Raiders outlast Oil Kings 4-1 for second straight win

Max Hildebrand made 32 saves in goal for the Raiders on Saturday.

The Prince Albert Raiders have a spark.

On Monday, the Raiders relieved 59-year-old head coach Jeff Truitt of his duties. While the Raiders were sporting a 34-22-5-1 record at the time, they had one win in their previous six outings posting a 1-3-2 mark over that stretch. In Truitt’s final two games as head coach, the Raiders lost both ends of a home-and-home series in regulation to their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades.

It seemed like the Raiders were repeating a trend from the previous campaign, where they went 2-9 over their last 11 games including action in the regular season and the WHL Playoffs.

The Raiders promoted 37-year-old assistant coach Ryan McDonald to interim head coach. McDonald is a Prince Albert product and played for the Raiders as a player from 2006 to 2009.

In the Raiders first 15 games after returning from their WHL Christmas break this season, McDonald served as interim head coach at that time as Truitt was on medical leave for eye surgery. Over those 15 games, the Raiders posted a 10-4-0-1 mark.

After making the moves on the coaching front, Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt told Nathan Reiter of the Prince Albert Daily Herald that he made the decision because he thought a new voice was needed in the dressing room.

With McDonald in his second stint as interim head coach for the campaign, the Raiders traveled to Lethbridge on Wednesday, held leads of 2-0 and 3-2, but fell to the host Hurricanes 5-3. On Friday, the Raiders made their way to Red Deer, fell behind 3-1 and rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Rebels. Star centre Aiden Oiring scored a hat trick including the winner in overtime.

On Saturday, the Raiders ventured to Edmonton for their latest WHL regular season clash to play the host Oil Kings before 12,142 spectators at Rogers Place. Riding a 32 save performance from star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, the Raiders posted a 4-1 victory for their second straight win.

Daxon Rudolph had the Raiders third goal on Saturday.

The two straight wins have the Raiders sitting second in the WHL’s East Division with a 36-23-5-1 mark. They almost pulled ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings for top spot in the division. The Wheat Kings snuck out a 5-4 overtime victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday night for a third straight win to improve to 36-22-4-3 to sit one standings point ahead of the Raiders.

The idle Blades (35-22-3-4) sit two points back of the Wheat Kings and one point back of the Raiders with a game in hand on both clubs. The Blades make up that game in hand on Sunday when they host the 15-41-5-3 Regina Pats (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Prince Albert and Brandon have three games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. Saskatoon has four regular season contests remaining in the 2024-25 campaign.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Oil Kings, the visitors jumped out to a 1-0 lead with 3:21 remaining in the opening period. Breaking down the left wing into the Edmonton zone on a rush, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ty Meunier flipped a smart pass over to fellow rookie Riley Boychuk to an open area by the right side of the Oil Kings net.

Boychuk, who turned 17-years-old in January, potted his 14^th of the campaign to give the Raiders their one-goal edge.

At the 4:36 mark of the second, Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic made a backhand pass from behind the Edmonton net to breakout 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube in front of the goal. Dube one-timed home his 29^th tally of the campaign to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0.

With 68 seconds remaining in the second, Raiders rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, wired home a shot from the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Edmonton net to allow the Raiders to hold a 3-0 advantage.

With 11.9 seconds remaining in the second, the Oil Kings struck on the power play when import centre Miroslav Holinka tipped home a point shot from start linemate Gracyn Sawchyn at the right side of the Prince Albert net. That goal cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

The third period saw the Raiders kill off four Oil Kings power plays, while Edmonton killed off one Prince Albert man advantage. Prince Albert’s first infraction of the frame was a delay of game penalty to 18-year-old defenceman Tyrone Sobry for clearing the puck over the glass from his own zone. For the rest of the frame, it seemed the Oil Kings were going down easy trying to dive like a 1980s European hockey team which drew three other power-play chances.

Niall Crocker scored an empty-net goal for the Raiders.

After all those infractions were killed, Raiders 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker scored a long distance empty-net goal with 50.9 seconds remaining in the frame to round out the 4-1 final in favour of the Raiders. The final 50.9 seconds of the third elapsed with no drama.

Alex Worthington turned away 12-of-15 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings who fell to 35-26-2-2.

The Raiders won three out of the five head-to-head encounters with the Oil Kings this season.

The Oil Kings return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Calgary to take on the 43-15-3-3 Hitmen (2 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Raiders get back at it on Tuesday when they host the 14-43-6-2 Moose Jaw Warriors (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Wheat Kings get scare in Moose Jaw, prevail in OT

The Brandon Wheat Kings had to make a comeback and work overtime to continue to control their destiny in the race for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

On Saturday, the Wheat Kings found themselves trailing 4-3 to the host Moose Jaw Warriors in a WHL regular season contest played before 3,215 spectators at the Temple Gardens Centre. The Warriors are going through a big rebuild and sit last in the entire WHL after winning their first WHL championship last season.

With 5:14 remaining in the third, Wheat Kings 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Luke Shipley pounced on a loose puck in the right faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone and buried his 17^th goal of the campaign to even the score at 4-4.

Just moments into overtime, Warriors captain Lynden Lakovic got in on a short breakaway on the Brandon net. He put a backhand shot on goal that was swallowed up by Wheat Kings star 19-year-old netminder Carson Bjarnason.

A short time after that scoring chance, Wheat Kings star overage centre Nolan Flamand blew home the winner at the 44-second mark of the extra frame to give the visitors a 5-4 victory.

Brandon held a 3-2 lead after the first period only to see Moose Jaw pull ahead 4-3 going into the second intermission.

Roger McQueen recorded one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department for the Wheat Kings, who received singles from Marcus Nguyen and Matteo Michels. Lakovic, Casey Brown, Pavel McKenzie and Riley Thorpe replied with singles for the Warriors.

Bjarnason stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings. Matthew Hutchison turned away 28 shots to take the setback in net for Moose Jaw.

With the win, the Wheat Kings, who have won three straight games, continue to lead the WHL’s East Division improving to 36-22-4-3. They hold a one standings point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders (36-23-5-1) and sit two points ahead of the idle Saskatoon Blades (35-22-3-4).

The Blades have a game in hand on both the Wheat Kings and Raiders. The Blades make up that game in hand on Sunday when they host the 15-41-5-3 Regina Pats (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Warriors saw their record move to 14-43-6-2 as they continue to remain last in the entire WHL. They return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Wheat Kings return home to host the Blades on Wednesday in a big late season contest at 7 p.m. at Westoba Place.

Tigers’ McKenna explodes for seven points, other notes

Saturday night was a banner night for Medicine Hat Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna.

The 17-year-old was in on all his team’s goals as the Tigers blasted the visiting Red Deer Rebels 7-3 in a WHL regular season clash before 5,645 spectators at Co-op Place. McKenna recorded a hat trick and four assists for seven points to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category in the win.

Medicine Hat jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first period, held a 5-3 advantage after two periods and cruised to the 7-3 victory. The Tigers have won eight straight games improving to 45-17-3-1 to sit first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and Central Division.

They sit two standings points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen (43-15-3-3). The Hitmen have two games in hand on the Tigers. Medicine Hat has two games remaining on its regular season schedule, while Calgary has four contests remaining.

After recording seven points against the Rebels, McKenna sits comfortably in second in the WHL’s scoring race with 121 points coming off 37 goals and 84 assists to go with a plus-54 rating in 54 games. He also has points in his last 38 consecutive appearances dating back to November 6, 2024. During that stretch, McKenna has piled up 92 points coming off 28 goals and 64 assists.

Tigers 20-year-old captain Oasiz Wiesblatt also had a big night in Saturday’s win. He recorded a hat trick and two assists for five points to go with a plus-two rating. The hat trick allowed Wiesblatt to surpass the 100-goal mark in his WHL career. In 282 career regular season games all with the Tigers, Wiesblatt has 101 goals, 184 assists, 285 points and a plus-42 rating.

Wiesblatt also has 100 points coming off 36 goals and 64 assists to go with a plus-42 rating in 64 games with the Tigers this season. That marks the first time Wiesblatt has hit the 100-point plateau for one season in his WHL career.

Star defenceman Tanner Molendyk had the Tigers first goal on Saturday. He also had an assist for a two-point night and posted a plus-one rating.

Tigers overage centre Mathew Ward had an assist in the win. With that helper, Ward has 250 points in his WHL career coming off 90 goals and 160 assists in 261 career regular season games.

Matthew Gard scored twice for the Rebels, while Ollie Josephson had a single.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Peyton Shore turned away 19 shots to take the loss in net for the Rebels.

The Rebels, who will miss the WHL Playoffs, fell to 26-31-6-2. They return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Calgary to take on the Hitmen (7 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Tigers are off until this coming Saturday when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place). The Tigers and Hitmen close their respective regular season schedules going head-to-head on Sunday, March 23 at 5 p.m. local time at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.

• On Thursday, the Tri-City Americans announced defenceman Terrell Goldsmith was released from hospital late Wednesday night and is resting at home. He will continue to be monitored by the Americans medical staff. Goldsmith, who is a former member of the Prince Albert Raiders, was injured in a fight with defenceman Ashton Cumby of the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday night in a game at the Toyota Centre in Kennewick, Washington. That contest was suspended after Goldsmith’s injury.
• On Saturday, 20-year-old defenceman Hunter Mayo recorded two goals, three assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to power the visiting Swift Current Broncos to a 7-5 victory over the Pats in Regina. The Broncos, who have a berth locked up in the WHL Playoffs, improved to 34-28-1-2 with the win.
• On Saturday, veteran right-winger Ethan Moore scored twice to power the visiting Calgary Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. The Hitmen improved to 43-15-3-3 with the win, while the Hurricanes fell to 41-20-3-2. Both teams will have home ice advantage to for best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs.
• On Sunday, March 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on ultra-busy track and field coach Jason Reindl. The 40-year-old has coaches the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field and Cross-Country Teams since the start of the 2017-18 campaign. He also has many other roles in the sport. The piece on Reindl can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by pictures from the Saskatoon Nordic Ski Club to bid farewell to the winter sports season. It also includes photos from baseball, rugby, softball and speed skating. That post can be found by clicking right here.

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

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Blades vault to top of WHL’s East Division with win over Pats

Rowan Calvert scored his 23rd goal of the season on Tuesday.

For one night at least, the Saskatoon Blades are back on top of the WHL’s East Division.

On Tuesday night, the Blades downed the Pats in Regina 6-3 in a WHL regular season contest before a crowd of 2,380 spectators at the Brandt Centre. That win to start a three-game road trip allowed the Blades to improve to 34-21-3-4 and jump back into first place in the East Division.

The Blades, who has won their last three straight, sit one standings point ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders (34-22-5-1) and two standings points in front of the Brandon Wheat Kings (33-22-4-3). Both the Raiders and Wheat Kings were idle on Tuesday night. All three of those squads have six games remaining on their respective regular season schedules, so it is a sprint to capture the East Division banner.

Last season, the Blades finished with a 50-13-2-3 mark to top the WHL’s overall standings. In the post-season, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in an epic seven-game set that saw six contests go to overtime to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

Going into the current campaign, the Blades weren’t expected to challenge for first in the division. They occupied first place for most of the first half of the regular season.

Leading up the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9, the Blades unloaded stars Brandon Lisowsky, Tanner Molendyk and Ben Riche to stock up on draft capital and add solid younger players. The Blades dealt a lot of high draft selections during a load up last season.

After the trades leading up to this season’s trade deadline, the Blades held first in the East Division for a large part of January before falling out of top spot before the end of the month. They were not expected to crawl back into first in the division, but they did just that on Tuesday.

Before departing on their current road trip, Blades head coach Dan DaSilva said his squad had been hearing the doubters.

“That has been motivation for us all year long,” said DaSilva. “With the guys we had before and the guys we have now, it has still been the same.

Evan Gardner picked up his 20th win of the season on Tuesday.

“We try and focus on getting better every single day and proving people wrong. We’re motivated by the naysayers, the haters and the non-believers, because we have a lot of belief in this group and that room, and they have it too. It would be special.”

Against the Pats on Tuesday, the Blades exploded out to a 3-0 inside the final 5:15 of the opening frame. The Blades got goal coming off the sticks of breakout rookie centre Cooper Williams, who turned 17-year-olds in February, 17-year-old rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke and standout left-winger Rowan Calvert.

Calvert’s goal came with 45.4 seconds remaining in the first and it was his 23^rd tally of the season.

In the second, the Blades extended their lead to 4-0 when star right-winger Tyler Parr netted his 20^th goal of the campaign. He tipped home a point shot from 17-year-old rookie defenceman Isaac Poll.

Just 1:36 later, the Pats halted the flood as 17-year-old sophomore left-winger Julien Maze scored on the power play to trim the Blades lead to 4-1.

With 2:37 remaining in the second, Blades rookie import left-winger David Lewandowski, who turned 18-years-old in February, scored on a wraparound to push the Blades lead out to 5-1. Just one minute later, Pats 19-year-old right-winger Caden Brown answered back scoring for the host side to trim the Blades advantage to 5-2.

Saskatoon jumped up 6-2 at the 6:18 mark of the third as 20-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann scored on the power play with a midrange shot. That tally was Siepmann’s 10 goal of the campaign, which set a new career high for the veteran rearguard.

Pats 16-year-old rookie right-winger Zachary Lansard scored with 6:19 remaining in the third to round out the 6-3 final score in favour of the Blades.

Evan Gardner stopped 25 shots to pick up his 20^th win of the season in goal for the Blades. Ewan Huet turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats, who fell to 15-40-5-3.

The Blades return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (5 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

Grayden Siepmann scored his 10th goal of the season on Tuesday.

Both those squads will be scoreboard watching too, because the Raiders travel to Lethbridge on Wednesday to take on the 40-19-2-2 Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

The Pats are off until Saturday when they host the Swift Current Broncos (6 p.m. local time, Brandt Centre).

When the final sprint to the end of the regular season ends, DaSilva would like to see his squad still holding on to top spot in the East Division.

“It is a goal of ours to clinch that division title,” said DaSilva. “At the end of the day, our main goal is to focus on getting better every single day.

“That is what we’ve done as the season goes on. You can see that with our group.”

Goldsmith injured in fight, game suspended

A scary scene involving Tri-City Americans defenceman Terrell Goldsmith saw a WHL regular season contest be suspended on Tuesday in Kennewick, Washington.

The host Americans were taking on the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Toyota Center. The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but the contest came to a halt a short time after the first intermission ended.

Just 65 seconds into the second period, Goldsmith, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 218 pounds, faced Thunderbirds 19-year-old defenceman Ashton Cumby, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 216 pounds, in a staged fight. During the fight, Cumby hit Goldsmith with a punch that knocked the Americans rearguard out.

Goldsmith fell face first to the ice, and he was quickly attended to by the trainers of both teams. The veteran blue-liner was taken to hospital by ambulance and the game was suspended and never resumed after the bout.

The WHL sent out a release late Tuesday night stating Goldsmith is alert, responsive and was receiving medical attention. The league said the contest between the Americans and Thunderbirds would be rescheduled at a later date.

Goldsmith, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Utah Hockey Club, has suited up in 56 games with the Americans this season recording four goals, 12 assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department. The Fort St. James, B.C., product spent his first four WHL campaigns with the Prince Albert Raiders appearing in 185 regular season games recording 10 goals and 20 assists. Goldsmith was traded to the Americans on July 24, 2024.

The WHL said further updates on the condition of Goldsmith will be provided as they are available.

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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Oh how sweet it is – Huskies capture Canada West title

Dogs claim first conference championship since 2020

Justin Ball goes for a spin with the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

It was the spark that helped the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team surge to a Canada West championship.

On Sunday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies found themselves in a scoreless deadlock in the third period with the Mount Royal University Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Championship series. The Cougars had gotten the record crowd of 3,013 spectators at the Huskies state of the art rink to fall into a hush.

At the 10:09 mark of the frame, the Huskies got a rush that turned the game around. 

Vince Loschiavo scored the winning goal for the Huskies.

Second-year offensive defenceman Landon Kosior got the puck to fourth-year left-winger Chantz Petruic at the left side of his own blue-line. Petruic made seeing-eye pass up the centre of the ice to fifth-year right-winger Vince Loschiavo to spring him into the Mount Royal zone on a one-on-one rush.

Loschiavo jetted up the left wing, took a shot that deflected off the stick of Cougars defenceman Michael Ladyman into the Mount Royal net to put the Huskies up 1-0 and almost blow the roof off Merlis. That started a three-goal surge that allowed the Huskies to take the game 3-0. With the win, the Huskies claimed the best-of-three set 2-1 to capture their first conference crown since 2020.

Vince Loschiavo reacts to score at the 10:09 mark of the third period.

Both Huskies and the Cougars will play in the U Sports Championship Tournament – the David Johnston University Cup. It is slated to be held at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, from March 20 to 23, and it will be played in elite-eight format.

“I’m so happy for our guys,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote, who was named the Canada West Conference coach of the year this season. “They put in so much work.

“They bought in, and that is what good teams do. They are so close and so tight. We’re going to enjoy this, but we also got nationals to be ready for as well, so we’re not done yet.”

The Huskies celebrate a third period goal from Vince Loschiavo (#18).

The Huskies captured the Canada West title for the 19^th time in team history with 12 of those wins coming in the conference’s modern era that started in 1972.

For the first 40 minutes in Sunday’s game, it seemed like the Huskies were stuck in a mud bog. While they had their spurts of offence, the Cougars pinned the hosts in their own zone for extended stretches.

Mount Royal had a 12-4 edge in shots on goal after the first period and 24-11 advantage in the same department heading into the second intermission. While the Cougars had their chances, they couldn’t solve Huskies fourth-year netminder Roddy Ross, who claimed honours as the Canada West goaltender of the year for the current campaign.

Part of the crowd of 3,013 spectators cheer the Huskies first goal.

Kosior said Ross’s performance helped give the Huskies traction.

“Roddy (Ross) was making saves,” said Kosior. “I think that just gave us so much belief.

“We knew that he is not letting anything in. We just knew that we had to get one. Once we got it, it was all gas.”

Huskies second-year right-winger Keaton Sorensen thought his team’s effort was there for the first 40 minutes and the intensity of the contest was high. He said all his squad had to do was get a touch more composure.

Roddy Ross made 30 saves to pick up the shutout win on Sunday.

“We just took it period by period every five minutes,” said Sorensen. “Sometimes, we got revved up.

“We just got calm and collected. We just got it done today.”

The game’s momentum shifted drastically in the third when Loschiavo got the Huskies on the scoreboard. Kosior was pumped to see the rush that he started get finished off by Loschiavo.

“That was unbelievable,” said Kosior. “That was a feeling I won’t forget.

“We celebrated, and then knew there was nine minutes left or whatever it was. We had to refocus and finish the game out.”

Shane Farkas stopped 24-of-26 shots in goal for the Cougars.

Following Loschiavo’s goal, the Huskies got the puck deep in the Mount Royal often and were hard on the forecheck. That pressure resulted in a key insurance goal with 5:55 remaining in the third.

Cougars third-year defenceman Remy Aquilon had the puck deep in his zone, and he was forced to cough it up after he was floored by a big hit from Huskies fourth-year right winger Jarrett Penner. After the hit, the puck squirted to Huskies third-year centre Ethan Regnier, who was all alone in front of the Mount Royal net.

Regnier tucked a shot between the legs of Cougars netminder Shane Farkas to push the Huskies lead out to 2-0.

“Penn (Jarrett Penner) is my linemate there,” said Regnier. “He is always hard on the puck, so you always have to be ready.

Ethan Regnier scored the Huskies second goal on Sunday.

“You never know what is going to happen. It just came out to me. I tried to make a quick move, and luckily, it went in.”

Regnier was pumped his Huskies prevailed in Game 3 to capture the conference title.

“I’m pretty speechless,” said Regnier. “To do it in front of the crowd and the support we have here, it is awesome.”

With 1:16 remaining in the third, fourth-year defenceman Ty Prefontaine sealed the victory with an empty-net tally that rounded out the 3-0 final score.

Ross stopped all 30 shots sent his way to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. Farkas turned away 24-of-26 shots to take the setback in net for the Cougars.

During the regular season, the Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 23-5 record, and they were rated second in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings. 

The Huskies pour off their bench after winning the Canada West title.

The Cougars were second overall in Canada West at 22-6, and they were rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings.

Kosior was elated his squad claimed the conference title.

“It feels unreal,” said Kosior. “At the start of the year, this was our goal.

“To accomplish it, it is the best feeling in the world.”

Sorensen contributed some gritty minutes to help the Huskies cause. With 3:34 remaining in the third, he drew a tripping penalty from Cougars rookie right-winger Justin Lies that help keep the momentum on the Huskies side.

Ty Prefontaine (#9) reacts to getting his Canada West gold medal.

When the third period clock expired, Sorensen was over the moon excited about the fact his team won the conference title.

“It is awesome,” said Sorensen. “There is no better feeling than winning.

“It is just awesome. We have a great group of guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys.”

The 3,013 spectators the Huskies drew for Game 3 matched the record total they attracted for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at Merlis, which the Cougars claimed 2-1 in overtime. In the Huskies 6-3 victory in Game 1 of the series on Friday, 2,980 spectators packed into Merlis, which was the attendance record for the building until Games 2 and 3 of the series were played.

Landon Kosior raises the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

Kosior played before some lively crowds during his WHL career as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in “Hockey Town North.” He loved how the Huskies faithful brought the noise and the energy in the Canada West final.

“The crowd has been amazing,” said Kosior. “It is unbelievable.

“I can’t even put it into words. We’re just so thankful with how good our crowd was.”

Now the Huskies turn their attention to trying to win their second U Sports championship in team history. Their lone U Sports title came from their legendary 1982-83 squad that was coached by Dave King and captained by Willie Desjardins.

Kosior said his squad is looking forward to what awaits then at the David Johnston University Cup.

The Huskies celebrate their Canada West title win on Sunday.

“We’re excited,” said Kosior. “We will celebrate this, and then, we will come back and be ready to go and be looking forward to nationals.”

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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Laing finds his offensive groove in Saskatoon

Blades lock up berth in WHL Playoffs with 4-1 win over Raiders

Hunter Laing reacts to scoring his second goal on Saturday.

Hunter Laing discovered that “Runnin’ Back To Saskatoon” is turning out to be the best thing for his WHL career.

The 18-year-old right-winger came to “The Bridge City” in a blockbuster trade on January 8. Laing was dealt by the Prince George Cougars along with 15-year-old prospect defenceman Luke Dumas, a first round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft and fifth round pick in the 2028 Prospects Draft to the Blades in exchange for 19-year-old centre Ben Riche.

On Saturday playing before 5,330 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Laing scored twice to power the host Blades to a 4-1 victory over their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders. The win allowed the Blades to improve to 33-21-3-4 to officially clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

Hunter Laing has five goals and one assist in his last three games.

Since arriving in Saskatoon, Laing has recorded 13 goals, five assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department in 21 games with the Blades. That includes the five goals and one helper he has put up in his last three outings. In the 36 games he played in the 2024-25 campaign with the Cougars, Laing posted 10 goals, 12 assists and a plus-seven rating.

“I think I’m just having a lot more confidence,” said Laing, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 209 pounds. “I’m playing with two great guys with Coop (Cooper Williams) and Lew (David Lewandowski) there.

“I think everything is just clicking. I’m enjoying myself right now.”

Hunter Laing came to the Blades in a trade on January 8.

Last season, Laing played his first full season in the WHL. He suited in 66 regular season games with the Cougars collecting 11 goals and 14 assists. The product of Kelowna, B.C., showed well enough that the Calgary Flames selected him in the sixth round and 170^th overall in the last year’s NHL Entry Draft.

With the Blades, Laing has shown he has a good set of hands working magic around the net to score goals. He is also getting more opportunities to contribute offensively on a younger Blades roster compared to the veteran heavy unit the Cougars are carrying.

“I think the coaches in P.G. trusted me,” said Laing. “I think here they trust me even more to be a guy that can put the puck in the net and be an offensive guy.

The Blades and Raiders engaged is some rough stuff on Saturday.

“I’ve kind of just taken that opportunity and just kept rolling with it.”

The Raiders came out of the gates strong getting the first five shots on goal of the contest. After that initial flurry, the Blades proceeded to carry momentum for an extended time.

Saskatoon opened the game’s scoring while working on the power play at the 7:47 mark of the opening frame thanks to Laing’s sweet hands. Williams, who is a rookie centre, fired a shot on goal that was deflected home by Laing to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

Growing up through the minor hockey ranks, Laing has always been a player who could put up points offensively.

Ethan McCallum made 40 saves for the Blades.

Blades head coach Dan DaSilva said the team’s coaching staff is working with Laing to bring that aspect of his game more to forefront in the WHL.

“We knew that he (Laing) had that capability,” said DaSilva. “He knows that he has the soft hands.

“He is a very smart player with an extremely high hockey IQ. He puts himself in really good position that he can finish. You saw that tonight.

“His hand-eye coordination, his deflection goals are crazy. That first goal tonight was unbelievable just to get a piece of that.”

Max Hildebrand stopped 31-of-34 shots in goal for the Raiders.

With 5:08 remaining in the first, things got a little heated resulting in a short fight by Raiders 18-year-old defenceman Tyrone Sobry and Blades 16-year-old right-winger and associate player call up Kohen Lodge, who has skated for his hometown Red Deer Chiefs under-18 AAA team this season.

The opening frame ended with Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic pinning Williams to the ice. Mrsic received a minor for roughing, which the Raiders killed off at the start of the second.

The Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 with 7:01 remaining in the second on a power-play goal from Williams. Williams took a shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected in off back checking Raiders centre Evan Smith.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Cooper Williams (#25).

At the time of the goal, the Blades were holding a 26-11 edge in shots on goal after having five straight power plays.

From that moment, the Raiders got some momentum as they got four straight power plays. Blades netminder Ethan McCallum stood his ground and ultimately made 40 saves in the game to pick up the win in the Saskatoon net.

That allowed Laing to add a dagger goal to seal the outcome of the contest with 6:58 remaining in the third. On a rush into the Prince Albert zone, Laing received a nifty backhanded pass from import centre Frantisek Dej, jetted towards the right side of the Raiders net and slipped home his second of the contest to push the Blades advantage out to 3-0.

Brayden Klimpke had a pair of assists for the Blades.

DaSilva appreciated Laing’s finish on his third period tally.

“It was a great big goal for us,” said DaSilva. “He (Laing) is a heck of a hockey player.

“You can see why he is drafted. Calgary saw something in his with the size and the skill. He is a great teammate.

“The guys love him. He has fit in here so well with our group.”

Blades veteran right-winger Tyler Parr, who turned 20-years-old in January, scored the rare short-handed empty-net goal with 70 seconds remaining in the third. While still on the penalty kill, the Blades tried their hardest to get McCallum his first shutout of his WHL career.

Tyler Parr had a short-handed, empty-net goal for the Blades.

With 15.8 seconds remaining in the third, sophomore right-winger Oli Chenier one-timed home a power-play goal from the left side of the Saskatoon net to break up McCallum’s shutout bid and round out the 4-1 final score in favour of the Blades. McCallum admitted he wanted to hold on to the shutout, but he had already shrugged it off when it didn’t happen.

“Obviously, you’re a little upset in the moment, because you’re battling so hard, especially with the six-on-four at the end there,” said McCallum. “You’re just trying to work your butt off, but at the same time, you’re not thinking about it too much.

Grayden Siepmann had a pair of assists for the Blades.

“Just when that goal goes in, it is not a huge deal. I’ve played enough games in this league where I’m just going to be patient with it.”

Max Hildebrand turned away 31-of-34 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders, who fell to 34-22-5-1. Raiders import defenceman Vojtech Vochvest was helped off the ice after blocking a shot late in the first period. He came back for a little bit but wasn’t on the Raiders bench for the third period.

Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke and 20-year-old rearguard Grayden Siepmann each finished with two assists. Dej was stopped on a penalty shot with 2:30 remaining in the third period. 

The Raiders still sit first in the WHL’s East Division with a one standings point lead over the Blades and the idle Brandon Wheat Kings (33-21-4-3). The Blades and Wheat Kings each have one game in hand on the Raiders.

Frantisek Day had an assist for the Blades.

Brandon sits second in the division holding the standings tiebreaker over Saskatoon with three wins and three extra time losses in the six head-to-head meetings between the two squads. The Wheat Kings are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Calgary to take on the 40-15-3-3 Hitmen (2 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Blades get back at it on Tuesday when they travel to Regina to take on the 15-39-5-3 Pats (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Lethbridge to take on the 34-22-5-1 Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

With the WHL’s regular season nearing an end, Laing is excited to be in a final sprint for first place in the East Division with his team.

“It is getting close for sure,” said Laing. “We made a jump there.

The Blades celebrate their win on Saturday night.

“Every game is huge for us. We’ve got a couple of games against Brandon and P.A. We’ve got to keep it going here.”

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

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Banner battles are fun, Raiders fight for East Division title

The Raiders celebrate a goal in their game last Friday.

Being in the chase for banners is fun and winning banners is even more fun.

The WHL regular season is heading down its final straightaway, and the Prince Albert Raiders are in a heated race for first place in the East Division. Entering play on Tuesday, the Raiders (33-20-5-1) hold down first place in the East with a one standings point lead over the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3).

Sitting three points back of the Raiders and two points back of the Wheat Kings are the Saskatoon Blades (31-20-2-4). Both the Wheat Kings and the Blades have a game in hand on the Raiders.

Basically, the team that plays the hottest down the stretch will take the division title. The club that wins the East Division will also be the second seed in the WHL’s Eastern Conference for the first round of the playoffs.

That is a big prize considering the fact that the first place finisher will be the only East Division team with home ice advantage for the first round of the post-season. The top three teams in the Central Division sit ahead of the Raiders in the Medicine Hat Tigers (41-17-3-1), the Calgary Hitmen (39-15-3-3) and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (38-19-2-2).

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

Raiders’ grad Kosior is cool with school

Landon Kosior in action for the Huskies in February of 2024.

Landon Kosior is in the post-season groove.

The graduate of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders is looking forward to his second go in the playoffs in the U Sports ranks skating on the blue-line of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team. The Huskies topped the Canada West Conference regular season standings with a 23-5 record and will host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three conference semifinal series.

Games 1 and 2 will go Friday and Saturday respectively with a 7 p.m. start time on each night at Merlis Belsher Place. If necessary, a series-deciding Game 3 is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. at Merlis. The Thunderbirds finished fourth overall in Canada West with an 18-8-0-2 mark.

“Coming into the year just with the guys that we were bringing back, we kind of knew that we should have a pretty good team,” said Kosior, who stands 6-feet and weighs 190 pounds. “I think it has gone just as we had hoped.

“That being said, the playoffs are coming up. That is the main goal of the year is to win a championship, so the real season starts now.”

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

Tigers win fourth straight, last two without McKenna

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored his 30th goal of the season on Saturday.

Adversity seems to be firing up the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Saturday night, the Tigers won their fourth straight game blanking the Wheat Kings 5-0 before 3,264 spectators in Westoba Place in Brandon. The last two victories in Medicine Hat’s current streak have been accomplished without having superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna in the lineup.

The 17-year-old, who is the best player not only on the Tigers but in the entire WHL, has been serving a three game suspension for receiving a slashing major and a game misconduct in the Tigers 5-3 win over the Oil Kings in Edmonton last Sunday. McKenna has one game remaining on his suspension that will be served when the Tigers host the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).

With 4:39 remaining in the win over the Oil Kings, McKenna was hit high by Oil Kings 20-year-old defenceman Josh Mori near the Edmonton bench. The two spun towards the ice and McKenna swung his stick, with two hands, breaking his stick on Mori’s while the rearguard fell to the ice in a heap.

Mori left that game, but has played in all of Edmonton’s ensuing contests since the McKenna slash.

The incident has sparked lots of talk about the abuse McKenna has taken from opposing teams especially against the Oil Kings, who play a high tension and agitating style of hockey. Feisty overage centre Marshall Finnie often plays the role of top agitator on the Edmonton side.

The Tigers were also without standout defenceman Jonas Woo and Bryce Pickford, who are listed as week-to-week with upper body injuries. Tigers 19-year-old star left-winger Andrew Basha is out indefinitely with a lower body injury and last played in a 4-0 home ice win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Ryder Ritchie had a goal in the Tigers win on Saturday.

Star centre Cayden Lindstrom, who turned 19-years-old in early February, is with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as he rehabs a back injury. Lindstrom, who was selected in the first round and fourth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, is skating under the watchful eye of the NHL club. He hasn’t played a game in the 2024-25 campaign.

Still, the Tigers are overcoming all of these obstacles. With their win over the Wheat Kings, the Tigers continue to lead the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 41-17-3-1 mark, and they currently sit second in the overall WHL standings.

Medicine Hat opened the scoring at the 10:03 mark of the opening frame, when captain Oasiz Wiesblatt potted his 30^th goal of the campaign. That marked the first time in his WHL career the 20-year-old centre cracked the 30-goal plateau for one season.

The Tigers offence blew open the contest scoring three goals in the first 9:58 of the second to surge ahead 4-0. Mathew Ward, who is an overage centre, started the surge scoring on a spin-a-round shot from the point.

Star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up the second tally of the surge firing home a shot from inside the right faceoff circle to the top left corner of the Brandon net after a toe-drag move. The tally was Ritchie’s 25^th goal of the campaign.

Rookie right-winger Liam Ruck, who recently turned 17-years-old, completed the surge potting home a rebound from the front of the Brandon net that came from a shot by 18-year-old rookie winger Carter Cunningham. Ruck’s tally was his 19^th goal of the campaign.

Marcus Pacheco, who is a 19-year-old right-winger, rounded out the game’s scoring potting the Tigers final goal with 3:43 remaining in the third period.

Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin had an outstanding outing making 26 saves for his third shutout win of the season. Meneghin made a number of spectacular saves in the contest.

Harrison Meneghin made 26 saves in a shutout victory.

The Wheat Kings started 19-year-old star netminder Carson Bjarnason, who turned away 20-of-24 shots sent his way. Ethan Eskit played the third period in relief turning away 7-of-8 shots sent in his direction.

Brandon fell to 32-19-4-3 to sit one point behind the Prince Albert Raiders (33-20-5-1) for first in the WHL’s East Division. The Wheat Kings have one game in hand on the Raiders.

The Wheat Kings return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Red Deer to face the 23-28-5-2 Rebels (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).

The Tigers are looking to continue their roll and keep building momentum over their final six regular season games heading into the WHL Playoffs.

Broncos rally to 4-3 OT win over Raiders

Hunter Mayo had a dream night for a defenceman.

The 20-year-old rearguard with the Swift Current Broncos scored the overtime winner, picked up an assist and was a plus-four in the plus-minus department in his team’s wild 4-3 comeback victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday night. The Broncos erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to the delight of most of the 2,510 spectators at the InnovationPlex.

After the two sides played through a scoreless first period, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic had the only goal in the second frame giving the visitors a 1-0 edge.

At the 9:13 mark of the third while working on the power play, Raiders breakout star 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube potted his 27^th goal of the campaign to increase his squad’s advantage to 2-0.

Broncos 19-year-old right-winger Rylan Gould scored 45 seconds later to cut the Raiders edge to 2-1.

Prince Albert would score their second power-play goal of the contest coming off the stick of rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk, who turned 17-years-old in late January, to push their edge out to 3-1 with 6:55 remaining in the third.

With 3:49 left in the third, Broncos 19-year-old defenceman Grayson Burzynski scored to trim the Raiders lead to 3-2. Mayo picked up an assist on that tally.

Broncos 20-year-old centre Carlin Dezainde proceeded to pot his 31^st goal of the campaign with 57.8 seconds remaining in the third to even the score at 3-3. Swift Current netted that goal with netminder Reid Dyck pulled for an extra attacker.

In overtime, Mayo roofed the winner to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net with 1:24 remaining in the extra session to deliver the Broncos to a 4-3 victory.

Dyck stopped 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos, who improved to 31-25-1-1. Swift Current’s magic number of standings points needed to clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs shrank down to 10.

Max Hildebrand turned away 24 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders record moved to 33-20-5-1 to sit one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3) for first place in the WHL’s East Division. Prince Albert is two standings points away from clinching a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the 15-37-5-2 Regina Pats (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Broncos get back at it on Wednesday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Warriors wipe out 12-game skid with 6-2 win over Blades

After failing to collect a victory in the month of February, the Moose Jaw Warriors are one-for-one in the win department for the month of March.

On Saturday before 2,981 pumped spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, the host Warriors dumped the visiting Saskatoon Blades 6-2. The win ends a 12-game skid for the Warriors, who dropped 11 games in regulation and one contest in overtime over that stretch.

Before Saturday’s victory, the Warriors last win came back on January 31, when they came up with a 4-3 victory on home ice after a tiebreaking shootout against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Warriors 20-year-old import left-winger Krzysztof Macias recorded a hat trick in the win over the Blades on Saturday, while 19-year-old defenceman Aiden Ziprick picked up three assists. Moose Jaw netminder Matthew Hutchison had an outstanding night stopping 36 shots in the win for a Warriors side that sits last in the WHL with a 12-41-5-2 mark.

Macias and Warriors captain Lynden Lakovic scored to give the host side a 2-0 edge in the opening frame. Blades 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing scored before the first period ended to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1.

Macias added his second of the contest at the 1:33 mark of the second to put Moose Jaw up 3-1. Blades rookie defenceman Jordan Martin, who turned 18-years-old in January, tallied a goal at the six-minute mark of the second to trim the Warriors lead to 3-2.

Macias scored on the power play to complete his hat trick before the second ended to push the Warriors lead out to 4-2.

Moose Jaw rounded out the game’s scoring in the third with a power-play goal from 19-year-old left-winger Pavel McKenzie and Lakovic potting a marker into an empty net for his second goal of the contest. Lakovic had an assist for a three-point night, and McKenzie had two helpers to go with his goal in a three-point night.

Ethan McCallum turned away 16-of-21 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The Blades fell to 30-20-3-4 with the loss, and their magic number of standings points to clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs is seven. Saskatoon is five points behind the Prince Albert Raiders (33-20-5-1) for first place in the East Division and four points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3) for second place.

The Blades have two games in hand on the Raiders and one game in hand on the Wheat Kings.

Saskatoon returns to action in Sunday hosting the 33-22-2-2 Edmonton Oil Kings (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Warriors are off until this coming Friday when they host the Regina Pats (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

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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