Berries WCBL championship win highlights August 2026

The Berries raise the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy as WCBL champs.

The Saskatoon Berries are the boys of spring and summer in “The Bridge City.”

They made Cairns Field the place to be in Saskatoon, and in three years, they created the best day ever locally to be at a baseball park.

On Sunday, August 16, the Berries thumped the Sylvan Lake Gulls 11-1 in Game 2 of the WCBL Championship Series at Cairns Field to sweep the best-of-three set 2-0. The Berries captured their first league championship in just their third year of existence in front of a record crowd of 2,579 spectators.

Before that moment, the Berries faithful, known as the “Jam Fam,” got a trial run about what winning a league title at home might feel like.

Merek Yeager delivers a pitch for the Berries in the WCBL final.

Just four days earlier on Wednesday, August 12, the Berries downed the Moose Jaw Miller Express 7-4 to sweep the best-of-three WCBL East Division Championship Series at Cairns Field. The crowd of 2,467 spectators, which was the Berries record crowd at that time, were roaring at the final pitch and that roar amplified after the final out was caught in right field.

The song “Oh, What a Night” that was released in 1963 by The Four Seasons echoed in the park as the Berries stormed the field in celebration. It felt like that night was the perfect night, but there was no certainty that scene would play out again in the WCBL Championship Series against the Gulls.

AP catcher Aiden Kilshaw was a key player in the Berries post-season run.

In Game 1 of the WCBL final played on Saturday, August 15 at Gulls Stadium in Sylvan Lake, the Berries pulled out a 4-1 victory. In Saskatoon, excitement started to immediately build for a potential league championship win the next night at Cairns Field.

The Berries weren’t going to be denied a series sweep. Game 2 of the WCBL final started with the Berries jumping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings of play, before the Gulls responded with one run in the top of the third to cut Saskatoon’s advantage to 3-1.

The host side exploded for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to surge ahead 8-1 and cruised to victory from that point. The sixth-inning surge allowed the “Fam Jam” to soak in and enjoy the championship victory.

The Berries celebrate scoring two runs in Game 2 of the WCBL final.

A great Saskatchewan story played out on the mound in that WCBL title clinching game. Merek Yeager, who is a 19-year-old from Muenster, Saskatchewan, got the start on the hill for Saskatoon. The right-handed hurler picked up the win striking out four batters and scattering seven hits and a walk over six innings of work.

Brooks Jones, who is a left-handed pitcher from Lawrence, Kansas, struck out five batters in holding the Gulls scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings.

Howetown product Colin Plain, who has been with the Berries for all three seasons of their existence, got the call to close out the night in the ninth inning. The right-handed hurler struck out three out of the four batters he faced, while giving up a double in the mix to start the celebration in earnest.

Ethan Murdoch drives a hit for the Berries in the WCBL final.

At the plate, first baseman Josh Henson nailed a three-run homer to start the surge in the sixth inning. Henson’s round-tripper put the Berries up 6-1 and turned the feeling of what could be a close game into a fairly secure comfort belief that the great night was truly on for the Saskatoon side.

As an extra bonus, catcher Aiden Kilshaw, who was originally from Swift Current and moved to Saskatoon, nailed a solo shot in the seventh inning to give the Berries an 8-1 advantage at that point in time. Kilshaw, who will turn 18-years-old on September 4, was an associate player who joined the Berries on a full-time basis after his final season concluded in late July with the Saskatoon Cubs U18 AAA team.

One year earlier, Kilshaw helped the Cubs win their seventh Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League championship. With the Berries in the 2026 post-season, Kilshaw went 9-for-27 at the plate for a .333 batting average, two home runs and 10 RBI.

Gael Salinas became a fan favourite with the Berries.

Right-handed relief pitcher Wesley Shackelford, who is from Belleville, Texas, was named the MVP of the WCBL playoffs. In four games of work, Shackelford threw nine scoreless innings striking out 14 batters, while giving up one hit and one walk.

He picked up the pitching win in the Berries 7-3 victory over the Regina Red Sox in Game 1 of a WCBL semifinal series on Friday, August 7 at Cairns Field. Shackelford earned the save in the Berries 5-3 win over the Red Sox in a series-deciding Game 3 just two nights later.

Following that 2-1 series victory over the Red Sox, Shackelford came in to get the save in the WCBL East Division Series clinching Game 2 win over the Miller Express. He was on the hill for the Berries picking up the save in their Game 1 victory of the WCBL final over the Gulls in Sylvan Lake.

The Berries begin celebrating their WCBL championship win.

The WCBL championship win closed out the playing career for Berries right-fielder and Swift Current, Sask., product Ethan Murdoch. He was the first member of the Berries to lift the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy after the squad became WCBL champions.

It allowed second baseman, fan favourite and Guanajuato, Mexico, product Gael Salinas cap a memorable first series with the Berries, which saw him represent the club in the WCBL’s All-Star Weekend which Saskatoon hosted on July 18 and 19.

Part of the “Fam Jam” at Cairns Field cheers on the Berries.

The Berries win helped further build the WCBL legend of the team’s head coach in Joe Carnahan. Officially hired by the Berries on July 5, 2023, Carnahan was part of six WCBL championship winners in Swift Current.

He was a player for three title wins in 2001, 2005 and 2006, and he was the team’s head coach for championship victories in 2010, 2016 and 2017. Carnahan stepped down as the head coach and general manager of the Swift Current franchise on September 21, 2020.

With Carnahan as head coach, the Berries got through their growing pains quickly. In their inaugural 2024 campaign, the Berries finished sixth overall in the 12-team circuit with a 31-26 record and fell in a series-deciding Game 3 to the Miller Express in the East Division Championship Series.

The Berries relish lifting the Harry Hallis Memorial Trophy.

In 2025, the Berries topped the league’s overall standings with a 46-9 mark, and their win total was a WCBL record for most wins in one regular season. They again fell in a series-deciding Game 3 in the East Division Championship Series this time to the Red Sox, who advanced on to claim the WCBL title.

This past season, the Berries finished fourth overall in the WCBL with a 38-18 mark. They rolled in the post-season posting a 6-1 record that included finishing with a five-game winning streak. They were 4-0 at home and 2-1 on the road.

Steve Hildebrand, left, and Joe Carnahan enjoy their WCBL title win.

Carnahan was named the WCBL coach of the year for a fifth time following the 2025 campaign. On July 11, Carnahan got to see one his Berries grads in Carnduff, Saskatchewan, product Carter Beck, who played centrefield, be selected in the first round and 26^th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the MLB Draft. Beck became the highest ever Saskatchewan born player to be picked in the MLB Draft.

Of course, Berries president Steve Hildebrand played a big role in bringing Carnahan to Saskatoon and creating a culture that allowed Carnahan and the rest of the organization to realize all this remarkable early success. They all helped create a game day atmosphere making Cairns Field a field of dreams with various promotions and concessions that contained various items that contained Saskatoon Berries.

It was fitting that following the WCBL title win on August 16 that a large number of the families and billet families of the Berries players, coaches and staffers got to take part in the championship celebrations on the Cairns Field turf. It started with a big fireworks show and ran long into the night.

The Berries WCBL title win will be a forever memory.

Ultimately, the WCBL championship win was one that everyone with the Berries organization was a part of resulting in a moment that will always be a cherished and joyful memory for the rest of their lives.

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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Taylor cemented in Hilltops lore with Canadian Bowl pick

Zaden Taylor is a team captain for the Hilltops.

Zaden Taylor already has a moment that ensures he will forever be part of the Saskatoon Hilltops storied lore.

During last year’s CJFL Championship Game played on November 9 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, Hilltops kicker Ryden Gratton booted a 37-yard field goal with 28.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put the host Saskatoon side up 21-18 over the Okanagan Sun. On the ensuing Sun drive, Taylor, who has built a playmaking reputation at outside linebacker, intercepted Sun quarterback Liam Kroeger to seal the 21-18 victory for the Hilltops and allow them to raise the Canadian Bowl winning their 24^th CJFL title.

“I just remember getting swarmed by my teammates and that amazing feeling,” said Taylor. “To have something that incredible happen and a memory like that happen and get to celebrate with my teammates literally right beside me as it happened, it was pretty surreal.

“It is hard not to overplay it in my head.”

When the Sun got the ball at that point in the game, they needed to gain yards in chunks in order to get in range for a game tying field goal. Taylor remembers things were happening at a frantic pace on the play when the opportunity presented itself for him to make his interception that closed out victory.

“That one I believe it was more of a broken play, because I remember covering into the like hook/curl a little deeper,” said Taylor, who stands 6-feet and weighs 215 pounds. “I remember feeling the receiver that was trying to like hook around me was completely covered.

“I saw it was their main receiver. He kind of cut on it. It looked to be like he was either coming from an out or he skied across the field, and I saw (Liam) Kroeger’s eyes just all over him.

“I just break on the ball and try to make a play on it.”

Legendary Hilltops head coach Tom Sargeant has seen many team members over the decades make countless big plays dating back to when he first joined the club as a receiver way back in 1983. With Taylor’s game-clinching interception occurring right in front of the Hilltops bench, Sargeant said that moment was forever burned into his memory.

“It sealed the victory to our 24^th national championship,” said Sargeant, who has guided the Hilltops to 15 CJFL title wins as head coach to go along with two victories as a assistant coach and his first coming in 1985 as a player. “I’ll never forget that moment when he made that play and ran over and gave me the football.

“Right then and there, we knew we were taking these to celebrate a great team victory. Zaden’s been a kid that since he walked in on the first day he has been very important to us. He started as a defensive back, and then because of his football IQ and his playmaking ability and toughness, we moved him to linebacker to the “sam” position.

“He has been patrolling that greatly for the last couple of years and done a tremendous job. He is a team captain now, and as I said, he is very important to our defensive success and team success.”

Taylor joined the Hilltops for their 12-0 CJFL championship season in 2023 from the Delisle Composite High School Rebels nine-a-side football program. At that time, he was the rookie looking to capitalize on every repetition that came his way.

Zaden Taylor unloads a big hit on a Regina Thunder receiver last season.

This season, Taylor is now a grizzled fourth-year veteran and a defensive captain. The 21-year-old is living the days he envisioned getting here when he was a rookie.

“It is pretty cool to be on the other end of it,” said Taylor, who had 25 total tackles, one quarterback sack and four pass knockdowns in the Hilltops eight regular season games in 2025. “I remember as a rookie watching those older guys play hoping I’d be there one day.

“Now that I’m here, it is as cool as I thought it would be. To start for a team as prestigious as the Hilltops is pretty surreal, and it is awesome.”

Taylor’s football journey began when he was a youngster playing in Saskatoon Minor Football’s flag program, when his family lived in Saskatoon. He got a taste of tackle football playing in the Kinsmen Football League.

By the time Taylor entered high school, his family had moved out to Asquith, which is a town located about 55 kilometres straight west of Saskatoon. While going to Lord Asquith School, Taylor was allowed to play with the Rebels due to the fact his school didn’t have a tackle football program.

As a result, Taylor was traveling by car 30 minutes from Asquith to Delisle almost daily for football practices and games during the high school season. During his high school days, Taylor said he found at that time he really enjoyed the physicality of the game.

“I played hockey a lot as a kid, and I was always a big physical player,” said Taylor, who played linebacker and a little bit of running back for the Rebels. “Football kind of brings more physicality into a sport.

“I just kind of enjoyed it from there. Hitting heads is fun.”

The Rebels have built their own strong history having four provincial titles starting in 2002. With that squad, Taylor gained an experience of football being family.

“The camaraderie of that team is really fun,” said Taylor. “You get to know the guys a lot, because we did a lot of summer practices together – just like captains-led practices and all that.

“It was a winning culture out there. There was a lot of winning to do out there and a lot of fun to have after the wins.”

When his high school days concluded, Taylor’s former Rebels teammate in current Hilltops star running back Corbin Ebben just finished his first season with the venerable CJFL club. Taylor’s then current Rebels teammate in offensive lineman Tobin Kirkness was going to Hilltops winter workouts, so defensive standout decided to give that experience a chance.

Zaden Taylor has built a playmaking reputation at outside linebacker.

“I had nothing else going on after high school,” said Taylor, who was teammates with Kirkness on the Hilltops in 2023 and 2024. “I said, “Why not, and I’ll give it a try.”

“It turns out I really enjoyed it even further being around guys that were around my skill level to way better than me. It was a lot of fun to learn from those guys.”

When Taylor joined the Hilltops, Sargeant said it was noticeable how much the Rebels grad was improving each week, each month and ultimately each year. The Hilltops coaches were devising ways to get Taylor more involved on the defensive side of the game.

“He (Taylor) has got great instincts,” said Sargeant. “Sometimes, we put him on a blitz opportunity to impact the game.

“He is one of those playmakers that knows how to get to the ball, and when he gets there, he does something real productive. He is a high-end player, and we’re very fortunate that he is a big part of our success game in and game out.”

Now that Taylor is in his fourth year, Sargeant said the coaches are looking forward to how the skilled linebacker will run with the role of being a team leader.

“Well number one, we’re here to defend a national championship,” said Sargeant. “We’re here to get the 25^th national championship for our tradition, for our fifth-year players and for the city of Saskatoon.

“We’re embracing everything that comes our way. We know it is not going to be easy. We know the spotlight is on us, so we’ve got to take it on.

“I need my best players, my leaders, people like Zaden, players like Zaden, they’ve got to be the best players and the best leaders. If we do that, then we’ve got a chance to be playing in the biggest, best games, and that is what it is all about.”

Taylor said a big turning point last season came when the Hilltops fell in their regular season opener 31-11 to the Rifles in Winnipeg on August 10, 2025 at Maple Grove Rugby Park. He said the veterans led by example from that point onwards to winning the CJFL title.

“It was a tough start to the season,” said Taylor. “We lose to Winnipeg.

“We had I think our third string quarterback in at the time. We didn’t know what was going to happen going into that game, but I do believe we were overconfident in it anyway. From there, the coaches really got on us, and I think that was the biggest momentum changer.

“When you see all the older guys working as hard as they are after a loss like that, it just motivates the entire team to get better, and that is just exactly what happened.”

Taylor said he wants to carry on what he learned from his former veteran teammates who have graduated from the historic squad. When his Hilltops days wrap up, Taylor would like to continue playing the sport, but for now, he wants to fully live in the moment playing for the blue and gold.

Zaden Taylor (#8) enjoys getting a sack last season.

“If an opportunity arises after my fifth year, I’d definitely give it a lot of consideration,” said Taylor. “For right now, the focus is finishing my years off here with the Hilltops and hopefully getting two more championships.”

This piece first appeared in the Saskatoon Hilltops game program on August 23, 2026.

After far from storybook season, McKenna first overall NHL pick

Beating adversity will be asset in new life with Leafs

Gavin McKenna, centre, dons a Leafs jersey. (Photo by Natalie Shaver/CHL)

In the year leading up to being the first overall selection in the NHL Entry Draft, Gavin McKenna traveled a path no else has ever travelled.

Last Friday, McKenna was picked first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft held at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Pop superstar Justin Bieber, who is from London, Ontario, put on a WWE style promo in making the first overall pick for the Leafs, and in the process he drew huge amounts of loud boos from the partisan Buffalo fans adding to the entertainment spectacle of the event.

From that moment, McKenna, who is from Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, has had a love in with the Leafs organization, their fans and Toronto as a city. The honeymoon phase of McKenna’s arrival in Toronto is definitely on.

The 18-year-old left-winger ultimately ended up where he was supposed to be after navigating a 2025-26 campaign with the Penn State University Nittany Lions that contained various twists and turns. During that campaign, McKenna dealt with criticisms coming from a slow first half of the season to dealing with legal matters that came up early in the second half of the campaign.

The adversity McKenna faced might make him ready for the adversity he will eventually encounter playing in the fishbowl setting the Leafs deal with in Toronto that is unlike any other market in the NHL.

Back in June of 2025, McKenna was targeted to be the consensus first overall selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. He had just come off a sensational 17-year-old season in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2024-25.

In 56 regular season games, McKenna, who stands 6-feet and weighs 170 pounds, piled up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department. He helped the Tigers finish second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 record.

McKenna proceeded to help the Tigers win their sixth WHL title in team history posting a 16-2 mark in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. He played in 16 games in the WHL Playoffs recording nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points to go with a plus-14 rating.

The Tigers proceeded to advance to the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion. At that year’s tournament played in Rimouski, Quebec, Medicine Hat topped the preliminary round standings with a 3-0 mark to make the event’s championship game. In the Memorial Cup title clash, the Tigers fell 4-1 to the London Knights, who are a storied powerhouse in the OHL.

In the four games the Tigers played at the Memorial Cup tournament, McKenna had three goals and three assists and a plus-two rating.

Gavin McKenna in action in the 2025 WHL final.

He piled up the trophy case with all sorts of individual honours that season. The honours that came McKenna’s way included being named the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL player of the year and being named the CHL player of the year. I even had one or two hockey observers tell me they thought McKenna was more NHL ready than phenom centre Connor Bedard was when he joined the Chicago Blackhawks as an 18-year-old.

Due to the fact McKenna didn’t turn 18 until December 20, 2025, he wasn’t eligible for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft that was held June 27 to 28 of that year in Los Angeles, California. Had McKenna been eligible for that draft, he would have been selected first overall.

Back when the Tigers selected McKenna first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, they were expecting to have him for his 18-year-old season due to his December birth date. That all changed on November 7, 2024 when the NCAA Division I Council voted to abolish old rules that classified CHL players as professional.

Starting on August 1, 2025, players from the CHL’s three major junior circuits in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL were eligible to play for NCAA Division I teams. Basically, CHL players will maintain NCAA eligibility as long as they have not signed an entry-level contract with an NHL team.

Since 2021, the NCAA’s guidelines regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) changed, and athletes were now able to make money through NIL deals. With McKenna being viewed in June 2025 as the consensus first overall selection for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, the writing was on the wall that NCAA teams were in a recruiting battle to bring him to the United States.

McKenna officially committed to joining the Nittany Lions on July 8, 2025. In July, ESPN reported McKenna’s NIL money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of US$700,000.

It seemed like McKenna was poised to have a dream season with Penn State before joining the NHL. Fairly or unfairly depending on your view, the NIL payout to McKenna brought expectations to perform. He ended up having the most roller-coaster season of his hockey career to date, which inadvertently might prepare him for life with the Leafs.

During the first half of the 2025-26 campaign with the Nittany Lions, McKenna came face to face with tonnes of criticism from media that covers NCAA Division I men’s hockey for being underwhelming. He recorded four goals, 14 assists and a minus-five rating in his first 16 games with Penn State.

Observers that saw McKenna play in the NCAA during that time said he has been outstanding skating on the power play or four-versus-four situations when he has time and space on the ice. The NCAA league is filled with players aged 18 to 23 with the majority being aged 20 to 23 and that changed things for McKenna when it came to five-on-five play.

When it came to McKenna’s five-on-five play going against players who are more physically developed because of their age, observers said McKenna hadn’t been good. Observers noted McKenna has shown a lack of engagement and been unwilling to compete in those situations. The word “passenger” was used to describe McKenna’s effort when it came to five-on-five play.

Gavin McKenna was the CHL player of the year in 2024-25.

The criticisms of McKenna’s play intensified at World Juniors, which were played from December 26, 2025 to this past January 5 in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The criticisms reached their height after Canada fell 6-4 to Czechia in a semifinal contest on January 4 in Saint Paul.

In that loss, McKenna had one assist and took some bad penalties inside the last six minutes of the third period. On the eye test, he didn’t look good during five-on-five play and made business decisions bowing away from spots where he had to compete and battle for the puck. The fact McKenna lost his cool after Czechia’s empty-net goal inside the final 30 seconds of that game where he got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and a 10-minute misconduct didn’t help things.

At that point, it was pretty definite McKenna was not a lock to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Skilled forward Ivar Stenberg of Sweden, who played for that country’s Frolunda FC men’s team, and Canadian defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who is an alum of the WHL’s Victoria Royals and was playing for the NCAA’s University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks, entered the chat.

On the ice, the semifinal loss ended up being the turning point of McKenna’s season. It seemed like he was hearing the noise at that point.

In Canada’s 6-3 bronze medal win over Finland one night later in Saint Paul, he looked a lot more dialed in when it came to playing a strong game at both ends of the ice. He finished with one goal and three assists to be named the game MVP for Canada.

In Canada’s seven overall games at World Juniors, McKenna recorded four goals, 10 assists and a plus-seven rating.

During the second half of the Nittany Lions season, he skated in 19 games recording 11 goals, 22 assists and a minus-two rating. On the season in Penn State, McKenna finished with 51 points coming off 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games to go with a minus-seven rating. The Nittany Lions made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division I championship tournament and fell 3-1 to the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 3-1 at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York on March 27.

Penn State finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 21-14-2 overall record. McKenna was Big Ten Conference Scoring Champion with 38 points coming off 11 goals and 27 assists in 24 conference games. He was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10- Finalist amongst the accolades he piled up for the season.

During the second half of the season, McKenna hit a big bump off the ice on January 31 following his team’s 5-4 overtime loss against the Michigan State University Spartans in an outdoor contest played at Beaver Stadium before 74,575 spectators on the Penn State campus.

Following an alleged physical altercation on the evening of January 31 in downtown State College, McKenna was charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanour simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. According to the Onward State media outlet, the incident occurred at 8:45 p.m. in front of the Pugh Street Parking Garage and McKenna and his group were coming from Doggie’s Pub. He was arraigned on February 4 and released on $20,000 unsecure bail.

Gavin McKenna has faced adversity since leaving the Tigers.

On February 6 after reviewing a video of the altercation, Centre County District Attorney and State College Police decided that the video showed there was no evidence that McKenna had acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury and the aggravated assault charge was dropped.

On April 21, Forbes reported McKenna waived his formal arraignment in Pennsylvania court, which is a procedural step that moves his criminal case forward without requiring him to appear in person for that hearing. Basically at that point, the defendant’s lawyer confirmed receipt of the charges and a not guilty plea is generally entered automatically. The Forbes piece said that move is largely for procedural efficiency allowing the case to proceed without an additional court date that rarely changes the direction of the matter.

McKenna’s case has been advanced into the pretrial phase of the criminal process. At this stage, both sides engage in work to see if the matter can be resolved without a trial. Alternative resolutions are also explored at this point.

The Forbes article goes on to say McKenna will raise the self-defence argument as he is facing only misdemeanour charges, and his defence counsel is also likely telling prosecutors that no jury will convict McKenna given the claim that he was acting to protect his mother, Krystal, while also being harassed by the victim along with the fact he is a first time offender.

After that development, Krystal was charged on April 29 with two misdemeanour counts of furnishing alcohol to minors for an alleged incident occurring on the evening of January 31 inside Doggies Pub.

From what I can tell, these legal matters are still ongoing. In the time since Gavin’s initial arrest, I had a couple of folks message me that live in the United States to tell me it is common in that country for people to antagonize celebrities into getting the celebrity to attack them in order to get a big payout in civil court with a lawsuit over physical damages.

Looking at how the case is playing out with the McKenna family, I believe and speculate this whole situation stinks of the victim potentially trying to get a payout from Gavin or law enforcement officers trying to make up for missteps in doing their jobs. Still, I have learned from court reporters over the years to never be certain about the outcomes a court system will give to a case. The McKenna family legal situation has the potential to not go away any time soon and continue to be a pain in the butt dealing with the lesser charges.

In another smaller adversity that came up, Gavin McKenna did take on criticism for deciding against playing for Canada at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Men’s World Championship held this past May 15 to 31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland, to better prepare for the NHL Draft Combine. The Combine was held in the KeyBank Center in Buffalo from June 1 to 6, and McKenna finished in the top 10 of five of the fitness tests.

With having to deal with all these adversities in the last 12 months, McKenna might be the most prepared prospect to ever play for the Leafs and the fishbowl that goes with playing in Toronto. He has also traveled a path no other first overall NHL Entry Draft selection has ever had to travel.

McKenna is also a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation citizen, and he became the second Indigenous player to go first overall in the NHL Entry Draft with centre Dale McCourt going to the Detroit Red Wings in 1977. If McKenna flourishes into NHL stardom with the Leafs, he could make a major societal impact in being a major positive influence in Indigenous communities.

Gavin McKenna (#72) celebrates scoring a goal in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

Due to the fact he is going to play in Toronto, it is not naïve to say more adversities are coming McKenna’s way. Those adversities would be hard pressed to be more challenging than the ones he has come across over the past 12 months.

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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Huskies flood 2026 class for Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame

Dean Bertoia shakes hands with Kent Kowalski, right.

The announcement of the 2026 class for the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame turned out to be a banner day for alums from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

On Thursday during a news conference at the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building on the Gordie Howe Sports complex grounds, five athletes, three builders and one team were named to the 2026 class for the Hall. The Hall also named the Saskatoon 60+ Hockey League as the Sports Organization of the Year. The official induction dinner will take place on Saturday, November 7 at 5:30 p.m. at Prairieland Park.

The Huskies alums entering the Hall in that athletes category include Dean Bertoia in track and field, Terry Johnson in wrestling and Kent Kowalski in soccer. The lone team inductee for the 2026 class is the 2003-04 Huskies Men’s Volleyball Team that captured Canada West Conference and U Sports championships. Back in 2003-04, U Sports was known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

Kowalski played five seasons as a keeper for the Huskies Men’s Soccer Team from 1988 to 1992 picking up one second team all-Canadian all-star award and one first team all-Canadian all-star nod. Following his Huskies playing days, Kowalski has served as an assistant coach for the Huskies soccer program for most of the last 25 years. He was pumped to find out he was going to be part of the 2026 class for the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

“It is a great honour,” said Kowalski. “If you look at a lot of the faces and names that are in the Hall, it is nice to be considered as part of that group.

“Saskatoon has had so many great athletes over the years. I’m just happy to be considered. It is always an honour to be recognized for your past achievements.”

The 2003-04 Huskies Men’s Volleyball Team will get to have their third big reunion in the last four years. In 2023, they were inducted to the University of Saskatchewan Athletic Wall of Fame, and they entered the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2024. Brian Gavlas, who is the head coach for the 2003-04 Huskies squad, said everyone with that team was pretty happy to get the nod to join the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.

“It is a great honour,” said Gavlas. “There are a lot of outstanding athletes, builders and teams that are in the Hall.

“Being able to join that group and then also to join some of the groups that have been successful in our sport as well, I think it is a good honour and something that all of our guys and our team and hopefully the university is very proud of.”

Kowalski had a lengthy playing career in soccer that wrapped around his time with the Huskies. He played in the 1989 Canada Summer Game as a keeper for Saskatchewan’s provincial team.

Bob Reindl shakes hands with Brian Gavlas, right.

Kowalski played professionally for the Winnipeg Fury in the now defunct first Canadian Soccer League for three years. He helped the Fury win the Mita Cup in 1992 as CSL champions, which turned out to be that circuit’s final campaign of operation.

In 2012 at age 41, Kowalski played his final game as a keeper at the Canadian’s men’s amateur soccer championship helping the Huskie United Soccer Association of Saskatoon win bronze. Those experiences created a tone of lasting impressions.

“My biggest memories were with the Huskie days just getting lots of work and action,” said Kowalski. “The team at that time was so critical to development.

“I certainly remember some of the games in the Canada Games, because that was sort of a launching point for me in my career. My first start in the Canadian Soccer League I’ll always remember more than any other game in my career. And then, honestly, the final game at age 41 at nationals and playing it.

“I’m not sure I had the skills at that point, but they believed in me enough to play me, and it was a good way to finish my career.”

In the Fury’s CSL championship season in 1992, Kowalski backed up Pat Onstad, who is a member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. The Fury faced the Vancouver 86ers in a two-game series in the CSL final.

In Game 1 in Winnipeg, the Fury posted a 2-0 victory, and they sealed the series win with a 1-1 draw in Game 2 in Vancouver. Kowalski holds that campaign close to his heart.

“I was fortunate at the time I came through to be on that team,” said Kowalski. “Those first two years there were a little bit rougher.

“Then halfway through that 92 season if you look back at the quality of that team, I’d say the majority of those players ended up playing for Canada’s national team and were part of that Gold Cup winning team (in 2000). Even if you watch a lot of the Canadian soccer games now, a lot of those players are still mentioned. It was incredible, and to beat Vancouver at home in that final (home) game, it is hard to overlook having that opportunity at that age.”

The 2003-04 Huskies Men’s Volleyball Team was playing in an era where they were constantly battling the University of Manitoba Bisons and the University of Alberta Golden Bears for top spot in both Canada West and U Sports as a whole. The Huskies finished third in the Canada West regular season standings with a 14-6 mark behind both Alberta and Manitoba.

The Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame presser attracted a good gathering.

U of S proceeded to sweep the Trinity Western University Spartans 2-0. In the Canada West Final Four hosted by the University of Manitoba, the Huskies got past the Golden Bears in the semifinal 3-1 and slipped past the Bisons 3-2 in the conference final. The Bisons were both the defending Canada West and U Sports champions entering the 2003-04 campaign.

At the U Sports Championship Tournament hosted by the Universite Laval in Quebec City, the Huskies downed Universite de Sherbrooke Vert et Or 3-0 in a quarter-final and took down the Spartans 3-0 in a semifinal. That set up a gold medal match against the Golden Bears.

In the championship final, the Huskies prevailed 3-2 by set scores of 27-25, 25-21, 19-25, 22-25 and 16-14. In the fifth set, the Huskies closed out the match scoring the championship point on a monster block from middle Darren Dove and outside hitter Adam Ens.

Ens took home honours at the U Sports Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year and was named the BLG Award as the U Sports Male Athlete of the Year. 

Outside hitter Andrew Lockhart claimed the Dale Iwanoczko TSN Award for commitment to academics and the community. Outside hitter Joel Ens, who is Adam’s brother, was named the MVP of the U Sports Championship Tournament.

“It is a good memory,” said Gavlas. “The previous year with very close to the similar team we lost a tough semifinal in five sets to Manitoba.

“The guys who returned came back pretty hungry. The biggest joy I have out of that group is the knowledge that four of our starters were red shirts (at one point in their careers), so that means that they weren’t real great coming in. They had to develop.

“They had to get better and to compete with the best in the country was a really tough task. The fact that those guys did that and evolved and developed and were able to succeed is a significant accomplishment. The fact that we had probably the best player in the country at the time didn’t hurt either.”

When the 2003-04 Huskies were inducted into the University of Saskatchewan Athletic Wall of Fame in 2023, Gavlas told his players they might have the chance to get together for a couple of more induction ceremonies. 

Part of the 2026 Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame class sits together.

That is going to materialize as the Huskies went into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2024 and will enter the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame officially this coming November 7.

“We were a pretty good team, a group of Saskatchewan kids that played pretty hard and evolved,” said Gavlas. “We’re looking forward to getting together again, and hopefully, we get a good turnout and have a bit of a reunion again.”

Also heading to the Hall in the athlete category are Colin Coben in golf and Rob Scheller in softball. The three builders in the 2026 class include Gabriel Brecht in bowling, Bob Haver in rowing and Gary Loy in ringette.

Regier, Wildeman featured in “Howe Happenings”

Sam Regier takes part in pole vault at the SSSAD championships.

Sam Regier’s and Charlotte Wildeman’s high school track and field careers may have wrapped up, but they plan to be part of the sport’s local scene for some time to come.

The Grade 12 students from Aden Bowman Collegiate have committed to joining the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field program in the fall. On Tuesday, I went live with new content for the “Howe Happenings” blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on Regier and Wildeman, who have been regulars training at the Track and Field Track on the Complex’s grounds as members of the Saskatoon Track and Field Club.

Regier missed pretty much all of his Grade 11 year with a hamstring injury. He returned to write a memorable conclusion to his high school career.

At the Saskatoon Secondary Schools Athletic Directorate’s Bob Adams City Track and Field Championship that ran May 27 to 28 at the Track and Field Track, Regier captured gold in the senior boys’ 100-metre hurdles and silver in the shot put and pole vault.

At the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association Track and Field Championships that ran last Friday and Saturday at the Track and Field Track, Regier picked up a pair of silver medals. He took second in the senior boy’s pole vault with a vault of 4.15 metres and second in the 100-metre hurdles with a time of 13.93 seconds.

Charlotte Wildeman won four high school provincial titles in pole vault.

In her final appearance at the SSSAD’s Bob Adams City Track and Field Championship, Wildeman claimed gold in the senior girls’ pole vault and 80-metre hurdles and took home bronze in the long jump. At the SHSAA’s Track and Field Championships, she captured silver in the senior girls’ 80-metre hurdles in a time of 12.19 seconds.

Wildeman’s biggest highlight came when she took home gold in the pole vault with a vault of 3.00 metres. That marked the fourth straight year that Wildeman won a gold medal in pole vault at a Saskatchewan high school provincial championship meet. The victory gave Wildeman a special wrap up to her high school career.

The piece on Regier and Wildeman can be found by clicking right here.

I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images from the Saskatoon Berries WCBL home opener and has pictures from all sorts of outdoor sports. The photo roundup can be found by clicking right here.

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

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O’Reilly powers Rangers to 6-2 win in Memorial Cup final

Silvertips unable to avoid “Curse of the Drop”

Sam O’Reilly showed that experience matters.

The Kitchener Rangers star centre, who turned 20 in late March, had arguably one of the most memorable nights of his major junior career on Sunday in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament. In that contest, O’Reilly had one goal and three assists to power the OHL champion Rangers past the WHL champion Everett Silvertips 6-2 before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C. He also won 19-of-36 draws in the faceoff circle.

With the win, the Rangers captured the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions for the third time in team history. The Rangers previously won major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 1982 and 2003.

O’Reilly was awarded the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the MVP of the Memorial Cup tournament. He recorded three goals, five assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department as the Rangers posted a perfect 4-0 record at the tournament.

The Toronto product is very familiar with the Memorial Cup tournament. In the previous two years, O’Reilly played in the Memorial Cup as a member of the London Knights, when they won OHL titles in 2024 and 2025. The Knights fell in the Memorial Cup championship game in 2024 and won the event’s title game in 2025.

O’Reilly, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was acquired by the Rangers along with defenceman Jared Woolley, who turned 20 in late February, in a blockbuster trade back on January 7. The Rangers sent defenceman Jacob Xu, who turned 18 in March, and 10 picks scattered across four different OHL Priority Selection Drafts.

Woolley would net the Memorial Cup winning goal for the Rangers on Sunday. He was also with the Knights when they fell in the Memorial Cup title game in 2024 before winning the Memorial Cup championship contest in 2025.

The Silvertips were playing in their first Memorial Cup tournament since first hitting the ice in the 2003-04 campaign. They finished this year’s event with a 3-2 mark.

Everett was also the latest WHL champion that was trying to end that circuit’s drought when it came to winning the Memorial Cup. The last WHL club to win the Memorial Cup was the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014. Current Silvertips head coach Steve Hamilton was an associate coach with the Oil Kings in 2014.

In 2014, Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreational diving accident. In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3.

The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

Before the Oil Kings triumph in 2014, the previous Memorial Cup championship win by a WHL club came in 2008 by the Spokane Chiefs. For the superstitious types, the “Curse of the Drop” started for WHL squads at that Memorial Cup.

That event took place on May 25, 2008 after the WHL champion Chiefs downed the host Rangers in Kitchener 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. After receiving the trophy, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton had the Memorial Cup fall apart in his hands as he attempted to give it to veteran defenceman Trevor Glass.

Since that moment, only the Oil Kings were able to get past the “Curse of the Drop” in playing to win WHL and CHL titles in honour of the memory of a recent teammate in Pelss.

In Sunday’s Memorial Cup title clash, the Silvertips were in it for the first two periods. They were controlling play during the first five minutes of the first period only for the Rangers to break on to the scoreboard first.

At the 5:47 mark of the first, Rangers sophomore defenceman Alexander Bilecki put a point shot on goal that deflected off Rangers veteran right-winger Luke Ellinas into the Everett net to give the OHL champs a 1-0 lead.

Everett responded just 28 seconds later. Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont, who turned 17 on Thursday, fired a shot from the right of the Kitchener net that rebounded off the pads of Rangers import rookie netminder Christian Kirsch to Silvertips star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen in front of the Kitchener goal. Vanhanen buried the rebound to even the score at 1-1.

The Silvertips proceeded to have a four minute penalty when Bilecki took a double minor for high-sticking after clipping the chin of Silvertips defenceman Kayd Ruedig. Everett applied lots of pressure on that opportunity with the man advantage but was not able to take the lead.

With 6:45 remaining in the first period, O’Reilly had the puck at the right point in the Everett zone and made a slick backhand pass that sprung star 20-year-old left-winger Dylan Edwards on a breakaway to the Everett net. Edwards went forehand to backhand and put home a backhand shot to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead on their fourth shot on goal of the contest. The Silvertips were outshooting the Rangers 14-4 at that point in the game.

Just 88 seconds into the second, Silvertips standout centre Zackary Shantz appeared to have netted another equalizer scoring off a net scramble around the Kitchener zone. The officials went to a video review and would disallow the tally ruling Shantz batted the puck with his arm into the net.

The Rangers started to slowly assert control of the contest through the second period. With 4:34 remaining in the second, Rangers right-winger Haeden Ellis made a backhanded pass from the right faceoff dot in the Everett zone across the front of the Everett net to Woolley. Woolley fired home a shot to the top right corner of the Everett net to push the Rangers lead out to 3-1.

At the tail end of the second period, the Silvertips ran into penalty troubles. First, Ruedig took a holding minor with about 55 seconds remaining in the frame. In the dying seconds of the stanza while working on a power play, O’Reilly tried to score on an individual effort and ended up face down on the ice in the left corner of the Everett zone. Shantz cross checked O’Reilly in the back and was given a cross checking minor with about two seconds remaining in the frame.

Kitchener would use those power play chances to deliver the knockout blow early in the third. First while working on a two-man advantage, O’Reilly made a fake pass at the top of the left faceoff circle before dishing the puck low to the left side of the Everett net to Rangers star 20-year-old right-winger Jack Pridham. Pridham tucked home a power-play goal just 26 seconds into the frame to make the Rangers advantage stand at 4-1.

Just 37 seconds later working on a one-man advantage, Pridham one-time a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Everett zone that rebounded to O’Reilly in close at the left side of the Everett net. O’Reilly potted home the rebound to push the Rangers lead to 5-1.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear scored at the 2:59 mark of the third to trim Kitchener’s lead to 5-2. The Rangers really clamped things down defensively from that point.

Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys scored a short-handed goal into an empty net with 1:37 remaining in the third to round out the 6-2 final score in favour of the Rangers.

Kirsch stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Rangers. He went the distance in goal for Kitchener at the Memorial Cup stopping 120-of-126 shots for a .952 save percentage, while picking up one shutout. Anders Miller turned away 26-of-31 shots to take the setback in net for the Silvertips.

Pridham had a pair of assists to go with his goal, while Ellis finished with two helpers for Kitchener. DuPont had assists on both Everett tallies.

The Rangers were 2-for-3 on the power play, while the Silvertips failed to score on three opportunities with the man advantage.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He hasn’t played since that contest.

The Rangers topped the OHL’s Western Conference and finished second in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 47-14-5-2 mark. Kitchener motored through the OHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 record to win their first league title since the 2007-08 campaign. The Rangers were rated seventh in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Silvertips and Rangers met in a preliminary round contest on Monday, where the Rangers posted a solid 6-2 victory. The Silvertips held a 42-28 edge in shots on goal in that encounter.

Ultimately, the Rangers were the class of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament outscoring their foes 20-6 in posting a 4-0 mark. Their push for winning a CHL title was greatly assisted by O’Reilly and Woolley, who both helped the Knights win OHL and Memorial Cup titles a year ago.

The experience of O’Reilly and Woolley won the day and the 2025-26 campaign for the Rangers resulting in the team’s first CHL championship in 23 years.

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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DuPont return paces Silvertips to 6-1 romp over Sagueneens

Everett to face Kitchener in Memorial Cup final

A game off worked wonders for Landon DuPont.

On Wednesday, the Everett Silvertips star defenceman took warm-ups but didn’t play in the final preliminary round contest in the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The WHL champion Silvertips blanked the event’s host club in the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 that night at Prospera Place to eliminate the Rockets from the tourney with an 0-3 mark.

On Friday just one day after his 17^th birthday, DuPont again took warm-ups before his team’s clash with the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens in a Memorial Cup semifinal contest. DuPont did indeed play, and he played regularly pacing the Silvertips with a pair of goals and posting a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in a 6-1 victory played before a sellout crowd of 6,007 spectators at Prospera Place.

With the win, the Silvertips improve their tournament record to 3-1 and advance to the event’s championship game to face the 3-0 OHL champion Kitchener Rangers at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Silvertips, who began play in the 2003-04 campaign, will be attempting to win their first Memorial Cup title in team history and in their first appearance at the CHL championship tournament.

The Rangers, who are playing in their first Memorial Cup since 2008, are looking to capture their third Memorial Cup title in team history having won major junior hockey’s biggest prize in 1982 and 2003.

The Sagueneens depart the Memorial Cup after posting a 1-3 record. They are still in search of their first Memorial Cup championship.

Chicoutimi finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. The Sagueneens advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign. Chicoutimi participated in the 1997 Memorial Cup as the QMJHL finalist as the host Hull Olympics won the QMJHL title and followed up with a Memorial Cup title win.

The Silvertips and Sagueneens met in a preliminary round contest last Saturday, where Everett posted a 5-3 victory at Prospera Place.

Friday’s semifinal got off to an auspicious start for the Sagueneens. At the 7:56 mark of the opening frame, Sagueneens veteran offensive-defenceman Tomas Lavoie fanned on passing the puck just inside his own blue-line to start a rush up ice.

Silvertips centre Lukas Kaplan picked up the loose puck and sprung right-winger Jaxsin Vaughan towards the Chicoutimi net on a short breakaway. Vaughan fired the puck home to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi goal to put the Silvertips up 1-0.

Lavoie would later make up for that misplay. At the 12:01 mark of the first, Lavoie cruised across the front of the Everett net with the puck, got down low to the right side of the goal and tucked home a shot that bounced off the back bar in the net and shot out the other side of the goal.

At first, the officials didn’t rule that Lavoie’s shot went in, but a few seconds after the shot, the clock operator hit the period buzzer to halt play and alert the officials on the ice that Lavoie’s shot did indeed go into the net. The rearguard’s tally evened the score at 1-1.

The two sides were playing an even game at that point in the contest. That changed with 6:01 remaining in the first as DuPont got the puck in the Chicoutimi zone and wired a midrange shot through a screen to the left corner of the Sagueneens net to put the Silvertips up 2-1.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear set up DuPont with a brilliant pass from behind the Chicoutimi goal.

Everett exited the first period holding a 2-1 lead with a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. The Silvertips proceeded to pretty much land a knockout blow in the second period outscoring the Sagueneens 3-0 in the frame while holding an 18-6 edge in shots on goal.

At the 5:39 mark of the second, Silvertips 20-year-old utility player Nolan Chastko sprung Bear on a breakaway with a long stretch pass. Bear snapped a shot to the top right corner of the Chicoutimi net to push the Silvertips lead out to 3-1.

With 7:25 remaining in the second, a net scramble broke out in front of the Chicoutimi goal. Silvertips standout 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz got a hold of a loose puck and fired home a shot from the front of the net to make the Silvertips advantage stand at 4-1.

The Silvertips would find themselves on the power play with 82 seconds remaining in the second, when DuPont would strike again. DuPont one-timed home a shot from the top of the left faceoff dot to push the Silvertips lead out to a sizable 5-1 advantage. The rearguard converted a sweet setup pass from star import left-winger Matias Vanhanen.

A big fight would take place with 41.1 seconds remaining in the second as Vaughan took on Sagueneens power forward Liam Lefebvre. Both threw fierce bombs at each other before falling to the ice.

Both were given fighting majors and game misconducts for their efforts. The bout was the fifth fight at this year’s Memorial Cup tournament.

Just 45 seconds into the third and working on the power play, the Silvertips got the game’s final tally of the night, when star import centre Julius Miettinen one-timed home a shot from the left slot to round out the 6-1 final score in Everett’s favour. The tally was the first point of any kind for Miettinen in the tournament. He reacted to his goal by making a hand motion of pulling a monkey off his back.

The Sagueneens elected to pull starting netminder Lucas Beckman after Miettinen’s tally. Beckman turned away 22-of-28 shots to take the loss in net for Chicoutimi. Raphael Precourt played the rest of the way in relief and turned away all eight shots he faced.

After Miettinen’s goal, the Silvertips rolled all their lines consistently in the third period and focused more on the shutdown defensive side of the game. Chicoutimi held a 14-9 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

Anders Miller stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for Everett. During his team’s four games at the Memorial Cup tournament, Miller has stopped 97-of-107 shots for a .907 save percentage.

Bear had an assist to go along with his goal, while Vanhanen finished Friday’s contest with two helpers.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. He hasn’t played since that contest.

Chicoutimi was without overage defenceman Jordan Tourigny on Friday. He was suspended for the remainder of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament after receiving a match penalty for attempting to injure via kicking in his team’s 3-2 preliminary round loss to the Rangers on Tuesday at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship game between the Silvertips and Rangers should be a heavyweight tilt.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

They are trying to become the first club from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014.

The Rangers topped the OHL’s Western Conference and finished second in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 47-14-5-2 mark. Kitchener motored through the OHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 record to win their first league title since the 2007-08 campaign. The Rangers were rated seventh in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Silvertips and Rangers met in a preliminary round contest on Monday, where the Rangers posted a solid 6-2 victory. The Silvertips held a 42-28 edge in shots on goal in that encounter.

Now, one of these two clubs who have had storybook seasons will skate to a storybook ending by becoming CHL champions.

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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Silvertips blank Rockets 4-0, off to Memorial Cup semifinal

Host Kelowna eliminated from tourney with 0-3 mark

The Everett Silvertips had the Kelowna Rockets number in the 2025-26 campaign.

On Wednesday, the two sides went at it in the final preliminary round contest of the Memorial Cup tournament that determines a CHL champion. The Rockets, who are the host team for the event, needed a win to avoid elimination and move into the playoff round.

The Silvertips also took the ice without star 16-year-old defenceman Landon DuPont. DuPont took warm-ups on Wednesday, but was unable to go for the encounter with the Rockets. He was the receiving end on a lot of hits when the WHL champion Silvertips dropped a 6-2 decision to the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers.

Everett entered the Memorial Cup without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith due to an upper body injury that has kept him out of the lineup for a lengthy stretch. Smith was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Rockets came into Wednesday’s clash with some extra confidence having dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in overtime to the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens this past Sunday.

The Kelowna took the ice on Wednesday at their home rink in Prospera Place with their hometown crowd chanting, “Let’s Go Rockets.”

While it seemed the cards were lining up for the Rockets to pull out an upset, the Silvertips didn’t allow that to happen. Everett started Wednesday’s contest getting X-factor goals from defencemen Kayd Ruedig and Jaxon Pisani in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. The Silvertips proceeded to cruise to a 4-0 victory from there.

With the win, the Silvertips completed the tournament’s preliminary round with a 2-1 record. They advance to play in the event’s semifinal game on Friday at Prospera Place against the 1-2 Sagueneens (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN). The winner of that contest advances to this coming Sunday’s championship game at Prospera Place to face the 3-0 Rangers (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Rockets completed the preliminary round with an 0-3 record having been outscored 12-2 by their foes causing their elimination from the event. Kelowna came into the Memorial Cup as sizable underdogs. The Rockets finished third in the WHL’s Western Conference and seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a solid 38-21-6-3 record.

Kelowna swept the rival Kamloops Blazers 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. The Rockets then fell 4-1 in a Western Conference Semifinal Series to the Silvertips.

They made their first appearance at the Memorial Cup since last winning the WHL championship in the 2014-15 campaign. The Rockets made it to the Memorial Cup tournament championship game in 2015 held in Quebec City falling to the OHL champion Oshawa Generals 2-1 in overtime. Kelowna won the 2004 Memorial Cup title as the event’s host squad.

With the loss to the Silvertips on Wednesday, the Rockets managed to win one of 10 head-to-head encounters with Everett in the 2025-26 campaign including action in the regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. Kelowna’s one win came in Game 4 of a WHL Western Conference Semifinal Series played on April 15 at Prospera Place. The Rockets entered the third period down 3-0 in that contest and rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory.

Following their loss to the Silvertips on Wednesday, the Rockets players took to the ice to make one last salute to their fans before departing to their dressing room.

At the start of the contest, the Rockets came out with a lot of energy looking to make an impact in the physicality department. Moments into the game, Rockets star captain Carson Wetsch came out throwing a series of three big hits with the last seeing him nail Ruedig to the ice.

Ruedig proceeded to have a massive game recording one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. He opened the game’s scoring at the 7:22 mark of the first period by floating a shot from the right side boards towards the Kelowna net that deflected off Rockets defenceman Rowan Guest into the cage.

Just 25 seconds later, Pisani, who is a rookie who turned 17 in late March, fired a shot from the left point to the top right corner of the Kelowna net to push the Silvertips lead out to 2-0. The tally was Pisani’s first goal in any type of CHL competition.

After Pisani’s tally, the Rockets pretty much abandoned their physical game plan and went into chase mode looking for offence. With 8:30 remaining in the first, the Rockets thought they got some offence when star rookie import left-winger Vojtech Cihar appeared to score during a net scramble. The officials went to a video review and reversed the call on the ice ruling Cihar kicked the puck into the Everett goal.

Just 63 seconds into the second, Silvertips star 18-year-old rookie left-winger Matias Vanhanen picked up a goal that pretty much put a dagger into the Rockets chances. Vanhanen picked off a clearing attempt inside the Kelowna zone, skated down the right wing and curled up underneath the right faceoff dot and blew a shot to the top left corner of the Kelowna net to give the Silvertips a 3-0 advantage.

The Rockets proceeded to pull starting netminder Josh Banini, who turned away 8-of-11 shots fired his way to take the loss in net for Kelowna. Harrison Boettiger played the rest of the way in relief by turning back 21-of-22 shots sent in his direction.

Silvertips star right-winger Carter Bear potted a goal at the 13:07 mark of the third to round out the 4-0 final score in favour of the Everett side.

Anders Miller stopped 28 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Silvertips. Vanhanen had an assist to go along with his goal along with a plus-two rating.

The Silvertips topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Everett’s 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. The Silvertips motored through the WHL Playoffs posting an impressive 16-2 mark to capture their first league title in team history.

They will now play a Sagueneens side they downed 5-3 in a preliminary round contest last Saturday at Prospera Place.

The Sagueneens finished second overall in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 49-10-3-2 mark. They advanced through the QMJHL Playoffs posting a stellar 16-4 mark to win their first league title since the 1993-94 campaign.

The Silvertips and Sagueneens have never won the Memorial Cup. On Friday, one of those squads will take the next step to potentially making a Memorial Cup win a reality.

CHL suspends Sagueneens’ Tourigny for rest of Memorial Cup

Jordan Tourigny will complete his major junior career by watching the rest of the Memorial Cup tournament from the stands.

On Wednesday, the CHL announced Tourigny, who is an overage defenceman with the QMJHL champion Chicoutimi Sagueneens, has been suspended for the remainder of the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament. The suspension comes after Tourigny received a match penalty for attempt to injure via kicking in his team’s 3-2 preliminary round loss to the OHL champion Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday at Prospera Place in Kelowna.

With 11:16 remaining in the third period of that contest, a board battle for the puck took place in the right corner of the Chicoutimi zone with Tourigny and Rangers star left-winger Christian Humphreys, who turned 20 in early February, positioned over the puck.

Tourigny delivered three skate blade stomps to Humphreys foot, and the Rangers forward went down after the third stomp. The officials blew the play dead and Humphreys left the contest favouring his right leg and did not return.

The officials gave Tourigny his match penalty infraction. The call was confirmed via a lengthy video review.

All discipline matters along with officiating assignments at the 2026 Memorial Cup are handled by the NHL. Following its review, the NHL recommended that Tourigny be suspended for the duration of the tournament.

That recommendation was accepted by the Memorial Cup Games Committee and the CHL Executive Council.

In a release from the Sagueneens, Tourigny gave a statement about his suspension.

“I’m sorry I can’t continue the tournament to help my teammates,” said Tourigny in the release. “I never touched or intended to hit the player’s boot or ankle.

“My only intention was to target the blade of his stick. I regret using my skate in that situation, and I’m aware that this type of action is prohibited. I’m relieved to learn that he’s not injured, and that he’ll be able to play in the final game next Sunday.”

Tourigny was acquired by the Sagueneens part way through the 2025-26 campaign in a trade with the Shawinigan Cataractes. In 57 regular season games played between the Cataractes and the Sagueneens in 2025-26, Tourigny recorded 55 points coming off 13 goals and 42 assists to go with a plus-37 rating in the plus-minus department.

Tourigny has played in the QMJHL since he was a 16-year-old rookie and this marks the first time he has been suspended at the major junior level.

The Sagueneens release referred to the encounter between Tourigny and Humphreys as a “skate-tackling,” and that only Sagueneens head coach Yanick Jean would answer questions regarding Tourigny’s suspension.

The Sagueneens will face the WHL champion Everett Silvertips in a Memorial Cup semifinal contest at Prospera Place on Friday (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The winner of that contest will take on the Rangers in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Sunday at Prospera Place (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, TSN).

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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