Raiders’ Allan brings boom at finish of hockey season

Nolan Allan in action for the Raiders in 2019-20.

Nolan Allan finished his hockey season with a bang.

On Thursday, the Davidson, Sask., product, who turned 18-years-old in late April, completed his 2020-21 campaign playing defence for Canada in the gold medal game against Russia at the men’s under-18 world hockey championships in Frisco, Texas.

Just under two minutes into that contest, Allan made the first head turning play hammering Russian captain Nikita Chibrikov into the Canadian bench. Canada would win the contest 5-3 to capture their first goal medal at the under-18 worlds since 2013.

Allan’s hit made numerous highlight reels and the still photograph of the collision showed up on various social media accounts. It was arguably the most talked about play from the game that didn’t feature Canada’s 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard.

Bedard did score Canada’s first goal and assisted on the fifth tally in the victory.

Allan’s hit and gold medal win provided a sweet cap to a unique hockey campaign. It was a campaign that provided an opportunity for Allan to experience sizable growth.

In 2019-20, Allan, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 189 pounds, had a sound 16-year-old rookie season with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. He appeared in 58 regular season games posting two goals, six assists and a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department before the campaign was permanently halted in March of 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

In November of 2019, Allan took part in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held jointly in Swift Current, Sask., and Medicine Hat, Alta., picking up an assist in five games with Team Canada Red.

Due to government restrictions that were brought in to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Allan didn’t have a clear roadmap on how the 2020-21 hockey campaign would unfold.

NOLAN ALLAN LAYS THE BOOM EARLY. 🇨🇦 #U18Worlds pic.twitter.com/jOpNcYrq7x

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 7, 2021

The alumnus of the Saskatoon Blazers Under-18 AAA Hockey Team started the 2020-21 season playing in the junior A ranks with the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League via a loan agreement with the Raiders.

Allan had two goals and three assists in five games with the Ice Wolves before the SJHL campaign was put on ice late this past November due to increased government restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

From that point, he spent much of his time training back home in Davidson to hopefully get ready for some sort of WHL campaign.

Eventually, the dust settled where the WHL was able to get back into action with divisional play with a shortened regular season held for developmental purposes.

Allan’s Raiders would join the WHL’s four other Saskatchewan representatives in the Moose Jaw Warriors, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos along with the two Manitoba clubs in the Brandon Wheat Kings and Winnipeg Ice in an East Division bubble.

Nolan Allan logged a lot of minutes on defence for the Raiders.

Each club in the East Division bubble would complete a 24-game regular season playing all contests at the Brandt Centre in Regina in the months of March and April. Teams would stay at the dorms at the University of Regina and Luther College, which is on the grounds of the U of R campus.

When the Raiders lost captain and star defenceman Kaiden Guhle to a season ending hand injury in their second contest and dealt with a number of other minor injuries throughout that campaign, Allan found himself logging a lot more minutes than he normally would have.

He focused on controlling the action in the defensive zone. Allan appeared in 16 games in the Regina bubble posting one goal, one assist and a minus-three rating before departing to play for Canada.

The Raiders finished fourth in the East Division with a 9-11-3-1 record.

With Canada’s under-18 team, Allan joined forces with two Regina bubble foes in Bedard, who had 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus nine rating in 15 games with the Regina Pats, and 16-year-old defenceman Denton Mateychuk, who had two goals, seven assists and a minus-eight rating in 16 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

In the seven games Canada played at the under-18 worlds in Frisco and Plano, Texas, Allan had a strong tournament anchoring the back end for Canada posting one goal, one assist and a plus-seven rating.

The hit on Chibrikov in the gold medal contest will go down as Allan’s signature play from that event.

As far as the number of games played goes, Allan’s season was nowhere as long as it would have normally been, but he got a tonne of quality experience in the contests he did play.

The experience he gained should serve him well in the future.

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Canada West intends to return in 2021-22, other notes

The Huskies football team takes the field for a game in 2019.

The Canada West Conference will try to play a campaign in 2021-22.

The conference, which plays under the U Sports umbrella, had all member institutions affirm their commitment to return to play at a virtual Canada West annual general meeting held this past Tuesday and Wednesday. The Canada West Conference includes the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Regina athletics programs.

Canada West wasn’t able to hold a season in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world. Government and individual university institutional restrictions in a lot of cases prevented programs from training together at various points in time.

Before the 2020-21 campaign was called off, Canada West was hoping to get its various sports back in action with modified regular seasons and possible post-season play.

The conference is once again looking at modified formats for the upcoming 2021-22 regular season, which will include a greater emphasis on regional play wherever possible.

In a release that was sent out on Wednesday, Canada West said the alternative formats may require further adjustments which will be addressed as permissions and approvals for return to competition are known.

The conference’s member programs will still need to receive permission to return to sport competition from their institutions and clearance from the health authorities in their respective provinces.

At the moment, the conference’s football league that contains six teams will each play six regular season games. The teams will play each other once along with one more additional game.

The top four teams advance to playoffs, where the semifinals and Hardy Cup conference championship game would be played like normal.

For the men’s and women’s hockey leagues that contain nine teams each, each team is slated to play a 20-game regular season. The top six teams advance to the post-season and the quarter-final, semifinal and championship rounds are slated to be played in best-of-three formats like they would in any normal campaign.

The Canada West release on the conference’s return to play plans can be found by clicking right here.

• On Friday, Lacrosse Canada canceled nine of its 2021 national championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The minor box lacrosse nationals for under-12, under-14 and under-17 boys and under-14 and under-17 girls have been cancelled. The Founders’ Cup Junior B National Championship has been cancelled. The field lacrosse nationals for under-15 boys, under-18 men’s and senior men’s were also cancelled.
• I was in the pages of the Your Saskatoon News monthly publication with a story on star hockey playing sisters Sophie and Grace Shirley, who are both alums of the Saskatoon Stars Female Under-18 AAA Team. The Shirleys talked about their experiences this past season helping the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team win a sixth NCAA title. The story on the Shirleys can be found by clicking right here.
• Greg Harder is no longer the Regina Leader-Post’s beat writer that covers the WHL’s Regina Pats. Harder has been promoted to be that publication’s arts and features editor. Harder joined the Leader-Post sports department in 1998. He took on duties as the Pats beat writer before the start of the 2000-01 campaign. He performed those duties with great distinction. With the way the media is these days in Canada, it is unlikely the Leader-Post will replace Harder in the sports department. He was one of the few mainstream media outlet beat writers that was still on the WHL circuit. Long time Leader-Post sports scribe Rob Vanstone penned a tribute piece on Harder’s time in the Leader-Post sports department that can be found right here.
• On Friday, paNOW.com ran a great story on one of the top behind the scenes guys on the WHL’s circuit in Prince Albert Raiders manager of team services Kim Jackson. Jackson fills numerous roles in the Raiders organization. The piece on Jackson written by Jeff D’Andrea can be found by clicking right here.
• University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team forward Collin Shirley is currently playing in the ECHL with the Allen Americans. He had a goal in his first five games. Shirley still has two seasons of eligibility left to use with the Huskies.
• Prince Albert Raiders right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt and Saskatoon Blades centre Tristen Robins are both with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda now that the seasons of their respective WHL teams have come to an end.
• Tickets are on sale for the May jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. The draw date will be May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Thursday, the Medicine Hat Tigers finished their developmental WHL regular season falling 3-0 at home to the Edmonton Oil Kings at Co-Op Place. The Tigers hit the ice for 23 games posting a 14-8-0-1 record. With the season coming to a conclusion for the Tigers, Bob Ridley, who has been the franchises only play-by-play voice since the modern version of the team hit the ice in 1970-71, has called 4,021 of the clubs 4,022 games. Ridley’s total includes 3,589 of the 3,590 games the Tigers played in the regular season, one standings tiebreaker game, 411 games in the WHL playoffs and 20 contests in the Memorial Cup tournament. If you called 80 games a season for 50 seasons, you would still fall short of Ridley’s total for games called. Ridley has called the most games as the play-by-play voice of one hockey team at all levels of the sport.

Following the final game last night, the Tigers Willie D. His coaching staff and players presented me with this motorcyle helmet commemorating my 50 plus years broadcasting Tiger hockey. What a tremors honor . An awesome group to be a small part of. pic.twitter.com/NRe7B0hqbV

— Bob Ridley (@BobRidley_CHAT) May 7, 2021

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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Wildcats stand in Stars return road to Esso Cup

The Stars aim to build off their latest SFMAAAHL title win.

    Only one more obstacle stands in the Saskatoon Stars way of returning to the Esso Cup.

    On Friday, the Stars will begin a best-of-three Western regional playdown series against the Hartney, Man., based Westman Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. Game 2 of the series is slated for 3:45 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, Game 3 will be held on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. at Merlis.

    The winner of the series advanced to the Esso Cup female midget AAA national hockey championship tournament, which runs April 21 to 27 in Sudbury, Ont.

    The Stars posted a 27-1 regular season record in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League and went on to capture their fourth league title in the last five years. They advanced to the gold medal game of last year’s Esso Cup falling 2-1 to the Alberta based St. Albert Slash, who claimed the national crown for a second straight year.

    The Wildcats topped the regular season standings of the Manitoba Female Midget AAA Hockey League with a 21-5-2 record before advancing on to win the league crown. They also won the inaugural Esso Cup title back in 2009.

    The Stars will enter the series as favourites due to carrying a roster that contains players that have loads of post-season experience blended in with some talented rookies and second-year players.

Ashley Messier has had an outstanding season on the Stars blue-line.

    Grace Shirley, who is the Stars outstanding 17-year-old captain, led the team in regular season scoring with 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points. She was the second leading scorer in the SFMAAAHL.

    Shirley was on the Stars roster in their three previous visits to the Esso Cup in 2015, 2016 and last season. She played in the 2015 tournament as an associate player call up.

    Kaitlin Jockims, who is another standout 17-year-old forward, finished second in Stars team scoring with 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points. All of those totals were career highs for Jockims.

    Anna Leschyshyn was third in team scoring with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points and is also looking to graduate from the midget AAA ranks after this season on a high note.

    Joelle Fiala, who is also playing her final midget AAA season, was fourth in team scoring with 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points.

    The Stars have a strong defensive unit that can get things done offensively as well. Ashley Messier, who just turned 17-years-old in late March, led all Stars defenders in regular season scoring with career highs in goals (five), assists (27) and points (32).

    Chace Sperling, who turned 17-years-old in January, had a breakout year on the back end posting career highs in regular season play in goals (eight), assists (12) and points (20).

    In goal, the Stars will likely turn to steady third-year veteran Arden Kliewer. Kliewer, who turned 17-years-old in February, was outstanding in the regular season posting a 16-0 record, a 1.21 goals against average, a .941 save percentage and seven shutouts.

Arden Kliewer has been stellar in goal for the Stars.

    For the Wildcats, their two most dynamic scorers are Alisha O’Hara and Paige Hubbard. O’Hara, who is in her final season of midget AAA eligibility, led the Wildcats in scoring with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points.
    Hubbard, who is also in her final midget AAA campaign, was second in Wildcats team scoring with 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points.

    Defender Jori Hansen-Young quarterbacks the power play leading all Wildcats blue-liners in scoring with four goals and 13 assists.

    In goal, 15-year-old Natalie Williamson carried the bulk of the workload in the playoffs for the Wildcats. In 12 regular season appearances, Williamson posted a 9-2-1 record, a 1.73 goals against average, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts.

    Way back in 2009, the Wildcats swept the first ever Western regional playdown series against the Prince Albert Northern Bears 2-0. A Manitoba champion hasn’t won that series since 2012, when the Morden-based Pembina Valley Hawks swept the Notre Dame Hounds 2-0 and moved on to capture the Esso Cup.

    Last year, the Stars swept away the Eastman Selects in Steinbach, Man., 2-0.

Blazers had a great run

Nolan Allan had an outstanding season for the Blazers.

    The Saskatoon Blazers are likely still feeling some lingering disappointments, but they had a great run in 2018-19.

    Last Friday, the Blazers saw their season come to an end, when they fell 4-1 in Game 4 of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League Championship series to the Notre Dame Hounds at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox, Sask. Notre Dame took the best-of-five series 3-1.

    The Hounds won the SMAAAHL title for the second straight year and are hoping to win the Telus Cup midget AAA national title for a second straight year too.
    Notre Dame heads to the four team Telus Cup Western Regionals tournament that starts Thursday and runs to Sunday in Tisdale, Sask. The winner advances to the Telus Cup, which runs April 22 to 28 in Thunder Bay, Ont.

    Last Friday, the Blazers and Hounds were locked in a 1-1 after two periods before the Hounds closed the contest out with three goals in the third.

    Trey Funk scored for Notre Dame in the first period and Keenan Allan replied for the Blazers in the second frame.

    In the third, Maxwell Joy and Coalson Wolford put the Hounds up 3-1, and Cam Recchi sealed the win with an empty-net goal inside of the final 30 seconds of the third.

    Thomas Wardle made 18 saves in goal for the Hounds. Matthew Pesenti turned away 20-of-23 shots in goal for the Blazers.

    The Blazers finished third in the SMAAAHL regular season with a 31-10-3 record, while the Hounds were fourth with a 28-12-2-2 mark.
    The campaign was an outstanding one for the Blazers, who finished five points behind the Regina Pat Canadians for first place in the regular season.

Rhett Gibson sets to fire a shot on goal for the Blazers.

    Nolan Allan, who was a 15-year-old rookie with the Blazers, was named the top defenceman of the SMAAAHL and a first team all-star. Having been selected in the first round and third overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders, Allan will likely make the jump to the WHL club next season.

    He had 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points in 39 regular season games with the Blazers. Allan appeared in seven regular season games with the Raiders collecting one assist.

    Cole Nagy, who is 17-year-old forward with the Blazers, was named a first team SMAAAHL all-star, while 15-year-old rookie netminder Brett Mirwald was a second team SMAAAHL all-star.

    Due to the fact most SMAAAHL rosters experience almost a 70 per cent turnover from year to year with players moving to the major junior and junior A ranks, the Blazers are far from guaranteed from having a follow up stellar campaign next season.

    With that said, those that were part of the Blazers team this season made memories they will never forget.

Labach is “the queen” of the Huskies

Julie Labach won two major Huskies awards.

    Track star Julie Labach has to take the title as “the queen” of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    Last Friday at the Huskie Salute held at TCU Place, Labach, who stands 5-foot-7, completed a fifth and final season with the Huskies being named the winner of the Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the program’s female athlete of the year for a second straight year. The 22-year-old also claimed the Valerie Gisberger Award as the top female all-around athlete combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.

    To say Labach had a sensational year might actually be an understatement. She had a season that was beyond a dream.

    Labach was named U Sports female track athlete of the year. At U Sports nationals, Labach won gold in women’s 1,000-metre race and added silver in the women’s 600-metre race. She was also a member of the Huskies 4 X 400 women’s relay team that capture gold.

    At the Canada West Conference championships, Labach won gold in the women’s 600 and 1,000 metre races and helped the Huskies women’s team capture the team conference championship.

    In the classroom, Labach was named an academic all-Canadian in her first four seasons with the Huskies. She is currently completing her first year of studies in law school.

    Actually, Labach is so gifted and outstanding that we would all be fortune to work for her or be her “yes person” in the future. She is pretty personable and modest, so you have to like her when you meet her.

Julie Labach had a dream final U Sports season.

    Labach became the first double winner of the all-around and athlete of the year awards since former wrestler Daniel Olver pulled of the same feat on the men’s side in 2011.

    These days, Olver is the head coach of both Huskies wrestling teams, and he was named the winner of the Colb McEwon Trophy as the coach of the year for the Huskies program. Olver guided the Huskies women’s wrestling team to a Canada West title and a second place finish at U Sports nationals.

    He also took home honours as the Canada West and U Sports coach of the year in women’s wrestling.

    Midfielder Payton Izsak of the Huskies women’s soccer team won the Patricia Lawson Trophy as the Huskies female rookie of the year.

    Sophomore netminder Taran Kozun of the Huskies men’s hockey team claimed the E. Kent Phillps Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.

    Kyle Siemens, who was the fifth-year quarterback of the Huskies football team, took home the Rusty MacDonald Cup as the top male all-around athlete combining excellence in the classroom and in athletics.

    Logan Sloan of the Huskies men’s wrestling team captured the Howard Nixon Trophy as the program’s male athlete of the year.

    Brianna Antonichuk and Melinda Ardagh were both winners of the Dr. Walter Hader Student Trainer of the Year Award.

CWHL’s demise leaves a big hole

This morning we were informed the #CWHL is folding. As players, we will do our best to find a solution so this isn’t our last season of hockey but it’s hard to remain optimistic. #NoLeague

— Kaitlin Willoughby (@willowtree92) March 31, 2019

    One of the surprising news stories of the week occurred on Sunday, when the Canadian Women’s Hockey League announced it will be folding on May 1 after 12 seasons of existence.

    The circuit first hit the ice in 2007 creating a new professional league for women’s hockey.

    The announcement to fold seemed to shock everyone involved with women’s hockey.

    On Tuesday, the National Women’s Hockey League, which is based in the United States, announced plans to expand to Toronto and Montreal for the start of next season. The possibility that the NWHL could add more expansion teams wasn’t ruled out.

    The CWHL had four teams in Canada, one in Worcester, Massachusetts and one in Shenzhen, China. It is uncertain if any of these franchises will resurface in another league.

    Here is hoping that the void can be filled that the demise of the CWHL will leave.

    In its final season existence, the CWHL provided a great opportunity to Kaitlin Willoughby, who is a forward from Prince Albert, Sask., originally hailing from Canwood, Sask.

    Willoughby, who turned 24-years-old in late March, starred for five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team becoming the program’s second all-time leading scorer posting 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games.

    From 2008 to 2013, she appeared in 96 regular season games with the Prince Albert Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League piling up 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points.

    When her midget AAA career finished, Willoughby was viewed as a good player, but she wasn’t declared a phenom that was on Hockey Canada’s radar.

    During her university career, Willoughby continued to improve and blew past a larger number of players that put up more points than she did or were viewed as better than her in midget AAA.

    Hockey Canada took notice, and Willoughby earned a spot on Canada’s women’s team that won silver at the FISU Winter Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2017.

    She was invited out to Hockey Canada summer development camps for three straight years from 2016 to 2018. Last September, Willoughby was one of 59 players invited to Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team’s Fall Festival in Dawson Creek, B.C.

    That camp is used to evaluate and develop Canada’s top female players and players can earn a chance to play on Canada’s Senior National Women’s team from that camp.

    During each of those points, Willoughby earned an invite from her accomplishments with the Huskies. At the Fall Festival, it could be argued that Willoughby was just there to be a camp body, but she managed to create a bigger blip on the radar for herself.

    If the CWHL didn’t exist at that point, it was possible Willoughby’s career as a competitive hockey player could have been done there.

    She suited up for the Calgary Inferno and played with and against the top women’s players in the world including senior national team members from Canada, the United States and a few countries in Europe.

    Willoughby had a goal and five assists in 27 regular season games with the Inferno and played in their 5-2 victory in the Clarkson Cup final on March 24 over Les Canadiennes de Montreal in Toronto, Ont. While her point total was modest, she showed off her athletic ability including her great speed that allowed her to pull away from players even at that level.

    Willoughby learned the ins and outs of playing with top level players, where you have to get to spots on the ice and the puck will be on the tape of your stick. She performed well enough that there was talk of having her play further up the Inferno’s lineup.

    A player like Willoughby is still improving, and you still wonder how good she could actually be. She has played well enough that if you cut her the person that makes that cut likely goes home and feels sick all night over that decision.

    Willoughby might play for Canada’s Senior National Women’s Hockey team and might play in a Winter Olympics one day. If she doesn’t have a league like the CWHL to play and improve in, all of a sudden she doesn’t have the vehicle that will give her the opportunity to reach her full potential.

    She also skated again for Canada in the last FISU Winter Universiade that recently wrapped up as the captain of the women’s hockey team in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. On March 11, Willoughby led Canada to the gold medal game, where they lost a 2-0 heartbreaker to the host Russian side.

    If there isn’t that professional option, it lessens the chance for female players that have their biggest improvement curves after high school to get on the radar of Hockey Canada. You have to hope you go to camp for or make Canada’s under-18 women’s team to get on that radar.

    While there is uncertainty in the women’s professional game, hopefully something works out to keep the players that were on the six CWHL clubs playing. It would be unfortunate to tell someone like Willoughby the time has come to pack it in after all the strides forward she has made.

    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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Expect Blazers to battle to bitter end in SMAAAHL final

Rhett Gibson breaks in on a scoring chance for the Blazers.

    Don’t expect the Saskatoon Blazers to let a special season die easily.

    On Wednesday at the Rod Hamm Memorial Arena, the Blazers fought tooth and nail to try and claim a pivotal Game 3 of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League championship series against the Notre Dame Hounds. Locked in a 2-2 tie after 40 minutes of play, Hounds 15-year-old defenceman Maxwell Joy scored the only goal of the third period to deliver the visitors to a 3-2 victory.

    With that result, the Hounds took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. They will be looking to close things out on Friday, when the two sides meet in Game 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox.

    For the Blazers, the setback in Wednesday was a tough one to take. They took Game 1 of the SMAAAHL title series last Saturday at home 3-0. The Hounds rebounded to take Game 2 with a thrilling 3-2 double overtime result in Wilcox.

Max Gudnason (#25) had a goal for the Blazers on Wednesday.

    The Blazers will be facing their third elimination game of the post-season. Of course, they won the first two way back in the first round with victories in Games 4 and 5 to take their best-of-five set with the rival Prince Albert Mintos 3-2.

    The Blazers had a strong regular season posting a 31-10-3 regular season record to finish third overall in the league. They finished five points in the standings behind the first place Regina Pat Canadians.

    The Pat Canadians fell to the Hounds in a series deciding Game 5 in the semifinal round.

Nolan Allan has been a force on the blue-line for the Blazers.

    The Hounds, who are the defending SMAAAHL champions, finished fourth overall in the league’s regular season standings with a 28-12-2-2 mark.

    While the Blazers have had a strong season, they have encountered adversity points. Any time an adversity point hits, they face it head on.

    Saskatoon appeared to be poised to top the SMAAAHL standings. Weather literally wreaked havoc on their late season schedule resulting in postponements of three games.

    As a result, the Blazers had a roller-coaster final seven games of the regular season winning three times, falling three times in regulation and falling once in overtime.

    The overtime loss closed their regular season schedule on Feb. 27 at Rod Hamm, when the Pat Canadians posted a 3-2 win with star forward Cole Sillinger scoring the winner while short-handed.

    After falling behind the Mintos 2-1 in the first round, the Blazers rallied to take that series 3-2.

    In a best-of-five semifinal series, they downed the Tisdale Trojans in four games.

The Blazers celebrate a goal from Hayden Wilm on Wednesday.

    Even on Wednesday, it seemed the Blazers would find a way to win.

    The Hounds went ahead 1-0 at the 4:26 mark on a goal by star forward Coalson Wolford. Less than two minutes later, the Blazers tied things up at 1-1 with a short-handed goal coming from the stick of veteran forward Max Gudnason.

    Forward Drew Englot put the Hounds back on top 2-1 near the midway point of the second.

    The Blazers battled back with a power-play goal from rookie forward Hayden Wilm with 3:57 remaining in the second.

    Joy scored his winner at the 5:48 mark of the third. While the Blazers had the puck for the majority of the time for the rest of the third, their shots on goal were limited due to the defensive work of the Hounds, who trapped up the centre ice zone efficiently.

Cole Nagy played a physical game for the Blazers on Wednesday.

    Matthew Pesenti turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blazers. Thomas Wardle had an outstanding game making 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hounds.

    The Blazers had great efforts from a number of their standouts. The most noticeable was 15-year-old rookie offensive defenceman Nolan Allan, who was selected in the first round and third overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft by the Prince Albert Raiders.

    Allan was a force at both ends of the ice, and he had serious control of the play, when he had the puck. He has six goals and 15 assists in the Blazers 12 playoff games after posting 12 goals and 23 assists in 39 regular season games.

    Veteran 17-year-old forward Cole Nagy played a physical game. He topped the Blazers in regular season scoring with 26 goals and 39 assists appearing in all the team’s 44 regular season games.

    Forward Josh Nagy had dangerous moments in the offensive zone.

Keenan Allan breaks into the offensive zone for the Blazers.

    He finished second in Blazers regular season scoring with 21 goals and 27 assists in 43 regular season games.
    Sophomore forward Carter Stebbings flowed to smart areas on the ice. He had 13 goals and 32 assists appearing in all of the Blazers 44 regular season games.

    Speedy Rhett Gibson brought a lot of energy to the contest. In 38 regular season games he had 17 goals and 21 assists.

    Head coach Scott Scissons always seems to find a way to help the Blazers hit another gear.

    Overall, the heart of this Saskatoon side can never be questioned. It always shows through.

Head coach Scott Scissons and the Blazers aim to force a Game 5 on Sunday.

    The Blazers have their backs to the wall, but they are far from finished in the SMAAAHL final. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them return home to host a series deciding Game 5 this coming Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Rod Hamm.

    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, Stars, Blazers and Contacts get kicks from “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon”

Stars C Joelle Fiala celebrates a playoff game winner in Prince Albert.

    Saskatoon Stars centre Joelle Fiala was ready to take out the music man in Prince Albert.

    That was before she became one of the Stars star players.

    About six to seven years ago, Joelle was in Prince Albert watching older brother, Evan, play for the Saskatoon Contacts in a Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League game as they took on the host Mintos at the Art Hauser Centre. Evan would later become the captain of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.

    As for the encounter years back in midget AAA, the Mintos won the game, and The Guess Who’s “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” blared over the rink’s sound system. In Prince Albert, that tune is the victory song that gets played every time a team from “Hockey Town North” beats a club that hails from “the Bridge City.”

    Joelle, who was around age 11 at that time, wasn’t impressed.

Evan Fiala heard the P.A. song tradition with two teams.

    “When I was younger, I would go to Evan’s games and be hearing that when he was playing midget, and it makes me mad as a sister watching my brother,” said Joelle. “Being a player and hearing it, the first time it is like, “Ah, what the heck.”

    “I think it just gives us more motivation. It is something to kind of joke about.

    “You only really think about it when it is playing. It is not really something that hangs over your shoulder.”

    For at least a decade or more, “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” has played in the Art Hauser Centre when the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders beat the Saskatoon Blades, the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League’s Prince Albert Northern Bears down the Stars and the SMAAAHL’s Mintos defeat the Contacts or the Saskatoon Blazers.

    It is believed the tradition started when Dennis Ogrodnick, who is now a retired teacher from Prince Albert’s St. Mary High School, became the music man for the Raiders, Bears and Mintos. 

Cole Fonstad (#24) enjoys an empty-net goal last Dec. 28 against the Blades.

    A few times following home ice victories by Prince Albert teams over Saskatoon squads, Ogrodnick will write a post on Twitter saying the “Hockey Town North” side that won sent their respective “Toon Town” opponent “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.”

Raiders break a franchise record scoring 3 goals in 16 seconds and send the Blades “running back to Saskatoon.” pic.twitter.com/dFXSRyobJP

— Dennis Ogrodnick (@OgrodnickDennis) October 1, 2018

    The tradition of playing this song from The Guess Who is synonymous with WHL games between the Raiders and Blades.

    This season on Dec. 28, 2018, the Raiders faced the Blades before a season high crowd of 3,130 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. With 9.1 seconds remaining in the third period, Raiders star left-winger Cole Fonstad scored into an empty net to seal a 4-2 victory for the host side.

The Raiders and Blades have an intense rivalry.

    When the empty-net goal was scored, “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” was played as the goal song instead of Raiders standard goal song in Dion’s “Runaround Sue” to the most excited cheers of the night from the crowd.

    After the clock ticked to zero, “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” again blared through the sound system and the fans in the two sections nearest the Blades bench were singing that tune at the Saskatoon players, coaches and staff as they departed to the dressing room.

    The tradition made former longtime Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken dislike the song.

    As for current first year Blades head coach Mitch Love, he hasn’t placed any extra significance on that Prince Albert tradition.

The P.A. song tradition doesn’t bother Blades HC Mitch Love.

    “I’ll be honest I don’t know if myself or any of the guys pay any attention to that,” said Love. “It is probably more of a fan based thing for them up there, a quirky thing that they do in terms of celebrating victory.

    “You know, good on them I guess.”

    Offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson, who was acquired by the Blades in a trade with the Regina Pats on Jan. 8, 2018, admitted he was oblivious to the “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” song tradition in Prince Albert. When the tradition was explained to him, he thought it was actually pretty cool, because it included the Stars, Blazers and Contacts as well as the Blades.

Dawson Davidson is cool with P.A.’s song tradition.

    “I think there is just that rivalry between the two cities that is pretty awesome,” said Davidson, who is a Blades assistant captain. “To know it is not just us, but it is other teams too, it just makes it that much better.

    “Next time I am there, hopefully I won’t hear it. We’ll try and prevent it. It is an awesome rivalry.”

    When he played for the Pats, Davidson was part of their rivalry with the Moose Jaw Warriors, which is often viewed as the greatest rivalry in major junior hockey. He said the rivalry the Blades have with the Raiders is up there with the rivalry the Pats have with the Warriors.

    “I think it has a lot of similarities as that one did last year and the year before,” said Davidson. “Two of the top teams in the league kind of close on the map.

    “When they get together, it is always good games. I remember being a part of Regina (versus) Moose Jaw. It would always be tight games, and it would be back and forth.

    “It would be physical, and the fans would be getting into it. It was an awesome environment. It is kind of the same thing (with Saskatoon and Prince Albert).”

Grace Shirley hasn’t heard the P.A. song tradition so far this season.

    The Stars haven’t had to hear that song this season. They won all four of their regular season matches with the Bears including two encounters in Prince Albert early last December.

    With that said, Stars 17-year-old captain Grace Shirley, who has been a regular with the Saskatoon SFMAAAHL squad since the start of the 2015-16 season, still recalls what it is like living out that tradition.

    “At the time when it is happening, it is a little frustrating obviously because there is a rivalry there,” said Shirley. “Both teams are competitive, and they want to win.

    “It is kind of funny I guess, but at the same time, it can get under your skin a little bit at the time. Anytime you win especially against a team like that where you kind of have history, and it is like a rivalry, obviously, it is a good feeling to like not hear it.”

Max Gudnason and the Blazers want to keep avoiding the P.A. song tradition.

    The Blazers have avoided that tradition too so far this season. They have won all three of their encounters with the Mintos.

    The two sides close out their respective regular season schedules against each other on Feb. 24 at 1:30 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Blazers 17-year-old captain Riley Little has enjoyed the run of success against the Mintos and the fact his team has prevented a playing of “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.”

    “Last year, this is my second year, it was kind of (crappy),” said Little, who is a standout defensive defenceman. “This year beating them every time, it is kind of funny and (you wonder) what they are thinking and what is going through their mind.”

    Little said P.A.’s song tradition gives his team extra motivation to beat the Mintos. He would like to avoid being part of that song tradition for the rest of the season, but said the Mintos have to be respected for having a good squad.

    “You can’t be too comfortable,” said Little. “Anything can happen.

    “I feel it is a lot of motivation going in there and not losing this year yet. Hopefully, we can maintain and win the series 4-0.”

Evan Bortis and the Contacts fell in P.A. last Oct. 18

    The Contacts split their four regular season encounters with the Mintos in the current campaign. One of the setbacks included falling to the Mintos 7-3 at the Art Hauser Centre last Oct. 18.

    “Playing P.A. is always tough,” said 16-year-old Contacts captain Evan Bortis. “It is always a good barnburner when they come in and we go there.

    “I know it is a very physical game, and I know we hate losing there. It is the worst feeling ever. Winning there is probably one of the best feelings when you beat that team.”

    Bortis admits it irks him when “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” is played after the Contacts fall in Prince Albert.

    “It ticks you off a bit,” said Bortis, who is a defensive defenceman that is finding an offensive touch this season. “It makes you want to work harder the next time you play them.

    “It is good sometimes, but sometimes it makes you really mad.”

    Traditionally, the Contacts and Mintos have had one of the most heated rivalries in the SMAAAHL, and Bortis said that rivalry hasn’t died down.

The Stars celebrate a playoff win over the Bears last year.

    “Everyone circles it on their calendar when we play the Mintos,” said Bortis. “It is definitely a big game for all of us, and we really want to beat them.

    “We have a chip on our shoulder every time we lose to them. I just enjoy playing them, and I think our whole team does too. It is always good.”

    While the four Saskatoon teams can be irritated to different degrees, they try to take Prince Albert’s song tradition with some fun.

    As for Saskatoon hockey fans, they often remind supporters of Prince Albert’s hockey teams that at the end of the game they have to live in Prince Albert, and when the dust settles, it is always better to be “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. Music video courtesy of the wonderful work of Chanda Ulmer.

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Pats standout Hobbs is finding his way to "The Show"

Connor Hobbs is a star on the Pats blue-line.

    One day the Washington Capitals might look back on the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and admit they got a steal selecting Connor Hobbs in the fifth round.

    For about the last five years, Hobbs’ hockey career has been on a steady upswing. The 19-year-old defenceman was arguably the best Saskatoon product and possibly the best Saskatchewan product to play in the WHL last season.

    He became standout offensive defenceman piling up 19 goals and 22 assists in 58 games with the Regina Pats, while still remaining strong in the defensive zone. In 12 games in the WHL playoffs, Hobbs picked up 10 points coming on four goals and six assists.

    The Capitals selected Hobbs in the fifth round and 143^rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and prudently signed him to a three-year NHL entry-level contract on July 1^st of this year.

    In what is turning out to be a memorable summer, Hobbs, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 196 pounds, is among the 41 players who have been invited to Hockey Canada’s national junior team summer development came, which starts Saturday and runs through to Aug. 6. The players take part in practices in Toronto starting Saturday and running to Aug. 2. From Aug. 3 to 6, the players will participate in series of exhibition games against national teams from Finland, Sweden and the United States in Plymouth, Mich.

    Way back in 2012, Hobbs was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the fourth round and 67^th overall in that year’s WHL Bantam Draft. He never played a game for the Raiders as his WHL rights were traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers before his 16-year-old season.

Connor Hobbs brings the puck up ice for the Pats.

    Hobbs had a sound 15-year-old season as a rookie in the midget AAA ranks recording six goals and 10 assists in 38 games with the Saskatoon Blazers. He arrived in Tigers training camp in 2013 looking to crack a spot on a team that was loaded with veteran defencemen.

    The rearguard had an impressive camp, where he able to show off what has become his trademark point blast. The Tigers brass made the hard decision to send Hobbs back to the Blazers for his 16-year-old campaign.

    Hobbs took a big step forward collecting 11 goals and 12 assists in 33 games with the Blazers. He also appeared in 10 regular season games with the Tigers collecting a goal, two assists and a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department. In those games, Hobbs looked like he should be a WHL regular.

    During the off-season, those that saw Hobbs work out in Saskatoon could see he had a purpose to do everything he could to ensure he stuck in the WHL for the upcoming campaign.

Connor Hobbs threads a pass in the offensive zone for the Pats.

    In August of 2014, Hobbs earned a spot on Canada’s under-18 team that won gold at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament co-hosted annually in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
    Hobbs returned to the Tigers following that international event to start his 17-year-old season collecting a goal, an assist and a plus-one rating in 12 games. He was fighting for minutes on a defensive unit that was still heavy with veterans. As he was in his draft year, he did the smart thing for his situation and returned home asking for a trade.
    The talented rearguard played four games for the Nipawin Hawks in the junior “A” ranks and suited up for Canada at the World Junior “A” Challenge in Kindersley in December of 2014.

    The Pats acquired Hobbs on Jan. 5, 2015, and the Saskatoon product played lots of key minutes collecting a goal, 15 assists and a plus-five rating in 33 regular season games to finish the 2014-15 campaign. He did enough to earn his NHL Entry Draft selection from the Capitals.

Connor Hobbs looks for an offensive zone opening.

    In the present moment, Hobbs has to be considered one of the best defencemen in the WHL. He has reached the point that he pretty much does everything right. 

    He is the guy you want in the defensive zone controlling the puck and bringing it up ice to start an offensive rush.

    On the power play, he has become a skilled quarterback that really commands things and calmly sets in plays. On the defensive side, he can more than hold his own physically.

    Hobbs has put in the time, and he found the right opportunities to allow his career to progress. 

    With the way he has progressed, there is no telling how good he can be, if the upswing in his game continues.

    With the Pats expecting to have a real strong team this coming season, Hobbs will likely be returned to the WHL ranks for his 19-year-old campaign, and he will definitely be a player to watch. 

    WHL fans of any team would be to wise catch Hobbs in action while they still can.

Willo gets Hockey Canada camp call

Kaitlin Willoughby is on  Hockey Canada's radar.

    University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team forward Kaitlin Willoughby is going to get the chance to see how she stacks up with Canada’s best.

    On Wednesday, Willoughby was one of 22 players from the Canadian Interuniversity Sport ranks to receive an invite to Hockey Canada’s Women’s Development Camp, which runs Aug. 5-14 in Calgary. For the CIS players, the camp provides an opportunity to turn heads in order to earn a roster spot for Canada’s women’s team that will play at the FISU Winter Universiade, which will run Jan. 29 to Feb. 8, 2017 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

    The CIS players will take part in four games including two clashes against Sweden’s national team and two matches against players that are part of Hockey Canada’s women development program. The CIS players are eligible to be picked for Canada’s National Women’s Development team that will play in a three game series against the United States from Aug. 17 to 20 in Calgary.

    After graduating from the midget AAA ranks playing for her hometown Prince Albert Bears, Willoughby quickly attained star status with the Huskies. In the 2013-14 campaign, she was named the CIS rookie of the year after recording 10 goals and 15 assists in 28 regular season games.

    The speedy forward was a key contributor in helping the Huskies win their first ever Canada West title during her rookie campaign. Willoughby permanently carved her place in the history of the Huskies women’s hockey team in the 2014 best-of-three Canada West championship series against the University of Regina Cougars. In a series deciding Game 3, Willoughby potted the double overtime winner to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

Kaitlin Willoughby has piled up the points in three seasons with the Huskies.

    During her three seasons with the Huskies, Willoughby has collected 30 goals and 41 assists in 82 regular season games. The always pleasant and upbeat 21-year-old has also built a reputation for being loved by her teammates and a large number of players from the other U of S Huskies teams.

    Willoughby has more than earned her chance to get on Hockey Canada’s radar.

    With that said, the CIS players will be in tough to earn a chance to play on Canada’s National Women’s Development team that will play in a three game series against the United States. The women’s development camp contains 42 players that are part of Canada’s women’s development program including Saskatoon product Emily Clark, who is already a member of Canada’s senior national women’s team at age 20. Clark is a gritty star forward with the storied and powerhouse University of Wisconsin Badgers of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

    From Aug. 7 to 14 in Calgary, Hockey Canada will also host a selection camp for the under-18 women’s national team. The under-18 camp contains 43 players including defender Willow Slobodzian and forward Mackenna Parker, who are both star players for the Saskatoon Stars.

    The Stars have won the last two straight Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League titles. Both Slobodzian and Parker reside just outside of Saskatoon in Clavet.

    The camp also includes Saskatoon products and forwards Nara Elia and Sophie Shirley. Shirley was a member of Canada’s under-18 team last season. Both spent last season with the Notre Dame Hounds team that plays out of the Junior Women’s Hockey League.

    Defender Brooke Hobson from the Prince Albert Bears rounds out the Saskatchewan players invited to the under-18 camp.

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