WHL reaching Christmas break a big accomplishment

More pandemic hurdles unavoidable coming out of holidays

The Ice celebrate scoring a goal in a win on December 15.

During these crazy times in the world, simple milestones in the sports world are big accomplishments.

For the WHL, it was a big accomplishment for the league to play thru to its Christmas break with the world still in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Due to the pandemic last season, the WHL played an abbreviated campaign that saw nine of its 22 clubs play a full shortened 24-game schedule. Only two teams played less than 20 games, but looking back, it was quite an accomplishment for the circuit to get an abbreviated season in.

In 2019-20, the regular season was going like clockwork like any other campaign until the COVID-19 pandemic got its claps on North America in March of 2020. That season was the last time the WHL got to hold a Christmas break until the current campaign.

On March 12, 2020, the 2019-20 season was stopped and the remainder of the regular season and the entire post-season was ultimately cancelled.

The 2018-19 campaign is the last time the WHL and Canada’s other two major junior circuits that play under the CHL umbrella in the OHL and QMJHL played a complete season that concluded with a club winning the Memorial Cup as CHL champions.

It should be noted too that schedule disruptions have been held to a minimum in the WHL. The Spokane Chiefs had to adjust three games on their schedule after they had two players test positive for COVID-19.

Some teams in the Western Conference had to make some minor scheduled adjustments due to bad weather, which included heavy rains in B.C. in November that caused slides, flooding and washouts.

Across the WHL, it is standard to have a few games each season reschedule due to bad weather as teams are traveling across four provinces and two states in the United States.

Connor McClennon (#94) in action for the Ice this season.

In order to help get this season played to a completion, the WHL decided that for the current campaign that there would not be any cross conference play. As a result, teams in the Eastern Conference are just playing teams in the Eastern Conference, while teams in the Western Conference are just playing Western Conference foes.

Overall, it has been great that followers of the league have been able to focus mainly on the action on the ice.

So far, the Winnipeg Ice have been the team that has turned the most heads leading the WHL’s overall standings with a 25-5-1 mark. They are rated first in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings.

The Ice have the top three scorers in the WHL. Centre Matthew Savoie is the WHL scoring leader with 50 points coming on 17 goals and 33 assist to go with a plus-23 rating in the plus-minus department.

Right-winger Connor McClennon is second league scoring with 45 points coming on 23 goals and 22 assists to go with a plus-26 rating. Winger Mikey Milne is third in the WHL scoring with 42 points coming on 20 goals and 22 assists to go with a plus-29 rating.

The Edmonton Oil Kings are right on the heels of the Ice posting the WHL’s second best record at 22-6-2-1 and are rated second in the CHL Top 10 rankings. Edmonton was likely robbed the most of post-season glory due to the fact there were no playoffs in 2020 and 2021.

The Oil Kings were the top team in the Eastern Conference in each of the past two seasons, and they topped the WHL overall standings in last season’s abbreviated campaign.

They made a blockbuster trade on December 1 with the Prince Albert Raiders to acquire star defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who might be the best junior aged rearguard in the world. Guhle is currently the captain of Canada’s world junior team.

At the moment, it seems like the race to be the top squad in the Eastern Conference is a two-horse one between the Ice and Oil Kings.

Kaiden Guhle was traded from the Raiders to the Oil Kings on Dec. 1.

The surprising Red Deer Rebels have been a feel good story sitting third in the Eastern Conference with a 20-9-1-1 record after finishing last in the conference last season.

Of course, the top squads in the Western Conference can’t be discounted. The Everett Silvertips lead the Western Conference with a 21-6-2-1 record and are rated fifth in the CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Kamloops Blazers top the B.C. Division with an 19-8 record. They finished first in the B.C. Division each of the past two seasons and were robbed of potential lengthy post-season runs due to the fact playoffs were nixed.

The Seattle Thunderbirds earned honourable mention status in the CHL Top 10 rankings as they’ve surged to a solid 18-7-3 mark.

Due to the fact there is no cross-conference play in the WHL, you aren’t totally sure how the teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences stack up to each other head to head.

While the WHL campaign on the ice is creating a lot to be excited about, the COVID-19 pandemic is the elephant in the room. The emergence of the Omicron variant has seen new restrictions and public health orders get implemented across Canada the past couple of weeks.

Ontario, Quebec and B.C. have been hit especially hard with rising levels of new COVID-19 cases.

Saskatchewan is the only province that hasn’t installed new public health orders. Teams in the B.C. Division dealt with capacity restrictions at times leading up to the Christmas break.

At the moment, teams in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba have to deal with 50 per cent capacity restrictions coming out of the break. In those three provinces, only the Prince George Cougars were dealing with capacity restrictions going into the break.

 It is likely this might be the start of new hurdles the WHL will face going forward along with all other sports bodies in Canada.

The Oil Kings celebrate a goal from Dylan Guenther (#11).

In the United States, it seems like most of the country there acts like the COVID-19 pandemic is over. The focus there seems to be to push through a live like there is no COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of the rest of the world is navigating various restrictions and public health orders.

At the moment, the WHL regular season is set to restart on Monday with five games. It is possible there could be positive COVID-19 tests coming out of the break, which could throw a wrench into things.

You can expect the WHL will do its best to try and adjust. If the regular season can be completely completed, that would be another huge accomplishment in these crazy times.

World juniors could make Bedard catch fire

Connor Bedard (#98) in action for the Pats this season.

The upcoming world juniors might be just the thing that allows Regina Pats phenom centre Connor Bedard to catch fire.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product is one of the few 16-year-olds to ever make Canada’s roster for a world juniors. This season’s world juniors will be held jointly in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., and start Sunday and run thru to Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

Canada opens play in the preliminary round on Sunday at Rogers Place in Edmonton against Czechia (6 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). Czechia is the name the Czech Republic now goes by.

Bedard played full time in the WHL’s abbreviated campaign last season as a 15-year-old underage player. In 15 games with the Pats, he piled up 12 goals, 16 assists and a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus department.

At the under-18 worlds that ran from April 26 to May 6 in Frisco and Plano, Texas, Bedard helped Canada win gold and piled up seven goals, seven assists and a plus-12 rating in seven games.

This season as a 16-year-old sophomore in the WHL, Bedard has faced a lot tougher checking. The Pats lack depth in their lineup, which allows opponents to focus on Bedard.

Even with the extra attention, Bedard has 14 goals and 10 assists in 24 appearances with the Pats before departing to the main selection camp for Canada’s world junior team. It is still an impressive accomplishment when any 16-year-old in the WHL can average a point per game.

Bedard’s crazy point totals last season might have set expectations a little too high for this season.

With that noted, Bedard deserves to be on Canada’s world junior team. At the moment, he is not expected to take on a lead role, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him cash in on the chances he gets.

If Bedard averages a point per game in this high caliber competition, it would give him a boost when he returns to the Pats. That might be enough of a spark that could see Bedard create the outrageously high point totals he produced last season.

Raiders new mascot PIMS a star on the rise, other notes

PIMS the Parrot is the Raiders new mascot.

The Prince Albert Raiders might have a hit on their hand with their new mascot in PIMS the Parrot.

The Raiders unveiled PIMS during their final home game before the WHL Christmas break, when they fell 3-2 to the visiting Saskatoon Blades on December 17 at the Art Hauser Centre.

The name PIMS gives a nod to the fact the Raiders have traditionally handled themselves well in the rough aspects of the game of hockey. Since first taking the ice in 1971, the Raiders toughness has shown through in players like Les Jack, Lorne Schmidt, Tim Mostowich, Ken Thompson, Dave Manson, Ken Baumgartner, Darin Kimble, Reid Simpson, Troy Hjertaas, Steve Kelly, Scott Hartnell, Grant McNeill, Harrison Ruopp, Jeremy Masella and Justin Nachbaur.

The new mascot takes over for the old Riley the Raider pirate type mascot.

PIMS has an adorable cartoon kind of look, which kids should love. A parrot is also seen as a pirate’s best friend, so it is crazy to think no one thought to make a parrot the Raiders mascot until now.

Way back in the day, the Raiders once had a bear mascot named Bert the Bear.

PIMS was meant to debut last season, when the Raiders skated thru their 50^th campaign. Of course, the Raiders played their abbreviated 24-game schedule last season in a bubble environment in Regina without fans in attendance.

The Raiders brought PIMS out this season now that they are playing back at the Hauser in front of fans.

PIMS should serve the Raiders well in the years to come.

• On Monday, Edmonton Oil Kings star defenceman Kaiden Guhle was named the captain for Canada’s world junior team. Guhle helped the Raiders in a WHL title in 2019 and was traded to the Oil Kings on December 1. Oil Kings left-winger Jake Neighbours was named an assistant captain along with forward Cole Perfetti, who is playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
• On Wednesday, 19-year-old Kamloops Blazers goaltender Dylan Garand signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the New York Rangers. In 19 games this season with the Blazers, Garand has posted a 15-4 record, 1.85 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and two shutouts. He is currently playing for Canada’s entry at world juniors.
• Netminder Connor Ungar is having a breakout campaign with the Red Deer Rebels. The 19-year-old Calgary, Alta., product has appeared in 15 games posting an 11-2-1 record, a 2.06 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and one shutout. Ungar stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 197 pounds. He was also the WHL’s goaltender of the week going into the Christmas break. Ungar has not been drafted by an NHL team, so you have to think he has turned at least a couple of heads somewhere.
• A pair of Saskatoon area products are having strong 16-year-old sophomore seasons in the WHL. Centre Brayden Yager has appeared in 27 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors posting 14 goals, 13 assists and a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department. Centre Riley Heidt has appeared in 25 games for the Prince George Cougars and posted seven goals, 12 assists and a minus-one rating. The grads of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team are definitely players to watch over the next few years in the WHL.
• Just for the Christmas season, feel free to check out my post on “The Raccoons On Ice,” which I wrote on December 24 of last year. It used to air on a regular basis on CBC in the 1980s during the Christmas season, but these days, it is a lost Canadian Christmas time classic. The post on “The Raccoons On Ice” can be found by clicking right here.
• I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope the holiday season treats you all well.

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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Regular milestones like first goals always special in WHL

Tayem Gislason scored his first WHL goal last Saturday.

Sometimes the best memories in a WHL season come from regularly occurring milestone moments.

One of those moments comes from scoring your first career goal in either regular season or post-season play. Pretty much everyone who plays in the WHL remembers their first goal in a meaningful game.

In the Prince Albert Raiders final contest before they headed off for their WHL Christmas break last Saturday, Tayem Gislason experienced that special milestone.

With the Raiders locked in a 1-1 draw with the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre, Gislason, who is playing in his second WHL campaign, put a point shot on goal through a screen that ended up inside the Saskatoon net.

That tally gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead with 7:46 remaining in the third period and stood up as the winner after Prince Albert added two empty-net goals to round out a 4-1 victory. Gislason’s tally was his first career WHL goal, and it came in a timely spot.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click the link right here.

Raiders’ Gislason gets early Christmas souvenir

Defenceman’s first career WHL goal comes up a winner

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Tayem Gislason (#5).

Tayem Gislason picked up a special milestone as an early Christmas gift.

On Saturday night, the 18-year-old defensive-defenceman scored his first career WHL goal. As an extra bonus, Gislason’s tally ended up being the winner as his Prince Albert Raiders downed the host Saskatoon Blades 4-1 in a WHL regular season clash played before 4,004 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

With the two sides locked in a 1-1 tie and 7:46 remaining in the third period, Gislason fired home a point shot through a screen to put his side in front 2-1.

“It felt really good,” said Gislason, who is skating through his second season with the Raiders. “We were working them for a long time in the O-zone in the second and third there.

Tayem Gislason scored his first career WHL goal on Saturday.

“I just got lucky that it was me who scored. I had a lane, and I saw we had a guy in front. I just threw it on net and hoped for the best.

“I thought it got tipped by someone else, but it ended up being mine.”

Following that tally, Raiders star centre Ozzy Wiesblatt and left-winger Evan Herman sealed victory for the visitors scoring empty-net goals inside the final 95 seconds of the third.

Saturday’s clash was the last contest for both sides before going into their respective WHL Christmas breaks.

Going into that break, Gislason was pumped to get his first WHL tally, and now he has a goal puck and a story to tell to family and friends when he returns home to Winnipeg, Man.

Tayem Gislason is known as a defensive-defenceman.

He was also happy to finally tally a goal after going goalless last season appearing in 23 contests of the Raiders abbreviated 24-game campaign.

“It just feels good like a weight off the shoulders,” said Gislason, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 181 pounds. “It was exciting.”

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was pleased to see Gislason get rewarded with his first career WHL goal. Habscheid said his sophomore defender made the smart and non-difficult play in throwing a puck on net when a screen was set up allowing the Raiders rearguard to pick up a goal where the puck had enough juice to cross the goal-line.

“He (Gislason) is a good kid,” said Habscheid, whose team has won six of their last nine games. “He is a defender, and then he gets the game winner like that, so guys are happy for him.

Tikhon Chaika stopped 26 shots for the Raiders.

“He just shot it, and it kind of banked around a little bit. I don’t think it touched the back of the net, but it really doesn’t matter.”

As for the rest of Saturday’s game, the teams played through a fairly tight checking first 40 minutes where the shots on goal were tied 16-16.

On the physical front, Blades defenceman Rhett Rhinehart put on a big hit driving Raiders rearguard Nolan Allan into the boards late in the first period.

In the second period, Raiders defenceman Terrell Goldsmith flattened Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere with an open ice hit.

While the game was scoreless after 40 minutes, Gislason said his Raiders felt like they were on the cusp of breaking thru with a goal.

Misha Volotovskii, right, netted the Blades teddy bear goal.

“We were in their zone pretty much the whole second period,” said Gislason, whose squad had a 10-6 edge in shots on goal in the second frame. “We just said we’ll get one eventually.

“We just have to keep doing what we are doing.”

The Raiders did indeed break thru on the scoreboard at the 3:57 mark of the third period while working on the power play. During a net scramble, Raiders veteran defenceman Landon Kosior pinched down from the point, collected a loose puck and wired it to the top corner of the Saskatoon goal to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Just under three minutes later, the Blades evened the score at 1-1. Blades centre Misha Volotovskii had the puck at the right side of the Prince Albert net, and he snapped a shot past Raiders netminder Tikhon Chaika

The clean up after the Blades teddy bear toss goal was scored.

As Saturday’s contest was the Blades Teddy Bear Toss game, Volotovskii’s goal caused teddy bears and other stuffed animals to rain down to the ice from the stands. The tally was the second goal of the season for the 16-year-old rookie.

The teddy bears and stuffed animals were collected to give out to Saskatoon and area charities.

That set the stage for Gislason to score his winner.

With the Raiders holding a 2-1 edge, the Blades thought they might have evened the score during a frantic net scramble around the Prince Albert net that resulted in a stopped with 1:47 remaining in the third when Chaika covered the puck.

Misha Volotovskii has two goals as a 16-year-old rookie.

The officials went to a video review to see if the Blades had scored and ruled no goal due to the fact the puck did not cross the goal-line.

The Raiders promptly followed up scoring their two empty-net goals to seal the win.

Nolan Maier turned away 22 of 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades (15-13-1). Chaika stopped 26 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (12-14-1-1).

Saturday’s game concluded a home-and-home series between the two sides, where the Blades pulled out a 3-2 win over the Raiders in Prince Albert on Friday thanks to a screen point shot goal from De La Gorgendiere.

The Blades thought they scored during this mad scramble.

Habscheid was glad his club was able to split the series after falling on Friday thanks to Saturday’s win.

“It is a win,” said Habscheid, whose team has won three out of the four head-to-head encounters with the Blades this season. “The last game before the Christmas break and guys are thinking about going home, and it is tough to get their focus.

“I thought they did a good job. It was a close game, and I though both goaltenders were pretty good. It could have went either way.

“They got the bounce last night, and we got it tonight.”

The Raiders celebrate their victory on Saturday.

Both teams return to action when they face each other once again on Monday, December 27 at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

Gislason was happy his team heads into the Christmas break on a high note and notes netting his first WHL goal was a nice bonus too.

“It is going to be really good,” said Gislason. “We have good energy going into the break.”

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 positive bounce from De La Gorgendiere does in Raiders

The Blades celebrate Aidan De La Gorgendiere’s winning goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – When it came down to puck luck, the last positive bounce belonged to the Saskatoon Blades.

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the Blades found themselves locked in a 2-2 draw with the host Prince Albert Raiders late in the third period of a WHL regular season contest.

With 3:21 remaining in the third, the Blades went ahead 3-2, when captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere slipped home a point shot through a screen into the Prince Albert goal. The puck hit a body in front of the net and took a positive Saskatoon bounce off the ice before finding its way past Raiders netminder Tikhon Chaika.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere came through for the Blades.

That tally stood up as the winner giving the Blades their first win this season against their arch-rivals in three tries.

“I thought we were OK,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, whose team had posted two straight wins leading into Friday’s game. “I thought a lot of times we wanted to make plays we shouldn’t have.

“We wanted to make hard plays instead of easy plays. Sometimes that comes with feeling a little bit overconfident. We weren’t efficient I didn’t think.

“Like I said, we were OK, but on the other side, you could see some pucks just went off the end of our sticks or instead of going that way they went that way. It wasn’t an easy night, and how you get through that is by making the right plays. When we didn’t, it kind of bounced around and ended up in our net.”

Reece Vitelli scored for the Raiders in the third period.

The Raiders came out of the gate with good jump. They went ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal at the 6:59 mark of the first period, when left-winger Sloan Stanick fired home a rebound from his own shot close in on the Saskatoon goal.

Just when it seemed the Raiders were carrying all the momentum, the Blades turned things around at the 9:35 mark of the opening frame when right-winger Brendan Lee fired home a mid-range shot from the front of the Prince Albert goal to even the score at 1-1.

The visitors went ahead 2-1 just under two minutes later when Blades centre Trevor Wong blasted home another mid-range shot from the front of the Prince Albert goal. Wong’s tally was nearly identical to Lee’s goal.

At the 15:49 mark of the first, Stanick received a double minor for high sticking, which will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Sloan Stanick scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

The double minor was part of three straight power plays the Blades had to end the opening 20 minutes, and they were unable to score on any of those opportunities.  The Raiders actually held a 14-9 edge in shots on goal in the opening frame.

In the second period, Blades star goalie Nolan Maier came up with some big stops.

He turned away right-winger Tyson Laventure on a wraparound early in the frame.

At around the 7:30 mark, Maier stopped Raiders star centre Ozzy Wiesblatt on a wraparound. Wiesblatt and the Raiders thought at first he scored on the play, but the officials on the ice ruled no goal.

The next stoppage came with 11:01 remaining in the frame, and the officials went to a video review to check out the Wiesblatt chance. 

Ozzy Wiesblatt thought he scored on a wraparound.

The video evidence upheld the call on the ice as Maier trapped the puck on the goal-line.

“There were some things we didn’t do efficiently, and that was kind of the key word tonight,” said Habscheid. “We weren’t as efficient as we were maybe against a team like Winnipeg.

“We weren’t happy making the easy play. We wanted to look for that harder play. That is good, because that means you are confident, but sometimes in the game of hockey, it is hard enough.

“When you have a chance to make an easy play you need to make it. You always take what is given, and I didn’t think we did a real good job of that tonight.”

Maier proceeded to make a couple of big stops after Blades giveaways in their own zone.

Nolan Maier made 31 saves for the Blades on Friday.

The Yorkton, Sask., product then made a sweet glove stop on Raiders overage defenceman Remy Aquilon.

Late in the second, Stanick was sprung on a breakaway into the Saskatoon zone. He made a deke on Maier and had an open net on a backhand chance only for the puck to roll off his stick.

“We definitely had good chances in the game,” said Raiders captain Reece Vitelli. “It didn’t go our way tonight for some of them.

“Obviously, we would like to have those goals. Bounces will happen during a hockey game. We just have to go out try harder tomorrow and have a full 60 and have a good last game here.”

The Raiders evened the score 2-2 with a power-play goal at the 3:55 mark of the third. Vitelli deflected home a point shot from Wiesblatt for the equalizer.

Brendan Lee scored the Blades first goal on Friday.

That set the stage for De La Gorgendiere to come through with his winner.

Even after the Blades went ahead 3-2, the Raiders had a glorious chance to net the equalizer in the final seconds of the third. In the dying seconds of the third, Raiders right winger Carson Latimer found himself alone on Maier close in on the left side of the Saskatoon goal.

Maier came up with a big stop to preserve victory for the Blades.

Vitelli said it was tough to fall due to De La Gorgendiere’s positive bounce goal.

“We worked so hard there,” said Vitelli. “We came back there and tied it up.

“To have a goal like that, it sucks obviously. It cost us the game. Bounces happen in a hockey game, and we just have to come out stronger tomorrow.”

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

Chaika stopped turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders (11-14-1-1). Nolan Maier stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in net for the Blades (15-12-1).

The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in what will be the Blades Teddy Bear Toss game. Following that contest, both squads depart on their respective Christmas breaks.

Vitelli said Friday’s loss makes it easy to focus on Saturday’s contest in Saskatoon.

“Definitely playing Saskatoon is always fun,” said Vitelli. “Going into their building should be good.

“That is where our focus is right now and worrying about tomorrow.”

Prince Albert reassigns Serhyenko

Carter Serhyenko in action for the Raiders on November 5.

The Prince Albert Raiders cleared up a crowded crease.

On Friday, the Raiders reassigned 19-year-old netminder Carter Serhyenko to a junior A team that is still to be determined. The Saskatoon product, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 198 pounds, appeared in 17 games this season for the Raiders posting a 6-10-1 record, a 3.55 goals against average and a .881 save percentage.

Serhyenko had been with the Raiders since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. Overall, he appeared in 42 regular season games posting a 15-20-5 record, a 3.20 goals against average and a .887 save percentage.

Last Saturday, the Raiders acquired 19-year-old goaltender Cole Tisdale, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 170 pounds, from the Tri-City American in exchange for a seventh round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft.

With Serhyenko’s reassignment, the Raiders are down to two goalies on their active roster in Tisdale and rookie 18-year-old Belarusian import Tikhon Chaika.

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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WHL leading Ice right the ship

Winnipeg ends slump with 6-0 victory over Blades

Connor McClennon (#94) dangles in the offensive zone for the Ice.

Any thoughts of about the demise of the Winnipeg Ice evaporated into the air.

Coming into Wednesday’s WHL regular season game against the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre, the Ice topped the overall WHL standings and were rated first in the CHL Top 10 Rankings. In their previous four outings heading into Wednesday’s game, the Ice weren’t living up to their record or high rating having lost three times in regulation.

Two of those losses included falling 6-2 at home to the Blades on December 4 and dropping a 4-1 decision to the Raiders in Prince Albert on Tuesday.

Owen Pederson (#17) makes a hit on the forecheck for the Ice.

Actually, the Ice had only won twice in their previous six contests heading into Wednesday having dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime at home to the Raiders on November 28 to start their recent struggles.

On Wednesday, the Ice righted the ship scoring three goals in a dominant first period and rolled to a 6-0 victory over the Blades to disappoint most of the 2,516 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. The convincing win allowed the Ice to improve their WHL leading record to 24-4-1.

“We were definitely fired up to play this one after being on a little bit of a skid for the last (six),” said Ice 17-year-old star centre Matthew Savoie. “Losing last night in P.A. really got us fired up.

“I just think the mentality coming into this game was must win, and we were really fired up today.”

Jakin Smallwood breaks into the offensive zone for the Ice.

Just 3:31 into the opening frame, the Ice drew first blood when left-winger Owen Pederson slipped home a shot five-hole on Blades netminder Nolan Maier.

Savoie said that first tally helped his team hit another gear.

“I thought the first shift from each line was really energetic,” said Savoie. “We came out with a physical mentality with the bounce back from last game.

“I thought the start was really key for our group tonight. Pedey’s goal just got us going.”

Jack Finley had a goal and an assist for the Ice.

The Ice upped their advantage to 2-0 just over six minutes later when star right-winger Connor McClennon wired a shot from the left slot past Maier.

Before the opening frame ended, the Ice went up 3-0 after tallying on the power play. Overage right-winger Jakin Smallwood made a smart pass in the centre ice zone to spring Savoie on a rush down the left wing.

Savoie burst down the wing, made a deke around a defenceman and snapped his 17^th of the season past Maier.

“I kind of just got on the ice a little bit late,” said Savoie, who had an assist to go with his goal on Wednesday. “Smallsy (Smallwood) kind of just had the puck in the neutral zone and made a good bump pass to me.

Matthew Savoie scores a power-play goal for the Ice.

“I kind of just went full speed and caught the D-man a little flat footed. I just put it through his triangle and tried to shoot it around the other side. Fortunately, it went in.”

Winnipeg held an 18-8 edge in shots on goal after an impressive showing in the first period.

The Blades pushed back really well in the second period. Early in the frame, Blades sophomore 17-year-old defenceman Pavel Bocharov rang a shot off the post.

That set the tone for the host side in the second as the Blades controlled territorial play holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal.

Ben Zloty is a skilled offensive-defenceman for the Ice.

Sophomore 17-year-old Ice netminder Daniel Hauser put up a wall in front of the Winnipeg net allowing the visitors to take their 3-0 lead into the third.

The Ice regained control of the contest early in the third when 17-year-old centre Connor Geekie wrapped home his 10^th goal of the season to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.

With 4:54 remaining in the third, Pederson scored on the power play to complete a two-goal night to increase the Ice edge to 5-0.

The Ice rounded out the scoring when 19-year-old power forward Jack Finley tipped home a point shot from offensive-defenceman Ben Zloty with 2:04 remaining in the third.

Jonas Woo made his WHL debut for the Ice on Wednesday.

Finley finished the game netting an assist to go with his goal recording his first two points as a member of the Ice since being acquired in a trade with the Spokane Chiefs on December 6. Finley had been the Chiefs captain and had attended the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team.

Smallwood finished the contest collecting three assists.

Maier turned away 27 shots to take the setback goal for the Blades (14-12-1). Hauser stopped 28 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Ice (24-4-1).

The shutout was the third of the season for Hauser.

When the dust settled, Savoie said Wednesday’s game was the performance his club needed to get things back on track again.

Ice G Daniel Hauser stops a shot that came through a screen.

“After a loss, you always want to play the next day and get back out there to bounce back,” said Savoie, who leads the WHL in scoring with 47 points coming on 17 goals and 30 assists. “I think playing the very next day after a loss was good for our group.

“I thought we came out good today.”

The Blades now play the Raiders twice before both those clubs go on a Christmas break. The sides meet Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre to start a home-and-home series and conclude that series with a 7 p.m. encounter on Saturday at the SaskTel Centre.

Jack Finley (#26) celebrates his first goal with the Ice.

That Saturday game will be the Teddy Bear Toss night for the Blades.

The Ice travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings on Friday (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place). That is the first game of a home-and-home series between those two sides.

They go at it again on Saturday in Winnipeg at 7 p.m. at the Wayne Fleming Arena before they depart on their respective Christmas breaks.

Savoie said the Ice just have to continue being themselves in order to go into the Christmas break on a high note.

“We just have to keep sticking to our system,” said Savoie. “When things don’t go right, you just go back to the step one and go back to the simple details for us.”

Zach Benson drives up ice for the Ice.

NOTES – Jonas Woo made his WHL debut with his hometown Ice on Wednesday. The Ice selected the 15-year-old defenceman in the first round and 18^th overall in the WHL Prospects Draft that was held online last Thursday. He was a plus-one in the Ice victory.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Ice acquired 17-year-old Italian import right-winger Alessandro Segafredo from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for 18-year-old Czech import defenceman Martin Bohm and a sixth round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospect Draft.

The Ice celebrate their 6-0 victory on Wednesday.

Segafredo had three goals, seven assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in 19 games with the Thunderbirds. He wasn’t able to suit up for the Ice on Wednesday.

Bohm had two assists and plus-10 rating in 15 games with the Ice.

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Completed seasons major victory for football in Canada

Andrew Harris (#33) and the Bombers are champs again.

Those involved with football in Canada should be popping the champagne corks to toast the completion of the 2021 season.

That has to be considered a major victory.

The campaign was capped in spectacular fashion on Sunday when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-25 in overtime to capture the Grey Cup as CFL champions. A sellout crowd of 26,324 spectators at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont., were treated to a highly entertaining contest, even though their hometown Tiger-Cats weren’t able to win.

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was named the Grey Cup MVP. He forever cemented himself as a hero in Winnipeg having quarterbacked the Bombers to Grey Cup wins the last two times the trophy was awarded.

Bombers receiver Nic Demski was named the Grey Cup’s most valuable Canadian player, and it seemed fitting that award went to a Winnipeg product who is a proud grad of the University of Manitoba Bisons football team.

Had the Tiger-Cats made one or two more plays, they would have been walked away with the Grey Cup. With six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Tiger-Cats kicker Michael Domagala booted a 13 yard field goal to create a 25-25 tie and force overtime.

One play before Domagala’s kick, a pass to the end zone that was tipped by Bombers defensive back Deatrick Nichols and still found its way to the hands of Tiger-Cats receiver Jaelon Acklin. Acklin was unable to make a catch, which would have allowed the Tiger-Cats to win the game.

In overtime, Collaros threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to veteran receiver Darvin Adams. Winnipeg sealed victory on an interception by linebacker Kyrie Wilson on Hamilton’s ensuing OT possession.

The Roughriders could host games without capacity limits.

Of course in a contest that was as thrilling as Sunday’s Grey Cup, people could point to a handful of other plays that could have changed the outcome of that game.

In the overall big picture, it was incredible the football season in Canada got to this point. With the world coming into the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with the first shutdown occurring in North American in March of 2020, the entire CFL season was lost in 2020.

The Bombers had beaten the Tiger-Cats 33-12 in the 2019 Grey Cup before the 2020 CFL campaign was nixed.

Actually, there was a decent amount of speculation thinking that the CFL might not comeback at all.

The Vanier Cup game, which crowns the U Sports football champion, was cancelled in 2020, and most U Sports conferences didn’t take the field. The CJFL campaign in 2020 was also cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tackle football was played in Canada in 2020, but those contests happened in pockets here and there mainly at the high school level.

When the CFL season kicked off on August 5 with the Bombers beating the Tiger-Cats 19-6 in Winnipeg, there were no guarantees the season would be completed.

When the Saskatchewan Roughriders downed the British Columbia Lions 33-29 on August 6, a sellout crowd of 33,350 was on hand at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Sask. Up to that point in time, that gathering was the largest crowd that had watched a sporting event in Canada since March of 2020.

Mason Nyhus and the Huskies went to the Vanier Cup.

The CFL was the first league in Canada where some teams were able to start hosting games at the start of the season without capacity limits since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020.

By the end of the campaign, most teams played without capacity limits, but showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination was standard practice.

The CFL successfully completed a season where each team played a 14-game regular season and the circuit held playoffs in its standard format where champions of the East and West Divisions met for the Grey Cup.

In U Sports, the Vanier Cup was handed out on December 4 in Quebec City, Quebec, when the University of Western Ontario Mustangs downed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 27-21 at Stade Telus – Universite Laval.

Out of the four conferences that make up U Sports, three played a shortened six game regular season as opposed to an eight-game regular campaign, but the season got done. The football for the most part was outstanding.

Also on December 4, the CJFL crowned a champion as the Langley Rams blanked the London Beefeater 37-0 to win the Canadian Bowl at Western Alumni Stadium in London, Ontario. 

The CJFL had many exciting contests and the Prairie Football Conference and Ontario Football Conference held their usual eight-game regular seasons.

The Saskatoon Hilltops 33-31 victory over the Edmonton Huskies in a PFC semifinal played on November 7 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field will always be an all-time CJFL classic. Hilltops receiver Dillan Heintz caught the winning touchdown with 21.3 seconds to play in that contest.

Dillan Heintz scores the winning TD in a PFC semifinal.

With all that said, there are warts and worries when it comes to the game in Canada. In the CFL, attendances across the league for most of the season have to be a concern outside of the draws that came for a handful of games.

Adverse weather still seems to push a lot of fans away for games late in the campaign, and this had been a pre-existing problem for about five to six years at all levels of the sport.

There are other concerns, but those can be bantered about on another day.

After the exciting Grey Cup that was played on Sunday, those involved in football in Canada get to feel like they are with the WWE faction The New Day, where everything is coming up rainbows and unicorns and it is all about the power of positivity.

The fact the football season in Canada was played from start to completion should be celebrated.

Ochs takes final bow at Hilltops team awards banquet

Mason Ochs picked up Hilltops team awards on Saturday.

Mason Ochs took one last hurrah with the Saskatoon Hilltops during the team’s annual awards banquet which was held around the lunch hours on Saturday at the Delta Marriott Hotel.

The Hilltops all-time great took home the team’s Courtice Inspiration Award and the Drs. Landa-Doig Awards as the club’s most outstanding graduating player. Ochs was also awarded the Sadownick Family Scholarship and a Hilltop Club Scholarship.

The star left tackle was both a PFC all-star and a CJFL all-Canadian all-star in the last four straight CJFL seasons.

The graduate of Saskatoon’s Tommy Douglas Collegiate Tigers football team was named the PFC’s most outstanding offensive lineman for this past season.

Defensive end Riece Kack captured the Past President’s Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year. Boundary corner Jared Giddings claimed the Blue and Gold Award for outstanding commitment to the team.

Graduating right tackle Jonathan Chisholm won the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award, Konner Johnson claimed the Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award as the club’s top linebacker and defensive tackle Jaxon Funk captured the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the team’s top lineman.

The Hilltops handed out a number of scholarships on Saturday too.

Funk took the Harold Mitchelmore Memorial Scholarship and the Carl Hoath Memorial Affinity Credit Union Scholarship.

Lachlan Horsley and Wade Keating were recipients of the Bill Trout Memorial Scholarship and Boston Davidsen was awarded the TCU Financial Group Scholarship.

Jonathan Chisholm won the Ron Atchison “True Grit” award.

The Don McDonald Memorial Scholarship went to Brady Fossen, the EY Scholarship was awarded to Ben Marce, the Dr. Gryba Academic Scholarship was given to Brant Morrow and the Rempel Brothers Construction Scholarship went to Matt Wist.

Ethan Paslowski and Jayson Kehler were recipients of the SMF Joe Baier Memorial/Tundra Electric Scholarship.

The recipients of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation Scholarships were Dillan Heintz, Evan Mantyka, Dylan Cook and Presley Peterson.

Football Saskatchewan Scholarships went to Giddings, Ethan Godson, Erik Barsness and Noah Flaman.

Evan Mantyka claimed the Ignite Conditioning Scholarship.

The Evan Kyba Memorial Scholarship went to Josh Wiebe and Carter Wingert.

Kinsmen Club Scholarships were awarded to Johnson, Boden Marley and Daylen Hartz.

Along with Ochs, Hilltops Club Scholarships went to Johnson, Funk, Giddings, Godson, Morrow, Wist, Matt Turple, Justin Adamko, Connor Bevans, Trent Kehrig, Pavel Lalonde, Jordan Levesque, Reace Michnik, Zach Moehler and Andy Scrivens.

The Hilltops posted a 6-2 regular season record in 2021, won the PFC title and concluded their campaign falling in a CJFL semifinal contest to the Langley Rams 17-14.

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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First time a charm in shootout for Raiders’ Kosior

Prince Albert rallies for victory over Hitmen

Landon Kosior reacts to scoring in a tiebreaking shootout.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Landon Kosior capped a Prince Albert Raiders comeback victory cashing in on a personal WHL first.

On Saturday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Kosior’s Raiders entered the third period training the visiting Calgary Hitmen 3-2. The Raiders tied the game 3-3 in the third to send the contest to overtime.

After a scoreless three-versus-three overtime period, the game went to a tiebreaking shootout where the Raiders were shooting first. The Raiders held a 1-0 edge in the tiebreaking session after two rounds after star 19-year-old centre Ozzy Wiesblatt score on the team’s second shot attempt.

Kosior was picked to shoot for the Raiders in the third round. The 19-year-old defenceman, who is in his third WHL season, would be taking his first career attempt in the shootout.

Landon Kosior had a big blocked shot for the Raiders.

The Regina, Sask., product snapped home a shot glove side on Hitmen netminder Ethan Buenaventura to clinch a 2-0 win in the tiebreaking session and give the Raiders a 4-3 outright victory in the WHL regular season contest to the delight of the 2,115 spectators in attendance.

“I was excited,” said Kosior, who team was picked up a win for the first time this season when trailing after two periods. “Any time you can be relied on like that by your coach, it is always exciting.

“I think I just made the most out of it and took it as a boost of confidence and made a good shot.”

Kosior was pumped his shootout goal clinched the win for his squad.

“It was nice to get that,” said Kosior, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 189 pounds. “I saw Ozzy (Wiesblatt) kind of do the same thing (with the snap shot glove side).

The scene after Landon Kosior scores his shootout clincher.

“I went out there with the mindset that if it was open I would take that.”

Besides scoring the shootout clincher, Kosior was in on a couple of other big plays for the Raiders.

On the Raiders tally that tied the contest 3-3 with 8:16 to play in the third period, Kosior picked up a second assist on that play. He made a backhand pass to his defensive partner on that shift in Remy Aquilon on the right point.

Aquilon put a shot on goal that was tipped home by left-winger Keaton Sorensen for the equalizer.

Tikhon Chaika stops a shot in the tiebreaking shootout.

Right before the buzzer that ended the three-versus-three overtime session, Kosior blocked a shot from Hitmen rearguard Keegan Slaney to preserve the 3-3 tie and cause the contest to move to the shootout.

“I just saw the puck come out in front,” said Kosior, who has four goals and 11 assists appearing in all 25 of his team’s games this season. “I just saw a guy all alone.

“I knew on the clock there wasn’t much time left, so I just gave it everything I could to block it.”

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said Kosior has taken his game up to another level, and the bench boss was pleased to see the veteran defenceman come up with big plays in big moments.

Cale Sanders celebrates scoring the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

“He (Kosior) has been good,” said Habscheid. “There was a time all of a sudden the light switch went on for him.

“He laughs about it. He agrees. He is a really talented player not only for our team but in the league.

“He is a good two-way player. He is smart. He makes good passes, and his defensive game has come up quite a bit. He is a really important guy.”

The Raiders got out to a good start in Saturday’s game. At the 4:16 mark of the opening frame, Raiders right-winger Cale Sanders wired home a shot to the top right corner of the Calgary goal on a rush up the right wing to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

The clean up after the Raiders toque and mittens toss goal.

As Saturday’s contest was the Raiders toque and mittens toss night, the spectators rained down toques and mittens to the ice along with teddy bears and other stuffed animals. The Raiders weren’t selling teddy bears at Saturday’s game, but fans were allowed to bring teddy bears and stuffed animals to the contest to throw on the ice.

All the items collected will go to Prince Albert area charities.

“Honestly, I forgot about it,” said Sanders about what was to happen when the Raiders scored their first goal on Saturday. “When I scored, I was like, ‘Oh. I guess I scored it.’”

A short time later, Hitmen centre Riley Fiddler-Schultz netted his 13^th goal of the season to even the score at 1-1.

Raiders captain Reece Vitelli potted his ninth of the season just under three minutes later to give the hosts a 2-1 edge heading into the first intermission.

Keegan Slaney (#7) scored for the Hitmen on Saturday.

In the second, the Hitmen got singles from centre Oliver Tulk and Slaney to take a 3-2 advantage into the second intermission.

That set the stage for the Raiders comeback the rest of the way.

“We know that we didn’t have our best game out there, but we did crawl back in the third,” said Sanders. “We had a great third and out battled them.

“We had to get a goal and we did. We came through in the third, and that is all that matters.”

Tikhon Chaika stopped 28 shots over 65 minutes and both shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (10-13-1-1). Buenaventura turned away 22 shots over 65 minutes and stopped one of three shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in net for the Hitmen (11-9-2-2).

The Raiders celebrate their victory on Saturday night.

With Hitmen having downed the Blades in Saskatoon 4-2 on Friday night to enter Saturday’s game with some good momentum, Habscheid was pleased his Raiders found a way to pull out the comeback victory.

“When you are not above .500, any victory is good,” said Habscheid. “The comeback is nice.

“Calgary has been playing well. They’ve score a lot of goals, and they beat Saskatoon last night. We knew they were coming in really confident, and they are a good team.”

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Hitmen return to Calgary and get back at it on Wednesday on home ice when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings (7 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

Habscheid gets friendly one up on Stajan

Marc Habscheid points out directions during a stoppage.

Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was happy to get the friendly upper hand on one of his former world junior players.

On Saturday, the Raiders downed the visiting Calgary Hitmen 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout at the Art Hauser Centre. One of the Hitmen’s assistant coaches is Matt Stajan, who joined the staff of Calgary’s WHL franchise before the start of the current campaign.

When Habscheid coached Canada’s entry at world juniors that were held jointly between Halifax and Sydney, N.S., in the 2002-03 season, Stajan was one of forwards on the Canadian side.

Saturday’s game was the first meeting of the current campaign between the Raiders and Hitmen.

It was also the Raiders toque and mittens toss game, and the fans could throw teddy bears or other stuffed animals on the ice after the Raiders first goal. All the items collected will go to Prince Albert area charities.

Raiders right-winger Cale Sanders netted the toque and mittens toss goal at the 4:16 mark of the first period.

That allowed Habscheid and Stajan to have a visit.

Marc Habscheid, centre, works the Raiders bench on Saturday.

“Just a little sidebar here, but it was fun for me, because Matt Stajan was on the other team,” said Habscheid. “I talked to him at the teddy bear break.

“He was my last choice at the world juniors in Halifax, and now he is on the bench across from me. It tells me two things. One, that world juniors Matt said was about 20 years ago, and two, I’m old I guess.”

Canada won silver at that world juniors in the 2002-03 campaign.

Following that world juniors, Stajan would go on to play 1,003 regular season games in the NHL spread over 15 seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames collecting 146 goals and 267 assists. He last suited up in the NHL for the Flames in the 2017-18 campaign.

Habscheid was happy to see Stajan decided to get into coaching after his playing days wrapped up.

“It was good to see him,” said Habscheid. “It just goes to prove how precious every day is and how fast time flies.

“Matt is a heck of a guy, and it is good to see that he is in coaching, because he’ll make a good coach.”

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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