zone on a breakaway.

    Leason snapped a shot on net that Giants standout netminder David Tendeck got a piece of but couldn’t prevent from entering the Vancouver goal.  That tally stood up as the winner in a 1-0 Raiders victory.
    During the regular season, Leason broke out to achieve star status leading the Raiders in scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points appearing in 55 games. The Calgary, Alta., product, who played for Canada at the last world juniors, posted a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department.

Ian Scott made 36 saves to pick up a shutout in Game 4 of the WHL final.

    With his goal on Wednesday, Leason has recorded points in his last seven straight games posting seven goals and four assists over that time. In his 19 appearances with the Raiders in this post-season, Leason leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points, while posting a plus-nine rating.

    Scott stoned the Giants, when they played what was their best game of the WHL Championship series.

    The shutout was Scott’s second of the WHL final and fifth of the current post-season. The Calgary, Alta., product, who also played for Canada at the last world juniors, became just the fifth goalie in the history of the WHL to record five or more shutouts in one post-season.

    Scott, who has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has had a sensational regular season with the Raiders posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

    His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records.
    Scott has appeared in all of the Raiders 20 playoff games to date posting a 15-5 record, a 1.83 goals against average and a .931 save percentage to go with his five shutouts.

    With Wednesday’s win, the Raiders match their team record for most wins in one WHL post-season at 15 first set back in 1986. The Raiders played through a 10-game round robin under the format that was used in the 1986 WHL post-season.

    After the Raiders posted a convincing 8-2 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night at the Langley Events Centre, the Giants came out with a lot of fire in the first period of Wednesday’s contest holding a 15-9 edge in shots on goal. The hosts’ biggest chance to go ahead came on a short-handed breakaway by star overage centre Davis Koch late in the frame.

Brett Leason has had a stellar season for the Raiders.

    Kock tried to pick a corner of the Prince Albert net, but he was turned away due to a shoulder save by Scott.

    The second period was fairly evenly played with the Raiders holding a 12-10 edge in shots on goal.

    Vancouver’s best chance to score in the frame came from import centre Milos Roman, who fired a shot just over top of the Prince Albert net on a breakaway opportunity.

    Raiders import defenceman Sergei Sapego had a breakaway late in the second, but his shot was smothered up by Tendeck.

    Early in the third, Scott made a sprawling pad save on Giants winger Jadon Joseph to keep the game scoreless.

    That set the stage for Leason to score the game’s only goal.

    Scott continued to shut the door after the Raiders took the lead. He lunged across the crease of the Prince Albert goal to rob Giants defenceman Alex Kannok Leipert with a glove save.

    The Giants held an 11-5 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

    Tendeck turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Giants in a valiant effort.

    The Raiders won Wednesday’s game without the services of offensive defenceman Max Martin, who sat out with an undisclosed injury for a second straight contest. Martin was injured in the second period of the Raiders 4-0 win in Game 2 last Saturday, when he took an awkward fall into the boards.

    Leason and Scott are a couple of the big cogs who have helped the Raiders have a magical campaign. The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Entering the current post-season, the Raiders hadn’t won a playoff series since 2005.

Ian Scott is going to go down as an all-time great in Raiders history.

    Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. Coming into the current post-season, the Giants hadn’t won a playoff series since 2010.

    With the Raiders having won three straight games in the WHL final, the Giants are facing elimination for the first time in this year’s post-season. They face the daunting task of needing to win three straight games to win the WHL title.

    If needed, Games 6 and 7 of the WHL final will be held Sunday and Monday respectively back at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    The Giants aren’t finished, but they face a major challenge just to win on Friday to extend the series to a Game 6.

    The Raiders and their faithful back in Prince Albert can almost taste and already envision their biggest victory celebration since 1985.

Storm holds off 67’s, evens OHL final 2-2

    The Guelph Storm built a big lead and then held off a furious comeback attempt by the Ottawa 67’s to even the Ontario Hockey League Championship series.

    On Wednesday at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, the Storm and 67’s kept 4,983 spectators on the edge of their seats. After defenceman Hudson Wilson gave the 67’s a 1-0 lead at the 4:48 mark of the first period, the Storm responded with four straight goals to take a 4-1 advantage at the 13:34 mark of the second period.

    The 67’s tried to mount a rally, but the Storm ultimately held on for a 5-4 victory. With the win, the Storm evens the best-of-seven OHL final 2-2.

Game 5 is set for Friday in Ottawa.

    After Wilson gave the 67’s the early lead, Nate Schnarr and Alexey Toropchenko replied for Guelph to give the host side a 2-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.

    Toropchenko potted his second of the contest at the 6:46 mark of the second period, and Nick Suzuki netted his 15^th goal of the post-season at the 13:34 mark of the second to put the Storm up 4-1.

    Lucas Chiodo scored for the 67’s with 1:38 remaining in the second to cut the Storm lead to 4-2.

    At the 2:28 mark of the third, Liam Hawel tallied for the Storm on the power play to increase the host side’s edge to 5-2.

    Tye Felhaber scored a power-play goal for the 67’s with 3:55 remaining in the third to trim Guelph’s lead to 5-3. With less than five seconds to play in the third, Kyle Maksimovich scored for the 67’s when they had their netminder pulled to round out the 5-4 final in favour of the Storm.

    Anthony Popovich stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick Andree turned away 19 shots to take the setback in the 67’s goal.

    The 67’s were without star goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was injured in Ottawa’s 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2. DiPietro is reported to have a high ankle sprain.

    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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Massacre at Langley Events Centre – Raiders rip Giants 8-2

Brett Leason had two goals and two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    Well that one got ugly fast.

    If Game 3 of the WHL Championship series was a boxing match, the referee would have stop things very early.

    The visiting Prince Albert Raiders owned the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., on Tuesday night. Just 41 seconds into the festivities against the host Vancouver Giants, Raiders power forward Parker Kelly snapped home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Giants goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

    By the 8:20 mark of the opening frame, the Raiders were up 5-0, and they added two more goals to go ahead 7-0 heading into the first intermission to shock the 4,733 spectators in attendance.

    The Raiders ripped apart the Giants 8-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set. Game 4 is set for 7 p.m. local time at the Langley Events Centre on Wednesday.

    After what took play in Game 3 on Tuesday, one wonders how the Giants were even able to get one win so far in this series.

Parker Kelly had two goals for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    The Giants took Game 1 in Prince Albert last Friday 5-4.

    The Raiders bounced back one night later with a convincing 4-0 victory in Game 2 in Prince Albert.

    The Giants, who finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 48-15-3-2 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings, never looked so ordinary.

    The Raiders looked every bit deserving of their WHL regular season leading record of 54-10-2-2 and being rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    You had to wonder if Raiders popular athletic therapist Duane “Puff” Bartley would be allowed to lace up the skates for a shift in Tuesday’s game.

    After Kelly opened the scoring, the Raiders kept the fun coming.
    At the 2:27 mark of the first, rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt one-timed a set up pass from import winger Aliaksei Protas for a power-play goal to put the Raiders up 2-0.

Cole Fonstad had a goal for the Raiders.

    The Giants pulled starting netminder David Tendeck for Trent Miner following the Raiders second goal.

    Star right-winger Brett Leason was sprung on a breakaway by Protas and lifted home a backhander to give the Raiders a 3-0 edge at the 4:15 mark of the first.

    With the Raiders working on a five-on-three power play that became a six-on-three advantage on a delayed penalty, star left-winger Cole Fonstad scored to bring an end to a personal slump of going 12 straight games without scoring a point.

    At the 8:20 mark, Leason netted his second of the game knocking home a power-play goal from the doorstep of the right side of the Vancouver net to put the Raiders up 5-0.

    Kelly, with his second of the night, and star overage centre Noah Gregor rounded out the scoring in the opening frame with breakaway goals to put the Raiders up 7-0. Gregor scored on a backhander with under 20 seconds to play in the frame.

    In the second, the Raiders attempted to call off the dogs a little bit as the Giants held a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal for the stanza. Tendeck re-entered the contest at the start of the second.

Sean Montgomery had two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    With 3:49 remaining in the second, the Raiders lead expanded to 8-0 as standout overage centre Dante Hannoun tipped home a shot from Leason for the team’s fourth power-play goal of the contest.
    Inside of the final minute of the second, Vancouver got on the board, when Giants left-winger Brayden Watts snapped home a power-play goal from in close by the left side of the Prince Albert net. That tally trimmed the Prince Albert lead to 8-1.

    Giant import winger Yannik Valenti rounded out the game’s scoring netting a goal on a five-on-three power play with 5:16 remaining in the third.

    Leason had two assists to go along with his two goals to finish with four points in the contest. Hannoun had an assist to go with his goal for a two-point night, while Gregor had a two-point night too with a goal and an assist.

    Protas and overage career Raiders centre Sean Montgomery each had two assists on Tuesday for Prince Albert.

    Ian Scott made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

    Tendeck turned away 10 of 13 shots during his time in goal for the Giants. Miner stopped nine-of-14 shots during his appearance in the Vancouver net. 

Dante Hannoun had a goal and one assists for the Raiders.

    The Raiders manufactured the blowout without the services of offensive defenceman Max Martin, who sat out with an undisclosed injury. Martin was injured in the second period of the Raiders win in Game 2, when he took an awkward fall into the boards.

    For the Giants, the biggest plus was the fact Tuesday’s game did eventually come to an end, and the Raiders can’t transfer any of their goals into Game 4.

    Right now, the Raiders have all the momentum in the series.

    If the Giants don’t come up with an answer or a way to rebound, the Raiders will in all likelihood be flying back to Prince Albert with the Ed Chynoweth Cup following Game 5 of the series on Friday in Langley.

Mooseheads even QMJHL title series 2-2 with Huskies

    The Halifax Mooseheads and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are playing for keeps in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Championship series.

    On Tuesday before 8,216 spectators at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, the host Mooseheads downed the Huskies 5-1 in Game 4 of the QMJHL final. With the win, Halifax evened the best-of-seven set 2-2.

    Game 5 is set for Thursday in Rouyn-Noranda.

    In Tuesday’s clash, the two sides were locked in a 1-1 draw after the first period. The Mooseheads pushed out to a 3-1 edge going into the second intermission before rounding the scoring out with two goals in the third.

    Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Samuel Asselin, Jocktan Chainey, Arnaud Durandeau and Maxim Trepanier had singles for the Mooseheads. Peter Abbandonato replied with a single for the Huskies.

    Alexis Gravel made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Mooseheads. Samuel Harvey turned away 32 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    With the Mooseheads hosting the Memorial Cup from May 17 to 26, both participants in the QMJHL final have berths in the CHL championship tournament.

67’s lead OHL final 2-1 over Storm

    The Ottawa 67’s hold a 2-1 lead over the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League Championships series.

    Ottawa had won its first 14 straight games in this year’s OHL playoffs before falling to the Storm on Monday. Playing before 4,898 spectators at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, the host Storm jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period before romping to a 7-2 victory.

    Isaac Ratcliffe, Alexey Toropchenko and MacKenzie Entwistle each had two-goal nights for the Storm, while Nate Schnarr had a single.

    Sasha Chmelevski and Graeme Clarke had singles for the 67’s.

    Anthony Popovich made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick Andree turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the 67’s.

    The 67’s were without star goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was injured in Ottawa’s 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2. DiPietro is reported to have a high ankle sprain.

    Game 4 of the best-of-seven OHL final is set for Wednesday in Guelph.

    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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