Madden 2008 finally came out in these COVID-19 days

I dug out Madden 2008 for the PlayStation 2.

    Madden 2008 made its first appearance at my household during these COVID-19 self-isolation times.

    On Friday night, I finally dug out the PlayStation 2 and fired up the Madden 2008 video game. The franchise I was using was in off-season mode, so I didn’t play any actual full out games.

    I spent a couple of hours working through the very realistic off-season that was created in the game. In future versions of Madden, the off-season was toned down to fit with the hyper fast life most of North American society lives.

    Still, real football geeks more tilted to the fantasy side love the off-season mode in Madden 2008. I like it too, but I normally wouldn’t find time to play through something like that.

With society being shut down, I have been in the home office lots.

    With society being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked my off-season up to training camp and played through a couple of drills before packing it in for the night.

    Even just for playing the off-season, it was a fun change of pace.

    Over the past week, I think I have come to accept the fact the world won’t snap back to the way it was before the shutdowns that started to happen in North America on March 11 to try and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    At the moment, it is pretty safe to say the local sports world that I am involved in won’t be resuming normal activity for some time yet or at least until governments at all levels start lifting emergency measures and some travel restrictions.

I pulled out the Wayne Gretzky jersey on Thursday.

    While many things have shut down, I still kept busy this week. Usually, WHL playoffs would have started during this period of time, and I would be hyper busy.

    This week, I have been busy at a steady controllable pace.

    One thing I feel that has gone away for myself is the daily anxiety when it comes to checking messages and social media links for the first time each day. When the shutdowns first started to happen, I dreaded turning on any electronic device to see what new measures governments at any level might be bringing in.

    I like socializing, and I worried what it was going to be like to not be out at sporting events. A lot of my work involves getting out and meeting people.

    Over this past week, it hasn’t bothered me to work from home. Actually, most places I do to or spend time at away from home are now closed, so it is easy to spend time at home.

    With the extra time I have during the day, I have started into a habit of sleeping in. I’ve come to the conclusion that is allowing me to have the extra energy I need to carry on through the day and face anything that comes up.

I suspect I won’t be taking pictures of moments like these any time soon.

    Right now, there is so much uncertainty about how the world will unfold under the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The sports world, especially at the professional level, is really at the mercy of what governments elect to do with their emergency measures and travel bans.

    Even the Summer Olympic Games have been postponed until next year.

    Right now, there is so much speculation going around it is hard to know what to believe. There has been a fear the MLB, CFL, and U.S. college football seasons could be totally called off.

    I’ve heard speculation that society would be smart to stay in lockdown for a year.

    I’ve heard other speculation that this could let up in a month or two months.

The streets in my Saskatoon neighbourhood are quiet.

    Rod Pedersen, who does recovery and addictions work along with sports broadcasting, said and wrote the world is in a state of trauma.

    He said the two definitions of trauma he learned are “any situation your brain can’t comprehend,” or “a deeply distressing or disturbing event.”

    The COVID-19 pandemic is something the brain can’t comprehend, and it is an event that is deeply distressing or disturbing. I am pretty certain the world is experiencing trauma.

    As I have said before, I am just taking things day by day, because that is all anyone can control is how they react daily to something when it unfolds. The governments of the world have chosen their courses of action, and they aren’t going to change.

I’ve spent time reflecting and wondering when things will be normal.

    It feels weird to have not seen or covered a live sporting event since March 12.

    I try not to look too far ahead in the future, because that fuels anxiety. I am mindful that the world will likely be very different when the COVID-19 pandemic runs its course compared to where the world was before it started.

    In Canada, that last normal day was likely March 10.

    I hope this will be over by the middle of May, or the outlook will be better even two weeks from now. That is also an unknown.

    Until then, I just worry about finishing the most pressing task I need to get done that day, and try to spend some down time with family and friends.

    It is really the only way to proceed right now.

Robins cleans up on Blades awards, other notes

Tristen Robins won four Blades team awards.

    Tristen Robins was the man of the hour, when the Saskatoon Blades announced their team awards on Thursday night.

    The 18-year-old sophomore centre from Clear Lake, Man., had a breakout campaign leading the Blades in scoring with 33 goals and 40 assists for 73 points in 62 regular season games. Robins, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 173 pounds, posted a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Thanks to his efforts, Robins was named the WHL team’s top defensive forward, the most gentlemanly player, best forward and most valuable player.

    Due to government restrictions against gatherings of over 10 people at the present time, the Blades weren’t able to hand out their team awards after the final game of their regular season or at a team function.

    They neatly rolled out their awards via Twitter on Thursday night. They were able to produce great short videos with team supporters announcing the award winners.

    Captain Chase Wouters was another multiple award winner being named the club’s hardest working player and taking the team’s community minded award.
    Overager Scott Walford was named the Blades best defenceman. Left-winger Colton Dach, who was playing through his 16-year-old season, claimed honours as the Blades rookie of the year.

Captain Chase Wouters won two Blades team awards.

    Overage defenceman Nolan Kneen took home honours as the Blades hardest hitter. Sophomore rearguard Aidan De La Gorgendiere claimed the award as the club’s most improved player.

    Rookie 16-year-old centre Jayden Wiens claimed the Bentley Memorial Academic Award.

    Feisty overage left-winger Riley McKay captured the Fan’s Choice Award as the team’s favourite player for a second straight campaign.

    The Blades fan of the year award was given to Ryan Collinge.

    The Blades had locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season and had a 34-24-2-3 record in the regular season before the CHL cancelled the remainder of the regular season and entire post-season in the 2019-20 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Blades have to love the fact they have Mitch Bach as their new manager of communications. Bach was a skilled broadcast sports journalist, who spent a lengthy stretch at CHAT Television in Medicine Hat, Alta. The tribute videos he created for the Blades digital networks for overage players Kneen and McKay have been outstanding. The video for Walford is slated to run at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
• While there is great excitement in Regina the historic Pats will get to select Connor Bedard first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft on April 22, Saskatoon got to enjoy watching two highly touted bantam draft prospects play this past season. Forwards Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt had outstanding seasons playing as underage players for the Saskatoon Contacts midget AAA team. Yager had 18 goals and 24 assists appearing in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games. Heidt also played in all of the Contacts 44 regular season games piling up 17 goals and 20 assists. Bedard has exceptional player status to allow him to play full time in the WHL as a 15-year-old. Yager and Heidt were prospects for the exceptional status tag, but there hasn’t been any word if either of them would get that tag. Even if they don’t get that tag, they will be great additions for the WHL teams they join.
• With most gyms closed across the country and everyone trying to stay home as much as possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve seen pictures of a handful of home gyms come across various social media lines. Most have a partial old school feeling to them. Some of the coolest I’ve seen have been courtesy of track and field star Sage Watson, Hamilton Tiger-Cats long snapper Aaron Crawford, Saskatoon Hilltops receiver/kicker and star curler Rylan Kleiter and Hilltops alum and University of Regina Rams defensive lineman Garth Knittng.
• Big props to the crew I work with at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex for the newsletter that was put out this week. The lead front page column dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and sports was outstanding. Just to note, I did not have a hand in writing it, but it is fantastic. You can check it out 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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Wheat Kings wipe out Blades 5-1

P.A. product Schneider posts goal, assist and plus-three rating

Braden Schneider had a goal, an assist and was a plus-three for Brandon.

    Braden Schneider had a Prince Albert moment playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings.
    With his team holding a 3-0 advantage on the host Saskatoon Blades, the 18-year-old defenceman saw his goaltender Jiri Patera get knocked to the ice via a trip from veteran Blades right-winger Zach Huber. Schneider, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 208 pounds, confronted Huber, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 197 pounds, starting a scrum.

    Schneider was given minor penalties for cross-checking and roughing, while Huber was assessed minors for goaltender interference and roughing.

    Schneider, who is a Prince Albert, Sask., product and played for the Prince Albert Raiders bantam AA team and the Prince Albert Mintos midget AAA club, admitted a little bit of his personality from his hometown coming out in that moment.

Braden Schneider (#2) takes part in Brandon’s head butt goal celebration.

    “I think I am a competitive guy,” said Schneider. “I think any guy on our team would do the same.

    “I think we are just a tight-knit group, and I think we have each others’ back no matter what happens. If we think it is dirty, we will be standing up for each other for sure.”

    Had the officials stretched the call and given out fighting majors in that moment, Schneider would have ended up with the Gordie Howe hat trick. Still, he had a great night posting one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Braden Schneider controls the puck at the point for the Wheat Kings.

    Overall, the Wheat Kings rolled to a 5-1 victory in Wednesday’s WHL regular season clash played before 2,815 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    Schneider said it was cool to have nights where seemingly everything went right for his side, but he added that isn’t always the case.

    “All our guys rose to the occasion,” said Schneider. “After the game, we reset and get ready for the next one, because the next one is just as big.”

    On a personal front, Schneider is having a breakout campaign in his third season in the WHL. He has posted six goals and 28 assists for 34 points to go with a plus-11 rating in 49 regular season appearances with the Wheat Kings.

Braden Schneider is having a breakout season with the Wheat Kings.

    Schneider’s assist and point totals are already career highs. He said the experience he gained over his first two major junior campaigns is helping out now.

    “Everyone is a bit bigger, a bit faster and a bit stronger,” said Schneider. “It is a little bit of an adjustment from midget, but once you get used to it, it almost seems easier.

    “I know where the little soft spots are now, and I am using my guys and carrying the puck a little bit more and shooting a little bit more. I think just the comfort level and the opportunity is helping me find the net a little bit more.”

    Wednesday’s game got off to an auspicious start for the Blades, which seemed to foreshadow what was to come. About a couple of minutes into the opening frame, Blades netminder Nolan Maier had the puck behind his net and nonchalantly sent a backhand pass into the left slot right to Wheat Kings centre Jake Chiasson.

Braden Schneider starts a rush up ice for the Wheat Kings.

    Chiasson wasn’t able to capitalize on the gift firing a shot wide of the Saskatoon goal.

    The Wheat Kings proceeded to a pot a goal seconds into a power-play at the 6:02 mark of the frame. Off a draw on from the faceoff circle to the left of the Saskatoon goal, Wheat Kings captain Connor Gutenberg slipped a pass across the face the Blades net to linemate Cole Reinhardt, who buried his 26^th goal of the season.

    Before the first ended, the Blades had a couple of strong chances to net the equalizer. 

Ridly Greig had two goals and two assists for Brandon.

    Patera made a glove stop on a drive by feisty Blades left-winger Riley McKay and then stoned Huber from point blank range.

    With 2:31 remaining in the first, the Wheat Kings expanded their edge to 2-0 off an offensive rush, where a pinching Schneider potted a backdoor pass from centre Luka Burzan at the left side of the Saskatoon goal.

    The assist was Burzan’s 100^th of his WHL career.

    Just 12 seconds into the second, Gutenberg netted his 11^th of the season to put the Wheat Kings up 3-0.

Connor Gutenberg had a goal and three assists for Brandon.

    The Wheat Kings took further control of the contest with 2:07 remaining in the second, when centre Ridly Greig fired home a power-play goal from the right boards to put the visitors up 4-0.
    The only thing that seemingly didn’t go right for the Wheat Kings was that Greig was stopped on a penalty shot about a couple of minutes before his power-play goal.

    “It is a lot easier to play, when everyone is going like that, and we are playing the way we want to be playing,” said Schneider. “We came prepared tonight, and it was a big game. “

    The Blades showed a bit of fight at the start of third. Following a penalty kill, overage Blades defenceman Nolan Kneen jetted into the Brandon zone on a breakaway and fired home his 11^th of the season to the top right corner of the Wheat Kings net.

    If there were any dreams of a comeback by the home side, the Wheat Kings burst that bubble scoring a short-handed goal on a two-on-one break with nine minutes remaining in the third. 

Nolan Kneen had the Blades lone goal on Wednesday.

    Greig potted his second of the night converting a setup pass from right-winger Ty Thorpe to give the visitors a 5-1 advantage.

    Greig had a pair of assists to go with his two goals for a four-point night. Gutenberg had three helpers to go with his goal for a four-point night as well.

    Patera turned away 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings (28-19-3-2). Maier turned away 27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blades (27-21-2-3).

    Back on Dec. 28, the Wheat Kings had a 15-17-1-2 record, and there was uncertainty in which direction their season could go. In their 17 outings since, the Wheat Kings have posted a 13-2-2 record.

    “I think everyone is just buying in to what we are given,” said Schneider. “When we do that, we are a pretty tough team to beat.

Jiri Patera makes one of his 22 saves for the Wheat Kings.

    “I think everyone has learned their role and is buying into the system. I think it is all just coming around full circle for us. I think at the start some people were starting to write us off.

    “We were a little inconsistent. We were trying to find our stride, and I think once we found it, it was pretty scary.”

    The Blades and Wheat Kings will go at it again on Friday in Brandon (7:30 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

    Schneider expects the intensity will be a lot higher in Friday’s encounter than it was on Wednesday.

    “The challenge is that they are going to be coming harder than they did tonight,” said Schneider. “I think the challenge for us is to be prepared and be ready to go and reset.

The Wheat Kings celebrate their win on Wednesday.

    “We know that they are going to be coming for blood from us.”

    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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Rebuilding Pats win third in a row, best Blades after shootout

Zack Smith reacts to scoring his shootout winner for the Pats.

    The rebuilding Regina Pats are playing like the games matter.

    The Pats are skating through just their second season since host the CHL championship tournament - Memorial Cup – in May of 2018. They went all in making a number of trades to make their roster an experience veteran one in the 2017-18 campaign.

    Due to going all in, they are still going through the stages of a major rebuild, but when they hit the ice, they are trying to play like a playoff berth is one the line. That approach is resulting in some wins.

    On Wednesday night before 2,850 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Pats downed the host Saskatoon Blades 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout for a third straight victory. The visitors took the tiebreaking session 2-1.

Zack Smith helped the Pats win their third straight game.

    In the shootout, Carson Denomie scored in the first round for the Pats, and overage left-winger Riley McKay tallied in the second round for the Blades.

    With the teams even at 1-1 in the tiebreaking session, Pats rookie 18-year-old right-winger Zack Smith had the final shot in the third round. The Martensville, Sask., product put a backhand shot past Blades netminder Nolan Maier to give the Pats the win.

    “Strucher (Pats head coach Dave Struch) really stressed that we play the right way and play as a team and don’t play selfish,” said Smith. “I think we did that really well tonight.

    “That is the kind of team we are. We have to just chip pucks and go forecheck hard. That is what we did tonight.”

Riley Krane scored the Pats first goal on Wednesday.

    Due to the fact his hometown is just outside of Saskatoon’s northern border, Smith had his share of family and friends in attendance on Wednesday. He was proud of his shootout winner.

    “I just went in, gave the goalie a little fake, he bit a little bit and pulled to my backhand,” said Smith. “I pretty much had a lot of the net open, so I just put it there.

    “It felt good.”

    The win allowed the Pats to improve to 16-26-3-2. They started the campaign with a 1-10 record but have gone 15-16-3-2 over their last 36 games.

    While not mathematically eliminated from post-season contention, their chances of making playoffs are extremely slim.

Martin Fasko-Rudas scored the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

    They trail the Blades, who saw their record move to 25-20-2-3, by 18 points in the standings for the second wildcat position and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

    With that noted, Struch believes his side is building a lot of character playing like a playoff position was on the line.

    “We want to get into the race,” said Struch. “We got off to a real difficult start this year for whatever reason.

    “We wanted to chase the race not that it was a playoff race. We wanted to try and get into it. Every night for us is a playoff game.

    “Every practice for us is a playoff game, so our guys have been doing this for five months already. It seems like it is easy for our guys to do it.”

Pats C Drew Englot screens Blades G Nolan Maier.

    The Pats struck 44 seconds into Wednesday’s contest when right-winger Riley Krane blew a shot past Blades netminder Nolan Maier.

    The Blades had a big chance to even the score at the 8:30 mark, when left-winger Alex Morozoff was hooked down on a break to the Regina goal by Pats defenceman Steven Zonneveld.

    With 52.5 seconds remaining in the first period, Blades overage defence Nolan Kneen engaged Krane in a good tilt.

    The Blades evened the score at 1-1 at the 13:04 mark of the second period on a power-play goal from import Slovakian right-winger Martin Fasko-Rudas. 

The Blades celebrate a third period goal from Jayden Wiens.

    Fasko-Rudas gathered the rebound of a point shot from overage defenceman Scott Walford and tucked the puck behind Pats netminder Donovan Buskey.

    Just 1:22 later, the Pats jumped back out in front 2-1. Pats import Czech winger Jan Cikhart got the puck in the right side of the Saskatoon goal on the forecheck and centred a pass to 17-year-old centre Drew Englot.

    Englot fired in a shot that Maier got a piece of, but the puck trickled into the goal to put the Blades ahead.

    The Blades evened the score at 2-2 at the 3:34 mark on the third on a positive bounce play. A shot from Blades left-winger Braden Plaschewsky deflected off linemate Jayden Wiens, who was hooked down by a Pats player, into the Regina goal.

    Overall, Struch was pleased with the effort of his players even when mistakes were made.

    “This is the way we play,” said Struch, whose Pats have won both their encounters with the Blades this season in extra time. “That is every single game.
    “Yeah, we make mistakes. Some nights we make more than others. Tonight, it is just a matter of our identity.

Riley McKay turns up ice for the Blades.

    “These guys play hard for each other.”

    Before the midway point of the third, the Pats had a good chance to go ahead on a power play, but defenceman Ryker Evans wired a point shot off the post.

    Late in the frame, Maier made a key left pad stop on Pats captain Austin Pratt to keep the two sides even on the scoreboard.

    In overtime, both sides had big chances to net the winner. Fasko-Rudas had the last big chance, but his shot right before the buzzer was turned away by Buskey.

    That set the stage for the Pats to win it in the tiebreaking shootout.
    Maier stopped 23 shots in goal for the Blades through 65 minutes and one of three shooters in the shootout. Buskey turned away 23 shots in goal for the Pats and two of three shooters in the shootout.

The Pats celebrate their win on Wednesday night.

    The Pats return to action on Friday, when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (7 p.m., Innovation Credit Union i-Plex).

    The Blades get back at it on Saturday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors (7 p.m., Mosaic Place).

    Smith said his club is feeling good going into the weekend.

    “I think we are all pretty confident right now,” said Smith. “We’ve won three in a row.

    “We’re just going to keep this confidence going into Swift Current and hopefully beat them a few times on the weekend and see where we can go from there.”

Wouters chipping in, challenges others to join in faceoff charity

Captain Chase Wouters (#44) gets set to take a draw for the Blades.

    Saskatoon Blades captain Chase Wouters is chipping and challenging others to join him in the Nutrien Faceoff for Hunger.

    Since the start of the season, Nutrien has said it will donate $10 to the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre for every faceoff Wouters wins this season. After Wednesday’s action, Wouters lead the WHL with the most faceoffs at 665.

    Last Thursday in a video posted on his Twitter account, Wouters said he would donate $1 out of his own pocket for every faceoff he won over the Blades final 21 regular season games for the Nutrien Faceoff for Hunger to go to the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre.

    Wouters challenged anyone who saw the video to join him in donating a dollar for every draw he won over the Blades final 21 regular season games. The fourth-year veteran had 625 faceoff wins when the Blades entered the final 21 regular season games.

    Over Twitter, Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk, Saskatoon Police Chief Troy Cooper and Saskatoon city councillor Troy Davies have said they have accepted Wouters’ challenge and will join in on the charitable endeavour.

Hey #BladeCity, I am challenging you to join me in the @NutrienLTD face-off for hunger! Jump on board https://t.co/bZnjMhZ2hV pic.twitter.com/YwrgrKJ636

— Chase Wouters (@wouters_44) January 31, 2020

    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 best Tigers 6-5 in 1980s style rivalry tilt

The Blades and Tigers scrum it up at the end of Friday’s game.

    It felt like old times at the Saskatoon Arena in the late 1980s.

    Back in that era of the WHL, the Saskatoon Blades and Medicine Hat Tigers had quite the heated rivalry. A lot of the heated tensions were due to the fact the two sides met in league semifinal playoff series in 1987 and 1988.

    Those series were ultimately won by the Tigers, who advanced on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup title as CHL champions in both of those years.
    Medicine Hat claimed the 1987 series in seven games, when the Blades still played in the Saskatoon Arena, and the Tigers swept the 1988 series, when “the Bridge City Bunch” made their first post-season run playing out of the SaskTel Centre.

    On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatoon Blades and Medicine Hat Tigers engaged in a WHL regular season clash that would have been worthy of the battles from that era.

    There were huge momentum swings, lots of goals, timely saves by goalies, one spirited fight and huge scrum at the end of the contest. It was a game that was all over the map.

Tigers C Ryan Chyzowski, left, fights Blades C Jayden Wiens.

    When the dust settled, the Blades skated away with a 6-5 victory before 3,156 spectators. The fans got their money’s worth and gave the Blades a fairly loud salute at night’s end.

    The unpredictability of the night started in the first period. The Blades carried the play in the opening frame outshooting the Tigers 17-7, but the Tigers came away holding a 1-0 lead.

    Tigers captain James Hamblin tucked home the game’s opening goal on a breakaway in the first.

    Medicine Hat escaped the first holding the end on the scoreboard thanks to the play of netminder Garin Bjorklund. He turned away Blades defenceman Nolan Kneen on a partial breakaway and robbed Saskatoon centre Tristen Robins with a glove stop in the opening 20 minutes.

The Blades and Tigers engaged in a few exchanges on Friday.

    Just 35 seconds into the second, Tigers defenceman Daniel Baker jetted in down the right wing and roofed home his 10^th goal of the season to put the visitors up 2-0.

    At the 11:37 mark of the second, centre Baxter Anderson scored to put the Tigers up 3-0, and it seemed that the visitors were going to cruise from there.

    From that moment, it was time to cue the comeback for the Blades thanks mainly from an offensive explosion coming from their forward line of left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, Robins, and right-winger Martin Fasko- Rudas. They combined for four goals and seven assists.

    Crnkovic posted a goal and four assists. Robins had his first career WHL hat trick. Fasko-Rudas had three helpers.

    Just 70 seconds after Anderson’s goal, Robins netted his first of the contest to cut the Tigers lead to 3-1. 

Tristen Robins had a hat trick for the Blades on Friday.

    Crnkovic potted his 12^th of the season just a little over three minutes later to further trim the Tigers advantage to 3-2.

    With 1:22 remaining in the second, the Blades benefited from a positive type bounce you would see in an old building like the now demolished Saskatoon Arena.

    The puck was in the Tigers zone with the Blades working the power play. The Tigers tried to clear the puck around the glass, but the puck hit a stanchion and deflected to the front of the Medicine Hat goal to Blades captain Chase Wouters.

    Wouters promptly fired the gift into the Medicine Hat net to even things up at 3-3. The tally was Wouters 20^th goal of the season marking the first time the 19-year-old hit that mark in his WHL career.

    The Blades kept rolling going up 5-3 at the 1:55 mark of the third with goals coming from feisty left-winger Riley McKay and Robins netting his second of the contest.

Kyle Crnkovic had a goal and four assists for the Blades on Friday.

    Bjorklund was pulled from the Medicine Hat goal at that point turning away 26-of-31 shots he faced. Mads Sogaard turned away four-of-five shots playing the rest of the way in relief.

    Shortly after the Blades went up by two goals, Saskatoon centre Jayden Wiens, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 139 pounds, engaged Tigers centre Ryan Chyzowski, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 170 pounds, in a spirited fight.

    Wiens ended getting the take down for the win in front of a huge ovation from the Saskatoon faithful.

    With the crowd still buzzing from the fight, the Tigers scored seven seconds after the resumption of play with left-winger Corson Hopwo getting his 10 goal of the season. That tally cut the Blades advantage to 5-4.

    Robins completed his hat trick a little over two minutes later to give the Blades a 6-4 advantage.

    Shortly after Robins third tally, the Tigers went on a power play, and Blades netminder Koen MacInnes had to turn away seven shots to ensure the hosts got the two-minute kill.

James Hamblin had the Tigers first goal on Friday.

    MacInnes made a huge sprawling kick save on the kill to rob Tigers star left-winger Cole Sillinger of a sure goal.

    Still the Blades weren’t out of the woods. Tigers left-winger Nick McCarry scored with 4:54 remaining in the third to cut the Blades lead to 6-5.

    With about a minute remaining in the third, Tigers defenceman Eric Van Impe wired a shot off the crossbar of the Blades goal.

    The host side held the fort the rest of the way to preserve their third straight victory. After the final seconds of the game expired, both teams engaged in a big scrum around the Saskatoon goal.

MacInnes made 28 saves to allow the Blades to improve to 23-18-1-2.

    The Tigers fell to 29-14-1-1 with a second straight loss.

The Blades enjoy their win on Friday night.

    The Blades are back at it on Saturday, when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

    The Tigers return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face the defending WHL champion Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

    If anyone forgot how fun the WHL can be, a reminder about how exciting and unpredictable major junior hockey can be was delivered on Friday night when the Blades slipped past the Tigers.

    Hopefully work of the encounter will attract a few more bodies to come sit in the stands.

    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’ Maier, McKay up villain status in Prince Albert

Saskatoon gets fourth win in five tries versus Raiders

Riley McKay (#39) celebrates his game-winning goal for the Blades.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Like treatment reserved for WWE villains, boos rained down for Nolan Maier and Riley McKay from the fans in Prince Albert.
    On Friday, Maier made 32 saves and McKay scored two goals including the winner to deliver the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory in a regular season contest over the defending WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders. The result came to the dismay of a standing room crowd of 2,900 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.
    The encounter was the first game for both sides since returning from their respective Christmas breaks.

    The win marked the fourth win the Blades have recorded in five head-to-head meetings with the Raiders this season. Saskatoon has won all three head-to-head to games in Prince Albert.

Riley McKay (#39) had two goals for the Blades on Friday.

    Following the Blades latest win on Friday night, Maier and McKay were roundly booed by the faithful in “Hockey Town North” when they were named the respective first and second stars in the building. McKay, who has a huge reputation of being an agitator, received the overwhelming loudest boos, and he just smiled and gave applause to the crowd.

    “I find it is a fun barn to play in,” said McKay, who was also a plus-two in the plus-minus department in Friday’s win. “I love how loud it is in this barn, and I love when fans are giving it to me.

Aliaksei Protas had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

    “It fuels me to play harder, so it is fun.”

    Maier has really haunted the Raiders this season. He has played in all five head-to-head meetings between the two sides turning away 135-of-142 shots sent his way in those contests.

    The Yorkton, Sask., admits he enjoys seeing how the fans in Prince Albert get into games.

    “I think they are a really passionate fanbase,” said Maier. “Obviously, it is really special to kind of be a part of this kind of rivalry.

    “I like it, especially with playoffs last year. I’m kind of used to it. It hasn’t been as much as I am kind of used to from last year.

    “It is always fun kind of playing in really high intensity games like tonight.”

    Maier played a key role in allowing the Blades to exit the opening frame locked in a 0-0 tie as his club was outshot 13-3. 

Colton Dach had a goal for the Blades on Friday.

    He came up with a big glove stop on Raiders star left-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt and robbed right-winger Spencer Moe on a backdoor chance.

    At the 7:51 mark of the second, the Raiders pressure finally resulted in a goal, when Moe deflected home a shot from import centre Aliaksei Protas to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    The Blades evened the score just 14 seconds later at 1-1, when captain Chase Wouters won a draw to McKay, who wired home the equalizer on a set play.

    Just 44 seconds after that tally, the Raiders jumped ahead 2-1, when Protas tapped home the rebound of his own shot.

    The Raiders weren’t able to cash on a number of chances to extend their advantage from that point for the rest of the second frame.

    With 8.6 seconds remaining in the second, Blades 16-year-old rookie left-winger Colton Dach wired home an accurate bad angle shot to even things up at 2-2.

Spencer Moe had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

    “I think that goal was huge,” said Maier, whose team improved to 16-15-1-2. “It kind of set us up for a really nice third.

    “I think we got more confidence as the game went on, especially in the third.”

    The Blades did a better job of limiting the Raiders chances in the third, as the host side held an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal for the frame.

    With 5:13 remaining in the third, McKay took a set up from Wouters and lifted home the winning goal to the top left corner of the Prince Albert net to put the Blades up for good 3-2.

    Boston Bilous turned away 12 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

    “We were better team,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, whose club fell to 20-10-3-1. “We just didn’t win the game.

Chase Wouters, left, had a pair of assists for the Blades on Friday.

    “Sometimes that happens. I thought their goaltender played well. I didn’t like any of our three goals (against) to be quite honest.

    “That’s what happens sometimes, and so it is.”

    Habscheid gave credit to Maier for coming up big for the Blades.

    “He (Maier) played well,” said Habscheid. “He was the difference for sure.

    “He made the saves when he had to, and he was key.”

    McKay, who is in his overage season, now has a career high 13 goals on the campaign breaking his previous high of 12 tallies set last season. The Swan River, Man., product likes the fact his Blades have won four out of five encounters with the Raiders.

Tristen Robins circles in the offensive zone for the Blades.

    “We know we can beat any team, and it is even nicer to beat our division rivals, especially P.A.,” said McKay. “It is always usually a rough, fun game to play, so it is nice that we are beating them.”

    Blades associate coach Ryan Marsh was pleased his side found a way to grind out a victory.

    “It wasn’t pretty early,” said Marsh. “I thought we were a step behind kind of early on in the game.

    “We stayed with it, and our third period was by far and away our best period. We’re fortunate we had some key saves and some key plays earlier on to allow us to have a chance to win the game in the third period.”

    Friday’s game included one scary moment with 2:19 remaining in the third after a scoring chance from Wiesblatt. Wiesblatt toe dragged around a Raiders defenceman and wired a shot on goal that was stopped by Maier.

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

    After shooting the puck, Wiesblatt was drilled with a high hit from Blades right-winger Zach Huber. Huber received a checking to the head minor penalty, but the Raiders weren’t able to net the equalizer with Wiesblatt playing on the power play.
    While Wiesblatt wasn’t injured, Habscheid didn’t like the hit his young 17-year-old forward took.

    “We’ll let the league deal with that, but that was a dangerous hit,” said Habscheid. “We’re trying to protect the players.

    “The head was targeted, and we will see what the league says about it.”

    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. Marsh hopes Friday’s win will help spark an inspired performance on Saturday.

    “Tomorrow, we need to generate more shots at the net,” said Marsh. “In order to do that, you have to play good without the puck to get it, and obviously, get your opportunities when you have it.

    “We’ll take a look at some things. Hopefully, we can knock off that rust, and we carry forward the traction that we got in the third period (on Friday night) into tomorrow’s game.”

Raiders, Broncos swap 18-year-old forwards

Cole Nagy in action for the Raiders last April.

    The Prince Albert Raiders and Swift Current Broncos exchanged 18-year-old depth forwards on Friday.

    The Raiders sent Cole Nagy, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 199 pounds, to the Broncos in exchange for Matthew Culling, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds.

Nagy, who is from Saskatoon, is in his first full season in the WHL and had two goals and two assists in 25 games this season for the Raiders.

    Culling, who is from Regina, is in his second full season in the WHL. This season, he appeared in 31 games with the Broncos collecting three goals and one assist.

    During WHL career, Culling appeared in 104 regular season games netting 14 goals and 11 assists.      He played five games as a 16-year-old in the 2017-18 campaign with the Edmonton Oil Kings before being dealt to the Broncos.

    Both players were proficient scorers coming up through minor hockey, and a change of scenery might help ignite each player.

    Culling was a member of the Regina Pat Canadians club that won the prestigious Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament in the 2017-18 campaign.

    “We know Matthew (Culling) very well,” said Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt in a release. “He provides speed and tenacity in our lineup and can support our secondary scoring.”

    The WHL trade deadline is set for Jan. 10 in the new year at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

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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