Game 7- final chapter comes for epic Blades/Warriors series

WHL’s Eastern Conference title goes to winner

Charlie Wright could potentially play his last WHL game on Tuesday.

Charlie Wright is having a career WHL post-season, and now he is looking for one more big game to keep his WHL career alive.

The 20-year-old defenceman is a career member of the Saskatoon Blades and the longest tenured member of the team. The Blades selected Wright in the third round and 70^th overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.

The Olds, Alta., product joined the Blades as a 16-year-old rookie in the 2019-20 campaign. In his time with the Blades, Wright played in 256 career regular season games recording 15 goals, 89 assists and plus-43 rating in the plus-minus department.

He has appeared in all of the Blades 15 games to date in the 2024 WHL Playoffs posting five goals, eight assists and a plus-10 rating.

On Tuesday, Wright’s Blades face the Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 7 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. The winner takes the Eastern Conference title and advances to the WHL Championship Series, while the losing squad heads off into the off-season.

Wright is tightly attached emotionally to the Blades and is proud and honoured to be a member of Saskatoon’s major junior franchise.

“It has been awesome,” said Wright. “I’ve loved being with the Blades all five years.

“It has been a blessing. I love the city. I love the organization.

“I would say it is the best in the WHL. It is fantastic the way we are treated. I absolutely love it and don’t want it to end.”

Denton Mateychuk leads the WHL with 27 points in the playoffs.

Going into the Eastern Conference Championship Series, it was expected the Blades and Warriors would put on a battle, and the series has greatly exceeded those expectations that were set at the outset.

During the regular season, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

In the Eastern Conference Championship Series, the two clubs split the first six encounters of the set with five of those contests going to overtime. The Blades have won three games in overtime, while the Warriors have won twice in extra time and once in regulation.

Wright believes it could be the deciding factor in the series that his squad hosts Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre. The Blades are potentially expecting their biggest crowd of the overall 2023-24 campaign.

“I think we earned it throughout the regular season,” said Wright. “It is definitely nice to have it at home and have our fans loud.”

Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk leads the WHL in post-season scoring with 27 points coming off eight goals and 19 assists to go with a plus-19 rating. Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus sits second in post-season scoring with 26 points coming off 11 goals and 15 assists to go with a plus-seven rating.

Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov leads the WHL post-season with 15 goals to go along with eight assists and a plus-nine rating.

Warriors veteran centre Brayden Schuurman said it is easy to get up for a game like Tuesday’s Game 7, because the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the WHL Championship Series is on the line.

Egor Sidorov leads the WHL with 15 goals in the playoffs.

“As a hockey player and as an athlete, that is really what you look forward to,” said Schuurman. “I think big Game 7s, big moments, win or lose, winner take all, I think that gets our group excited.

“I think we have a lot of big game players. I think we are really excited to get moving in this Game 7.”

Warriors 17-year-old sophomore right-winger Lynden Lakovic said his squad has to get out to a good start in Game 7 like they did in Game 6. In Game 6 on Sunday at the Moose Jaw Events Centre in Moose Jaw, the Warriors scored first, held 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission, and ultimately won 4-3 in overtime with Lakovic getting the winner.

Moose Jaw fell behind 3-2 in the third before Warriors veteran right-winger Rilen Kovacevic scored the equalizer that tied the game 3-3 and forced overtime.

The Blades have scored first in four out of the first six games in the series. Lakovic said those slow starts put his squad in a spot where they were chasing the game for a short time.

“We have to play a full 60,” said Lakovic. “I thought (in Game 6) we had a really good start, but I though this series I think their starts have been better.

“I think we have to have a start like (in Game 6) and just play a full 60, not give up or let up for 10 or 15 minutes or a period and just keep on going.”

Last year, the Blades won two Game 7s in the WHL Playoffs to advance to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series, where they fell in four games to the Winnipeg Ice. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said he has unlimited faith in his guys going into Game 7.

Jagger Firkus has 26 points for the Warriors in the post-season.

“We’ve been here before,” said Sonne. “This group went to multiple Game 7s last year.

“For us, it is really just to focus on our competitive habits that would be the main thing. Anything can happen in Game 7. They’re wild, so really it is just about our compete and effort that is what our focus is.”

Both the Blades and Warriors have gotten big saves from their goaltenders in the post-season. Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner has posted a 10-3 record, a 2.29 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and one shutout. 

Warriors star goalie Jackson Unger has recorded an 11-3 record, a 3.22 goals against average and a .899 save percentage.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary said Tuesday’s Game 7 where a conference champion and a berth in the league final is decided are the types of games you want to be in.

“You can smell it,” said O’Leary. “It is right there.

“It is one game. There is nothing you need to say to try and get the players excited or energized for it. Both teams have played the same amount of games here throughout the playoffs.

“Everybody is tired. Everybody is sore. You just really need to bring your very best game for one game and lay it out there with the prize being the chance to play in the final. I think that is special, and this group deserves it.”

Wright said he is going to do everything he can to help his Blades pull out victory. With the way the series has gone, Wright has a suspicion that the series will be decided in one specific way.

“It probably is going to go into overtime looking at the other games here,” said Wright. “It is going to be exciting.

Blades D Tanner Molendyk (#24) battles Warriors RW Lynden Lakovic.

“It is a Game 7. They are always intense. It should be a good game.”

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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Lakovic’s OT winner keeps Warriors alive against Blades

WHL’s Eastern Conference final goes to Game 7

Lynden Lakovic reacts to scoring the OT winner for the Warriors.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. - Lynden Lakovic kept the Moose Jaw Warriors and one of the greatest WHL post-season series of all-time alive.

On Sunday, the Warriors went into Game 6 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series facing elimination against the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades entered the contest leading the best-of-seven set 3-2. The Warriors went into contest backed by most of a vocal gathering of 4,582 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre outside of a sizable following that was cheering for the Blades.

Living up to a fitting way with how the series has gone, Game 6 went to overtime with the two sides locked in a 3-3 tie. That marked the fifth in the series that overtime was needed to decide a game’s final outcome.

The Warriors and their fans mob OT hero Lynden Lakovic.

Lakovic’s moment came early in the extra session. Just 2:57 into the extra session, the 17-year-old sophomore right-winger had the deep in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone.

Facing a sharp shooting angle, Lakovic wired home the winning goal to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net short side on Blades breakout netminder Evan Gardner. Lakovic’s tally gave the Warriors a 4-3 win in the contest and allowed them to even the series 3-3.

Fittingly, the two sides are now forced to play a series deciding Game 7 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Warriors fans cheer their team’s overtime winner.

“It just goes to show you what playoff hockey is all about,” said Lakovic. “It is back and forth.

“This is the fifth game that has gone to overtime. It shows anything can happen. In a game like that, you kind of just throw it on net and hope something happens, and tonight, it did.”

Lakovic had one other overtime winner in this post-season. That tally came back on March 30, when the Warriors downed the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-4 in Game 2 of an opening round series at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Lynden Lakovic has two OT winners in the 2024 post-season.

He said Sunday’s overtime winner against the Blades sits at the top in his career.

“It was probably the biggest one,” said Lakovic. “This happened to be my second (overtime) game winner these playoffs.

“This is definitely up there. You are not going to get another chance like this probably ever again. To come up clutch and do it not just for myself but the guys more importantly is huge.”

Blades 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright said he had it in the back of his mind that the series was destined to go to Game 7 with how competitive it has been. He said his teammates were doing their best to try and win the Eastern Conference title on Sunday, but a suspicion was there a Game 7 was going to happen.

Charlie Wright scored to give the Blades a third period lead.

“To be honest it did,” said Wright. “Obviously, we were hoping to end it tonight, but things happen.

“It did feel like it was destined to go seven.”

The Warriors got the quick jump in Sunday’s clash scoring 38 seconds into the first period. Warriors right-winger Rilen Kovacevic had the puck at the left corner of the Saskatoon zone and made a pass across the face of the Blades goal to veteran centre Brayden Schuurman at the right side of the net.

Schuurman tapped home his fifth of the post-season to give the Warriors a 1-0 edge. That lead didn’t last long.

Rilen Kovacevic had a goal and two assists for the Warriors.

Just 3:07 later, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov circled in the Moose Jaw zone for a midrange shot from the front of the net. Sidorov wired home his league leading 15^th goal of the post-season to even the score at 1-1.

Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie had a great chance to put the Warriors back out in front, when he put a backhand shot to a seemingly open side of the Saskatoon net with about 5:03 remaining in the frame. Gardner made a stretching right pad save to stone the chance.

A short time later, Savoie tried put a shot home at the right side of the Saskatoon goal, but Gardner made a shoulder stop to deny the opportunity.

With 2:02 remaining in the first, Kovacevic entered the Saskatoon zone on a rush down the right wing and tried to put a pass across the ice to a linemate. 

Brayden Schuurman scored a pair of goals for the Warriors.

The pass was broken up by Wright, but Wright poked the puck right on to the stick of Schuurman. Schuurman blew home a shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to put the Warriors up 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

“To contribute to my team in any way is obviously good,” said Schuurman. “Getting them going early with a goal is obviously a really good feeling for our group and for me.”

The Blades came with a big push back in the second period holding a 13-8 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

With 4:14 remaining in the second, the Blades evened the score at 2-2 with a power-play goal from Rowan Calvert. During a mad scramble in front of the Moose Jaw net, Calvert potted home a loose puck for the equalizer and his third of the post-season.

Egor Sidorov had a goal and two assists for the Blades.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne thought his squad was trending in a good direction as the game went on.

“It got better as we went I would say,” said Sonne, who squad finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 50-13-2-3 mark. “I didn’t think it was there to start, but it got better as we went.”

At the three-minute mark of the third, the Blades took a 3-2 lead on a smart offensive pinch from Wright. Entering the Moose Jaw zone on an offensive rush, Blades captain Trevor Wong jetted down the left wing with the puck.

He passed the puck to the front of the net to Wright, who rushed in from his defensive position. Wright tapped home his fifth of the post-season to give the Blades their one-goal edge.

Rowan Calvert celebrates scoring an equalizer for the Blades.

The Warriors didn’t go away. With 9:04 remaining in the third, Kovacevic threw a shot from the right side boards that deflected off Wright and got past Gardner to even the score at 3-3. Reflecting on the sequence where he scored and the Warriors equalizer deflected in off him, Wright said he was just determined to keep grinding.

“I think everyone always hopes that when you are up it is going to hold,” said Wright. “They get a lucky one off my pants.

“I get one in one end, and it goes off me into our net. I think you just keep playing.”

Ultimately, the exchange of goals in the third set the stage for overtime.

Evan Gardner made 31 saves in goal for the Blades.

Early in overtime, Blades centre Lukas Hansen drove into the Moose Jaw zone down the right wing and he took a shot that deflected off Warriors offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker going to the Moose Jaw net, but Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger came up with the stop.

Lakovic would proceed to score his winner just over 50 second later.

“It was a fun game,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary, whose squad finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark. “I think it had everything that this series has had you know the momentum swings and goals on both sides.

“It is fun. I think our guys they’re playing hard. Maybe tonight wasn’t our most clean game.

Jackson Unger made 30 saves in goal for the Warriors.

“The last two I thought we played better games. When you are going to play seven games, you are going to have nights like this where last shot wins.”

Gardner turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Unger stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors.

Sidorov had a pair of assists to go with his goal. Kovacevic had a pair of assist to go with his tally.

Now the focus for both club turns to Game 7. The Blades won two Game 7s last year to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship Series before falling to the Winnipeg Ice. Sonne believes the past experience will help his club.

“We’ve been here before,” said Sonne. “This group went to multiple Game 7s last year.

Denton Mateychuk controls the puck for the Warriors.

“For us, it is really just to focus on our competitive habits that would be the main thing.”

O’Leary believes having a Game 7 is ultimately the right way for the Eastern Conference Championship Series between the Blades and Warriors to conclude.

“I said this when it was 2-2 that if you told me it was going to be 2-2 I would have believed you,” said O’Leary. “You can say the same thing about 3-3.

“I just think that both teams played each other so well in the regular season. We bring out the best in each other I think. It is competitive.

The Warriors salute their fans after their OT win on Sunday.

“It just feels like the Western Hockey League. It is just good hockey, and why not play seven?”

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Blades, Warriors series has some underlying fan angst

The Blades and Warriors have played an outstanding series.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Some fans of the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors mirror Peyton Manning in the AFL Championship game from the NFL’s 2006 season.

That NFL conference title match featured Manning’s Indianapolis Colts taking on the visiting New England Patriots quarterbacked by Tom Brady. At that point in time, Brady had three Super Bowl rings and had never lost to Manning and the Colts in the post-season. Manning had yet to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl title.

With a minute remaining in the game, Colts running back Joseph Addai scored a touchdown on a three-yard run to put Indianapolis up 38-34 with one minute remaining in the contest.

Manning feared too much time was left on the clock for Brady. After the Colts scored to go ahead, Manning actually said a prayer to God asking for this one time that Brady doesn’t make game-winning drive for the Patriots. Brady ultimately was intercepted on the Patriots final drive and the Colts won the contest 38-34 and would go on to triumph in Super Bowl XLI.

Currently in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, the Blades and Warriors are going at it in the league’s best-of-seven Eastern Conference Championship Series. The Blades lead the series 3-2 and four of those contests having gone to overtime.

Game 6 is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre in Moose Jaw. Over the first five games of the set, the Blades and Warriors have been playing arguably one of the greatest post-season series the WHL has ever seen.

With that said, there seems to be an underlying feeling of angst among some of the fans of both teams. The angst comes from the fact both teams are searching for their first WHL title and Memorial Cup title, which goes to the CHL champion.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Blades were formed in 1964 and were a charter member of the WHL in 1966. In their history, the Blades have never won a league championship or a Memorial Cup.

The Blades have appeared in the WHL final five times and have come away empty handed on each trip. In the those five trips, the Blades went to a series deciding Game 7 with the set locked in a 3-3 tie and weren’t able to bring a WHL title to Saskatoon.

The Blades made the 1989 title game of the Memorial Cup tournament as the host team and fell 4-3 in overtime to the Swift Current Broncos with Tim Tisdale scoring the winning goal for “Speedy Creek.”

The Warriors franchise played in Winnipeg for four seasons before moving to Moose Jaw in 1984. They Warriors have never won a WHL title or a Memorial Cup title. The franchise’s only appearance in the WHL final came in 2006, when they were swept away by the Vancouver Giants.

A previous Moose Jaw entry in the WHL in the Canucks won the league title in the circuit’s inaugural season in 1966-67.

Fans of both the Blades and Warriors are hoping that 2024 will finally be the one time their team wins one or both the WHL title or the Memorial Title to become CHL champions. When something goes wrong for either side, some fans go through a doomed reaction reflecting on being empty handed when it comes to WHL and Memorial Cup titles.

For the Blades, they have a lot of newer fans and have attracted a lot families with kids to their games thanks to ground work of getting into the community including through elementary school visits and being guest coaches for minor hockey teams. 

Fans at the Moose Jaw Civic Centre cheer on the Warriors.

The kids in those families have greatest time in the world at the Blades home rink in the SaskTel Centre, and the parents are usually pleased their kids are having a good experience.

No matter what happens in the post-season, that group of fans will see the playoff run as being memorable.

The Blades also have legacy fans too who have supported the team for decades. Some of those fans have a higher chance of basing their happiness about the season around the Blades winning one or both the WHL and Memorial Cup titles.

There are legacy fans that will be positive for the Blades no matter what ups and downs come the club’s way. Still, those fans really deep down hope 2024 will be the one time the Blades pull it all out.

The Warriors are an institution in Moose Jaw. It feels like everyone in “the Friendly City” is a legacy Warriors fan.

From 1984 to 2000, the Warriors kind of almost had a lovable loser image similar to that of the MLB’s Chicago Cubs, which the Cubs carried for a lengthy stretch. Over the span of time, the Warriors posted winning records on just four occasions.

Despite that, their legendary former home in the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was best known as “The Crushed Can,” was packed with a raucous bunch of supporters. When you played the Warriors at “The Crushed Can,” you were playing against the Warriors and their fans. The noise the fans made came at opposing teams with force.

Kalem Parker (#8) is checked by Fraser Minten.

You also had to form an admiration on some level for Warriors fans, because the losing seemingly wouldn’t drive them away for long. If they did go away, they came back to “The Crushed Can” when just even the smallest positive thing happened for the team. You wondered what Moose Jaw would look like if the Warriors did manage to win WHL and Memorial Cup titles.

Since the start of the 2000-01 campaign, the Warriors have been one of the WHL’s better franchises and at times they have been one of the circuit’s elite franchises. 

They moved into a new home in the Moose Jaw Events Centre at the start of the 2011-12 campaign and finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings in 2017-18 with a 52-15-2-3 mark.

The championship still didn’t come in the post-season.

While the hockey between the Blades and Warriors in this year’s Eastern Conference Championship Series has been beyond epic, some fans will seemingly be bothered or take it too hard when their team doesn’t win. The most visible sign of being bothered usually manifests in blaming losses on the officials.

At times, it seems like the fans on both teams and bond over their shared belief the officials can’t do anything right. With that said, you have to respect the passion the fans have.

Due to the fact the Blades and Warriors are searching for their first WHL and Memorial Cup titles, fans on both sides likely believe their team will win this series, because they are not facing someone with a winning pedigree.

The Blades press around the Warriors net.

Had the Medicine Hat Tigers been made it to the Eastern Conference final and managed to take a 3-2 lead on either the Blades or Warriors, some fans of either the Blades or Warriors would be certain the Tigers would close out the series, because they’ve won the WHL title five times and captured the Memorial Cup on two occasions. There would be a feeling teams like the Tigers are destined for those accomplishments and teams like the Blades and Warriors are not.

Honestly, you hope the fans of the Blades and Warriors get to see their teams win WHL and Memorial Cup titles one day. At the moment, those clubs are giving an incredible show.

No matter who wins this series, hopefully the fans on the winning side will have empathy for the fans on the losing side. They might not be mirror images of each other, but the fans of the Blades and Warrior do share a lot of commonalities.

Cougars have new life in Western Conference final

Keaton Dowhaniuk scored for the Cougars on Thursday.

The heavyweight showdown between the Prince George Cougars and Portland Winterhawks is back on in the WHL’s Western Conference Championship Series.

For a moment, it looked like the Winterhawks were going to skate away with a series victory. Due to the lengthy travel between Prince George and Portland, the series is being conducted in a two-three-two format.

The Cougars finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 49-15-1-3 mark, while the Winterhawks were third overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 48-15-4-1 record. That meant the Cougars would host the first two games and the final two contests of the series.

After the two sides split Games 1 and 2 in Prince George, it appeared the Winterhawks home ice advantage would be too much for the Cougars to overcome. Last Monday, the Winterhawks took Game 3 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland 4-1.

The Winterhawks followed that up claiming a 5-2 victory to take Game 4 of the series on home ice last Wednesday along with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. It seemed like it was academic the Winterhawks would take Game 5 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum last Thursday.

At the 7:03 mark of the first period of Game 5, 20-year-old star centre Gabe Klassen scored to give the Winterhawks a 1-0 lead. It appeared at that point the party was going to be on in Portland. Since the Winterhawks moved to Portland on June 11, 1976, they have won three WHL titles and two Memorial Cup crowns becoming CHL champions.

Riley Heidt and the Cougars have new life in the post-season.

After Klassen’s goal, the Cougars proceeded to play their best game of the post-season. Cougars skilled 19-year-old right-winger Koehn Ziemmer scored twice before the first period ended to give Prince George a 2-1 lead.

Hunter Laing added a single in the second period to push the Cougars edge out to 3-1. Ondrej Becher, Borya Valis and Keaton Dowhaniuk added singles for the visitors in the third to round out an impressive 6-1 victory. Valis’s tally came on a penalty shot.

Joshua Ravensbergen stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Cougars. Jan Spunar turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Winterhawks.

The Cougars romped to victory in Game 5 with their two biggest stars in Riley Heidt and Zac Funk being held pointless.

With the next two games of the series set for the CN Centre in Prince George, the Western Conference title is up for the taking. Game 6 is slated for Monday at 7 p.m. local time at the CN Centre. If the Cougars win Game 6, a series deciding Game 7 will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time at the CN Centre.

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Minten saves Blades in OT

Warriors now down 3-2 in WHL’s Eastern Conference final

Fraser Minten (#16) celebrates his overtime winner.

Fraser Minten saved the Saskatoon Blades.

On Friday night playing before 11,173 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades took a 4-0 lead over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 5 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. In a heroic rally, the Warriors scored four goals in the third period to force a 4-4 tie and overtime.

With 1:45 remaining in the extra session, Minten one-timed home a midrange shot from the front of the Moose Jaw net to give the Blades a 5-4 victory. Minten converted a nice setup pass from star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk.

The Blades begin to swarm on top of Fraser Minten.

After scoring, Minten put on a celebration skating to centre ice on one knee and promptly being mobbed by his Blades teammates. The win allows the Blades to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Blades will attempt to win the WHL’s Eastern Conference title for the first time since 1994 in Game 6 on Sunday, which is set for 2 p.m. back at the Moose Jaw Events Centre in Moose Jaw.

If the Warriors prevail in Game 6, a series deciding Game 7 would be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Warriors are trying to win the WHL’s Eastern Conference title for the first time since 2006.

The Blades mob Fraser Minten after he scores his OT winner.

The series between the Blades and Warriors has arguably been one of the greatest post-season series the WHL has ever seen with four of the five games going to overtime. Saskatoon has claimed three out of the overtime contests with Minten scoring two of the overtime winners.

These two clubs are one overtime game away from matching the total of five from the classic Western Conference Championship Series in 2008 played between the Spokane Chiefs and Tri-City Americans. That series featured five overtime contests and the Americans won three of those five extra time contest. The Chiefs won the series in seven games and went on to capture the WHL title and the Memorial Cup title to become CHL champions.

Fraser Minten had a pair of goals for the Blades on Friday.

In Friday’s clash, Minten prevented the Blades from having a negative energy pale fall over the club. After having control of the contest holding a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes, the Warriors looked poised to take the contest rally for four goals in the third to force a 4-4 tie.

Had the Warriors claimed Friday’s game, Game 5 would have gone down as “the Moose Jaw miracle in Saskatoon” for Warriors fans. In that scenario, Blades fans would have been throwing around the words “collapse” or “choke.”

With Minten scoring the winner, Game 5 can go down as the “Saskatoon classic.” While Blades fans can celebrate the win, it is still hard to get a real read on this series. It is far from over, and the Warriors are more than capable of winning Games 6 and 7 to claim the Eastern Conference title for their own.

Denton Mateychuk had a pair of goals for the Warriors.

As for Friday’s contest, the Blades broke open the game’s scoring just 2:56 into the opening frame. Import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev took a shot from the left boards in the Moose Jaw zone, and the puck rebounded out to Minten at the right side of the net.

Minten popped home his seventh of the post-season to put the hosts up 1-0. The tally came on the Blades third shot of the contest.

The Warriors came with a push back but Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner stood his ground.

That allowed the Blades to push their lead out to 2-0 at the 10:56 mark of the opening frame. Blades star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong entered the Moose Jaw zone on a rush and passed the puck across the ice to star import right-winger Egor Sidorov.

Egor Sidorov scored the Blades second goal on Friday.

Sidorov skated into the middle of the left faceoff circle and roofed a shot to the top right corner of the Moose Jaw goal for his 14^th goal of the post-season that gave the Blades their two-goal edge. At the time of Sidorov’s goal, the Warriors held a 12-8 edge in shots on goal.

The Warriors maintained pressure for the rest of the frame, but Gardner kept the buzzing visitors at bay. The Blades would hold their 2-0 edge going into the first intermission, while the Warriors held a 17-10 advantage in shots on goal.

The second period started with a long stoppage at the 2:30 mark of the frame as the officials went to video replay to see of Armstrong was high-sticked. Armstrong was stitched up in the forehead at the Blades bench as the review took place.

Jagger Firkus had the Warriors second goal on Friday.

The officials determined that Warriors star centre Matthew Savoie did commit a high-stick foul and gave him a double minor for high-sticking. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

On the second half of the double minor, Blades 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright fired home a point shot for a power-play goal that pushed the host side’s advantage out to 3-0.

With 5:37 remaining in the second, Wright pinched up to the left faceoff circle with the puck and took a shot that rebounded out to the right side of the Moose Jaw net. Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was in the right place at the right time and popped home his seventh of the post-season to push the Blades lead out to 4-0.

Charlie Wright had a goal and an assist for the Blades.

Following Lisowsky’s goal, the Warriors pulled star starting netminder Jackson Unger. Unger stopped 13-of-17 shots fired his way. Dimitri Fortin played the rest of the way in relief turning away 24-of-25 shots sent his way to take the setback in goal.

The Blades held an 11-5 edge in shots on goal in the second period. The fact the Blades carried the play in the second period didn’t foreshadow the Moose Jaw surge that was to come.

The Warriors put a scare into the host side at the start of the third and almost turned that scare into “A Nightmare On Elm Street” horror show for the host side. Just 49 seconds into the third, Warriors veteran centre Brayden Schuurman popped home his first of the post-season to trim the Blades advantage to 4-1.

The Warriors celebrate their first goal on Friday.

At the 4:09 mark of the third, Armstrong was penalized for delay of game for clearing the puck over the glass from his own zone to put the Warriors on the power play. Just 32 seconds into the man advantage, Savoie put a perfect pass setting up Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus for a midrange one-timer from the front of the Saskatoon net.

Firkus made no mistake drilling a shot home to further cut the Blades lead to 4-2.

The frame got a little more crazy 50 seconds after Firkus’s tally as Lisowsky was sprung in on a breakaway into the Moose Jaw zone. Lisowsky tried to put a shot between the legs of Fortin, but the netminder swallowed the puck under his pads and a couple of Warriors defenders assisted in the cover with one putting his stick behind the puck stopper’s skates.

Brandon Lisowsky had the Blades fourth goal on Friday.

The officials went to a lengthy video review to determine if there was a goal. They ruled there was no goal.

The Warriors proceeded to continue their surge after that bump in the road. At the 7:38 mark of the third, Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk had the puck in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone. He banked a shot off the skates of a backchecking Sidorov into the Saskatoon net to slice the Blades advantage down to 4-3.

With 6:42 remaining in the third, Mateychuk slipped home an off-speed shot from the point for his second tally of the contest to even the score at 4-4. That tally ultimate forced the contest to go to overtime.

Atley Calvert was almost the OT hero for the Warriors.

In overtime, it appeared Moose Jaw hometown hero in star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert was going to cap a fairytale ending for the Warriors. With 5:15 remaining in overtime, Warriors left-winger Lynden Lakovic burst into the Saskatoon zone down the left wing and put a backhand pass across the face the Blades net to Calvert, who was on the right side of the Saskatoon net.

Calvert had an empty cage to shoot at, but rang a shot off the right post. In an ensuing frantic scramble, the puck came to Savoie in front of the Blades net. He put a shot on goal that was blocked by Blades captain Trevor Wong, which ended the threat.

A short time later, the Warriors got stung with some back luck. During a board battle in the Saskatoon zone with 4:12 remaining in overtime, Firkus got high-sticked by Wright. 

A couple of Blades fans has sign beaks for the Warriors.

Firkus looked at the officials questioning if a penalty call was going to come, and no penalty call was made on that play.

That set the stage for Minten to come through with his overtime winner.

Gardner made 39 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades.

Suzdalev finished the contest with three assists for the Blades and Armstrong had a pair of helpers for the host side.

Calvert and Warriors import right-winger Martin Rysavy each had a pair of assists for Moose Jaw.

The Blades were without veteran defenceman John Babcock for a second straight game with an undisclosed injury.

Blades fans cheer on their team on Friday.

Going into the Eastern Conference Championship Series, it was expected the Blades and Warriors would put on a battle, and the series has greatly exceeded those expectations that were set at the outset.

During the regular season, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

Fraser Minten gives a souvenir stick to a young fan.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

Now, this series is down to potentially its final two chapters. It is safe to expect there will be a lot more moments that will thrill fans and some that are ultra-passionate will likely head out to get an EKG (electrocardiogram).

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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Sidorov strikes in clutch time again for Blades

Scores OT winner to even series with Warriors 2-2

Egor Sidorov (#19) celebrates his OT winner for the Blades.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Egor Sidorov renewed his reputation of being “Mr. Clutch” for the Saskatoon Blades.

On Wednesday night playing before 4,643 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, Sidorov’s Blades were locked in a 4-4 tie in overtime against the host Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 4 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. The Blades were applying pressure in the Moose Jaw zone and 19-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic had a chance clear the puck out of his zone down the right side boards by the blue-line.

Kovacevic tried to tip the puck out of his zone, but Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky made a sweeping check with his stick and knocked the puck high in the air to Sidorov, who was alone in front of the Moose Jaw net. Sidorov put a deke on Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger and tucked home a forehand shot to give the Blades a 5-4 victory at the 3:29 mark of the extra session.

The Blades pile on top of Egor Sidorov after he scores in OT.

After scoring his extra time winner, Sidorov, who leads the WHL with 13 goals this post-season, proceeded to celebrate by rolling around on the ice before he was mobbed by his teammates who poured off the Saskatoon bench.

The win allowed the Blades to even the best-of-seven series at 2-2. In the four games of the set played so far, three of them have been decided in overtime. The series returns to Saskatoon for Game 5 on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

“It was a great backcheck by (Brandon) Lisowsky,” said Sidorov, who has four game-winning goals in the current post-season. “It was a great backcheck.

Blades fans in Moose Jaw celebrate their team’s OT win.

“He just pass me puck. Honestly, it was in my head to go between my legs, but after, I was no. I was going to fake backhand and go forehand goal.

“That was a big game. It was huge for us win. We just have to keep going.”

Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk said Wednesday’s loss was a tough result to swallow. He thought his team showed great resiliency battling back from deficits of 3-0 and 4-2 to tie the contest.

“It is obviously a bit of a disappointment to let that one slide away after how we battled back after the first period,” said Mateychuk. “There were a lot of good things that came out of that game.

Egor Sidorov has four game winning goals in the post-season.

“It just stings a little bit.”

The Blades came out of the games on fire. Just 14 seconds into the first period, Blades star centre Fraser Minten put a shot on goal from the left boards in the Moose Jaw zone.

Unger got a piece of the shot causing the puck to fall and sit loose in the crease in the Moose Jaw goal. Lisowsky swooped in and popped home the loose puck to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Just 53 seconds later, Blades star captain Trevor Wong jetted into the Moose Jaw zone on a rush. He set up just inside the right faceoff circle, used Mateychuk as a screen and blew home his fourth of the post-season to push Saskatoon’s advantage out to 2-0.

Brandon Lisowsky had a goal and two assists for the Blades.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary called a time out immediately after the Blades second goal to settle his troops down.

A short time later, the Warriors went on the power play, but they weren’t able to get a traction moment. The Blades were strong on the kill. The Warriors best scoring chance came when offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker put a shot through a screen that was gloved by Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner.

After that kill, the Blades extended their lead to 3-0 at the 8:32 mark of the opening frame. Blades offensive-defenceman Ben Saunderson put a shot on goal from the point that was deflected home by import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev.

Brayden Yager had two goals and one assist for the Warriors.

“I loved our start,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne, who team finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark. “That is what I am talking about the desperation that we had.

“It went away because of circumstances, but I loved our start. That was our best start of playoffs.”

The Warriors got a traction moment at the 12:06 mark of the opening frame when star right-winger Brayden Yager slipped home a shot from the point right when a Moose Jaw power play expired to cut the Blades edge to 3-1.

With 3:06 remaining in the first, Yager had the puck on the left wing in the Saskatoon zone and passed it across the front of the net to star right-winger Jagger Firkus. Firkus ripped home his 10^th of the post-season to further cut the Blades lead to 3-2.

Jagger Firkus had a goal and two assists for the Warriors.

Just 58 seconds later, Blades star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk fired home a shot from the point to give Saskatoon a 4-2 edge heading into the first intermission. After 20 minutes, the Blades led 4-2, but the Warriors had a 12-7 edge in shots on goal.

The offence kept coming in the second. Just 64 seconds into the frame, Yager tucked home his second of the night at the right side of the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades advantage to 4-3.

The Warriors evened the score at 4-4 at the 9:57 mark of the second on a tally from right-winger Rilen Kovacevic. Kovacevic collected rebound in front the Saskatoon net from a point shot taken by Warriors overage import right-winger Martin Rysavy and potted home the equalizer.

Trevor Wong had the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

Mateychuk said the Warriors had belief that they could rally back and tie the game.

“I think it shows the heart that we have in our room,” said Mateychuk, whose club outshot the Blades 14-6 in the second period. “Everybody in there wants to win, and that is a really good thing.

“Having a better start I think everybody knows that. You can’t give up three goals in the first eight minutes. We’ll learn from that and be ready to go Friday.”

The third period was a scoreless frame with the teams finishing tied 8-8 in shots on goal.

With 10:54 remaining in the third, the Blades had arguably their best chance to score when overage star left-winger Easton Armstrong was stoned twice at the left side of the Moose Jaw by Unger.

Alexander Suzdalev had the Blades third goal on Wednesday.

Yager had a chance to net his third of the night with 6:50 to play in the frame, but he was denied by Gardner’s glove hand.

That set the stage for Sidorov come through with the winner in overtime.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary was pleased his squad rallied back to tie the game but said the stumble out of the gate in the first period hurt his club.

“I’m just really disappointed in the start,” said O’Leary, whose team finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark. “The goals were one thing.

“I just thought we stood around and watched. For as big as this game was and as excited as we were about the opportunity, it is just disappointing with the start. Again, they did what they always do.

Tanner Molendyk had the Blades fourth goal on Wednesday.

“They punch back. It was great to battle ourselves back into the game. At the end of the day, you can’t start like that and expect to get a bounce late.”

Gardner stopped 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Jackson Unger turned away 19 shots to take the extra time setback in net for the Warriors.

Lisowsky had a three-point night for the Blades collecting his goal and two assists. He also had a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department.

Yager had an assist to go with his two goals for a three-point night, and Firkus had a pair of helpers to go with his marker.

Sidorov has loved the battle his club has shown in the series, which has been extremely competitive.

Rilen Kovacevic had the Warriors fourth goal on Wednesday.

“We are not tired,” said Sidorov. “There are two great teams playing each other, so that is a good experience.”

The Blades did hit the ice on Wednesday without veteran defenceman John Babcock due to an undisclosed injury. Blades utility winger Tyler Parr returned to action after missing seven games due to an undisclosed injury.

Looking back at the first four games of the series so far, Sonne believes it has been a great one for the fans. Due to being in the series as a bench boss, Sonne said it has been challenging on his heart.

“I’m in the emotions,” said Sonne. “I’m in the room. I’m with the guys.

“I’m doing all the video, so just imagine me stepping out of that and I’m not the coach anymore. If I’m a fan, I’m really enjoying this. As a coach, I’m going to have to get an EKG (electrocardiogram) actually is what is going to have to happen.

The Blades head off the ice after their win on Wednesday.

“As a fan, I think this is entertainment to the max, and I think the province is probably enjoying this quite a bit.”

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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