Demise of Saskatoon Express just plain old sucks

The final Saskatoon Express.

    I never thought the last story I ever wrote for the Saskatoon Express wouldn’t make it into the outlet’s print edition.

    Actually, I believed I would be contributing more stories to upcoming editions of the weekly paper well into the future. This is a common thought at the time when a media outlet ceases operation.

    On the morning of May 13, I was typing out a story on Saskatoon Valkryies linebacker Emmarae Dale from a hotel room in Prince Albert for what was supposed to be the upcoming edition of the Express.
    I was in Prince Albert to cover Game 7 of the WHL Championship series that night between the host Prince Albert Raiders and the Vancouver Giants for this blog and for The Canadian Press.

    I was trying to finish the story on Dale before the lunch hour arrived.
    When the lunch hour did arrive, I had the story on the Western Women’s Canadian Football League standout player ready to be sent into the Express office along with a photo package.

    I opened my email to discover my urgency wasn’t needed.
    A message was sitting my inbox from Express editor Cam Hutchinson that was only five minutes old.

The seniors guide produced by the Saskatoon Express.

    The message thanked me for the stories I wrote for the Express over the years and said the weekly had officially closed its office doors.
    I was caught off guard, because I was expecting the Express to close up shop any time soon.
    The publication was moved into a nice new office space in the north end of the city.

    Plans had been in development for me to work in a closer partnership with the Express, and some of the steps in that plan had already been executed.

    I wasn’t surprised, because this type of things happens on a regular basis in today’s volatile media industry, especially in Canada.

    The story on Dale meant for the Express appeared in my blog and can be found by clicking right here.

     At first, I compartmentalized the demise of the Express, because I was so involved with the WHL final and the Raiders run to the Memorial Cup tournament. Prince Albert won the series deciding Game 7 of the WHL final that night 3-2 in overtime with Dante Hannoun picking up the winner.

Emily Clark on the Saskatoon Express cover.

    Before going to that game, I put posts up on Facebook and Twitter linked to Hutchinson’s farewell column for the Express.
    When you motor around Saskatoon now 18 days later, you wouldn’t even know the Express existed for an eight-year run.
    All the yellow bins that held the print versions of the paper have been picked up.

    If you try to connect to the Express’s website, most links come up with an error message. The Express’s Facebook and Twitter social media lines have gone untouched for about a couple of weeks.

    In the Lawson Heights Mall, I found copies of the seniors’ guide that was produced by the Express.
    That was the only sign I could find in town that the Express even existed.

    Hutchinson wrote in his column that advertising dollars were drying up. The final edition of the Express was covered in an advertising wrap and about 35 percent of the interior of the publication contained ads.

    I am speculating here, but I believe there was a fear in this volatile economy that ad revenue would dry up.
    Most of the people who had money invested in the Express were older veterans from the newspaper industry who were nearing retirement age, at retirement age or past retirement age.

Julia Flinton on the Saskatoon Express cover.

    Again, I am speculating, but I think that played a lot into the decision to close up shop. Eventually, people would like to have the option to roll into the sunset and not work.
    Still, the fact is the Express is no more.
    The thing that hurts the most is Saskatoon lost a media voice that was an alternative from the mainstream outlets.

    Hutchinson did a great job of rounding up what I call were the “outlaws” or media members that were often cut loose by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

    Due to the connections these media members had, the Express as a weekly was a vehicle that could keep the mainstream outlets accountable in their coverage, especially if they are owned by chains.

    You can bet the big local managers with companies like Postmedia, which owns the StarPhoenix, have to be doing fist pumps, because a competitor went down giving them more of a free rein.

    The Express’s demise reinforces the notion for chain media companies that they wait out local competitors and watch them close when they run out of steam.

    Because the mainstream outlets in Saskatoon are shadows of what they were 19 years ago, there are tonnes of stories in Saskatoon not being covered.

A Saskatoon Express story featuring Kaitlin Willoughby.

    When the Express was around, the mainstream outlets had to check it out to see if there was anything pressing or big that was missed.

    The Express carried stories in arts and sports that often were overlooked elsewhere or wouldn’t become stories unless the big local managers at the mainstream outlets took an interest in them.
    The weekly contained writers that typed out political columns you would not likely see in mainstream outlets as well.

    The Express provided a vehicle to showcase some of my stories on the Saskatoon Stars of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

Kirby Dach on the cover of the Saskatoon Express.

    The Stars won four of the last five SFMAAAHL titles and earned berths at the Esso Cup female midget AAA nationals in each of those runs.

    Global did stories on them. If it wasn’t for Global and myself doing stories on the Stars, their exploits would have been ignored.
    They have produced players that have skated in Canada’s national team system too.
    The most traction the Stars had in mainstream outlets came in the 2017-18 campaign, when they fell in the Esso Cup title game to the St. Albert Slash 2-1.

    Even looking at the sports scene, there is so much I am not able to do as a solo person with my blog.
    The high school sports scene in Saskatoon is barely covered, and it was a staple of coverage for years in mainstream outlets.

    For minor sports at that level, they are usually the first to get cut because they draw the most jealousy complains by irate parents, who often confront the big bosses at mainstream outlets. The complaints usually revolved around one school getting more coverage than other schools or one minor sports team getting more coverage than other minor sports teams.

A Saskatoon Express story featuring Ashley Messier.

    The big bosses realize if those sports aren’t covered, they don’t deal with irate parents and have more hours in their day to focus on other things.

    I’ve often written stories on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team and hockey teams.
    When I’ve tried to do stories on the other Huskies teams on top of that, I find my time gets too taxed, and those teams I don’t write about deserve props too.

    In Saskatoon, the WHL’s Blades and the CJFL’s Hilltops aren’t covered to the extent they should be even with the work of my blog added in.

    In a naive way, I was hoping to work with the staff at the Express and hopefully try to better bridge gaps in the coverage.

Cianna Lieffers on the Saskatoon Express cover.

    The Express helped me work with sports scenes that I didn’t have any links to like the local stock car scene at the Wyant Group Raceway.

    Another thing I found disappointing with the demise of The Express was the lack of reaction.
    My initial social media posts on Facebook and Twitter drew no reaction.
    The Express Facebook page had three readers write in with their sympathies.
    I was told by lots of people in the community they loved checking out the Express, because they finally got to see a well put together print publication again.

    I have been met with lots of surprise over the past two weeks when I tell people the Express is no more.

    The Express offered lots of support to this blog. I admit I will have to deal with a hole not having that support there.
    Overall, I enjoyed working with the staff at the Express. Hutchinson, who is a long time friend, and general manager Dan Senick are gems.

The Saskatoon Express office all closed up.

    If they ever wanted me to work together on another media venture, I would be all for it.

    At the moment, I am still feeling disappointment the show isn’t going on.

    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’ Dach embraces playoff grind, all set for villain treatment in Prince Albert

Kirby Dach is enjoying his first foray into the WHL playoffs.

    Kirby Dach will never forget his first highlight reel moment in the WHL playoffs, and he hopes to create a few more with the Saskatoon Blades.

    When the Blades eliminated the Warriors in Moose Jaw 4-3 in overtime on March 27, Dach scored a sick coast-to-coast short-handed goal with 4:25 remaining in the third period. The tally put the Blades ahead 3-2 for a short time.

    That play is ingrained in the star centre’s memory.

    “It was pretty exciting obviously,” said Dach, who turned 18-years-old in January. “The game was tied 2-2, and they were on the power play.

    “I was out there to do a job on the penalty kill. I saw my opening, and I kind of just chipped it along the wall a couple of times and just took off. The goalie was kind of caught in a spot, where he didn’t know if he was going to come out and play the puck, or if he was just going to stay in his net and wait for me to come.

Kirby Dach is a highly touted prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

    “I kind of had that advantage on him kind of second guessing his choice that he made. I just made a move around the goalie. Obviously, it didn’t end up being the game winner, but we got to overtime and got the job done.”
    What Dach failed to mention was who he went around from the Warriors on the play.

    On his coast-to-coast effort, Dach passed the puck to himself around first Warriors star captain and defenceman Josh Brook and another Warriors star defenceman in Jett Woo to spring himself on a breakaway. Dach tucked home his third of the playoffs on a smart deke move past Moose Jaw netminder Adam Evanoff to give the Blades the lead.

    After the Warriors scored to force overtime, Blades Norwegian import winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen had the honours of scoring the series winner at the 4:36 mark of the extra session to give Saskatoon the win and a 4-0 series sweep.

Kirby Dach can battle in the tough areas on the ice.

    With the Blades taking part in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, Dach said his team enjoyed the fact they were able to create a few memorable moments in their first round sweep of the Warriors.

    He said his team wants to make more great memories in the second round. In a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Blades will face their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders in a heavyweight tilt. The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record, while the Blades finished fourth overall with a 45-15-8 mark.
    The Raiders were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings, while the Blades were an honourable mention.

    “Obviously, we have a big task ahead of us with Prince Albert in the second round,” said Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 195 pounds. “We’re excited for it, and we’re ready to go to battle.”

    Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. Game 2 will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. at Art Hauser.

    The series switches to Saskatoon for Game 3, which will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Kirby Dach had 73 points in 62 regular season games with the Blades.

    Due to being a highly touted prospect to be selected in the first round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, Dach is expecting to receive full out villain treatment when he steps into P.A. In his sophomore season, Dach finished third in team scoring posting 25 goals and 48 assists for 73 points in 62 regular season games.

    He knows he will be a target of boos and fan heckles in Prince Albert along with his linemate in left-winger Riley McKay, who likes to stir the pot on the ice with his feisty style of play.

    “Obviously, they have a pretty good fanbase up there,” said Dach. “They are pretty loud and rowdy, and they get in your face, because that rink is so small.

    “They are almost on top of you, when you are playing the game. As a player and as a competitor, those are the games you want to be in at this time of the year, because you are trying to prove to yourself and to your teammates and to the people in the stands that you deserve to be there that it is not going to be a cakewalk for P.A. They kind of have to come through us.”
    With that said, Dach said his team has a big challenge in taking on the Raiders.
    “They won the Scotty Munro this year, and they’ve been the greatest team this year in the Western Hockey League,” said Dach, who was named an assistant captain with the Blades in January. “We have a tough task ahead of us.

Kirby Dach, left, can slip past the WHL’s best blue-liners like Jett Woo.

    “We have to go through them to get to the third round, so it is going to be a good series. I am excited to play in it.”

    Blades head coach Mitch Love has enjoyed working with Dach this season and has been impressed with how well Dach has handled the attention that comes with being a top NHL prospect.

    “He is a mature kid,” said Love. “You can see he has been well raised in terms of handling such a spotlight for a young man, which isn’t an easy thing.

    “In terms of the hockey side of things, he has been a true pro. He comes to the rink wanting to get better whether it is in the gym or on the ice or in practice. He has been very coachable.
    “He is on a mission. He knows what he needs to try to get done.”

    Love said Dach’s compete level is always high in games regardless of who the Blades are playing.

    “You can never do things no matter how skilled you are without a little bit of compete in your game,” said Love. “We stressed that as a team all the time.

    “He brings a high level of that. He goes to the greasy areas. He goes to the hard areas to score goals and try to get pucks back.

    “Not every kid wants to do that. He has done a real good job of that. It is actually been something I’ve watched increase as the year has went on.”

Kirby Dach (#77) mans his spot to congratulate teammates after wins.

    Dach said the Blades have had a lot of fun so far in the playoffs, and they are looking forward to the rest of the post-season with a lot of optimism and excited anticipation. He can’t wait to continue the post-season journey with his team in P.A. on Friday.

    “It just adds that much more intensity and compete to your game,” said Dach. “You’re do or die every night. You’re trying to win.

    “You are doing it for everybody in that dressing room. You’re doing it for the guy beside you, and the guy across from you. You are one big family in there, and you are fighting for your lives.

    “It is a lot of fun so far, and we’re not done yet.”

Raiders/Blades series to air on Sportsnet

Raiders D Brayden Pachal (#8) scrums it up with Blade D Dawson Davidson.

    The first three games of the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Prince Albert Raiders and the Saskatoon Blades will be shown live national on Sportsnet’s network of channels.

    The WHL and Sportsnet made the announcement about the television schedule on Wednesday. Game 1 of the series from the Art Hauser Centre will be shown on Sportsnet 360 on Friday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

    Game 2 will air on Sportsnet from Art Hauser on Sunday at 6 p.m. Saskatchewan time. Game 3 will be shown from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

    This has to be viewed as a big thing for the WHL, because two of its best teams will gain more exposure playing against each other nationally. A national audience should see some pretty outstanding action.

    The Raiders finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings at 54-10-2-2. The Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record.

Back in the Express with Gerlach

Max Gerlach scored 42 goals in the regular season for the Blades.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature on Blades overage star right-winger Max Gerlach.

    Gerlach is nicknamed the “Texan Sniper” due to his outstanding shot and for being from Flower Mound, Texas. 
    In each of his four compete seasons in the WHL, Gerlach has netted 30-or-more goals in each of those campaigns.

    This season Gerlach hit career highs in goals (42) and points (74). He hit the 40-goal plateau or the first time in his WHL career this season.

    He is well known in the Blades for a joke he often pulls in media scrums.

    The story on Gerlach can be found by clicking right here.

Officials nail review calls in Tigers versus Oil Kings

Linesman Chad Huseby, right, and his crew had a good night last Sunday.

    Noting how fans like to get on the officials in the WHL, the crew that worked Game 6 of the first round playoff series between the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings and Medicine Hat Tigers had a great night last Sunday.

    The crew included referees Adam Byblow and Kyle Kowalski and linesmen Deion Foster and Chad Huseby with Curtis Scherger manning the video goal judge spot. Former veteran referee Devin Klein was in the house as the supervisor for the officials.

    Before 2,872 spectators at the Canalta Centre, the officiating crew faced three different goal video review situations, and they got each of those calls right.

    The first came on the first Tigers goal of the second period, which gave the host side a 2-1 edge. On the play, Tigers captain James Hamblin and Oil Kings netminder Todd Scott bumped into each other behind the Edmonton net, when Scott was trying to play the puck.

    The two raced around opposite sides of the goal to get in front of the net, and Hamblin tipped home a tally. Scott went down on his own slipping on the ice as the goal went in.

    The officials tried to determine if there was incidental contact on the play that could nullify the tally. As Hamblin and Scott bumped behind the net and had adequate time to set up in front of the goal, the officials correctly ruled the goal should stand.

Conner McDonald’s point shot was correctly called a goal.

    After the Oil Kings fell behind 3-1, they scored in the second to cut the Tigers lead to 3-2, and that tally was reviewed. On the review, the officials tried to determine if Oil Kings overage centre Andrew Fyten knocked the puck in with a high stick.

    Following the review, the officials correctly ruled that the point shot from Oil Kings defenceman Wyatt McLeod did go straight in and the goal stood up.

    The Oil Kings equalizer scored by defenceman Conner McDonald just 31 seconds into the third period to tie things up at 3-3 was also reviewed. McDonald’s shot hit the post of the Tigers net, bounced off the pad of Tigers import netminder Mads Sogaard and just trickled across the goal-line of the Medicine Hat.

    The officials went to video review to check of the puck crossed the goal-line and correctly ruled that it did allowing the goal to stand.

    Edmonton ultimately won the contest 4-3 in overtime and claimed the best-of-seven series 4-2.

    It was nice to see the officials have a good game, and in particular, it was nice to see Byblow have a good game. Not sure if I was bad luck for Byblow, who is a veteran official, but it seemed like he struggled about the last five times I saw him officiate a game and the fans were really getting on him.

    He is a good guy, and I was hoping to see him have a game, where he wasn’t noticed. Like players, officials can go through funks where they struggle too.

    When the first goal went to a review, there was worry on my part the crew that night would get the call wrong.

    Normally, officials don’t have to go to video review on three different goals in one night. The fact they got all of those calls correct was sweet to see.

    Due to reviews, Byblow was noticed but in a good way.

    While some WHL fans might not want to believe it, Byblow had a good game that night, so hopefully that gives him some good positive momentum for the rest of the playoffs.

    On another side note, Klein is well respected in Medicine Hat for his ability to coach officials.

Canalta Centre is a beautiful place

The Tigers salute their fans after their playoff elimination on Sunday.

    Any time I step into the Canalta Centre I get the feeling it can be a special place one day for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

    The Tigers moved into their beautiful new home rink that seats 6,016 spectators before the start of the 2015-16 campaign. While the team has played four complete seasons out of that facility, fans in Medicine Hat are still nostalgic for the club’s old home facility in The Arena.

    The Tigers played in The Arena from their inception in the 1970-71 season through to the 2014-15 campaign spanning a total of 45 seasons. Over that time, the Tigers won five WHL championships and two Memorial Cup titles playing out of that building.

    The Arena contains a tonne of memories including Brennan Bosch scoring arguably the most famous tally in the history of the WHL with his double overtime winner in the fog to give the Tigers a 3-2 victory in Game 7 of the 2007 WHL Championship series.

    Of course, the team’s new rink doesn’t have the memories the old facility has.
    With that said, it feel special to see the storied Tigers playing in a modern facility. While only 2,872 spectators watched the Tigers bow out of the WHL post-season with a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 6 of their first round series with the Edmonton Oil Kings last Sunday, you got the feeling the Canalta Centre could be an intimidating place to play in as the visitor when full.

The fans at the Canalta Centre give the Tigers a final salute on Sunday.

    There isn’t a bad seat in the house, and the inside feels super bright. It also has some unique concession stands like a Swirls ice cream booth. Ice cream from Swirls is known for being outstanding in the Hat.

    Even the press box seating is sweet. You feel like you are on top of the action, and you can get some great photos from press row. Medicine Hat News sports reporter Ryan McCracken has taken some outstanding photos from that vantage point over the years.

    Had the Tigers made it to the WHL Eastern Conference final in 2017 after finishing second overall in the regular season with a 51-20-1 record, fans in the Hat would have had their first long playoff run in the new building to reflect on and begin creating memories that mirrored those from The Arena.

    I admit I too miss The Arena. Having covered the Tigers as a beat writer for the Medicine Hat News from 2004 to 2014, the team’s old rink will always be special to me.

    Still, believe there will be bright days for the team playing inside the Canalta Centre.

Off to P.A. on Thursday

    Check back here to Stanks’ Sermon on Thursday.

    I will be heading to Prince Albert to check in with the Raiders before their second round WHL playoffs series with the Saskatoon Blades. A post will be coming that day.

    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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Hounds stay alive, take double OT thriller over Stars

The Hounds celebrate a double OT winner from Lyndsey Janes.

    The belief factor just took a big jump up to another stratosphere for the Notre Dame Hounds.

    Facing elimination from the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs, the Hounds came through with arguably one of their best performances of the campaign against the defending league champion Saskatoon Stars on Tuesday night.

    At the 14:54 mark of double overtime, Hounds star 17-year-old forward Lyndsey Janes scored a power-play goal from the right side of the Saskatoon net to give her squad a 2-1 road victory at Merlis Belsher Place in Game 3 of a SFMAAAHL semifinal series.

    With the win, the Hounds cut the Stars lead in the best-of-five series to 2-1. Notre Dame will host Game 4 on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox.

Lyndsey Janes scored the double OT winner for the Hounds on Tuesday.

    If a series deciding Game 5 is needed, it will be held Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Hounds appeared to be facing a tall task in trying to extend their series with the Stars. Heading into action on Tuesday, Saskatoon had won all seven encounters with Notre Dame in the 2018-19 campaign including action in the regular season, post-season and the championship game of the Mandi Schwartz Memorial Tournament, which the Hounds host.

    The Stars posted their best ever regular season record at 27-1 to top the SFMAAAHL standings. The Hounds finished fifth with a 12-13-3 mark.

Joelle Fiala had the Stars goal on Tuesday.

    The Hounds were also outscored by the Stars 9-1 over Games 1 and 2 of their SFMAAAHL semifinal series.

    Still, the Hounds displayed confidence at the start of Tuesday’s contest. In the first period, they were able to slow the game down with a neutral zone trap and held a 7-5 edge in shots on goal.

    The visitors continued to control play through the first half of the second period before the momentum changed.

    The Stars finally broke through on the scoreboard at the 10:05 mark of the second, when 17-year-old veteran standout forward Joelle Fiala scored from close in. At the time of Fiala’s goal, the Hounds held a 15-8 edge in shots on goal.

    Early in the third, the Stars had two golden chances to extend their edge and seal the game from star forward Anna Leschyshyn and defender Chace Sperling, but Hounds star 17-year-old goaltender Kaitlyn Ross slammed the door shut on both occasions.

Kaitlyn Ross made one of her 40 saves in goal for the Hounds.

    Thanks to Ross’s play in goal, the Hounds were able pull even at 1-1, when Janes set up defender Kas Kingston for a power-play goal at the 9:33 mark of the third.

    Before the third ended, Fiala had a prime chance from the front of the Notre Dame goal to put the Stars back out in front, but she was denied by the glove had of Ross.

    In the first overtime period that was 10 minutes in length, Stars netminder Arden Kliewer made a number of big saves to keep the game going as Notre Dame held a 7-3 edge in shots on goal.

Ross’s biggest save in that first extra frame came early, when she denied a drive from Stars star captain Grace Shirley.
    In the second overtime frame, Ross’s glove hand robbed Stars sophomore forward Makena Kushniruk from netting the winning goal.

Arden Kliewer made 32 saves in goal for the Stars.

    That set the stage for Janes to come through with the winner after 84 minutes and 54 seconds of game action.

    Ross turned away 40 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hounds. Kliewer made 32 saves to take the setback in goal for the Stars.

    On Tuesday, the Hounds showed they won’t bow out of the SFMAAAHL playoffs quietly.

    On the other side, the Stars have journeyed through the SFMAAAHL campaign with very little adversity until now. Now the Stars players are going to have to show their character in rebounding from Tuesday’s heartbreaking setback.

    All of a sudden, the SFMAAAHL semifinal series between the Stars and Hounds has intrigue, because Saskatoon can’t be penciled automatically into the league championship series.

    The Hounds now truly believe they can win, and you could see it in their eyes, when they departed Merlis Belsher Place on Tuesday night.

Back in the Express with Messier

Ashley Messier is the Stars best defender.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature story on Saskatoon Stars offensive defender Ashley Messier.

    Messier joined the Stars as a 14-year-old underage player in 2016-17. Now in her third season, she has been one of the squad’s standouts for some time.

    Now a 16-year-old veteran, Messier set career highs this season with five goals and 27 assists helping the Stars post their best regular season record ever at 27-1.

    Recently, Messier was named the winner of the SFMAAAHL’s Colleen Sostorics Top Defenceman award, and she claimed honours as a first team all-star.

    Messier’s family also has big connections to the game.

    The story on Messier can be found by clicking right here.

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

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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

One of his best life decisions – No second thoughts for Sawchenko leaving WHL for Golden Bears

Zach Sawchenko enjoys life as the Golden Bears star goalie.

    No regrets.

    Almost two years ago, Zach Sawchenko found himself at a crossroads. After his Moose Jaw Warriors were eliminated from the 2017 WHL playoffs, the star netminder had to decide if he wanted to return for his overage season or join the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team in the U Sports ranks.

    The Warriors were projecting to be one of the top teams in major junior hockey in 2017-18. The Golden Bears are one of the top U Sports hockey programs year in and year out.

    Having played four full seasons in Moose Jaw, Sawchenko elected to join the Gold Bears.

    The now 21-year-old Calgary, Alta., product hasn’t looked back. Last season, he was the starting goaltender in the Golden Bears wins that clinched the Canada West Conference title and the U Sports national title. 
    The national title win was the 16^th in the history of the Golden Bears.
    Ultimately, the Warriors topped the WHL standings that season in 2017-18 with a 52-15-2-3 record and fell in tough seven game series in the second round to the eventual WHL champion Swift Current Broncos.

Zach Sawchenko plays the puck for the Warriors in 2016.

    This season, Sawchenko was again between the pipes for the Golden Bears when they took a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Championship series 1-0 against the host and their “forever rivals” the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on March 3 at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Golden Bears are aiming to repeat as U Sports national champions, when the David Johnston University Cup tournament begins on Thursday in Lethbridge, Alta.

    U of A opens nationals as the number one seed taking on the eighth seeded and host University of Lethbridge Pronghorns at 7 p.m. local time Thursday at the Enmax Centre.
    “I think at the end of the day it was a matter of a change of scenery,” said Sawchenko, who is a business major at the U of A. “Moose Jaw had a great team, and I knew what I was walking away from there.

    “There was no regrets what so ever. Just the fact that our team did win nationals was almost like a cherry on top. I never really talked about it openly with a lot of people, but it is one of the best decisions I made for my life.

Warriors G Zach Sawchenko, left, stops Pats C Jake Leschyshyn in 2017.

    “Some people might argue it might be not the best for my career, but just as a person and as a student, it was one of the best decisions I could have made.”

    When he played for the Warriors, it could be argued that Sawchenko was as close as you could get to being a “can’t miss” prospect to make the NHL. From 2013 to 2017, Sawchenko appeared in 177 career regular season games with the Warriors posting an 88-65-16 record, a 3.11 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and nine shutouts.
    In his final campaign in Moose Jaw, Sawchenko posted a 30-14-7 record, a 2.79 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and three shutouts in being named the top goaltender in the WHL’s Eastern Conference for a second straight year.
    Actually during his time with the Warriors, Sawchenko piled up numerous accolades and accomplishments. He was a WHL Eastern Conference first team all-star on two occasions.

Zach Sawchenko tracks a puck from his goal.

    Sawchenko played for Canada at both main world under-18 tournaments, suited up for the CHL Top Prospects Game, was invited to a world juniors summer camp and attended the main NHL training camp for the Nashville Predators.

    Still, he was never selected in the NHL Entry Draft or pursued heavily for a real look with an NHL team. Sawchenko’s obvious drawback was his size as he stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 185 pounds in an era when NHL teams usually want their goalies to be at least 6-foot-3 in height.

    The young puck stopper felt it was prudent to have his education in hand before he ventures into life in professional hockey.

    With the Golden Bears, Sawchenko’s play has remained at an elite level. In 34 career regular season games, he has posted a 28-4-1 record, a 1.74 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and five shutouts.

    He is still eligible to play three more seasons with the Golden Bears.

    “I think at the end of the day it is all about timing,” said Sawchenko. “I got in here at the right time.

    “I managed to roll with an opportunity. One of their goalies left, when I was 20-years-old.

Zach Sawchenko, second from right, enjoys a Canada West title win.

    “I opted out of my 20-year-old year to head to school. It has been an awesome experience for me so far, and I am looking forward to the rest.”
    Sawchenko still has tonnes of good memories from his time with the Warriors and enjoyed his four seasons in Moose Jaw. He went through a lengthy thought process before making up his mind to join the Golden Bears and was certain at the time it was the right decision for him. As his days at U of A go on, his decision is reinforced.

    Now, he is focused on helping the Golden Bears win a second straight national title.

     “It is a good feeling,” said Sawchenko, who was a second team Canada West all-star this season. “At the end of the day, it is not the end of the road for us.

    “Canada West is great, but we have our eyes on the big prize now, and that is a national title.”

Fifth-seeded Huskies should be favoured in nationals opener

Carson Stadnyk led the Huskies in regular season scoring.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team will enter the David Johnston University Cup as the fifth season, but they will likely be favoured in their opening game.

    The Huskies will open the U Sports elite-eight style national championship tournament on Thursday in Lethbridge, Alta., against the University of Guelph Gryphons, who embarked on a Cinderella run through the Ontario University Athletics playoffs. 
    The quarter-final match between the two sides opens game action at the University Cup with a 1 p.m. local time puck drop at the Enmax Centre.

    The Huskies finished first in the Canada West Conference posting a 25-3 record in the regular season. U of S set regular season team records for most wins (25) and standings points (50).

    In the playoffs, the Huskies swept the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-0 in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series before falling to their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears 2-1 in a best-of-three Canada West Championship series. U of S dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Golden Bears in a series deciding Game 3 on March 3 at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Huskies are making their 20^th overall appearance at the University Cup. While they fell in the Canada West final, the Dogs will hit the ice at nationals with a solid and deep roster.

    Third-year right-winger Carson Stadnyk topped the Huskies in regular season scoring with 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points. Fourth-year centre Kohl Bauml had his best season since his rookie year finishing second in team scoring with nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points.

    Right-winger Levi Cable had a strong year recording 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points in regular season play, while fourth-year centre Logan McVeigh had nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points.

Taran Kozun has had a stellar year for the Huskies.

    Captain Jesse Forsberg anchored the defence in his fifth and final season with the team. He led all Huskies blue-liners in scoring with six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 24 regular season games.
    Forsberg was injured in Game 3 of the Canada West final after taking an elbow to the head, so his status for the University Cup is still up in the air.

    Sophomore defenceman Sam Ruopp has taken big strides with the Huskies recording eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 24 regular season games.

    Sophomore netminder Taran Kozun had a stellar season posting a 20-3 record, a 1.81 goals against average, a .926 save percentage and five shutouts. He set a new Huskies team record for most wins by a goalie in one regular season.

    The Gryphons finished fifth in the OUA’s West Division with a 13-11-4 record before going on a tear in the post-season. They swept the University of Windsor Lancers 2-0 in a best-of-three OUA first round series.

    The Gryphons eliminated the Ryerson University Rams in a best-of-three second round series 2-1. In the OUA West final, the Gryphons took out the University of Western Ontario Mustangs 2-1 in a best-of-three series.

    In a winner take all OUA championship game, the Gryphons fell to the Queen’s University Gaels 4-1.

    Fifth-year centre Scott Simmonds topped the Gaels in regular scoring with nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points. Sophomore right-winger Todd Winder was second in team scoring with six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 27 regular season games.

    Fourth-year left-winger Cody Thompson has some good hands around the net recording 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in 27 regular season games.

    Rookie Jesse Saban topped all Gaels defencemen in scoring with one goal and eight assists for nine points in 27 regular season games.

The Huskies aim to pile up the wins at the David Johnston University Cup.

    Third-year netminder Andrew Masters will carry the load in goal for the Gaels. In 16 regular season games, Masters posted a 7-5-3 record, a 2.39 goals against average, a .921 save percentage and two shutouts.

    If the Huskies can outlast the Cinderella run by the Gaels, they will advance to a semifinal game to play the winner of the quarter-final match between the top seeded Golden Bears and the eighth seeded University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

    With the David Johnston University Cup being held in southern Alberta, it is expected a big contingent of supports will follow the Huskies to Lethbridge.

    The semifinal games will both be played on Saturday with times to be announced at the Enmax Centre. The championship final is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. Lethbridge time at the Enmax Centre.

Raiders collect more milestones in latest win

Noah Gregor has scored 40 goals this season for the Raiders.

    The Prince Albert Raiders were able to enjoy a few more milestones in their last outing.

    On Sunday, the Raiders traveled to Swift Current and downed the Broncos 6-0 in a WHL regular season game played before 2,387 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. The win allowed the Raiders to improve their league leading record to 53-9-2-2.

    The 53 wins marks the second most victories the Raiders have compiled during their time in the WHL dating back to the 1982-83 campaign. The only campaign where the Raiders had more wins came back in the 1984-85 season, when they posted a regular season record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.

    Of course, the Raiders moved on to win their only WHL and Memorial Cup titles in the 1984-85 campaign.

    Raiders netminder Ian Scott made 14 saves to increase his team record for most shutouts in one regular season to eight. Scott has had a sensational season posting a 37-7-3 record, a 1.82 goals against average and a .932 save percentage to go with his eight shutouts.

Ian Scott has eight shutouts in goal for the Raiders this season.

    Scott was named the WHL and CHL goaltender-of-the-week for the week ending March 10.

    Overage centre Noah Gregor netted his 40^th goal of the season on Sunday against the Broncos marking the first time he has hit that plateau in his WHL career.

    Parker Kelly scored twice for the Raiders, while Brett Leason, Sergei Sapego and Sean Montgomery had singles.

    Riley Lamb turned away 51 shots to take the loss in goal for the Broncos (10-49-4-2).

    The Raiders close their regular season with a home-and-home series with their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades. The two sides meet Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon and on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

Back in the Express with Habscheid

Marc Habscheid, centre, is honoured for his 500th head coaching win.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature on Marc Habscheid.

    Habscheid, who is the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders, was looking back on his days as a player with the Saskatoon Blades. He played for the Blades for part of the 1979-80 season and the entire 1980-81 and 1981-82 campaigns.

    The piece revolved around his final season with the Blades in 1981-82, where he piled up 64 goals and 87 assists for 151 points in 55 regular season games. Habscheid, who recently turned 56-years-old, suited up at that season’s world juniors and helped Canada win its first ever gold medal at that event.

    My interview with Habscheid, who picked up his 500th regular season win as a WHL head coach in February, was a fun one. It was cool to hear him reflect on how much he enjoyed that part of his life.

    The worse part was I couldn’t get all his recollections into the lengthy piece.

    One of the more humourous stories that was left out came from living with his billet family of Rick and Debbie Brodsky. After a game one night, Habscheid didn’t hang his suit up and left it on the floor of his bedroom.

    Debbie picked it up and washed it, and the suit shrunk in the wash. Habscheid chuckled about that one noting he learned to never leave his clothes on the floor.

    Another memory revolved around world juniors.

    At world juniors, that season’s event was played in a round robin format. Canada had a 6-0 record going into its final game against Czechoslovakia, who had a 5-1 record, on Jan. 2, 1982 at Rochester, Minn.

    A tie would give Canada the gold medal, but loss would give Czechoslovakia the gold.

    The two sides played to a 3-3 tie to give Canada the gold medal. There was no television broadcast of that game, but it did air on CBC Radio.

    “We stood on the blue-line waiting for the national anthem,” said Habscheid. “They didn’t have it, so they just told us to get off the ice.

    “We said no. We went arm in arm and sang it, and that is kind of how that tradition started.”

    Habscheid said Saskatoon will always be a meaningful place to him.

    “It was a big part of my youth,” said Habscheid. “That city will always be special.

    “Sometimes I will be going through, and I will have some time, and I will drive around.”

    The story on Habscheid can be found by clicking right here.

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

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Raiders lock up top spot in WHL, capture Scotty Munro Trophy

Brayden Pachal had a pair of assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    It is feeling a lot like 1985 in Prince Albert.

    On Tuesday night before 2,385 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders thumped the visiting Swift Current Broncos, who are in a major rebuild, 6-0 in a WHL regular season contest.
  With the win, the Raiders improved to 51-9-2-2 to lock up first place overall in the league and capture the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for just the second time in franchise history.

    The Raiders, who are rated second in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, last finished first overall in the WHL standings back in the 1984-85 season, when they posted a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.
    Prince Albert proceeded to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in that campaign.

    In Tuesday’s game against the Broncos, the Raiders led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 after the second frame.

Ian Scott tied the Raiders record for shutouts in one season.

    Winger Dante Hannoun had a goal and two assists for the Raiders.
    Rugged forward Justin Nachbaur scored twice for the Raiders, while Sergei Sapego, Aliaksei Protas and Eric Pearce netted singles.

    Captain Brayden Pachal had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

    Ian Scott made 24 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders.
    The shutout win was the sixth of the season for Scott and it equals a Raiders club record for most shutouts in one season.

    Rejean Beauchemin had six shutouts for the Raiders in the 2003-04 season, and Luke Siemens had six shutouts in the 2012-13 campaign.
    So far this season, Scott has recorded a 35-7-3 record, a 1.90 goals against average and a .931 save percentage to go with his six shutouts.

    Riley Lamb turned away 33 shots to take the setback in the Broncos net.

    Swift Current sits last in the WHL with a 10-46-4-2 record.

    The Raiders and Broncos will go at it again on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Blades will starts playoffs playing at home

Dawson Davidson scored the winner for the Blades.

    The Saskatoon Blades will open their journey through the WHL playoffs at home.

    On Tuesday, the Blades locked up a second place finish in the WHL’s East Division downing the Warriors in Moose Jaw 4-2 before 3,014 spectators at Mosaic Place. With finishing second in the division, the Blades will have home ice advantage for a best-of-seven first round playoff series.

    The win over the Warriors was the fifth in a row for the Blades who improved to 42-14-8.

Saskatoon has won 12 of its last 13 games and is sitting securely inside the top four of the overall WHL standings.

    The Warriors jumped out to 1-0 lead in Tuesday’s game, when star left-winger Tristin Langan scored his 48^th goal of the season just 56 seconds into the first period.

Blades overage defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus proceeded to provide headaches to his former club.   
    The Blades acquired Schuldhaus in a trade with the Warriors in the early part of the season.
    Schuldhaus scored at the 15:02 mark of the first period to even things up at 1-1. The Calgary product potted his second of the contest at the 6:24 mark of the second to give the Blades a 2-1 advantage.

Brandon Schuldhaus scored twice for the Blades.

    The Warriors evened things up at 2-2 at the 11:55 mark of the second with a short-handed goal coming from star centre Justin Almeida.

    Just 20 seconds after Almeida’s goal, Blades star offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson drove home his 11^th goal of the season to put the visitors up 3-2.

    With under a minute to play, star centre Kirby Dach scored for the Blades to seal victory.

    Nolan Maier made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Brodan Salmond turned away 26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Warriors (35-19-6-2).

    Saskatoon improved its impressive road record to 22-8-3 with the win over the Warriors. The Blades have won four of the five head-to-head encounters with Moose Jaw this season.

    The Warriors return to action on Friday, when they travel to Regina to take on the Pats at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The Blades return home to host the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That contest will be the Blades’ “WHL Suits Up” with Don Cherry to promote organ donation game.

    Saskatoon will wear Don Cherry inspired suit jerseys for that contest. The jerseys will be silent auctioned during the game with the proceeds going to the Saskatoon branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

Back in the Express with Haden

My story on Gary Haden in the Saskatoon Express.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a story on Saskatoon Blades left-winger Gary Haden.

    Haden was acquired in a trade early in the season from the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 51 regular season games with the Blades, Haden has piled up 28 goals and 30 assists and a plus-20 rating in the plus-minus department.

    He has taken on the nickname of “Uncle Gary.” The Blades have been selling “Uncle Gary” T-shirts at their store in the SaskTel Centre.

    Copies of the Express can be found in various locations around Saskatoon.
    The story on Haden can be found by clicking right here.

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

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