Bedard should be allowed to stay with Pats

Connor Bedard jets up ice for the Pats in a game in April.

If Connor Bedard wants to stay with the Regina Pats, he should be allowed to stay with the world’s oldest major junior franchise.

Since the start of the current season, there has been no end to the speculation that the Pats should trade the phenom centre for what would be a massive haul of players and WHL Prospects Draft selections. That speculation has increased due to the fact the Pats appear to be your typical middle of the road post-season team.

Without Bedard on Friday night, the Pats downed the Raiders in Prince Albert 3-2 for third straight win to improve to 15-12-1-1.

Bedard, who is the Pats captain, is a generational talent and was one of a handful of players to be granted exceptional player status to play in the major junior ranks at age 15.

 During an abbreviated 2020-21 regular season, Bedard at age 15 suited up in 15 games for the Pats posting 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus category. The 2020-21 campaign was an abbreviated one due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

In 105 career regular season contests with the Pats, Bedard has recorded 90 goals, 102 assists and a plus-23 rating. He is currently at the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team and is pretty much a lock to be on that squad again to play in the world juniors that start December 26 and run through to January 5, 2023 in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds, helped Canada win gold at the last world juniors that were held this past August in Edmonton. He is the consensus pick to be selected first overall in the next NHL Entry Draft, which will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29.

Following the first overall selection, Bedard will be signed to an NHL entry-level contract and be playing in the NHL full time as an 18-year-old. Only something unforeseen would see that chain of events not play out.

Bedard handles himself so well on and off the ice with a maturity seemingly beyond his years that one tends to forget the North Vancouver, B.C., product is still 17-years-old. He isn’t old enough to vote in a political election or have an alcoholic drink legally.

Yet, it seems people already expect him to be Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, when they were in their prime as NHL players. At the moment, Bedard is still technically an amateur hockey player. While Bedard has a tonne of maturity for his age, he still deserves to have some leeway to be your typical 17-year-old who is finishing a final year of high school.

When Bedard met the media in Regina on Wednesday before departing for the selection camp of Canada’s world junior team, he said he wanted to remain with the Pats and play the entirety of his junior hockey career in Regina. Right there, that should be the end of the story.

Connor Bedard has 192 points in 105 career WHL regular season games.

If Bedard wants to stay in Regina and is able to stay there, it would meet the spirit of the rules that are currently in place in the WHL when it comes to making trades.

Following the 2017-18 season, the WHL put in rules that teams aren’t allowed to trade 15-or-16-year-old players who have signed WHL contracts. The only time a 17-year-old player will be allowed to be traded is if that player requests a trade.

The 17-year-old player will have to approach the team’s general manager to ask for a trade, and a team won’t be able to make the first move asking a 17-year-old player to waive his no trade clause.

The rule changes were made in response to the large number of trades that were made involving younger players leading to the WHL’s trade deadline of January 10, 2018. There were cases where 15-year-old players were being dealt before they had a chance to play a regular season game with the club that originally drafted them.

The spirit of the rules were to allow those players the chance to play with the team that drafted them and not have to worry about changing schools, while they were still in high school. The request for trade provision was put in to allow players who felt they were slipping through the cracks with regards to a lack of playing time to get a fresh start with a new club. A reality of junior hockey is that happens.

There are fans out there that believe somehow Bedard should be convinced that he wants to be traded to a club that is viewed to be a contender for the WHL championship and a CHL title, which is awarded to the winner of the Memorial Cup tournament. Often talk involves Bedard being moved to the Memorial Cup hosting Kamloops Blazers, the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice, Red Deer Rebels, Portland Winterhawks or Seattle Thunderbirds.

There are some fans that say if Bedard doesn’t want to be traded to a contender that has a major shot to win a Memorial Cup that there is something wrong with him and maybe he shouldn’t be the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft.

Once again, Bedard is 17-years-old and he is still not a professional hockey player at the moment. If he wants to remain with the Pats, that should be the end of the story.

He should be allowed to be a 17-year-old in some ways, because he will have lots of time in his life to deal with the business aspect of hockey. As a generational talent, it is unlikely he will be passed up as the first selection of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Back on November 30, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock got old school confrontational and testy with the media in Kamloops regarding questions about trading Bedard. Once it was clear Bedard wasn’t going to be traded, things calmed down and he had a pretty good discussion with the media.

Frankly, Paddock should have the freedom to go the old school route of being confrontational and testy with the media if he believes that is what is needed if Bedard doesn’t want to be traded and that question comes up. Over the years, Paddock has often been viewed by former players as the best coach they’ve ever hard, and Bedard is fortunate to have Paddock as his junior head coach and general manager.

With the way the WHL trade rules are, the only exception that could come up with the trading of a younger player would be to deal them to their hometown club, if their parent is dealing with a critical illness. Back in the 2006-07 season, then Pats general manager Brent Parker and then Saskatoon Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken made one of the classiest trades ever involved left-winger and Saskatoon product Derek Hulak, who was 16-years-old at the time.

Connor Bedard said he wants to stay with the Pats.

Derek’s mom, Alina, was battling cancer and ultimately passed away on March 27, 2007. Derek was playing with the Pats at the time, and Parker and Molleken ensure he was dealt to the Blades partway through that season to allow him to be closer to his mom.

If that type of situation came up again, you can be sure WHL office and the league’s member teams wouldn’t stand in the way of that type of trade being made to help a player off the ice.

In Bedard’s case, he doesn’t have to deal with anything like that. If his heart is set on staying with the Pats, that is the team he should be rejoining once his time with Canada’s entry at the upcoming world juniors concludes. That would also show the WHL’s current trade rules are doing what they are supposed to be doing too.

Benson nets first hat trick in Ice win, other notes

Zach Benson had a hat trick for the Ice on Friday.

Zach Benson had a milestone night powering the Winnipeg Ice to victory.

On Friday night playing before 1,621 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, the 17-year-old centre recorded his first career WHL hat trick. Benson also picked up an assist as the Ice, who are rated third in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, doubled up the visiting Spokane Chiefs 6-3.

On the season, Benson, who is eligible for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, leads the Ice in scoring with 43 points coming on 18 goals and 25 assists to go with a plus-26 rating in the plus-minus department in 27 games.

Conor Geekie had a pair of goals and an assist for the Ice, while import centre Vladislav Shilo potted a single into an empty net for the Winnipeg side.

Tommaso De Luca had a pair of goals for the Chiefs, while Carter Streek had a single.

Daniel Hauser made 25 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice, who top the WHL’s overall standings with a 24-4 mark. Cooper Michaluk turned away 38-of-43 shots for the Chiefs, who fell to 5-19-0-1.

The Chiefs return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (11-15-3).

The Ice get back at it on Sunday, when they host the Pats.

• The Moose Jaw Warriors hammered the visiting Calgary Hitmen 9-2 on Friday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Import left-winger Martin Rysavy had a huge night for the Warriors recording two goals, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.
• Tyson Greenway scored 21 seconds into overtime as the Tri-City Americans slipped past the visiting Prince George Cougars 4-3 at the Toyota Centre in Kennewick, Wash. The Cougars led 3-1 early in the third period, before the Americans rallied back to take the game. Netminder Ty Young turned away 48 shots to take the setback in goal for the Cougars.
• On Friday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on University of Saskatchewan Huskies place kicker and punter David Solie, who recently signed with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. Solie has worked at the Complex for a number of years and made a tonne of good relationships there over that time. The piece on Solie can found by clicking right here. I also created a photo roundup that focuses on showing the Indoor Training Centre getting into its busy season, and that piece can be found by clicking right here.

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

-------

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.

Molleken to get deserved banner night from Blades

Lorne Molleken mans the Blades bench on March 1, 2013. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)

Lorne Molleken was genuinely “all in” when it came to trying to take the Saskatoon Blades franchise to new heights.

Having spent 14 seasons with the WHL club over two different stints in the roles of head coach and general manager, Molleken authentically cared about the hockey team, his players and Saskatoon as a city. The emotion could be seen during his farewell press conference in late March of 2014 when he mutually parted ways with the team that just finished its first season under the ownership of the Priestner family.

The always classy Molleken said at that farewell presser the time had come to shake hands and move on and that there were no hard feelings. He was doing his part in clearing the way for the new owners to properly put their stamp on the team.

On Friday, the Blades will honour their all-time leader in head coaching victories as the 65-year-old Molleken will have a builder’s banner raised to the rafter of the SaskTel Centre before the club’s regular season finale against the Brandon Wheat Kings set for 7 p.m. The game should be a good one too as the Blades sit fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 37-26-3-1 record with the Wheat Kings sitting sixth overall in the conference with a 35-26-3-2 mark.

Molleken will forever be linked with some of the Blades best days under the ownership of the Brodsky family working alongside Rick and then Jack. Jack Brodsky would quickly become a lifetime best friend.

During his first stint with the Blades from 1991 to 1995, Molleken served as the Blades head coach as another one of his lifetime best friends in Daryl Lubiniecki toiled in the role of general manager.

That group of men took the Blades to the WHL Championship Series on two occasions in 1992 and 1994. In both appearances, the Blades fell in a series deciding Game 7 to the dynasty Kamloops Blazers.

The Blazers of that era are still viewed as having hit the ice with some of the best teams ever seen in the history of major junior hockey winning the WHL championship and Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1992, 1994 and 1995.

Had the Blades been able to best the Blazers in one of those Game 7 encounters in the WHL Final in 1992 or 1994, there could well have been a Memorial Cup championship parade through downtown Saskatoon.

The deep playoff runs and success the Blades were having saw Molleken depart to the professional ranks following the 1994-95 campaign. He ultimately served as head coach of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks for the last part of the 1998-99 season and the first part of the 1999-2000 campaign.

The Regina product returned to the WHL to serve as head coach of his hometown Pats when they hosted the Memorial Cup in the 2000-01 campaign. He departed to the professional ranks again after that season, but came back to the WHL part way through the 2002-03 campaign as general manager of the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Lorne Molleken gives instructions on the Blades bench in Oct. 2012

After the 2002-03 season wrapped up, Molleken return to the professional ranks as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins before Jack Brodsky brought him back to his true WHL home naming Molleken the Blades head coach and general manager for the start of the 2004-05 campaign.

Molleken served as head coach and general manager through to the end of the 2012-13 season after the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup. The Blades were sold from the Brodsky to the Priestner family during the 2013 off-season, and Molleken stayed on for one more campaign just as the general manager with Dave Struch handling the duties of head coach.

Struch was one of Molleken’s former star overage players from the 1991-92 campaign.

During Molleken’s second stint, the Blades topped the WHL’s East Division three times. They finished first overall in the WHL in 2010-11 posting the franchise’s best ever record at 56-13-1-2.

The regular season success didn’t translate into post-season success as Molleken’s second stint was littered with first and second round playoff exits.

Molleken’s combined 14 seasons with the Blades ultimate shows that life can be unfair. He put in a true and honest effort to build a team in Saskatoon that went all the way.

The Blades had teams that were good enough to go all the way in Molleken’s days. With that said, it is hard to win in the WHL, and there are lots of times in the sports world where ultimate victory just doesn’t get achieved.

The Blades with Molleken came incredibly close with those Game 7 WHL Championship Series losses in 1992 and 1994. The frustration was compounded when the Blades weren’t able to return to the WHL Final during Molleken’s second stint with the team.

There were times over the last four seasons Molleken spent with the Blades where fan criticism got extremely loud and sometimes was unfair.

Molleken might have been the most disappointed the ultimate victory never came with the Blades. He would always say he understood the fan disappointment and that not winning the WHL title and a Memorial Cup felt like those missing things.

Molleken had a 539-325-58 regular season record with 23 ties over his career as the Blades head coach. He deserved to enjoy one WHL title and one Memorial Cup win with the Brodsky family along with Lubiniecki.

While navigating all the ups and downs, Molleken always gave solid and accurate post-game interviews win or lose every game that often recognized the fact two teams were out there trying to win a hockey game. He often credited the opponents for what they were able to do to get wins or how well the opponents played when the Blades won.

Lorne Molleken makes a plea from the Blades bench in Oct. 2012.

It is common to run into numerous former Blades players that will say no matter where they went in hockey that Molleken was the best coach they ever had. While Molleken pushed for old school work ethic, accountability and discipline, he combined it with new school caring for his players, which wasn’t always seen in the sport at the start of Molleken’s coaching career.

Molleken was a players’ coach and the players were his boys. You could see that in the excitement he had when he delivered the starting lineups before games.

If you allow him, Molleken can tell numerous stories of the great memories he has of the quality players and people he coached.

The list of players he worked with included the likes of Norm Maracle, Ryan Fujita, Rhett Warrener, Struch, the late Wade Belak, Frank Banham and Andy MacIntyre in his first stint to Devin Setoguchi, Derek Hulak, Braden Holtby, Connor Cox, Darren Dietz and Nelson Nogier in his second stint. That list of names could obviously be much more lengthy.

Molleken always had his players’ backs and would go to old school lengths to ensure they were protected, if the opposition took liberties on them.

That was best shown when Red Deer Rebels right-winger Josh Cowen ran Blades netminder Steven Stanford inside the final minute of Game 2 of a first round playoff series on March 21, 2010 at the SaskTel Centre. When that incident occurred, the contest was already decided as the Blades were up by the 4-0 final score.

On the ensuing faceoff after Stanford got hit, Molleken sent out his five toughest players who went after the Rebels skaters on the ice starting a line brawl right after puck drop. Molleken was ensuring a message was sent that any cheap shots like the one Stanford took weren’t going to be tolerated.

During the brawl, Molleken was getting in a verbal confrontation with the Red Deer coaches. Of course, suspensions galore resulted from the extracurriculars.

Molleken always carried a line of tough guys to protect the team due to the fact he was worried that there were still too many pure old school coaches in the WHL even near the end of his time with the Blades.

If the opponent played straight up, Molleken ensured his team played straight up. While Blades followers often like to talk about the sexy stories like the brawl against the Rebels, the Blades under Molleken usually had quite a bit of skill on their first three lines and could play some fantastic wide open offensive hockey.

After leaving the Blades, Molleken, who sits fourth on the WHL’s career regular season head coaching wins list with 626 victories, worked one more season in the WHL as the head coach of the Vancouver Giants in 2015-16 before leaving the major junior ranks all together. He is still involved in the game serving as the director of coach development of the Prairie Hockey Academy.

While he no longer works for the Blades, Molleken has popped back into the SaskTel Centre every now and then to see the Blades play. When he pops in, Molleken will often be sitting with Jack Brodsky and Lubiniecki sharing stories about the good old days.

Molleken will be viewed as the greatest coach the Blades ever had until a bench boss comes along and oversees the Blades winning their first WHL title and Memorial Cup. Whenever that happens, you can bet Molleken would be the first person that wants to shake that coach’s hand.

Lorne Molleken, right, with Jack Brodsky on March 5, 2013.

As time moves on, Molleken might hold the distinction of being the classiest coach and general manager the Blades ever had. He raised the bar for the franchise in so many ways on and off the ice that it is only fitting the team honours him by raising a builder’s banner to the rafters of their home rink.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. All photos in this post are courtesy Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades. Stanks’ Sermon passes on a huge thanks to Hiscock for the photos of Molleken.

-------

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.

Unique WHL season put to bed

Developmental campaign allowed games to return

Connor Zary had 24 points for the Blazers.

There were some bumps, but the WHL’s developmental regular season for 2020-21 accomplished its goal.

The major junior circuit, which plays under the CHL umbrella, was looking to get a shortened regular season in for the 2020-21 campaign for developmental purposes. With the world stuck in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the WHL faced a huge challenge trying to get games back on the ice with its member clubs located across four Canadian provinces and two states in the United States.

The WHL put in constant work dealing with four different provincial governments and four different provincial health authorities and long with two state governments and two state health departments trying to get back on the ice.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHL wasn’t able to complete its 2019-20 campaign with the regular season getting paused on March 12, 2020 before the rest of that campaign was ultimately cancelled.

As the months of September to December in 2020 came and went with no game action, one had to wonder if the WHL would take the ice at all. The OHL, which also plays under the CHL umbrella, never had a season of any kind in 2020-21.

From late January through February to March 2 of this year, the WHL succeed in getting return to play plans approved. Originally, each of the 22 member teams were scheduled to play 24 regular season games each.

Teams would only play against their division rivals, and no spectators were allowed to attend games.

The circuit experienced come hiccups with positive COVID-19 tests. Last Friday, the WHL announced it had conducted 9,735 tests for COVID-19 from February 12 to last Friday and only 14 results came back positive.

Still, the WHL regular season came to a successful end Wednesday, when the Kamloops Blazers blanked the Prince George Cougars 4-0 in Kamloops and the Kelowna Rockets slipped past the Victoria Royals 3-2 in Kelowna.

The WHL crowned champions for each of its four divisions and nine out of the 22 teams successfully played a 24-game regular season schedule.

The East Division contained all five of the WHL’s teams based in Saskatchewan and the two clubs located in Manitoba. Those seven clubs got all their regular season games in playing in a true bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

When those seven clubs weren’t playing games, the players and staff all lived in the dorms at the University of Regina and Luther College, which is on the grounds of the U of R.

The East Division had the tightest divisional race, so in might have been huge all clubs in the division completed the entirety of their schedules.

The Brandon Wheat Kings topped the division with an 18-4-2 record edging out the Winnipeg Ice (18-5-1) by one standings point and the Saskatoon Blades (16-5-2-1) by three standings points. For their efforts, the Wheat Kings captured the Subway Cup.

Left-winger Ben McCartney led the Wheat Kings in scoring with 13 goals and 24 assists, while posting a plus-18 rating in the plus-minus department playing in all of Brandon’s 24 games.

Ice star centre Peyton Krebs led the entire WHL in scoring with 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points in all of Winnipeg’s 24 games.

Jake Neighbours led the Oil Kings with 33 points.

Of course, 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats gained most of the attention. He recorded 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus-nine rating in 15 games. The North Vancouver, B.C., product left the Pats early to help Canada win gold at the under-18 world hockey champions, which ran in late April and earlier this month in Frisco and Plano, Texas.

In the Central Division, the Lethbridge Hurricanes were able to play all of their 24 regular season games.

Positive COVID-19 test troubles with the Calgary Hitmen impacted the schedules of all the other teams. Still, the Hitmen played 21 regular season games, while Edmonton Oil Kings, Medicine Hat Tigers and Red Deer Rebels each played 23 regular season games.

The Oil Kings were the class of the division finishing first with a 20-2-0-1 record. Edmonton actually collected enough points in the standings to lock up top spot overall in the WHL even if every other team completed their originally scheduled 24-game regular seasons.

Star Oil Kings left-winger Jake Neighbours topped all Central Division players in scoring collecting nine goals and 24 assists for 33 points in 19 games played to go with a plus-29 rating.

In the U.S. Division, the Portland Winterhawks successfully completed their 24-game regular season. Positive COVID-19 test troubles involving the Tri-City Americans caused some cancellations in the U.S. Division schedule.

The Americans themselves still played 19 regular season games.

The Everett Silvertips topped the division with a 19-4 record. The Silvertips had enough points in the standings that they would have still finished first even if all the scheduled games in the U.S. Division were successfully completed.

Star netminder Dustin Wolf had an outstanding season with the Silvertips posting an 18-3 record, a 1.80 goals against average, a .940 save percentage and four shutouts.

Both the Central and U.S. Divisions played with teams playing out of their home rinks and players staying with their billet families.

The B.C. Division operated in a modified bubble playing games in Kamloops and Kelowna. The Royals, Prince George Cougars and Vancouver Giants all stayed in hotels, while the Blazers and Rockets stayed will billet families.

A major COVID-19 outbreak on the Rockets dented the B.C. Division’s schedule. The Rockets played the fewest games out of any WHL team at 16, and the other four B.C. Division teams each got 22 games in.

The Blazers topped the division with an 18-4 record allowing them to capture the RE/MAX Cup. Kamloops was the only repeat division winner from a year ago.

The Rockets only had a 10-lateral, 99-yard touchdown play chance of ending up with more standings points than the Blazers, if both teams made it to 24 games played.

The Rockets would have had to win all of their last eight games and hope the Blazers were limited to just picking up one point in the standings over their final two games.

Kelowna was awarded second place in the division due to its winning percentage coming from a 10-5-1 record.

Centre Josh Pillar topped the Blazers in scoring collecting 11 goals and 18 assists to go with a plus-11 rating playing in all of his team’s 22 games.

The Blazers ended the campaign winning six straight and were missing star captain Connor Zary for the last seven of their contests. He was injured on April 28 after taking a high hit from Cougars left-winger Jonny Hooker in a game the Cougars won 5-1 in Kamloops.

Hooker served a four game suspension for that hit.

Peyton Krebs led the WHL with 43 points this season.

Zary had six goals, 18 assists and a plus-nine rating in the 15 games he played for the Blazers.

For about three months from February 26 to this past Wednesday, WHL fans were able to enjoy following their team’s exploits, which may have included watching games online.

The fact the circuit got the games in it did is a major accomplishment.

Now league followers have to wait and see what an upcoming 2021-22 campaign will look like. At the moment, the start date is still foggy, but it could still potentially be in September or October.

The WHL will try to conduct as season that is as normal as possible, but in these COVID-19 times even with vaccines rolling out, there are still no guarantees.

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
cc: @kyrellsopotyk 🙏 pic.twitter.com/8KZmJhVWLH

— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) May 13, 2021

Chinn named Huskies chief athletics officer

The Shannon Chinn era is beginning for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

On Tuesday, the University of Saskatchewan and Huskie Athletics announced Chinn as the incoming chief athletics officer. She will begin her new position on June 15.

Chinn replaces outgoing chief athletics officer Dave Hardy, who is retiring. Hardy joined the Huskies in August of 2019 for what was originally set to be a two-year interim basis.

Born and raised in Regina, Chinn has most recently been working as the director of Look Sports, which is the Ontario-based Look Company. That company is responsible for the signing and branding at many large stadiums and sporting events in Canada.

In Saskatchewan, Chinn became well connected after holding the role of manager of corporate partnerships and game day operations with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2006 to 2010, which included their Grey Cup championship year in 2007.

Chinn, 45, is an elected Football Canada board member, on the business development committee, the female development committee and co-chair of the diversity task force.

She has also worked for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and TSN.

Before embarking on her sports administration career, Chinn was a player with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s basketball team and played for Saskatchewan’s women’s provincial team program. She has a bachelor’s degree in human kinetics from the University of Ottawa.

“I am appreciative of all of the previous leaders, coaches and athletes who have laid the strong and successful foundation here,” said Chinn in a release. “I look forward to building on their hard work to improve the student-athlete experience, amplify the high-performance culture, and raise the pride and profile through student and community engagement to take Huskie Athletics to the next level.”

Hulak returns to Huskies as assistant coach, other notes

Excited to welcome @dhulak89 back to Saskatoon as an assistant coach. One of the best in program history will join our staff behind the bench after 8 seasons as a pro!#HuskiePride pic.twitter.com/P4XeoqOnEu

— USask Huskie Men's Hockey (@HuskiesMHKY) May 13, 2021

Derek Hulak is coming home.

On Thursday, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies announced Hulak will be joining the men’s hockey team as an assistant coach. Hulak is popular in the Saskatoon and area hockey community, and he has a long history of being a skilled forward for many programs.

From 2004 to 2006, Hulak played two seasons for the Saskatoon Contacts male under-18 AAA team appearing 76 regular season games piling up 34 goals and 53 assists.

The Saskatoon product started his WHL career with the Regina Pats playing one game as an associate player call up in 2005-06 and 19 games to start the 2006-07 campaign with the Regina Pats. In his 20 games with the Pats, Hulak had six goals and four assists.

He was traded to his hometown Saskatoon Blades and remained with the Blades through the end of the 2009-10 campaign. Hulak was the Blades captain in his final season with the team.

In 247 career regular season games with the Blades, Hulak recorded 89 goals, 143 assists and a plus-23 rating in the plus-minus department.

Following his time with the Blades, Hulak started the 2010-11 season with the Tulsa Oilers in the Central Hockey League before joining the Huskies halfway through that campaign.

Derek Hulak pictured in 2015.

Hulak remained with the Huskies through the end of the 2013-14 campaign appearing in 87 career regular season games recording 34 goals, 89 assists and a plus-29 rating.

He was the Canada West Conference scoring champion during the 2011-12 campaign, when the Huskies won the conference title, and in his final season in 2013-14. Hulak was named the MVP of the Canada West Conference in his final season with the Huskies and the MVP of the U Sports championship tournament that was hosted in Saskatoon where the Huskies fell in the final to their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

On top of playing for the Huskies, Hulak moved back to the professional ranks in 2013-14 joining the Texas Stars of the AHL, and he helped them win the Calder Cup as league champions.

Hulak would play seven more seasons professionally before finishing with HC Thurgau this past season in Switzerland. The 31-year-old Hulak has kept strong with the former programs he played for in Saskatoon.

Hulak’s addition to the coaching staff of the Huskies men’s hockey team under the direction of head coach Mike Babcock will be popular in Saskatoon and area.

• I created a couple of new posts that went live on Sunday for the Howe Happenings blog, which supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. The first piece was an enjoyable one to write on Derek Rope, who is one of the newest Board of Directors members for the Friends of the Bowl. Rope is a long time coach and administrator in track and field, where he has had a focus on indigenous athletes. He was once a member of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s track and field team too. The story on Rope can be found by clicking right here. I also put together another photo round of happenings at the Complex. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Tuesday, the Western Canadian Softball Association cancelled all its western championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WCSA stated it ultimately felt the championships were no longer viable while ensuring the health and well-being of all athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators.
• Tickets are on sale for the May 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. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Wednesday, five members from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team and three members of the University of Regina Rams were given roster recognition for the U Sports East-West Bowl. The Huskies named to the roster included defensive lineman Nathan Cherry, running back Adam Machart, defensive back Charlie Ringland, kicker David Solie and offensive lineman Noah Zerr. The Rams named to the roster included defensive back Jaxon Ford, receiver Bennett Stusek and linebacker Ryder Varga. The U Sports East-West Bowl won’t be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On Wednesday, power forward Parker Kelly, who is an alumnus of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders, made his NHL debut for the Ottawa Senators. He scored the Senators third goal in their 4-3 overtime victory on home ice at the Canadian Tire Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kelly played four seasons for the Raiders from 2015 to 2019 appearing in 273 career regular season games posting 93 goals, 95 assists and a plus-50 rating. He helped the Raiders win the WHL title in 2018-19. The Senators finished the 2020-21 regular season with a 23-28-5 record.

🚨Parker Kelly scores his 1st career NHL goal! What a weird one!#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/y9R8FSdlNO

— Sens Prospects (@SensProspects) May 13, 2021

• On Thursday, organizers of the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo in Calgary, Alta., are postponing this year’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The expo was planned tentatively to run July 30 to August 2. No new dates for the expo were announced.
• On Thursday, the WHL announced it raised $19,455 for the Canadian Mental Health Association in Western Canada through the Goals for Mental Health campaign presented by RE/MAX. RE/Max donated $15 for every goal scored by the 17 WHL clubs in Western Canadian markets this past season.
• On Thursday, the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts signed University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team defensive back Josh Hagerty. The Argonauts selected the U Sports standout in the sixth round and 47th overall in the CFL Draft on May 4.
• Two years ago today, the Prince Albert Raiders won the WHL Championship  in an epic Game 7 league title clash against the visiting Vancouver Giants at the Art Hauser Centre. Dante Hannoun scored the winner in overtime to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory. I was in the building live that night, and my blog post about that came can be found by clicking right here.
• Taking a cue from sites and platforms that cover and comment on sports entertainment’s professional wrestling, please feel free to like and share this blog post on social media. It does help this blog.
• Speaking of professional wrestling, there is no question that Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada’s own Chris Jericho has reached legend status in that industry. At age 50, he still performs at a high level. Jericho will always be remembered as one of the greatest on the microphone. At AEW shows, the fans show respect for Jericho by singing his theme song “Judas,” when he comes out for matches. Jericho’s rock band, Fozzy, created that theme song. It is a moment that gives you chills. You can see that moment on the AEW Dynamite show on May 5, when he headed to the ring with his Inner Circle stable for a War Games style “Blood and Guts” match. That entrance is shown in the tweet below.

Judas hits a little different tonight #BLOODandGUTS #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/3m114t5uoD

— All Elite Wrestling on TNT (@AEWonTNT) May 6, 2021

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

-------

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

Blades’ McKay at his pest best in win over Wheat Kings

Blades LW Riley McKay (#39) chirps Wheat Kings D Zach Wytinck (#29).

    It’s a Riley McKay world and the Brandon Wheat Kings are just living in it.

    The feisty 19-year-old left-winger with the Saskatoon Blades started and ended the proceedings with an exclamation point on Sunday in a 6-3 WHL regular season victory over the Wheat Kings. 

    In between, the Swan River, Man., product was at his agitating best getting into all sorts of extra-curricular activities on the ice, while scoring two goals and engaging in a fight before 4,815 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    McKay provided the exclamation point with 1:33 remaining in the third period scoring into an empty-net to seal the win, and he proceeded to chirp Wheat Kings 19-year-old defenceman Zach Wytinck after the tally.

Riley McKay scored a pair of goals for the Blades on Sunday.

    “I was just having some fun with it,” said McKay. “(I was) just giving a little bit of trash talk to make sure that he knows we won the game.”

    The fifth meeting between the two sides was fairly chippy and saw both sides goes 2-for-7 on the power play. It seemed like the type of game that was built for McKay, who has 117 penalty minutes this season, and he didn’t deny it.

    “I really like when games are like this,” said McKay. “It is fast paced, hard hitting and it is lots of fun.”

    All parts of McKay’s game were on display Sunday besides the side that sees him play the role of agitator. He can make some pretty creative offensive plays as well.

Riley McKay (#39) celebrates his breakaway goal.

    In opening the game’s scoring at the 9:23 mark of the first period, he looked like former Blades captain Derek Hulak going in on a breakaway switching from forehand to backhand and sliding a shot past Wheat Kings netminder Jiri Patera.

    “That was a good one,” said McKay, who has 11 goals and nine assists this season. “I didn’t know it went in for sure or not, because it went slow over the line.

    “I thought it went in, so it felt good.”

    A little under four minutes later, McKay engaged in a spirited fight with Wheat Kings defenceman Braydyn Chizen. McKay, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 192 pounds, was outsized by Chizen, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 207 pounds, but more than held his own in the bout.

    Blades overage right-winger Max Gerlach said his team gets pumped up, when McKay is out there doing his thing.

Blades LW Riley McKay, left, fights Wheat Kings D Braydyn Chizen (#5).

    “He is awesome to have in the room,” said Gerlach, who had three assists in the win. “It is awesome when he goes out there and fights probably the biggest guy in the league early in the game.

    “It gets us fired up on the bench. I thought it was good from all the boys. I think that everyone was pretty emotionally invested in the game.

    “That is how the playoffs are going to be. It is good to see everyone comfortable in those situations and come out with a big two points.”

    Shortly after McKay’s fight, the Blades struck for a pair of goals 31 seconds apart from each other coming from the sticks of rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who celebrated his 17^th birthday on Sunday, and captain Chase Wouters. 

Riley McKay controls the puck in the offensive zone.

    The surge gave the Blades a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

    Brandon pushed back in the second frame. Overage left-winger Linden McCorrister scored a short-handed goal 32 seconds into the frame, and captain Stelio Mattheos netted a power-play goal at the 10:39 mark to cut the Blades lead to 3-2.

    Just 43 seconds later, Wouters netted his second of the game to give the Blades a 4-2 advantage. Sunday marked the first time this season Wouters scored twice in one game.

    “I hadn’t scored two goals in a game in a while,” said Wouters. “That was a pretty cool experience for me.”

    Before the second period ended, the Wheat Kings cut the Blades lead to 4-3 with a power-play goal coming from 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ridly Greig.

    The Blades jumped ahead 5-3 at the 5:02 mark of the third, when offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson wired a point-shot that was tipped by centre Tristen Robins to the top right corner of the Brandon goal.

    That set the stage for McKay to get his empty-netter near the end of the frame.

    Wouters had a sly smile, when he talked about McKay.

Kyle Crnkovic scored for the Blades on Sunday.

    “Riley, he is a big part of our team,” said Wouters. “He’s physical, and he does all the right things for us.

    “He gets goals when he can, so it’s perfect.”

    Nolan Maier made 25 saves in goal for the Blades, who have won four straight to improve to 34-13-8 to sit fourth overall in the league. Jiri Patera would turn away 31 of 36 shots in goal for the Wheat Kings, who feel to 23-22-3-4 with the setback.

    Besides winning their last four straight, the Blades have collected points in the standings in their last 10 straight games going 8-0-2 over that stretch of time.

Captain Chase Wouters had a pair of goals for the Blades on Sunday.

    “The guys have been playing awesome,” said McKay. “We’re just staying the course.

    “We always say that in the dressing room, just stay the course and play a full 60 (minutes). No matter what happens in the game just keep playing hard and keep working, and we know we’ll have a good outcome.”

    The Wheat Kings return home to host the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday at Westoba Place at 7 p.m. local time.

    The Blades now head out on a four game road swing beginning on Wednesday, when they travel to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers at 7 p.m. local time. McKay is looking forward to the upcoming crunch time push.

Blades G Nolan Maier (#73) stops Wheat Kings LW Cole Reinhardt (#23).

    “We’re getting into that last stretch here, where it is all like playoff hockey,” said McKay. “We just have to play simple and play hard and try to get the win.”

    NOTES – The Blades were without star centre Kirby Dach, who left Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current after taking a puck in the throat. Dach sat out as a precaution.

    Aiden De La Gorgendiere, who is a 16-year-old defenceman, is listed as being out indefinitely with an upper body injury. He suffered the injury taking a hit from Edmonton Oil Kings left-winger Jake Neighbours in a 4-3 overtime setback the Blades took at home on Feb. 2. 

The Blades celebrate their victory on Sunday.

    Neighbours was given a boarding major and a game misconduct on the play and was suspended for four games by the WHL office.

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

-------

    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.

Huskies’ Vance should be Canada West MVP

Goalie Jessica Vance, left, gives a fist bump with Kennedy Harris.

    In the season of the shutout, Jessica Vance has reigned supreme.

    As a result, the sophomore goalie from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team should be the most valuable player in the Canada West Conference.

    Vance, who stands 5-foot-7, had an impressive first campaign with the Huskies posting a 14-3-1 record, a 0.77 goals against average, a .964 save percentage and nine shutouts. She topped the conference in most wins, the best save percentage and most shutouts.

    Her shutout total equals former University of Alberta Pandas netminder Stacey McCullough for the second most shutouts ever recorded in the Canada West Conference in one U Sports regular season. McCullough posted nine shutouts in the 2000-01 campaign.

    Lindsey Post, who is another former Pandas netminder, holds the Canada West record for most shutouts in one U Sports regular season at 10 recorded in the 2014-15 campaign.

Jessica Vance topped Canada West in wins, save percentage and shutouts.

    Thanks to Vance’s efforts, the Huskies posted 12 total shutouts as a team in the campaign to equal a Canada West Conference team record for one season. The Pandas also posted 12 shutouts coming in the 2008-09 campaign.

    The 20-year-old Prince Albert, Sask., product played a key part in helping the Huskies finish second overall in Canada West with a 19-7-2 record. The 19 wins marked a new Huskies team record for most victories in one regular season. That finish allows the Huskies to host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series that is slated to start with Game 1 on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    Vance helped the Huskies get to a place in the standings they haven’t been since they last finished second in Canada West back in the 2013-14 campaign with an 18-4-6 record. The Huskies also won the Canada West title in that campaign and a bronze medal at the U Sports national championship tournament.

    Since the 2013-14 season, the Huskies have still been good finishing fifth in 2014-15 and fourth in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. They were in search of that extra edge to push them back into one of the top two spots in the standings, and Vance gave them that edge. That fact should play a major part in naming her the most valuable player in the conference.

Jessica Vance played with a great calm in goal for the Huskies.

    Vance posted a 6-3-1 mark and two shutouts in the combined starts she made against the University of Manitoba Bisons, the defending U Sports champion Pandas and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. In the latest U Sports Top 10 rankings, the Bisons are rated first, the Pandas second and the Thunderbirds are fifth.

    The Huskies didn’t crack the U Sports Top 10 even with their second place finish in Canada West and the wins they put up against the Bisons, Pandas and Thunderbirds. If the Huskies aren’t worthy of being rated in the U Sports Top 10 rankings with their Canada West foes, then Vance should be given that much more credit for the record the Huskies had and add to the reasons she should be the Canada West MVP.

    In 2017-18, 54 of the 112 regular season games played in the Canada West Conference for women’s hockey ended in shutouts, which meant the pressure was on the goalies to not even give up a single goal on most nights. Through the whole season, Vance never got rattled by that type of pressure. She had a calm about her in net that few goalies female or male have.

    On top of all of that, Vance went over two-and-a-half years between competitive starts.

Jessica Vance’s play was key in a second place finish for the Huskies.

    Way back on March 25, 2015, Vance played her final game with the Prince Albert Northern Bears making 20 saves in a 2-0 loss to the Saskatoon Stars in Game 3 of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League championship series at the Agriplace Arena. The Stars swept the best-of-five series 3-0.

    With her midget AAA career having reached a conclusion, Vance originally planned to join the University of Manitoba Bisons women’s hockey team, but she sat out the 2015-16 season as a medical redshirt after suffering a major leg injury playing competitive softball in the summer of 2015.

    Vance dressed for one game as a backup goalie early last season for the Bisons before electing to play closer to home choosing to transfer to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s team. Due to dressing for that one game, she wasn’t eligible to play for the Huskies until Nov. 1, 2017.

    Normally, that type of absence would cause a major setback for most high-level athletes.

    Vance never lost her game, and she was the main factor in helping the Huskies reach a higher level in the standings.

    Her story seems unbelievable, and that is what makes it special. The case for her being the Canada West MVP is a clear one, and that honour should come her way.

Willoughby proves she’s P.A. tough

Huskies captain Kaitlin Willoughby, right, has played through a few battles.

    Kaitlin Willoughby’s biggest accomplishment of the 2017-18 U Sports regular season might be the fact she skated through it in one piece.

    The star captain of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team has always drawn extra attention from the opposition due to her ability to score. It seemed the attention she received on the ice in her fifth and final season of eligibility was greater than in any of her first four campaigns.

    While bodychecking is illegal in women’s hockey, it was apparent players on opposing teams were out to deliver a few physical blows Willoughby’s way. 

    The most obvious case came in the Huskies 2-1 victory after a tiebreaking shootout over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Jan. 27 at the Rutherford Rink, when Willoughby was on the receiving end of a hip check from Thunderbirds centre Mathea Fischer. There was no call on the play.

    Throughout the season, Willoughby’s presence on the ice resulted in opponents cross-checking her, slashing her after the play was blown dead and a few failed attempts to level her with a hit worthy of former star NHL defenceman Scott Stevens. It is almost a certainty a few opponents landed the odd punch on Willoughby in scrums, which do happen in the women’s game.

    Despite all the attempts to target her, beat her down and knock her off her game, Willoughby, who stands 5-foot-6, still finished fifth in the Canada West scoring race with nine goals and 10 assists in 26 regular season appearances.

Kaitlin Willoughby faces a lot of attention from opposing teams.

    The treatment the 22-year-old Prince Albert product has received on the ice isn’t foreign to what star players receive at any level of hockey.

    In the WHL, Nolan Patrick encounter similar treatment from opponents leading the Brandon Wheat Kings to a league championship in the 2015-16 campaign. In the 2016 WHL playoffs, he played through lots of extra shots and successfully remained at the top of his game.

    Adam Brooks and Sam Steel played through a lot of abuse powering the Regina Pats to an appearance in the WHL championship series last year. Mathew Barzal endured is share of unwanted physical shots helped the Seattle Thunderbirds win the WHL title last season.

    In U Sports men’s hockey, Derek Hulak had to play through lots of unwanted physical attention earning the Canada West most valuable player award in his final campaign with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s team in 2013-14.

    At times, it seemed like the abuse all these players received was a borderline attempt to injure.

Willoughby showed her physical toughness this season and her mental toughness. In her first couple of seasons with the Huskies, the odds of her getting knocked off her game and seeing her get involved in trash talking sessions with opposing players was higher, if she received some unwanted hacks.

    She never lost her composure no matter what happened to her this season. In that, Willoughby accomplished a pre-season goal to emulate her former Huskies captain from her rookie season in Cami Wooster.

    In the process of playing though taking unnecessary physical shots, Willoughby upped the level of her teammates. They could see what was happening, and when something underhanded happened on the ice, you could see their focus becoming that much sharper.

Kaitlin Willoughby, centre, is surrounded by teammates who have her back.

    Willoughby’s teammates were right behind her, and they were ready to respond in the physical department. That was another obvious sight in the little battles you could see all over the ice.

    It felt like opponents would be wiser if they tried to avoid doing something that got the collective attention of the Huskies. The Huskies always seemed to win, when that happened.

    The Huskies begin their playoff march hosting Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series on February 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.

    One last playoff run now awaits Willoughby, and she has a group of battle-hardened teammates right behind her that have her back. That gives the Huskies a huge chance to reach some very lofty heights.

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

-------

    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.

Grinder turns scorer, MacKenzie delivers winner in Blades rally

Lukus MacKenzie celebrates scoring the winner for the Blades.

    You have to love it when the hard working grinder steps into the spotlight.

    On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, gritty 17-year-old left-winger Lucus MacKenzie of the Saskatoon Blades resembled the team’s former high scoring captain Derek Hulak for a moment. With the Blades locked in a 2-2 tie with the visiting Red Deer Rebels and killing a penalty, MacKenzie saw a Rebels player fumble with the puck near the Red Deer blue-line.

    MacKenzie zipped in and picked up the puck to create a short-handed breakaway opportunity. The Calgary product sniped a smart shot low to left side of the Red Deer goal past netminder Lasse Petersen to put the hosts up 3-2.

    Tally was just the sixth goal of the season for MacKenzie, and it stood up as the winner. The Blades later added an empty-net goal to seal a 4-2 victory before 3,173 spectators.

    “I was thinking change first, but I saw the guy bobble it there,” said MacKenzie. “I knew I had the speed to kind of get a chance there, so I gambled and it paid off.

    “I know how to make a goalie slide, and that is what I try to do on breakaways. I just opened him up and slid it through there.”

Blades D Evan Fiala battles Rebels LW Evan Polei (#10).

    Following his breakaway short-handed winner, MacKenzie put on an exuberant celebration. Back in 2014, the Blades selected MacKenzie in the third round and 60^th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft after he tallied 21 goals and 45 assists in 59 games with the Edge School bantam prep team in Calgary.

    So far in his WHL career, MacKenzie, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 198 pounds, has become known for his work ethic and his commitment to battle. Noticeable offensive outbursts like his goal on Saturday have been rare.

    “It was nice to get rewarded there,” said MacKenzie, who was a plus-two in the plus-minus department. “We were battling all game. We never quit. It was good to get that one for the team.

    “I just go hard. I try to get the crowd fired up and the team fired up. That is what I try to do.”

Blades RW Lukus MacKenzie looks for an opening in the offensive zone.

    Saturday’s encounter was a physical contest that could have swung either way. The Blades got the only goal in the first period, when 16-year-old rookie winger Michael Farren slipped home his fourth goal of the season early in the frame to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    In the second, the Rebels went ahead 2-1 thanks to a pair of tallies from overage left-winger Evan Polei. Polei tipped home a knuckleball point shot to tie things up at 1-1, and he slipped home a backhander later in the frame to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.

    Saskatoon drew even at 2-2 at the 2:18 mark of the third, when Gage Ramsay fired home the equalizer through a screen while working on the power play. That set the stage for MacKenzie’s heroics that put the Blades on top for good.

    Blades head coach Dean Brockman was pleased to see MacKenzie break through on the scoresheet.

Jesse Shynkaruk charges up ice for the Blades.

    “I thought he has been working hard the last few games,” said Brockman. “He got rewarded.

    “He had a great chance in the second period that he didn’t bury. He was persistent and stayed with it and got his goal.”

    Overage centre Jesse Shynkaruk scored into an empty net with 16.7 seconds to play in the third. Logan Flodell made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (17-22-5-1). Petersen turned away 19 of 22 shots to take the loss in goal for the Rebels (20-18-4-2).

    With the win, the Blades pull into a tie for eighth place overall and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with the Edmonton Oil Kings (18-22-3-1). Both teams have 40 points in the standings, but the Oil Kings have a game in hand.

The Blades salute the crowd after their 4-2 win over the Rebels.

    Brockman said it is important for his squad to win contests now in the push for a playoff berth noting the intensity of games in the regular season will pick up in February and March.
    The bench boss was pleased with the come-from-behind win against the Rebels. Saturday marked the fourth time this season the Blades rallied for a victory after entering the third period trailing on the scoreboard.

    “It is important that you comeback on teams,” said Brockman. “When we got that goal early (in the third), I felt the momentum switched for us.

    “In order to climb in the standings, you have to win games. You have to do all the catching now.”

    The Blades return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7 p.m. local time at the SaskTel Centre.
    The Rebels travel to Swift Current on Sunday to take on the Broncos at 4 p.m. local time at the Credit Union i-Plex.

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