Huskies’ defence bashes Bisons – U of S playoff bound

Tristian Koronkiewicz (#90) celebrates his defensive touchdown.

    Tristian Koronkiewicz lived out a defensive lineman’s dream.

    On Saturday at Griffiths Stadium, Koronkiewicz’s University of Saskatchewan Huskies jumped out to a 20-4 second-half edge on the University of Manitoba Bisons after the two sides were locked in a 4-4 tie at halftime of their U Sports regular season clash.

    With the Huskies defense having knocked Bisons starting quarterback Des Catellier out of the contest with an injury, Bisons backup quarterback Jamie Ybarra fumbled the ball away late in the fourth quarter, while under pressure.

    Koronkiewicz, who plays defensive end, scooped up the loose ball and raced 39 yards for a touchdown to put the Huskies up 27-4 with 2:33 to play in the fourth quarter. That score held up as the final outcome to the delight of most of the 2,440 spectators in attendance.

Huskies LB Thomas Whiting nails Bisons RB Jamel Lyles.

    “During an interview earlier in the week, I said no words describe a sack,” said Koronkiewicz, who is in his fifth and final year of eligibility with the Huskies. “No words describe that feeling.

    “I saw the ball on the ground, picked it up and I just gave all I got to get to that end zone.”

    Koronkiewicz’s major score provided some amusement for Huskies head coach Scott Flory.

    “The first think he (Koronkiewicz) said to me was how about that ball security,” said Flory with a chuckle. “We work on that every day one.

    “I’m really proud of Tristan (Koronkiewicz) and the way he has responded this season. He absolutely deserves all the accolades he gets for what he has done for this football team without a doubt.”

    While Koronkiewicz’s touchdown capped a solid afternoon performance by the Huskies, the victory they earned was a key one.

The Bisons defence corrals Huskie RB Tyler Chow (#5) in the early going.

    Their win combined with the fact the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds downed the University of Alberta Golden Bears 30-11 in Vancouver, B.C., also on Saturday allowed the Huskies lock up a playoff berth. U of S returns to the post-season after a one-year absence.

    The Huskies and Thunderbirds have identical 4-3 records, but the Thunderbirds hold the Canada West Conference standings tiebreaker winning the lone regular season encounter between the two sides. UBC sits second in Canada West, while the Huskies are in third place.

    The Bisons fell to 3-4 to sit fourth in Canada West, but they clinched a playoff berth with the Golden Bears loss to the Thunderbirds. 

The Huskies celebrate a safety from LB Thomas Whiting.

    The Golden Bears fell to 2-5, but with one regular season game to play, they can’t catch the Bisons, who won both regular season clashes between the two squads to gain the standings tiebreaker.

    For Koronkiewicz, the chance to return to the post-season is special.

    “It is my last kick at the can, so I want to be able to prolong my career as much as I can,” said Koronkiewicz. “We seized that opportunity today.

    “Now, I have that for sure two more weeks of football, and we just have to keep it riding.”

QB Kyle Siemens completed 22-of-26 passes for 262 yards.

    Overall, the Huskies defence had a dominate performance on Saturday limiting the Bisons to 298 yards of total offence, while piling up four sacks. Koronkiewicz along with linebacker Thomas Whiting, defensive tackle Evan Machibroda and defensive end Riley Pickett all had one sack each.

    Catellier completed 12-of-18 passes for the Bisons for only 142 yards before being knocked out of the game on Machibroda’s sack in the fourth quarter. Bisons star running back Jamel Lyles carried the ball 10 times for just 26 yards.

    Bisons backup running back Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette managed to cause some headaches gaining 108 yards rushing on eight carries.

    Koronkiewicz collected three individual tackles to go with his sack and scoop and score.

    “We had a fantastic game plan coming in, and we need to contain Jamel Lyles,” said Koronkiewicz. “I think we did that early.

RB Tyler Chow dives into the end zone for a touchdown.

    “That made them try to pass the ball a little more, and then we got after the quarterback and contained him. Des (Catellier) is a great athlete.

    “He flies around. He extends plays with his legs. We kept him from doing that today, and I think that helped a lot for sure.”

    The Bisons did get on the board first, when kicker Brad Mikoluff nailed an 18-yard field goal to cap an 82-yard offensive drive with 4:16 to play in the first quarter.

    Before the first quarter ended, the Huskies forced Mikoluff to concede a safety due to bad field position to cut the Bisons lead to 3-2.

    Early in the second quarter, Mikoluff scored a rouge off an 84-yard punt with a strong wind to give the Bisons a 4-2 edge.

    With 1:59 to play in the second quarter, the Huskies tied things up at 4-4, when Whiting sacked Catellier in his own end zone for a safety.

The Huskies defence stops Bisons RB Victor St. Pierre-Laviolette.

    Flory wasn’t surprised neither side was able to break out in the first half.

    “That is a good football team,” said Flory referring to the Bisons. “In the first half obviously, it was tight.

    “There was a lot of good defensive effort on both sides. We have to find a way to put the ball in the end zone. I challenged the offence a little bit at halftime, and they responded as well as the defence.”

    The Huskies went ahead with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter, when fifth-year star running back Tyler Chow took a short eight-yard pass from fifth-year star quarterback Kyle Siemens into the end zone for a major score. The drive ending in Chow’s touchdown catch covered 107 yards in seven plays and gave the Huskies an 11-4 lead.

The Huskies faithful get into singing “Sweet Caroline.”

    Early in the fourth quarter, Huskies star kicker Sean Stenger missed a 30-yard field goal, but the hosts scored a rouge off that miss to go up 12-4.

    U of S proceeded to put together another long scoring drive that covered 97 yards in nine plays and was capped by a Chow touchdown run from three yards out to give the Huskies a 19-4 advantage.

    Chow ran the ball 17 times for 82 yards and caught three passes for 26 yards to go with his two major scores.

    “I couldn’t have done it without the O-line,” said Chow. “They’ve been playing stellar all year.

“I have to thank them. I wouldn’t be anywhere without them.”

    Stenger scored another rouge on the ensuing kickoff following Chow’s touchdown run to put the Huskies up 20-4.

Joseph Trumpy (#82) secures a catch for the Huskies.

    That set the stage for Koronkiewicz to cap the win with his defensive touchdown.

Siemens completed 22-of-26 passes for 262 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He ran the ball six times for a team high 84 yards.

    Before Saturday’s game, the Huskies had lost their previous two games and Siemens was pulled in the squad’s last outing, which was a 20-10 setback to the Thunderbirds on Oct. 12 in Vancouver. 
    Siemens said it was big for the Huskies to end their two-game skid.

    “We have a great group of guys,” said Siemens. “Adversity has hit us a lot throughout this season.

Colton Klassen (#7) looks to turn upfield for the Huskies.

    “We’ve responded well every single time. I’m pretty proud of that and pretty proud of the guys.”
    The Huskies close the regular season this coming Friday, when they travel to Regina to face the University of Regina Rams (1-6) at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium. 

    The Rams had to forfeit three wins this season due to using an ineligible player.

    U of S can finish second in Canada West and host a conference semifinal playoff game with a win over the Rams combined with a Thunderbirds loss to the Bisons, when those two teams meet this coming Saturday in Winnipeg, Man.

    Chow said his Huskies just have to worry about their next task at hand in playing the Rams.

The Huskies and Bisons shake hands after Saturday’s game.

    “We are not going to take them lightly,” said Chow. “The Rams are a great team, and we just have to stay focused.”

    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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Kleiter refines identity with Hilltops, stands out in curling

Rylan Kleiter dashes home on a 50-yard touchdown reception.

    Rylan Kleiter knew he would go through a feeling out process playing for the Saskatoon Hilltops in 2018.

    Last season as a 19-year-old sophomore, Kleiter started the campaign handling all the Hilltops punting and kickoff duties and had a regular role as a receiver. His campaign came to an almost literal crashing halt after he suffered a major knee injury in a 29-26 loss to the Regina Thunder on Sept. 9, 2017 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

    After missing four regular season games and three playoff contests, Kleiter managed to heal up enough to play in the Canadian Junior Football League championship game – the Canadian Bowl – on Nov. 11, 2017. He hit a 37-yard field goal in the Hilltops 56-11 thrashing of the host Windsor AKO Fratmen as the venerable Saskatoon side won a fourth straight CJFL title.

    Entering this season, Kleiter was still bothered by some lingering effects from his knee injury causing him to miss the Hilltops first three regular season games.

    “It has been a long journey, and a lot of hard work just in the gym making sure my strength is back up and keeping that knee strong and also mentally getting comfortable with using my knee again,” said Kleiter. “I was itching to get back out there.

    “As soon as the football equipment came out, I was ready to go on and get back out there.”

    He returned to action on Sept. 15, when the Hilltops romped over the Colts in Calgary 79-7. In his return, Kleiter caught three passes for 46 yards, returned two punts for 25 yards and kicked four punts for a 35.2 yard average.

    The 20-year-old was ecstatic to be on the field.

    “It was pretty exciting,” said Kleiter, whose Hilltops (8-0) host a Prairie Football Conference semifinal playoff contest against the Winnipeg Rifles (3-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. “At first, it was a little edgy kind of.

    “I wanted to get into the hitting. Once I got that first hit, then I was ready to go.”

Rylan Kleiter boots a punt downfield for the Hilltops.

    While Kleiter was ready to go, he wasn’t sure what his identity would be with the team. Due to the fact he missed a total of 10 regular season and post-season games due to injury over the past two years, receiver John Brown emerged to cement himself as the Hilltops main punter.

    David Solie, who has been kicker for Football Canada’s national team program, joined the Hilltops this season and assumed the kickoff duties Kleiter used to handle. The Toppers also cycled through a number of receivers on offence, so Kleiter wasn’t sure what his role would be there.

    He was determined to get on the field and was open to pursuing every avenue to make that possible, which included playing multiple positions.

    “It took some time,” said Kleiter, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds. “I’m still just practising making sure I am ready to go if coach ever needs me to fill in.

    “Other than that, I just kind of keep on grinding to get back in there.”

    Last Sunday in the Hilltops 48-7 regular season ending victory over the Rifles at SFM Field, Kleiter had arguably his most memorable game of the season. The graduate of Saskatoon’s St. Joseph High School Guardians football team hauled in a 50-yard catch and run touchdown reception from star quarterback Jordan Walls, ran back two punts for 21 yards and punted the ball four times for a 32.5 yard average.

    The touchdown catch was the obvious highlight of the day.

    “It was pretty exciting,” said Kleiter. “I got the blocks up front with my receivers, which left a wide open lane for me.”

    Away from football, Kleiter has built another big identity as a star curler. He skips a junior team out of Saskatoon’s Sutherland Curling Club that includes third, Trevor Johnson, second Joshua Mattern and lead Matthieu Taillon.

Rylan Kleiter, left, returns a punt for the Hilltops.

    Together, Kleiter’s team has won the last two Saskatchewan junior men’s provincial curling championships.

    “It has been busy between curling, football and school,” said Kleiter, who is a business student at the University of Saskatchewan. “My first few months are real busy.

    “Curling kind of sits to the back the first few months and then picks up later on after football season is over.”

    Last weekend, Kleiter’s foursome played in the Saskatchewan Curling Tour’s men’s bonspiel at Saskatoon’s Nutana Curling Club. This weekend, they are playing in the Curl Saskatoon Junior Classic, which started Friday and runs through to Sunday at the Granite and CN Curling Clubs in Saskatoon.

    Kleiter loves the busy weekends when he plays with his curling team in bonspiels and with the Hilltops in football.

    “It is fun,” said Kleiter. “I’m not usually at home very much.

    “I just take whatever down time I can get, rest up and be ready mentally as well.”

    Of course, football and curling are quite different, but he said the two sports complement each other when it comes to building mental toughness.

    “I’d say for sure mentally both ways,” said Kleiter. “Out here on the field when you are not making plays, you have to be able to get yourself out of that groove.

    “Both sports kind of combine with that to help me learn how to face that.”

Rylan Kleiter is set to make more good memories in the playoffs.

    On the football field, Kleiter is pumped the CJFL playoffs have rolled around. As a rookie in 2016, Kleiter had a huge highlight moment with the Hilltops catching two touchdown passes in the team’s 43-31 victory over the Colts in the PFC final played at SFM Field.

    He wants to help create some more memorable moments in this year’s playoff run and noticed things have hit a higher gear at the team’s practices this week.

    “It is pretty exciting,” said Kleiter. “I am just excited to get out there.

    “It is a little bit different feel even at practice. It is a little more higher tempo and just be ready to go.”

    NOTES – Hilltops playoff game tickets can be purchased at all Mac’s and Circle K convenience stores in Saskatoon and the team’s web site at www.saskatoonhilltops.com. Sunday’s other PFC semifinal sees the Regina Thunder (5-3) travel to Edmonton to face the Huskies (6-2).

    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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Stars’ Fiala surpasses 100 career points in SFMAAAHL

Shirley ties for second on Saskatoon’s all-time scoring list

Joelle Fiala collected her 100th career regular season point.

    Joelle Fiala was oblivious to the fact she became just the 20^th player to hit a lofty milestone in the history of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

    Playing against the host Prairie Fire in Melville last Saturday, Fiala collected a goal and three assists to help her Saskatoon Stars post a 5-0 victory. When the Clavet, Sask., product assisted on the Stars final goal, she became the 20^th player to score 100 career points in regular season play in the SFMAAAHL.

    When the two sides met again last Sunday in Melville, Fiala had a goal and an assist to help the Stars claim another 5-0 victory. Thanks to the points she recorded in those two outings, Fiala has 39 goals and 63 assists for 102 points in 88 career SFMAAAHL regular season games all played with the Stars.

    The news of the milestone came as a surprise to the skilled forward, when she was told about it.

    “I didn’t know I did (it),” said Fiala, who has three goals and four assists over the Stars first four games this season. “I wasn’t really paying attention, but it is really exciting.

    “I definitely thought before I was on the Stars that is not something that would happen for me. It is really exciting that I’ve been able to work towards that.”

    Entering the current campaign, Fiala needed to collect five points to total 100 career points in SFMAAAHL regular season play. She never thought about hitting that milestone as the season started and progressed through its early stages.

    Fiala was pumped to hear she was just the 20^th player to hit that milestone in scoring.

    “Now that I’ve achieved that, I just have to keep on pushing through,” said Fiala, who stands 5-foot-8.

    Committed to play for the Robert Morris University Colonials women’s hockey team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ranks next season, Fiala is one of three players on the Stars roster to have scored 100 or more points in regular season play.

Joelle Fiala current has 102 career regular season points.

    Captain Grace Shirley has 126 points coming off of 73 goals and 53 assists in 86 regular season games. Anna Leschyshyn has 116 points coming off 56 goals and 60 assists in 91 career regular season games.
    Former Stars superstar Mackenna Parker graduated from the club at the end of last season finishing as the second all-time leading scorer in the history of the SFMAAAHL with 158 points coming off 82 goals and 76 assists in 104 career regular season games. Parker is the Stars all-time leading scorer.

    Fiala said fact the Stars have had four players break the 100-point barrier over the past two seasons shows how good the team has been in recent years. The Stars have won three out of the last four SFMAAAHL titles and fell in the Esso Cup gold medal national championship game 2-1 to the Alberta based St. Albert Slash last April.

    “We’ve all made each other better in different ways and push each other,” said Fiala. “We’re all equal, and we are all going to be pushing towards the same thing.”

    Fiala wasn’t the only Stars player to hit a milestone last weekend. Collecting a goal and two assists in the Stars victory over the Prairie Fire last Saturday, Shirley equaled former Stars captain Lauren Zary for second on the team’s all-time scoring list.

    Zary collected her 126 points off 44 goals and 82 assists playing 103 career regular season games for the Stars from 2008 to 2012. Following her time with the Stars, Zary played for the Brown University Bears women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team in U Sports. Her 82 career assists is the Stars team record.

    Shirley will sit alone for second on the Stars all-time regular season scoring list and fifth on the all-time SFMAAAHL regular season scoring list, when she collects her next point.

    “I really try not to focus on that too much,” said Shirley, who has three goals and five assists over the Stars first four games. “I don’t try to think about it too much.

Fiala was pumped to find out she scored her 100th point.

    “I kind of like just want to go out there and work my hardest, and I want our team to do well. I don’t really think I am too worried about that right now.”

    Shirley, who stands 5-foot-8, believes she will reflect more on her milestones, when she hangs up her skates.

    “I think in the moment you are focusing on getting better and kind of how the team is and team success,” said Shirley, who has committed to play for the NCAA powerhouse University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team next season. “Maybe it is something to look back on in the future.

    “I think right now it is just kind of focusing on developing and having a good season with the team.”

    Stars head coach Greg Slobodzian was proud to see both Fiala and Shirley reach their most recent milestones.

    “It is always rewarding for them and for a coach to sort of be around while they get them,” said Slobodzian. “Those two girls are very special players.

    “They deserve all the milestones that they will achieve and all the awards that they will achieve. It is not going to stop with the Stars obviously. They are going to go on and have very healthy and positive careers in the game of hockey.

    “Getting the chance to be around them when they are young like this, it is a lot of fun. Those little achievements and awards mean a lot. It is not only for them, but for the team as well. Everyone feeds off of it when someone does well.”

    Also in last Saturday’s win, the Stars receive singles from Kaitlin Jockims, Leschyshyn and Jayda Sachs. Kaitlyn Cadrain, who is a 15-year-old rookie, turned away 17 shots to pick up her first career regular season SFMAAAHL shutout and win in her first career start.

    Cheyenne Jamieson turned away 32 shots to take the setback in goal for Melville.

    In last Sunday’s win, Jockims had a hat trick for the Stars, while Haylee Kos, who is an underage 14-year-old rookie forward, had a single for her first career SFMAAAHL goal.

    Arden Kliewer, who is the Stars 16-year-old veteran netminder, turned away 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Stars, who are 4-0.

Grace Shirley has piled up 126 career regular season points with the Stars.

    Jamieson turned away 30 shots to take the setback in goal for the Prairie Fire, who are 0-2.

    The Stars return to action this coming Saturday, when they travel to Weyburn to face the Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings (0-4).

    Fiala, Shirley and Leschyshyn are three of five active players in the SFMAAAHL who have scored 100 or more career regular season points. Taylor Lind, who is the all-time leading scorer for the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats, has 117 career points coming off 66 goals and 51 assists in 60 career regular season games.

    Abby Soyko, who is the all-time leading scorer for the Prince Albert Northern Bears, has 103 points coming off 53 goals and 50 assists in 112 career regular season games.

    The SFMAAAHL’s inaugural season was played in 2006-07.

    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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Ewanchyna hits 1,000-yard mark in Hilltops’ regular season finale

Josh Ewanchyna surpasses 1,000 rushing on this carry.

    Josh Ewanchyna obtained what seemed like the unachievable milestone.

    On Sunday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the third-year Saskatoon Hilltops running back piled up 177 yards rushing on 24 carries and scored four touchdowns as the Hilltops romped to a 48-7 victory over the Winnipeg Rifles in the CJFL regular season finale for both sides. Thanks to that effort, Ewanchyna eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in rushing for the season.

    The graduate of Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team carried the ball 134 times for 1,007 yards and scored 14 touchdowns appearing in seven of the Hilltops eight regular season games. He missed the Toppers first regular season game with a minor injury.

    After eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing near the midway point of the fourth quarter, Ewanchyna was taken out of the game to polite applause, and he received an embrace from Hilltops receiver, former Holy Cross teammate and good friend David Solie.

    “I didn’t think it was a realistic at the start of the season,” said Ewanchyna, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 195 pounds. “With our O-line up front, they made it happen for me, so it was awesome.”

David Solie (#2) embraces Josh Ewanchyna.

    Having missed the Hilltops regular season opener, Ewanchyna’s odds of rushing for over 1,000 yards were long, but could be accomplished with some big outings. He made the big games happen being named the offensive player of the week three times in the Prairie Football Conference.

    With those efforts, the 20-year-old still needed to gain 170 yards rushing on Sunday to hit the 1,000 yard rushing mark. 
    After hitting that accomplishment, Ewanchyna was pumped about that development and the fact the team’s coaches let him go after that milestone.

    “It feels unreal,” said Ewanchyna, who led the PFC in rushing yards. “I expected it to happen a little sooner.

    “I wanted to get off as soon as possible. We ended up getting it. It was a great feeling.

    “My O-line stayed out there with me to help us get to that milestone. I can’t thank those guys enough for doing that, and even the coaches putting enough trust in me just to get those yards and get out of there without any injuries or anything extra done to me.”

Josh Ewanchyna ran for 177 yards and four TDs on Sunday.

    Ewanchyna became the first Hilltops running back to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Wayndel Lewis in 2014. Lewis was in his fifth and final season with the Hilltops in that campaign, and he carried the ball 130 times for 1063 yards and scored nine touchdowns. He was named the offensive player of the year for the CJFL in 2014.

    Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant said it isn’t easy to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season.

    “It is real special in the fact that he didn’t play in the first game,” said Sargeant. “He got hurt in the alumni game, so he has been battling an injury all year.

    “The look in his eye he really wanted it. It is my job as a coach when players want things you coach into it.

    “The offensive line wanted it just as bad for Josh (Ewanchyna). It is a team accomplishment. It is something that people can put on the mantle.”

    The Hilltops piled up a number of milestones with Sunday’s victory. With the win, they finish the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record having outscored the opposition 402-70 in those contests.

QB Jordan Walls (#19) surpassed 2,000 yards passing.

    In 2018, Saskatoon has trailed on the scoreboard for just a total of 81 seconds.

    Star quarterback Jordan Walls completed 15-of-20 passes for 277 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on Sunday. On the season, Walls surpassed 2,000 yards in passing completing 122-of-197 passes for 2,010 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.

    Solie, who is the Hilltops kicker, surpassed 100 points in scoring piling up 107 points coming off two touchdowns for 12 points, 16 field goals for 48 points, 46 converts worth one point and one rouge.

    Fifth-year star receiver Jason Price hauled in five passes for 123 yards. He topped the PFC in receiving yards at 709 coming off 31 catches, and he scored four touchdowns.

    On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Garth Knittig had a pair of sacks on Sunday, while defensive tackle Jesse McNabb, and defensive ends Tristan Hering, Connor Guillet and Connor Delahey each had one sack.

    Knittig, who has been dubbed “the Delisle Destroyer” by Hilltops play-by-play voice Drew Wilson, has 3.5 sacks this season to go with 19 solo tackles, and he has enjoyed the fact he has made those contributions to the team.

DT Garth Knittig, left, tracks down a sack for the Hilltops on Sunday.

    “It was fun,” said Knittig. “I have to give thanks to my partner inside there Jesse (McNabb).

    “We take turns flushing each other to the quarterback. It just works out.”

    McNabb lead the Hilltops with 4.5 sacks this season.

    The Hilltops led Sunday’s game 27-0 at halftime and 48-0 by the end of the third quarter. Ewanchyna ran in touchdowns from three, 24, 16 and one yards out. Walls hit Solie with a three-yard touchdown pass, John Brown with a 14-yard touchdown toss and Rylan Kleiter with a 50-yard touchdown strike.

    The Rifles got on the board when fifth string quarterback and regular receiver Gabriel Grenier broke a run 91 yards for a touchdown with 74 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. 

Rylan Kleiter (#7) tears downfield on a 50-yard TD reception.

    Due to injuries at the quarterback position, the Rifles started Grenier and substituted defensive back Troy Wilson in a quarterback.

    Grenier completed 12-of-27 passes for 145 yards and ran the ball eight times for 118 yards including his long touchdown scamper.

    The Rifles finished fourth in the PFC with a 3-5 record.

    The Hilltops, who topped the PFC, and Rifles will go at it again in a conference semifinal playoff game this coming Sunday at SFM Field at 1 p.m.

    Also on Sunday, the Hilltops honoured fifth-year players Adam Benkic, Adam Ewanchyna, Bobby Ehman, Cody Peters, Guillet, Price, Walls and Kirk Simonsen with the team’s traditional walk out of the tunnel with their parents.

OL Kirk Simonsen (#51) walks out of the tunnel with his parents.

    In the two other PFC games on Sunday, the Regina Thunder traveled to Calgary and dumped the Colts 70-6, and the Huskies downed the Wildcats 42-17 in an all-Edmonton clash in the Alberta capital.

    The Huskies (6-2) finish second in the PFC and will host the Thunder (5-3) in the other conference semifinal this coming Sunday.

    The Wildcats (2-6) and Colts (0-8) finish out of the playoff picture at fifth and sixth in the conference respectively.

    The Hilltops are trying to win the CJFL title for an unprecedented fifth straight year and for the seventh time in the last eight years. Knittig can’t wait to start playing in the single elimination post-season games.

The Hilltops celebrate finishing the regular season 8-0.

    “It definitely amps it up a little bit,” said Knittig. “You get a little more nervous for games, but we’ve been in these situations before. We’re ready to go.”

    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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Leason brings back the magic in Raiders victory

Brett Leason scored a creative winning goal for the Raiders.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Brett Leason pulled off a move that Mike Modano likely never tried with the Prince Albert Raiders.

    With the Raiders locked in a 1-1 draw with the visiting Red Deer Rebels at the Art Hauser Centre, Leason tried a calculated dump into the Red Deer zone. The talented right-winger dumped the puck into the corner of the Rebels zone on a rush and the dump in came right back to him, when he skated to the front of the Red Deer net.

    The 19-year-old product of Calgary, Alta., quickly blasted home his seventh goal of the season to put the host side up 2-1. That score held up as the final as the Raiders send home an appreciative standing room crowd of 2,706 at their 2,580 seat facility home happy.

    “I saw the D (defenceman) had a bad gap, so I figured that was the time to use it,” said Leason, who was a plus-two in the plus-minus department on the night. “It worked out well.

The Raiders celebrate Brett Leason’s winning goal.

    “I never practiced that. It was my first try, and it worked pretty well. It is all good.”

    Leason’s move impressed veteran Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, who has seen his share of creativity during his time in the sport of hockey.

    “He (Leason) is a talented guy,” said Habscheid. “He is a skilled guy. He has the mojo going, and when that happens, you try things.

    “He is the type of player that can pull off things like that. He has had a good year. He is very intelligent.

    “He is gangly. He kind of moves all over. He is gifted with the puck. That was obviously a huge goal.”

    A gifted point producer coming up through the minor hockey ranks in Calgary, Leason was selected in the third round and 50^th overall in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans. Buried among the Americans forward group, he was traded in the early stages of last season to the Raiders.

Brett Leason had a goal and an assist in the Raiders win on Saturday.

    Leason, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 199 pounds, has jumped out to a hot start this season leading the Raiders in scoring with seven goals and 12 assists helping them post a 9-1 record. The Raiders are also rated second in the CHL Top 10 rankings.

    In 54 regular season games with the Raiders last season, Leason recorded 15 goals and 17 assists. Habscheid said Leason’s game has steadily progressed upwards, since he joined the Raiders.

    “I think he has improved a lot,” said Habscheid. “He plays much faster, and that is what we wanted from him.

    “We knew he had the skill. People questioned his skating, but we want him to play fast. He was committed to that, and he worked on that.

    “Now, he plays as fast as anybody out there. With the size and strength and skill that he has, he is tough to handle.”

    Backed a huge contingent of family in the stands, Leason said he is in the best groove he has ever had during this time in the WHL.

Sean Montgomery scored the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

    “My confidence level is pretty high,” said Leason, who is playing in his third full season on the major junior circuit. “I’m playing good hockey.

    “With the team of course 9-1, it (his confidence) is up really high right now.”

    Leason said he wants to keep playing well to make his family proud. His father, Darryl, and uncle, Michael, were stars with the Regina Rams in both the Canadian Junior Football League and in U Sports in the 1990s and early 2000s. While Brett excels at a different sport, he wants to do as well in hockey as Darryl and Michael did in football.

    “They were definitely big names growing up, so I want to try and perform like they did,” said Brett Leason. “I’m working on that.”

    The Raiders struck 68 seconds into Saturday’s tilt. With the Rebels defence having collapsed down on their goal, Leason found centre Sean Montgomery with a pass at an open side of the Red Deer net, and Montgomery potted his second tally of the season for a 1-0 lead.

Ethan Anders makes one of his 25 saves in goal for the Rebels.

    The Rebels drew even at 1-1 at the 4:07 mark of the first, when captain Reese Johnson powered home a one-time feed from linemate Josh Tarzwell.

    From there, the goalies on both sides took over. Ian Scott turned away 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders included stoning Tarzwell at point-blank range late in the third period.

Ethan Anders stopped 25 shots taking the setback in goal for the Rebels (5-3-1).

    Scott received some great help from his defencemen, which included a couple of big shot blocks from Raiders 19-year-old rearguard Jeremy Masella late in the third period.

Ian Scott makes one of his 28 saves for the Raiders on Saturday.

    Leason said it was great to get a win in front of the big crowd that came out to the Art Hauser Centre after the Raiders posted a 3-1 record playing their previous four straight games on the road.

    “Playing in front of a crowd like that, it was good,” said Leason. “We were going the whole time. I’d like that to continue.

    “It definitely gets us going. When the crowd was chanting there, everyone was just feeling it.”

    The Rebels return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings.

    The Raiders return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Saskatoon to face the Blades (7-2) at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. There is a good chance the Raiders will bring a healthy contingent of fans down to “the Bridge City.”

The Raiders and Rebels scrum it up in the third period.

    Habscheid hopes the Raiders followers know that they do have a positive impact on the team. 
    In the third period, the cheer of the Raiders faithful help give the atmosphere more of a playoff feel. 
    The bench boss was happy to see the big crowd out at the team’s home rink on Saturday night.

    “We really appreciate it,” said Habscheid. “Especially in this day and age, you look at all the sports the entertainment dollar it is tough to get.

    “We appreciate the people coming to the rink and spending it with us. It certainly helps our players for sure. We’re a smaller franchise and to get that kind of support helps not only the franchise itself but more importantly our players.

The Raiders salute the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre.

    “They come home, and they’ve worked hard to get a decent record and we’re ranked whatever that is worth. It is nice to have the people come out and appreciate the kids the way they do and it certainly helps them on the ice.”

    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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Gerlach regains sharpshooting form in Blades OT win

Max Gerlach (#9) is embraced by Chase Wouters (#44).

    Max Gerlach was thankful his hex around the net was a short one.

    After going goalless and pointless over a span of five games, the 20-year-old product of Flower Mound, Texas, returned to his sharpshooting form in the nick of time for the Saskatoon Blades.

    With the Blades training the visiting Red Deer Rebels 2-1 on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, Gerlach wired home his second goal of the contest with 15.3 seconds to play in the third period to knot the score up at 2-2 and force overtime. 

    In overtime, Gerlach took a feed from linemate Josh Paterson and wired home his hat trick goal to the top left corner of the Rebels net with 76 seconds to play in the extra frame to deliver the Blades to a 3-2 victory in the WHL regular season contest played before 3,239 spectators.

    Looking back at his string of goalless games after Friday’s win, Gerlach recalled a bit of bad luck he had around the net with Paterson on the ice, when the Blades downed the Oil Kings in Edmonton 5-3 on Oct. 3.

Max Gerlach fired home a hat trick for the Blades on Friday night.

    “Things weren’t just going in,” said Gerlach. “I noticed a couple of pucks were flying off my stick and kind of bobbling.

    “Even in Edmonton, I kind of had an empty net and Patty (Josh Paterson) kind of skated in front of me and blocked it. I was dealing with a little bit of adversity, but we were still getting the wins on the road, so it wasn’t too big of a concern.

    “I’m just glad I could help out tonight.”

    Gerlach started the campaign netting four goals and two assists in the Blades first three regular season games. The stretch of going pointless in five games followed.

    Blades head coach Mitch Love noticed that Gerlach started to get a bit over anxious.

Rebels goalie Ethan Anders stops Blades captain Chase Wouters (#44).

    “I know Max (Gerlach) was pressing a little bit in terms of trying to find the back of the net,” said Love, whose Blades won their fourth straight game. “He had an early hot start to his year and then things dried up for him a little bit.

    “Again, guys like him find the back of the net. Hopefully, that is a confidence builder for him.

    “Guys that find the back of the net like him tend to kind of go on bits of streaks. Hopefully, that is something that he continues to do.”

    Returning to action after being off for a stretch of five straight days, the Blades fell behind 1-0 to the Rebels just 51 seconds into the contest when Russian import forward Oleg Zaytsev fired home his fourth of the season.

Captain Reese Johnson breaks down the ice for the Rebels.

    From there, the two squads engaged in a lot of back and forth action up and down the ice for most of the game.

    At the 7:10 mark of the second period, the Blades tied things up at 1-1 working on a five-on-three power play, when Gerlach sniped home his first of the contest.

    The Rebels went back in front 2-1 at the 10:50 mark of the second on a power-play goal from overage right-winger Jeff de Wit. That set the stage for the dramatics inside of the final minute of the third period and overtime.

    The Blades have won all three of their home outings to date, but they’ve needed come-from-behind efforts in their last two contests at the SaskTel Centre including Friday’s clash with the Rebels. Back on Sept. 29, the Blades trailed the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 2-1 heading into the third period before rallying for a 4-3 victory after a tiebreaking shootout.

    Love would prefer to pull out wins without having to pull out any comeback type heroics.

Blades RW Max Gerlach, right, eludes the check of Rebels RW Jeff de Wit.

    “It has been back to back home games here where we’ve been down going into the third period,” said Love. “I’m not sure we want to put ourselves in that position too often.

    “Good hockey teams find ways to win, and we’ve been fortunate the last couple of nights on home ice to do that. We don’t want to get in the habit of that. We’re going to have to definitely tighten up a few things here and find a way to play 60 minutes.”

    Nolan Maier made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades, who improved to 7-2. Ethan Anders turned away 34 shots in goal for the Rebels, who saw their record move to 5-2-1.

    Gerlach said the Blades are happy with their record after nine games, but his squad still has a lot of room to improve, which is typical in the early stages of a campaign.

Kirby Dach turns up ice for the Blades.

    “I think the coaching staff is moderately happy with us,” said Gerlach. “I think there are lots of things that we can get better at like our start and just playing a full 60 minutes.

    “You could see when we kind of took care of things late in the second and kind of the third period, we’re a team that definitely had a lot of skill and speed up front. Our backend is great back there too, and we have two great goaltenders. I think if we can piece together 60 minutes every single night we can be one of the top teams in the league this year.”

    The Rebels now travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders (8-1) at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders, who are rated second in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, travel to Saskatoon on Sunday to face the Blades at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    That encounter will be the Blades next game, and Love is expecting another big battle in that contest.

The Blades celebrate their overtime victory on Friday night.

    “We will get back in here tomorrow after a good night’s rest and try to correct a few things heading into that game,” said Love. “Again, they (the Raiders) are a very good hockey club that we are going to be battling with all year long for the division.

    “We’re going to have to be at our best on Sunday, and a lot sharper than I thought tonight.”

    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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