Fiala perfect fit for Huskies

Evan Fiala brings the puck up ice for the Huskies.

    Home is where the heart is for Evan Fiala.

    After he graduated from the WHL as the captain of the Saskatoon Blades at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, Fiala, who resides just outside of Saskatoon in Calvet, Sask., didn’t want to stray too far from his stomping grounds.

    The defensive defenceman signed on to play with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, who are based in North Charleston, South Carolina, to finish off the 2017-18 campaign after the Blades failed to make the WHL playoffs. Fiala skated in 10 regular season games scoring one goal in that stretch and four post-season games with the Stingrays.

Evan Fiala controls the puck behind his own net.

    For the 2018-19 campaign, Fiala wanted to play close to home, and he was hoping the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team would come calling. The Huskies came calling, and Fiala jumped at the chance to join the storied and historic U Sports squad.

    “The fact they were in my hometown pretty much is huge,” said Fiala, who still skates in almost every situation with a big smile on his face. “I’ve got family, and I’ve got a good fanbase here that has always supported me.

    “It made the decision pretty easy.”

    As a rookie in 2018-19, Fiala played in 25 regular season games for the Huskies posting four assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department. U of S finished first in the Canada West Conference with a 25-3 record.

    Fiala had a plus-five rating playing in all five of the Huskies games in the Canada West Conference playoffs.

    At the University Cup national championship tournament last March, he played in all three of the Huskies games in that event posting a goal and a plus-three rating.

Evan Fiala (#27) had two assists on Friday night.

    On Friday night before 1,064 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place, the 22-year-old collected a pair of assists and a plus-two rating helping the Huskies blank the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 5-0. The victory was the first for the Huskies in the 2019-20 regular season helping them improve to 1-3-1.

    Fiala has played in all five of the Huskies games in the current campaign posting four assists and a minus-one rating.

    When he joined the Huskies, Fiala knew they had graduated their captain in Kendall McFaull at the conclusion of the 2017-18 campaign. McFaull was a stellar defenceman who was strong in his own zone.

Evan Fiala’s mom Julie Fiala, left, watches Friday night’s game.

    Fiala was aware there was a spot open to get on the ice right away, but he knew that spot wasn’t just going to be given to him.

    “You have to prove yourself no matter what situation you are in,” said Fiala, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds. “Thankfully, things have worked out that I’ve been able to play the games I have.

    “Hopefully, I can keep that spot.”

    During his WHL career that ran from 2014 to 2018, Fiala appeared in 266 regular season games split between the Spokane Chiefs and the Blades posting 17 goals, 53 assists, 500 penalty minutes and a plus-21 rating. He said the U Sports game is played at a higher pace than what is seen in the WHL due to the fact the players are more experienced being aged usually anywhere from age 19 to 26.

Evan Fiala passes the puck to a teammate.

    “It is definitely a step up,” said Fiala. “It is faster.

    “Everyone is bigger. It is a tonne of fun also. Everyone is usually where they need to be.

    “Everyone has been through it. They understand situations, and that is what makes the guys in there good. Everyone is on the same page.”

    Fiala enjoyed playing with the Huskies veteran players last season, and he said they played a big role in helping him get used to the U Sports league. He said star offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg really made him feel like he belonged.

    Forsberg was the Huskies captain last season in his fifth and final campaign of eligibility.

    “We had a fantastic veteran group last year Jesse (Forsberg) especially,” said Fiala. “He is definitely missed.

    “He was a good role model also. You’re not going to see a more passionate guy.”

    Going into this season, the Huskies appeared to have strong defensive unit on paper, but the injury bug decided to wreak havoc on things in the early going. 

Evan Fiala (#27) can be a presence when things get rough.

    The Dogs were short four defencemen at one time due to injury and are still without third-year rearguard Sam Ruopp and fourth-year blue-liner Colby Harmsworth.

    Fiala said the players currently dressing for games on the Huskies back end are starting to find their groove in filling the void left by Ruopp and Harmsworth.

    “Those are two big sets of shoes to fill,” said Fiala. “Spags (Cody Spagrud) and Franny (Kendall Fransoo) have done an amazing job.

    “They are great D-men to play with. It definitely helps our squad.”

    In Friday’s game, the Huskies opened the scoring at the 8:01 mark of the first period, when left-winger Carter Folk blew home a shot from in front of the Lethbridge goal after taking a drop pass from Fiala.

    Just over five minutes later, the Huskies went up 2-0, when centre Logan McVeigh tipped home a point shot from Spagrud.

    Working on a power play 87 seconds into the second frame, Huskies right-winger Carson Stadnyk took the puck at the right side of the Pronghorns goal, did a spin-o-rama and tucked home a shot past Pronghorns starting netminder Taz Burman. The tally gave the host side a 3-0 edge.

Evan Fiala monitors action in the offensive zone from the point.

    The Pronghorns elected to pull Burman after the Huskies third goal. He turned away 13-of-16 shots fired his way.

    Backup Nik Amundrud turned away 22-of-24 shots in relief.

    At the 3:16 mark of the second, Huskies defenceman Shane Collins wired home a shot from in front of the Pronghorns for a 4-0 lead.

    Before the second period ended, the Huskies went ahead 5-0, when Stadnyk netted his second of the contest on shot coming off a rush up the left wing. Fiala picked up his second assist of the contest on Stadnyk’s second tally.

    Taran Kozun stopped 18 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies.

Evan Fiala (#27) and the Huskies celebrate Friday’s win.

    Fiala was happy the Huskies broke through on the win column. The education major could potentially play three more seasons at U of S, but he said he doesn’t look past what is happening in the present day.

    “I’m right here right now, and it has been so far so good,” said Fiala. “I will focus on this season and see what happens in the future.”

    The Huskies and Pronghorns (3-2) go at it again on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

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

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Broncos buck off Blades

Saskatoon’s hold on WHL playoff spot slips

Broncos goalie Taz Burman holds off Blades winger Josh Paterson.

    An early lead by the Saskatoon Blades wasn’t enough to make the Swift Current Broncos top forwards go away.

    On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the host Blades, who are in a heated race for a WHL playoff spot, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Broncos big guns got going. Swift Current scored twice in the second period and twice early in the third to go up 4-2.

    The Blades cut the gap to 4-3, but the Broncos sealed a 5-3 final with an insurance goal coming on the power play.

    In the Broncos rally, star winger Tyler Steenbergen scored twice to sit with 49 goals on the season. Standout forwards Aleksi Heponiemi and Lane Pederson each had singles.

    The Swift Current tally that hurt Saskatoon the most likely came from the Broncos third line.

Tyler Steenbergen celebrates his first of two goals.

    With the teams locked in a 2-2 draw early in the third, winger Arthur Miller blew down the wall on the left wing and slipped a beauty pass for centre Conner Chaulk in the slot. Chaulk blew home his eighth goal of the season to put the visitors ahead 3-2.

    “I thought we were OK going into the third,” said Blades head coach Dean Brockman. “We got walked down the wall, and they scored that one. It just kind of seemed to deflate us.

    “We are full of emotion right now, and we are in a playoff hunt. When something like that happens, you have to make sure you don’t get too low, and I think we got too low there.”

    The Blades fell to 27-32-7-2 and saw their lead in the standings for eighth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and hold on the conference’s second wildcard playoff berth slip to one point. The Calgary Hitmen, who sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, pulled out a 4-3 upset victory at home over the Lethbridge Hurricanes to improve to 26-31-8-2 to pull within a point of the Blades with a game in hand.

Braylon Shmyr scored twice for the Blades.

    In Friday’s loss, the Blades went up 2-0 in the first, when 19-year-old winger Braylon Shmyr scored twice to delight most of the 4,285 spectators in attendance.

    The Broncos slowly worked their way to an even score in the second. Heponiemi, who is an import from Finland, scored close in at the 12:37 mark of the second to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 2-1. With 2:33 to play in the frame and the Broncos working on the power play, Steenbergen converted backdoor feed to force a 2-2 tie.

    “Getting that goal was pretty nice,” said Steenbergen. “It lifted our spirits a bit to tie the game there. It gave us momentum going into the third.”

    After Chaulk put the Broncos up 3-2, Steenbergen added his second of the contest at the 7:47 mark of the third to put the visitors up 4-2.

    With 10:12 to play, Blades rearguard Evan Fiala, who is known for being a defensive defenceman, scored on a great individual effort cutting across the front of the Swift Current goal and lifting home the rebound of his first shot to cut Swift Current’s lead to 4-3.

    While Fiala’s goal created a lot of excitement for the locals, Pederson took the air out of the SaskTel Centre crowd scoring on the power play with 5:39 to play in the third to round out the 5-3 final in favour of the visitors.

Evan Fiala scored a finesse goal for the Blades.

    The Broncos improved to 36-21-4-6 and lock up at least a third place finish in the WHL’s East Division and a best-of-seven first round playoff series with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

    Steenbergen said his Broncos have confidence in their ability to comeback in games.

    “We’ve been down goals a couple of times this year,” said Steenbergen. “We’ve came back from them. We know we can do it.

    “We got pretty positive in that first intermission. We came out with a little fire under our butts. We’re happy to get the win and clinch that third place spot for sure.”

    Brock Hamm made 23 stops to take the loss in goal for the Blades. Taz Burman turned away 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos.

    The Blades and Broncos will go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current.

    Brockman said it is challenging to defend against Steenbergen and Heponiemi.

    “Certainly, you have to be aware of them,” said Brockman. “They are both very dangerous guys.

    “They might be two of the best players in the league. We will just battle away.

Aleksi Heponiemi celebrates scoring for the Broncos.

    “We just have to chip away at them one shift at a time. We have to win a game on the road here.”

Going forward, Steenbergen admits the chance to score his 50^th goal of the season is on his mind, and he doesn’t want it to be a distraction.

    “It would be nice to get it out of the way,” said Steenbergen. “I am going to try and not think about it too much.

    “It is there. If I get it, I will be really excited.”

    NOTES – Blades forward Kirby Dach, who was selected by Saskatoon second overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, left Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury. His status is uncertain for Saturday’s game. Broncos overage goalie Jordan Papirny didn’t dress for Friday’s contest due to illness.

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