DuPont return paces Silvertips to 6-1 romp over Sagueneens

Everett to face Kitchener in Memorial Cup final

A game off worked wonders for Landon DuPont.

On Wednesday, the Everett Silvertips star defenceman took warm-ups but didn’t play in the final preliminary round contest in the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The WHL champion Silvertips blanked the event’s host club in the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 that night at Prospera Place to eliminate the Rockets from the tourney with an 0-3 mark.

On Friday just one day after his 17^th birthday, DuPont again took warm-ups before his team’s clash with the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens in a Memorial Cup semifinal contest. DuPont did indeed play, and he played regularly pacing the Silvertips with a pair of goals and posting a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in a 6-1 victory played before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place.

With the win, the Silvertips improve their tournament record to 3-1 and advance to the event’s championship game to face the 3-0 OHL champion Kitchener Rangers at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Silvertips, who began play in the 2003-04 campaign, will be attempting to win their first Memorial Cup title in team history and in their first appearance at the CHL championship tournament.

The Rangers, who are playing in their first Memorial Cup since 2008, are looking to capture their third Memorial Cup title in team history having won major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 1982 and 2003.

The Sagueneens depart the Memorial Cup after posting a 1-3 record. They are still in search of their first Memorial Cup championship.

Chicoutimi 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. The Sagueneens advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign. Chicoutimi participated in the 1997 Memorial Cup as the QMJHL finalist as the host Hull Olympics won the QMJHL title and followed up with a Memorial Cup title win.

The Silvertips and Sagueneens met in a preliminary round contest last Saturday, where Everett posted a 5-3 victory at Prospera Place.

Friday’s semifinal got off to an auspicious start for the Sagueneens. At the 7:56 mark of the opening frame, Sagueneens veteran offensive-defenceman Tomas Lavoie fanned on passing the puck just inside his own blue-line to start a rush up ice.

Silvertips centre Lukas Kaplan picked up the loose puck and sprung right-winger Jaxsin Vaughan towards the Chicoutimi net on a short breakaway. Vaughan fired the puck home to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi goal to put the Silvertips up 1-0.

Lavoie would later make up for that misplay. At the 12:01 mark of the first, Lavoie cruised across the front of the Everett net with the puck, got down low to the right side of the goal and tucked home a shot that bounced off the back bar in the net and shot out the other side of the goal.

At first, the officials didn’t rule that Lavoie’s shot went in, but a few seconds after the shot, the clock operator hit the period buzzer to halt play and alert the officials on the ice that Lavoie’s shot did indeed go into the net. The rearguard’s tally evened the score at 1-1.

The two sides were playing an even game at that point in the contest. That changed with 6:01 remaining in the first as DuPont got the puck in the Chicoutimi zone and wired a midrange shot through a screen to the left corner of the Sagueneens net to put the Silvertips up 2-1.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear set up DuPont with a brilliant pass from behind the Chicoutimi goal.

Everett exited the first period holding a 2-1 lead with a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The Silvertips proceeded to pretty much land a knockout blow in the second period outscoring the Sagueneens 3-0 in the frame while holding an 18-6 edge in shots on goal.

At the 5:39 mark of the second, Silvertips 20-year-old utility player Nolan Chastko sprung Bear on a breakaway with a long stretch pass. Bear snapped a shot to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi net to push the Silvertips lead out to 3-1.

With 7:25 remaining in the second, a net scramble broke out in front of the Chicoutimi goal. Silvertips standout 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz got a hold of a loose puck and fired home a shot from the front of the net to make the Silvertips advantage stand at 4-1.

The Silvertips would find themselves on the power play with 82 seconds remaining in the second, when DuPont would strike again. DuPont one-timed home a shot from the top of the left faceoff dot to push the Silvertips lead out to a sizable 5-1 advantage. The rearguard converted a sweet setup pass from star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen.

A big fight would take place with 41.1 seconds remaining in the second as Vaughan took on Sagueneens power forward Liam Lefebvre. Both threw fierce bombs at each other before falling to the ice.

Both were given fighting majors and game misconducts for their efforts. The bout was the fifth fight at this year’s Memorial Cup tournament.

Just 45 seconds into the third and working on the power play, the Silvertips got the game’s final tally of the night, when star import centre Julius Miettinen one-timed home a shot from the left slot to round out the 6-1 final score in Everett’s favour. The tally was the first point of any kind for Miettinen in the tournament. He reacted to his goal by making a hand motion of pulling a monkey off his back.

The Sagueneens elected to pull starting netminder Lucas Beckman after Miettinen’s tally. Beckman turned away 22-of-28 shots to take the loss in net for Chicoutimi. Raphael Precourt played the rest of the way in relief and turned away all eight shots he faced.

After Miettinen’s goal, the Silvertips rolled all their lines consistently in the third period and focused more on the shutdown defensive side of the game. Chicoutimi held a 14-9 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

Anders Miller stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for Everett. During his team’s four games at the Memorial Cup tournament, Miller has stopped 97-of-107 shots for a .907 save percentage.

Bear had an assist to go along with his goal, while Vanhanen finished Friday’s contest with two helpers.

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. He hasn’t played since that contest.

Chicoutimi was without overage defenceman Jordan Tourigny on Friday. He was suspended for the remainder of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament after receiving a match penalty for attempting to injure via kicking in his team’s 3-2 preliminary round loss to the Rangers on Tuesday at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship game between the Silvertips and Rangers should be a heavyweight tilt.

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 are trying to become the first club from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.

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.

The Silvertips and Rangers met in a preliminary round contest on Monday, where the Rangers posted a solid 6-2 victory. The Silvertips held a 42-28 edge in shots on goal in that encounter.

Now, one of these two clubs who have had storybook seasons will skate to a storybook ending by becoming CHL champions.

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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).

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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Rangers advance to Memorial Cup title game with 3-2 win

Sagueneens’ Tourigny ejected for skate stomp in third

Four days off might be what the doctor ordered for the Kitchener Rangers at the Memorial Cup tournament.

The OHL champions completed their preliminary round schedule slipping past the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens 3-2 on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place in Kelowna. The win allowed the Rangers to lock up top spot in the preliminary round standings with a 3-0 record and earn a berth in the event’s championship game slated for Sunday at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Rangers last won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions in 2003.

The four days off between Tuesday’s preliminary round contest and the tournament final will allow the Rangers to get a proper reset after what was a heated third period in their win over the Sagueneens.

The Rangers entered the third holding a 2-1 lead. Just 21 seconds into the third, Rangers star 20-year-old right-winger Jack Pridham fired home a shot from the left point in the Chicoutimi zone to push the OHL champions edge out to 3-1. Sagueneens star 18-year-old netminder Lucas Beckman ended up being screened by teammate and star centre Thomas Desruisseaux and didn’t see Pridham’s shot coming in from the point.

With 11:16 remaining in the third, the complexion of the contest took a turn to the nasty side. At that point in the game, a board battle for the puck took place in the right corner of the Chicoutimi zone with Sagueneens overage defenceman Jordan 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 a match penalty for attempting to injure via kicking. The call was confirmed via a lengthy video review.

Tourigny was moved into the penalty box as the video review went down. After the review, he was confronted by a number of Rangers players as he skated to his dressing room having been kicked out of the game. Out of that scuffle, Rangers captain Cameron Reid and Sagueneens import overage defenceman Peteris Bulans were given off-setting minors for unsportsmanlike conduct.

On the ensuing five minute power play, the Rangers still looked visibly upset and didn’t really generate any dangerous scoring chances. That included having a two-man advantage for the final 88 seconds of the match penalty as Sagueneens import right-winger Anton Linde took a minor penalty for hooking.

The Rangers were not able to score on those power-play opportunities, and the Sagueneens ended up on the power play after Rangers centre Haeden Ellis was given an interference minor with 13 seconds remaining in Linde’s penalty.

Just three seconds after Ellis’ penalty expired and with 3:54 remaining in the third, the Sagueneens scored to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2. Sagueneens overage captain and left-winger Emmanuel Vermette was coming down the left side of the Kitchener zone, when he was hauled down.

While being hauled down, he still managed to slide a pass across the face of the Kitchener net to Sagueneens star centre Mavrick Lachance. Lachance buried the backdoor pass into an open cage to trim the Rangers lead to one.

At that point, it appeared the Rangers might be in the middle of a collapse. Rangers import 19-year-old rookie netminder Christian Kirsch proceeded to rise to the occasion.

The Sagueneens came with a surge of pressure right after Lachance’s goal. Kirsch slammed the door stopping right-winger Liam Lefebvre on an in close chance from the front of the Kitchener net. Kirsch proceeded to deflect away a shot from Sagueneens centre Nathan Lecompte on an offensive-zone rush.

Chicoutimi outshot Kitchener 13-3 in the third, but Kirsch ensured his team’s 3-2 lead would hold up as the game’s final score.

Kirsch made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Rangers. He has gone the distance in goal for Kitchener at the Memorial Cup turning aside 90-of-94 shots for an impressive .957 save percentage.

Beckman turned away 15 shots to take the setback in net for the Sagueneens.

Dylan Edwards had a pair of assists for the Rangers.

Tuesday’s contest started with a tight checking and scoreless opening frame that saw the Sagueneens hold an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. With 7:32 remaining in the opening frame, a short fight broke out between Rangers defenceman Jared Woolley and Sagueneens centre Alexis Toussaint.

The two went to the ice quickly, and when they got to their feet to continue the bout, the linesmen jumped in. That short tilt was the fourth fight of the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Rangers started the second period with a major push. Just 1:38 into the frame, the Rangers forced a turnover at centre ice resulting in a three-on-one rush into the Chicoutimi zone. Centre Luca Romano jetted down the right wing with the puck and blew home a shot to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi net to put Kitchener up 1-0.

Kitchener pushed its lead out to 2-0 just 2:19 later. Entering the Chicoutimi zone on a two-on-one rush, Pridham took a shot from the right wing that rebounded out to the left side of the Sagueneens net to experienced Rangers star centre Sam O’Reilly. O’Reilly popped the puck into an empty side of the Chicoutimi net to give the Rangers their first two-goal edge of the contest.

The Sagueneens proceeded to get a big traction moment at the 8:38 mark of the second. On a rush into the Kitchener zone, Lecompte made a slick pass from the top of the right faceoff circle across the front of the Kitchener net to linemate Emile Ricard. Ricard fired home a shot into the left side of the Kitchener goal to cut the Rangers lead to 2-1.

That set the stage for the dramatics in the third period.

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.

While the Rangers wait to play in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion, they might find out if Humphreys can return for that contest.

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.

Chicoutimi finished the preliminary round of the Memorial Cup with a 1-2 record. They have to wait to find out where they will resume action in the event’s playoff round and what type of potential suspension the CHL might give to Tourigny.

The preliminary round concludes on Wednesday as the WHL champion Everett Silvertips, who are 1-1 in the preliminary round, face the 0-2 host Kelowna Rockets (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). If the Rockets win, they will force a tiebreaking game to be played on Thursday. If the Silvertips win, they will face the Sagueneens in a semifinal contest set for Friday.

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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Rangers’ firepower too hot for Silvertips to handle

Kitchener one win away from Memorial Cup title game

The Kitchener Rangers might be the best team at the 2026 Memorial Cup.

At the moment, the OHL champions are one win away from playing in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. On Monday at Prospera Place in Kelowna, the Rangers were powered by a huge performance from captain Cameron Reid, who recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

Reid, who was selected in the first round and 21^st overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, powered the Rangers to a 6-2 victory over the WHL champion Everett Silvertips in a preliminary round contest at the Memorial Cup played before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators. With the win, the Rangers improve to 2-0 in the preliminary round having outscored their foes 11-2 and are guaranteed to play in the event’s semifinal contest on Friday.

If the Rangers are able to beat the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens on Tuesday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN), Kitchener would advance straight to the event’s championship game on Sunday. The Sagueneens are 1-1 in the preliminary round.

Chicoutimi picked up a big 3-2 win in overtime over the host Kelowna Rockets in a preliminary round contest on Sunday at Prospera Place. At the 5:28 mark in a three-versus-three extra time session, Sagueneens standout right-winger Liam Lefebvre scored his second of the contest one-timing home a shot from a sharp angle to the left side of the Kelowna net to win that encounter for Chicoutimi.

In Monday’s clash between the Rangers and Silvertips, the Rangers showed off their skill on the offensive end and composure in the defensive end holding off various Everett push backs. Rangers starting 19-year-old rookie import netminder Christian Kirsch stopped 40 shots to backstop Kitchener to victory.

Reid got the party started for Kitchener driving home a shot to the top right corner of the Everett net off a rush down the left wing to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead just 3:05 into the opening period. At the 10:22 mark of the first period, Rangers star 20-year-old right-winger Jack Pridham found a loose puck in front of the Everett goal during a net scramble and fired the puck home for a power-play goal to give Kitchener a 2-0 lead.

The Silvertips proceeded to gain some traction scoring on a power play of their own just 2:10 later. Silvertips standout 20-year-old left-winger Rylan Gould had the puck at the left side of the Kitchener net. He directed a shot pass towards star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen at the right side of the net, and the pucked deflected off Vanhanen into the Kitchener goal to cut the Rangers lead to 2-1.

Everett mounted all sorts of serious pressure in the Kitchener zone coming out of the gates to start the second period. At the 8:21 mark of the frame, a net scramble occurred in front of the Kitchener net, and Gould found a loose puck in the goal crease and popped it home for the equalizer to force a 2-2 tie.

Just when it seemed all the momentum was on Everett’s side, it all of a sudden swung sharply into Kitchener’s corner. Just 25 seconds after Gould tied the game, Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys fired home a mid-range shot through a screen to put the OHL champs back in front 3-2.

With 8:09 remaining in the second, a big fight broke out between Silvertips right-winger Jaxsin Vaughan and Rangers defenceman Andrew MacNiel. The bout was a crowd pleaser lasting at least 40 seconds with both players getting in some serious shots before the officials broke it up.

The fight seemed to add on to the momentum the Rangers had. With 6:54 remaining in the second, a cross-ice pass from Rangers centre Haeden Ellis deflected off a Silvertips player to 19-year-old Rangers right-winger Gabriel Chiarot, who was all alone at the left post of the Everett net. Chiarot deposited the puck into an empty cage to push the Rangers lead out to 4-2.

Just 77 seconds later, Pridham one-timed home a shot from just above the left faceoff dot in the Everett zone to make the Rangers lead stand at 5-2.

The Silvertips tried to mount a push back in the third holding a 13-6 edge in shots on goal for the frame. The Rangers were intent on closing out the contest defensively.

In the process, Kitchener did get one more goal. With 2:53 remaining in the third, Chiarot had the puck on the right side of the Everett zone, and he put a pass across the front of the Everett net to Rangers standout left-winger Cameron Arquette. Arquette put home a backdoor tap to round out the 6-2 final score in favour of the Rangers.

Anders Miller turned away 22 shots to take the loss in net for the Silvertips. Everett fell to 1-1 in preliminary round play.

Overage defenceman Matthew Andonovski had a pair of assists and was a plus-three for the Rangers.

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.

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.

Everett closes out the preliminary round when they face the Rockets on Wednesday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Rockets are 0-2 in preliminary round play and need to beat the Silvertips on Wednesday to be part of the playoff round and ensure it will begin with a tiebreaking game on Thursday.

Out of all the four teams at the Memorial Cup, the Rangers are currently in the most advantageous position.

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Heslop paces Silvertips to win in team’s Memorial Cup debut

Everett slips past Chicoutimi in classic encounter 5-3

Jesse Heslop is getting rewarded again for his hard work.

On Saturday, the standout right-winger with the Everett Silvertips had one goal, one assist and was a plus-one in the plus-minus department in pacing his club to a 5-3 victory over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens in a preliminary round contest at the Memorial Cup tournament in Kelowna, B.C. The game was the tournament opener for both squads at the event that will crown a CHL champion.

During the WHL regular season, Heslop had 56 points coming off 15 goal and 41 assists to go with a plus-34 rating in 62 games. He skated in all 18 games Everett played in the WHL Playoffs, but his offensive production slowed a little as he recorded 10 points off four goals and six assists to go with a plus-10 rating.

The Silvertips, who began play in the 2003-04 campaign, are making their first trip to the Memorial Cup after winning their first WHL title. The Sagueneens, who are the champions of the QMJHL, are making their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since 1997, when they advanced to that year’s event in Hull, Quebec as the QMJHL finalist.

Playing before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place on Saturday, Heslop, who turned 20 in April, made history for his squad just 74 seconds into the contest. He got the puck at the right side of the Chicoutimi net and put home a backhand shot to give his Silvertips a 1-0 lead. Heslop goes down as the person who scored the Silvertips first goal in the history of the Memorial Cup tournament.

Actually, the Silvertips came out of the gates on fire recording the first nine shots on goal in the contest, while keeping the Sagueneens pinned in their own zone for much of that stretch.

Chicoutimi got a traction moment at the 9:13 mark of the opening frame, when the puck came to veteran left-winger Christophe Berthelot in front of the Everett net. Berthelot fired home his team’s first shot on goal from point-blank range to even the score at 1-1.

That tally gave the Sagueneens jump for the rest of the opening frame. Everett held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal heading into the first intermission.

The Sagueneens proceeded to jump in front 2-1 at the 5:39 mark of the second, when star defenceman Alex Huang wired home a shot from the right side of the right faceoff dot in the Everett zone. That lead wouldn’t last.

Just 33 seconds later, Silvertips 18-year-old centre Lukas Kaplan drilled home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Chicoutimi zone to even the score at 2-2. Kalpan’s tally sparked Everett’s offence in the stanza.

With 6:05 remaining in the second, Heslop had the puck behind the Chicoutimi net and he made a slick backhanded pass to the left side of the goal to standout 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz. Shantz had an empty cage to shoot at, and he made no mistake firing home the go-ahead goal that put the Silvertips up 3-2.

Jesse Heslop had one goal and one assist for the Silvertips.

Everett would strike again just 50 seconds later. Silvertips star 16-year-old sophomore defenceman Landon Dupont had the puck at the right side of the Chicoutimi net and a backdoor pass across the front of the goal to Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear at the left side of the net. Bear popped the puck home to make Everett’s lead sit at 4-2 heading into the second intermission.

The Silvertips started the third applying all sorts of pressure on the Sagueneens. Sagueneens star netminder Lucas Beckman, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, made all sorts of big saves to keep the Sagueneens in the contest.

The Sagueneens responded with a huge push back inside the final four minutes of the third. Sagueneens star left-winger Emile Guite had a breakaway with 3:30 remaining in the frame, but he missed the Everett net on a backhand shot.

A short time later, Sagueneens star centre Mavrick Lachance wired a shot off the post of the Everett net. On the heels of that opportunity, Sagueneens import rookie right-winger Anton Linde had a prime scoring chance at the right side of the Everett net, but he was denied by a shot block from Dupont.

Chicoutimi caught a break with 65 seconds remaining in the third, when Bear was given a minor penalty for closing his hand on the puck. With Beckman pulled for an extra skater, Sagueneens star right-winger Maxim Masse one-timed home a shot from the top of the left faceoff dot in the Everett zone for a power-play goal that trimmed the Silvertips lead to 4-3 with 28.1 seconds remaining in the frame.

The Sagueneens kept Beckman pulled for an extra skater for the ensuing faceoff. They proceeded to win the ensuing faceoff back into their own zone to star centre Nathan Lecompte.

Lecompte attempted a cross-ice pass that was picked off by Silvertips rookie star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen. Vanhanen, who had an assist earlier in the contest, made no mistake scoring into an empty net with 20.9 seconds remaining in the frame to seal the 5-3 victory for the Everett side.

Anders Miller stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips. Beckman turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Sagueneens.

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.

Chicoutimi doesn’t have too long to mull over Saturday’s loss. The Sagueneens return to action in the preliminary round on Sunday when they take on the host Kelowna Rockets (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Both the Sagueneens and Rockets are 0-1 at the tourney.

Landon DuPont had an assist and a key late third period shot block.

The Silvertips get back at it on Monday taking on the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Both the Silvertips and Rangers are 1-0 at this year’s event.

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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.

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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CHL Top 50 Players promotion great way to engage game’s history

CHL Top 50 list gets people talking

Mike Modano in action in the 1980s. (Photo courtesy the WHL)

At times it feels like a hockey player’s exploits in the NHL are always remembered, but memories of a player’s junior days seem to evaporate over time outside of the junior community that athlete played in.

On February 10, the Canadian Hockey League announced a promotion listing its top 50 players of the last 50 years. The promotion is being done as part of festivities of the CHL recognizing its 50^th anniversary season in the current campaign. The CHL in its current form was created on May 9, 1975 as the umbrella organization that the WHL, OHL and QMJHL play under.

For the CHL’s Top 50 Players List, it was selected by a panel of more than 40 media members who submitted ranked ballots from one to 50, which were guided by a weighted evaluation framework designed to ensure consistency across eras.

Media members considered a player’s impact beyond the CHL – including NHL and international success, major awards and championships and Hall of Fame recognition – alongside on-ice achievement in CHL member leagues. A player’s accomplishments during their time in the WHL, OHL, and QMJHL through production, individual honours, team success and sustained dominance were taken into account.

Selections also accounted for historical significance, recognizing milestones, era-defining influence, generational impact and lasting contributions to CHL history. To be eligible, players must have competed in at least one full season in the WHL, OHL or QMJHL during the CHL’s 50-year history beginning in 1975-76. For players who competed in 1975-76 and also played prior to that season, their entire CHL career was considered when evaluating on-ice accomplishments.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Not to be for Tigers, Knights win Memorial Cup

Experience gave London slight edge in CHL final

Experience matters.

In Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship game between the OHL champion London Knights and the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers in Rimouski, Quebec, the Knights had an edge due to falling 4-3 to the host Saginaw Spirit in last year’s tournament final. A total of 13 players from the 2023-24 Knights returned to play for the 2024-25 Knights.

That included stars like Easton Cowan, captain Denver Barkey, Jacob Julien, Sam O’Reilly, Sam Dickinson and Oliver Bonk. While it can be argued the experience factor gave the Knights a slim edge over the Tigers, it was still an edge.

The Knights took a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, pushed their advantage out to 4-0 in the second and posted a 4-1 victory over the Tigers before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators at Coliseum Sun Life Financial.

Another difference in the contest came down to the fact the Knights capitalized on their scoring chances. The Tigers had their scoring chances and weren’t able to finish them off. They outshot the OHL champs 32-24 in the contest.

The Knights benefitted from getting another stellar outing from overage netminder Austin Elliott, who came up with 31 saves. During the 2024-25 campaign that began with three games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, Elliott had a spectacular 55-3 record including play in the WHL regular season, the OHL regular season and post-season and the Memorial Cup tournament.

During London’s five games at the Memorial Cup tournament, Elliott posted a 4-1 record, a 1.59 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. Between his time with the Blades and Knights, Elliott had a 7-1 career record against the Tigers.

Elliott’s journey to the OHL started after he was cut by the Blades and cleared WHL waivers. He was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad.

On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott. The puckstopper never played a game for the Colts and had a sensational run with the Knights that concluded with a Memorial Cup title win.

In Sunday’s game, London broke through on the scoreboard with 8:39 remaining in the first period. Knights defenceman Henry Brzustewicz fed a pass from his own blue line to spring Julien into the Medicine Hat zone on a breakaway. The 19-year-old centre went forehand to backhand and tucked the puck in behind Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers came with a big push back after Julien’s goal which included veteran right-winger Ethan Neutens ringing the crossbar. The teams went into the first intermission with the Knights holding on to their one-goal edge.

In a crazy second period, the Tigers outshot the Knights 17-9 in the frame, but London outscored Medicine Hat 3-0 in the stanza.

At the 3:13 mark of the frame, O’Reilly had the puck down low in the right corner of the Medicine Hat zone and centred a pass to Cowan, who was streaking to the front of the Tigers goal. The star right-winger tapped the puck home to push the Knights edge out to 2-0.

Just 1:40 later, Dickinson poke checked the puck off the stick of Tigers star captain Oasiz Wiesblatt at the London blue line. Dickinson knocked the puck up ice enough to spring Barkey on a breakaway. Barkey went forehand to back to tuck the puck home to make the Knights advantage stand at 3-0.

At the 10:01 mark of the stanza, Cowan appeared to net his second goal of the contest, but the tally was waived off after the officials ruled O’Reilly bumped into Meneghin before setting up Cowan for the tally. The officials made an incidental contact ruling on O’Reilly, which nullified the goal.

With 7:52 remaining in the second, Barkey tallied on the power play for his second goal of the night. He fired home a mid range shot from the left side boards past a screened Meneghin to the top right corner of the Medicine Hat net to give London a 4-0 edge.

Just 2:43 into the third, Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna was finally able to solve Elliott. McKenna snapped home a shot from the front of the London net to trim the Knights lead to 4-1.

Gavin McKenna had the Tigers lone goal on Sunday.

The Knights at that point proceeded to trap things up through the centre ice zone and lock down the game defensively. While the Tigers were only able to hold a 4-3 edge in shots on goal for the frame, the Knights close out wasn’t all smooth.

With 5:21 remaining in the third, McKenna fired home a shot to the top left corner of the London net off a chance from the front of the goal. The officials reviewed the goal and determined Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie knocked the puck down with a high stick earlier in the play causing McKenna’s tally to be disallowed. The officials added nine seconds to the clock before play resumed.

After that scare, the Knights closed out the contest.

Meneghin turned away 20 shots in the final major junior game of his career. The Tigers netminder had a remarkable post-season playing heroically after finding out his father, Derek, passed away after Medicine Hat’s final game of the regular season.

Cowan won the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament. In the five games the Knights played, he recorded three goals, four assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category.

On top of being named the tournament MVP, Cowan was named to the tournament all-star team along with Barkey, Dickinson and Elliott. McKenna and star defenceman Tanner Molendyk were named to the tournament all-star team from the Tigers.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers overcame their share of adversities this season. They started out 1-4, and as they started to turn things around on the ice, the Tabbies had to battle through a massive amount of injuries.

Just when it looked like things were all ready to go full speed ahead at the end of the regular season, Meneghin’s father passed away. The Tigers rallied around their netminder, who was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs. When the Tigers were being presented the Ed Chynoweth Cup, Wiesblatt waved Meneghin in to accept and be the first to lift the trophy.

Including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament, the Tigers won 47 of their last 56 games.

For the Knights, they captured their third Memorial Cup title in team history with the two past victories coming in 2005 and 2016. Dale Hunter was the head coach for all of those Knights wins.

Over the past 21 years, the Knights are considered the standard in the CHL having won six OHL titles to go with their three Memorial Cup championships over that period of time. Whenever they make the Memorial Cup tournament, they are usually the favourites to win it.

The Tigers topped the round robin standings of this year’s Memorial Cup tournament with a 3-0 record earning a bye into the event’s championship game. It appeared they might be destined to be the team that ends the WHL’s Memorial Cup title drought.

After Sunday’s final, the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014 remain the last squad from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup. They also took the WHL title that year too.

The WHL’s drought of not winning the Memorial Cup now spans the last nine tournaments marking the longest the circuit has gone without winning the biggest prize in major junior hockey. Since the Spokane Chiefs dropped the Memorial Cup after winning it in 2008, the Oil Kings have been the only WHL club since that time to claim that trophy which leaves the feeling the “Curse of the Drop” still lingers over the circuit.

Still, the Knights’ experience – however slight it may have been – from losing the Memorial Cup final last season pushed them over the edge this season.

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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Dreaming about the Blades keeping the band together

Saskatoon ultimately did right thing with reload

Tanner Molendyk in action for the Blades on March 22, 2024.

What could the Saskatoon Blades have done had they kept the band together in 2024-25?

As the CHL post-season has gone by, that thought does cross through a person’s head.

On Sunday, the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which determines a CHL champion, will be held at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. The WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers will take on the OHL champion London Knights in the tourney final (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

That contest features three players who started the 2024-25 campaign with the Blades.

Tanner Molendyk has been playing defence at an all-world level for the Tigers. The Blades defenceman of the year team award is named after him. 

Misha Volotovskii has become a shutdown checking centre for Medicine Hat who has chipped in goals and points at opportune times.

Austin Elliott is the netminder seemingly the entire WHL gave up on. In combined play in the WHL regular season, OHL regular season and post-season and Memorial Cup tournament, Elliott, who is in his overage season, has a 54-3 record. He went 3-0 with the Blades and has been 51-3 for the Knights.

Tanner Molendyk in action for the Tigers on April 13.

In 2023-24, the Blades had a stellar season finishing first overall in the WHL with a 50-13-2-3 mark. They advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in seven games to the eventual league champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

That epic series saw six games decided in overtime. In Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre on May 7, 2024, Warriors right-winger Lynden Lakovic got a positive bounced goal 36 seconds into overtime to deliver a 3-2 victory to Moose Jaw.

Lakovic put a backhand shot towards the Saskatoon net that deflected off the skate of Blades utility winger Tyler Parr into the net for the winning tally. Parr was covering Warriors star right-winger Atley Calvert on the play.

At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Molendyk, Volotovskii, Elliott, Parr, Brandon Lisowsky, Rowan Calvert, Evan Gardner, Lukas Hansen, Ben Saunderson, Grayden Siepmann and Morgan Tastad were all part of the core of the 2023-24 squad that was returning. 

Unfortunately for the Blades, they dealt away a lot of key draft capital to load up for the 2023-24 campaign.

They also had five significant losses after the completion of the 2023-24 campaign. Captain Trevor Wong, standout right-winger Easton Armstrong and sturdy defensive-defenceman Charlie Wright all aged out of the circuit. Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov joined the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, who are the affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, and star centre Fraser Minten started the campaign as property of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs before being dealt to the Boston Bruins.

Misha Volotovskii in action for the Blades on April 3, 2024.

Minten saw action for the Maple Leafs, their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies, the Bruins and their AHL affiliate the Providence Bruins.

On July 25, 2024, the Blades dealt steady defenceman John Babcock to the Regina Pats in an effort to get down to three overage players.

Elliott lost his spot as the Blades starting goalie to Gardner during the 2024 WHL Playoffs. 

When Gardner returned from NHL training camp activities with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared the WHL waiver wire.

He was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad. 

On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott. The puckstopper never played a game for the Colts.

Elliott would go on to have a sensational run with the Knights.

As the early part of the campaign moved on, the Blades sat first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third overall in the league with a 17-6-1-2 mark going into action on December 6, 2024. It was decision time when it came to keeping the band together.

Misha Volotovskii in action for the Tigers on May 9.

Blades general manager Colin Priestner looked at what the team could potentially look like the next two seasons after the 2024-25 campaign if the band stayed together and decided to make deals to ensure the team didn’t bottom out.

Hansen, Lisowsky, Volotovskii and Molendyk were all dealt to bring in a haul of younger players and draft capital leading up to the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9. Overage left-winger Tanner Scott was the one veteran that came to Saskatoon in those deals.

Before the 2024-25 season started, the Blades acquired 19-year-old centre Ben Riche in a trade with the Victoria Royals. Riche was looking for a fresh start with a new club and had a major breakout half season with the Blades. He was dealt to the Prince George Cougars for two younger players and draft capital.

The Blades didn’t plummet down the WHL standings after the trades. They slowly dropped out of contention for top spot in the Eastern Conference but were battling for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

They closed the regular season with a home-and-home series against their archrivals in the Prince Albert Raiders and were looking to gain the East Division title. 

On March 21 at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime. One night later at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert in a winner take all battle for first place, the Blades fell 4-3 after the Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic netted the winner late in the third period.

Austin Elliott in action for the Blades on April 5, 2024.

Saskatoon finished third in the East Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 37-23-4-4 mark. The Blades were swept in a best-of-seven first round series by the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL Playoffs.

Still, the Blades are looking wise going into the future with the likes of Hunter Laing, Hayden Harsanyi, Jack Kachkowski and Kazden Mathies. They will go well together with returnees like Gardner, Ethan McCallum, Zach Olsen, Parr, Calvert, Cooper Williams, David Lewandowski and Isaac Poll.

In 2025-26, the Blades should still be a club that will be in a solid post-season spot. Still, it is fun to dream about what could have happened had Molendyk, Volotovskii, Elliott, Lisowsky, Hansen and Riche all stayed.

Knights claim 5-2 win over Wildcats in Memorial Cup semi

The London Knights weren’t going to be denied a return trip to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament.

On Friday, the OHL champion Knights found themselves locked in a 2-2 after 40 minutes with the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats in the Memorial Cup semifinal at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. The Knights rolled off three straight goals in the third period to pull out a 5-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators.

Left-winger Blake Montgomery scored the winner at the 3:35 mark of the third. Import left-winger Jesse Nurmi netted a dagger insurance tally with 6:49 remaining in the third. Knight star right-winger Easton Cowan scored into an empty net to complete the surge with 1:49 remaining in the frame.

With the win, the Knights advance to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which decides a CHL champion, to take on the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Last year when the Memorial Cup tournament was held in Saginaw, Michigan, the Knights, who were the OHL champions, fell to the host Spirit 4-3. Spirit 20-year-old left-winger Josh Bloom scored the winner with 21.7 seconds remaining in the third to break a 3-3 tie.

In Friday’s clash between the Knights and Wildcats, left-winger Landon Sim gave the Knights a 1-0 lead at the 4:07 mark of the first period. Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers scored on the power play with 1:40 remaining in the opening frame to even the score at 1-1.

Knights captain Denver Barkley tallied at the 5:24 mark of the second to put London up 2-0. Just 2:16 later, Wildcats defenceman Dyllan Gill fired home a power-play goal to even the score at 2-2. That set the stage for the Knights surge in the third period.

Austin Elliott stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Knights. During the 2024-25 campaign that began with three games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, Elliott has a 54-3 record including play in the WHL regular season, the OHL regular season and post-season and the Memorial Cup tournament.

Mathis Rousseau turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Wildcats. The Wildcats downed the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-2 in the final round robin game on Wednesday to advance to the semifinal.

The Wildcats were 1-2 in round robin play, while the Oceanic were 0-3. The Tigers topped the round robin standings at 3-0, while the Knights were second with a 2-1 mark.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

McDonald remains Raiders head coach, other notes

Ryan McDonald, centre, works the Raiders bench on March 18.

Ryan McDonald will remain the head coach of his hometown Prince Albert Raiders heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

On Tuesday, the Raiders removed the interim tag from McDonald’s job title as head coach. The 37-year-old first joined the club as an assistant coach in 2020-21.

McDonald was named the team’s interim head coach on March 10 after Jeff Truitt was dismissed as the club’s head coach. The Raiders went 5-1 in their last six regular season contests under McDonald allowing them to finish first in the WHL’s East Division with a 39-23-5-1 mark.

Following the team’s WHL Christmas break, McDonald took over for Truitt as interim head coach as Truitt left the team for medical reasons to have eye surgery. McDonald went 10-4-0-1 over that stretch to post a 15-5-0-1 mark in 21 regular season contests working the Raiders bench as head coach.

In the WHL Playoffs, McDonald saw his Raiders eliminate the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3 in a best-of-seven first round series after trailing the set 3-1. The Raiders were then swept in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series by the eventual WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

Way back in the 2002-03 campaign, McDonald suited up full time for the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team as a 14-year-old underage player. He played one more campaign for the Mintos before moving up to the WHL with the Regina Pats.

He was acquired by the Raiders from the Pats in a trade part way through the 2006-07 campaign. McDonald would play the next two full seasons with the Raiders before graduating from the WHL. In 2013-14, McDonald played in the U Sports ranks with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team.

• London Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan leads the Memorial Cup tournament in scoring with six points coming off two goals and four assists in four games.
• Medicine Hat Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie leads the Memorial Cup tournament with four goals coming in three games.
• London Knights star goaltender Austin Elliott has the lowest goals against average at the Memorial Cup tournament at 1.74 and the highest save percentage at .936 over four games. He is tied with Medicine Hat Tigers star netminder Harrison Meneghin for the most goaltending wins at this year’s tournament at three.
• On Friday, Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reported that the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Men’s Hockey Team in the NCAA Division I ranks got verbal commitments from centre Cole Reschny and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who were both members of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, to play starting in the 2025-26 season. Reschny turned 18-years-old in April and had 92 points coming off 26 goals and 66 assists to go with a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department playing 62 regular season games for the Royals in 2024-25. He is a top prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Verhoeff will turn 17-years-old on June 19. As a 16-year-old rookie with the Royals in 2024-25, he appeared in 63 regular season games recording 21 goals, 24 assists and a plus-23 rating. Some believe he has the potential to be selected second overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
• Nathan Reiter, who is a sports reporter for the Prince Albert Daily Herald, put together a column on the latest developments on the landscape between the CHL and NCAA. That piece can be found by clicking right here.

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

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