Crnkovic busts drought, pushes Blades to 3-1 win

Kyle Crnkovic broke an 11-game goalless drought on Friday.

    Kyle Crnkovic felt like he slammed a monkey off of his back.

    The 17-year-old left-winger with the Saskatoon Blades was trying to end a goalless drought that spanned 11 games. The Chestermere, Alta., product was able to that by just going to the net on Friday night.

    With the Blades locked in a 1-1 tie early in the second period of a WHL regular season contest against the Red Deer Rebels and working on a power play, Crnkovic went to the front of the Red Deer goal and potted the rebound of a shot taken from Blades captain Chase Wouters to put the Saskatoon side up 2-1.

    Crnkovic’s goal turned out to be the winner as the Blades skated away with a 3-1 victory before 3,330 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    “It has been quite a few games that I haven’t been able to score, but it was finally nice to get one,” said Crnkovic. “It was a big goal in the hockey game, so it was awesome.”

The Blades celebrate a goal from Kyle Crnkovic on Friday.

    Playing on a line centred by Eric Florchuk with Tristen Robins manning the right wing, Crnkovic said he had been getting his chances but was having no luck around the opposing goal.

    “They haven’t been going in for me,” said Crnkovic, who has five goals and six assists appearing in all of the Blades 19 regular season games. “They’ve been scoring, which is good.

    “As long as we win games, that is all that really matters.”

    Blades head coach Mitch Love was pleased to see Crnkovic break through on the scoreboard. With Crnkovic being in the Blades top six forward group, Love said they are looking for offence from the young winger.

    The bench boss added his talented forward is still in his second year in the league and will still experience some growing pains.

Kyle Crnkovic has five goals and six assists in 19 games this season.

    “He is a guy we want to rely on offensively for our group,” said Love. “He is a young player.

    “He is still finding his way in this league. Last year, he was in a third and fourth line role and maybe he didn’t get a chance to play against some of those older players or older veteran D in the league. Now, he is getting that, and it is hard.”

    Love said Crnkovic is learning the importance of driving to the net, even when he doesn’t have the puck, and that tactic will result in dividends.

    “You have to get to the inside of the rink,” said Love. “You have to go to the net.

    “I think that was evident there on the power-play goal. Wouters just throws it there, and he (Crnkovic) beats their D to the net, and the next thing you know it goes in the back of the net. That is no coincidence.”

Rebels G Byron Fancy (#35) turns away Blades LW Riley McKay (#39).

    Friday’s clash was a competitive one with the Rebels. The Blades broke through on the scoreboard first, when import defenceman Radek Kucerik floated home his first career WHL goal with a shot from the point at the 8:03 mark of the opening frame.

    The Rebels evened things up at 1-1 with 5:21 remaining in the first period on a smart play by 17-year-old left-winger Dallon Mellin. Mellin followed linemate Jace Isley to the Saskatoon goal and potted the rebound from Isley’s shot for the equalizer.

    Inside of the final minute of the opening frame, Rebels right-winger Arshdeep Bains was denied on two big chances to put his side ahead. 

Eric Florchuk scored the Blades third goal on Friday.

    First, he entered the Saskatoon zone coming down the left wing, cut across the front of the Blades goal, but his shot was denied by the glove hand of Blades star netminder Nolan Maier.

    Just seconds after that chance, Bains drove a shot on goal from the front of the Saskatoon net, but Maier caught the puck in his mid section to deny the chance.

    “I like their game over there,” said Love. “They’re always competitive.

    “They are engaged in the hockey game. I felt like after we scored our first goal we sat back, and they elevated their game. We weren’t ready to match that.

    “We talked about that in intermission where we needed to get to be in this hockey game and stay in this hockey game all night.”

    The Blades came out with more jump in the second with Crnkovic netting his power-play goal at the 3:06 mark of the frame.

Nolan Maier made 28 saves in goal for the Blades on Friday.

    Just under four minutes later, Florchuk wired home a power-play goal from the left corner boards of the offensive zone to the top right corner of the Red Deer goal to give the host side a two-goal edge.

    Maier said the power-goals his club scored early in the second helped turn the game around.

    “I think it was huge,” said Maier. “I think just getting that first goal really kind of helps us and kind of strives our confidence towards the whole game.

    “I think those are really big for us obviously.”

    The Rebels pushed back in the third, but Maier slammed the door in the Blades goal making a number of key saves down the stretch. One of the biggest came inside the final three minutes of the frame, when Maier robbed Rebels overage centre Brett Davis on a chance from the front of the Saskatoon net.
    Maier finished the contest making 28 saves to help the Blades improve to 10-7-1-1.

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday night.

    “He (Maier) is obviously the backbone for us,” said Crnkovic. “Every game he gives us a chance to win.

    “We don’t have to worry with him in net.”

    Byron Fancy turned away 20 shots taking the setback in goal for the Rebels (5-11-0-2).

    The Blades don’t have much time to enjoy Friday’s win.

    They return to action on Saturday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Rebels travel to Prince Albert on Saturday to face the defending WHL champion Raiders at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    “They (the Wheat Kings) are always competitive,” said Maier. “They always give us a little bit of problems.

    “I think if we just kind of play our game and kind of work and compete for the full game then it will be a positive outcome.”

Bisons’ gamble classic coach Dobie showing guts

Bisons HC Brian Dobie always plays for the win.

    You have to love the courage of head coach Brian Dobie, even though his University of Manitoba Bisons football team failed to make the Canada West Conference title game due to an unsuccessful gamble.

    Last Saturday, Dobie’s Bisons were in Calgary, Alta., taking on the University of Calgary Dinos in a Canada West semifinal contest. The Dinos led 47-40, and the Bisons were down to throwing a Hail Mary attempt from the host side’s 50 yard line as the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter.

    Bisons quarterback Des Catellier threw the hail mary downfield looking for a miracle finish. About five players jumped up for the ball, and they ended up knocking it into the hands of Bisons receiver Trysten Dyce.

    Dyce caught the ball at the Dinos seven yard line and dashed into the end zone for a Bisons touchdown to cut the host side’s lead to 47-46.

    Instead of kicking a one-point convert to force overtime, Dobie elected to have his team go for a two-point convert and the win. The Bisons had already scored 30 points in the fourth quarter.

    On the two-point conversion attempt, Catellier threw a quick slant to Dyce. Dyce had his hands on the ball right at the goal line, but he couldn’t secure the catch.

    The ball squirted out of his hands and landed in the arms of Dinos defensive back Nick Statz. Statz ran the ball out of the end zone and went down to end the game.  

Trysten Dyce caught a 50-yard Hail Mary pass.

    With the 47-46 victory, the Dinos, who improved to 7-2 overall, advanced to host the Canada West Conference championship game – the Hardy Cup – this coming Saturday against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (6-3 overall).

    After the gamble that came up short, the Bisons concluded their season with a 4-5 overall record. Still, they would have had an upset win, if Dyce had been able to squeeze that two-point convert pass.

    The Bisons could have extended the game kicking a one-point convert and going to overtime. With that noted, it is more Dobie’s style to go for a two-point conversion and try to win the game in that situation.

    Dobie should be applauded for the aggressiveness and trying to get the win on one play instead of dragging the festivities out.

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

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Blades handled Malysjev departure well - D-man has to do what is best for him

Emil Malysjev elected to leave the Blades to play closer to home.

    In his one season with the Saskatoon Blades, Emil Malysjev left you wanting to see more.

    That makes his departure from the team tough to see. After going unselected in the NHL Entry Draft that was held June 21 and 22 in Vancouver, B.C., Malysjev informed the Blades he was staying in his home country of Sweden to pursue career opportunities in the game there.

    As a result, he wouldn’t be returning for an 18-year-old sophomore campaign in the WHL.

    Malysjev had informed the Blades brass for a lengthy stretch after the team’s playoff run came to an end what his thought process was. The club started preparing for the fact the Malysjev wouldn’t be back.

    That included selecting two defencemen from the Czech Republic in the CHL Import Draft held via conference call on Thursday in 19-year-old Libor Zabransky and Radek Kucerik, who will turn 18-years-old in December.

Emil Malysjev was solid in his own zone.

    Zabransky has played in the WHL for the Kelowna Rockets, but after the Rockets released him on Jan. 12, he became available again for the Import Draft.

    In Malysjev’s case, the Blades did what was best for the player. He felt more comfortable staying home, and the team showed understanding and let him do what he thought was best for him.

    The majority of the players in the WHL are teenagers, and when all is said and done, about 90 per cent of them won’t skate in an NHL regular season game as a player.

    All players coming into the WHL will wrestle with the fact that one day they will no longer be active players in the game at a competitive level including the ones that go on to have NHL careers.

Emil Malysjev improved steadily throughout the 2018-19 season.

    You have to weigh if the experience you gain being away from home playing in the WHL is worth it. For every player, that evaluation will be different.

    For imports like Malysjev, you have to add in the fact he left his home country and family and friends behind to cross an ocean to play hockey in a new country and a new city. Import players have to work through learning and adjusting to a new culture and often a new language on top of figuring out what their new team expects from them.

    Malysjev was taking on all of that as a 17-year-old, but he did have an advantage in the fact he could speak English fluently.

    The blue-liner, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 190 pounds, was succeeding on all fronts.

Emil Malysjev could potentially make noise on the international stage.

    He improved greatly as the season progressed. Paired with overager Dawson Davidson, Malysjev appeared in 63 regular season games with the Blades posting three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Malysjev skated in all 10 of the Blades post-season games scoring a goal and posting an even-rating.

    He was rated 192^nd among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

    With Davidson and fellow overage defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus exhausting their major junior eligibility at the conclusion of the Blades run in the WHL playoffs, Malysjev was initially pegged at being a key returnee for the team.

Emil Malysjev was solid in his one full season with the Blades.

    However, that won’t be the case.

    With the improvement Malysjev showed last season, one had to wonder how much he would have improved had played with the Blades as an 18-year-old or even as a 19-year-old.

    Still, Malysjev might still find his way to the NHL or even a lengthy professional career playing in Sweden or somewhere in Europe. Some of the Blades might cross paths with Malysjev on the international stage.

    It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him possibly skating with Sweden’s world junior team some day.

    Malysjev is doing what his best for him. As a teenager, he is still growing on many levels, and now he will continue that growth near the support system of his family and friends.

    The Blades helped him take a big leap forward in the game during his season in Saskatoon. Now, they are helping him by letting him go home, which is what he had his heart set on doing.

Raiders’ Kelly receives sweet Senators award again

Parker Kelly was a repeat award winner at Senators development camp.

    Parker Kelly was rewarded for the second straight year for a strong showing at the development camp of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

    On Friday, the Prince Albert Raiders power forward was presented the Jonathan Pitre Memorial Trophy as the hardest working player at the Senators development camp for a second straight year.

    The Camrose, Alta., product was a co-winner of the inaugural edition of the award last year with Brady Tkachuk.

    The award is named after Jonathan Pitre, who was also known as the “Butterfly Boy.” Pitre passed away in April of 2018 from recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, which is a rare genetic mutation that causes the skin to blister and fall off at the slightest touch.

Parker Kelly (#27) played a key part helping the Raiders win the WHL title.

    He bonded with many of the Senators players and was named an honourary scout for the team in 2014. Pitre raised more than $200,000 for research of the disease.

    Last season, Kelly had a big campaign for the Raiders setting career highs in goals (35), assists (32) and points (67) in 64 regular season games. He posted a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department, which was also a career high.

    Kelly helped the Raiders win the WHL championship posting eight goals, nine assists and a plus-19 rating appearing in all of the team’s 23 games in the WHL playoffs.

Parker Kelly lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    He is eligible to return to the Raiders as an overage player next season. Kelly signed an entry-level contract with the Senators in September of 2017 after a strong showing at their training camp that year, and it is highly likely he will play next season somewhere in the Senators system.

    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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Valkyries expect tough battle with Riot in WWCFL final

The Valkyries and Riot will tangle for the WWCFL title.

    Beth Lalonde might know better than anyone that past results can be thrown out the window, when her Saskatoon Valkyries face their archrivals the Regina Riot in the post-season.

    For the second straight year, the two squads will square off in the championship game of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League. This year’s contest is slated for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

    Lalonde is a veteran linebacker who has been a career member of the Valkyries since the club first hit the field in 2011. She expects Saturday’s game to be another battle.

    “Last year, we were the underdogs and fighting for the win,” said Lalonde. “It was a really good championship game.

    “Now, it has kind of switched. We have the two (head-to-head) wins under our belt, and we just want to get that last one just to show them that we were the dominant team this year. We want to go out with the win.”

Mallory Starkey (#7) is a key veteran for the Riot.

    Last year, the Riot downed the Valkyries 14-10 in the WWCFL final in that same venue. It marked the second straight year Regina claimed the WWCFL title.

    The Valkyries last captured the league crown in 2016.

    Last season, the Riot entered the championship game as the favourites and completed the 2018 campaign with a 7-0 overall record with the victory in the league final.

    The Valkyries finished with a 4-3 overall mark, and all three of those losses came to the Riot.

    This season, the Valkyries are pegged as favourites posting a 7-0 overall record heading into the title game. The Riot are 3-3 overall and won two straight playoff games on the road to get to the final.

Saskatoon claimed both head-to-head meeting posting a 38-13 victory at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on May 11 and a 22-7 triumph on June 2 in Regina.

Sam Matheson (#22) is back in top gear for the Valkyries.

    Lalonde expects the Riot will enter Saturday’s clash with a huge boost in confidence.

    “Playing Regina is always a tough game,” said Lalonde. “We know they are a tough team.

    “They are hungry for this win. They have those two wins under their belt. They are going hard, and they are at home.

    “They are going to have new plays in. They are going to have defensive strategies that we haven’t seen yet. We just have to react and play and listen to our coaches.”

    Valkyries head coach Pat Barry said Riot like his squad have a shuffled deck with rookies mixed in with established veterans.

    The sideline boss noted the Riot still have veteran star quarterback Aimee Kowalski, who is a career member of the Regina club since it was formed in 2011. Barry said Kowalski is finding her groove with her new teammates.

Aimee Kowalski continues to lead the Riot at quarterback.

    “I’ve watched their last couple of games,” said Barry. “They are doing a lot of things well.

    “It looks like their quarterback, who is an excellent quarterback in Aimee (Kowalski), is starting to throw on time. She is starting to trust her receivers. She is an excellent quarterback.

    “That is something that is a concern for us. Defensively, they have a lot of real experienced people who have won a lot. We have to be aware of that.”

    Both teams have their slate of star players who have been to this point many times before. For the Riot, that list includes Kowalski, her younger sister and receiver Alex Kowalski, running back Mallory Starkey, Taline Blakley on the offensive line, linebacker Adrienne Zuck and Katie Hungle on the defensive line.

    The Valkyries counter with quarterback duo of Alex Eyolfson and Reed Thorstad, running back Samantha Matheson, left tackle Alyssa Funk, Lalonde, linebacker Emmarae Dale and Jaime Lammerding on the defensive line.

Alex Eyolfson (#15) will aim to fire lazers downfield for the Valkyries.

    Receiver Kelsey Murphy, who is in her sixth season with the Valkyries, said there is lots of familiarity on both sides due to the head-to-head clashes and from the fact players on both sides have been teammates on the Saskatchewan provincial team and Canada’s national team program.

    “It is terrible to go up against them in the game, but it is actually really nice to see them,” said Murphy. “Some people will even help you up, when you are down like after they push you over.

    “Once the whistle blows, you are friends again. With some of them, you just don’t have that yet. They are just enemies all the time.”

Valkyries LB Beth Lalonde (#2) meets Riot R Alex Kowalski.

    While there are a plenty of veterans on the Riot side that Murphy knows, she said the Regina club is gaining more and more newcomers she doesn’t know.

    Still, Murphy expects Saturday’s came to be the most intense encounter of the season between the two sides.

    “I think it will be a lot tougher,” said Murphy. “It is the championship game.

    “They’ve had two wins. We’ve beaten them twice, so that is definitely going to like fuel them. It will be tougher, but we’re working harder too.”

    The Valkyries have their share of emotional motivation heading into the WWCFL title game. The most obvious is playing for their late defensive position coach Justin Filteau, who passed away in a plane crash on June 1.

Sarah Wright wants to experience her first WWCFL title win.

    Filteau joined the Valkyries coaching staff in 2017.
    Saskatoon wants to reclaim the WWCFL title for the first time since 2016, and a large number of players on the Valkyries have never experienced a league title win.

    One of those players is third-year running back Sarah Wright, who joined the team in 2017 and vaulted to standout status.

    “I really want a ring,” said Wright. “All the girls are super excited to help some of the rookies as well and the people that haven’t been on a winning team before.

    “They are all willing to help us out. I think we are going to go for it pretty hard.”

    Murphy would love to see the Valkyries players that have never experienced a WWCFL title win gain that feeling on Saturday.

    “We want to get it for them, and we want to get it for (Justin) Filteau,” said Murphy. “For those two reasons, we are just going to work even harder.

    “There are so many people on this team now who haven’t gotten a ring. We want to bring that home for them.”

Blades pick two defencemen in CHL Import Draft

    The Saskatoon Blades used the CHL Import Draft to solidify their back end.

    On Thursday, the Blades selected two blue-liners from the Czech Republic in the Import Draft. In the first round and 55^th overall, the Blades picked 19-year-old Libor Zabransky.

    In the second round and 115^th overall, the Blades selected Radek Kucerik, who will turn 18-years-old in December.

    Zabransky, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 190 pounds, started last season with the Kelowna Rockets appearing in 35 regular season games posting two goals, seven assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

    Due to have a surplus of defencemen, the Rockets released Zabransky on Jan. 12 just a couple of days after the WHL’s trade deadline. Zabransky joined the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League posting four goals, 12 assists and a minus-eight rating in 30 regular season games.

    The Blades were able to draft Zabransky due to the fact he was released by the Rockets.

    In 2017-18, Zabransky played his first season season in the WHL for the Rockets appear in all of the team’s 72 regular season games posting two goals, 17 assists and a plus-seven rating.

    Kucerik, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 209 pounds, was captain of the HC Kometa Brno under-19 team last season. With that squad, Kucerik appeared in 43 regular season games posting six goals, 17 assists and a plus-nine rating.

    The Blades confirmed that their two imports from last season in Norwegian left-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen and Swedish defenceman Emil Malysjev won’t be back with the team this year.

    Last season, Roykas-Marthinsen appeared in 62 regular season games with the Blades posting 13 goals, 16 assists and a plus-12 rating. He was selected in the seventh round and 213^th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and went unsigned by the team.

    Roykas-Marthinsen, who is entering his overage season, is looking to play somewhere in the professional ranks this coming season.

    As a 17-year-old rookie last season, Malysjev, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 187 pounds, turned heads appearing in 63 regular season games recording three goals, 14 assists and a plus-13 rating.

    After going unselected in the NHL Entry Draft, Malysjev informed the Blades he won’t be returning for his 18-year-old season, and he is electing to play in Sweden.

Raiders take Russian forward in CHL Import Draft

    The Prince Albert Raiders added some speed and skill making one selection in the CHL Import Draft.

    In the first round with the 60^th overall pick, the Raiders selected 17-year-old Russian forward Ivan Kechkin. Kechkin, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 143 pounds, played for the Rus Moskva under-17 and under-18 teams last season.

    With the under-17 team, Kechkin appeared in 23 regular season games collecting six goals and nine assists. With the under-18 team, he skated in 15 regular season games posting six goals and 12 assists.

    “Ivan (Kechkin) has good vision, a high skill level and skates well,” said Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt in a release. “His coach is the father of Denis Tolpeko, who played for me in Regina.”

    With the addition of Kechkin, the Raiders have three import players on their roster.

    Belarusian left-winger Aliaksei Protas posted 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-24 rating in 61 regular season games last season. The 18-year-old had a head turning WHL playoffs posting 12 goals, 10 assists and a plus-12 rating in 23 games helping the Raiders win the WHL championship.

    Protas was selected in the NHL Entry Draft that recently wrapped up in Vancouver, B.C., in the second round and 91^st overall by the Washington Capitals.

    Belarusian defenceman Sergei Sapego posted 10 goals, 33 assists and a plus-42 rating last season for the Raiders. Sapego, who will enter his overage season, is currently attending the NHL development camp of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    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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