Tigers’ McKenna sinks Blades with three-point night

Former Saskatoon players combine on Medicine Hat winner

Gavin McKenna had one goal and two assists for the Tigers.

Gavin McKenna ensured a mini slump experienced by his Medicine Hat Tigers didn’t last long.

On Tuesday night, the Tigers went into their WHL regular season clash with the host Saskatoon Blades having posted one regulation loss, one overtime setback and one shootout defeat in their last three games. Against the Blades, McKenna came through with one goal and two assists in helping his Tigers come away with a 5-3 victory before a mostly disappointed gathering of 3,754 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

The win allowed the Tigers to improve to 34-16-3-1 and continue to hold a slim lead for first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. They hold a one point edge over the Calgary Hitmen (33-13-3-2), but the Hitmen have three games in hand on the Medicine Hat side.

Gavin McKenna is tied for the WHL scoring lead with 95 points.

While McKenna, who is the Tigers superstar left-winger, had the night’s biggest performance, former Blades members in star defenceman Tanner Molendyk and defensive centre Misha Volotovskii came through with a highlight moment for the Tigers playing their first game against their former club. Molendyk and Volotovskii were dealt by the Blades to the Tigers in a blockbuster trade on January 6.

Just 24 seconds after the Blades scored to force a 3-3 tie in the contest in the third period, Volotovskii tipped home a point shot from Molendyk to put the Tigers up 4-3 with 6:54 remaining in the frame. Volotovskii’s tally held up to win the game.

Gavin McKenna had a key third period goal for the Tigers.

Also having a big night was Blades netminder and former Tigers member Ethan McCallum. McCallum made 38 saves to keep the Blades in the game. Had he not made a number of big saves in net for the Blades, the score of Tuesday’s contest could have been a lot worse with Medicine Hat holding a 43-18 edge in shots on goal.

McCallum was being backed up by associate player call up in 16-year-old Ryley Budd, who is playing regularly for the Edge School Under-18 Prep team in Calgary. Blades star netminder Evan Gardner is out day to day with a lower body injury.

While McCallum was doing his best to keep the Blades in the game, McKenna came through with offence in timely moments to give the Tigers a boost. Just 4:35 into the opening frame, McKenna fired a backhander on net that rebounded to the left side of the Saskatoon goal to Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Ritchie quickly popped the rebound into the Saskatoon net to put the Tigers up 1-0.

Ryder Ritchie had the Tigers first goal on Tuesday.

Following that tally, the Tigers proceeded to fire all sorts of shots at the Saskatoon net, but McCallum stood tall to prevent the visitors from pulling away with the game early. That allowed the Blades to get some traction.

With 4:04 remaining in the first, the Blades broke into the Medicine Hat zone on a two-on-one break. Blades breakout 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams broke down the left wing with the puck and slipped a pass across of the face of the Medicine Hat net to right-winger Hunter Laing. Laing potted a backhanded backdoor tap to even the score at 1-1. Import 17-year-old rookie left-winger David Lewandowski started the breakout with a backhanded pass between his legs.

Ethan McCallum stopped 38 shots in goal for the Blades.

Just 41 seconds in the second, Blades sophomore centre Hayden Harsanyi, who came to Saskatoon in the trade for Molendyk and Volotovskii, broke down the right wing into the Medicine Hat zone on a three-on-one rush. Harsanyi, who was playing his former Tigers team for the first time since being traded, got in close and sniped a shot low into the left side of the Medicine Hat net to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

Just 2:18 later, Tigers 16-year-old left-winger Markus Ruck broke into the Saskatoon zone down the left wing, fired a shot on goal that was stopped, gathered the rebound behind the icing line and deflected the puck in off McCallum to even the score at 2-2.

Hunter Laing, right, taps home the Blades first goal.

That set the state for McKenna come through again for the Tigers as they went ahead 3-2 with 4:37 remaining in the second. With a faceoff in the offensive zone to the left of the Blades net, McKenna was positioned on the top of the faceoff circle to get off a quick shot on a clean draw win on a set play the Tigers have used for at least two decades.

Tigers 20-year-old captain Oasiz Wiesblatt won the draw back to McKenna at the top of the faceoff circle only for Blades solid 20-year-old defenceman and captain Ben Saunderson to get up on McKenna to cut off the shooting lane. McKenna stayed calm and put a smart pass out to Wiesblatt, who was left all alone at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Wiesblatt put home a backhand shot between McCallum’s legs to give the Tigers their one-goal edge.

Hayden Harsanyi had the Blades second goal on Tuesday.

Medicine Hat proceeded to keep the pressure up on the host side, but the Blades again found a traction moment working on a power play in the third period. With 7:18 remaining in the third period, Blades 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott had the puck at the left side of the Medicine Hat net.

Scott made a pass across the front of the Medicine Hat goal to 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert at the right side of the net. Calvert one-timed home his 20^th goal of the season and 15^th on the power play to even the score at 3-3.

That set the stage for Volotovskii to score the winner for the Tigers just 24 seconds later deflecting in Molendyk’s point shot.

The Tigers celebrate a goal from Markus Ruck (#26).

McKenna proceeded to come through with a dagger goal with 4:38 remaining in the third that sealed the victory. The 17-year-old collected the rebound at the left side of the Blades net off a rebound from a shot taken by Wiesblatt.

From a bad angle, McKenna put home an elite level shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net for his 29^th goal of the season that rounded out the 5-3 score in favour of the visitors.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 15 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

The Blades fell to 27-17-3-3 to remain second in the WHL’s East Division. They have the same amount of standings points as the first place Prince Albert Raiders (28-17-3-1) at 60, but the Raiders hold the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins. Prince Albert also has a game in hand on Saskatoon.

The Brandon Wheat Kings (26-16-4-3) sit one standing point back of both the Raiders and Blades.

The Tigers return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Tigers celebrate their win on Tuesday.

The Blades get back at it on Friday when they host the 33-13-3-2 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Sasktel Centre).

With his three-point night, McKenna now has 95 points on the season coming off 29 goals and 66 assists. He is tied for the lead in the WHL’s scoring race with Spokane Chiefs right-winger Andrew Cristall, who recently turned 20-years-old. Cristall has his 95 points coming from 35 goals and 60 assists.

Still, McKenna could have had an even bigger night on Tuesday as he had nine shots on goal that included at least three golden scoring chances he was robbed on. Even at his young age, McKenna showed once again that he is truly one of the WHL’s elite players and a total treat to watch.

Blades salute Molendyk, Volotovskii and Desjardins

Tigers D Tanner Molendyk, left, with Blades GM Colin Priestner.

Tanner Molendyk and Misha Volotovskii were part of a number of big moments over the last four years for the Saskatoon Blades, and it was fitting they got a homecoming.

On Tuesday, Molendyk, who recently turned 20-years-old, and Volotovskii, who is 19-years-old, returned to the SaskTel Centre for the first time as members of the Medicine Hat Tigers. The two were dealt by the Blades to the Tigers in a blockbuster trade on January 6.

During a pre-game ceremony, the Blades made a presentation to Molendyk, who is a star defenceman and signed NHL entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators. Blades general manager Colin Priestner gave Molendyk a set of golf clubs, and the Blades announced their team award for the club’s top defenceman will be named after Molendyk. The presentation also included a tribute video.

At the game’s first media timeout in the first period, the Blades paid tribute to Volotovskii, who is a sound defensive centre. They showed a tribute video for Volotovskii that drew big cheers from the 3,754 spectators in attendance. Volotovskii was on the Tigers bench at that time and make sure to get up and give a wave to the crowd.

Tanner Molendyk played 210 regular season games for the Blades.

Molendyk played in 210 career regular season games for the Blades starting in the 2020-21 campaign collecting 26 goals and 108 assists. Volotovskii suited up in 195 career regular season contests for the Blades starting in the 2021-22 campaign recording 19 goals and 16 assists.

The Blades also gave a salute to Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins for picking up his 500^th career regular season win as a WHL head coach back on January 10, when the Tigers downed the Red Deer Rebels 8-1 at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Desjardins served as the Blades head coach as a mid-season replacement in the 1997-98 campaign.

As a player, he was a University of Saskatchewan Men’s Hockey Team legend and was captain of the 1982-83 Huskies squad that won the Canada West Conference and U Sports national championships. Desjardins, who was a forward, was the MVP of the 1983 U Sports National Championship Tournament. In the event’s championship game, the Huskies downed the Concordia University Stingers 6-2 to capture what is now known as the David Johnston University Cup.

Misha Volotovskii played 195 regular season games with the Blades.

The Blades also passed on a birthday greeting as Desjardins turned 68-years-old on Tuesday. The Tigers came away with a 5-3 victory over the Blades, which was the 510^th career regular season victory for Desjardins as a WHL head coach and his 500^th career regular season win as the head coach of the Tigers.

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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Eagles crush Chiefs, leave no doubt in Super Bowl win

Trump shades Swift to create tabloid fodder

“Donald Trump likes to win.”

Fortunately, that didn’t come into play in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Philadelphia Eagles roared out to leads of 34-0 and 40-6 and hammered the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 before 65,719 spectators. The Chiefs scored two touchdowns in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter in “garbage time” to cosmetically make the final score look better.

The contest also made news as Trump became the first sitting President of the United States of America to watch the Super Bowl live in person. In a pre-game interview with Fox, Trump predicted a Chiefs victory after praising the team’s quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany. Trump was pictured getting on Air Force One more than an hour before the contest concluded.

On the flight to the Super Bowl, Trump said he will announce on Monday that the United States will impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports including from Canada and Mexico. That got the mainstream news outlets fired up in Canada.

At the Super Bowl, Trump fed the tabloids content. During the Fox broadcast of the game, he was shown during the national anthem to big cheers from the stadium.

On social media channels specifically Platform-X, which is owned by close Trump associate Elon Musk, video was shown during the game of the fans booing music superstar Taylor Swift when she was shown on the facility’s big screen.

For the presidential election held this past November in 2024, Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, who was the Democratic candidate. Swift is also dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Trump responded on Truth Social to Swift’s endorsement of Harris that he hated Swift and was not a fan of her.

As the Eagles route in the Super Bowl continued, posts circulated on social media of the crowd cheering Trump and booing Swift. Trump shared one of the posts of the duel video of him getting cheered and Swift being booed on Truth Social.

He also put out a post on Truth Social that said, “The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift. She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!”

Both social media actions come off as being childish and petty. Trump does like to throw dirt on his perceived enemies.

Trump supporters on Platform-X on the other hand reveled over the Truth Social post and the fact he shared the post of him getting cheered and Swift being booed.

A year ago in the Chiefs 25-22 overtime Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ERS in Las Vegas, Nevada, Swift was the big celebrity star with her relationship with Kelce drawing tonnes of attention. Now, all of that feels like it happened in some other universe.

All of a sudden, there were no conspiracy theories that the NFL officials were making calls to favour the Chiefs in order to make Swift happy.

Actually, there was no way to save the Chiefs on Sunday with favourable calls, if you believe that conspiracy theory. The Eagles were that good.

Philadelphia had the NFL’s top defence during the 2024 regular season giving up just 278.4 total yards per game, and that defensive unit was as good as advertised on Sunday.

In an NFL where it has become increasingly harder to be a physical team due to rule changes, the Eagles defence hammered the Chiefs. Philadelphia’s defensive pressure resulted in six quarterback sacks.

Linebacker Josh Sweat had 2.5 sacks to lead the Eagles, while defensive tackle Milton Williams had a pair of sacks, fellow defensive tackle Jordan Davis had a single sack and linebacker Jalyx Hurt had a half sack.

Rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown that put the Eagles up 17-0 with just over seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. That play was a huge turning point in the contest. The body language of the Chiefs players and coaches just dropped right down after that play and never recovered for the rest of the game.

Linebacker Zack Baun had a diving interception that set the Eagles up on the Chiefs 14 yard line with 1:45 remaining in the second quarter. Two plays later, Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts connected with receiver A.J. Brown on a 12-yard touchdown toss that put the Eagles up 24-0 going into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Eagles pushed their edge out to 27-0 on a 29-yard field goal from kicker Jake Elliott. After forcing a turnover on downs with just under three minutes to play in the frame, Hurts connected with receiver DeVonta Smith on a 46 yard touchdown bomb to increase the Eagles advantage to 34-0.

At that point if the game was a boxing match, the referee would have stopped the fight.

It seemed like the Eagles were channeling the 1985 Chicago Bears, when they hammered the New England Patriots before the era of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. Actually, one was wondering if the Eagles were going to post the first shutout in the history of the Super Bowl and one up the 1985 Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.

The 2000 Ravens only gave up a kickoff return touchdown in thumping the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV.

On Sunday, Hurts had his finest hour in the NFL being named the game MVP of his team’s Super Bowl win. He completed 17-of-22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing one interception. Hurts, who won an NCAA championship with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide Football Team in 2017, ran the ball 11 times for 72 yards and scored the Eagles first major on the “tush push” play.

Eagles superstar running back Saquon Barkley turned heads in 2024 leading the NFL in rushing during regular season running the ball 345 times for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Chiefs were focused on stopping Barkley, who ran the ball 25 times for 57 yards. Barkley did come up with six big catches for 40 yards and was overjoyed to get a Super Bowl win on his 28^th birthday.

Elliott made all four of his field goal attempts with a long from 50 yards out. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looked like a genius with how well his team played.

Overall, the Eagles were full marks for their impressive win, and they were the night’s biggest story. The Trump shading Swift tabloid moves on social media was a secondary story that is attracting a lot of looks.

Welcome to the new reality where sports and politics mixes with Trump serving a second term as President of the United States. Don’t expect these types of occurrence to go away any time soon.

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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Central Division takes charge of Eastern Conference

Gavin McKenna and his Tigers have been on a roll.

When it comes to the WHL’s Eastern Conference, the Central Division has the power.

Leading up to the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9, the Medicine Hat Tigers, Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Central Division basically got involved with an arms race. Now almost four weeks has passed since the trade deadline elapsed, and the Tigers, Hitmen and Hurricanes have asserted themselves as the class of the conference.

The Tigers lead the conference with a 33-15-2-1 mark sitting four points clear of the Hitmen (30-13-3-2) and seven points up on the Hurricanes (30-16-1-1). Medicine Hat had been riding a 12-game winning streak that came to an end on Saturday with a 4-3 loss after an 11-round tiebreaking shootout to the Thunderbirds in Seattle. That wrapped up a six game road trip through the U.S. Division for the Tigers.

During the road trip through the U.S. Division, the Tigers came away with some impressive victories. On January 24, they slipped past the Chiefs in Spokane 3-2. On January 29, they thumped the Silvertips in Everett 7-3, and last Friday, they hammered the Winterhawks in Portland 7-2.

On Tuesday, Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna was named the WHL’s player of the month for January recording 26 points on seven goals and 19 assists in 11 games since returning from world juniors. That marked the second time this season McKenna was named a player of the month.

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

Raiders power play comes alive at timely time

Prince Albert surges to 5-2 win over Wild

A young player’s mistake was all that was needed to ignite the power play of the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Saturday night, the Raiders found themselves trailing the visiting Wenatchee Wild 2-1 in the third period of a tightly contested WHL regular season game to that point at the Art Hauser Centre. At the 5:36 mark of the third, Wild defenceman Boston Tait, who is a 15-year-old associate player call up, cleared the puck over the glass from his own zone to draw a delay of game penalty.

On the ensuing power play, the Raiders got buzzing hard in the Wenatchee zone. A short time after Raiders star offensive-defenceman Lukas Dragicevic hit the goalpost, the puck during a scramble got to the stick of Raiders 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube.

Dube potted a power-play goal for his 23^rd tally on the season to force a 2-2 tie. That goal started the Raiders on a four-goal surge to allow them to post a 5-2 victory to an appreciative crowd of 2,526 spectators.

The win was a third straight for the Raiders, and during their past nine outings, the Raiders have posted eight wins and one shootout loss. Thanks to this hot stretch, the Raiders sit first in the East Division with a 27-15-3-1 mark.

The Raiders sit four standings points ahead of both the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades, who have identical 24-16-3-3 records. The Wheat Kings hold the standings tiebreaker against the Blades collecting two wins and an overtime setback in the four head-to-head meetings between those two sides. Brandon collected a 5-2 victory over the Pats in Regina on Saturday.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Wild in Prince Albert, the visitors got out to a good start taking a 2-0 lead in the first period. Wild 18-year-old right-winger Luka Shcherbyna scored at the 3:16 mark, and 19-year-old right-winger Shaun Rios tallied with 2:02 remaining in the frame.

Tait picked up his first career WHL point in his second career WHL regular season game with an assist on Rios’s goal. The young rearguard was selected in the first round and 12^th overall by the Wild in last year’s WHL Prospects Draft and has been playing solid minutes with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA squad. In 35 games with the Pats Canadians this season, Tait has two goals and 18 assists.

He actually had a really good outing on Saturday posting a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to go with his helper outside of his third period gaff that resulted in a delay of game penalty that the Raiders scored on.

Just 16 seconds after Rios scored to put the Wild ahead 2-0, Raiders captain Justice Christensen one-timed home a shot from the point for his 16^th goal of the season that cut the visitor’s lead to 2-1. Raiders rising 16-year-old star defenceman Daxon Rudolph fed Christensen a nice pass that he could drive to the back of the goal.

The Wild proceeded to carry play in the second outshooting the Raiders 15-7 in the frame, but Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand held the visitors at bay.

Just past the 10-minute mark of the second, a fight broke out between Wenatchee left-winger Deagan McMillan, who turned 20-years-old last month, and Raiders right-winger Oli Chenier, who recently turned 18-years-old. Chenier likely surprised a few people with how well he could throw punches and got the better of McMillan in the bout.

That set the stage for a strong Raiders finish in the third period that started with Tait taking a delay of game penalty that resulted in Dube’s power-play goal. With 7:53 remaining in the third, Raiders star 18-year-old left-winger Tomas Mrsic blew home his 29^th goal of the season from the front of the Wenatchee net to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead.

Shortly after Mrsic’s tally, the Raiders found themselves on the power play once again. With 5:56 remaining in the third, Raiders standout 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker scored with the man advantage with one his textbook goals banging home the rebound of one of his own shots from the front of the Wenatchee net. That tally pushed the Raiders advantage out to 4-2.

With 5:23 remaining in the third, the Wild pulled 19-year-old netminder Brendan Gee for an extra attacker. That opened the door for Raiders star 19-year-old centre Aiden Oiring to score into an empty net to give the Raiders a 5-2 lead.

After Gee returned to Wenatchee crease after Oiring scored, Wild 18-year-old left-winger Zane Saab thought he scored with 2:35 remaining in the third to trim the Raiders edge to 5-3. The officials went to a video review and disallowed Saab’s goal ruling it was knocked in with a high stick.

The 5-2 final outcome in the Raiders favour held up the rest of the way. Crocker and Oiring each finished the contest recording one goal and two helpers for the Raiders.

The Raiders went 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Wild failed to score on four opportunities with the man advantage.

Hildebrand stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Gee turned away 26-of-30 shots to take the setback in net for the Wild, who fell to 17-26-3-1.

The Wild sit one standings point back of the Kamloops Blazers (18-26-3) and the Seattle Thunderbirds (18-27-2-1) from forcing a three-way tie for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Wenatchee returns to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the 11-31-4-2 Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

The Raiders get back at it on Wednesday when they hit the road to face the Hitmen in Calgary (7 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

Thunderbirds end Tigers winning streak at 12, other notes

The Medicine Hat Tigers didn’t go down easy, when it came to protecting their winning streak.

The scrappy Seattle Thunderbirds went the distance to earn a much needed win as they continue to fight for a post-season berth.

On Saturday at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., the Tigers and Thunderbirds went through regulation and overtime locked in a 3-3 tie in a WHL regular season clash. They then ventured through a marathon tiebreaking shootout that lasted 11 rounds.

Ultimately, the Thunderbirds claimed the tiebreaking shootout 4-3 to also post a 4-3 victory in the overall contest.

The result brought an end to the Tigers 12 game winning streak. The extra time setback also closed the Tigers six-game road trip through the U.S. Division, where they won the first five games of that jaunt.

With the win, the Thunderbirds improved to 18-27-2-1 to equal the Kamloops Blazers (18-26-3) at 39 standings points for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Blazers have one game in hand on the Thunderbirds.

If there is a tie between two teams for the final conference playoff berth in the WHL, the two squads that are in the deadlock would play a tiebreaking game.

Saturday’s clash between the Tigers and Thunderbirds got off to a spirited start with Tigers 18-year-old defenceman Bryce Pickford and Thunderbirds 17-year-old defenceman Jaxson Pawlenchuk engaging in a fight at the 2:52 mark of the opening frame.

The two squads then played through a scoreless opening 20 minutes with the Tigers holding a 14-10 edge in shots on goal.

In the second, Coster Dunn and Matej Pekar netting singles to give the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead. With 2:54 remaining in the second, Tigers star 19-year-old left-winger Hunter St. Martin scored his 31^st goal of the season to cut the Thunderbirds lead to 2-1.

St. Martin proceeded to add his 32^nd goal of the campaign and second tally of the night at the 9:48 mark of the third to even the score at 2-2.

With 7:07 remaining in the third, Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna potted his 27^th goal of the season to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

That advantage didn’t hold. With 5:37 remaining in the third, Thunderbirds overage centre Hayden Pakkala netted the equalizer during a net scramble to force a 3-3 tie.

During the tiebreaking shootout, Oasiz Wiesblatt, Liam Ruck and Marcus Pacheco scored for the Tigers. Braeden Cootes, Nathan Pilling, Colton Gerrior and Radim Mrtka scored for the Thunderbirds, with Mrtka’s tally holding up as the shootout winner.

Jordan Switzer started in goal for the Tigers and played the first two periods turning away 22-of-24 shots he faced. He was pulled for a suspected leg injury.

Harrison Meneghin played the rest of the way for the Tigers taking the extra time setback. He turned away 14-of-15 shots in the third period and overtime and 7-of-11 shooters in the shootout.

Scott Ratzlaff stopped 31 shots over 65 minutes and turned away 8-of-11 shooters in the shootout.

Medicine Hat was without star defenceman Tanner Molendyk due to an undisclosed ailment.

The Tigers are off until Friday when they host the Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., Co-op Place).

The Thunderbirds also get back at it on Friday when they host the Spokane Chiefs (7 p.m. local time, Accesso ShoWare Center).

• On Saturday, Andrew Cristall recorded one goal, five assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department as his Spokane Chiefs hammered the WHL leading Silvertips in Everett 10-3. The Silvertips have gone 1-2 over their last three games being outscored 20-13 over that stretch. They dropped a 7-3 decision to the Tigers on Wednesday.
• On Saturday, Cameron Schmidt recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-two rating as his Vancouver Giants thumped the visiting Kamloops Blazers 9-2. The Giants went 3-for-4 on the power play in the contest.
• On Saturday, Marek Rocak record one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating as his Swift Current Broncos doubled up the Rockets in Kelowna 6-3. Jackson Gillespie recorded two goals, one assist and a plus-three rating for the Rockets in the loss.
• On Saturday, netminder Ethan Simcoe made 35 saves to pick up a shutout victory as his Edmonton Oil Kings blanked the Hurricanes in Lethbridge 2-0. Marshall Finnie had a goal and an assist for the Oil Kings.
• On Saturday, the Red Deer Rebels blanked the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-0; the Victoria Royals slipped past the Portland Winterhawks 2-1; the Prince George Cougars downed the Tri-City Americans 5-2; and the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Regina Pats 5-2.

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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Blades get much needed win, down visiting Wild 4-2

The Blades celebrate a goal from Rowan Calvert (#23).

The Saskatoon Blades got something that had escaped their grasp for a frustrating stretch – a solid win.

On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades scored first and led the visiting Wenatchee Wild 2-1 after 20 minutes. The hosts proceeded to push their edge out to 4-1 at the second intermission, and they then closed out a 4-2 victory to the delight of the 3,905 spectators in attendance.

That marked the Blades first regulation time win since downing the Warriors in Moose Jaw 4-2 back on January 4. In the eight games between that victory over the Warriors and Friday’s triumph over the Wild, the Blades posted two overtime wins, an overtime loss, a setback after a tiebreaking shootout and four regulations defeats.

In the six games they lost, the Blades had moments in each of those contests where carried momentum for enough of a stretch that they could have realized victory. Friday’s win was a much needed outing where the Blades posted a textbook victory.

Hunter Laing scored the Blades first goal on Friday.

While they dealt away a number of key veterans for younger players and draft capital leading to the WHL trade deadline on January 9, the Blades still on paper have a solid squad. They needed a solid win to get a little confidence going as the clubs’ relatively new lineup works to find chemistry.

The Wild came out of the gates getting the first three shots on goal in the contest, but the Blades would break onto the scoreboard first. 

At the 4:52 mark of first, Blades 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing blew home a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle to give the host side a 1-0 edge. Laing’s goal came on his club’s second shot on goal of the contest.

Cooper Williams reacts to scoring the Blades second goal.

Wenatchee pulled even at 1-1 at the 7:34 mark of the opening frame when 20-year-old centre Tye Spencer deflected a puck past Blades netminder Ethan McCallum from the front of the Saskatoon net. Spencer converted a smart setup pass from linemate Luka Shcherbyna.

The Blades proceeded to answer back.

With 2:01 remaining in the first, Blades 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams stole the puck from Wild 19-year-old right-winger Shaun Rios from just inside the Wenatchee blue-line. Williams drove in alone to the left side of Wenatchee net, cut across the front of the goal and put a backhand shot between the legs of Wild netminder Brendan Gee to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

Tye Spencer scored the first goal for the Wild.

Saskatoon exited the first period with that 2-1 edge holding a 14-9 edge in shots on goal.

In the second, a couple of the Blades steady veterans found the back of the net. At the 13:21 mark of the frame, Blades right-winger Tyler Parr, who turned 20-years-old on Thursday, converted a backdoor feed at the right side of the Wenatchee net to push the host side’s edge out to 3-1. Sophomore 17-year-old centre Hudson Kibblewhite made a beauty pass from the left side of the Wenatchee net across the face of the goal to set up Parr for his marker.

Just under five minutes later, Blade 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert collected a rebound from one of his own shots in front of the Wenatchee net and put home a backhand shot to give the Blades a 4-1 advantage.

Tyler Parr had one goal and one assist for the Blades.

Slovakian 19-year-old centre Frantisek Dej, who was playing his sixth game for the Blades, picked up an assist on Calvert’s goal for his first point in the WHL. Dej spent last season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL.

With less than 30 seconds to play in the second, Dej was cross checked from behind in the lower back by Wild 20-year-old captain Evan Friesen away from the puck and behind the play. The officials stopped play with 15.7 seconds remaining in the frame for the Blades trainers to attend to Dej.

Dej was helped off the ice and returned to finish the game in the third period. No penalty was assessed to Friesen, and nothing else came from that moment in a contest that was fairly tame when it came to the rough stuff.

Ethan McCallum made 25 saves in goal for the Blades.

Saskatoon held that three-goal lead going into the second intermission as well as 23-18 edge in shots on goal.

The Wild, who are in a big battle for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference, came with a push back in the third period. At the 3:28 mark of the frame, Wild 19-year-old right-winger Dawson Seitz blew past the Blades defenders to get a breakaway and tucked home a power-play goal to trim Saskatoon’s lead to 4-2.

That was as close as the Wild got as the Blades shut things down defensively the rest of the way.

McCallum stopped 25 shots in goal for the Blades. Gee turned away 23 shots to take the setback in net for the Wild.

Williams and Parr each finished with one goal and one assist on the night for the Blades.

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

The Wild fell to 17-25-3-1 with the loss to sit one point behind the Kamloops Blazers (18-25-3) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Wenatchee side returns to action on Saturday, when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 26-25-3-1 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades improved to 24-16-3-3 to sit two points back of the Raiders for first place in the East Division. “The Bridge City Bunch” gets back at it on Sunday when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Going forward, Saskatoon still has the potential to be a team that turns head before the current WHL campaign comes to a close. Friday’s win provides a good step to start moving in that direction.

Lazaruk honoured with bobblehead doll

A Les Lazaruk bobblehead doll.

“Hi ho, let’s go!”

The Saskatoon Blades home game on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre was bobblehead night for Les Lazaruk, who is the team’s iconic play-by-play voice. Lazaruk, who will turn 66-years-old in late February, became the Blades play-by-play voice at the start of the 1994-95 campaign.

Friday’s 4-2 victory over the visiting Wenatchee Wild was the 2,250^th game Lazaruk has called as the Blades play-by-play voice. He was also the play-by-play voice for a time of the CJFL’s storied Saskatoon Hilltops.

During his 31 years as play-by-play voice of the Blades, Lazaruk is best known for developing a list of catch phrase calls including “winner, winner, chicken dinner” for overtime winners scored by the Saskatoon side.

Les Lazaruk, centre, performs the ceremonial faceoff on Friday.

Before Friday’s clash with the Wild, the Blades gave out 1,000 Lazaruk bobblehead dolls to those in attendance. He dropped the puck for the pre-game ceremonial faceoff and sung national anthems of both the United States and Canada before the start of the contest.

The Blades played catch phase goal calls from Lazaruk before giving the official announcements for the club’s goals. A song also played during the first intermission that was written about Lazaruk.

Before coming to Saskatoon, Lazaruk, who is from Winnipeg, spent 15 years working in the media in Manitoba. That included working just over 10-and-a-half years hosting the hour-long pre-game and post-game shows for NHL games of the original Winnipeg Jets that aired on CJOB radio.

Lazaruk was part of the play-by-play team for the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team during their inaugural season in the Northern League in the spring and summer of 1994 before coming to Saskatoon to be the play-by-play voice of the Blades. Last summer, Lazaruk served as the play-by-play voice of the Saskatoon Berries baseball team for their inaugural WCBL campaign.

Parents Weekend for Blades

Blades players meet their parents and billet parents pre-game.

This weekend is also Parents Weekend for the Saskatoon Blades.

Before their 4-2 home ice victory over the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades honoured the parents and billet parents of the Blades players. During pre-game festivities, the parents and billet parents of the Blades players came out on to the ice.

The players met up with their respective parents and billet parents and stood by them for a video presentation and the singing of the national anthems of the United States and Canada. The video presentation showed the Blades players saying good things about their parents and billet parents.

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Lodewyk powers Raiders with Gordie Howe hat trick

Prince Albert knocks off visiting Pats 5-2

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) celebrates his Gordie Howe hat trick goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Harrison Lodewyk admitted he was oblivious at first to the fact he got a Gordie Howe hat trick.

On Wednesday night playing before 2,395 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the 19-year-old centre picked up one goal, one assist and one fighting major to power his Prince Albert Raiders past the visiting Regina Pats 5-2 in a WHL regular season clash. The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 26-15-3-1 to push their lead for first place in the East Division to four points over the idle Saskatoon Blades (23-16-3-3).

With the Raiders holding a 2-0 lead on the Pats in the second period of Wednesday’s contest, Lodewyk already had an assist coming on his club’s first goal and a fight. On a rush into the offensive zone, Lodewyk drove down the left wing to the net.

Harrison Lodewyk had a goal, an assist and a fight on Wednesday.

A linemate in 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker came with the puck down the right wing and put a pass across the face of the Regina net to Lodewyk. Lodewyk converted the backdoor tap to put the Raiders up 3-0 at the 10:36 mark of the frame and complete the Gordie Howe hat trick in the process.

“It didn’t pop in my mind right away,” said Lodewyk, whose goal ended up being the game winner. “I was just happy that my teammates made a great play, and I got the goal.”

The Red Deer product said he decided against trying anything fancy, which ultimately helped him get the goal to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) takes down John Babcock (#5).

“I was thinking maybe I’ll just pull it back and go backhand there, but then I know that is not my game,” said Lodewyk, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 193 pounds. “I just thought why don’t I just redirect it and hope for the best there.”

Lodewyk picked up his assist on the Raiders opening goal at the 13:34 mark of the opening frame that was banged home from the front of the Regina net by 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube. The tally was Dube’s 22^nd goal of the season and it came off the rebound of a Lodewyk shot.

With 4:28 remaining in the first, Lodewyk engaged Pats 20-year-old defenceman John Babcock in a fight. The bout was a quick one with both players throwing about a couple of shots each before Lodewyk got the take down.

Raiders HC Jeff Truitt, centre, returned after a medical leave.

“He (Lodewyk) does a lot of things for us,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt. “He is a leader in our room.

“He is a guy who is one of the hardest workers that you’ll ever meet. He is very effective on the ice, faceoffs and penalty kills. He has got responsibilities that way.

“He can pitch in on the offence. He does a lot of everything. He is probably a very underrated player in our league.”

The feistiness of the contest continued early in the second period as Pats 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton took down Raiders rookie left-winger Ethan Bibeau, who turned 18-years-old on January 1, with a high stick. Raiders rookie 18-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett immediately engaged Hamilton in a fight.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders first goal on Wednesday.

Just over four minutes after that fight, the Raiders went ahead 2-0, when rookie 16-year-old right-winger Ty Meunier had the puck at the left side of the Regina net roofed home his 10^th marker of the campaign to the top right corner of the goal. Meunier converted a sweet setup pass from 16-year-old rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk on the play.

Lodewyk would record his Gordie Howe hat trick goal just 40 seconds after Meunier’s tally. The veteran, who has been with the Raiders since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, was pumped to pick up that milestone on Wednesday.

“It was pretty awesome,” said Lodewyk. “I mean you don’t go into a game hoping for those things.

Reese Hamilton, left, and Linden Burrett engage in a fight.

“You’re just hoping for the win and do the things you need to do to be successful. You’ve got to love the results.”

Before the second period ended, the Pats battled back with left-wingers Cohen Klassen and Keets Fawcett picking up singles to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2 heading into the second intermission.

Just 38 seconds into the third, Raiders had to kill off a double minor assessed to 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic for high sticking.

Shortly after that kill, Raiders 18-year-old centre Evan Smith tipped the puck home from the front of the Regina net to give the host side a 4-2 advantage. Smith got his stick on a smart setup pass from linemate Oli Chenier to record his first goal as a member of the Raiders since being acquired in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels.

Ty Meunier had the Raiders second goal on Wednesday.

Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring rounded out the game’s scoring picking up his 20^th goal of the season with 2:28 remaining in the third period.

With 90 seconds remaining in the third, Boychuk picked up a double minor for high sticking, which the Raiders were able to kill off. The double minors for high sticking given to Kovacevic and Boychuk will be automatically review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Max Hildebrand stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Ewan Huet turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats (13-27-4-2).

Raiders 19-year-old defenceman Matteo Fabrizi picked a pair of assists in the win.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Evan Smith (#21).

Wednesday’s game mark the first time Truitt was working behind the Raiders bench as head coach after missing 15 games for a medical leave to have eye surgery.  

He said it felt real good to be back behind the bench for his Prince Albert side.

“That is where you’re most comfortable is behind there and operating things and reading the game that way,” said Truitt. “The kids make it easy.

“It is just junior hockey. Sometimes, it gets a little hairy at times, but I like the way that we managed the puck, especially later on in the game. At times, we let teams back in.

“We didn’t let them back in. The two points is what we needed, and we got it.”

Aiden Oiring had the Raiders fifth goal on Wednesday.

With Wednesday’s game in the books, the Pats return to action on Friday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they host the Wenatchee Wild (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Truitt is looking forward to his team’s next game, and he said things are feeling normal for him now that he is back coaching.

“You’ve done it for so long that you get back in a comfort area, and that is where it is,” said Truitt. “You have prepared for the last couple of days the same way that we always have.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“Then, we have our meetings, and you are on the bench and you’re reading off of things and making sure that you’re getting the right guys out at the right time as much as you can. It wasn’t like it was totally different, but it just feels right.”

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Kiazyk thrown into fire, picks up first NLL win with Rush

Rush goalie Thomas Kiazyk get the ice water dunk after his first win. 

Getting ice water dunked never felt so sweet for Saskatchewan Rush rookie goalie Thomas Kiazyk.

On Saturday, Kiazyk made his first career start in an NLL regular season game as the Rush battled the Albany Firewolves. The 20-year-old netminder admitted his start wasn’t a work of art. When the dust settled, he made 39 saves to backstop the Rush to a 17-13 victory to the appreciative roars of the engaged 5,768 spectators in attendance.

Following the contest, Kiazyk was doing a post-game interview on the floor in front of the fans in attendance. During the interview, his Rush teammates snuck up behind him and doused him with cold water coming out of an assortment of water bottles.

Thomas Kiazyk made his first career NLL start on Saturday.

“It kind of snuck up on me a little bit,” said Kiazyk, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 180 pounds. “It was super special.

“Those guys are the world to me, and I’m really happy just to get the win for them. They battled out for me, so I just want to match that energy all the time.”

The Rush improved to 5-2 with the win, while the Firewolves fell to 2-6.

Kiazyk said he found out on Wednesday that he might end up starting Saturday’s contest, because there was a chance Rush starting goalie Frank Scigliano wasn’t going to be available. Scigliano’s wife was expected to give birth to the couple’s new child on game day. Ultimately, Scigliano’s special family situation kept him away from the SaskTel Centre.

Thomas Kiazyk, left, made 39 saves in goal for the Rush.

Rush defender Keegan Bell dressed as the team’s backup goalie on Saturday. The Rush wanted to sign Saskatoon product Laine Hruska on Saturday to be the team’s backup, but an NLL rule prevents clubs from signing new players on game days. Hruska, who has been a past Rush backup goaltender, helped out the Rush coaches behind the bench as part of the club’s support personnel.

While Kiazyk likes to pride himself on his confidence, he did have an attack of the nerves at the start of Saturday’s game. As a result, the Firewolves jumped out to a 4-0 lead just 5:06 into the opening quarter.

“I was trying to say that, like, I didn’t have nerves at all,” said Kiazyk. “I kept telling myself that, but I 100 per cent did.

Robert Church celebrates scoring the fifth of his five goals.

“I mean trying to get to the first TV timeout was obviously the goal every time, taking five minutes at a time. It was a little slow on my half. We all kind of had to do a little bit of adjusting and figuring out, but (we had a) quick response and our coaches prepared really well for that.

“We just made a great in game adjustment and responded.”

The Rush battled back and exited the first quarter locked in a 5-5 tie. Rush all-time great forward Robert Church potted the equalizer that forced the 5-5 even score with 2.6 seconds remaining in the stanza.

From that point, the host side got the game to halftime holding a 9-8 lead, and after three quarters, the Rush were holding a 13-12 edge. Saskatchewan pulled away in the fourth quarter to post the four-goal victory.

Ryan Keenan had two goals and seven assists for the Rush.

As the game went on, Kiazyk said he started to experiences times when the contest did start to feel like a normal game for him.

“I feel like in the first period I had moments of that,” said Kiazyk. “In the fourth quarter, I feel like after we killed one of the penalties I feel like we were just so locked in.

“I feel like I let in a few crappy goals here and there and that happens. You just have to look past it and look forward to what is next.”

When the fourth quarter clock expired, Kiazyk was pumped he was able to get a win in his first career NLL start. He said that was a memory he will take with him for the rest of his life.

The Rush faithful celebrate a goal scored by the host side.

“I’m super happy about it,” said Kiazyk. “I mean so many people have gotten me to this point in my life.

“I’m super happy to be able to get that win not only for myself but for all the people who supported me along the way.”

Rush co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan said you could see Kiazyk improve as the game went on. The bench boss said the young goalie has a really good confidence and moxie to him. When things don’t go well, Quinlan said that Kiazyk works to battle his way back.

“He has just got a great head on his shoulder and works at it, works at it and works at it,” said Quinlan. “The guys love him.

The O16 Electric Crew performs during a break in the action.

“He is never not in the net not taking shots. We actually have to get him off the floor a lot of times, so it was nice to see him work.”

Rush veteran forward Austin Shanks said his squad allowed the coaches and players that were involved with the goalies work with Kiazyk. When the Firewolves got up 4-0 early in the first quarter, Shanks said the Rush players didn’t panic and showed confidence those involved with the goalies would help Kiazyk get settled down.

“He (Kiazyk) let those four in quick, but then, he held it for the next 10 minutes to one,” said Shanks, who had one goal and four assists in the win. “He stepped up big.

Alex Simmons had two goals and five assists for the Firewolves.

“We realized he was stepping up. We had to go do our job. It was our turn to step up and start throwing some punches.”

Church said the team was pretty excited to see Kiazyk get his first win.

“He is such a great guy and a locker room presence even as a young guy,” said Church. “For us to be able to get him that win, and not even us get him that win like him give us that win, he shut the door.”

Church figured Kiazyk would have some early nerves, and the long time veteran figured the rookie would get to the point the contest would start feeling like a normal game.

The Rush faithful got to celebrate 17 goals on Saturday.

“It is expected, right,” said Church. “He is only 20-years-old, and he started his first game.

“He is going to have jitters. We saw that early, but he settled right in and was unreal down the stretch. He has got a future.

“He is a good goalie. He is a better guy.”

In Saturday’s clash, Church recorded 10 points in the win coming off five goals and five assists. Rush captain Ryan Keenan posted nine points coming off two goals and seven assists.

Zach Manns (#2) scored a pair of goals for the Rush.

Jake Boudreau, Clark Walter and Zach Manns each scored twice for the Rush, while Mike Triolo, Brock Haley and Adam Jay picked up singles. Boudreau’s second tally was scored into an empty net. 

The 17 goals the Rush scored were a team high for the current campaign, and they are also 4-0 this season when their opponents score first.

Forward Alex Simmons topped the Firewolves with seven points coming off two goals and five assists. Dyson Williams had a hat trick for Albany, and Ethan Walker and Sam Firth each had two goal outings for the visitors. Zac Masson, Will Johansen, Tye Kurtz and John Piatelli each had singles for the Firewolves.

The Rush celebrate a goal from Jake Boudreau (#17).

Doug Jamieson started in net and turned away 37-of-52 shots to take the setback for the Firewolves. Andrew Kidd saw spot duty in net for the Firewolves turning aside 4-of-5 shots sent his way.

The Rush return to action on Saturday, February 1, when they travel to San Diego to take on the 3-4 Seals (7 p.m. local time, Pechanga Arena).

Kiazyk could potentially get his second career start in that road encounter with the Seals. Whenever he gets the call next to guard the Rush net, Kiazyk said the fact he got his first start under his belt and picked up a win in the process will help him the next time he sees action on the floor.

“I think it is huge,” said Kiazyk. “Obviously, I don’t want to get my head too big.

The Rush salute their fans after their win on Saturday night.

“It is just one step in the right direction and one step closer to me becoming a better goalie. I can look back on this. I have game film now, and I can tweak some things.

“I can go over it with Kirky (goalie coach Evan Kirk) and Frankie (Frank Scigliano) and everyone and just look to get better and look to improve for the future.”

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