Huskies fall face first out of the gate to start 0-2

Mount Royal romps to 7-2 victory at Merlis on Saturday

Ryley Lindgren, left, celebrates his hat trick goal for the Cougars.

    Well that was ugly.
    The U Sports regular season is only two games old, but the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team might be facing more adversity than they might encounter as the rest of the 2019-20 campaign progresses.

    After losing their home opener 5-4 to the visiting Mount Royal University Cougars on Friday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies didn’t do any better in the rematch at the same venue on Saturday dropping a 7-2 decision to the Cougars before 1,231 spectators.

    Going into Saturday’s game, the Huskies were dealt a bad hand by forces outside of their control. They hit the ice dressing five healthy defencemen as Sam Ruopp, Colby Harmsworth, Kendall Fransoo and Shane Collins were all out due to various injuries.

Taran Kozun was pulled in the third period of Saturday’s game.

    They were forced to dress two defencemen who are in the first year of U Sports eligibility in Cody Spagrud and Jeff Faith. Faith had been a forward for a large chunk of his hockey career.

    Playing with a beat up back end helped spell doom for the Huskies.

    Still, they were able to show some jump at the start of Saturday’s contest.

    The Huskies drew first blood scoring on the power play 3:57 into the first period. On a two-on-one rush, left-winger Collin Shirley came down the right wing and centred a pass to linemate Logan McVeigh, who gave the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    After that goal, it was all Cougars for the rest of the opening frame.

    Just nine seconds after McVeigh’s goal, Chris Gerrie potted the equalizer for the Cougars to even things at 1-1.

    Shortly past the midway point of the frame, Cougars right-winger Keegan Iverson send linemate Ryley Lindgren into the Huskies zone on a breakaway, and Lindgren snapped a shot past Huskies star goalie Taran Kozun to put the visitors up 2-1.

Cougars LW Connor Rankin knocks down Huskies LW Carson Stadnyk.

    The Cougars didn’t stop there.

    While working on the power play, Lindgren tipped home a point shot from defenceman Jamal Watson for his second goal of the contest to give the Cougars a 3-1 edge with 21.2 seconds to play in the opening frame.

    Things looked like they were going to get worse for the Huskies when second-year defenceman Gordie Ballhorn received a high sticking major and a game misconduct just 3:44 into the second period. Ballhorn got his stick up on Watson, who went down hurt but quickly returned for the ensuing power play.

    Due to the fact Watson recovered so fast, the chances of Ballhorn receiving a suspension over an automatic league review for his infraction should take a big drop.

Keegan Iverson piled up five assists for the Cougars on Saturday.

    Ballhorn’s departure further depleted the Huskies numbers and strength on the back end. Carter Folk, who is a third-year left-winger, often took shifts on defence after Ballhorn was ejected from the contest.

    As crazy as it sounds, the Huskies scored the only goal on the Cougars five-minute power play. 
    Right-winger Levi Cable broke down the right wing with the puck and sniped a shot top corner of the Mount Royal goal to cut the Cougars lead to 3-2.

    When it seemed the Huskies had weathered the storm and gained momentum, they were sent reeling by an unexpected bad bounce.

Levi Cable had a second period goal for the Huskies.

    Just 26 seconds into the third period, Iverson dumped the puck into the Huskies zone, and Kozun went behind his goal in an attempt to play it. The puck took a strange bounce off the boards ending up in the right slot on Gerrie’s stick.

    Kozun tripped trying to adjust to the sudden change in direction, but couldn’t prevent Gerrie from putting the puck into an open cage for a 4-2 Cougars lead.

    Connor Chartier scored at the 3:41 mark and Bradley Kennedy followed with a single at the 7:53 mark of the third to give the Cougars a 6-2 advantage.

    The Huskies elected to pull Kozun after Kennedy’s tally. Kozun stopped 18-of-24 shots sent his way.

    Travis Child played the rest of the third in relief stopping 5-of-6 shots sent in his direction.

    Lindgren completed his hat trick scoring with 90 seconds remaining in the third to round out the game’s final outcome. Iverson collected five assists on the night.

Chris Gerrie had two goals for the Cougars on Saturday.

    Riley Morris turned away 27 shots in goal for the Cougars.

    Saturday’s game was a delete the video type outing for the Huskies. They have to hope they will get some defencemen back off the injured list.

    At 0-2, their road doesn’t get any easier.

    The Huskies next two games are on the road in Edmonton, Alta., against their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears (2-0). The Golden Bears have won the last three straight Canada West titles beating the Huskies in the conference final to win each of those championships.

    The two sides go at it on Oct. 11 and 12.

    The Huskies could potentially be 0-4, when they return to Merlis for their next home game on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

    That is crazy to think about considering the Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 25-3 regular season record in 2018-19. The 25 wins they collected is a team record for most wins in one regular season.

The Cougars celebrate their victory and improving to 2-0 on Saturday.

    While it is early, the Huskies could find themselves in a constant battle trying to dig out of a big early hole for the rest of the 2019-20 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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Broncos big guns bust up Warriors in Game 4

Lindgren and Steenbergen combine for five goals in victory

The Broncos celebrate Ryley Lindgren’s first of three goals.

    SWIFT CURRENT – The Swift Current Broncos big guns proved to be too much for the Moose Jaw Warriors to handle.

    On Wednesday night before a raucous sellout crowd of 2,890 at the Credit Union i-Plex, overage centre Ryley Lindgren picked up a hat trick and winger Tyler Steenbergen potted a pair of goals to deliver the host Broncos to a 5-2 victory over the Warriors in Game 4 of a WHL first round playoff series. The win allowed the Broncos to even the best-of-seven set at 2-2 with Game 5 set for Friday at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

    “They’ve been really good,” said Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viverios. “They’ve been good for us all year.

Overage centre Ryley Lindgren was on fire for the Broncos.

    “The same with Moose Jaw. Their big guns have carried them all year, and they have been really good in this series also too.

    “It is not a surprise for us. They (Lindgren and Steenbergen) stepped up, when we needed them the most.”

    The Broncos stormed out of the gates on Wednesday with Lindgren scoring just 59 seconds into the contest on his team’s second shot of the game. The East St. Paul, Man., product added his second goal on his club’s third shot of the game just 64 seconds after his first tally to put the host up 2-0.

    The surge didn’t stop there. Steenbergen picked up his first of the contest at the 8:57 mark of the opening stanza to give the Broncos a 3-0 edge to put the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

Winger Tyler Steenbergen powered the Broncos side with a pair of goals.

    Lindgren said his side really wanted pressure Warriors star netminder Zach Sawchenko as much as possible on Wednesday.

    “Today, we really just focused on working hard and wanting it more than them,” said Lindgren. “I think we came out and really crashed the net.

    “That is what we wanted to do was throw pucks at his (Sawchenko’s) feet and get there. We had some good bounces today. The scoreboard showed that, and it was definitely nice to get the win at home here.”

    The Warriors didn’t go away as their star players also ensured they were heard from. Just 76 seconds into the second period, Warriors captain Brett Howden scored on a power play to cut the Swift Current lead to 3-1.

Broncos F Arthur Miller and Warriors G Zach Sawchenko lung for a puck.

    Just 69 seconds after that tally, Warriors defenceman Josh Brook drove a point blast home on another power-play opportunity to cut the Broncos edge to 3-2. Wingers Jayden Halbgewachs and Brayden Burke picked up assists on both Moose Jaw goals.

    The Warriors were unable to beat Broncos overage netminder Jordan Papirny from that point. He made 30 stops to pick up the win in goal.

    “They’ve been coming all series, and we’ve been pushing back,” said Lindgren. “I think it is just the way we responded today was unbelievable.

    “I’m so proud of the group we have here. Paps (Papirny) in net has been unbelievable for us. I am kind of speechless right now.”

    With 63 seconds to play in the third, Steenbergen muscled his way in to score an empty-net power-play goal to put the Broncos up 4-2.

Broncos defenceman Max Lajoie gets set to drive a shot on goal.

    Lindgren added his hat trick goal on another power-play chance with 14.8 seconds remaining in the third cement the 5-2 final. Defenceman Max Lajoie picked up assists on the final two Broncos goals.

    Sawchenko turned away 20-of-24 shots to take the loss in goal for Moose Jaw.

    Steenbergen was impressed with the support of the Swift Current faithful.

    “They were unbelievable,” said Steenbergen. “These two game they’ve been behind our backs the whole time.

    “We want to play for them. I’m sure they are going to be just as loud coming home waiting for Game 6 (on Saturday).”

    Going into Game 5 in Moose Jaw, Steenbergen said his Broncos have to keep up their physical play. The Broncos delivered a number of big bodychecks in Wednesday’s win.

    “We just have to keep hitting them,” said Steenbergen. “I think we are wearing them down a little bit.

    “If we keep doing that, we should come away with this series. Hopefully, we come back here for Game 6 up 3-2.”

Bus crash memorial a must see

The Swift Current Broncos bus crash memorial.

    For anyone that visits Swift Current, one of the sites that is a must see is the memorial for the Swift Current Broncos bus crash.

    On December 30, 1986, the Broncos had departed to Regina to face the Pats but never made to the Saskatchewan capital that day. Just east of Swift Current, the team’s bus crashed killing four players in Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff.

    I know for myself having covered the WHL for 18 seasons, I have met a number of people whose lives were impacted by this crash. A four leaf clover monument was placed on the site of the crash earlier this season, and it is perfect way to remember the four players who passed away that terrible day.

    When you are at the memorial itself, it is easy to get emotional.

    All those that made the creation of this memorial possible should be given high praise.

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

Blades caught between a rock and a hard place

Jesse Shynkaruk (#14) and the Blades are in tough to make playoffs now.

    It is crazy how things can change over the course of one weekend in the Western Hockey League.

    Entering play on Friday, the Saskatoon Blades held a three point lead in the standings over the Calgary Hitmen for eighth place overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and the conference’s final wildcard post-season spot. From that point, the Blades dropped two heartbreakers in a home-and-home series with the Swift Current Broncos (37-21-4-6), and the Hitmen rolled off three wins in a row, which included two huge upset victories over the Lethbridge Hurricanes (43-19-4-3).

    As of Monday, the Blades and Hitmen both have three games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. The Hitmen (28-31-8-2) lead the Blades (27-33-7-2) by three points for eighth overall in the Eastern Conference and the conference’s final wildcard playoff berth.

    It should also be noted the Red Deer Rebels could still potentially be passed in the standings by both the Hitmen and Blades. The Rebels have four games remaining on their regular season schedule, and they sit two points up on the Hitmen and five points ahead of the Blades in the standings with a 28-28-8-4 record.

    At this moment, Red Deer needs to earn just two more standings points to clinch a playoff spot, and the Hitmen need to collect four points in the standings to lock up a playoff berth.

    The Blades likely face the hardest road over this last stretch. On Tuesday, they travel to Regina to face the WHL leading Pats (48-12-7-1) at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The Pats need to earn two more points in the standings to officially lock up first overall in the league and win the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions. The Pats haven’t finished first overall since the 1973-74 campaign, when they last won the Memorial Cup.

Jackson Caller and the Blades will compete hard to the end.

    Following that clash with the Pats, the Blades close their schedule with a home-and-home series with the Prince Albert Raiders (19-43-5-2). The two clubs play Friday at 7 p.m. in Saskatoon and Saturday at 7 p.m. in Prince Albert.

    Looking at the standings, those clashes appear to be winnable games, but the Raiders have been playing well down the stretch and are 11-9-2 in their last 22 outings. The Raiders and their fans would love nothing better than to knock the Blades out of the post-season picture for a fourth straight year.

    Red Deer travels to Medicine Hat on Tuesday to face the Tigers (49-19-1), who recently locked up first in the Central Division. On Wednesday, the Rebels return home to host the Hitmen.

    Following that contest, Red Deer finishes its season with a home-and-home series with the Edmonton Oil Kings (20-43-5-1). The teams play Saturday in Red Deer and Sunday in Edmonton.

    The Oil Kings have been hapless since returning from the WHL Christmas break and their last win came Feb. 15, when they downed the visiting Kootenay Ice 3-2 in overtime at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

    As for the Hitmen, their road game on Wednesday against the Rebels is the hardest contest remaining on their schedule. Calgary closes its season with a home-and-home series with the Ice (14-43-9-2). The two clubs play Friday in Cranbrook, B.C., and Saturday in Calgary.

    The Ice are trying to avoid finishing last in the WHL standings for a second straight season after having made the playoffs for 17 consecutive campaigns. Kootenay has shown a little more fight than Edmonton but has been very lacklustre the past two weeks.

    Had the Blades been able to get a split with the Broncos, their chances of capturing a playoff berth would have improve immensely. 

Markson Bechtold (#19) has given the Blades more of a physical edge.

    Last Saturday’s 3-2 loss in the Swift Current hurt the worst. Both clubs were tied 2-2 going into the final minute of the third, when Ryley Lindgren netted the winner for the Broncos. If the Blades had been able to capture a point, there chances to make the post-season would have been better.

    Going into last Friday, the Blades were in a position to control their own destiny, because they would have made playoffs if they could win the remaining five regular season games on their schedule at that point. Now, they need to win out and hope for help that might not come.

    Saskatoon’s best chance for a post-season berth might come via a standings tiebreaker game, if a tie occurs with either Calgary or Red Deer. That might be too much to ask for at this point.

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

Broncos’ Steenbergen crushes Raiders hopes of victory

Winger’s 47^th goal in final minute lifts Swift Current past P.A.

Raiders G Nicholas Sanders shuts the door on Broncos C Lane Pederson.

    PRINCE ALBERT - Tyler Steenbergen’s 47^th goal of the season drove a dagger into a spirited effort by the Prince Albert Raiders.

    Entering play on Tuesday, the Raiders, who have one of the younger rosters in the WHL, sat second last in the league, but they have been on an upswing posting a 10-7-2 record in their previous 19 games. Steenbergen’s Swift Current Broncos had a playoff spot already locked up and were looking to solidify their positioning in the standings.

    In a tightly contest affair at the Art Hauser Centre, the Broncos and Raiders entered the final minute of the third period locked in a 2-2 draw. At that point, Steenbergen broke into the Prince Albert zone and ripped home the winning goal for the visitors top corner glove side on Raiders netminder Ian Scott with 57.9 seconds to play in the frame.

Tyler Steenbergen potted the winning goal for the Broncos.

    Overage winger Ryley Lindgren added an empty-net tally with 17.5 seconds to play to cement a 4-2 win for the Broncos before an announced crowd of 1,886 spectators.

    While the Raiders won’t be part of the WHL playoff picture, Steenbergen said his Broncos spoke about not taking the Prince Albert side lightly.

    “We know they are out of it, but we know they are going to work their hardest to be spoilers,” said Steenbergen. “We knew that coming in.

    “They have been on a little bit of a roll lately, so we wanted to come out hard and play them physical. We know they are a physical team. We pushed back, and we got the outcome we wanted.”

    Steenbergen was both relieved and pumped to net the winning goal.

    “It was awesome,” said Steenbergen. “I had a couple of changes earlier in the game and didn’t quite go in for me.

    “Getting the win in this point in the year that is all we need. Now, we want to clinch that third place spot, so getting that win in regulation was huge for us.”

Parker Kelly scored twice on Tuesday for the Raiders.

    The win allowed the Broncos, who have won five straight, to improve to 35-20-4-5. They sit 12 points ahead of the idle Brandon Wheat Kings (29-27-7-3) for third place in the East Division with a game in hand. Swift Current needs to earn just one more point in the standings to lock up a third place finish.

    In Tuesday’s game, sophomore winger Parker Kelly scored at the 8:57 mark of the opening frame to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
    The hosts appeared to go ahead 2-0 crashing into the Swift Current net, but a goal from centre Sean Montgomery was waived due to the officials ruling the puck was kicked in.

    Before the opening frame ended, standout centre Lane Pederson netted his 20^th goal of the season for the Broncos to force a 1-1 tie.

    After a scoreless second, the Broncos went ahead 2-1 just pass the midway point of the third, when winger Kaden Elder one-timed home a shot.
    The edge held up for less than three minutes as Kelly potted his second of the contest to force a 2-2 tie. That set the stage for the dramatics in the final minute.

Ian Scott stops a high shot for the Raiders.

    Scott turned away 30-of-33 shots taking the loss in goal for the Raiders, who fell to 18-42-5-2. Backup Nicholas Sanders turned away two shots during a short appearance in the first period, when Scott left the contest to get an equipment issue fixed.

    Jordan Papirny, who was acquired in a trade earlier this season with the Wheat Kings, turned away 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos.

    Steenbergen is having a huge season for the Broncos leading the team in scoring with 47 goals and 35 assists.
    The Sylvan Lake, Alta., product said he has received a lot of help in piling up the points.

    “I’ve been getting a lot of good chances,” said Steenbergen. “I have to give credit to my teammates.

    “I am playing with some great players right now in Lindy (Lindgren) and Gawdz (Glenn Gawdin). Before, I played with Hepo (Aleksi Heponiemi) and Peedy (Pederson) too and Elds (Kaden Elder) even.

    “I am playing with great players and they are getting me the puck. I’ve been fortunate enough to put the puck in the net this year.”

    The Broncos appeared destined to face the Moose Jaw Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Broncos celebrate their win on Tuesday.

    With Papirny having backstopped the Wheat Kings to a WHL title last year, Steenbergen believes his Broncos can make some noise in the post-season, which is about three weeks away.

    “I think we can surprise some people,” said Steenbergen. “We are going to do some damage against Moose Jaw, and hopefully, we keep that up in the second round if we get past Moose Jaw.”

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

Lindgren lifts Hurricanes in OT

The Lethbridge Hurricanes celebrate their OT win in Medicine Hat.

    MEDICINE HAT - The surprising Lethbridge Hurricanes picked up where they left off in their first game after the WHL Christmas break.

    At the 2:23 mark of overtime, veteran centre Ryley Lindgren potted his second goal of the night to deliver the Hurricanes to a 5-4 victory over the host Medicine Hat Tigers before 5,032 spectators at the Canalta Centre on Sunday. The win allows the Hurricanes, who have missed the post-season for six straight years, to remain first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 25-11 record.

    The Tigers, whose record moved to 12-19-3-1, almost pulled off a huge upset rallying from being down 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 to force overtime. Moments before Lindgren scored, the Tigers looked like they were going to pick up the winner on a two-on-one break.

Ryley Lindgren was the Hurricanes OT hero.

    Medicine Hat winger Max Gerlach appeared to have an open cage to shoot at after receiving a pass from across the face of the Lethbridge goal, but Hurricanes netminder Jayden Sittler slide across the crease to make a huge highlight robbery save.

    Giorgio Estephan scored twice in regulation for the Hurricanes, who received a single from Justin Gutierrez. Gerlach, Cole Sanford, Mark Rassell and Matt Bradley replied with singles for the Tigers. Bradley tied the contest up at 4-4 with 5:20 to play in the third period.

    Sittler made 27 saves in goal for the Hurricanes, while Nick Schneider turned aside 33 shots in goal for the Tigers. The Tigers and Hurricanes will go at it again on Tuesday in Lethbridge.

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