Demise of traditional Raiders logo tough for P.A. faithful

A hat with the Prince Albert Raiders traditional logo on it.

It was a day the faithful of the Prince Albert Raiders franchise hoped would never come, but its arrival maybe did seem inevitable.

About a week ago on Friday, October 1, the Raiders unveiled new regular home and away jerseys along with a new alternate uniform. The alternate was styled after the regular jerseys the Raiders wore from 1982 to 1996 that included the team’s traditional Arab on skates logo.

One day later at 9:29 p.m. Saskatchewan time, the WHL issued a statement saying the league and the Raiders had agreed to discontinue the jersey and the brand immediately.

“On Friday night the Prince Albert Raiders unveiled an alternate third jersey, which was inspired by a highly successful era in club history,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robson in the statement. “We recognized the dated design is insensitive and offensive.

“After consultation with the Prince Albert Raiders, this uniform and brand will be discontinued effective immediately. On behalf of the WHL and the Prince Albert Raiders, we regret this uniform design was approved and sincerely apologize for any harm it may have caused.”

The release said there would be no further comment from the WHL or the Raiders.

All items that contained the traditional Raiders logo were removed from the team’s online store this past Monday.

It is safe to say in Prince Albert that statement was met with dismay. In Prince Albert, that Raiders logo was revered and loved. Originally designed during the 1973-74 campaign when the Raiders were still playing in the junior A ranks in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the sight of that logo flooded back memories of some of the franchise’s greatest days to the people in Prince Albert.

A Raiders pennant from the 1980s.

While the logo wasn’t on team’s jerseys at first, it was in use by the squad for four Centennial Cup championships for junior A national supremacy in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1982. During those junior A years, the front of the Raiders jersey had the team named spelled out on it often accompanied by the number the player wore.

The traditional Raiders logo became the front crest on the team’s jersey, when the Raiders moved up to the major junior ranks and began playing in the WHL in 1982-83.

The Raiders won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985 wearing that jersey, and the team usually sat in the top five in the overall WHL standings wearing that jersey.

That jersey was worn by Mike Modano and Dave Manson, who are the club’s two more famous NHL grads. The Raiders have retired both of their numbers.

Various team stars like Dan Hodgson, Dave Pasin, Emanuel Viveiros, Pat Elynuik, Dean McAmmond, Jeff Nelson and Chris Phillips all wore that jersey.

That logo and jersey were used pretty much for the whole duration when Terry Simpson was with the Raiders as head coach or held the dual role of head coach and general manager from 1972 to 1986 and in 1989-90. Simpson will forever be a legend in P.A.

The Raiders wore that logo developing their image as being both a skilled and tough team. They could play the run and gun style, get down in the trenches or take part in a flat out brawl, if the opponent wanted things to go that way.

The back of a Raiders jacket circa late 1980s early 1990s.

They developed the romantic image of being the franchise “where honour still matters.”

At the other end of the spectrum, there are circles outside of Prince Albert that greet the Arab on skates logo with dismay. In those circles, the Raiders traditional logo was seen to be depicting a violent Muslim man or that all people from the Middle East are violent terrorists.

When the WHL posted a link to the statement nixing the traditional Raiders logo on Twitter, there were lots of people who piled on voicing displeasure or being offended by the logo.

For people in Prince Albert, it felt like those who voiced their displeasure were from outside the northern Saskatchewan centre, which caused the nixing of the logo to be that much tougher to take.

On Oct. 2, it seemed the displeasure with the traditional Raiders logo first popped up on a blog-type site called the Queens Citizen. The WHL issued its statement discontinuing the Raiders alternate jersey and traditional logo brand about six hours later.

It is common that voiced opposition to something does get rolling from a blog-type site, where questions start to quickly come from mainstream media outlets and sponsors.

While this may sound strange to people in Prince Albert, a lot of people outside of Prince Albert have never seen the Raiders traditional logo and don’t associate that logo with the team, because it has been 25 years since the hockey club used the Arab on skates logo as its main emblem. That factor also helps fuel outrage with regards to the Raiders traditional logo.

It is likely this is what happened with regards to the Raiders alternate jersey and their traditional logo brand, and the WHL and the Raiders took a temperature read. From that temperature read, a decision was made to get ahead of the story, which saw the WHL issue the release that it did.

The Raiders 1985 Memorial Cup championship team.

Looking back over the last seven days, the move worked. Outside of the initial outrage on social media, the story over what was the cancellation of the Raiders alternate jersey and traditional logo quickly went away.

During these social media times, it does feel like people in general have shorter attention spans, and the social media outrage mob quickly moves on to the next thing to get outraged over.

The Raiders faithful and the people in Prince Albert were left to digest what happened and work through how they felt about what happened once the mob moved on.

With that noted, the Raiders did get into hot water over their traditional logo before. In late 2014, the Raiders unveiled a new mascot named “Boston Raider” which was patterned heavily after the old logo.

Due to a national uproar, the mascot was mothballed shortly after being unveiled.

That had to foreshadow that the day may indeed come where the Raiders traditional logo would be nixed for good.

Back in 2014, CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes arrived in Prince Albert when the “Boston Raider” mascot episode occurred. It is safe to say the CBC comedy show wasn’t going to put Prince Albert in a very good light.

Due to the fact the WHL and Raiders got ahead of the story, no TV programs like This Hour Has 22 Minutes ventured to Prince Albert to make the city look bad, and uproar had to be judged to be a lot less than it was in 2014.

Brayden Pachal wears a throwback Raiders uniform on Feb. 15, 2019.

It was smart for the WHL and the Raiders to not say anything further, because it was impossible to win no matter what you said. All that could be accomplished was an unsatisfying tie or going out and digging a deeper hole.

In the years since 2014, the Raiders quietly brought back the traditional logo on merchandise in the team’s gift store inside the club’s home rink, the Art Hauser Centre. Those items were always big sellers, because of the good memories it brought back for locals in Prince Albert.

The staff in the Raiders business office saw the logo made locals happy, so they kept bringing it back. The Raiders even wore jerseys that mirrored those worn from 1982 to 1996 for two games in their 2018-19 WHL Championship season.

Despite the fallout over the traditional logo, the Raiders have one of the best business offices in the league with Michael Scissons as business manager and Cliff Mapes as executive director of business operations leading the way.

The Raiders have one of the best hockey operations staffs in the WHL led by Curtis Hunt as general manager and Marc Habscheid as head coach.

Over the longer stretch of time, the Raiders have the people in place to keep the franchise in a good spot.

The fact that the traditional logo has gotten nixed doesn’t negate all the great things the Raiders franchise has done. 

The Raiders wear throwback uniforms on Feb. 15, 2019.

As time moves on, this episode might be a blessing in disguise helping the Raiders franchise move forward.

When it comes to the core of everything, the Prince Albert Raiders are still the franchise “where honour still matters,” and the faithful that follow the team are still good people. Those are things that are always good to remember.

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

-------

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.

Hilltops ship it up to Boston

Davidsen rumbles for 221 yards in win over Huskies

Boston Davidsen had a monster game Sunday for the Hilltops.

The Saskatoon Hilltops shipped the ball up to Boston Davidsen to find their offensive groove.

The 20-year-old running back, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 188 pounds, ran the ball 31 times for 221 yards and scored three touchdowns to power the Hilltops to a 34-20 victory over the Edmonton Huskies in a CJFL regular season clash on Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Davidsen’s performance allowed the Hilltops to build a 17-0 edge in the first quarter and hold a 20-0 advantage at halftime. The power running back’s legs ensured the Hilltops held off a Huskies surge in the second half to preserve the victory.

When asked if this contest was a statement to show he had arrived, Davidsen deflected credit to his offensive line.

Boston Davidsen (#24) powers his way to a 10-yard touchdown run.

The Hilltops starting offensive line including left tackle Mason Ochs, left guard Jordan Bisson, centre Luciano Jolly, right guard Ethan Paslowski and right tackle Jayson Kehler allowed the Hilltops to pile up 444 yards of total offence.

“It is more the O-line’s time has arrived,” said Davidsen, whose father Donnie Davidsen is the Hilltops long time offensive line coach. “This is probably their best game of the year.

“When the O-line has a good game, the running back is going to have a good game. I think just O-line play and coaching plan led to the game today.”

The win was a big one for the Hilltops as it allowed them to improve to 4-2, while the Huskies fell to 4-2. 

Boston Davidsen (#24) celebrates his second of three majors.

The victory allowed the Hilltops to sweep the regular season series with the Huskies 2-0, which means Saskatoon holds the standings tiebreaker between the two sides and moved into second place in the Prairie Football Conference.

Both clubs have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. The Regina Thunder sit first in the PFC with a 6-0 mark with two games remaining on their regular season schedule.

Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said Boston Davidsen has emerged thanks to the work he put in during an extended break when the 2020 CJFL season was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Boston Davidsen, left, scores his third rushing TD on Sunday.

Davidsen helped the Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints win 3A provincial championships in 2016 and 2018 before joining the Hilltops for their 2019 CJFL championship season. Following the Hilltops 2019 CJFL title season, Sargeant said Davidsen worked to get bigger, stronger and faster.

“Carter (McLean) is our starter, but he (Davidsen) just kept coming and coming,” said Sargeant. “Carter got a little nicked up, and at the end of the day, hey, he (Davidsen) is starting to make his plays, and it is fun to watch.

“Everyone rallies around him. To have Boston and Carter in our backfield and Jordan Tabin who played a great game today as well, our three backs were absolutely exemplary today. A big credit to the O-line.

Boston Davidsen piled up 221 yards rushing on Sunday.

“When you put all that together, yeah, we should be tough to stop, and we want to keep going in that direction.”

The presence of Davidsen and McLean gives the Hilltops a huge one-two punch at the running back position, while Tabin has taken on the role of short-yardage specialist. McLean had a solid outing too in Sunday’s win carrying the ball 14 times for 64 yards.

Davidsen said McLean, who is in his third full season with the Hilltops, has been a good mentor.

“The running back ahead of me, Carter McLean, he has been a really big influence on me,” said Davidsen. “He has been really helping me out teaching me and has been a big supporter of mine.

“A lot of credit goes to him.”

Josh Wiebe had a big opening kickoff return on Sunday.

The Hilltops came out the gate flying on Sunday. Receiver Josh Wiebe returned the opening kickoff 39 yards into Huskies territory to give the Hilltops offence good field position.

The Hilltops offence proceeded to drive the ball after Wiebe’s return for an opening series touchdown drive that was capped by a four-yard scoring run by Davidsen to take a 7-0 lead. That score marked the first time the Hilltops offence scored a major on their opening possession of the game this season.

Saskatoon quickly got the ball back again thanks to an interception near midfield by outside linebacker Konner Johnson, who had seven total tackles in the contest.

“That was one of our big talking points in practices,” said Davidsen. “It was let’s have a good drive and let’s stay on the field, especially on that first drive and hit them hard.

Konner Johnson came up with a big first quarter interception.

“I think we did that, and it helped for the rest of the game.”

The Hilltops drove down and got a 17-yard field goal from kicker Teijon Abel-Douglas on their ensuing possession to go up 10-0.

Before the first quarter ended, Davidsen ran in a touchdown up the gut from 10-yards out to increase Saskatoon’s advantage to 17-0.

In the second quarter, the Hilltops scored a safety to go up 19-0, when Huskies star quarterback Declan O’Flaherty was penalized for intentional grounding for throwing the ball away while in his own end zone.

Abel-Douglas added a single from a missed 37-yard field goal to put the Hilltops up 20-0 going into halftime.

Two Hilltops defenders make a big hit on a Huskies receiver.

Hilltops safety Brant Morrow said his team had a really good vibe heading into Sunday’s game.

“It was more of a feeling,” said Morrow, who had three solo tackles and a pass knock down in the win. “We came out with more energy.

“We were giving each other more high-fives. We were excited for each other making plays. That energy just really took us into the game, and we played a better game.”

The Huskies didn’t go away. On the first series in the second half, the Huskies put together a long offensive series that culminated on an 11-yard touchdown run from star running back Alex Gayle to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 20-7.

Huskies receiver De Shawn Le Jour gets tackled after a catch.

The Hilltops responded with a touchdown drive of their own that was capped by a 21-yard run from Davidsen to push the host side’s advantage to 27-7. Morrow was impressed with what Davidsen and the Hilltops ground game was able to do.

“Boston was amazing, but I also have to give a shout out to the O-line,” said Morrow. “They were awesome as well.

“He (Davidsen) was hitting the holes hard. Yards after contact, he can get a lot of those. He was special today.”

Before the third quarter ended, the Huskies got on the board again, when O’Flaherty hit star receiver De Shawn Le Jour with a 35-yard touchdown pass. Huskies kicker Ethan Hartman hit the crossbar on the ensuing convert to see the Hilltops lead sit at 27-13.

Declan O'Flaherty (#4) had 306 yards passing for the Huskies.

Just 75 seconds into the fourth quarter, O’Flaherty hit receiver Caleb Akerley with a four-yard touchdown toss on a third-and-goal gamble. The Huskies major further trimmed Saskatoon’s advantage to 27-20.

That was as close as the Huskies would come to making a comeback.

Hilltops quarterback Damon Dutton hit speedy receiver Ethan Godson with a 27-yard touchdown pass with 8:42 remaining in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring in the 34-20 win by the host side.

“We’re a work in progress, but at the end of the day, this was by far our best game of the year,” said Sargeant. “You know what, the guys stuck together and played together.

Ethan Paslowski, left, sets to make a block in pass protection.

“Our O-line really stepped up. Our quarterback was good. Boston Davidsen is an emerging superstar.

“At the end the day, the defence was great in the first half.”

Doubling as the Hilltops offensive coordinator, Sargeant gave his offence, which has been inconsistent this season, an extra plug.

“The Edmonton Huskies had the best offence in the league,” said Sargeant. “That was our challenge is whose got the best offence.

“I think we proved today putting 34 points on it right now that the Saskatoon Hilltops offence is pretty good. We’re only going to get better.”

Carter McLean carried the ball 14 times for 64 yards on Sunday.

Dutton completed 16-of-24 passes for 159 yards, one touchdown and no inceptions for the Hilltops.

O’Flaherty connected on 26-of-40 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing one interception for the Huskies. Gayle carried the ball 22 times for 119 yards to go with his major score, while Le Jour caught seven passes for 114 yards to go with his catch for a major score for the visitors.

Defensive lineman Josh Lenz had a sack for the Huskies.

The entire PFC now heads off on a bye week.

The Hilltops return to action on Sunday, October 17 at 1 p.m. when they host the Edmonton Wildcats (2-4) at SMF Field.

Matthew Turple, left, and Luciano Jolly are all smiles after Sunday’s win.

Davidsen said the focus now shifts toward building for the post-season.

“We’re getting ready for the playoffs here,” said Davidsen. “We have two more games.

“We have to try and ramp up the intensity, so that when we go into the playoffs, we are ready to go, and it is our best game when we are heading into Week 1 of the playoffs.”

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

-------

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.

Great to see Raiders play meaningful game at Hauser

The Raiders celebrate a goal on Friday night.

It crazy to think the Prince Albert Raiders went 574 days before playing a meaningful game again at their storied home rink – the Art Hauser Centre.

Way back on March 6, 2020, the Raiders dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings at the Hauser. Prince Albert sat first in the WHL’s East Division at the time and was skating through a great follow up season after capturing the WHL Championship in the 2018-19 campaign.

The 2,795 spectators that were in the 2,580 seat facility that night had no idea they wouldn’t see the Raiders play at home again for another 574 days.

The Raiders hit the road for two contests before the WHL season was first postponed on March 12, 2020 before the rest of the 2019-20 campaign was outright cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world.

For the 2020-21 campaign, the Raiders played an abbreviated 24-game regular season in a bubble format in Regina against the WHL’s four other Saskatchewan franchises and the circuit’s two clubs from Manitoba.

On Friday, the Raiders finally played a meaningful game at the Art Hauser Centre hosting the Regina Pats in the regular season opener for both clubs.

Prince Albert raised a banner for finishing first in the East Division in the 2019-20 campaign. A total of 2,578 spectators came out to see the host side fall 3-1.

Keaton Sorensen soaked in playing in front of the Raiders faithful

Still, it produced so many good emotions just to see the Raiders back out on the ice surface at the Hauser for a meaningful game.

When the first shutdowns started to happen in North America to battle the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11 and 12, 2020, there had to be fear at that time the sports world in North America might change forever, which could include the loss of the Raiders and many other teams.

The attachment to seeing Raiders games at the Hauser is intensified, when you realize the building had its signature moment just two years ago. Of course, that moment occurred on May 13 when Dante Hannoun scored the overtime winner for the Raiders in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants.

Hannoun’s tally gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory and a night the Raiders and their faithful will remember forever as they captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

There had to be a fear that those types of magical moments might not come true.

Most of the worst case fears on the North American sports front didn’t come true thankfully.

When the Raiders did take the ice at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday, their faithful brought the great atmosphere that the building is known for.

Dallyn Peekeekoot jets up ice for the Raiders.

It was amazing to see numerous fans return to the building and occupy the seats that they have had for years. Eventually if you go to enough Raiders games, you start to feel like you know the majority of people in the building.

Following Friday’s game, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said the absence makes you cherish the time spent at the legendary rink that much more.

“Sometimes in life, you take things for granted,” said Habscheid. “You don’t really appreciate them until it gets taken away.

“It got taken away from us for a year and a half. I think everyone whether it be the players, the staff, the coaches, the fans and everybody realizes that it is pretty special to be able to play.”

Veteran 19-year-old left-winger Keaton Sorensen was acquired in an off-season trade from his hometown Red Deer Rebels, and he played his first regular season game as a member of the Raiders on Friday. He enjoyed the atmosphere the fans brought.

“It was an awesome change,” said Sorensen, who scored the Raiders lone goal on Friday night. “Playing in front of no fans is tough with gaining kind of energy.

“You kind of had to make you own energy, so having fans behind us was a great change for sure.”

There were so many aspects of the Hauser that were missed. They include how the Ches Leach Lounge was the perfect social hub, the concession food which has often been tabbed the best on the WHL circuit and hearing “The Song In Prince Albert is Go Raiders Go” echo in the building’s rafters.

Remy Aquilon salutes the fans during pre-game on Friday.

Of course, fans are waiting for the first time later this season when “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” can be played postgame when the Raiders beat their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades.

If you are a hockey fan, seeing a Raiders game at the Art Hauser Centre is one of those bucket list things you have to do. 

You get to feel the WHL atmosphere at its best.

It is warms the heart to know many more special memories can be made at this fabled hockey home in “Hockey Town North.”

Pats finishing kick does in P.A.

Sloan Stanick scored twice for the Pats on Saturday.

The Prince Albert Raiders had key forwards Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reece Vitelli back in the fold Saturday, but their presence couldn’t stop a finishing surge by the Regina Pats.

In a game seen national on CBC from the Brandt Centre in Regina, the two sides were locked in a 2-2 draw until the 14:22 mark of the second period, when Pats right-winger Sloan Stanick scored his second of the afternoon to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.

Pats left-winger Zack Stringer scored 37 seconds into the third period, and 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard found the back of the net at the 13:30 mark of the third to give the Pats a 5-2 victory to the delight 4,292 spectators in attendance.

Wiesblatt returned to the Raiders after been at the training camp of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, and Vitelli, who is an overager, came back after attending the NHL training camp of the Arizona Coyotes.

Wiesblatt, who is a right-winger, and Vitelli, who is a centre, scored singles for the Raiders in the setback.

Stanick had an assist to go with his two goals for the Pats. Regina centre Cole Carrier had a goal and two assists in the win.

Carter Serhyenko made 29 stops to take the setback in goal for the Raiders (0-2). Matthew Kieper turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats (2-0).

The Pats downed the Raiders 3-1 the previous night in Prince Albert. The Raiders departed Prince Albert at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday to make the 1 p.m. start in Regina.

Prince Albert’s two best defencemen are still away at NHL training camps including Kaiden Guhle, who is at Montreal Canadiens camp, and Nolan Allan, who is at Chicago Blackhawks camp.

The Raiders return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings. The Pats are next in action on Wednesday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Ice.

Raiders alternate jersey with traditional logo gets axed

The Raiders wear throwback uniforms on Feb. 15, 2019.

The Prince Albert Raiders new alternate jersey with the team’s traditional logo has been axed.

On Friday, the Raiders launched new home, away and alternate third jerseys. The alternate jersey was patterned after the uniform the team wore from 1982 through to the end of the 1995-96 campaign.

That era included the Raiders Memorial Cup win as CHL Champions in 1985. The Raiders are celebrating 50 years of existence, and the return of their traditional logo was part of those festivities to mark the club’s history.

The alternate jersey contained the Raiders traditional logo, which depicts an Arab on skates holding a sword in one hand a hockey stick in the other. The logo was designed in the Raiders third season 1973-74, when the club was still in the junior A ranks skating in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

On Saturday night at 9:29 p.m. Saskatchewan time, the WHL issued a statement from commissioner Ron Robison regarding the Raiders new alternate uniform.

“On Friday night the Prince Albert Raiders unveiled an alternate third jersey, which was inspired by a highly successful era in club history,” said Robson. “We recognized the dated design is insensitive and offensive.

“After consultation with the Prince Albert Raiders, this uniform and brand will be discontinued effective immediately. On behalf of the WHL and the Prince Albert Raiders, we regret this uniform design was approved and sincerely apologize for any harm it may have caused.”

The release said there would be no further comment from the WHL or the Raiders.

The Raiders last wore a uniform like their now discontinued alternates for about a couple of games in their 2018-19 WHL Championship season.

The Raiders did get into hot water over their traditional logo before. In late 2014, the Raiders unveiled a new mascot named “Boston Raider” which was patterned heavily after the old logo.

Due to a national uproar, the mascot was mothballed shortly after being unveiled.

By the sounds of the statement by Robson late Saturday night, it appeared the traditional logo will be discontinued along with the alternate jersey. The Raiders still sold a lot of merchandise featuring the team’s traditional logo.

In Prince Albert, it is safe to say the traditional logo is revered there, and a lot of people in that northern Saskatchewan city will be upset about news from late Saturday night.

The WHL’s statement on the alternate Raiders jersey was posted on Twitter, and the lynch mob has chimed in there with outrage the alternate jersey was approved.

It in the climate of the current world, it was getting harder each passing day for the Raiders to bring back their traditional logo. Outside of Prince Albert, the opposition to the logo is quite large, and it has become large enough that the team’s activities get grounded to a halt dealing with the criticism.

It seemed like what happened on Saturday was inevitable.

Back in Daily Herald

My column in the Prince Albert Daily Herald last Wednesday.

This past Wednesday, I returned to the pages of the Prince Albert Daily Herald.

I will be writing columns on the WHL for the Daily Herald, which will appear every second Wednesday. I was a sports reporter for the Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004, and the crew there is a fantastic bunch.

Back in 2019, I got to write pieces for the special section the Daily Herald put out when the Raiders went to the Memorial Cup. I also wrote a column for the publications 125^th anniversary.

My column this past Wednesday focused on the Art Hauser Centre being one of the WHL’s last great storied rinks and the hype train for Regina Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard is a good thing for the circuit.

That column 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.

-------

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.

Opportunistic Bedard pushes Pats past Raiders

The Pats celebrate a third period goal from Connor Bedard.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said the most effective way to neutralize Regina Pats phenom centre Connor Bedard is to hide his sticks and skates.

Habscheid, who is one of the WHL’s all-time coaching greats, was making a joke of course with that statement in a post-game scrum after his Raiders fell to the Pats 3-1 on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. The contest opened the WHL regular season for both teams.

Bedard netted Regina’s first and third goals on the night.

Still, Habscheid, who got play with the Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers for a short time in the 1980s, had to give props and marvel at what Bedard could do.

Connor Bedard (#98) fires home his first period goal on Friday.

The bench boss thought his club did a good job in containing Bedard, but the 16-year-old North Vancouver, B.C., product cashed in on his limited chances when they came to disappoint most of the 2,578 spectators in attendance at the 2,580 seat rink.

“He (Bedard) is a good player, but I thought we did a good job,” said Habscheid, whose team still has four key players away attending NHL training camps. “He was opportunistic tonight.

“I thought we did a good job with him. He had the one chance, and it was a good shot on the first one. On the second one, it was in tight, and he just makes some good plays.

Carter Serhyenko made 36 saves Friday for the Raiders.

“Our penalty kill was good against him. Five on five for the most part I thought we did a good job. When he gets a chance, he can score.”

Bedard capitalized on his first good chance to score in the contest at the 5:37 mark of the first period. He took a zone entry pass from linemate Zack Smith, skated into the Prince Albert zone and wired a shot to the top left corner of the Raiders goal.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 181 pounds, thought that quick start set a good tone for his side as the Pats would outshoot the Raiders 39-22 in the contest.

“I thought we came our really hard,” said Bedard. “Obviously, we wanted that first one.

Raiders RW Zachary Wilson, left, and Pats C Drew Englot battle it out.

“That is a really good team, and I thought we were able to outplay them.”

The Pats extended their edge to 2-0 with 1:36 remaining in the opening frame when veteran centre Drew Englot, who turns 19-years-old later this month, slid home an on-ice shot past Raiders netminder Carter Serhyenko, who faced 13 shots in the first 20 minutes.

The Raiders came out with a lot more fire in the second. Just before midway point of the frame, the Raiders were awarded a penalty shot when left-winger Evan Herman had a clear break to the Regina goal and was hauled down by Pats defenceman Layton Feist from behind.

Raiders LW Evan Herman got stopped on a penalty shot chance.

On the penalty shot, Herman performed a few stickhandling moves before snapping a shot that was turned away by Pats netminder Matthew Kieper.

The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 11:33 mark of the second when right-winger Cale Sanders sprung left-winger Keaton Sorensen with a smart pass in alone on the Regina goal. Sorensen slid a backhander past Kieper to cut the Pats lead to 2-1.

The 19-year-old veteran forward was pumped to help turn the momentum in favour of the host side with his goal.

“We had a good shift there,” said Sorensen. “We took care of the defensive zone, and we got rewarded.

Keaton Sorensen sets to slide home a backhander for the Raiders.

“I got a nice pass by Sandy (Sanders) there, and I was lucky enough to finish her.”

Just moments after that tally, Raiders left-winger Ethan Ironside had a golden chance to even things up, but he rang a shot from the left wing boards off the post of the Regina goal.

Sorensen said it would have helped his squad to finished a couple of other chances in the second.

“You can’t really win games without shots, so I think we just had to get some more pucks to the net,” said Sorensen. “I would have been nice to pop a couple of more and finish some other chances.”

Ethan Ironside rang a shot off the post in the second period.

The Pats dominated the contest territorially in the third period.  With 8:44 remaining in the frame, Bedard fired home a key insurance goal through a screen midrange from the front of the Prince Albert goal to put the Pats up 3-1.

The Raiders got on the power play with the 2:04 remaining in the third and applied intense pressure during that time in the Regina zone. Prince Albert created a couple of net scramble scoring opportunities but wasn’t able to put the puck in the back of the Regina net.

Kieper stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Carter Serhyenko turned away36 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders.

Pats defenceman Ryker Evans picked up two assists in the win.

Ryker Evans had two assists for the Pats on Friday.

The Pats weren’t able to score on any of their four power-play chances, while the Raiders failed to score on their one opportunity with the man advantage.

Bedard was pleased his squad was able to start their regular season with a win.

“It is definitely nice,” said Bedard. “I think we just have to carry it over with such a short turnaround too.

“Obviously, you know there are 67 more games. We have lots of hockey left obviously, but it was definitely nice to get that first one.”

The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 1 p.m. Saskatchewan time at the Brandt Centre in Regina in a contest that will be shown live on CBC.

A mad scramble occurs around the Pats net late in the third period.

Bedard said the short turnaround will be challenging, but it both sides are going through that turnaround together.

“I think it is going to be not easy for everyone, but everyone is in the same boat,” said Bedard. “Obviously, we get home and get to bed and then obviously do what we can to prepare ourselves as well as we can.”

Looking to Saturday’s encounter, Habscheid doesn’t think his side will have a problem getting up for that clash noting it is on national TV.

“The bus leaves at 6:15 tomorrow morning, so it is an unusual game,” said Habscheid. “These kids get a chance to play on CBC.

The Pats celebrate their win on Friday night.

“For some of these guys, that is maybe a once in a lifetime thing, so I don’t think they will have a problem loading the bus or being on the bus at 6:15 to travel four hours to play on CBC from coast to coast.”

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

-------

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.

Hilltops and Huskies to battle in big money game

Ethan Godson and the Hilltops have a big game on Sunday.

It is a contest the Saskatoon Hilltops have to win, if they want to have a bye in the post-season.

On Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Hilltops (3-2) host the Edmonton Huskies (4-1) in a CJFL regular season clash where the winner will sit second in the Prairie Football Conference standings.

The Hilltops claimed the first encounter between the two sides 18-17 on August 22 at Jasper Place Bowl in Edmonton. 

A win by Saskatoon on Sunday would allow the Hilltops to sweep the season series 2-0 and give them the standings tiebreaker with the Huskies.

If the Huskies win on Sunday, the Hilltops chances of finishing in the top two positions of the PFC could potentially be finished. The Huskies would be left to jockey with the Regina Thunder (5-0) for first in the PFC over the final two weeks of the campaign.

This season, all six teams in the PFC make the playoffs. The first and second place teams earn byes to host conference semifinal games.

 “That (Sunday’s contest with the Huskies) is an absolute money game,” said Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. “There is lots at stake there.

Boston Davidsen (#24) has run tough inside for the Hilltops.

“We certainly have to improve our performance and our play if we are going to put ourselves in some meaningful situations in the future. Right now, we are making still too many mistakes that get in our way and don’t allow us to play a game of energy and momentum.”

Sargeant is well aware of the test that awaits his team. Huskies running back Alex Gayle leads the PFC in rushing yards with 547 and rushing touchdowns with seven.

Gayle piled up those statistics on 87 carries, which means he is averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

Huskies star quarterback Declan O’Flaherty has completed 76-of-135 passes for PFC high 1,350 yards and a PFC leading 13 touchdowns, while only throwing two interceptions.

Huskies receiver Adner St. Hilaire sits second in the PFC with 409 yards receiving coming on 22 catches, and he has scored a pair of touchdowns. De Shawn Le Jour is also having a big season playing receiver for the Huskies catching 13 passes for 341 yards and six touchdowns. His receive yardage total ranks fourth best in the PFC.

Sargeant liked how his defence has played this season, especially in the Hilltops 25-10 victory over the Winnipeg Rifles this past Sunday at SMF Field. The legendary sideline boss knows that unit faces a big test against the Huskies.

LB Noah Gedir (#36) and the Hilltops defence aims to come up big.

“Our defence certainly put on some good game tape this weekend especially after the first quarter,” said Sargeant. “I’m really pleased with how they played.

“They have a tough matchup ahead of them, because they (the Huskies) got the leading rusher. They have two of the top four receivers. Their quarterback has thrown 13 touchdowns and 1,300 yards passing, so by far the best in the league.

“They have a lot of weapons offensively. Their defence is aggressive. There is lots in front of us.”

Hilltops outside linebacker Konner Johnson said a key to taking on the Huskies is trying to make them one-dimensional on offence.

“We have to stop the run first of all like we did with the Rifles,” said Johnson, who leads the Hilltops with three interceptions this season. “The run is dangerous.

“Once we can do that, the game gets easier for us on defence, and that is the goal.”

Offensively, the Hilltops are looking for better consistency on that side of the ball. They’ve been able to rely on their ground game as running back Carter McLean sits third in the PFC in rushing with 421 yards coming on 92 carries, and he has scores three touchdowns.

The Hilltops need to hit the end zone a few times on Sunday.

Running back Boston Davidsen, who is in his second full season with the Hilltops, has carried the ball 38 times for 243 yards and scored one touchdown this season. He sits seventh in the PFC for rushing.

The Hilltops air attack is showing glimpses over the past two weeks that it can be dangerous. Speed receiver Ethan Godson has caught 16 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns. He has the fifth most receiving yards in the PFC.

Huskies defensive back Cheyvez Campbell tops the PFC with five interceptions, and he will try to keep making life tough for the Hilltops offence.

“We just have to be consistent,” said Godson. “I think that is the biggest thing.

“We have some good drives, but then we can’t finish them. I think just being consistent is the biggest thing.”

Hilltops’ Morrow gets PFC’s weekly special teams honour

Brant Morrow jets downfield on a 56-yard punt return.

Saskatoon Hilltops safety Brant Morrow turned heads with his abilities on special teams, and it allowed him to capture a weekly award.

On Tuesday, Morrow was named the special teams player of the week for the Prairie Football Conference. This past Sunday in a 25-10 victory over the Winnipeg Rifles at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Morrow returned two punts for 73 yards and kicked off once for 40 yards.

In the first quarter in the win over the Rifles, Morrow returned a punt 56 yards down to the Winnipeg one yard line. That set up a one-yard touchdown plunge from Hilltops running back Boston Davidsen.

Edmonton Huskies running back Alex Gayle was named the PFC’s offensive player of the week for his efforts in a 57-14 romp over the Colts in Calgary this past Sunday.

Gayle carried the ball 19 times for 149 yards and scored four touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 29 yards.

Regina Thunder linebacker Matthew Schill took honours as the PFC’s defensive player of the week for his efforts in a 22-10 victory over the Wildcats in Edmonton. Schill had 11 solo tackles, one quarterback sack and one interception in the win.

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

-------

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.

Jolly centre of focus and fun on Hilltops offensive line

Luciano Jolly has had a standout season as the Hilltops centre.

As a backup centre, Luciano Jolly created the signature fun off-field moment that will be remembered forever by the Saskatoon Hilltops 2019 CJFL championship winning team.

Following a 49-22 victory over the Winnipeg Rifles on October 6, 2019 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, a photo I took of then fifth-year right guard Taylon Elderkin running the ball for a 13 yard gain ran with the game story posted on this blog. The picture was placed as a solo post on my Twitter account.

Jolly and Elderkin are long time best friends having played football together during their high school days with the North Battleford Comprehensive High School Vikings. When Jolly discovered the photo, he sent it to a site called Linemanprobs.com.

Linemanprobs.com ran the photo on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds and the picture went viral racking up views.

“Seeing him run for 13 yards, it could have been a touchdown in my opinion, but it is what it is,” said Jolly. “I saved it immediately, sent it into that linemen page and it kind of just blew up from there.”

Jolly said it is the dream of every offensive lineman to touch the ball. Now as the Hilltops starting centre this season, Jolly touches the ball on every play as he snaps it back to the quarterback.

Still, the other four members of the offensive line might touch the ball the rare time on a trick play or recovering a fumble.

Looking back on that moment of Elderkin’s photo from 2019, Jolly thought that helped keep things fun and in a positive groove for the offensive line and team.

Luciano Jolly, right, opens a hole for Boston Davidsen.

“We were already like a tight brotherhood I guess you could say,” said Jolly, who stands 6-feet and weighs 260 pounds. “Seeing one of us make it up higher and getting the recognition we finally wanted, that just made it 10 times better.”

This season, Jolly is doing a little more than helping provide levity off the field. As the starting centre, Jolly is looked upon to be the leader on the offensive line, and he is responsible for calling out blocking adjustments.

The 22-year-old has played centre on the offensive line since Grade 9. With the Hilltops, he toiled as backup for his first three seasons helping the Hilltops win CJFL championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019. After the 2020 season was lost due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, Jolly was elated to move into the starter’s role this season.

“I don’t know how to put this,” said Jolly, whose Hilltops (3-2) host the Edmonton Huskies (4-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at SMF Field. “It feels like I’m just finally earning my place like I’ve been riding the bench for so long.

“Finally, I’ve moved up and this is my spot now.”

Jolly said he was ready to take on the starter’s role and believes the Hilltops offensive line has been communicating and working together well as a unit. It seemed natural for him to step in and call out the adjustments on the offensive line.

“I’ve kind of been in that position since Grade 9, so it is nothing really new for me,” said Jolly. “It is nice being able to have the guys communicate.

The viral Taylon Elderkin run on Instagram from 2019.

“I need to say something to them, and they say it right back. We automatically know what we are doing on that play or just getting people riled up.”

Jolly’s play has pleased legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant. Sargeant said Jolly put in the work to be ready to become the starting centre, and the hard work is paying off.

“First thing first, Luciano paid the price in his first three years in terms of just being on the practice roster and being a backup and developing,” said Sargeant. “We thrust him into the starting lineup, and he has been one of our more consistent football players.

“Our centre position is something we were concerned about. Luciano has come and erased those question marks or doubts. He has been an outstanding performer.

“As I said, he has been a real difference maker this year, very proud of him.”

Sargeant admitted that Jolly could have started in the 2019 campaign, if then fifth-year centre Patrick Arno had gone down to injury. Arno was in his fourth full season as the Hilltops starting centre in 2019 and had a big edge over Jolly in the experience department.

This season, Sargeant said only three-time all-Canadian all-star left tackle Mason Ochs has performed better on the offensive line than Jolly has.

“Luciano is probably performing at the second highest level right now in terms of doing his job and doing it with physicality and understanding and executing his assignments,” said Sargeant. “I’m very impressed and very happy with how he is playing.”

Luciano Jolly, with hand on ball, calls adjustments on the O-line.

Jolly said he enjoyed learning and playing behind Arno and the other veterans he was teammates with on the offensive line who have since graduated from the program. From the veterans, Jolly learned about the focused and fun vibe the offensive line has and works to pass that down to the younger offensive linemen on the team.

“It is a great group of guys,” said Jolly. “We always like to say that we’re like a pod of dolphins, because dolphins are smart and they always communicate with each other and everything.

“We always like to say we are a pod of dolphins just to keep us like together.”

After last season was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jolly has enjoyed playing games that much more this season. Going into Sunday’s clash with the Huskies, he has that big game excited feel.

The winner of that CJFL regular season clash will hold second place in the Prairie Football Conference. The Hilltops claimed the first encounter between the two sides 18-17 on August 22 at Jasper Place Bowl in Edmonton.

A win by Saskatoon on Sunday would allow the Hilltops to sweep the season series 2-0 and give them the standings tiebreaker with the Huskies.

Jolly said his Hilltops still have to show how good they really can be and the encounter with the Huskies provides a chance to do that.

Luciano Jolly (#58) is looking forward to big game days with the Hilltops.

“We’re just trying to prove ourselves,” said Jolly. “That is our second place spot, and we want it.

“We want to go get it.”

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

-------

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.