Raiders day – P.A. smashes Saskatoon 6-1 in Game 1

Sean Montgomery, centre, celebrates his hat trick goal for the Raiders.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – It was a great night for cheering, if you were a fan of the Prince Albert Raiders.

    A sellout crowd of 3,289 at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre had lots to cheer and relish on Friday night as the host Raiders thumped their hated rivals the Saskatoon Blade 6-1 in Game 1 of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game2 of the series is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. at Art Hauser.

    In the romp, the Raiders showed why they finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings posting a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The victory was so definite that the Blades, who finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 mark and were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings, looked like they didn’t belong on the same ice surface as the Raiders.

Sean Montgomery jets into the offensive zone for the Raiders.

    Going into the series, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid accused the Blades of embellishment and taking dives in order to draw penalties. It is a classic hockey tactic where a bench boss tries to plant a seed in possibly the mind of the officials to try and get an advantage in the series.

    As far as Game 1 was concerned, that whole situation became a non-story. If the rest of the series plays out like Game 1 did, the Raiders figuratively could sweep the best-of-seven series against the Blades in three contests.

    The fans at the Art Hauser Centre weren’t going to show their rivals any sympathy either.

    During a television timeout with 12:56 remaining in the third period, the Blades pulled starting netminder Nolan Maier, when they were down 5-1. Maier turned away 31-of-36 shots taking the setback in goal for the Blades.

    Associate player call up Koen MacInnes, who turned 17-years-old in January and was playing for the Burnaby Winter Club Prep team, stopped two of three shots in relief to mark his debut in the WHL.

Parker Kelly scored twice for the Raiders on Friday.

    Dorrin Luding, who is the Blades regular backup goalie, was sidelined with an upper body injury.

    When MacInnes took the ice to play goal, the Raiders fans chanted, “We want Maier.”

    That was a move that showed no mercy and mirrored the crowds that pack Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Man., to cheer on the NHL’s Jets.

    Overage centre Sean Montgomery, who is a career member of the Raiders, posted his first career hat trick in the WHL having played 345 regular season games and 17 post-season contests.

    Star right-winger Brett Leason had a goal and three assists. Combined with what his father Darryl accomplished as the quarterback of the Regina Rams football team in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Leason family is 6-0 against Saskatoon based teams in the post-season.

The Raiders fans cheer on their team at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Veteran pesky star right-winger Parker Kelly also popped home a pair of goals for the Raiders.

    Still, Friday’s game started out as a competitive one.

    At the 3:47 mark of the opening frame, Montgomery popped home his first of the contest from in front of the Saskatoon net to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

    Less than two minutes later, the Blades evened things up at 1-1, when captain Chase Wouters knocked home the rebound of a shot taken by overage rearguard Brandon Schuldhaus.

    With 7:53 remaining in the first, Leason backhanded home the rebound of a shot taken by veteran Raiders defenceman Jeremy Masella to give the host side a 2-1 edge.

Brett Leason had a goal and three assists for the Raiders.

    Heading into the first intermission, the Raiders held a slim 12-11 edge in shots on goal.

    At that point, the Prince Albert side hit high gear, while the wheels fell off for Saskatoon.

    With 8:21 remaining in the second, Leason one-handed a pass from the left boards to Montgomery, who sniped his second tally of the night to the top left corner of the Saskatoon goal to give the Raiders a 3-1 advantage.

    Prince Albert extended its advantage to 4-1 with 2:18 remaining in the second period, when Kelly chipped the puck home from the right side of the Saskatoon goal after receiving a smart pass from import defenceman Sergei Sapego.

    Montgomery recorded his hat trick goal at the 5:51 mark of the third with the Raiders working the power play. Kelly rounded out the game’s scoring with a power-play goal of his own with 6:20 remaining in the third.

    Kelly’s power-play tally came with Blades standout right-winger Ryan Hughes serving a double minor for high-sticking.

A Raiders fan has a sign for the Blades.

    That infraction will trigger an automatic review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

    Ian Scott made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

    The Raiders delivered hits that pleased their faithful too. Rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt rocked Blades star centre Kirby Dach into the right corner boards of the Saskatoon zone in the second period.

    Sophomore Raiders centre Eric Pearce nailed Blades import defenceman Emil Malysjev hard into the right corner boards of the Saskatoon zone in the third period.

    Had Friday’s game been a heavyweight fight, the referee would have stopped the proceedings and declared a technical knockout in favour of the Raiders. The building started playing “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” with 3:58 remaining in the third period.

The Raiders celebrate their Game 1 victory on Friday.

    The solace Blades head coach Mitch Love and his team can take was the fact Friday’s contest was only one game. The Raiders can’t carry over any of their goals into Game 2 on Sunday.

    The Blades know they can be better. If they can regroup and post an upset win on Sunday, the series becomes a different one when the scene switches to Saskatoon for Game 3 on Tuesday.

    For now, fans in “Hockey Town North” are celebrating a Friday that was the Raiders day.

    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 please home crowd in rivalry battle with Blades

Noah Gregor (#18) scored twice for the Raiders on Saturday.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders gave their frenzied home crowd exactly what they wanted.

    On Saturday, the Raiders closed their WHL regular season schedule with a 3-1 victory over their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders, who had been well into their standing room sales for most of the season, announced that Saturday’s gathering was the team’s first sellout of the campaign.

    The crowd cheered the loudest they had all season as the Raiders built a 2-0 lead in the first period, a 3-0 advantage after 40 minutes before the Blades potted a late third period goal.

Raiders fans show they are ready for the post-season.

    “I think for us and for the fans that is a little taste of what is to come in playoffs,” said Raiders captain Brayden Pachal. “That was a playoff atmosphere and a playoff game for sure.

    “That was pretty amazing. You get the chills when you’re coming on to the ice, and they’re that loud. Every hit, every goal, every penalty, everything, it was crazy loud.

    “We’re looking forward to that. It is a hard building to play in, when it is that loud. We’re looking forward to that crowd and even more come playoffs.”

    While the Raiders had extra jump, the Blades played a high-energy game too. 

Dorrin Luding makes one of his 29 saves for the Blades.

    Blades captain Chase Wouters said his team always get pumped to play, when they visit P.A.

    “It was pretty intense and emotional game,” said Wouters, whose club also concluded its regular season schedule. “We knew coming into this building it wasn’t going to be easy.

    “They play us hard, and we play them hard. They got the better outcome tonight.

    “It is an intense building. Every game here, you kind of know what you are going to expect from the crowd, kind of the rivalry and things like that. It is an intense place to play, and it is fun.”

    The Raiders opened the scoring at the 8:05 mark of the first period, when overage centre Sean Montgomery sniped home his 29^th goal of the season from the right side of the Saskatoon goal.

Sean Montgomery scored the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

    Just over two minutes later, the Raiders extended their edge to 2-0 working on the power play. Rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt had the puck at the left side of the Saskatoon goal, and he found overage centre Noah Gregor streaking down into the right slot with a backdoor pass.

    Gregor fired home his 42^nd goal of the campaign to give the Raiders a two-goal edge.

    In the second period, the Raiders added a big backbreaking goal with 2:48 remaining in the frame. With the Blades work on the power play, the Raiders broke into the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one break.

    Gregor roofed home his second of the game and 43^rd tally of the season to give the Raiders a 3-0 edge.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid believes his team got an extra step from the atmosphere created by the home crowd.

Raiders fans geared up and cheered out for their team on Saturday.

    “It was fun, and I think it was good for our guys to see the crowd,” said Habscheid. “You look at it, and it is only 3,200 or 3,300, but with the small building and them being right on top of you, it feels like 20,000.

    “It was a good atmosphere. You could tell our guys liked it. It helped give them another jump with everything that went on.”

    Despite being in a 3-0 hole, the Blades didn’t go away. With 3:56 remaining in the third period, Saskatoon offensive-defenceman Dawson Davidson found overage right-winger Max Gerlach in the left slot with a backdoor pass, and Gerlach fired home his 42^nd goal of the campaign to cut the Raiders edge to 3-1.

Riley McKay (#39) turns up ice with the puck for the Blades.

    Saskatoon wasn’t able to get any closer.

    Ian Scott made 24 saves to pick up the win in goal for Prince Albert. The Raiders finished first overall in the WHL with a 54-10-2-2 record and were officially presented with the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for that accomplishment before Saturday’s game.

    Dorrin Luding turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for Saskatoon as the Blades saw an eight-game winning streak come to an end. The Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 45-15-8 record.

    There were a lot of penalties on Saturday too. The Blades failed to score on six power-play chances, while the Raiders were 1-for-8 with the man advantage.

Ian Scott makes one of his 24 saves in goal for the Raiders on Saturday.

    Wouters said his team committed too many giveaways on Saturday.

    “It is an area that we knew would be hard in this rink, because they come at us pretty quick,” said Wouters. “Turnovers are definitely a big part of the game.

    “We have to clean up both blue-lines and our own breakouts. We have to be better in that area. We will watch some video this week and get back to work on the weekend.”

    Habscheid believes his players have the right mindset heading into the post-season.

Ryan Hughes breaks into the offensive zone for the Blades.

    “I like where they are at,” said Habscheid. “We needed these two games.

    “It is a good rivalry, good intensity and that is what playoffs are all about. I just appreciated the intensity on both sides. It was good for both teams, not just for us, but for them too.”

    Both clubs will now embark on their respective post-season journeys.

    The Blades will face the Moose Jaw Warriors (40-20-6-2) in a best-of-seven first round series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

    “It is something we’ve been looking forward to ever since we clinched,” said Wouters. “Now that we found out we play Moose Jaw, we have to tighten up some things against them.

Brett Leason jets into the offensive zone for the Raiders.

    “We look forward to it as a group and as a community of Saskatoon. We will be playing for everyone.”

    The Raiders will take on the Red Deer Rebels (33-28-4-2) in a best-of-seven first round series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. The Rebels close their regular season schedule traveling to Cranbrook, B.C. on Sunday to take on the Kootenay Ice.

    Pachal admitted it was big accomplishment for his team to win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy, but his side wants to capture bigger team awards in the post-season.

    “It is pretty special,” said Pachal. “Obviously, we’ve had a special year so far.

The Raiders salute their fans at the Art Hauser Centre.

    “That was the first banner in this rink for a while. Our mindset is that one isn’t good enough, so we’re looking forward to playoffs.”

    NOTES – Raiders forwards Dante Hannoun and Justin Nachbaur were scratched with undisclosed injuries, but Habscheid was hopeful both could be back for the start of playoffs. Cohner Saleski, who recently completed his second season of midget AAA eligibility with the Prince Albert Mintos, dressed as an associate player call up at centre.

    Blades defenceman Aidan De La Gordendiere was scratched due to an upper body injury, while utility player Randen Schmidt and associate player call up in defenceman Alex Ozar, who just completed his second season of midget AAA eligibility with the Mintos, were healthy scratches.

    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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Hughes at home with Blades

Standout winger scores twice in 6-1 win over Broncos

Ryan Hughes scored twice for the Blades on Saturday night.

    Ryan Hughes is delivering as the big acquisition the Saskatoon Blades were hoping for.

    Back on Jan. 10, the Blades traded centre Josh Paterson, who is in his 19-year-old season, a second round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a fourth round pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft to the Portland Winterhawks to get Hughes.

    Since arriving in Saskatoon, Hughes hasn’t disappointed playing right wing on a line centred by the ultra-talented Kirby Dach and strengthened with the presences of feisty Riley McKay on left-wing.

    On Saturday, Hughes was at his best again scoring twice as the Blades downed the visiting Swift Current Broncos 6-1 before 4,555 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    “It has been good,” said Hughes. “I’ve settled in nicely now.

Riley McKay set up Hughes’ first goal for the Blades on Saturday.

    “The team is playing great hockey, so I can’t complain.”

    Settling nicely might be an understatement. Hughes has 12 goals, 14 assists and is a plus-11 in the plus-minus department in 22 games with the Blades.

    The 19-year-old Edmonton, Alta., product has totalled 29 goals and 37 assists and a plus-16 rating in 58 games played between the Winterhawks and Blades.

    Saskatoon has also been taking off as a team.

    Saturday’s win allowed the Blades to increase their winning streak to six games improving to 43-14-8.

Kirby Dach scored for the Blades on Saturday night.

    Saskatoon is guaranteed to finish in the top four of the overall WHL standings and is locked in to play a first round best-of-seven playoff series with home ice advantage against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

    The Blades have won 13 out of their last 14 games and are 27-5-3 since last Dec. 1.

    Blades head coach Mitch Love said Hughes has been a key contributor to the Blades good fortunes since arriving in Saskatoon.

    “He has been great,” said Love. “He’s done his job.

    “He has come here and provided skill and offence to our group. He is learning to round out his game and play a little bit more of a 200-foot game. He is an exciting athlete to watch.

Blades D Dawson Davidson (#4) battles Broncos RW Tyler Lees for the puck.

    “He is great in our locker room, and that is exactly what we knew we were getting when we acquired him in January.”

    Hughes’ two goals on Saturday proved to be killers in help end the competitive phase of the game in the win over the Broncos.

    With 44.2 seconds remaining in the second, Hughes converted a beauty setup pass from McKay on a two-on-one break to give the Blades a 3-0 lead.

    “That was a great play by Porksy (Riley McKay),” said Hughes. “I didn’t know if he could get it over there, and then he made it.

    “I just kind of hammered it home.”

    Just seven seconds into the third, Hughes zipped down the left wing and snapped home an accurate bad angled shot to the top right corner of the Broncos goal to give Saskatoon a 4-0 advantage. 

Defenceman Reece Harsch mans the point for the Blades.

    Hughes wasn’t certain if that was the fastest goal he had ever scored to start a period.

    “It probably ranks up there,” said Hughes. “I’m not sure.

    “It did happen so fast. We got on to the bench after there, and “Porks” (McKay) and I were kind of chuckling. We were like, ‘I don’t know how that really happened.’

    “I guess it has to rank up there for fastest. I will look to shoot when I have it. I was lucky that one went high glove.”

    Love said Hughes’ early third period goal help provide a good teaching and reinforcement point to his team.

    “It is amazing what happens when you are ready to go off a faceoff, and you shoot a puck,” said Love. “That was exactly what Ryan Hughes did there.

Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen scored for the Blades.

    “We talk about how important faceoffs are. Faceoffs are a time in a hockey game where you have the ability to turn your brain on from an offensive end and a defensive side of things. When those things happens, it means you’re ready to play.

    “The first period we weren’t ready to play. Faceoffs don’t happen, and we took two penalties. The rest of the game our guys figured that out.”

    The Blades came out a bit sluggish at the start of Saturday’s game skating through a scoreless first period with the Broncos holding an 8-3 edge in shots on goal.

    After the opening frame, the Blades broke through on the scoreboard with a power-play goal at the 6:43 mark of the second. During a net scramble, Blades centre Tristen Robins shoveled home the puck to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

    Just 51 seconds later, the Blades increased their edge to 2-0, when import right-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen tipped home a point shot from defenceman Reece Harsch.

Dorrin Luding made 16 saves in goal for the Blades.

    Following Hughes’ two goals, offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson snipped home a mid-range shot at the 6:59 mark of the third to put the Blades up 5-0 with both sides playing four-on-four due to offsetting penalties.

    Matthew Culling netted the Broncos lone reply at the 12:41 mark of the third.

    Dach potted the game’s final tally with 2:20 remaining in the third.

    Dorrin Luding made 16 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Riley Lamb stopped 41 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

    The majorly rebuilding Broncos became further cemented in the basement of the WHL falling to 10-48-4-2.

    The Blades return to action on Sunday, when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (37-19-6-2) at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The Blades celebrate their victory over the Broncos on Saturday night.

    The Broncos return to Swift Current to host the league leading Prince Albert Raiders (52-9-2-2) at 4 p.m., at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.

    Hughes expects Sunday’s encounter with the Warriors to be a preview of what to expect in the post-season.

    “It will be an intense game,” said Hughes. “It will be playoff like.

    “That game, I am sure they are going to come out, and they are going to want to beat us and have the upper hand going into playoffs, so we have to have the same mentality.”
    NOTES - Saturday’s contest was the Blades’ “WHL Suits Up” with Don Cherry to promote organ donation game. Saskatoon wore Don Cherry inspired suit jerseys, and the jerseys were silent auctioned during the game with the proceeds going to the Saskatoon branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

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

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Blades playoff return marks sweet night at SaskTel Centre

Max Gerlach (#9) hugs goalie Dorrin Luding after Saturday’s win.

    Two recent near misses made Saturday night that much more sweet for the Saskatoon Blades and their fans.

    On Saturday, the Blades ensured they will make their long awaited return to the WHL playoffs locking up a post-season berth with a 4-3 regular season victory after a tiebreaking shootout over the visiting Kootenay Ice at the SaskTel Centre. Saskatoon will be part of the WHL post-season for the first time since 2013.

    Going into that contest with the Ice, the Blades and their fans knew they would clinch a playoff berth with a win and either a regulation loss that night by either the Brandon Wheat Kings or the Red Deer Rebels.

Dorrin Luding (#31) stops the final shooter in the shootout.

    The Wheat Kings were in Prince Albert taking on the Raiders, while the Rebels were hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings in Red Deer.

    Due to the fact we live in an age when people can get instant information on their mobile phones, it is safe to say most of the 4,334 in attendance at the SaskTel Centre knew the Wheat Kings were getting drubbed by the Raiders 7-1.

    The Blades were up on the Ice 3-1 going into the third period only to have the Ice rally to tie things up at 3-3 and force overtime. As fate would have it, the standings point the Blades gained going to extra time would give them a playoff spot. The fact Rebels fell to the Oil Kings 5-2 cemented that scenario.

Chase Wouters was floating on air after Saturday’s win.

    Still, it made the celebrations of returning to the post-season feel that much better for those in the building, when the Blades pulled out the win taking a tiebreaking shootout 1-0 on a goal from rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

    Had the Blades lost in extra time to go to the post-season, it would have made the night feel incomplete. People would have likely dwelled on the fact the Blades still ultimately lost.

    After getting the win, it seemed like everyone was in a type of joyful mood that hadn’t been seen for some time in a Blades game at the SaskTel Centre. The moment had a special feeling in the air.

    For the current Blades players, coaches, trainers, hockey staff and front office staff, there was a sense of accomplishment. Getting to the playoffs is one of those tangible pieces of proof that validates all the hard work it took to get to that point.

Kirby Dach turns up ice for the Blades on Saturday night.

    The Priestner family had to be feeling all sorts of emotions, when the Blades locked down their playoff berth.

    Edmonton product Mike Priestner bought the Blades from Jack Brodsky before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. The new regime faced a major rebuilding project due to the fact the Blades’ future was mortgaged to stock the team with a roster worthy of hosting the Memorial Cup in 2013 and a major trade that brought star hometown product Brayden Schenn to the club in the 2010-11 campaign.

    Mike’s son, Colin, began working with the team almost immediately and took over the role of general manager before the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

Blades fans participate in a game during a stoppage.

    It was almost a given the first couple of seasons would be lame duck campaigns as the rebuild got underway under Mike Priestner’s ownership. In the 2013-14 season, the Blades finished with a 16-51-2-3 record for 37 points in the standings. The road back to respectability was going to be a long one.

    The first legitimate chance the Blades had to return to the playoffs came in the 2016-17 season.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Reece Harsch (#52).

    They posted a 28-35-7-2 record to sit five points behind the Calgary Hitmen (30-32-8-2) for the second and final wildcard berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference in that campaign after a slump inside of the team’s final 11 games.

    The 2017-18 campaign proved to be more heartbreaking. The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 regular season record to fall three points shy of the Prince Albert Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second and final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. Again struggles in the final 11 games of the regular season caused a playoff berth to be missed.

Zach Huber, middle, breaks in on a scoring chance.

    The memories of those disappointments made Saturday’s win over the Ice that much more sweet.

Blades mascot Poke Check was posing for pictures with happy fans.

    Blades captain Chase Wouters, who is in his third full season with the Blades, seemed to be walking on air after the game. His wide smile was infectious.

    The moment was a great one for Blades 19-year-old netminder Dorrin Luding. Last June, the Blades acquired Luding in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Clayton Kroeker rocks an “Uncle Gary” T-shirt.

    He knew he was coming in to backup sophomore star Nolan Maier, but Luding was pumped to be on a team that had potential to do great things. He became popular in the dressing, and as a huge bonus, he started against the Ice making 34 saves over 65 minutes and turning away all three shooters he faced in the shootout to get the win.

    Right now, Luding wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Saskatoon.

    Crnkovic, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, seemed to still be wide-eyed taking in the realization of what went down on Saturday during post-game interviews.

    Even first year head coach Mitch Love allowed himself exit his coached focused persona to loosen up and say he was excited about the fact the Blades will be back in the playoffs.

Ryan Hughes sets up for a scoring chance for the Blades.

    What might be even cooler is the fact the Blades aren’t just scraping into the playoffs. At 38-14-8, they currently sit fourth overall in the WHL standings. They are one of the WHL’s elite clubs.

Since bringing back their traditional Pac-Man jerseys as their full-time look before the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the Blades are 73-47-11-1.

    For the longest time during the lean years in the rebuild, Blades president Steve Hogle received a tonne of credit for helping create some great promotions around home games. The hockey side of the team’s operations longed to have the good on ice product to go with those promotions.

    Now, the Blades have a total package. They also have a very likable and great group of players to follow too, and six of them have cool novelty T-shirts for fans to buy too.

    Another thing that will make things fun is going to the playoffs and taking in the experiences will feel new once again. The Blades will write their own story on a clean slate. Most with the club don’t have any links to past post-season forays.

The Blades celebrate locking up a playoff berth on Saturday.

    The first new experience will be tuning up for the playoffs over the team’s last eight regular season games. That beings on Tuesday, when the Blades host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    No matter what happens going forward, those linked with the current Blades will always remember how good Saturday’s post-season clinching win over the Ice felt at the SaskTel Centre.

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

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Blades post-season bound for first time since 2013

Saskatoon edges Ice 4-3 in shootout to clinch WHL playoff spot

The Blades celebrate locking up a WHL playoff berth.

    The drought is over.

    The Saskatoon Blades are finally back in the WHL playoffs.

    They made sure their post-season clinching game had lots of drama too.

    On Saturday night, the Blades downed the Kootenay Ice 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout before 4,334 spectators at the SaskTel Centre to officially lock up a playoff berth for the first time since 2013. Saskatoon took the tiebreaking session 1-0 to win the regular season clash.

    The Blades clinched a playoff berth with their win combined with the fact the Prince Albert Raiders downed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 7-1 at the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday night.

    For Blades captain Chase Wouters, the clinching victory was a long time coming. 

Blades captain Chase Wouters is pumped to go to the WHL playoffs.

    The veteran centre, who turned 19-years-old earlier this month, was selected by the Blades in the first round and 18^th overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.

    He is skating through his third full season with Saskatoon club and saw his squad just miss the post-season in each of the past two years thanks to some late season slumps.

    Following the Blades win on Saturday, Wouters had a bit of tingly feeling knowing a playoff berth has been secured.

    “It is kind of something I looked forward to ever since I got drafted to Saskatoon when I was 14,” said Wouters, whose team sits third overall in the WHL with a 38-14-8 mark. “I guess it is just a pretty surreal like feeling knowing that we are going to be able to play in them this year.

    “It is something we’ve been talking about all year. It has been a goal since the start. It is pretty important to our group here to be able to play in the playoffs.”

Kyle Crnkovic had the shootout winner for the Blades.

    Saskatoon built a 3-1 lead after two periods only to see the Ice rally to force overtime with two third period goals.

    After a scoreless overtime frame, Blades rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, was the only player to score in the shootout. He deked and slid a backhand shot between the legs of Ice netminder Jesse Makaj.

    Crnkovic was excited about the fact the Blades, who are rated 10th in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, clinched a playoff berth.

    “It is an awesome group of guys,” said Crnkovic. “I think we’ve worked for it, and we’ve earned it.

    “It is going to be an awesome time. To bring the team to the playoffs and all the fans, they deserve it. It should be a fun time.”

    The Blades broke the Ice at the 6:57 mark of the opening frame when import right-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen banged home a gritty goal from the front of the Ice net.

    Saskatoon extended its edge to 2-0 with 5:40 remaining in the opening frame on a sweet play off an offensive zone faceoff. On the play, Wouters won the draw back to defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus.

Gary Haden (#14) celebrates scoring a goal with Chase Wouters.

    Schuldhaus quickly fed “Uncle” Gary Haden with a backdoor pass, and he buried his 28^th goal of the season.

    The Ice didn’t go away. With 1:39 remaining in the first period, Kootenay right-winger Jaeger White wired a midrange shot to the top left corner of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

    The Blades extended their lead to 3-1 at the 5:05 mark of the second, when veteran defenceman Reece Harsch wired home his fourth goal of the season.

    It seemed the Blades were going to cruise to victory holding a 3-1 edge after 40 minutes and a 31-17 advantage in shots on goal.

Dorrin Luding makes a glove save for the Blades.

    While Saskatoon was controlling play, Blades first year head coach Mitch Love didn’t think his players were at their best in those frames and being a bit off became more obvious in the third and overtime.

    “I didn’t think we played a great hockey game tonight,” said Love. “Guys are aware of that.

    “We have some things we have to tighten up. At the end of the day for the city and for the organization, it is a big day to get back in the playoffs and see what happens.”

    Before joining the Blades this season, Love spent the previous seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. The Quesnel, B.C., product started with the Silvertips as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach. 

Jaeger White sniped home a goal for the Ice.

    He finished his time in Everett as an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager.

    The Silvertips have never missed the playoffs since their inaugural campaign in 2003-04.

    During his post-game media scrum on Saturday, Love said he was focused on correcting what the Blades did wrong and looking to find ways to help the Saskatoon players continue to improve.

    When asked if he was just conditioned to always expecting to be in the post-season from his time in Everett, Love smiled and stepped out of the focused coach zone for a bit.

    “There are a few guys in the room who obviously haven’t played a playoff game in their career,” said Love. “It is awesome for them.

    “They are going to get that experience. We have a lot of guys that we have brought in here throughout the year that have had playoff experience.

    “This is my eighth consecutive season of playoff hockey, so I may look like I’m not that excited tonight, but I am. I’m a hockey coach, and I am always looking to be better the next day. I’m excited for our guys.”

Bradley Ginnell had a goal for the Ice.

    The Ice came with a huge push back in the third. Ice left-winger Bradley Ginnell scored with a spin around shot with 9:55 remaining in the third, and Kootenay rookie centre Jakin Smallwood potted the equalizer with 6:44 remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie and overtime.

    The Blades almost didn’t make it to the shootout had it not been for the play of netminder Dorrin Luding. He made a glove save on a dangerous shot from White and later stopped the overager on a breakaway.

    In the final seconds of overtime, Luding had to stone Ice defenceman Marco Creta on a dangerous chance to allow the contest to progress to a shootout.

    That set the stage for Crnkovic to come through with his heroics in the shootout.

    Luding made 34 saves over 65 minutes and stopped all three shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Makaj turned away 38 shots over 65 minutes and turned away two of three shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in the Ice net. Kootenay saw its record move to 11-38-7-3.

Kyle Crnkovic (#16) celebrates scoring his shootout winner.

    Luding, who split last season between the Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds, said it was big for the Blades to return to the post-season.

    “It is a great accomplishment for us,” said Luding, who was traded by the Thunderbirds to the Blades last June. “I think we’ve made such large strides, and we can only make larger ones.

    “I think the sky is the limit for us.”

    The Ice return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Place.

Blades mascot Poke Check enjoys a celebration moment with the fans.

    The Blades resume play on Tuesday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    Going forward, Love said the Blades have to keep finding ways to get better and keep progressing.

    “We have to again just go back to work,” said Love. “It is nice we have an “x” across our name in the standings, but we have a tough opponent coming in here on Tuesday, and we have to be ready for that.”

    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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Rebuilding Broncos rally for huge OT win over Blades

Joona Kiviniemi celebrates scoring the OT winner for the Broncos.

    Tanner Nagel said a big comeback win was a great thing for the youngsters on the rebuilding Swift Current Broncos to experience.

    Nagel, who is the Broncos overage captain, is the only holdover that was a regular on Swift Current’s WHL championship winning team last season. During that run to the WHL title, Nagel got to experience many thrilling victories including a number of the comeback variety.

    Now, the Broncos are a team that has 10 players in their 17-year-old seasons and two in their 16-year-old seasons on their 23-person roster. On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, the youthful Swift Current side experienced a rare high in a campaign where the team has trudged along in last place in the entire WHL.

    Trailing the host Saskatoon Blades 4-2 with five minutes remaining in the third period, the Broncos roared back to pull out a 5-4 overtime victory before 3,637 spectators.

Tanner Nagel scored twice for the Broncos on Saturday night.

    In the extra session, Broncos Finnish import left-winger Joona Kiviniemi one-timed home a set up pass from rookie defenceman Alex Moar with 3.4 second remaining in the frame to deliver victory to Swift Current. The Broncos improved to 10-34-2-1 with the win.

    “We have a lot of young guys in the room, so it is great to see them push back in games where we are down,” said Nagel, who scored twice for the Broncos on Saturday. “That is what we are trying to focus on is just teaching them that you have to keep playing right until the bitter end.

    “You are never out of a game. We showed that here tonight.”

Alex Moar set up the Broncos overtime winner on Saturday night.

    Down 4-2, the Broncos comeback started when Nagel scored on the power play sniping home a shot to the low right side of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades edge to 4-3 with 4:39 remaining in the third period.

    Broncos head coach and director of hockey operation Dean Brockman pulled netminder Riley Lamb for an extra attacker with about three minutes remaining in the third. Swift Current kept the play bottled in the Saskatoon zone with the extra skater.

    With 1:35 remaining in the stanza, Broncos 18-year-old right-winger Owen Blocker snipped the equalizer past Blades netminder Dorrin Luding to force a 4-4 tie.

    In overtime, both sides had numerous scoring chances before Kiviniemi ended it.

The Broncos celebrate an equalizer from Owen Blocker, right.

    Lamb turned away 48 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos. Luding made 19 stops to take the extra time setback in goal for the Blades, who sit third overall in the WHL with a 29-13-7 mark.

    One night earlier, the Blades dumped the Broncos 5-2 in Swift Current.

    “Any time you win it is a good day,” said Brockman, whose Broncos beat the Blades for the first time this season in six tries on Saturday. “Certainly, they out-chanced us and had a lot of shots.

    “I give our guys a lot of credit. We challenged them after (Friday) night’s game to be better and work hard and they did. That is what you do when you work hard you find ways to get success.”

Goalie Riley Lamb makes one of his 48 saves for the Broncos.

    The Blades got out to a quick start. Just 38 seconds into the contest, right-winger Max Gerlach sprung left-winger Gary Haden in on a breakaway and Haden buried his 21^st of the season to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

    The Broncos evened things up a 1-1 just under three minutes later, when Nagel banged home a rebound for his first goal of the game off a shot taken by defenceman Christian Riemer.

    With 58.7 seconds remaining in the first period and Saskatoon working on the power play, Blades overage offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson scored on a point shot that just snuck under Lamb to give the host side a 2-1 edge going into the first intermission.

Dawson Davidson scored for the Blades on Saturday night.

    At the 6:04 mark of the second, the Broncos tied things up at 2-2 scoring their first short-handed goal of the campaign. The shorty came when Swift Current centre Ethan O’Rourke blocked a point shot taken by Blades 16-year-old rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

    The puck shot out to the centre ice zone, and O’Rourke tracked it down and skated into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. He tucked home his eighth goal of the season to get the Broncos on even terms for a short time.

    Saskatoon jumped back out in front 3-2 just under four minutes later thanks to a power-play goal coming off the stick of centre Eric Florchuk.

    Before the second period expired, left-winger Cyle McNabb potted his fifth goal of the season to give the Blades a 4-2 advantage.

    The Blades outshot the Broncos 16-4 in the third period but couldn’t prevent the Broncos comeback dramatics late in the frame and in overtime.

Ethan O’Rourke pots a short-handed goal for the Broncos.

    When Nagel scored late in the third to cut the Blades lead to one goal, Brockman hoped the comeback would indeed be on from that point.

    “This is a team where they’ve always had their backs up against the wall all year,” said Brockman. “Nobody expects us to win a game.

    “I want to give our kids a lot of credit. They were pretty resilient and stayed with it and found a way.”

    Nagel was excited about the final result.

    “Winning is awesome,” said Nagel. “It is the best feeling in the world.

    “It doesn’t matter if it is a game tonight or it is the WHL championship. A win is a win, and I love to win. Anytime you can win a game it is awesome.

Eric Florchuk (#17) had a power-play goal for the Blades.

    “Any time you can come from behind and win a game that is an even better feeling. The young guys showed resilience and the team showed resilience top to bottom. We’re feeling pretty good.”

    The Blades are off until Friday, when they travel to Regina to face the Pats at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The Broncos return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Calgary Hitmen at 7 p.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. Nagel said Saturday’s comeback victory will be a big time help to his team going forward.

    “Any time we get the young guys going and playing hard like this, it is great to see them keep chugging along,” said Nagel. “They are learning as we go.

The Broncos celebrate their win on Saturday night.

    “I think every time we put up a good game it just helps them learn a little more.”

    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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