Hitmen sweep away Blades, roll to 6-2 victory in Game 4

Blades captain Ben Saunderson (#2) takes part in the handshake line.

Ben Saunderson plans to be watching his Saskatoon Blades proudly as an alumnus.

On Wednesday,  the Blades 20-year-old captain’s WHL career came to an end as his squad fell 6-2 to the visiting Calgary Hitmen in Game 4 of a best-of-seven first round series of the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Hitmen sweep the set 4-0 and advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.

Following the game, Saunderson took a skate where he was saluted by the 5,228 spectators in attendance at the SaskTel Centre. Saunderson gave applause back to the Blades faithful.

The Hitmen celebrate their series win on Wednesday.

The Carberry, Man., product joined the Blades on a full-time basis back in the 2020-21 campaign, when Saskatoon club played a shortened 24 game season in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world. From that beginning, Saunderson helped the Blades advance to WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for two straight years in 2023 and 2024.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

Ben Saunderson (#2) and Grayden Siepmann hug post-game.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

With that knowledge, Saunderson said his squad still wanted to have some success in the post-season. He believes this younger Blades squad took big strides in the 2024-25 campaign.

“It is a really good hockey team over there,” said Saunderson, who had four goals, 32 assists and a plus-15 rating in the plus-minus department in 67 regular season contests in the 2024-25 campaign. “I thought every game we elevated ours.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted. Our motto every day this year was just to get better every single day. I’m so proud of our group.

Ben Kindel had a hat trick for the Hitmen.

“Our young guys have stepped up tremendously. There is a very bright future for this team, and it is definitely something I’ll be following.”

The Hitmen entered the series as favourites having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on March 25.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They entered the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years.

Still, an upset seemed possible. The Blades actually won the season series in the regular season between the two sides recording two regulation wins and one overtime setback in four head-to-head encounters.

Grayden Siepmann (#21) and Ben Kindel (#11) battle for a puck.

The two sides met twice after the trade deadline. The Hitmen posted a 4-1 victory at home on January 10, and the Blades claimed a 6-3 victory at home on February 14.

For the entire series, Calgary was without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Anders Miller, who is an 18-year-old rookie, was solid as Calgary’s starting netminder in the series, and he made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal on Wednesday. In the four games against the Blades, Miller had a 1.50 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Eric Tu, who is a 16-year-old rookie, is serving as Calgary’s backup netminder.

Tanner Howe had three assists for the Hitmen on Wednesday.

The Blades had a big absence too as they were without 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott for a fourth straight post-season game with an upper body injury. Scott last suited up in the Blades final regular season contest when they fell 4-3 to the Raiders in Prince Albert on March 22.

Blades first year head coach Dan DaSilva said his squad faced a big challenge playing the Hitmen because they are a really good hockey team.

“We’re on two different ends of the spectrum, if we’re being honest,” said DaSilva. “They loaded up to go for it, and we sold off to rebuild and then go for it in a couple of years.

“That is the truth, but our guys never shied away for a second. They showed up, (and) they gave everything they had. What else can you ask for as a coach is for guys to just absolutely leave it all on the ice.

Zach Olsen had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

“Anyone who tries to tell me otherwise is wrong, and I will argue that until the day I die. I’m extremely proud of this group.”

The two sides played through an even opening frame with the Hitmen holding a 14-11 edge in shots on goal. Blades star netminder Evan Gardner and Miller came up big for their respective sides.

The second period was totally the opposite of the opening frame breaking into a 1980s style firewagon type contest. Just 75 seconds into the stanza, the Hitmen jumped ahead 2-0. Gritty veteran centre David Adaszynski scored 38 seconds into the period and star centre Ben Kindel followed with his own tally 37 seconds later.

At the 6:19 mark of the second, Hitmen star defenceman Carter Yakemchuk got the puck at the right point, zipped up the right boards, cut across the front of the Saskatoon net and tucked home a backhander to give the visitors a 3-0 edge.

Hayden Harsanyi had the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

“I give Calgary credit,” said DaSilva. “That is a great example for our guys in a year or two years of what a championship team looks like and how they compete and how they play together and how fast they play and how strong defensively they are.

“It is a great example and a great learning lesson for our guys. I hope we can take something from that.”

The Blades responded with some quick strikes of their own. At the 9:25 mark of the second, rookie right-winger Zach Olsen, who turned 17-years-old in March, fired home a shot from the right faceoff circle in the Calgary zone to cut the Hitmen lead to 3-1. Just 44 seconds after Olsen’s tally, Blades centre Hayden Harsanyi slipped home a shot from in close by the right side of the Calgary net to cut the Hitmen’s advantage to 3-2.

Carter Yakemchuk scored a highlight goal for the Hitmen.

Following Harsanyi’s tally, the crowd at the SaskTel Centre was rocking, but that wouldn’t last long. Just 11 seconds after that marker, Hitmen star right-winger Tanner Howe zipped into the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one break with Kindel.

Howe passed the puck across the front of the Saskatoon net to Kindel at the right side of the goal. Kindel buried his second of the contest to put the Hitmen up 4-2.

In the third, Hitmen star left-winger Oliver Tulk tallied once during four-versus-four action after offsetting penalties and Kindel completed his hat trick with a short-handed empty-net goal to round out the scoring in the contest.

“Ben (Kindel) is a special talent,” said Hitmen head coach Paul McFarland. “He is one of the best players in this league.

David Adaszynski scored the first goal for the Hitmen.

“I’d love to tell you I was surprised by the hat trick, but that is kind of what we expected out of that player. That top line along with the Adaszynski line I thought for us were the difference in the series.”

Howe finished the contest with three assists. He recorded two goals and seven assists and a plus-six rating in the series.

Evan Gardner turned away 30-of-35 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

While the Blades ever held a lead in any of the post-season contest against the Hitmen, Saunderson said he believed his squad put up a good battle on the ice and never gave up when things got tough.

Ben Saunderson played in his final WHL game on Wednesday.

“There was no rollover in the room, on the ice or on the bench,” said Saunderson. “No one was every giving up.

“We fought until the very end every single night. We knew they were a really good team over there, and you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. They are a hell of a hockey team, but we never quit.”

The Hitmen are the first team to win a first round series in this year’s WHL post-season. They now wait to find out who their opponent will be for an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. McFarland said it will be big for his team to get a lengthy rest period.

“You don’t want to play extra games, obviously, at this time of year,” said McFarland. “It is not easy to sweep anybody.

“We have a tonne of respect for that team and that program. We said it at the start of the series. They have got a winning pedigree over there.

The Blades give their fans a final salute for the 2024-25 campaign.

“We were, obviously, because of that taking this series very serious and not lightly whatsoever. I give our players a lot of credit to get the job done.”

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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Hitmen ready to bring on the brooms against Blades

Calgary claims 4-1 victory in Game 3 in Saskatoon

Tanner Howe (#9) skates off after scoring the Hitmen’s second goal.

Tanner Howe landed a couple of counter punches the Saskatoon Blades couldn’t recover from.

On Tuesday, Howe and his Calgary Hitmen found themselves locked in a 1-1 draw in the second period with the host Saskatoon Blades in Game 3 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. At the midway point of the frame, the Blades had a glorious chance to take the lead.

Blades 16-year-old associate player call up right-winger Kohen Lodge received a backdoor pass at the right side of the Calgary net. Lodge fired a puck to what appeared to be an empty cage only to be robbed by Hitmen netminder Anders Miller, who slid across the crease to deflect the puck away with his left skate.

Tanner Howe had one goal and one assist for the Hitmen.

Lodge had been playing with his hometown Red Deer Chiefs under-18 AAA team before joining the Blades for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Had he scored on that backdoor opportunity, he would have given the Blades their first lead in any game to date of their current post-season series with the Hitmen.

Just moments later with 8:38 remaining in the second, the Hitmen jumped ahead 2-1, when Howe, who is the Hitmen’s start 19-year-old right-winger, put a backhand shot home from the front of the Saskatoon net.

Only 85 seconds later, Hitmen import defenceman Axel Hurtig passed the puck from the left corner in his own zone up the left wing boards to Howe, who was position right before the red-line. 

David Adaszynski scored the Hitmen’s first goal on Tuesday.

Howe proceeded to redirect puck across the ice to Hitmen 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel, who was jetting into the Saskatoon zone along the right wing. Kindel zipped past the Blades defence on the outside, cut across the front of the Saskatoon net and put home a backhand shot to give Calgary a 3-1 advantage.

The Hitmen would cruise from that point to claim a 4-1 victory to disappoint most of the 5,206 spectators in attendance at the SaskTel Centre. With the win, Calgary takes a 3-0 lead in the series.

The Hitmen will try to close the series out in Game 4 slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the SaskTel Centre.

The odds are very long that the Blades will be able to make a comeback winning four straight games. Since the WHL started in 1966-67, only three teams have rallied back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to claim the set.

Anders Miller made 20 saves for the Hitmen on Tuesday.

The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3. The Blades fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 in an Eastern Conference semifinal series in 2023 and stormed back to take that series 4-3.

Out of the three games the Blades and Hitmen have collided in during the 2025 post-season, Tuesday’s contest was the best effort that was turned in by the Saskatoon side in the set.

The teams played through a fairly even opening frame with the Hitmen finishing the stanza with a lot of late pressure. With 53.2 seconds remaining in the frame, gritty Hitmen centre David Adaszynski tipped home a shot from captain Carson Wetsch to put the visitors up 1-0. Calgary had a 10-5 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes thanks to their late offensive pressure.

David Lewandowski scored the Blades lone goal on Tuesday.

The Blades came out with some jump in the second period. Just 2:31 into the frame, import rookie left-winger David Lewandowski, who turned 18-years-old in February, blew home a power-play goal from the right faceoff dot to even the score at 1-1.

Following Lewandowski’s goal, Blades star right-winger Tyler Parr, who turned 20-years-old in January, was denied in close by Miller. That set the stage for the robbery Miller made on Lodge and the Hitmen goals that followed from Howe and Kindel that gave the visitors a 3-1 advantage.

The Blades outshot the Hitmen 10-8 in the second period, while Calgary had the edge in total shots on goal 18-15 after 40 minutes.

Tyler Parr was denied on a key second period scoring chance.

The third period was controlled by the Hitmen, who held a 12-6 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

Hitmen star 20-year-old right-winger Connor Hvidston put to bed the competitive part of Tuesday’s contest scoring with 8:27 remaining in the third to push the Calgary lead out to 4-1. Hvidston had the puck in close in front of the Saskatoon net and put a shot past a Blades defenceman to the top left corner of the goal for his first of the post-season.

Evan Gardner turned away 26 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Miller stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen.

The Blades were without 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott for a third straight post-season game with an upper body injury. 

Ben Kindel scored the third Hitmen goal on Tuesday.

Scott last suited up in the Blades last regular season contest when they fell 4-3 to the Raiders in Prince Albert on March 22.

For the first three games of the post-season, Calgary has been without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Eric Tu, who is a 16-year-old rookie, is serving as Calgary’s backup netminder.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on March 25.

The Hitmen celebrate a goal from Connor Hvidston (#21).

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They enter the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years on their roster.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

The Hitmen enjoy their win on Tuesday.

Now, they will need a major effort on Wednesday in order to continue to be part of the WHL post-season.

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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Long battle ahead? – Raiders, Oil Kings delivering solid post-season fight

Daxon Rudolph, left, and Marshall Finnie have battled.

So far, the Prince Albert Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings are delivering your typical solid post-season series.

After two games, the series shows the potential of possibly being a longer one, which has been rare in recent WHL post-seasons. In 2023, only two of the eight best-of-seven first round series went past five games with four of those sets being sweeps. In 2024, only one of the eight first round series went past five games and there were also four series sweeps.

In this year’s battle between the Raiders and Oil Kings, a split of the first two games is a fair result for both teams. The Oil Kings claimed Game 1 this past Friday at the Art Hauser Centre 3-1 with an empty-net goal.

Edmonton held a 40-32 edge in shots on goal, but the Raiders left that contest with a feeling of what might have been. There were times in that contest it seemed like nerves of playing the first game of the post-season might have gotten to the Prince Albert side.

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

Hitmen take command of first round series with Blades

Calgary smokes Saskatoon 5-1 in Game 2

Grayden Siepmann had a goal for the Blades on Sunday.

The Calgary Hitmen were good in Game 1 and even better in Game 2.

On Sunday afternoon playing before 4,430 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledown, the Hitmen skated to a convincing 5-1 victory over the visiting Saskatoon Blades in Game 2 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. Combined with Calgary’s sound 4-2 victory in Game 1 on Friday, the favoured Hitmen lead the series 2-0.

In the Game 2 clash on Sunday, it was a great afternoon to be a fan of the Hitmen. They led 2-0 after the first period holding a 15-8 edge in shots on goal.

Calgary scored twice more holding a 22-5 edge in shots on goal for the second period to push their advantage out to 4-0. At that point, the Blades elected to pull star netminder Evan Gardner, who has turned away 33-of-37 fired his way over the first 40 minutes.

The third period was a more competitive with the Hitmen holding an 11-10 edge in shots on goal. Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann wired home a shot from the left faceoff circle dot at the 10:27 mark of the frame to trim the Hitmen lead to 4-1.

Hitmen star centre Tanner Howe rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty net tally with 1:47 remaining in the third round.

Ethan McCallum stopped all 10 shots he faced in a relief effort in the third period in goal for the Blades.

The Hitmen opened the game’s scoring at the 10:03 mark of first period when left-winger Brandon Gorzynski, who turned 18-years-old earlier this month, popped home a shot close in from the right side of the Saskatoon net.

Just over two minutes later and working on the power play, the Hitmen jetting into the Saskatoon zone on an offensive rush. Hitmen standout right-winger Ethan Moore, who turned 19-years-old in February, wired home a shot from inside the right faceoff circle to give the host side a 2-0 edge.

The Hitmen train continued to roll in the second. They struck again in the power play at the 7:34 mark of the frame to push their lead to 3-0.

Hitmen star 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel had the puck at the left faceoff dot and put a pass to the front of the Saskatoon net to Calgary captain Carson Wetsch. Wetsch redirected the puck past Gardner to give the hosts their three-goal lead.

Evan Gardner stopped 33-of-37 shots over two periods on Sunday.

Just over four minutes later, Hitmen 20-year-old star offensive-defenceman and Saskatoon product Kalem Parker got in on the fun. He netted his first of the post-season to make the Hitmen lead sit at 4-0.

In the first two games of the series, rugged Hitmen 19-year-old centre David Adaszynski made a number of big hits. He made another big collision in the third period leveling Blades sophomore defenceman Jack Kachkowski.

The goals by Siepmann and Howe followed after that hit to close out the notable moments of the contest.

Anders Miller made 22 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen. For the first two games of the post-season, Calgary has been without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Eric Tu, who is a 16-year-old rookie, is serving as Calgary’s backup netminder.

In Sunday’s win over the Blades, Gorzynski, Moore and Howe each finished with a one goal and one assist for the Hitmen. Kindel had a pair of assists for the Calgary side.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They enter the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years on their roster.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

Now, the series between the Hitmen and Blades switches over to Saskatoon for Games 3 and 4 to be held Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. both nights at the SaskTel Centre. The Blades, who were 20-8-4-2 at home during the regular season, will be looking to find a boost inside the friendly confines of the SaskTel Centre as they attempt to make some noise in this series.

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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Raiders rebound, romp over Oil Kings 6-1 in Game 2

First round WHL post-season series even up at 1-1

The Raiders celebrate a goal by Lukas Dragicevic (#3) on Saturday.

PRINCE ALBERT – Rilen Kovacevic thought experience was the best teacher.

The 20-year-old winger helped the Moose Jaw Warriors win their first WHL championship in May of 2024. Now playing for the Prince Albert Raiders, Kovacevic saw his squad fall 3-1 to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs.

Having a league title run under his belt, Kovacevic thought the best course of action was not to say anything going into Game 2 on Saturday.

“I kind of just let the first game go,” said Kovacevic, who was traded by the Warriors to the Raiders on January 7. “It is better to let the guys get their feet wet.

Justice Christensen (#7) had the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

“As we progress, it is easier for me to step in and use my voice, but it is all about learning.”

The Kelowna, B.C., product’s line of thinking proved to be the correct line of thinking. His Raiders posted a resounding 6-1 rebound victory in Game 2 on Saturday before a raucous standing room crowd of 2,852 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The win allowed the Raiders to even the series up 1-1.

“It was a learning curve last night,” said Kovacevic. “I think we just kind of were stepping on our own toes a little bit.

“It is only going to get better, and we have a really solid group of top guys that are going to lead us there.”

Rilen Kovacevic broke a lengthy goal scoring drought on Saturday.

While the Raiders would post a big win, the Oil Kings came flying out of the gate on Saturday holding a 19-6 edge in shots on goal in the first period with a number of shots coming off two power-play chances. Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand turned away everything that came his way in the opening 20 minutes to allow his teammates to get their skating legs under them.

With 35.6 seconds remaining in the opening frame, the Raiders changed the momentum of the contest seemingly out of nowhere. Working the puck in the Edmonton zone, Raiders breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph passed the puck from the right point to the top of the left faceoff circle to Prince Albert captain Justice Christensen.

Lukas Sawchyn scored for the Oil Kings on Saturday.

Christensen one-timed a shot home to put the Raiders up 1-0 heading into the first intermission.

“(Christensen’s) goal kind of turned the tide for us, and we got going after that,” said Hildebrand. “We probably have to be a bit more disciplined to start the game.”

Just 2:35 into the second, the Raiders pushed their lead out to 2-0. Raiders rookie defenceman Linden Burrett had the puck at the right side boards in the Edmonton zone and slipped a backdoor pass to Kovacevic positioned at the left post of the Oil Kings net. Kovacevic made no mistake in tapping home the puck for his first goal in 15 games for the Raiders.

Niall Crocker had two goals for the Raiders on Saturday.

Before that tally, Kovacevic’s last goal came way back on February 8 in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. During the regular season, Kovacevic collected 26 goals and 33 assists in 60 games split between the Warriors and Raiders. He was pleased to be able to break his goal scoring drought.

“I found a good step tonight,” said Kovacevic. “I thought I was pretty solid last night, but it is going to get better as we go.”

At the 6:01 mark of the second, the Oil King struck on the power play to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1. Oil Kings star import centre Adam Jecho had the puck along the left side boards deep in the Prince Albert zone and made a backdoor pass across the face of the Raiders net to Oil King star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn positioned at the right post.

Max Hildebrand makes one of his 42 saves in goal for the Raiders.

Sawchyn’s first shot was stopped by a sprawling Hildebrand, but the skilled rookie popped home his own rebound to trim the Raiders advantage to one goal.

Just a little over three-and-a-half minutes later, the Raiders struck for a power-play goal. Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic had the puck at the left wing boards and he put a slick pass on the stick of 20-year-old star left-winger Niall Crocker, who was stationed in front of the Edmonton net. Crocker showed some soft hands sliding home a power-play goal to push the Raiders lead out to 3-1.

The hosts proceeded to open the flood gates in the third. Just 3:04 into the frame, Crocker banged home his second goal of the night from the front of the Edmonton net to give the Raiders a 4-1 advantage.

Aiden Oiring had the Raiders fifth goal on Saturday.

Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring popped home a shot close in at the right side of the Edmonton net at the 7:48 mark of the third to put Prince Albert up 5-1. Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic rounded out the game’s scoring firing home a midrange shot on the power play with 7:34 remaining in the third.

At that point, frustration started to take over for some members of the Oil Kings. Just 23 seconds after Dragicevic’s goal, Burrett and Oil Kings rookie right-winger Jack Toogood engaged in a fight.

With 4:05 remaining in the third, Oil Kings overage centre Marshall Finnie was given a 10-minute misconduct for getting a little too loose with his lips on the ice. Finnie left the ice and departed to the Oil Kings dressing room to a standing ovation from the Raiders faithful.

Lukas Dragicevic had one goal and two assists on Saturday.

Hildebrand said it was important for his side to stay out of the extracurricular activities that occur on the ice.

“We just have to worry about ourselves and not them and just keep playing our game every game,” said Hildebrand. “We have to stay even keel, and that is going to be a big thing for us this series.”

Hildebrand stopped 42 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Alex Worthington turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

Dragicevic had a pair of assists to go with his goal, and Rudolph had three helpers to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department.

Prince Albert was 2-for-4 on the power play, while Edmonton was 1-for-9 with the man advantage.

Oil Kings RW Jack Toogood, left, fights Raiders D Linden Burrett.

Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased to see a number of his players have big games.

“I thought we had a really good group effort,” said McDonald. “Hilty (Hildebrand) stood tall back there.

“Our PK guys, they ate lots of pucks. They had great sticks and had some great stands on the blue line. We took advantage of the opportunities when they came.

“I thought it was a really good group effort. Our goals came off of resetting pucks back underneath the play.”

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. 

Daxon Rudolph had three assists for the Raiders on Saturday.

The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

The series how switches to Edmonton. Game 3 is set for Tuesday and Game 4 follows on Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time both nights at Rogers Place. 

Kovacevic said his club is gunning to take both of those games on the road.

“Our goal is to go and win two there,” said Kovacevic. “We want to come back and be able to finish it off at our rink.

“What happened will be what happens. We got home ice for a reason. We’re happy with the split, honestly.

The Raiders salute the Art Hauser Centre faithful after their win.

“There is nothing I’d change. I think it is a good learning curve that first game, and we have an opportunity to go in there and steal a couple.”

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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Gardner’s 40 stops can’t save Blades in Game 1

Hitmen look the part of favourites in 4-2 win

Evan Gardner made 40 saves in net for the Blades on Friday.

Evan Gardner gave his Saskatoon Blades a chance, but the Calgary Hitmen weren’t going to be denied.

On Friday night, the Hitmen looked the part of favoured team in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against the Blades. Gardner, who is the Blades star netminder, did his best to steal the contest making 40 saves and showing why he backstopped the Saskatoon side to being one win shy of advancing to the WHL Championship Series one year ago.

In the series opener, the Hitmen proved to be too much for the Blades to handle. The Calgary side skated away with a 4-2 victory they had to work for while holding a 44-17 edge in shots on goal playing before a home crowd of 3,770 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They enter the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years on their roster.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

While Calgary finished higher in the standings, Saskatoon could still enter the series with some confidence. The Blades actually won the season series in the regular season between the two sides recording two regulation wins and one overtime setback in four head-to-head encounters.

The two sides met twice after the trade deadline. The Hitmen posted a 4-1 victory at home on January 10, and the Blades claimed a 6-3 victory at home on February 14.

Calgary went into Game 1 without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Anders Miller, who is an 18-year-old rookie, started in goal for the Hitmen, and he was backed up by 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu.

The Hitmen broke on to the scoreboard at the 4:26 mark of the opening frame with a short-handed goal. On a clearance into the back boards to the right of the Saskatoon net, Hitmen star 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe hit Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke into the boards and got the puck.

Howe centred the puck to veteran Hitmen right-winger Ethan Moore, who buried the short-handed marker to give the host side a 1-0 lead. Calgary outshot Saskatoon 18-5 in the opening frame.

At the 5:16 mark of the second, Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann fired home a point shot through a screen to even the score at 1-1.

Calgary proceeded to pull away at that point. With 3:18 remaining in the second, Hitmen star right-winger Oliver Tulk stole a breakout pass just inside the blue-line of the Saskatoon zone. Tulk jetted in on goal and snapped a shot past Gardner to give the Hitmen a 2-1 edge.

Appearing in 65 regular season games with the Hitmen in 2024-25, Tulk finished sixth in the WHL scoring race with 100 points coming off 38 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus-40 rating in the plus-minus department.

Calgary had a 12-8 edge in shots on goal in the second.

At the 7:58 mark of the third while working on the power play, Moore deflected home a shot pass from star defenceman Sawyer Mynio at the left side of the Saskatoon net to push Calgary’s lead out to 3-1.

Just 2:25 later, Mynio put a point shot on the Saskatoon net that rebounded to Hitmen star centre Ben Kindel in front of the goal. Kindel popped home the loose puck to increase Calgary’s advantage to 4-1.

The Blades didn’t go away. Just 25 seconds later, Blades breakout rookie centre Cooper Williams, who turned 17 in February, stole the puck from a Hitmen defenceman in the Calgary zone. Williams had the puck on the left wing and passed it to breakout 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing in the right faceoff circle.

Laing went in alone on Anders and snapped home a shot to cut the Calgary lead to 4-2. The Blades couldn’t close any further as the Hitmen held a 14-4 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

Anders made 15 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen. Howe had a pair of helpers in the Calgary victory.

After a day off, the series resumes with Game 2 set for Sunday at 2 p.m. local time at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

While the Hitmen get full credit for their win on Friday, the opportunity is there for the Blades to make a push back to turn some heads. They are in a “house money” position where they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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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Feisty Oil Kings claim series opener over Raider 3-1

Niall Crocker had the Raiders lone goal on Friday night.

The little things added up to ultimately cost the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before a standing room crowd of 2,816 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders had a couple of mistakes at inopportune times and saw their power play that was rated third best in the WHL during the regular season come up dry on seven chances. That allowed the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings to skate away with a 3-1 victory in the opener of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs.

Game 2 is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark and had won their last five straight games. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

During the regular season, the Raiders claimed the season series between the two clubs winning three of the five head-to-head meetings.

The Oil Kings like to play more of a feisty and agitating style of game to go along with some decent skill. Overage centre Marshall Finnie relishes playing the role of being the Oil Kings version of Matthew Tkachuk of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers of the NHL.

In 2024-25, Finnie appeared in 59 regular season contests for the Oil Kings recording 18 goals, 13 assists and 115 penalty minutes. The Lethbridge, Alta., product was one of eight players to have 100-or-more penalty minutes in the WHL this season.

The Raiders were able to hold their discipline in check enough to draw six power-play opportunities. That included Oil Kings star centre Gracyn Sawchyn picking up a double minor for high sticking late in the second period. That infraction will be automatically reviewed for a possible suspension by the WHL office.

Prince Albert had the WHL’s third best power play in the regular season, clicking with a 28.2 per cent success rate, but it came up dry on Friday against Edmonton. The Raiders power play was also hampered when star left-winger Tomas Mrsic left the game with an injury and didn’t play in the third period.

Edmonton was 0-for-2 with the man advantage in the game.

The first 29 seconds of the game proved to be ominous for the Raiders. Just 19 seconds into the contest, Oil Kings defenceman Josh Mori, who turned 21-years-old on Thursday, took a penalty for interference.

Just 10 second later, Oil Kings left-winger Roan Woodward made a long clearance from his own zone. The puck bounced off the end boards to the left of the Prince Albert net out to the front of the goal.

Raiders 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand misjudged playing the puck, which landed on Sawchyn’s stick. Sawchyn put a backhand shot on target that Hildebrand got a piece of with his stick, but the puck crept across the goal-line to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

After giving up that unexpected short-handed tally, the Raiders regained their composure. With 86 seconds remaining in the first, Raiders star 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker came through with a “vintage Crocker” goal shoveling home a loose puck in front of the Edmonton net to even the score at 1-1.

Raiders rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk, who turned 17 in January, and rising star rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17 earlier this month, both picked up assists on Crocker’s tally. The helpers were the first WHL post-season points for Boychuk and Rudolph.

At the 9:03 mark of the second, the Oil Kings jumped ahead 2-1 while working the forecheck. Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett picked off a breakout pass in the Prince Albert zone at the left side of the Raiders net.

Hodnett put a backhand pass across the front of the Edmonton net to linemate Landon Hanson. Hanson did a shake move and tucked home a shot to give the visitors the lead once again.

Despite their best efforts, the Raiders were never able to come through with another equalizer. With 97 seconds remaining in the third, Sawchyn scored into an empty net for his second tally of the contest to round out the 3-1 final score in favour of the Oil Kings. Hodnett had a helper on that tally for his second assist of the contest.

Hildebrand turned away 37-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Alex Worthington stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings, who were playing for the first time in the post-season since winning the WHL title and appearing in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – in 2022.

As this series goes on, you can expect more of the little things to add up to let one side or the other claim victory.

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.