White’s third-period winner puts Blades on Ice

Jaeger White had the winning goal for the Ice on Thursday.

    Jaeger White believes he hit the jackpot when it comes to playing with potential linemates as an overage player in the WHL.

    The 20-year-old Medicine Hat product was traded from his hometown Tigers to the Kootenay Ice on Aug. 14. With the ice, White has found himself playing right wing on a forward line centred by 17-year-old star Peyton Krebs, who is targeted to be a possible high selection in next year’s NHL Entry Draft.

    The two combined for a highlight reel goal in a Thursday WHL regular season clash between the Ice and the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre. With the two sides locked in a 2-2 tie in the third period, Krebs and White broke into the Blades zone on a rush.

    Krebs slide a pass across the face of the Saskatoon net to White, who promptly buried his ninth goal of the season to give the Ice a 3-2 at the 9:32 mark of the frame.

The Ice celebrate White’s winning goal.

    With 64 seconds to play in the third, Krebs blasted home and insurance marker to give the Ice a 4-2 victory before 3,802 spectators.

    “Obviously, I am really fortunate to play with Peyton (Krebs),” said White, who has nine goals and six assists appearing in all 16 of the Ice’s regular season games in the current campaign. “He has unbelievable skills.

    “I try to just keep it simple out there and do the right things for him. We found some success so far this year.”

    Scoring the winning goal helped White out on his individual game. Entering play on Thursday, he was held pointless in each of the Ice’s three previous outings.

    “I’ve been in a little bit of a slump, so that was obviously a big goal and good for my confidence,” said White. “To get the two points and help the team out is nice.”

    The Blades drew first blood in Thursday’s clash, when feisty left-winger Riley McKay forced a turnover on the forecheck in the offensive zone. The puck found its way to Blades centre Tristen Robins behind the Ice net.

Jaeger White (#21) had a strong game on the forecheck.

    Robins centred a pass to the front of the net to Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen, and the Norwegian import right-winger quickly buried his sixth goal of the season to give the Blades a 1-0 lead at the 11:45 mark of the first period.

    The Ice tied things up at 1-1 just 46 seconds later. On rush down the right wing, Krebs sent a shot on the Saskatoon goal off a spin move, and right-winger Nick Bowman potted the equalizer on the rebound.

    While White is Krebs’ linemate, the veteran winger said he hasn’t needed to pass on any advice to sophomore centre.

    White first began playing in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 16-year-old with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2014-15 campaign. He has been a journey man in the major junior ranks being a member of six different teams and hitting the ice to play for five of those squads.

Cameron Hausinger had two assists for the Ice on Thursday night.

    “I am always there, if he (Krebs) needs someone,” said White. “He is a super intelligent kid.

    “He is mature beyond his years. I’m there when he needs me, but for the most part, he is a pretty smart kid. He has a good head on him.”

    With 14.1 seconds remaining in the second period, the Blades jumped back out in front 2-1, when left-winger Gary Haden knocked home a loose puck in the crease of the Ice goal.

    Just seconds after that goal, Blades netminder Nolan Maier stoned Ice centre Brett Davis on a chance from in front of the Saskatoon goal.

    Thursday’s game derailed for the hosts in the third period. At the 6:02 mark, Meier tried to pass the puck down the boards in his own zone.

Peyton Krebs had a goal and two assists for the Ice on Thursday night.

    The puck landed on the stick of Ice right-winger Cameron Hausinger. Hausinger passed the puck in front of the Saskatoon goal to linemate Brad Ginnell, who fired home his fourth goal of the season to force a 2-2 tie.

    Ginnell’s goal kicked the Ice into high gear resulting in the tallies from White and Krebs that followed. Hausinger picked up his second assist of the contest on Krebs’s goal.

    “I thought we had an unbelievable third period and overall a good game,” said White, who had a strong game on the forecheck. “Obviously, that is a good team over there.

Peyton Krebs, left, and Duncan McGovern celebrate the Ice’s win.

    “We were really proud of our effort tonight.”

    Maier made 27 saves to take the setback in goal for the Blades (9-6-2). Duncan McGovern stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in the Ice (6-7-2-1) net.

    The Ice face a big challenge on Friday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face the WHL leading Raiders (15-1). The Raiders have been the top rated team in the CHL Top 10 rankings for the past three weeks.

    Going forward, White is happy he has found a home for his overage season with the Ice.

    “It is nice to finish off the year and play as a 20-year-old,” said White. “I am really happy to finish it out with Kootenay.

    “We have a good team here, a lot of guys that want to be here and succeed. For sure, we are going to push for playoffs.”

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors (6-4-3).

Clark out of Four Nations Cup with leg injury

Emily Clark waves to the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    One look at Emily Clark and it was obvious that she wouldn’t be available to play for Canada at the Four Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament.

    The 22-year-old Saskatoon product is a forward on Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team and helped Canada win a silver medal at the Winter Olympics held last February in PyeongChang, South Korea. Clark took part at a pre-game ceremony at the Saskatoon Blades contest on Thursday night at the SaskTel Centre sporting a walking boot on her left leg.

    The skilled forward suffered a left leg injury while playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Clark’s injury occurred in the opening minutes of a Badgers 4-2 home win on Oct. 13 against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

    Hockey Canada announced on Thursday that Clark and forward Sarah Potomak, who is from Aldergrove, B.C., would be unable to play in the Four Nations Cup due to injury.
    Kristin O’Neill, who is from Oakville, Ont., and Jamie Lee Rattray, who is from Kanata, Ont., will replace Clark and Potomak on the Canadian roster for the Four Nations Cup, which will run in its entirety at the SaskTel Centre.

    Clark is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA hockey team.

    The Four Nations Cup opens on Tuesday with Finland taking on the United States at 12 noon, and Canada will take on Sweden at 7 p.m. The four-team tournament runs through to Nov. 10.

    Canada will face Finland in pre-tournament game on Sunday in Prince Albert at 6 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Back in the Express with Four Nations Cup advancer

    I was back in the pages of Saskatoon Express this week with a cover story to advance the Four Nations Cup hockey tournament.

    The Four Nations Cup is an annual elite women’s hockey tournament that features the senior national teams from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden. It starts on Tuesday and runs through to Saturday, Nov. 10 with all games being held at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Four Nations Cup itself started in 1996 as the Three Nations Cup featuring Canada, the United States and Finland. The event became the Four Nations Cup in 2000, when Sweden joined the field.

    My Express story on that event 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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