Silvertips blank Rockets 4-0, off to Memorial Cup semifinal

Host Kelowna eliminated from tourney with 0-3 mark

The Everett Silvertips had the Kelowna Rockets number in the 2025-26 campaign.

On Wednesday, the two sides went at it in the final preliminary round contest of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The Rockets, who are the host team for the event, needed a win to avoid elimination and move into the playoff round.

The Silvertips also took the ice without star 16-year-old defenceman Landon DuPont. DuPont took warm-ups on Wednesday, but was unable to go for the encounter with the Rockets. He was the receiving end on a lot of hits when the WHL champion Silvertips dropped a 6-2 decision to the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Rockets came into Wednesday’s clash with some extra confidence having dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in overtime to the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens this past Sunday.

The Kelowna took the ice on Wednesday at their home rink in Prospera Place with their hometown crowd chanting, “Let’s Go Rockets.”

While it seemed the cards were lining up for the Rockets to pull out an upset, the Silvertips didn’t allow that to happen. Everett started Wednesday’s contest getting X-factor goals from defencemen Kayd Ruedig and Jaxon Pisani in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. The Silvertips proceeded to cruise to a 4-0 victory from there.

With the win, the Silvertips completed the tournament’s preliminary round with a 2-1 record. They advance to play in the event’s semifinal game on Friday at Prospera Place against the 1-2 Sagueneens (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The winner of that contest advances to this coming Sunday’s championship game at Prospera Place to face the 3-0 Rangers (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Rockets completed the preliminary round with an 0-3 record having been outscored 12-2 by their foes causing their elimination from the event. Kelowna came into the Memorial Cup as sizable underdogs. The Rockets finished third in the WHL’s Western Conference and seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a solid 38-21-6-3 record.

Kelowna swept the rival Kamloops Blazers 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. The Rockets then fell 4-1 in a Western Conference Semifinal Series to the Silvertips.

They made their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since last winning the WHL championship in the 2014-15 campaign. The Rockets made it to the Memorial Cup tournament championship game in 2015 held in Quebec City falling to the OHL champion Oshawa Generals 2-1 in overtime. Kelowna won the 2004 Memorial Cup title as the event’s host squad.

With the loss to the Silvertips on Wednesday, the Rockets managed to win one of 10 head-to-head encounters with Everett in the 2025-26 campaign including action in the regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. Kelowna’s one win came in Game 4 of a WHL Western Conference Semifinal Series played on April 15 at Prospera Place. The Rockets entered the third period down 3-0 in that contest and rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory.

Following their loss to the Silvertips on Wednesday, the Rockets players took to the ice to make one last salute to their fans before departing to their dressing room.

At the start of the contest, the Rockets came out with a lot of energy looking to make an impact in the physicality department. Moments into the game, Rockets star captain Carson Wetsch came out throwing a series of three big hits with the last seeing him nail Ruedig to the ice.

Ruedig proceeded to have a massive game recording one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. He opened the game’s scoring at the 7:22 mark of the first period by floating a shot from the right side boards towards the Kelowna net that deflected off Rockets defenceman Rowan Guest into the cage.

Just 25 seconds later, Pisani, who is a rookie who turned 17 in late March, fired a shot from the left point to the top right corner of the Kelowna net to push the Silvertips lead out to 2-0. The tally was Pisani’s first goal in any type of CHL competition.

After Pisani’s tally, the Rockets pretty much abandoned their physical game plan and went into chase mode looking for offence. With 8:30 remaining in the first, the Rockets thought they got some offence when star rookie import left-winger Vojtech Cihar appeared to score during a net scramble. The officials went to a video review and reversed the call on the ice ruling Cihar kicked the puck into the Everett goal.

Just 63 seconds into the second, Silvertips star 18-year-old rookie left-winger Matias Vanhanen picked up a goal that pretty much put a dagger into the Rockets chances. Vanhanen picked off a clearing attempt inside the Kelowna zone, skated down the right wing and curled up underneath the right faceoff dot and blew a shot to the top left corner of the Kelowna net to give the Silvertips a 3-0 advantage.

The Rockets proceeded to pull starting netminder Josh Banini, who turned away 8-of-11 shots fired his way to take the loss in net for Kelowna. Harrison Boettiger played the rest of the way in relief by turning back 21-of-22 shots sent in his direction.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear potted a goal at the 13:07 mark of the third to round out the 4-0 final score in favour of the Everett side.

Anders Miller stopped 28 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Silvertips. Vanhanen had an assist to go along with his goal along with a plus-two rating.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

They will now play a Sagueneens side they downed 5-3 in a preliminary round contest last Saturday at Prospera Place.

The Sagueneens finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. They advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign.

The Silvertips and Sagueneens have never won the Memorial Cup. On Friday, one of those squads will take the next step to potentially making a Memorial Cup win a reality.

CHL suspends Sagueneens’ Tourigny for rest of Memorial Cup

Jordan Tourigny will complete his major junior career by watching the rest of the Memorial Cup tournament from the stands.

On Wednesday, the CHL announced Tourigny, who is an overage defenceman with the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens, has been suspended for the remainder of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament. The suspension comes after Tourigny received a match penalty for attempt to injure via kicking in his team’s 3-2 preliminary round loss to the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

With 11:16 remaining in the third period of that contest, a board battle for the puck took place in the right corner of the Chicoutimi zone with Tourigny and Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys, who turned 20 in early February, positioned over the puck.

Tourigny delivered three skate blade stomps to Humphreys foot, and the Rangers forward went down after the third stomp. The officials blew the play dead and Humphreys left the contest favouring his right leg and did not return.

The officials gave Tourigny his match penalty infraction. The call was confirmed via a lengthy video review.

All discipline matters along with officiating assignments at the 2026 Memorial Cup are handled by the NHL. Following its review, the NHL recommended that Tourigny be suspended for the duration of the tournament.

That recommendation was accepted by the Memorial Cup Games Committee and the CHL Executive Council.

In a release from the Sagueneens, Tourigny gave a statement about his suspension.

“I’m sorry I can’t continue the tournament to help my teammates,” said Tourigny in the release. “I never touched or intended to hit the player’s boot or ankle.

“My only intention was to target the blade of his stick. I regret using my skate in that situation, and I’m aware that this type of action is prohibited. I’m relieved to learn that he’s not injured, and that he’ll be able to play in the final game next Sunday.”

Tourigny was acquired by the Sagueneens part way through the 2025-26 campaign in a trade with the Shawinigan Cataractes. In 57 regular season games played between the Cataractes and the Sagueneens in 2025-26, Tourigny recorded 55 points coming off 13 goals and 42 assists to go with a plus-37 rating in the plus-minus department.

Tourigny has played in the QMJHL since he was a 16-year-old rookie and this marks the first time he has been suspended at the major junior level.

The Sagueneens release referred to the encounter between Tourigny and Humphreys as a “skate-tackling,” and that only Sagueneens head coach Yanick Jean would answer questions regarding Tourigny’s suspension.

The Sagueneens will face the WHL champion Everett Silvertips in a Memorial Cup semifinal contest at Prospera Place on Friday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The winner of that contest will take on the Rangers in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Sunday at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

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Rangers run over Rockets 5-0 to open Memorial Cup

WHL squads once gain face “Curse of the Drop”

The Kelowna Rockets managed to stay afloat for 51 minutes until the dam burst.

On Friday playing before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place, the Rockets opened play at the Memorial Cup taking on the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers. Kelowna is the host squad for the event that crowns a CHL champion.

In Friday’s preliminary round clash, the Rangers took a 2-0 lead into the final 10 minutes of the third period. Kitchener proceeded to fire home a surge of three goals to claim a 5-0 victory.

The Rockets came into this contest as sizable underdogs. They finished third in the WHL’s Western Conference and seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a solid 38-21-6-3 record.

Kelowna swept the rival Kamloops Blazers 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. The Rockets then fell 4-1 in a Western Conference Semifinal Series to the eventual WHL champion Everett Silvertips. Before Friday’s clash with the Rangers, the Rockets last outing was a 2-1 overtime loss to the Silvertips at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett back on April 17.

The Rockets are making their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since last winning the WHL championship in the 2014-15 campaign. They made it to the Memorial Cup tournament championship game held in Quebec City falling to the OHL champion Oshawa Generals 2-1 in overtime.

The Rangers topped the OHL’s Western Conference and finished second in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 47-14-5-2 mark. Kitchener motored through the OHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 record to win their first league title since the 2007-08 campaign. The Rangers were rated seventh in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Kitchener had a little bit of a rest coming into the Memorial Cup. The Rangers closed their sweep of the OHL Championship Series on May 12, when they downed the Colts at the Sadlon Arena in Barrie 4-2.

During Friday’s opening contest of the Memorial Cup, Rockets 18-year-old star netminder Harrison Boettiger put in a gallant performance to keep his squad in the game by turning away 34 shots in the loss. Rangers 19-year-old rookie netminder Christian Kirsch stopped all 24 shots fired his way to pick up the shutout win.

Dylan Edwards and Jack Pridham each had one goal, one assist and posted a plus-two rating in the plus-minus category for the Rangers. Defenceman Alexander Bilecki had a pair of assists and was a plus-two.

Edwards opened the game’s scoring at the 4:38 mark of the opening frame. He received a positive bounce off the board behind the Rockets net and got possession of the puck close in at the left side of the Kelowna goal. Edwards, who is a star 20-year-old left-winger, popped the puck home off Boettiger to put the Rangers up 1-0.

With 6:24 remaining in the opening frame, Rangers defenceman Jared Woolley took on Rockets left-winger Dawson Gerwing in a short bout. The fight was short with Gerwing ending the affair by tackling Woolley to the ice.

Woolley would hit the scoreboard offensively with 2:27 remaining in the second. Pridham had the puck behind the Kelowna net and passed the puck to Woolley at the left side of the goal. Woolley quickly fired home the puck to push the Rangers lead out to 2-0.

Just 2:30 into the second, spirited fight took place between Campbell and Rockets defenceman Nate Corbet. The bout occurred shortly after Campbell nailed overage Rockets offensive-defenceman now turned utility player Mazden Leslie in the open ice just inside the Kitchener zone. Campbell and Corbet traded heavy shots until the official broke the battle up.

While the Rockets got an energy boost for a short moment, it didn’t stop the Rangers from putting the contest away.

With 8:28 remaining in the third, Pridham scored off a breakaway to increase the Rangers advantage to 3-0. Just 82 seconds later, star centre Sam O’Reilly, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, scored to make the Rangers lead sit at 4-0. Just 80 seconds after O’Reilly scored, centre Haeden Ellis tallied to round out the 5-0 final in favour of Kitchener.

For the superstitious types, the Rockets and the WHL champion Everett Silvertips are trying to overcome the “Curse of the Drop” at the Memorial Cup. That event took place on May 25, 2008 after the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs downed the host Rangers in Kitchener 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. After receiving the trophy, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton had the Memorial Cup fall apart in his hands as he attempted to give it to veteran defenceman Trevor Glass.

Since that drop, the WHL has only won the Memorial Cup once coming with the Edmonton Oil Kings win in 2014. In 2014, Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreational diving accident.

In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3. At the moment, that marks the last time a team from the WHL has won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions. The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

The preliminary round of the Memorial Cup continues on Saturday at Prospera Place as the Silvertips face the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

The Sagueneens finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. They advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign.

The Sagueneens last played in the Memorial Cup tournament back in 1997, when the event was held in Hull, Quebec. Chicoutimi went to the Memorial Cup as the QMJHL finalist. The host Hull Olympics won the QMJHL title and the Memorial Cup championship in that campaign.

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Raiders romp into Christmas break with 8-3 win

Gorzynski collects five points in P.A. home debut

If first impressions are anything, Brandon Gorzynski is going to be a fan favourite in “Hockey Town North” in the not too distance future.

On Friday night, the 18-year-old left-winger played his first home game as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders before a standing room crowd of 2,584 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. Back on Monday, the Raiders acquired Gorzynski in a trade with the Calgary Hitmen that saw 17-year-old left-winger Ty Meunier, a second round selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft head the other way.

Gorzynski had an assist in his Raiders debut on Wednesday, when they traveled to Regina and fell to the host Pats 5-4 in a WHL regular season contest.

Skating at the Art Hauser Centre as a member of the Prince Albert side for the first time in regular season play on Friday, Gorzynski had a sensational night recording his first career WHL hat trick and two assists as the Raiders romped over the visiting Kelowna Rockets 8-3. Gorzynski scored twice on a hot night for the power play and once at even strength. The Raiders were 5-for-9 with the man advantage and successfully killed off both of the Rockets chances on the power play.

The victory allowed the Raiders to head into their Christmas break in impressive fashion. They improved to 23-5-4 to move one standings point ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers (22-6-3-2) for first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Raiders have a game in hand on the Tigers.

Prince Albert leads the East Division, while the Tigers top the Central Division. The Raiders also sit second in the overall WHL standings and third in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Rockets fell to 16-12-3-1 as they head into their Christmas break to sit inside the top five of the Western Conference. Kelowna will host the upcoming CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – from May 22 to 31, 2026, and the Rockets will be searching to play with a little better consistency when they return to action after Christmas.

The Raiders stormed out of the gates on Friday night scoring three times on their first six shots of the contest to hold a 3-0 lead at the 9:54 mark of the opening frame. Linden Burrett, who is a 19-year-old defenceman, scored just 78 seconds into the game on a backhander off an offensive rush, and Raiders captain Justice Christensen hammered home the club’s first power-play goal of the night to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

Gorzynski completed the surge with his first power-play goal of the contest and the Raiders second tally with the man advantage. Holding the puck at a bad angle to the right side of the Kelowna net, the Scottsdale, Arizona, product put a shot to the top right corner of the net over the shoulder of Rockets breakout star rookie netminder Harrison Boettiger.

Before the first period ended, the Rockets made a push back that saw captain Carson Wetsch fire home his 13^th of the season just 35 seconds after Gorzynski’s first tally to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Just 84 seconds into the second period, Raiders 17-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson potted his 10^th goal of the season to push the home side’s lead out to 4-1. At the 3:02 mark of the second, Gorzynski slipped home a backhand shot from the front of the Kelowna net for an even strength tally to give the Raiders a 5-1 advantage.

That tally knocked Boettiger out of the game as he was pulled by the Rockets coaching staff after stopping 8-of-13 shots sent his way to take the loss in net for the visitors. Josh Banini turned away 23-of-26 shots playing the rest of the way in relief.

The Rockets didn’t go away. Jaxon Kehrig, who is an 18-year-old centre, scored for the Rockets at the 11:47 mark of the second to cut the Raiders lead to 5-2.

Gorzynski picked up his first of two assists by setting up 17-year-old right-winger Riley Boychuk for a power-play goal at the 13:04 mark of the second to push the Raiders advantage out to 6-2.

Rockets 19-year-old right-winger Dawson Gerwing netted his sixth goal of the campaign at the 16:30 mark of the second to trim the Prince Albert lead to 6-3. Kelowna’s offence proceeded to dry up at that point.

Just 2:33 into the third, Raiders star 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring scored on the power play by potting the rebound from a shot taken by Gorzynski to make the score sit at 7-3 in favour of the hosts.

With 5:12 remaining in the third, Gorzynski completed his hat trick by firing home a power-play goal from the right faceoff dot in the Calgary zone to round out the 8-3 final score in favour of Prince Albert.

Dimitri Fortin made 34 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

Oiring had three assists to go with his goal. He also surpassed 200 career points in regular season play with his big night. In 231 career regular season contests played between the Winnipeg Ice and the Raiders, Oiring has collected 76 goals and 126 assists for 202 points.

Maddix McCagherty, Brayden Dube, Brock Cripps and Daxon Rudolph each had two helpers for the Raiders.

The Rockets return to action on Saturday, December 27 when they host the 15-18-1-1 Vancouver Giants (6 p.m. local time, Prospera Place).

The Raiders also return to action on that same day traveling to Swift Current to take on the 8-23-1 Broncos (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

Heading into the Christmas break, Prince Albert has enjoyed a memorable campaign to this point. With the performance the Raiders put on in the win over the Rockets on Friday, the faithful in “Hockey Town North” will be jumping to pack the Raiders storied home rink and enjoy a few road trips to support their team when game action resumes after the holiday hiatus.

Silvertips rally for 3-2 OT win over Cougars, other notes

Landon DuPont put on his superhero cape to cap a miracle comeback for the WHL leading Everett Silvertips.

Playing before a raucous crowd of 6,073 spectators at the Angel of the Winds Arena in a regular season clash on Friday night, the host Silvertips found themselves trailing the B.C. Division leading Prince George Cougars 2-0 heading into the final two minutes of the third period. It appeared Cougars 19-year-old rookie import netminder Alexander Levshyn was going to steal a victory for the visitors as the Silvertips threw seemingly everything including the kitchen sink at him without getting a goal.

When all hope looked lost for the Silvertips, their offence proceeded to break through.

With 71 seconds remaining in the third and star netminder Raiden LeGall pulled for an extra attacker, Silvertips 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz potted his 15^th goal of the campaign to cut the Cougars lead to 2-1. He pulled a toe-drag move and fired home a shot between Levshyn’s legs.

With 41.9 second remaining in the third, DuPont, who is the Silvertips star 16-year-old sophomore defenceman, potted the equalizer during a scramble in front of the Prince George net that forced a 2-2 tie and overtime. The rearguard ultimately potted the equalizer off a rebound from a shot taken by Silvertips star right-winger Jesse Heslop.

At the 2:47 mark of the three-versus-three overtime period, DuPont drove down the right wing with the puck, zipped past the Cougars defence, cut across the front of the Prince George net and fired home the winner after making a toe drag move. The spectacular tally that gave the Silvertips the 3-2 victory was DuPont’s sixth tally and third winner of the campaign.

The comeback helped the Silvertips push their winning streak to seven games heading into their Christmas break as they improved their WHL leading record to 27-3-2-1. The Silvertips topped the CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Cougars continued to lead the B.C. Division as their record moved to 22-9-1 with the extra time setback as they set off on their Christmas break.

Prince George went ahead 1-0 in Friday’s clash with the Silvertips on a second period goal from 19-year-old defenceman Corbin Vaughan. The Cougars appeared to have locked down a victory after going ahead 2-0 with 2:50 remaining in the third when 18-year-old import rookie centre Dmitri Yakutsenak netted his 14^th goal of the campaign.

That set the stage for the epic Silvertips rally for the win.

LeGall made 14 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips. Levshyn turned away 51 shots to take the extra time setback in net for the Cougars.

The Silvertips return to action on Saturday, December 27 when they travel to Kent, Washington, to face the 13-14-2-1 Seattle Thunderbirds (6 p.m. local time, Accesso ShoWare Centre).

The Cougars also get back at it on that same day when they host the 13-11-4-3 Victoria Royals (6 p.m. local time, CN Centre).

• In Calgary, 18-year-old breakout star right-winger Joby Baumuller scored in overtime to deliver the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings to a 3-2 victory over the host Hitmen. The Wheat Kings jumped out to a 2-0 in the first period and the Hitmen rallied with single goals in the second and third frames to even the score at 2-2 and force overtime.
• In Kent, Washington, Antonio Martorana and Brock England scored in a tiebreaking shootout to give the host Seattle Thunderbirds a 2-0 win in the tiebreaking session and a 1-0 overall game victory over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. Logan Edmonstone turned away 40 shots over 65 minutes and one shooter in the shootout for the Blazers. Marek Sklenicka stopped 36 shots and both shooters he faced in the shootout for the Thunderbirds.
• In Langley, B.C., 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ludovic Perreault scored the first three goals of the game to power the visiting Victoria Royals to a 5-1 victory over the host Vancouver Giants. Royals 17-year-old left-winger Nolan Stewart had one goal and three assists in the win, while 18-year-old right-winger Caleb Matthews had one goal and two assists for the visitors. Of course, Perreault, Stewart and Matthews play on the same line.

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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Brutal break does in Blades

Rockets rally for 3-2 win after tiebreaking shootout

It proved to be the perfect time for Poke Check to take a nap.

On Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatoon Blades mascot found time to catch some sleep during a lengthy video review with 1:58 remaining in the third period in a WHL regular season contest between the host Blades and the visiting Kelowna Rockets. While the antics of the Blades mascot created some laughs, the outcome of the video review would ultimately not favour the home side.

With the Blades holding a 2-1 lead, the officials were trying to determine if the Rockets had scored the equalizer during a mad scramble around the Saskatoon net, where the play was blown dead after the goal was dislodged. The officials were trying to determine if the puck crossed the goal-line before the net came off its posts.

Eventually, the video review determined the puck had just gone into the Saskatoon net before the net itself came fully off its posts resulting in a good goal. Rockets offensive-defenceman Will Sharpe was given credit for scoring the equalizer.

Most at the SaskTel Centre among the paid attendance of 2,514 spectators rained down boos. Due to a blizzard happening in Saskatoon on Wednesday, a lot of the ticket buyers understandably no-showed for the contest.

The teams advanced into overtime locked in a 2-2 tie. Late in the overtime period, Blades 18-year-old defenceman Brayden Klimpke found himself alone on a breakaway, but he missed the net with his shot. A short time later, Rockets breakout star 18-year-old rookie netminder Harrison Boettiger made a huge left pad save off Blades 17-year-old right-winger Zach Olsen to force the contest to go to a tiebreaking shootout.

The Blades had dominated the three-on-three overtime session holding a 6-1 edge in shots on goal.

In the tiebreaking shootout, Rockets star 20-year-old centre Shane Smith scored the only goal by snapping a shot past Blades star netminder 19-year-old netminder Evan Gardner in the third round. Smith’s goal gave the Rockets a 1-0 victory in the tiebreaking session and a 3-2 overall win in the contest.

Boettiger proved to be a huge reason for the fact the Rockets, who will host the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – this coming May, pulled out the road triumph. He made 40 saves over the first 65 minutes of play and turned away all three shooters he faced in the shootout.

The Rockets improved to 16-11-3-1 with the win. They travel to Prince Albert on Friday to face the Raiders (22-5-4) at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. That will be the last game for both clubs before they head out on their respective Christmas breaks.

Gardner also had a huge night in getting saddled with the tough luck extra time setback. He made 33 saves over 65 minutes of play and stopped two-of-three shooters in the shootout.

With the extra time setback, the Blades record moved to 17-14-2-1.They now head off on their Christmas break. The Blades return to action on Saturday, December 27, for their Teddy Bear Toss Game hosting the Regina Pats (11-17-2-1) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

In Wednesday’s clash, the Rockets got on the scoreboard first on a goal from 18-year-old left-winger Levi Benson at the 8:37 mark of the opening frame.

Just over six minutes later, Blades standout 18-year-old centre Hayden Harsanyi evened things up at 1-1. Harsanyi proceeded to net his second of the contest and 10^th goal of the campaign with 3:59 remaining in the second period to give the Blades their 2-1 edge.

That set the stage dramatics in the third period, overtime and the shootout.

Overall, the fans that made it to the SaskTel Centre saw a really compelling game. One tough break for the home side and a great development for the visitors on a late third period video review turned out to be the difference in the contest.

Pats get puck luck in 5-4 win over Raiders

The Regina Pats puck luck around the net helped bring an end to the Prince Albert Raiders five game winning streak.

Playing before 2,576 spectators at the Brandt Centre on Wednesday night, the host Pats slipped past the visiting Raiders 5-4 despite the fact the Raiders had a 38-23 edge in shots on goal. Pats 19-year-old netminder Marek Schlenker had a big night making 34 saves in the win as Regina improved to 11-17-2-1. Raiders 19-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin turned away 18 shots as Prince Albert fell to 22-5-4.

The Raiders, who are rated third in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings, opened the game’s scoring at the 5:52 mark of the first period, when 18-year-old left-winger Oli Chenier put a between the legs shot to the top corner of the Regina net.

With 41.8 seconds remaining in the first, Pats 17-year-old right-winger Zachary Lansard fired home the equalizer that evened the score at 1-1. The two sides exited the opening 20 minutes locked in that 1-1 tie with the Raiders holding a 12-4 edge in shots on goal.

Raiders star offensive-defenceman Daxon Rudolph fired home a power-play goal just 1:33 into the second to put the visitors back in front 2-1. Before the second ended, the Pats received a power-play goal from Lansard and an even-strength tally from 20-year-old right-winger Caden Brown to head into the second intermission holding a 3-2 lead.

At the 4:50 mark of the third, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Connor Howe netted his second goal of the season to force a 3-3 tie.

The Pats responded getting an even-strength goal from captain Ephram McNutt and a power-play tally from 19-year-old centre Ellis Mieyette to jump ahead 5-3.

With 72 seconds remaining in the third, Raiders star 20-year-old captain Justice Christensen fired home his seventh of the campaign to trim the Regina lead to 5-4. The Raiders weren’t able to find another tally to force overtime.

Pats 18-year-old left-winger Connor Bear received a double minor for high-sticking with 4:30 remaining in the third, and Raiders 18-year-old rookie left-winger Owen Corkish was tabbed for a double minor for high-sticking with 3:34 remaining in the third. Both infractions will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Pats now head out on their Christmas break. They return to action on Saturday, December 27, when they travel to Saskatoon to face the 17-14-2-1 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders return home to host the Kelowna Rockets (16-11-3-1) on Friday (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Tigers run winning streak to 10, other notes

The Medicine Hat Tigers are heading into their WHL Christmas break on fire.

On Wednesday playing before 3,006 spectators at Co-op Place, the Tigers won their 10^th straight game downing the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-3. The Tigers win ends a seven game winning streak the Wheat Kings had been on.

Brandon scored the first goal in Wednesday’s clash coming off the stick of 17-year-old star centre Jaxon Jacobson just past the midway point of the opening frame. The Tigers pulled even at 1-1 just under two minutes later on a goal from 17-year-old rookie left-winger Noah Davidson.

Just 1:58 into the second period, 20-year-old centre Nicholas Johnson scored for the Wheat Kings to give them a 2-1 advantage.

The Tigers responded scoring three straight goals coming off the sticks of Kyle Heger, Liam Ruck and Ethan Neutens to take a 4-2 advantage at the 10:28 mark of the second.

Before the second ended, Wheat Kings 19-year-old centre Carter Klippenstein netted his 10^th goal of the season to cut the Tigers lead to 4-3.

Medicine Hat proceeded to cruise to victory in the third scoring three times to round out the 7-3 final score. Captain Bryce Pickford, Tyson Moss and Jonas Woo all netted singles for the Tigers. Pickford’s tally was his 25^th goal of the campaign, while Woo has a career-high 16 tallies on the season.

Carter Casey made 22 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers, who are rated ninth in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings. The Tigers improved to 22-6-3-2 to jump into first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference by sitting one standings point ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders (22-5-4). The Raiders have two games in hand on the Tigers.

Jayden Kraus turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Wheat Kings.

At the 7:15 mark of the second period, Wheat Kings 19-year-old rookie defenceman Max Lavoie took on Davidson in a fight.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, December 27, when they travel to Lethbridge to face the 11-22-0-1 Hurricanes (6 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

The Wheat Kings get back at it on Friday when they travel to Calgary to take on the 17-9-3-1 Hitmen (1 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

• In Calgary, import centre Andrei Molgachev collected four assists as the host Hitmen hammered the visiting Swift Current Broncos 9-2 on Wednesday. Caine Wilke, Kale Dach and Julien Maze all had two-goal nights for the Hitmen.
• In Kamloops, 18-year-old right-winger Savin Virk had the overtime winner, an assist and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department as his visiting Tri-City Americans edged the host Blazers 4-3. The Blazers held a 3-1 lead, but the Americans rolled off the last three goals of the contest to pull off the comeback.
• In Everett, 16-year-old star sophomore defenceman Landon DuPont had the winning goal, one assists and was a plus-two as his host Silvertips slipped past the visiting Wenatchee Wild 3-2. The Silvertips have won six straight and lead the WHL’s overall standings with a 26-3-2-1 mark. The Silvertips are rated first in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings.
• In Penticton, 20-year-old right-winger Brady Birnie netted a hat trick by scoring the final three goals to allow his Vees to down the visiting Prince George Cougars 5-2. The Vees now sport a 16-9-4-3 record in their first WHL season after moving up from the junior A ranks.
• On December 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on 16-year-old flag football star Adley Tomlenovich. In the piece, Tomlenovich talks about her journey in the sport as a quarterback. She also took up being the head coach for a Grade 6 female squad that plays in the 5 on 5 NFL Youth Flag Football circuit overseen by Saskatoon Minor Football. The piece on Tomlenovich can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images of the Saskatoon Hilltops winning their 24^th CJFL championship. That post 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.

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