Blades’ alum Davidson slides into big role with Golden Bears

Dawson Davidson has settled into life with the Golden Bears.

    Dawson Davidson is getting to be himself with the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team.

    Last season, the Moosomin, Sask., product had a dream overage season playing for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The offensive-defenceman appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games and led the team in scoring piling up 13 goals, 62 assists for 75 points to go with a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Davidson was named a first team WHL Eastern Conference all-star and helped the Blades post the fourth best record in the league at 45-15-8. He helped the Blades advance to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in six games to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    During that run, Davidson appeared in all 10 of the Blades post-season games collecting nine assists.

    A veteran of five WHL seasons including stops with the Kamloops Blazers and Regina Pats, Davidson elected to join the Bears in the U Sports ranks, who are the defending Canada West champions.

Dawson Davidson has 13 points in 16 games with the Golden Bears.

    In 16 regular season games with the Golden Bears, Davidson leads all of the U of A rearguards in scoring with two goals and 11 assists for 13 points to go with a plus-16 rating.

    He was held off the scoresheet on Friday night, when his Golden Bears blanked the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-0 in a U Sports regular season clash played before 1,581 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place.

    Still, the 21-year-old Davidson is enjoying his time with his new team.

    “It has been good,” said Davidson, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds. “It has been a little bit of an adjustment just playing against older guys.

    “Everyone is stronger out there. You don’t have 16 and 17-year-olds who are still younger and developing. Just adding school to it just adds that extra element.

Dawson Davidson has enjoyed getting back in the classroom.

    “It is great hockey, and we have a great club here. They made it pretty easy for me to jump right in and start to contribute.”

    When it came to deciding on playing for a U Sports program, Davidson said the fact the Golden Bears have won 16 U Sports national titles was a big draw. U of A fell in last year’s U Sports title game 4-2 to the University of New Brunswick Reds.

    “I wanted to go somewhere where I could get an opportunity to play pro and at the same time get good degree,” said Davidson. “I weighed out my options, and U of A to me was just the best place to get to where I wanted to be.

    “They have a great track record of having good teams. This year we have a pretty good team as well. I think that all weighed into my decision.”

    An arts major, Davidson has found the academic aspect of school to be enjoyable.

Dawson Davidson had a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department.

    “It is an adjustment, but like anything, once you start getting into the groove it is not too bad,” said Davidson. “It is just that extra element.

    “It is kind of nice going to class with your buddies and kind of getting that school aspect of life that you don’t really get as much in the Western League. It has been an adjustment, but it hasn’t been too bad.”

    When the season started, Davidson wasn’t sure if he would be putting up points like he had in the past. He made it to one of the games between the Huskies and Golden Bears in last year’s best-of-three Canada West Championship series held at Merlis and was impressed with the level of play.

    The Bears took that series posting a 1-0 victory in a series-deciding Game 3.

    “I didn’t know what to expect,” said Davidson. “I came to Game 2 of the (Canada West) finals last year.

Tyler Soy scored twice for the Golden Bears on Friday.

    “That was the only U Sports game I had ever seen. I knew it was tough hockey, and it was older guys. I’ve always believed in myself.

    “I didn’t really put a projection of what I wanted to get. I just wanted to come play my game and help the team get wins. If points come, that is just a bonus.”

    As for Friday’s game itself, the Golden Bears, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, jumped ahead 1-0 with 5:49 remaining in the first period. Bears left-winger Trevor Cox sprung linemate Tyler Soy on a breakaway, and Soy slipped a shot past Huskies netminder Taran Kozun.

Taran Kozun made 49 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    Kozun did his best to keep the Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, in the game over the first 40 minutes stopping 33-of-34 shots sent his way. U of A came with tonnes of pressure in the second period holding a 21-7 edge in shots on goal.

    Two of his best saves included a glove stop that thwarted a laser blast from Golden Bears centre Chad Butcher and making a sprawling pad stop on a backdoor attempt Golden Bears left-winger Steven Owre.

    Despite Kozun’s best efforts, he couldn’t keep the Golden Bears at bay.

    Just 65 seconds into the third, Golden Bears left-winger Grayson Pawlenchuk cut across the front of the Huskies goal and fired a shot past a fallen Kozun.

    The visitors expanded their lead to 3-0 just 51 seconds later, when Soy picked up his second of the contest.

The Golden Bears celebrate their win on Friday.

    With the setback, the Huskies saw their eight game winning streak come to an end.

    Kozun made 46 stops in goal for the Huskies (11-4-2). Matt Berlin turned away 18 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Golden Bears (15-2).
    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    Davidson has enjoyed the battles between the “forever rivals” in the Golden Bears and Huskies. He experienced two of the WHL’s greatest rivalries in Pats versus Moose Jaw Warriors and Blades versus Raiders.

    He said he gets excited for heated rivalry contests and Golden Bears versus Huskies has lived up to its reputation.

    “It is a great rivalry,” said Davidson. “Whenever you can play a team that you don’t like too much, the games get really heated as you saw tonight.

    “Those are the fun games. I expect U of S to regroup, and I think tomorrow is going to be a really great game.”

Red hot Pandas slip past Huskies 2-1

Kate Ball scored for the Huskies on Friday.

    The U of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey won their sixth straight game after withstanding a strong effort for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    On Friday at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, the Pandas, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, downed the visiting Huskies 2-1 with all the game’s goals coming in the second period.

    Alex Gowie gave the Pandas a 1-0 lead, but rookie Kate Ball evened things up at 1-1 just under two minutes after Gowie’s tally.

    Madison Willan scored the winner for the Pandas just over two minutes after Ball’s marker.

Halle Oswald made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Pandas (11-6). Jessica Vance turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies (9-5-2-1).

    The two sides go at it again on Saturday in Edmonton.

Blades to host Dach bobblehead night

The Kirby Dach bobblehead doll.

    Kirby Dach may be gone to the NHL, but he will always be remembered by his WHL club the Saskatoon Blades.

    The Blades will be celebrating Dach’s career in the WHL holding a Kirby Dach bobblehead night when they host the Prince George Cougars on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product began his career with the Blades in the 2016-17 campaign appearing in 19 regular season games as 15-year-old midget AAA call up. In those games, Dach posted six goals, four assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

    That was a sign of things to come.

    He remained with the Blades through the end of the 2018-19 campaign appearing in 133 career regular season games collecting 38 goals, 91 assists and a plus-eight rating.

    Helping the Blades post the WHL’s fourth best regular season record with a 45-15-8 mark last season, Dach assisted the Blades in advancing to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in a six-game series to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    Over the Blades 10 post-season outings, Dach posted five goals, three assists and a minus-one rating.
    In last year’s NHL Entry Draft, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 198 pounds, was selected in the first round and third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. Dach made the Blackhawks as an 18-year-old rookie and has six goals, five assists and a minus-two rating in his first 36 NHL regular season games.

The side view of the Kirby Dach bobblehead doll.

    “Obviously, he is a pretty special player when he goes number three overall in the NHL (Entry) Draft and plays as an 18-year-old,” said Blades assistant general manager Steve Hildebrand, who has been with the team for 19 years. “As an organization, it is great to see him where he is and excelling and playing well.

    “We’re extremely happy for him.”

    Dach’s bobblehead night will mark the first time the Blades have held a bobblehead night since Feb. 18, 2015, when they held one for defenceman Nelson Nogier. Nogier was traded to the Red Deer Rebels in December of 2014, and the Blades honoured the rearguard when he returned to Saskatoon with central Alberta WHL squad.

    Nogier currently plays with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

    Dach came to the Blades as a highly touted prospect. The Saskatoon side selected him in the first round and second overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Hildebrand said Dach was also an all-star person off the ice.

    “He is a class act,” said Hildebrand. “He has been a class act since we knew him at 14-years-old.

    “I think those type of people they are fun to be around. They are good to be around. Those are the type of people we’ve wanted to build our organization around.”

    Dach’s bobblehead doll was made in the likeness of his goal celebration in Game 2 of the second round series against the Raiders in Prince Albert. After scoring a spectacular goal to give the Blades a 1-0 lead, Dach put his hand to his ear looking to hear the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, who had gone silent.

    The Blades built a 2-0 edge in that contest and led 2-1 going into the third period. The Raiders netted two goals in the third to pull out a 3-2 victory.

The Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League gets a cool donation.

    Hildebrand enjoyed the idea of the bobblehead doll the Blades marketing department came up with.

    “Honestly, I had nothing to do with it, but when (Blades director of business operations) Tyler (Wawryk) told me about it, I thought it was great,” said Hildebrand. “I think that is a great part about our rivalry with P.A.

    “They are a great organization as we are. I think that over the last few years it has kind of built up. That was I think one of those moments that we’ll look back on during that series as one of those moments and great goals that he scored.

    “I think they (the Dach bobblehead dolls) turned out really well.”

    During the press conference at Brandt Tractor Limited to announce the Dach bobblehead night, the local Brandt Tractor outlet donated $2,500 to the Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League.

Wouters delivers overtime win to Blades

Chase Wouters scored the OT winner for the Blades.

    Captain Chase Wouters came through as the overtime hero for the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night.

    Facing the Rebels in Red Deer to start a short two-game road swing, the Blades were locked in a 3-3 tie in a WHL regular season clash with the host side after regulation playing before 4,073 spectators at the Westerner Park Centrium.

    At the 3:35 mark of overtime, the Blades entered the offensive zone on a two-on-one break and right-winger Tristen Robins fed a perfect pass across the face of the Rebels goal to Wouters, who potted his 15^th of the campaign for a 4-3 victory.

    Scott Walford, Nolan Kneen and Kyle Crnkovic netted singles for the Blades. Arshdeep Bains scored twice for the Rebels, while Josh Tarzwell had a single.

    Nolan Maier made 30 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (18-16-1-2). Byron Fancy turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels (13-19-1-3).

    The Blades conclude their short road swing on Sunday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings lead the overall WHL standings with a 26-7-5-2 mark.

Raiders fall 1-0 in Brandon

Raiders captain Zach Hayes was involved in a fight on Friday.

    The Prince Albert Raiders are going through one of those stretches where it seems like they can’t buy a win.

    On Friday, the Raiders fell 1-0 in a WHL regular season contest to the Wheat Kings before 3,363 spectators at Westoba Place in Brandon. With the setback, the Raiders have posted six regulation losses and one extra time setback in their last seven games.

    Wheat Kings defenceman Chad Nychuk scored the game’s lone goal at the 10:52 mark of the second period.

    Raiders captain Zach Hayes engaged Wheat Kings left-winger Ben McCartney in an early third period fight.

    Jiri Patera made 29 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Wheat Kings (18-17-1-2). Boston Bilous turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders (20-13-4-1).
    Prince Albert was active on the trade front on Friday. The Raiders acquired 19-year-old goaltender Keegan Karki from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.
    Karki, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds, is playing in his first WHL season. He has appeared in 14 games with the Silvertips posting an 8-1-2 record, a 3.19 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.

    The Raiders return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Ice, who lead the WHL’s East Division with a 23-13-1 record.

    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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