Scorcher at SaskTel Centre – Rockets down Blades 5-4 in OT

Rockets goalie Jari Kykkanen stops Blades RW Egor Sidorov (#19).

That one was a Doug McConachie special.

Late great sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix would have loved Saturday’s WHL regular season clash between the Kelowna Rockets and the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre, because he would have been thoroughly entertained. Seeing something that felt like it was from hockey’s 1980s fire-wagon era, the Blades held a 4-3 lead, but the Rockets forced overtime when import Czech defenceman Marek Rocak wired home the equalizer from just ahead of the right faceoff dot to force a 4-4 tie with 17.9 seconds to play in the third period.

Rockets captain Gabriel Szturc celebrates scoring an OT winner.

In a three-versus-three overtime period, the Rockets proceeded to win the opening faceoff and never relinquished possession of the puck. After pinning the Blades in their end, the Rockets were able to get a line change.

Rocak got the puck to Rockets import captain Gabriel Szturc. Szturc took a shot from in close by the right side of the Saskatoon net, but his shot was blocked. The puck came back out to him.

Szturc proceeded to circle with the puck in the Saskatoon zone to the top of the left faceoff circle, where he roofed a shot to the top right corner of the Blades net to deliver a 5-4 victory to the Kelowna side just 78 seconds into extra time.

While the Blades didn’t win, one of the lessons that onlookers can learn is that a hockey game can be great and entertaining even if the home side doesn’t win. McConachie always strived to cover WHL contests objectively, but he did want the Blades to win.

The Rockets begin piling on top of Gabriel Szturc after their OT win.

Even though the Blades didn’t win on Saturday, he likely would have thought Saturday’s clash between the Blades and Rockets was fantastic. The action was fast paced with the teams transitioning up and down the ice at a rapid rate.

The skilled players on both sides got to showcase the best of their abilities. The Blades also drew their second best attendance figure of the season at 6,320 spectators, which included a number of young players from minor hockey teams in attendance.

The youngsters were full of energy, and they helped create quite a raucous atmosphere in the Blades final home game before they departed on their Christmas break. When reflecting on the night’s experience, those at the SaskTel Centre would have to admit they had a great time.

Brandon Lisowsky had a goal and two assists for the Blades.

The Blades faithful should be in space where they can’t wait until Wednesday, December 27^th rolls around to when “the Bridge City Bunch” is next in action. They return from their Christmas break on that day to face their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders (17-15-0-2) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Plus, the Blades, who are rated fifth in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings, sit second in the WHL’s overall standings with a 23-8-2. Their 48 standings points equals the total put up by the Prince George Cougars, but the Cougars hold the tiebreak for first overall posting more wins with a 24-9 mark.

Saskatoon had won seven straight games heading into Saturday’s encounter with the Rockets, and the Blades have earned standings points in their last 10 straight outings posting eight wins and two overtime setbacks over that stretch.

Egor Sidorov had a pair of goals for the Blades.

The Rockets are showing that they are no slouches either. With the win over the Blades, the Rockets have won their last two straight and more importantly seven out of their last nine contests heading into their Christmas break.

Thanks to winning seven of their last night outings, the Rockets have improved to 15-15-2. After taking a stumble out of the gate, the Rockets are showing that they may have indeed turned the corner.

They will return to action on Wednesday, December 27, when they travel to Kamloops to face the 8-20-3-2 Blazers (7 p.m. local start, Sandman Centre).

As for Saturday’s game itself, the Blades opened the scoring at the 7:17 mark of the first period on a goal from star import right-winger Egor Sidorov. Set up in front of the Kelowna net, Sidorov received a pass from star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky and one-timed home a shot to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

Caden Price scored for the Rockets in the first period on Saturday.

All of a sudden, momentum swung big time on the side of the Rockets. At the 10:39 mark of the first, Rockets 19-year-old right-winger Luke Schelter batted home a puck out of the air from the front of the Blades net into the goal to even the game’s score at 1-1.

Just one minute later, Rockets star offensive-defenceman Caden Price, who is a Saskatoon product, wired home a shot from just inside the left faceoff circle to put the visitors up 2-1.

With 3:44 remaining in the opening frame, the Rockets extended their edge to 3-1. After Kelowna cleared the puck into the Saskatoon zone, Rockets star left-winger Andrew Cristall got the puck away from two Blades players at the right side of the Saskatoon net.

Saturday’s game at the SaskTel Centre attracted numerous young fans.

Cristall passed the across the front of the net to Rockets breakout star left-winger Tij Iginla, who jetted into an open area on the left side of the goal when he saw Cristall had the puck. Iginla promptly popped home his 25^th goal of the season to give the visitors their two-goal edge.

Right before the first frame ended, the Blades got an important traction moment. With 2.4 seconds remaining in the first, Sidorov scored in vintage style one-timing home a shot from the right slot for a power-play goal to cut the Rockets lead to 3-2.

Trevor Wong had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Blades 19-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann fed Sidorov with a beauty pass for the sharpshooting winger to drive home. With his two first period tallies on Saturday, Sidorov has 32 goals in 31 appearances this season for the Blades.

After what seemed like an avalanche of goals in the first, the Blades had the only tally in the game’s second period. With 5:55 remaining in the second, Lisowsky entered the zone on the right wing and roofed home his 18^th of the season from a bad angle to even the score at 3-3.

In the third, it appeared the Blades had moved into position to take the contest scoring a short-handed goal themselves to go up 4-3 with 4:21 remaining in the frame. 

Tyler Parr put the Blades up 4-3 with a short-handed goal.

Blades star captain Trevor Wong broke down the left wing into the Kelowna zone and passed the puck across the front of the Rockets net to 18-year-old left-winger Tyler Parr, who jetted into the offensive zone on the right wing.

Parr popped home his third of the season to give the hosts their one-goal edge in the third. That set the stage for the dramatics with Rocak scoring for the Rockets to send the game to overtime and Szturc winning it in the extra session for the visitors.

Austin Elliott turned away 19 shots to take the extra setback in net for the Blades. Jari Kykkanen stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rockets.

Marek Rocak scored with 17.9 seconds left in the third to force OT.

Lisowsky finished the contest with three points coming off a goal and two assists. Wong had a pair of helpers for the Blades. 

Iginla had a goal and an assist for the Rockets, while Cristall had two assists for the Kelowna side.

In the grand scheme of things, the spectators at the SaskTel Centre might have been the biggest winners on the night. In a contest that spanned two hours and 22 minutes in real time, they got to see one heck of a show.

The value of that is priceless no matter who wins on the scoreboard.

The Rockets celebrate their OT victory on Saturday night.

NOTES – WHL outgoing commissioner Ron Robison visited Saskatoon on Saturday night as part of a final tour to drop in on each of the circuit’s centres. He dropped the ceremonial faceoff before the start of the contest. Last June, Robison, who is 68-years-old, announced the 2023-34 campaign would be his last as WHL commissioner. Dan Near, who is 43-years-old, has been hired as the WHL’s new commissioner, and he will begin transitioning into that role on January 1, 2024.

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/Blades rivalry will hit new heights with playoff clash

Kirby Dach, left, of the Blades and Noah Gregor of the Raiders face off.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – It is a playoff series the late Doug McConachie would have been giddy with glee to cover.

    When McConachie was the sports editor of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, he often said his media outlet had two WHL home teams to cover in the Saskatoon Blades and the Prince Albert Raiders. 

    With Saskatoon and Prince Albert separated by about 140 kilometres on Highway 11, the Blades and Raiders were close geographical rivals, and they have had an intense rivalry since the Prince Albert club left the junior A ranks in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for the major junior ranks in the WHL in 1982.

    McConachie felt covering both clubs as home teams would create more interest in the stories produced by either side. If someone cheers for one side, they become more invested in following that team if they are highly aware of the story of that club’s biggest rival.

Brett Leason topped the Raiders in scoring.

    The Raiders and Blades begin a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series tonight at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    The two sides complement each other as much as they clash with each other on the ice.

    That notion played out to be very true this season as both vaulted up to be a couple of the best teams in the WHL.

    The Raiders topped the league standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings posting a 45-15-8 record and were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Raiders posted their best record since posting a mark of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties in the 1984-85 campaign, when they went on to win the WHL championship and the Memorial Cup. The Blades made the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

    Early on, there was a sense that both teams were going to be good this season. As each team piled up the wins, they were taking notice what the other was doing.

Blades centre Kirby Dach (#77) is a highly touted NHL prospect. 

    When the Blades started out with a solid 16-9-3 record as they exited last November, they were overshadowed by the Raiders storming into top spot with a 25-1 mark.

    Down the stretch, the Blades were the hotter team winning 15 of their final 17 regular season games, while the Raiders won 12 out of their final 18 games also posting two setbacks in extra time.

McConachie would have loved the fact both squads were doing so well at the same time along with the fact they were trying to one up each other.

    Both teams have loads of great people and storylines to follow too.

    The Raiders are led by a pair of hockey veterans in general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid. The two have worked together since the start of the 2015-16 campaign and have returned the Raiders to powerhouse status.

Brayden Pachal is the Raiders charismatic captain.

    The Blades are led by a couple of youngsters in general manager Colin Priestner and head coach Mitch Love. Since becoming general manager at the start of the 2016-17 season, Priestner has learned and improved at a rapid rate and become quite accomplished at his position.

    Love is a first-year head coach who came over after spending seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips and already guides his team like a veteran that has experienced long playoff runs.

    As for the players, right-winger Brett Leason had a breakout campaign in his 19-year-old season leading the Raiders in scoring 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points. The Raiders are filled with a number of intriguing personalities to follow in charismatic captain Brayden Pachal, Noah Gregor, Sean Montgomery, Cole Fonstad, Parker Kelly, Max Martin and young rookie Ozzy Wiesblatt.

    In goal, the Raiders are backed by the star play of Ian Scott.
    The Blades counter with star centre Kirby Dach, who turned 18-years-old in January. 

Chase Wouters is the Blades charismatic captain.

    Dach, who is in his sophomore season, is a highly touted prospect projected to be selected in the first round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, and he piled up 25 goals and 48 assists for 73 points in 62 regular season games.

    Overage defenceman Dawson Davidson topped the Blades in scoring with 13 goals and 62 assists for 75 points.

    Saskatoon’s roster contains a fun bunch to follow in charismatic captain Chase Wouters, Max Gerlach, “Uncle” Gary Haden, feisty Riley McKay, Brandon Schuldhaus, Nolan Kneen and young rookie Kyle Crnkovic.

    In goal, the Blades are powered by the stellar play of sophomore Nolan Maier.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this series play out to a seven-game war. The Raiders will be favoured to win, but a Blades victory shouldn’t be counted out of the question.

    On top of everything, both teams from players, coaches, management and staffers are filled with first rate people. The players on both sides are great guys.

    It has been fun to see both teams get to this point, and it is too bad one squad’s season will end after this series.

The Blades and Raiders will likely be engaged in a few scrums.

    With that said, those that watch this series between the Raiders and Blades unfold will see some great hockey.

    May the best team win.

    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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Spectacular showdown at Rutherford

Huskies slip past Pronghorns in stellar CIS game

Andrew Johnson burst into the offensive zone for the Huskies.

  It was a game the late Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports editor Doug McConachie would have loved.

    Known as one of the great characters in Canada’s sports media circles, McConachie would almost fall out of the press box due to over excitement, if he was witnessing a really good hockey game.

    McConachie was best known for the columns he wrote on the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, but he would have been pumped had he seen what took play at the ancient Rutherford Rink on the University of Saskatchewan campus on Friday night. In an action packed match, the host Huskies downed the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 3-2 in a Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey clash.

    While the contest wasn’t the highest scoring game you might see, it was filled with tonnes of offensive chances. Huskies netminder Jordan Cooke and Pronghorns counterpart Dylan Tait, who are both WHL graduates, both put on shows.

    Cooke turned away 24 shots, and his best stop might have come on an early second period breakaway, when he made a kick save on Pronghorns defenceman Tim Campbell. Tait, who recently beat testicular cancer, stopped 31 shots, and he was tested constantly in tight, as the Huskies drove hard to the net.

    The Huskies also appear to have found a new star in the early going in rookie forward Andrew Johnson, who seems to have the golden touch around the net. The local product accurately snipped home his club’s second and third goals of the night.

    The first tally came late in the second and gave the Huskies a 2-1 edge going into the second intermission. The second marker came just 56 seconds into the third to put the host side up 3-1.

Dylan Tait makes a stop in the Pronghorns goal.

    In the Dog’s 3-0 start, Johnson has netted the winner in every contest and has four goals and an assist so far this season.

    The Pronghorns made their share of plays as well in falling to 1-2. Sophomore left-winger Justin Valentino set up both his squad’s goals. His first helper was put in by Cassidy Mappin, who gave the visitors a 1-0 early in the first period.

    Valentino’s second helper came on a goal from Dalton Sward, who scored just before the midway point of the third period to cut the Huskies edge to 3-2.

    Jesse Ross accounted for the Huskies other goal with a beauty snipe of his own in the first frame.

Both teams transitioned up and down the ice at a very high tempo, blocked shots in the defensive end and threw some solid clean hits. The pace moved so fluidly that all the officials had to do was stay back and let both sides play.

Huskies goalie Jordon Cooke pushes a puck out of harms way.

    The men in the striped shirts had to do their biggest work after the third period expired, as what amounted to a minor scrum occurred behind the Huskies net. The mix up included a lot of wrestling and angry shouting but not much more than that.

    The Huskies entered Friday’s game as the fifth rated team in the CIS’s top ten rankings. The spectators saw a great show, and if Friday’s game is a sign of things to come, the old barn on the U of S campus is going to be the place to be.

    The Huskies and Pronghorns go at it again Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rutherford Rink.
    NOTE - The Huskies players all hit the ice for warm ups sporting #24 jerseys like the one that was once worn by team alumnus Cody Smuk, who passed away in June due to cancer. The team plans to keep doing that all season to honour the late gritty and hard working forward. 

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Check out more game photos on Twitter @StanksSports.