“Let’s get ready to rumble!” – Raiders and Blades to throw it down in round 2

The Raiders and Blades exchange pleasantries on Feb. 14.

As far as the second round of the WHL Playoffs, this is going to be CM Punk versus Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42.

For the next potentially two plus weeks, Prince Albert Raiders versus Saskatoon Blades in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series will be the thing that is on everyone’s mind in those respective centres. Actually, you can bet it will be on everyone’s mind in “Hockey Town North.”

In Saskatoon, the series will likely be on a lot of people’s minds. With it being a city of 300,000 people, there are a significant portion of hockey fans set to spend $5,000 to $10,000 on trips to see NHL games while staying in posh hotels or heading off to take part in other interests.

Actually if Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan was in season in “The Bridge City,” that is a must treasure to check out. Even for people who hated Shakespeare in school, the folks that make that production happen make Shakespeare cool, but I digress.

Getting back to the second round of the WHL Playoffs, the upcoming Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Raiders and Blades is the one that jumps off the page. Out of the circuit’s four conference semifinal series, this is the only one that is a true rivalry series.

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

Calvert ensures Blades are still standing after round one

20-year-old’s Game 7 OT winner sinks Oil Kings

It was a Game 7 win that had the perfect story book ending for the Saskatoon Blades.

Locked in a 2-2 with the host Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place in overtime on Monday, the Blades went to the power play when Oil Kings sophomore right-winger Kanjyu Gojsic collided with Saskatoon star netminder Evan Gardner at the 6:59 mark of the extra session and was penalized for goaltender interference. The collision came after Gardner made a sprawling left pad stop on a backhand shot from Oil Kings rookie centre Andrew O’Neill, who turned 19-years-old in February.

On the ensuing power play, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski fired a point shot that was deflected home by Blades heart and soul 20-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert just 24 seconds later. Calvert’s tally allowed the Blades to prevail 3-2 in the series-deciding Game 7 to the disappointment of most of the 4,857 spectators at Rogers Place.

The Blades also take the best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against the Oil Kings 4-3. In the 2020s, the Blades have played more Game 7s than any other team in the WHL going 3-1 during that time in those series-deciding contests, which have all happened since 2023. Monday’s game also marked the first time the Blades have won a Game 7 on the road in their team history dating back to their inception in 1964.

Monday’s win also meant the Blades can lay claim to having the only series upset in the first round of the WHL’s post-season. The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. They were pegged as having a serious chance to go all the way to the WHL Championship Series.

The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark. There weren’t a lot of expectations outside of those linked to their club that they would even make it out of the first round of the post-season.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

They have played their best hockey of the campaign in the 2026 WHL Playoffs in their seven game series win against Edmonton. The Blades were legit good even in the games they lost to the Oil Kings. As a result, they were the only team in the first round of the WHL Playoffs that eliminated an opponent that had a superior regular season record.

The best part about Monday’s win was the fact Calvert got the winner. The Moose Jaw, Sask., product first skated for the Blades for 13 regular season contests in the 2021-22 campaign. He proceeded to join the Blades on a full-time basis the next season.

During his career with the Blades, Calvert has done everything the team has asked of him in a quiet and businesslike manner. He will kill penalties, play the power play and play the defensive shutdown role protecting a lead in the last two minutes of a contest.

For the past two seasons, Calvert has taken on more of an offensive role. In the 2024-25 campaign, he had 24 goals and 29 assists in 64 regular season appearances. This past regular season as an overager, he had 31 goals and 22 assists in 67 regular season contests.

When he scores, there are no exuberant celebrations. Calvert usually displays a big smile.

It was fun to see him let loose by celebrating his overtime winner against the Oil Kings taking a dive to centre ice and being mobbed by his teammates. The Blades also showed him leading the “our house” chants on their social media channels in the dressing room after the contest.

Actually, Calvert had two huge moments in Game 7. The first huge moment came in the third period.

When the two sides were locked in a 1-1 tie, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett fired home his first goal of the 2026 post-season from the right faceoff dot in the Saskatoon zone to give the hosts a 2-1 lead with 5:41 remaining in the third.

Just 33 seconds later when the announcement for Hodnett’s tally was still being made, Calvert had the puck along the right side boards in the Edmonton zone. He put a backhand pass out to Blades star centre Cooper Williams, who was alone in front of the Edmonton net. Williams fired home the equalizer that forced a 2-2 tie and ultimately overtime.

Calvert’s family has strong links to the WHL. His father, Jeff, was a goaltender for five seasons on the circuit from 1989 to 1994 with the Moose Jaw Warriors and the then Tacoma Rockets. Older brother, Atley, cemented himself as one of the Warriors all-time greats playing forward from 2019 to 2024 helping Moose Jaw win a WHL championship in his final campaign with the club in 2023-24.

Rowan Calvert has built his own legacy as a career member of the Blades. He will go down as one of the all-time fan favourites in Saskatoon for his will to do anything for the team.

The Blades started out Monday’s contest taking the game to the Oil Kings holding a 9-1 edge in shots on goal just eight minutes into the opening frame. As has been the case in what was the most compelling series in the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the Oil Kings pushed back resulting in the first period ending in a scoreless tie with the Blades holding an 11-8 edge in shots on goal.

The visitors caught a big break at the 6:11 mark of the second period. They would go on a two-man advantage for two minutes after Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson took a minor for high sticking and centre Andrew O’Neill took a minor for tripping.

Just 35 seconds into the power play, Lewandowski one-timed home a shot from the right faceoff dot to put the visitors up 1-0. He converted a beauty cross ice pass from Williams.

The Oil Kings authored a quick response. Working on the power play just two minutes later, Oil Kings standout centre Aaron Obobaifo took up position in front of the Saskatoon net and deflected home a point shot from star defenceman Carter Sotheran to even the score at 1-1.

That set up the dramatics for the third period and overtime.

Gardner stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for Saskatoon. Parker Snell turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

Lewandowski and Williams each finished with one goal and one assist for the Blades. Star 19-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing had a pair of helpers for Saskatoon.

Obobaifo had an assist to go with his goal for the Oil Kings. Sotheran finished his final career WHL outing with a pair of helpers for Edmonton.

The Blade converted on 2-of-5 power play chance on Monday, while the Oil Kings were 1-for-4 with the man advantage. During the seven games of this series, the road team pulled out five victories.

The Blades held Oil Kings star centre Miroslav Holinka and star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn off the scoresheet. Both players had minus-one ratings in the plus-minus department.

Along with Sotheran, Holinka and defenceman Austin Zemlak all exhausted their WHL eligibility with Edmonton’s Game 7 loss. The Oil Kings also fell in Game 7 in a first round series in the 2025 WHL Playoffs to the Prince Albert Raiders.

Speaking of the Raiders, the Blades now advance to face their archrivals in the Raiders in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Raiders topped the Eastern Conference with a 52-10-5-1 mark and placed second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Game 1 is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

When this series gets going, both teams will likely show the Highway 11 Rivalry is the most intense right now not just in the WHL but the entire CHL.

Before even looking forward to that set, the Blades can soak in the fact they concluded their series with the Oil Kings with an all-time memorable moment for the franchise. Even Raiders fans have to give a nod of respect to the fact that Calvert was the one to deliver it.

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, their fans, bitter over double OT penalty call

Oil Kings force deciding Game 7 in series with Saskatoon

The Oil Kings mob Miroslav Holinka (#92) after his double OT winner.

It was a classic controversial finish that made you rageaholic mad, if you are a fan of the Saskatoon Blades.

The Blades themselves were bitter about how Game 6 of their best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs ended with the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre. The two sides were locked in a 2-2 tie in double overtime, and with 7:07 remaining in the second overtime frame, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski tripped Oil Kings 20-year-old star defenceman Carter Sotheran down to the ice, when Sotheran was trying to skate out of his zone with the puck.

Miroslav Holinka reacts to scoring the double overtime winner.

The officials gave Lewandowski a minor penalty for hooking.

On the ensuing power play, Sotheran had the puck in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone and he passed the puck up to the left point to Oil Kings 20-year-old star import centre Miroslav Holinka. Holinka one-timed home his seventh goal of the post-season to deliver the Oil Kings to a 3-2 victory.

Just 98 seconds before Lewandowski went off for his obstruction infraction, Oil Kings overage defenceman Austin Zemlak cross checked Blades overage captain from the side into the boards by the Saskatoon blue line well away from where the puck was. The officials didn’t call a penalty in that instance even after having a conference with Parr and Sotheran after the play was blown dead.

Blades captain Tyler Parr (#20) discusses an illegal hit he received. 

Thanks to the no call on Zemlak regarding an extra-curricular hit and nailing Lewandowski with an obstruction infraction that resulted in the winning goal, the Blades faithful was irate. After Holinka scored his winner, arguably the loudest boos of the season in the building rained down from the 5,104 spectators in attendance. A handful of spectators threw debris on the ice including a couple of full plastic pop bottles.

The Blades entered the contest needing a win to take the series with the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings victory forces a 3-3 tie in the set, and the two clubs will face each other in a series-deciding Game 7 on Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 7 p.m. local time.

Evan Gardner makes one of his 41 stops in goal for the Blades.

Following Game 6, Blades head coach Dan DaSilva was not happy with how the end of Sunday’s game went. He wasn’t pleased he did get any explanations from referees Corey Koop or Mark Pearce regarding the call on Lewandowski.

“They didn’t tell me anything,” said DaSilva. “They just made their call, and they wouldn’t come over and have a conversation about it at all.

“Obviously, it is extremely frustrating, and there are probably, I don’t know, eight penalties in overtime that could have been called. One was just minutes before on our captain along the boards he gets hit from behind without touching the puck, without the puck ever really ever coming near him. They don’t call that a pretty egregious hit from behind, board, whatever you want to call it.

Oil Kings goalie Parker Snell turns away a scoring chance.

“Then, they decide to step in and call a trip that is 190 feet away from our end without being a scoring chance or having really anything to do with the play. Anyways, it is what it is. Maybe they had Easter dinner plans.”

DaSilva then switched to refocusing on Monday’s winner take all Game 7 with the Oil Kings.

“We’re going to keep fighting and go down to Edmonton,” said DaSilva. “We’ve played some really good hockey down there this series, and I expect it to be the same tomorrow.”

Aaron Obobaifo had the Oil Kings first goal on Sunday.

Blades star sophomore centre Cooper Williams thought the Blades vans stood up for the team by voicing their displeasure, which also gives the players motivation heading into Game 7.

“I mean the crowd let them (the officials) hear it,” said Williams. “Just having their support behind us and just putting this game past us and focusing on tomorrow, I think that is the biggest factor.”

The Oil Kings understandably pumped to have won the contest and to have forced a series-deciding Game 7 in their home rink. Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith said there was a lot of joy amongst everyone on his squad after Holinka scored the double overtime winner in Game 6.

“It was obviously a great feeling for our bench – for our guys,” said Smith. “We had some guys get back in the lineup tonight that had been out.

The Oil Kings celebrate a goal from Dylan Dean (#14).

“The excitement and winning in overtime is one of the greatest things you can do in hockey. It is exciting. We need to refocus, recover.

“The guys need to make sure they get their rest, their food and be ready to go tomorrow.”

The Oil Kings would get an early contribution from one of their returnees. They broke on to the scoreboard first thanks to a positive bounce at the 7:28 mark of the opening frame.

A puck came off the stick of Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett and took a positive bounce to Edmonton centre Aaron Obobaifo in front of the Saskatoon net. Obobaifo, who missed the three previous games of the series due to an undisclosed ailment, wired the puck past Blades star netminder Evan Gardner to put the visitors up 1-0.

Brayden Klimpke scored the Blades first goal on Sunday.

“It is really tough just kind of being in and out of the lineup,” said Obobaifo. “I just keep trying to play my game.

“I’m lucky enough a bounce came my way, and I capitalized.”

The visitors pushed their edge to 2-0 with a bank shot power-play goal with 3:26 remaining in the first. Oil Kings 17-year-old rookie right-winger Dylan Dean had the puck at the left side of the Saskatoon net, and he banked a shot off Blades defenceman Kaden Allan into the Saskatoon goal to give the visitors their two-goal edge.

Just 18 seconds later, the Blades got a positive bounce tally to cut the Oil Kings lead to 2-1. Standout 18-year-old offensive-defenceman Brayden Klimpke took a shot from the point that deflected off the arm of Sotheran into the Edmonton net to cut the visitor’s lead down to one goal.

The Blades enjoy an equalizer from Cooper Williams (#16).

Regulation time didn’t have any drama over any penalty calls. For the majority of that part of the contest, the Oil Kings were playing the perfect road game.

Starting in the second period, they took more territorial control of the contest holding an 11-7 edge in shots on goal for that frame. The visitors were more territorially dominant in the third period keeping the Blades pinned in their own zone for extended stretches while holding a 10-3 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

After controlling the entire third period, the Oil Kings gave up a gift icing with 10.1 seconds remaining in the third. Off the draw in the left faceoff circle of the Edmonton zone, a scramble ensued in front the Oil Kings net. Williams ended up with the puck in front of the Edmonton net, and he fired home the equalizer to force a 2-2 tie with exactly seven seconds remaining in the third. That tally also forced overtime.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Blades faithful had been fairly silent through the second and third periods, but they came to life after Williams scored the equalizer to force overtime.

“The crowd to hear that it was pretty cool,” said Williams. “It felt so good to see that one go in for sure.”

The crowd was into the contest in a big way through the two overtime frames. The Blades controlled play in the first overtime period holding a 15-7 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

The Blades best chance to score in the first overtime came on a drive by centre Hayden Harsanyi from the left faceoff circle in the Edmonton zone. His shot got through Oil Kings breakout rookie netminder Parker Snell, and the puck was inching across the crease towards the open net. It was swept off the crease by Oil Kings right-winger Adam Jecho to preserve the tie score at that point in the frame.

Cooper Williams was denied on a prime scoring chance in overtime two.

The hosts had a couple of huge chances to get the winner in the second overtime. Williams found himself at one point alone in front of the Edmonton net with the puck. He tried to put a deke move on to fake out Snell, but the netminder would push the puck off Williams stick and away from the net to end that threat.

A short time later, Parr wired a shot off the post of the Edmonton net. That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the contest that resulted in Holinka’s winner.

Gardner turned away 41 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Snell stopped 37 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings.

Carter Sotheran set up the Oil Kings winning goal.

The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

They have played their best hockey in the post-season. If they are able to beat Edmonton in Game 7, the Blades would be the only team to post a series upset in the first round of the WHL’s post-season.

Blades RW Gavin Clark encounters traffic in the Edmonton zone.

Over the first six games between the Blades and Oil Kings, the road team has pulled out victory four times, with the two squads collecting two road wins each. DaSilva believes that Game 7 is up for grabs for both teams going into it.

“I almost think that the home ice advantage is nothing in this series, honestly,” said DaSilva. “It is so close that is why.

“It is just the games are so close. The margin for error is really thin. I think both teams are leaving it all out there, whether they’re at home or on the road it doesn’t really matter.

The Oil Kings depart to their dressing room after Sunday’s win.

“Game 7, anything can happen. It doesn’t matter if we’re at home or on the road. We’re just going to show up and compete like we always do.”

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Gorzynski works overtime magic for Raiders in 4-3 win

Prince Albert takes first round series over Red Deer 4-1

Brandon Gorzynski (#29) and the Raiders enjoy their OT win.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders weren’t going to be denied in their second shot to advance out of the first round of the WHL Playoffs.

On Friday, the Raiders took on the visiting Red Deer Rebels in Game 5 of a best-of-seven first round series at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders could close out the set with a win, while the Rebels were trying to drag everything back to Red Deer for a Game 6 on Sunday.

With the Raiders holding a 3-2 lead, Rebels rookie defenceman Nate Yellowaga, who turned 18 in March, banked home the equalizer off the skates of Raiders captain Justice Christensen to force a 3-3 tie with 46.3 seconds remaining in the third period and overtime for the first time in the series.

Brandon Gorzynski (#29) reacts to scoring the OT winner.

The Raiders weren’t deterred by the break that didn’t go their way. At the 2:21 mark of overtime, Raiders star left-winger Brandon Gorzynski picked up the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Brayden Dube at the left side of the Red Deer net. Gorzynski proceeded to skate in behind the net and wrap home the winner into an open cage to give the Raiders a 4-3 victory before a raucous standing room crowd of 3,134 spectators at the 2,580 seat rink.

The victory allowed the Raiders to take the series 4-1 and eliminate the Rebels from the post-season.

Brandon Gorzynski (#29) gets set to be mobbed by his teammates.

“Obviously, it feels pretty good, kind of a weight off the shoulders,” said Gorzynski about the winning goal. “I mean they are a good team.

“They pushed us hard, but we didn’t want to go back to Red Deer. It felt amazing, and to get it with those guys. We worked so hard.

“I think we dominated that series, and I think we deserved that one.”

Gorzynski’s winner prevented Rebels star 18-year-old rookie netminder Matthew Kondro from stealing a second straight game. Kondro turned away 48 shots to take the setback in the Red Deer net on Friday giving his squad every chance to win the contest. In Game 4 on Wednesday in Red Deer, Kondro made 35 saves as the Rebels rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to pull out a 4-3 victory to keep the series alive.

The Raiders OT victory celebration ends up along the glass with their fans.

Just when it seemed Kondro might steal another contest on Friday, Gorzynski potted the overtime winner with his second tally of the post-season. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased his side pulled out the series-clinching win on Friday.

“The guys worked hard all game, played the right way, got pucks behind and were relentless,” said McDonald. “Again, it was no different there (on Gorzynski’s overtime winner).

“It was just a great play getting the puck underneath and then getting that shot and then grabbing that second opportunity and wheeling that puck around. He (Gorzynski) did such a great job, and he used his body all night. He was physical, got to the inside, got his looks, and it was nice to see him get rewarded.”

The Raiders faithful celebrates their team’s overtime winner.

Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Brock Cripps picked up the second assist on Gorzynski’s winner by making the first pass that started the club’s rush up ice that resulted in the winning tally. Cripps finished the contest with one goal, two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. He said the feeling was euphoric, when Gorzynski netted the winner.

“I was really excited,” said Cripps. “All the guys on the bench were pretty pumped.

“(We) finally get the job done and move on to the next series.”

Cripps got things going for the Raiders scoring at the 5:49 mark of the opening frame to give his club a 1-0. He came straight down the middle of the Red Deer zone with the puck and ripped a mid-range shot past Kondro for his third tally of the post-season.

Matthew Kondro makes one of his 48 saves in goal for the Rebels.

“It was definitely nice to put one in the back of the net there to get our team going,” said Cripps. “It was a good pass by my D-partner Benett Kelly.

“I think he set me up in a good spot there. It was just good to put the puck in the net.”

Just when it seemed momentum was rolling the Raiders side, the Rebels evened the score at 1-1 on their fifth shot of the contest, when star centre Beckett Hamilton fired home a mid-range shot at the 11:38 mark of the first.

With 55.7 seconds remaining in the first, Dube thought he had scored on a wraparound. The officials blew the play dead, and after a video review, it was ruled the puck did not cross the goal line.

Brock Cripps sets to fire home the Raiders first goal on Friday.

Just 2:08 into the second, Raiders 18-year-old rookie left-winger Owen Corkish put a mid-range shot from the front of the Red Deer net past Kondro to put the Raiders up 2-1.

With 5:34 remaining in the second and the two sides playing four skaters versus four skaters due to offsetting minor penalties, Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett, who turned 20 in early February, broke into the Red Deer zone on a two-on-one break. Burrett proceeded to fake a pass and put a backhand shot past Kondro for a nifty tally that gave the Raiders a 3-1 advantage.

Still, the Rebels didn’t quit, and that has been a traditional trademark of that franchise. Rebels 17-year-old left-winger Kohen Lodge had the puck at a sharp angle to the left side of the Prince Albert goal and fired home a slick shot to the top left corner of the net to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2 with 2:32 remaining in the second.

Beckett Hamilton had the Rebels first goal on Friday.

That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the third with Yellowaga’s equalizer and Gorzynski’s winner in overtime.

“They (the Rebels) are definitely a team that plays hard and doesn’t take a shift off, which is hard to play against,” said Cripps. “Respect to them, they are a good hockey club there, and I think we just stayed with it.”

Michal Orsulak stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

Dube and Evan Smith collected two assists each for the Raiders. Kalder Varga had a pair of assists for the Rebels, while Lodge had a helper to go with his goal for Red Deer.

McDonald was proud of the resilience of his squad, especially after the Rebels got the equalizer from Yellowaga that went off Christensen’s skates. The Raiders bench boss said resilience is a strength with his group of players.

Owen Corkish had the Raiders second goal on Sunday.

“We stay even keel,” said McDonald. “Our leadership group does an absolute tremendous job right down to the youngest guy on the team.

“We just continue to go about our business no matter what happens. The guys came back that next shift after that one went in. We marched down, and we got a couple opportunities right before the final buzzer went.

“We just continued to play the right way and got rewarded over time.”

The Raiders finished first in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the league with a 52-10-5-1 record. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished eighth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 26-36-4-2 mark.

The Raiders and Rebels take part in the handshake line after Game 5.

While the Raiders were the definite favourite in the series, they faced a good challenge in a Rebels side that refused to quit. Now, the Raiders wait to see how the rest of the first round of the WHL Playoffs plays out to see who they will play in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Prince Albert could still play the Calgary Hitmen, Regina Pats or Saskatoon Blades depending on how the rest of the first round plays out.

For now, Gorzynski wants to let the reality of his overtime winning moment to sink in. Having been acquired by the Raiders in a trade with the Hitmen near the midway point of the regular season on December 15, 2025, Gorzynski is pleased to help his Prince Albert teammates. He said he will always look fondly on his overtime series winner against the Rebels.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“It is the most fun feeling one,” said Gorzynski. “Coming here as the new guy on the team and stuff like that, it feels extra good.”

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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Oil Kings’ Holinka hammers Blades with hat trick

Edmonton evens series with Saskatoon 2-2

The Oil Kings celebrate a hat trick goal from Miroslav Holinka (#92).

Miroslav Holinka is becoming the Edmonton Oil Kings version of Connor McDavid.

On Wednesday, the 20-year-old import centre showed why he has become one of the WHL’s superstars. In Game 4 of a best-of-seven first round playoff series against the host Saskatoon Blades, Holinka fired home a hat trick and was a plus-two in the plus- minus department to power the Oil Kings to a 5-2 victory to disappoint most of the 4,834 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

With the win, the Oil Kings even the series at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 6 p.m. local time for Rogers Place in Edmonton. Game 6 is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Miroslav Holinka was on fire for the Oil Kings on Wednesday night.

Holinka, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, came into Wednesday’s contest having posted two goals, two assists and an even rating in the previous three games of the set. He nearly doubled his offensive output for the post-season in one contest.

Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith said Holinka gave his squad the boost they needed to even the series with the Blades.

“He is an experienced player in this league,” said Smith. “He is a 20-year-old guy, and he has expectations to play well and lead our team.

“His game tonight was outstanding, and it was a 200-foot game. He played well on both ends. He was out on the penalty kill and did a real good job.

Lukas Sawchyn had one goal and two assists for the Oil Kings.

“That is what you need from good players is good effort.”

Thanks to his hat trick performance, Holinka’s line had a great night. On Wednesday, Holinka for most of the contest centred a forward unit that contained rookie left-winger Kayden Stroeder, who turned 17-years-old in early March, and star veteran right-winger Lukas Sawchyn.

Stroeder finished with two assists and a plus-one rating, while Sawchyn posted one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating.

“They’re really skilled players,” said Blades head coach Dan DaSilva. “They are some of the best players in the league.

Kayden Stroeder had a pair of assists for the Oil Kings.

“They can make you look silly, if you’re not playing the body on them. I thought tonight we made it too easy on them and kind of let them off the hook a little bit. We’ve been doing a really good job on those guys.

“They are high-end players. They are going to have their nights, (and) they are going to get their looks. We’ve got to try and do a better job of limiting those looks and being more physical on them.”

At the 7:34 mark of the first period, Holinka opened the game’s scoring firing home a shot from the left slot to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

With 5:39 remaining in the first, Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies had a loose puck deflect off his skate from a rebound in front of the Edmonton net to even the score at 1-1.

Before the first came to an end, the Oil Kings would go back in front by scoring on the power play with 1:16 remaining in the stanza on a highlight reel effort by Holinka. Holinka skated through the Blades defence up through the centre of the Saskatoon zone and put home a close in backhand shot for his second of the contest to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.

Kazden Mathies had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

Sawchyn said it is a blast to play on the same line as Holinka, especially when the Czech product makes plays like he does like on his second tally on Wednesday.

“He (Holinka) is a great player and super smart,” said Sawchyn. “He can pretty much throw from anywhere on the ice, so it is fun giving him the puck.”

At the 4:29 mark of the second, the Oil Kings top line rushed into the Saskatoon zone, and Stroeder dropped a smart pass to veteran star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn. Sawchyn fired a perfect snipe to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net to push the Oil Kings lead to 3-1.

The Blades would answer back with 4:27 remaining in the second with a goal from star right-winger Hunter Laing. Laing tapped home a puck at the left side of the Edmonton net after receiving a cross crease feed from veteran defenceman Tristen Doyle to cut the Oil Kings lead to 3-2.

Hunter Laing had the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

Just when the Blades seemed to have the momentum, Holinka would complete his hat trick at an absolute dagger of a time. After catching the Blades on a bad line change, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett received a cross ice pass at the left side of the Saskatoon net from Sawchyn.

Blades star netminder Evan Gardner made a sprawling save but the puck rebounded out to Holinka at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Holinka popped home his hat trick tally with 21.5 seconds remaining in the frame to make the Oil Kings advantage sit at 4-2.

Mathies said his squad has to do a better job at playing against Holinka’s line.

“I think we have to be hard on them and not allow them to make just like the cute plays,” said Mathies. “We have to play physical and close the gap on them as quick as you can, so they can’t make those plays.”

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Blades made a big push in the third outshooting the Oil Kings 14-7 in the frame, but they weren’t able to put any pucks past Oil Kings veteran netminder Ethan Simcoe. Saskatoon even got to work on a four-minute power play as Oil Kings centre Andrew O’Neill picked up a double-minor for slew-footing. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL Office for a possible suspension.

Oil Kings import right-winger Adam Jecho scored into an empty net with 2.2 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 5-2 final score in favour of the visitors.

Tristen Doyle had a slick assist for the Blades.

Gardner turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Ethan Simcoe stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings. 

The Oil Kings are without 17-year-old rookie netminder Parker Snell with an undisclosed ailment. Associate player call up Elias Mitrikas, who is a 15-year-old who played for the North Shore Warriors Under-18 Prep Club, dressed as Edmonton’s backup netminder.

The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

Landon Hanson sets to shoot in the offensive zone for the Oil Kings.

At the moment, the Blades have shown they can compete at the same level as the Oil Kings. DaSilva is confident in his group going into Game 5, and he believes his players will be better than they were in Game 4.

“I think that we lacked a little bit of bite in our game,” said DaSilva. “It was not the game that you’ve seen from our group through three games in the series.

“They are a good team, (and) we knew they were going to push back. They were going to have their best effort here tonight. They didn’t want to be going home down 3-1.

“It is a best of three series. Anything can happen. We feel comfortable playing in Roger’s Place.”

Smith said his Oil Kings didn’t expect the series against the Blades would be a short one. As the two clubs head into the deep waters of the series, Smith said his squad will just focus on the next game.

The Oil Kings celebrate their Game 4 win on Wednesday.

“I think we kind of talked about it from the start of the playoffs that it is a game by game reset,” said Smith. “You’ve got to be prepared to play hard games.

“It is going to be very competitive, and you’ve got to be emotionally and physically involved in it to wear through it.”

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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Tigers rebound in Regina

Medicine Hat praises youthful Pats in playoff battle

Keets Fawcett, left, of the Pats chases Noah Davidson of the Tigers.

REGINA, Sask. – It was a great night to be a fan of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Tuesday playing before 3,603 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Tigers downed the host Regina Pats by a convincing margin of 8-2 in Game 3 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the set with Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

The victory was a big one for the Tigers, who dropped a 4-2 decision to the Pats in Game 2 on Saturday at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Before that Game 2 encounter, the Tigers had beaten the Pats 12 straight times, where Regina’s previous victory was a 5-4 overtime win on home ice back on January 20, 2024.

Zach Moore was snake bitten with a disallowed goal.

While Medicine Hat won by a convincing final score on Tuesday, Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins saluted his team’s youthful foes in the Pats.

“I thought Regina played well,” said Desjardins. “They were right there early.

“I thought our goaltending played well early. They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team.

“They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team. We’re going to have to play good.”

Medicine Hat came into the first round series as heavy favourites to beat Regina. The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third in the league’s overall standings. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Yaroslav Bryzgalov scored the Tigers first goal on Tuesday.

The Pats finished seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 25-34-7-2 mark. The Regina side is a more youthful side that is starting to see positive results from a rebuild. The Pats strength is in their younger age groups seen in forwards Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue, who are playing half-time with the squad as 15-year-old underage players.

Tigers captain Bryce Pickford has been impressed with the young Pats. He was happy his club came up with the rebound win on Tuesday night, but he said he is aware of what the Pats are capable of doing.

“They’re a really good team,” said Pickford. “They came into our barn for the second game, and they stole it from us.

Kade Stengrim scored the Tigers second goal on Tuesday.

“We can’t underestimate them. We knew they were going to be good tonight. We had all the energy.

“We knew what we had to do, and we did it.”

Just 1:48 into the contest, the Pats were snake bitten by some bad luck. Zack Moore, who is a 19-year-old centre, appeared to score on a backhand shot, but the goal was waved off as he scored it using a broken stick. He also received a delay of game penalty on the play for using the broken stick, but the Regina side was able to kill off the infraction.

Bryce Pickford posted one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating.

The Tigers weren’t deterred without being able to score on that power play. At the 7:47 mark of the first, import left-winger Yaroslav Bryzgalov sniped home a shot from low down in close to the left side of the Regina net to put the visitors up 1-0.

With seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, Pats left-winger Keets Fawcett drew a penalty shot on a rush to the Medicine Hat net. On his penalty shot attempt, he was stoned by Tigers starting netminder Jordan Switzer.

After that missed chance by the host side, Tigers left-winger Kade Stengrim scored with 6:06 remaining in the third and Pickford tallied with 34.7 seconds remaining in the frame to push the visitor’s advantage out to 3-0. 

Andrew Basha (#34) celebrates his first of two goals on Tuesday.

The Tigers exited the opening frame holding that 3-0 lead, while having a 13-12 edge in shots on goal.

Pickford said his squad caught a couple of breakings in the opening 20 minutes, especially with Moore’s disallowed goal early in the frame.

“I think that luck was definitely on our side there with that no goal,” said Pickford. “We got lucky.

“We’re lucky the stick broke there. We got a bounce, and then we bounced back and we scored. They’re a really good team.

“They started off hot. They played better than us in the first I thought, and we just found a way to win the game.”

Just 43 seconds into the second, import left-winger Ruslan Karimov scored for the Pats to cut the Tigers lead to 3-1. 

Liam Pue scored his first WHL post-season goal on Tuesday.

Tigers star 20-year-old left-winger Andrew Basha responded with a pair of goals coming at the 9:53 and 12:25 marks respectively to push Medicine Hat’s lead out to 5-1.

Following Basha’s second goal, the Pats pulled starting goalie Marek Schlenker, who turned away 14-of-19 shots taking the setback in net for Regina. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 17-of-20 shots playing the rest of the way in relief in the Pats net.

Regina responded quickly to the netminder change. 

Just 29 seconds after Basha’s second tally, Pue netted his first career WHL post-season goal for the Pats to trim the Tigers lead to 5-2.

Maddox Schultz brings the puck up ice for the Pats.

The Tigers proceeded to stall any momentum the Pats gained. With 30.2 seconds remaining in the second, Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham wired home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Regina net to give the visitors a 6-2 advantage heading into the second intermission.

Noah Davidson and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll added singles for the Tigers in the third to round out the 8-2 final score in favour of Medicine Hat.

Switzer stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

Pickford said his squad has to continue to be aware of what the Pats are capable of.

Markus Ruck congratulations Jordan Switzer on a good game.

“They’re a young team, but they played really good,” said Pickford, who had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-three in the plus-minus department for the Tigers. “Their forwards are fast.

“Their “D” are good. We just have to keep it going. After the first game, we kind of let off and then they took the second game. I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to learn from this game is that we’ve got to keep it going more than just one game.

“They are a really good team over there. We’re going to get their best next game, so we’ve got to be ready.”

Desjardins said Tuesday’s game was a lot closer than the final score said it was. He has been impressed with the Pats’ battle, and he expects the Regina side to continue to play hard for the rest of the series.

“They’re giving us everything we can possibly handle,” said Desjardins. “We were worried coming in tonight for sure.

A group of Tigers players close the night with their prayer circle.

“We were taking nothing for granted. They played well at home and in our building. They’ll be playing hard tomorrow.

“We know that.”

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Raiders taking advantage of Rebels youth on defense

Jake Missura (#3) chats with Brandon Gorzynski and Justice Christensen.

The Prince Albert Raiders have been merciless when it comes to taking advantage of the youth on the Red Deer Rebels defense.

One of the facts on life in the WHL is teams will capitalize on an area you can take advantage of in an opponent and keep doing it again and again and again until you pick up the win. That type of development becomes larger in a best-of-seven post-season series.

That is becoming evident in the best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the Raiders and the Rebels. The Raiders lead the series 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 to be hosted Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at the Merchant Crane Centrum in Red Deer.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

At this point in their development, they are an experienced and more veteran team that also has a youthful contingent who are proving to be special players. The steady veterans include 20-year-olds in captain Justice Christensen, Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring along with Braeden Cootes, Brandon Gorzynski, Maddix McCagherty and Linden Burrett.

The youngsters who are playing beyond their age include Daxon Rudolph, Brock Cripps, Ben Harvey, Connor Howe and netminder Steele Bass. On Monday, the 16-year-old Cripps was named the WHL’s rookie of the week for posting two goals, two assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in Prince Albert’s victories in Games 1 and 2 of the series at the Art Hauser Centre.

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