Raiders down Wheat Kings 2-1, stay in playoff chase

Carson Latimer scored twice for the Raiders on Wednesday.

The Prince Albert Raiders are still on the outside looking in when it comes to making the WHL playoffs, but they picked up a key win to stay in the post-season race.

On Wednesday night playing before 2,430 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders downed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1. The win allowed the Raiders to halt a four-game losing streak that include one overtime and three regulation setbacks.

The WHL leading Winnipeg Ice were responsible for giving the Raiders the one overtime and two regulation setbacks over that four-game skid.

In Wednesday’s win over the Wheat Kings, left-winger Carson Latimer scored twice in the first period to give the Raiders a 2-0 edge. That proved to be all the offence the Raiders needed as they eventually held on for a one-goal win.

With 5:33 remaining in the first, Latimer potted his first goal of the contest after collecting the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Evan Herman.

Latimer struck for his second tally with 3:27 remaining in the third scoring from a bad angle to the left side of the Brandon net after collecting a crossbar rebound from a shot taken by import linemate Vladislav Shilo.

The Wheat Kings cut the Raiders lead to 2-1 with 6:40 remaining in the second on a goal from associate player call up Charlie Elick. The defenceman, who turned 16-years-old in January, took a shot from the point that was going wild of the goal, but the puck bounced off Raiders defenceman Eric Johnston into the Prince Albert net.

The marker was Elick’s first career WHL regular season goal. The Calgary, Alta., product joined the Wheat Kings after playing for the Edge School’s under-18 prep team.

Tikhon Chaika made 34 saves for the Raiders on Wednesday.

After that positive bounce goal by the Wheat Kings, Raiders import netminder Tikhon Chaika slammed the door the rest of the way making 34 total saves in the contest to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders, who improved to 25-32-4-1.

Ethan Kruger turned away 24 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings, who fell to 30-25-3-2.

The Raiders sit ninth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 55 points in the standings. They trail the Lethbridge Hurricanes (27-30-3-1) by three points for eighth place and the conference’s final playoff berth.

The Hurricanes fell to eighth place after dropping a 6-4 decision at home on Wednesday to the Swift Current Broncos. The Broncos have won six out of their last seven games to improve to 26-31-5-2 to sit seventh overall in the conference one point ahead of the Hurricanes and four points ahead of the Raiders.

Also on Wednesday, the Calgary Hitmen downed the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 3-2. The Hitmen improved to 23-31-6-2 to sit 10^th overall in the Eastern Conference standings one point behind the Raiders and four points behind the Hurricanes.

The Regina Pats are staying in the congested playoff push having downed the visiting Saskatoon Blades 3-2 on Wednesday. The Pats improved to 24-31-3-2 to sit 11^th overall in the Eastern Conference five points behind the Hurricanes.

The Broncos have four games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Raiders and Hitmen have six games remaining on their respective slates, the Hurricanes have seven contests left on their schedule and the Pats have eight regular season contests remaining.

The Raiders and Wheat Kings go at it again on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Blades rally comes up short in 3-2 loss to Pats

Kyle Crnkovic scored for the Blades on Wednesday.

The Saskatoon Blades came up just short in attempting to rally past the host Regina Pats.

On Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre, the Pats built a 3-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 victory to delight most of the 3,713 spectators in attendance.

Rookie 17-year-old right-winger Borya Valis gave the Pats a 1-0 lead in the first period. Tanner Howe, the Pats 16-year-old star right-winger, and Connor Bedard, the Pats 16-year-old phenom centre, combined to set up linemate Logan Linklater for a second period tally to put the Pats up 2-0.

Just 91 seconds into the third, Pats overage offensive-defenceman Ryker Evans netted his 14^th goal of the season to give the Pats a 3-0 advantage.

With 8:34 remaining in the third, Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic netted his 36^th goal of the season to cut the Pats lead to 3-1. Blades rookie import right-winger Egor Sidorov deflected home a shot from Blades star overage centre Tristen Robins to further trim Regina’s edge to 3-2 with 2:06 remaining in the third.

Saskatoon had pulled overage star netminder Nolan Maier for an extra attacker on Sidorov’s goal.

The Blades were unable to get the equalizer at that point.

Right before the third period ended, Sidorov and Evans engaged in a fight.

Drew Sim stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats (24-31-3-2). Maier turned away 26 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades (34-24-3-1).

Wednesday’s clash marked the sixth and final time the Blades and Pats faced each other in the regular season, and the Blades had won the previous five clashes between the two sides.

The Blades sit fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and sit three points behind the 35-22-3-2 Moose Jaw Warriors for fourth overall in the conference. The fourth place team in the conference will have home ice advantage over the fifth place club in the first round of the WHL playoffs.

The Blades and Warriors face each other on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The Pats also return to action on Friday hosting the WHL leading 48-9-3-2 Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Blades announced Robins will be the captain for the rest of the 2021-22 campaign as regular captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere is set to have season ending shoulder surgery. The standout defenceman is expected to return for the start of next season for his overage campaign.

The Blades injury list is a lengthy one. Centres Trevor Wong, Jayden Wiens and Lukas Hansen, right-winger Noah Boyko and defenceman Rhett Rhinehart are all out with upper body injuries. Hansen and Rhinehart are listed as out week to week, while Wong, Wiens and Boyko are labeled as day to day.

Saskatoon/Regina make pitch as joint world juniors host

The 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation’s world junior tournament might be hosted in Saskatchewan.

On Wednesday, Tourism Saskatoon and Tourism Regina announced in a joint release that Canada has been asked by the IIHF to come up with a plan to host the 2023 world juniors, and as a result, a joint bid is being planned from Saskatoon and Regina.

The tournament was originally scheduled to start Dec. 26, 2022 and run through to Jan. 5, 2023 in Novosibirsk, Russia. 

Back on Feb. 28, the IIHF announced it was stripping Russia of its hosting rights among other sanctions due to that country’s military invasion of Ukraine.

If the Saskatchewan bid is successful, the communities of Humboldt, Swift Current, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw could also host games for world juniors.

Saskatchewan played host to the tournament in the 1990-91 and 2009-10 campaigns.

The city councils in both Saskatoon and Regina will hold special meetings on Friday to discuss a joint bid.

The SaskTel Centre, Regina Exhibition Authority Limited and the Saskatoon Destination Marketing Hotels are collaborating with Tourism Saskatoon and Tourism Regina on this venture.

Cities are required to have a business plan and event bid in to Hockey Canada by this coming Monday. A final decision is to be made on April 25 or 26.

Sharks grad Marshall gets U Sports silver

Chloe Marshall in action for the Sharks in December 2015.

Battlefords Sharks female under-18 AAA hockey team grad Chloe Marshall had the biggest three games of her playing career this past weekend at the U Sports women’s hockey championship tournament.

At the elite-eight style event, the 24-year-old Neilburg, Sask., product backstopped the North Bay, Ont., based Nipissing University Lakers to a silver medal finish at the U Sports nationals that were held at the MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

In a quarter-final contest held last Thursday, Marshall made 41 saves to allow the sixth-seeded Lakers to pull out a 1-0 overtime victory over the Canada West champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Defender Madi Solie, who is a graduate of the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings female under-18 AAA team, scored the overtime winner for the Lakers.

Solie played three seasons for the Gold Wings from 2013 to 2016 and was a member of their 2013-14 squad that won the Esso Cup as female national under-18 AAA hockey champions.

Last Saturday, Marshall proceeded to make 16 saves to back the Lakers to a 4-0 victory in a semifinal contest over the second seed University of New Brunswick Reds, who were the Atlantic University Sport conference champions. Solie had a goal in the victory over the Reds.

In the gold medal final last Sunday, Marshall stopped 33-of-36 shots in a 4-0 loss to the top-seeded Concordia University Stingers, who were the champions of the Reseau du Sport Etudiant du Quebec. The Stingers netted their final tally into an empty net.

Marshall played two seasons for the Sharks from 2014 to 2016. Before joining the Lakers, Marshall  played one season for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2017-18 and one campaign for the now defunct University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in 2019-20.

The Lakers roster also contained defender Allison Hayhurst, who is a graduate of the now defunct Melville Prairie Fire female under-18 AAA team. Hayhurst played for the Prairie Fire for five seasons from 2014 to 2019.

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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Prince Albert’s mightiest Bear

Ashe follows in Manson’s strides in “Hockey Town North”

Jordan Ashe is a force on defence for the P.A. Northern Bears.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Jordan Ashe originally wanted to be like number four Bobby Orr.

    When you play for one of Prince Albert’s elite hockey programs, number four takes on a whole different meaning. At the start of the 2014-15 season, Ashe cracked the roster of the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League on a full-time basis and chose to wear number four.

    Ashe knew a little bit of Prince Albert’s hockey history and was aware Dave Manson donned number four and played defence for the WHL’s Raiders in the 1980s helping them win the Memorial Cup in 1985. The Raiders retired Manson’s number on Feb. 12, 2016, so Ashe has skated under his number four banner at the Art Hauser Centre for practices and games for almost two years now.

    She was aware Manson went on to have a lengthy career in the NHL that spanned 16 seasons, and in both the WHL and NHL, Manson became famous for his toughness. He wore number four at various times during his NHL days as well.

Jordan Ashe (#4) often finds herself around physical action.

    In her four complete seasons with the Bears, Ashe developed a reputation as being one of the toughest defenders in the SFMAAAHL. Standing 5-foot-9 and weighing a fit 171 pounds, the 17-year-old rearguard often physically overwhelms her opponents, and she isn’t afraid to throw the odd timely hit to get her team pumped up, even though bodychecking is penalized in the female game.

    Ashe never thought she would become a rugged defender when she joined the Bears, but she has enjoyed trying to emulate one of Prince Albert’s biggest hockey heroes in Manson, who is currently an associate coach with the Raiders.

    “If you think about it, it is like actually pretty cool,” said Ashe, who topped the Bears with 47 penalty minutes in 23 regular season games in 2016-17. “It is like it is kind of meant to happen I guess.

Jordan Ashe has career highs in goals and assists this season.

    “Coming to P.A., it was a good choice for me. I really like it here.”

    Ashe started playing minor hockey in her hometown of Debden, which is about 94 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert, at age 10 after following her younger brother, Dylan, into the sport. Jordan quickly discovered hockey was her true calling.

    “It seemed like way more fun than doing dance, which is what my parents put me in originally,” said Ashe. “I like the adrenaline rushes like going down the ice and making rushes.

    “I used to be a forward. I used to score lots of goals, not so much anymore, but that is OK. I still get to rush the puck.”

Jordan Ashe improved her all-around game since joining the Bears.

    During her minor hockey days in Debden, Ashe switched over to defence due to the fact her ability to skate backwards was better than any of her teammates. She hoped her offensive production would follow to her new position, which led to visions of emulating Orr.

    Ashe played on boys teams up through and including the 2013-14 campaign, when she also joined the female midget A team that was started up in town by her father, Mike.

    She gained her first experience of playing with the Bears in 2013-14, when she was called up for three regular season and seven playoff contests as an associate player.

    Ashe played more of a physical style during her early time with the Bears to compensate for the fact her skill set wasn’t as strong as her teammates.

Jordan Ashe recently played in her 100th career SFMAAAHL game.

    “I’ve always been a bigger player,” said Ashe, who has lived at a billet home in Prince Albert since joining the Bears full time. “You need to use that to your advantage.

    “I used to like not have that great a shot, not have the best hands. That (physical play) was just like an aspect of my game that was just always there for me, because I was always the taller, stronger player.”

    In her last two off-seasons, Ashe, whose family relocated to Warman, Sask., before the start of her first full season with the Bears, trained at Sadoway Conditioning in Saskatoon. Ashe said she felt way stronger physically on the ice last season and this season than she did in her first two full campaigns with the Bears.

    Her skill set on the ice has also advanced. In helping the Bears post a 17-3 regular season record in the current campaign, Ashe has posted career highs with seven goals and six assists.

Jordan Ashe, second from left, celebrates a Bears playoff goal last season.

    Ashe helped the Bears advance the female final at the Mac’s Tournament in Calgary on Monday. The Bears fell in that contest 6-2 to the Alberta based Rocky Mountain Raiders. Individually, Ashe was named to the tournament’s second all-star team on the female side.

    “Jordan (Ashe) has come along really nicely, especially this year,” said Bears head coach Jeff Willoughby. “Her offensive game has really blossomed.

    “She has always been a responsible defensive player, but her offensive game has just come along really nicely for her, so that is nice to see.”

    Willoughby said Ashe’s physical toughness is still one of her biggest assets of her game.

Jordan Ashe is solid at controlling the play with the puck on the back end.

    “You see her say go on a rush or defend our corner in our end (and) not too many players have their way with her,” said Willoughby. “She is not going to get beat out of the corner.
    “She is a definitely plus for our team.”

    By improving her all-around game, Ashe, who is an assistant captain with the Bears this season, actually began mirror Manson even more.

    While Manson was best known for piling up 2,792 penalty minutes in 1,103 NHL regular season games, his toughness reputation overshadowed the fact he was a good all-around player.

    A solid defensive defenceman, Manson was strong at controlling the play by bringing the puck up ice, could make a strong first pass to start an offensive rush, had a good shot, was popular among his teammates and was great in the dressing room.

Jordan Ashe has always been popular with her teammates.

    Ashe is also strong in her own zone and at controlling the play when she brings the puck up ice. She can make a strong first pass to start an offensive rush, has a good shot, is popular with her teammates and is great in the dressing room.

    Actually, Ashe has always gotten along well with teammates on any team she has been on or with other players at any hockey camp she has attended.

    “I think it is like my ability to have a conversation with somebody and be understanding to like whether they are sad or happy to be able to like joke with them and know my limits with that too,” said Ashe. “I think I’m just like good at having a conversation.”

    Ashe’s most memorable moment with the Bears came during their playoff run last season, where they won the SFMAAAHL championship and advanced to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national championship tournament.

Jordan Ashe, front centre, enjoyed the Bears run to the Esso Cup in 2017.

    In Game 2 of a best-of-three Western regional playdown series played on April 1, 2017 against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats, the Bears were behind 6-3 in the third period before rallying for a 7-6 victory to sweep the series 2-0. Ashe’s point shot with two minutes to play in the third period was tipped home by forward Brooklyn Anderson for the winning goal before a crowd of 1,200 at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Ashe couldn’t believe what it was like to play in the Esso Cup later that same month in Morden, Man.

    “I remember like walking into the dressing room at nationals, and it was all set up,” said Ashe, whose Bears went 2-3 at nationals. “We all had nametags.

    “I was like, ‘Holy cow this is actually happening.’ I think that is when it sunk in when we were going there.”

Jordan Ashe will join the Nipissing University Lakers next season.

    Next season, Ashe has committed to joining the Nipissing University Lakers women’s hockey team located in North Bay, Ont. The Lakers are one of the stronger clubs in U Sports’ Ontario University Athletics conference and are guided former NHL player Darren Turcotte as head coach.

    “I am extremely excited to get going with that,” said Ashe. “I love the school, and I love the girls there.

    “I went out for a couple of weeks visit, and the girls were all so nice, and everybody was so welcoming. I loved Darren (Turcotte) as a coach, because I skated with him a few times as well. I’m just overall really excited to get going.”

    While she is looking ahead to her university days, Ashe isn’t sure what it is going to be like when her career concludes with the Bears.

    “It is going to be really weird,” said Ashe, who has 12 goals and 15 assists in 100 career regular season games with the Bears. “It feels like I am still in my first year to be completely honest.

Jordan Ashe plans to soak in her final months with the Bears.

    “I’m going to cry a lot, and it is going to take me a while to move on I guess and leave the girls, especially like my good friends Alli (Soyko) and Abby (Soyko).

    “It is going to be tough, but time has to come I guess.”

    Until then, she still has eight regular season games and a last playoff run to look forward to with the Bears.
    They resume their regular season schedule on Jan. 13, when they travel to Melville to take on the Prairie Fire.

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