Valkyries lock down first in WWCFL’s Prairie Conference

Saskatoon has monster day in the air in win over Regina

Sarah Wright (#88) is all smiles after making a second TD catch.

In football, sometimes the wide open play feels like it can be the hardest play to make.

On Saturday at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Saskatoon Valkyries were leading the visiting Regina Riot 15-0 midway through the second quarter, when an opportunity to make a big play came calling on offence. The Valkyries called a pass play that saw star running back Sarah Wright slip out of the backfield and jet down the right sideline on a deep route.

Valkyries star quarterback Alex Eyolfson launched a long distance throw hitting Wright, who didn’t have a defender anywhere in the vicinity around her. Wright took the reception to the house for 61-yard touchdown reception to put the Valkyries up 22-0.

Alex Eyolfson threw for 434 yards and four TDs for the Valkyries.

Saskatoon rolled from there for a 46-7 victory to improve to 3-0 and lock up first place in the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference with one regular season game remaining on their schedule. The Riot fell to 1-2 with the loss.

Eyolfson said she felt like that deep sideline touchdown toss to Wright was one of those plays that felt like everyone on offence was in the zone, but the signal caller admitted the potential is there to over think that situation.

“Sometimes those are hardest throws, when they are so open,” said Eyolfson. “I just saw it, and she was gone.

“It just felt right coming out of my hand, and I had lots of time. That was a fun one. I knew when she (Wright) got it she was gone.”

Sarah Wright caught seven passes for 195 yards and two TDs.

On that long touchdown toss, Wright said it can seem like the ball is in the air forever, when she was as wide open as she was. She only one thought when the ball came into her hands.

“I was just trying to make sure I didn’t drop it,” said Wright. “It was a great play.

“It was a lot of fun. It couldn’t have worked out better.”

Ultimately, the Valkyries made many big plays in the passing game in Saturday’s win over the Riot. Eyolfson completed 23-of-29 passes for 434 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.

Wright hauled in seven passes for 195 yards that included two major scores. She made an impact on the ground too carrying the ball 10 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns.

Makayla Sader (#8) made 7.5 total tackles for the Valkyries.

Third-year receiver Haley Girolami kept the first down sticks moving for the Valkyries too hauling in eight receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, the Valkyries limited the Riot’s offence to 290 total yards. Regina piled up most of that total on the ground on big games from running backs Kasey McCombs and Rebekah Hove.

McCombs ran the ball 16 times for 110 yards and one touchdown, while Hove carried the rock 11 times for 119 yards.

Riot quarterback Shanelle Rioux completed 13-of-26 passes for 66 yards, while throwing two interceptions.

Defensively, defensive back Jackie Semple and middle linebacker Jamie Wingate had interceptions for the Valkyries, while third-year defensive tackle Carla Stevenson had a fumble recovery. 

Haley Girolami caught eight passes for 134 yards and one TD.

Second-year defensive halfback Makayla Sader led the Valkyries with 7.5 total tackles.

Veteran linebacker Ray-Lynn Schaffer topped the Riot with six total tackles. Defensive back Shantel Englot and Jaia Guy on the defensive line had fumble recoveries.

“I just love the tenacity and the resiliency of our team,” said Valkyries head coach Pat Barry. “They really do a good job of playing in the moment, worrying about the next play and trying to forget about the last play.

“We did make some mistakes today. I’m the special teams coordinator, and we’ve got some work to do. We have some things that we have to fix up.

“Regina has some talented players, so we have to be ready for that.”

Sarah Wright ran the ball 10 times for 84 yards and two TDs.

The Valkyries took an 8-0 lead in the first quarter off a 28-yard missed field goal single from kicker Drew Lundquist and two-yard touchdown run by Wright.

At the 5:42 mark of the second quarter, Eyolfson hit Girolami with a six-yard touchdown pass to increase the Valkyries advantage to 15-0. 

That set the stage for Eyolfson to hit Wright on the deep sideline route to push the Valkyries lead out to 22-0.

The Riot were able to get the Valkyries into some bad field position. After a bad Saskatoon punt, the Riot put together a short 29-yard touchdown drive to cut the Valkyries lead to 22-7.

McCombs capped the Riot scoring march with a 19-yard touchdown run with 1:21 remaining in the second quarter.

Kasey McCombs ran in the Riot’s lone TD.

Saskatoon responded with a well-executed two-minute drill drive capped by Wright scoring a two-yard rushing touchdown as the second quarter clock expired to give the Valkyries a 29-7 lead at halftime.

The Valkyries offensive surge continued with a 17-point outburst in the third quarter that rounded out the scoring in the contest. 

Just 1:40 into the third quarter, Eyolfson hit Wright with a short-range pass, and Wright took that reception 61 yards for Saskatoon’s third major score through the air in the contest to increase the host’s lead to 36-7.

“She (Wright) is so agile,” said Eyolfson. “She can run, catch and do everything.

The Valkyries defence limited the Riot to 290 total yards.

“It is fun to throw to her, and she can just run. She is a great player.”

Just over two minutes later, Eyolfson hit veteran receiver Ricki Obed with a 28-yard touchdown pass upping the Valkyries lead to 43-7. 

Before the third quarter expired, Lundquist hit a 25-yard field goal to round out the 46-7 final score in Saskatoon’s favour.

Due to the fact Saskatoon will host the WWCFL championship game on Saturday, June 25 at 1 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, the Valkyries will have home-field advantage throughout the WWCFL playoffs thanks to their first place finish in the Prairie Conference.

Ricki Obed (#28) makes a catch on her way to a TD score.

“That is huge,” said Wright. “Having the crowd with us and cheering for us, it makes the environment and the game go by a lot quicker and a lot better.

“It just brings momentum too. It is really nice to know that we’ve clinched that spot.”

The Valkyries and Riot close out their respective regular season schedules with one more head-to-head encounter. The two sides go at it again this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.

Barry said the Valkyries will look to reset this coming week to exit the regular season with a good outing.

“We’re going to be focusing on small goals,” said Barry. “We want to make sure that people who haven’t played a lot we have to make sure they play a lot.

The Valkyries celebrate their win over the Riot on Saturday.

“Having said that, we don’t have a big roster this year. A lot of people are playing a lot, and they are getting meaningful reps in games. We want to make sure that continues.”

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Valkyries win away from first place finish in conference

Provincial rivals Riot stand in the way of top spot

Veteran Valkyries DT Jaime Lammerding (#21) enjoys playing the Riot.

When Jaime Lammerding first suited up for the Saskatoon Valkyries in the team’s inaugural season in 2011, she never expected to be playing in provincial rivalry games against the Regina Riot 11 years later.

“I don’t know if I ever thought quite that far ahead,” said Lammerding, who is the Valkyries veteran star defensive tackle. “I always knew that I would play for a few years, and eventually I would kind of be done.

“This is going to be it for me. This is going to be the last year.”

If this truly ends up being Lammerding’s last year, the upcoming clash with the Riot has that familiar big game feeling. On Saturday, the Valkyries (2-0) and Riot (1-1) are slated to go at it in a WWCFL regular season clash at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. If the Valkyries pull out a win in that contest, they will lock up a first place finish in the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference.

If the Riot wins, the Valkyries will have a second chance to lock up first place, when they go at it again with the Regina side on Saturday, June 4 at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. That June 4 encounter closes the respective regular season schedule for both sides.

“Playing Regina is always a focal point of our season, because they are our provincial rivals,” said Barry. “They are always well coached.

“We look forward to it. It is always a challenge for us, and they pose some problems for us. We have to make sure we are ready for it.”

Emmarae Dale (#45) anchors the Valkyries defence.

Lammerding along with linebacker Beth (Thomson) Lalonde are the only two players that have taken the field for the Valkyries from the team’s inaugural campaign in 2011 to the present. Even after all these years, Lammerding said the excitement and anticipation of playing the Riot is still there.

Still, there are signs time is marching on. Former Riot star players Claire Dore, Shelby Moran, Adrienne Zuck and Katie Hungle are all assistant coaches with the Regina side now.

Star receiver Alex Kowalski is the longest tenured player on a relatively younger Riot side with nine years of experience with the team. Jessie Noname on the defensive line is the second most tenured player with the Riot with eight years of experience playing with the club.

The Riot are able to lean on a few other standout veterans in defensive back Ashley Clayton, Hailee Raffey on the offensive line and Kyla Krenbrink at receiver.

“It is different now,” said Lammerding. “There are not as many people who started there as there was anymore, but there are still familiar faces.

“I think we all get excited to play each other – that battle of Saskatchewan, that classic play a game between Saskatoon and Regina. Everybody gets excited for it.”

The Valkyries have their share of first and second year players too. With that noted, Saskatoon still has a strong presence of standout veterans.

Sarah Wright is a steady power running back for the Valkyries.

The offence include star starting quarterback Alex Eyolfson, star receiver and backup quarterback Reed Thorstad and power running back Sarah Wright and sure handed pass catchers Haley Girolami, Ricki Obed and Rachelle Smith.

The offensive line is anchored by left tackle Alyssa Funk, right tackle Betsy Mawdsley, left guard Ashley Viklund, right guard Lauren Ferguson and centre Alex Wojcichowsky.

Smith and Viklund were also former members of the Riot.

Defensively, the Valkyries are anchored by star middle linebacker Emmarae Dale and third year defensive end Danaye Holynski to go along with long time contributions of Lammerding and Lalonde.

Barry said the Valkyries are fortunate that Lammerding and Lalonde just keep going.

“Those two athletes, like they are so special,” said Barry. “Talking about ‘Dinger,’ I’m just so proud to be her coach.

“She is such a great leader. She is such a positive person. She is such a great role model for all of our athletes and for everyone in our league.”

If the Valkyries lock up first place in the Prairie Conference, they will have home field advantage through the entire WWCFL playoffs. Saskatoon hosts the WWCFL championship game on June 25 with an expected 1 p.m. start time.

The WWCFL campaigns in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the Valkyries and Riot did play a three game exhibition series in 2021. The Valkyries won the WWCFL title the last time it was contested in 2019.

Danaye Holynksi makes a tonne of plays at defensive end.

In order to finish first this season, Lammerding said her squad has to focus on the task at hand in playing the Riot and the ups and downs that will come in that contest. She expects the Riot will make their share of big plays in the upcoming encounters.

“Football is one of those games you never know what is going to happen,” said Lammerding. “It could come down to one play.

“It could come down to three or four plays in a game. People can surprise you. Games can surprise you.

“You can never go into anything expecting anything. You just have to play it by ear and do what you can to make sure you are successful at the end.”

Valkyries to honour alums and first head coach Yausie

Jeff Yausie, left, on the Valkyries sideline in May 2016.

The Saskatoon Valkyries will have some familiar faces in the stands for their final regular season home game.

When the Valkyries host the Regina Riot at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field, they will be honouring the alumnae of the club as well as the team’s founders and first head coach in Jeff Yausie. Yausie guided the Valkyries as their head coach from the squads inaugural season in 2011 to 2016, which included five WWCFL championship wins in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

He remained with the Valkyries for one more campaign in 2017 as defensive coordinator.

“I think it is always great to have our alumnae come out and be able to show them kind of what they’ve built and how far we’ve come from that and that we’re still succeeding,” said star defensive tackle Jaime Lammerding, who has played for the Valkyries since their inaugural campaign. “Jeff (Yausie) of course was here from the very, very beginning.

“I don’t think we would have been anywhere near where we are today, if it wasn’t for him. To kind of be able to showcase what he built I think is great.”

Team Canada loaded with Valkyries and Riot

Alyssa Funk (#56) made Canada’s National Women’s Football Team.

The Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot will have sizable representation on Football Canada’s National Women’s Team.

Football Canada announced its National Women’s Team roster this past Friday. The main roster includes 12 members of the Valkyries along with one player on the reserve list, and the Riot had seven players crack the main roster along with one player on the reserve list.

The Valkyries players that cracked the main roster include Emmarae Dale (MLB), Lauren Ferguson (OL), Alyssa Funk (OL), Haley Girolami (R), Danaye Holynski (DL), Arden Kliewer (DL), Beth Lalonde (LB), Betsy Mawdsley (OL), Ricki Obed (R), Reed Thorstad (QB/R), Ashley Viklund (OL) and Sarah Wright (RB).

Valkyries all-time great running back Sam Matheson, who is nursing an injury, is on the reserve list.

The Riot players that made the main roster include Rebekah Hove (RB), Alex Kowalski (R), Kasey McCombs (RB), Quinn Petrinchuk (DL), Hailee Raffey (OL), Shanelle Rioux (R) and Rae-Lynn Schaffer (LB). Rioux is the Riot’s starting quarterback.

Christina Andrews, who play on the Riot’s defensive line, was named to the reserve list.

Canada’s National Women’s Team will take part in the International Federation of American Football’s Women’s World Championship, which will run July 28 to August 8 in Vantaa, Finland. The United States enters the tournament as defending champions, and teams will be there from Finland, Mexico, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Great Britain.

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NHL’s Battle of Alberta is great sports entertainment

Oilers, Flames run it back in “old school” series

Hockey cards of Connor McDavid and Matthew Tkachuk.

After two games of the Battle of Alberta, we’ve learned Connor McDavid can skate on water and Matthew Tkachuk is working his way to sainthood.

On the ice, McDavid, who is the captain of the Edmonton Oilers, seemingly has the ability to turn water into wine filling highlight reels with the two goals and four assists he has collected in two outings. Tkachuk, who is the high-scoring agitator of the Calgary Flames, showed he does have a heart of gold during a hat trick performance offering to give Oilers pest Evander Kane a few bucks after hearing Kane might be having some money problems.

In an era of sports where rivalries are really lackluster and just rivalries in name only, the Oilers and Flames are seemingly turning back the clock to the 1980s with their best-of-seven NHL Western Conference semifinal series.

Over the first two games of the set at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, the Oilers and Flames have done their best to shoot out the lights on the scoreboard. The Flames took a wild Game 1 on Wednesday by a 9-6 final and the Oilers rebounded with 5-3 come-from-behind victory in Game 2 on Friday.

The two sides combined for 23 goals and were one tally shy of equaling the NHL record for most combined goals in the first two games of a playoff series at 24 set in the 1981 post-season by the Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars in a first round tilt.

There have been four other post-season series that have opened with a combined 23 goals in the first two games, and all of those sets were played in the 1980s with Wayne Gretzky’s high-octane Oilers being involved in three of those series.

There have been hard hits, scrums, heated exchanges and one-on-one personal rivalries are developing right before the eyes of all onlookers.

With Oilers and Flames meeting in the NHL post-season for the first time since 1991, fans of both teams were hoping to get a rivalry series that lived up to the five playoff encounters the teams had between 1983 and 1991, but there was probably a guarded expectation of realism that likely wouldn’t happen. To the surprise of supporters of both teams, the Oilers and Flames are giving them a Christmas gift in May.

Game 1 of the series has the feeling of chaos. The Flames built a 6-2 advantage only for the Oilers to even the score a 6-6 early in the third period.

A Johnny Gaudreau card.

Calgary closed things out scoring the final three goals of that contest, which included Tkachuk scoring his team’s eighth and ninth tallies to complete a hat trick night. Flames star left-winger Johnny Gaudreau had three assists in the win as well.

On top of the goals, Game 1 of the series had so many side plots happening you could miss something with a blink of an eye.

One of those included Tkachuk trying to get under Kane’s skin regarding reported money troubles the Oilers’ left-winger was facing. In January of 2021, Kane filed for bankruptcy after accruing more that US$26-million in debt.

In Game 2, the Flames took a 3-1 lead early in the second before the Oilers closed the contest scoring four straight goals. McDavid had a goal and an assist, while his high-scoring partner in centre Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists.

Like McDavid, Draisaitl has two goals and four assists after the first two games of this series.

In the Game 2 win, the Oilers received a key goal by veteran defenceman Duncan Keith and timely singles from defenceman Evan Bouchard and left-winger Zach Hyman.

As far as personal battles go, Tkachuk is having his aforementioned clash with Kane. Power forwards Zack Kassian of the Oilers and Milan Lucic of the Flames appear to like crossing paths and exchanging pleasantries.

Lucic played for the Oilers before being traded to the Flames before the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Kane also appeared to have his with issues Lucic too. Near the end of the first period of Game 1, Lucic laid a massive hit on McDavid, and Kane immediately skated in to confront the Flames aggressor.

Overall, this series has been the overall tonic needed to pull in the casual fans. Even here in Saskatoon, the Oilers and Flames jerseys are seemingly popping up everywhere as closet fans continue to emerge.

Often those fans will be sporting jerseys that done of the names of Oilers and Flames players from years gone by.

So far, the Oilers and Flames are delivering great “sports entertainment,” and their games have become must watch television. Concerns for normal strategies and tactics of the game have been thrown out the window.

Instead, we are getting jokes from Flames fans about how difficult it is for Oilers fans to count to nine with regards to Calgary goals scored in Game 1, and Oilers fans joking back they are surprised Flames fans can count past one referencing how many Stanley Cups the Calgary side has won. The Oilers have won the Stanley Cup on five different occasions.

A Leon Draisaitl card.

Now the series shifts to Rogers Place in Edmonton for Game 3 on Sunday, which will on CBC at 6 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

Even people that don’t cheer for either team are going to be tuning in to see what happens next.

In the current day, the Oilers and Flames are showing sports rivalries can still be fun and colourful. That is important to remember, because too many people involved with professional sports forget that pro sports are a part of the entertainment industry.

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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Valkyries’ Thorstad aims to make lasting impact in football as player, coach

Reed Thorstad (#12) is a heart and soul member of the Valkyries.

It seemed Reed Thorstad was destined to have football as a part of her life due to family ties, but she ultimately got involved with the game due to finding her own love for the sport.

Her father, Brian Thorstad, has coached football at various levels in the city of Saskatoon and in the province of Saskatchewan for decades. Reed carved out her main identity in the sport as a veteran receiver and backup quarterback for the Saskatoon Valkyries having joined Western Women’s Canadian Football League powerhouse squad back in 2015.

When she was growing up, Reed said her father wanted her to enjoy playing sports, and it didn’t matter what those sports were. Whatever sport Reed tried, Brian was supportive and often took on the role of coach.

“He’s coached me in lots of different sports,” said Reed, whose Valkyries blanked the Wolfpack in Winnipeg 59-0 on Sunday to improve to 2-0 in WWCFL regular season play. “He coached me in hockey, football and basketball when I was young.

“I think (he instilled) just like the general love of sports. We’d be playing catch in the backyard and going to the park and all kinds of things. Sometimes, I still make him do that with me.”

Reed said she initially got into playing football through the encouragement of friends.

Reed Thorstad (#12) is a dependable receiver for the Valkyries.

“I started playing flag football when I was about nine,” said Reed. “It was kind of like a few connections to friends.

“They were getting a team going. My dad coached me a lot growing up, and there is a good crew of us in Saskatoon that have played for a long time together, and I just always loved it. It was one of my favourite sports.”

Through her high school years at Walter Murray Collegiate, Reed continued to play all sorts of sports. At that time, she started going to a number of flag football nationals with Team Saskatchewan. From there, Reed was introduced to the idea of joining the Valkyries.

“Coming out of high school, it was actually Marci Halseth that convinced me to come play Valkyries,” said Reed. “I think just my love of football has just like grown from there.

“I love the complexity of the game for sure.”

A year after graduating from Walter Murray, Reed joined a Valkyries team that was stocked with veteran players, and a number of those players were with squad since it first hit the field in 2011. Halseth, who was a star receiver at that time and is now a receivers coach, was one of those veteran players who had been with the Valkyries from their inception.

The composition of the team started to change shortly afterwards. In Thorstad’s second season, the Valkyries roster was basically a 50-50 split of veterans and newcomers, who were in their first or second year with the team.

Reed Thorstad helped the Valkyries win WWCFL titles in 2016 and 2019.

Thorstad’s long time friend in Alex Eyolfson joined the Valkyries in 2016. The pair rotated quarters playing quarterback for most of that campaign helping the Valkyries win their fifth WWCFL title.

In 2017, Thorstad played receiver more and backed up at quarterback with Eyolfson taking the starting role. A few more long time veterans left the Valkyries following the 2016 campaign.

While there were still veterans that had been with the Valkyries since the team’s first season and two are still currently with the team in defensive lineman Jaime Lammerding and linebacker Beth Lalonde, players like Thorstad and Eyolfson found themselves taking on a bigger role in the leadership department.

“I think there was some kind of feeling out of like who was going to step into those leadership roles,” said Thorstad. “I think something that came from that is that we have like so many different leaders on the team now and have for the last few years.

“I think the leadership is spread out between almost everyone on the team that has been around for a year or two at least has stepped into be a leader at certain points in time. I think it is really neat that we have like so many people that can do that.”

Thorstad’s most memorable moment with the Valkyries was when the team won a sixth WWCFL championship in 2019. During that campaign, the Valkyries were rocked when defensive position coach Justin Filteau died in a plane crash on June 1 of that year.

Reed Thorstad can play QB at an elite level.

After learning of Filteau’s passing, the Valkyries dedicated their 2019 season to their late coach and posted a 9-0 overall record in that campaign.

“Probably my favourite moment was in 2019 when we won the championship, and it really felt like that whole season was for Filteau after he passed away,” said Thorstad. “I feel so proud of how our team came together that season and just like the dynamic that we had in supporting each other and fighting for that championship despite the challenges that came.

“That is something that I feel really proud to be a part of, and I feel really lucky to be a part of the team. Those relationships and that team dynamic that was built that season has really continued. I still feel that on this team this year too, so that is really exciting.”

Valkyries head coach Pat Barry said Thorstad’s presence on the Valkyries has been valuable in so many ways.

“She is like having an extra coach on the field,” said Barry. “I can say that, because I brought her in to coach with me in high school at Evan Hardy.

“She has a fantastic offensive mind. I’m just so pleased to have her around and continue to be a part of this team. She is a big part of what we do.

“When we need someone to come in and fill a position whether it is offence or special teams, Reed can fill that.”

On top of playing for the Valkyries, Thorstad found herself following in her father’s footsteps taking a more active role in coaching the sport. Along with being an assistant coach at Evan Hardy, Thorstad coaches flag football in the Rush female flag league overseen by Saskatoon Minor Football.

Reed Thorstad enjoyed coaching at the Playground to Pros camp.

In April, Thorstad worked as a guest coach with Saskatoon Minor Football’s annual Playground to Pros camp alongside a number of CFL veterans. The camp helps develop skills and fundamentals at the grassroots level of the game.

“I think that every single sport that I’ve played I’ve really loved thinking about the strategy,” said Thorstad, who is a teacher at City Park School. “I love getting my brain going on that kind of stuff.

“I started coaching when I was in high school, and I have two younger sisters. I feel like that kind of made it easy to help out with their teams. I’m also a teacher, so I feel like it kind of comes with the territory with that too.

“I do really love coaching both flag, and I’d love to get into coaching tackle more. The Playground to Pros camp was really fun, and then I was coaching senior football at Hardy. I want to keep getting involved with tackle football and coaching as well.”

While she is getting more into coaching, Thorstad is still getting better as a player on the field. She turned a lot of heads at the training camp that Football Canada held in Ottawa, Ont., to evaluate players for its Senior National Women’s Team.

In the Red-White game that closed that camp, Thorstad was named MVP for Team White playing quarterback. Playing the first half in Team White’s 30-16 victory, Thorstad completed 14-of-19 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Reed Thorstad is pictured with the Playground to Pros camp coaches.

It is expected Football Canada will name its Senior National Women’s Team roster by the end of this week.

Besides potentially making the Senior National Women’s Team, Thorstad wants to help the Valkyries win another WWCFL title this season. The Valkyries resume their regular season on Saturday, May 28, when they host their provincial rivals the Regina Riot at 7 p.m. at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Looking into the future, Thorstad expects to keep playing the sport for some time to come.

“I’m 26 right now,” said Thorstad. “I feel like I want to be around for a few more years.

“I feel like I still have lots to learn. I think that probably like the plan one day whenever I decide that I’m done is I’d love to help coach the Valkyries or coach women’s football in some way. I think I’ll be playing for another couple few years.

Reed Thorstad plans to keep playing football for a few more years.

“We’ll see what happens.”

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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Ice, Oil Kings - Recipe for classic WHL conference final

The Ice celebrate scoring a goal on March 23.

The seemingly inevitable clash of WHL titans in 2021-22 is going to happen, and it could deliver a classic post-season series.

Throughout the 2021-22 campaign, the Winnipeg Ice and Edmonton Oil Kings seemed destined to be on a collision course to meet in the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series. The two squads pretty much sat either first or second in the overall league standing throughout the 2021-22 regular season.

When the regular season came to a close, the Ice finished first overall with a 53-10-3-2 record, while the Oil Kings were second overall with a 50-14-3-1 mark. The final CHL Top 10 rankings released on April 20 saw the Ice rated second overall, while the Oil Kings were listed third overall.

The Eastern Conference Championship between the Ice and Oil Kings was finalized on Friday night. That occurred when the Ice downed the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 6-3 in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

The victory allowed the Ice to take the best-of-seven series with the Warriors 4-1.

Game 1 of the series between the Ice and Warriors is set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Game 2 follows one night later on Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m. local time.

Dylan Guenther led the Oil Kings in regular season scoring.

The schedule for the rest of the series is still to be announced. The series will be played in a two-three-two format thanks to the lengthy travel distance between the two cities with the Ice holding home ice advantage.

As the 2021-22 campaign motored along, it was easy for opinion to swing back and forth on which club was the best team.

The Ice were an impressive 18-1-1-1 in their final 21 regular season contests leading into the post-season. The Oil Kings were 6-3-1 in their last 10 games heading into the playoffs.

At that point, it appeared the Ice would be the favourites, if the two sides met in the playoffs.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Ice took out the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a best-of-seven first round series and proceeded to eliminate the Warriors in one Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Oil Kings swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-0 in a first round series and got the brooms out again for an impressive 4-0 of the Red Deer Rebels, who had a 45-19-2-2 regular season record. Including play in the regular season, the Oil Kings have won their last 12 straight games.

The two sides met four times in the regular season with the Oil Kings claiming three of those encounters. With that said, it would be hard to forecast a winner off those results.

Out of those four encounters, three of them occurred before Dec. 31, 2021. The last clash came on Feb. 21, where the Oil Kings posted a 6-3 victory on home ice at Rogers Place. That contest was also a lengthy time ago.

Zachary Benson had a big season for the Ice.

At this point, determining a favourite in a series between the two sides might be a tossup.

Both clubs have exciting rosters to watch.

For the Ice, the strength in their roster might be in their youth. Centre Matthew Savoie, right-winger Conor Geekie and netminder Daniel Hauser are eligible to play three more full campaigns each in the WHL. Centre Zachary Benson could potentially suit up for four more seasons of eligibility in the WHL.

Jonas Woo, who is a 15-year-old defenceman, plays regular minutes on the Ice’s back end through all the club’s 10 games to date in the 2022 post-season. He joined the Ice on a full-time basis after his Winnipeg Bruins under-18 AAA team was eliminated from their provincial playoffs.

Savoie led the Ice in regular season scoring with 90 points coming off 35 goals and 55 assists to go with a plus-54 rating in the plus-minus department. Geekie had 70 points in the regular season coming off 24 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-49 rating.

Hauser appeared in 40 regular season games for the post recording a 34-3-1 record, a 2.00 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Benson skated in 58 regular season games with the Ice posting 63 points coming off 25 goals and 38 assists to go with a plus-40 rating. He leads the Ice in post-season scoring with 18 points coming off eight goals and 10 assists to go with a plus-12 rating.

Kaiden Guhle was a huge addition to the roster of the Oil Kings.

Woo as a 15-year-old regular on defence has one goal, one assist and a plus-five rating skating in all of the Ice’s 10 post-season games to date. He appeared in 15 regular season games with the Ice recording one goal, two assists and a plus-18 rating.

The Ice have a number of star and standout veterans too in Connor McClennon, Mikey Milne, Jakin Smallwood, Benjamin Zloty, Jack Finley, Carson Lambos and seemingly the rest of the roster has made big contributions at some point during the campaign.

Zloty, who could return next season as an overager, led the Ice in defenceman scoring in the regular season posting 64 points coming off eight goals and 56 assists skating in 62 regular season games. He also had a plus-38 rating in the plus-minus department.

Ice head coach James Patrick and has staff have done an outstanding job ensuring the Winnipeg side place consistent on a nightly basis.

The Oil Kings head into the series with the Ice with an older roster. Edmonton is carrying 10 players who are skating through their 19-year-old campaign along with the allowed three overagers each WHL club can have.

The Oil Kings roster has eight players who have been a selection in the NHL Entry Draft. Edmonton’s notable acquisitions going all-in on the trade front for this season include centre and Florida Panthers draft selection Justin Sourdif, defenceman and Montreal Canadiens draft selection Kaiden Guhle and rearguard and Nashville Predators draft selection Luke Prokop.

Benjamin Zloty had 64 points in 62 games for the Ice.

Management for the Edmonton side made the aggressive moves with the team having lost two potential long post-season runs in 2020 and 2021 due to the WHL Playoffs and the CHL Championship Tournament – the Memorial Cup – being cancelled in each of those years due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Right-winger Dylan Guenther, who can potentially return for two more WHL campaigns, led the Oil Kings in regular season scoring with 91 points coming off 45 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-51 rating. Guenther tops the Oil Kings in post-season scoring with 12 points coming off nine goals and three assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Overage import defenceman Simon Kubicek led all Oil Kings blue-liners in regular season scoring with 41 points coming off 14 goals and 27 assists to go with a plus-29 rating.

Star 19-year-old netminder Sebastian Cossa, had an outstanding regular season posting a 33-9-3 record, a 2.28 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and six shutouts in 46 appearances.

 The Oil Kings have plenty of other stars and standouts like captain Jake Neighbours, Josh Williams, Carter Souch, Jalen Luypen and Jakub Demek. Neighbours only appeared in 30 regular season games, but he posted 45 points coming off 17 goals and 28 assists to go with a plus-24 rating.

Head coach Brad Lauer guided the Oil Kings to the Eastern Conference final in 2019 when they fell to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders. Lauer and his staff will do their best to ensure their club gets past the conference championship round this season.

The Oil Kings celebrate a goal on Jan. 1.

The Ice and Oil Kings potentially have a series that would be great to showcase the WHL on a national television sports network.

For ticket buyers in Winnipeg and Edmonton, they will be in for treat with what they see in the rink.

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

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Blades had good return to full season play

Injuries prevented Saskatoon from realizing more potential

The Blades celebrate a goal on March 25.

While the injury bug was a big foe, Saskatoon Blades had a respectable campaign playing their first full regular season since 2018-19.

In 2021-22, the Blades finished fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 38-26-3-1 regular season record. With one more standings point, the Blades would placed fourth in the Eastern Conference during the regular season and earned home ice advantage for a first round playoff series.

The WHL wasn’t able to play any complete regular seasons or crown league champions in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world. The CHL didn’t crown any Memorial Cup champions in either of those campaigns too.

When the WHL Playoffs came around following the completion of the 2021-22 regular season, the Blades found themselves taking on the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Warriors finished fourth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-24-4-3 mark to just edge out the Blades with 81 standings points to 80.

Saskatoon won six out of the eight head-to-head meetings between the two sides in the regular season. The Warriors claimed a best-of-seven post-season series 4-1.

Moose Jaw clinched the series with a 6-3 victory at home in Mosaic Place in Game 5 on April 29. The Warriors have to be credited with building a skilled younger roster that played well together in the series against the Blades.

The Blades had a fairly young roster too, and they had some skilled youngsters too that came along way.

Kyle Crnkovic was the Blades leading scorer.

Left-winger Brandon Lisowsky appeared in all 68 of the Blades regular season games in his 17-year-old campaign piling up 33 goals and 25 assists to go with a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department.

Rookie 17-year-old import left-winger Egor Sidorov made noise potting 23 goals and 12 assists appearing in 58 regular season games.

Defenceman Tanner Molendyk skated through his 16-year-old season, and he has potential to be one of the better rearguards on the WHL circuit. He had three goals, 15 assists and a minus-six rating in 55 regular season games, but he showed he could play a high volume of minutes when injuries added up.

When it came to the injury department, Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk calculated the club lost 250 man games due to injury in 2021-22. Blades first-year head coach Brennan Sonne had to lament all the line juggled he had to perform due to necessity.

When playoffs came around, the Blades were without captain and star offensive-defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who had season ending shoulder surgery. During his 19-year-old season, De La Gorgendiere appeared in 54 regular season games for the Blades posting four goals and 41 assists.

He last played on March 25, when the Blades downed the visiting Regina Pats 3-1 at the SaskTel Centre.

Star overage centre Tristen Robins, who finished the campaign as the Blades captain when De La Gorgendiere wasn’t able to comeback, missed the Blades last four regular season games due to injury and their first two playoff contests.

Robins, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, suited up for the Blades last three post-season games playing only on the power play with a hobbled ankle. In 62 regular season games, Robins recorded 33 goals, 45 assists and a plus-four rating. He was only a shadow of that type of player in the post-season due to his ankle injury.

Tristen Robins had 33 goals and 45 assists for the Blades.

The Blades came out of the gate with a hot start posting a 9-2-1 record. Struggles took hold of the team at that point.

Following a 4-1 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders on home ice on Dec. 18, 2021, the Blades found themselves heading into the Christmas break with a 15-13-1 mark. At that point, the fact that about two-thirds of the Blades roster had never been through a full 68-game regular season became apparent.

There were a lot of guys that ran out of gas and played on fumes, when the schedule turned to November.

After returning from the Christmas Break, the Blades and the rest of the WHL had their troubles with players, coaches and staff dealing with COVID-19. Most of the WHL was shut down for the first two weeks of January, which included the Blades not playing any games between Jan. 1 and Jan. 14.

Blades rugged overage defenceman Rhett Rhinehart found himself on the WHL COVID-19 Protocol List for a short span.

There was a period of time ranging from three-and-a-half to four weeks during the campaign when Blades general manager Colin Priestner was down due to COVID.

Despite the challenges, the Blades rallied on the ice and had a 29-18-2-1 record when February came to a close.

Over the Blades last 18 regular season games, injuries really started to pile up. 

Rhett Rhinehart gave the Blades a physical presence.

By the time a 7-0 loss to the Warriors in Moose Jaw ended on March 26, the Blades were down eight regulars due to injury including all four regular centres in Robins, Jayden Wiens, Trevor Wong and Josh Pillar.

When the playoffs came around, the Blades were relatively healthy outside of the big exceptions that De La Gorgendiere was out and Robins played the club’s last three post-season games being limited physically due to his ankle injury. Besides the injury battles, the campaign had its highlights.

On April 8, Blades overage star netminder Nolan Maier made 20 saves in a 2-0 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders to move alone into top spot on the WHL’s all-time career regular season goaltending wins list with his 121^st victory. 

He finished his regular season career with 122 victories.

Maier had a strong final campaign with the Blades posting a 31-23-4 record, a 2.82 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts.

Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who was skating through his 19-year-old season, finished fifth in the WHL’s regular season scoring race piling up 94 points on 39 goals and 55 assists to go with an even rating. Crnkovic’s goal, assist and point totals were all career highs, and he was the Blades leading scorer.

With the 2021-22 campaign at an end for the Blades, they of course graduate Maier, Robins and Rhinehart due to the fact they age out of the major junior ranks.

The Blades celebrate a win on April 15.

There were some fans that gripped on social media with classic moans about the Blades lack of post-season success that existed before the COVID-19 pandemic caused shutdowns in March of 2020. Those moans are misplaced due to what has happened in the world since March of 2020, but some upset fans will continue their upset fandom no matter what happens in the world, while conveniently forgetting they cried about having no Blades hockey to watch during shutdowns.

The Blades have the potential to return a strong roster for the upcoming 2022-23 campaign and will have a more regular off-season to prepare for the next season.

Going forward, there should be some well-placed optimism about the future looking good for the Blades.

Oil Kings deal Rebels major blow with OT win, other notes

Jake Neighbours scored the OT winner for the Oil Kings.

Captain Jake Neighbours’ overtime goal might be a blow the Red Deer Rebels can’t come back from.

On Monday before 3,506 spectators at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer, Neighbours, who is a star left-winger, scored his first goal of the post-season at the 7:17 mark of overtime to deliver his Edmonton Oil Kings to a 5-4 victory over the Rebels in Game 3 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two sides.

With the win, the Oil Kings took a stranglehold 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. The favoured Oil Kings will try to close out the series against the Rebels in Game 4 on Wednesday set for 7 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

Luke Prokop, Dylan Guenther, Carter Souch and Justin Sourdif all had singles in regulation for the Oil Kings. Liam Keeler, Kalan Lind, Arshdeep Bains and Jhett Larson replied with singles for the Rebels in regulation.

Edmonton had a 4-2 lead, but Bains scored with 7:10 remaining in the third and Larson potted the equalizer with 6:34 to play in the third to force overtime.

The Rebels comeback wasn’t to be as Neighbours netted the overtime winner.

Sebastian Cossa made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings. Connor Unger turned away 47 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels despite a valiant effort to steal the game.

On Monday, Cossa was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week ending on Sunday. He captured the weekly award having shutout the Rebels in the first two games of the series.

Last Thursday, Cossa made 18 saves as the Oil Kings downed the Rebels 4-0 in Game 1 of the series at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Cossa followed that up with a 26 save performance last Saturday as the Oil Kings blanked the Rebels 5-0 in Game 2 of the series also played at Rogers Place.

The WHL’s conference semifinal round could potentially be a quick one. In the other Eastern Conference semifinal, the Winnipeg Ice, the WHL’s top club in the regular season, hold a 2-0 series lead over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

In the Western Conference, the favoured Kamloops Blazers lead the Vancouver Giants 2-0 in one semifinal series, and the favoured Portland Winterhawks lead the Seattle Thunderbirds 2-0 in the other semifinal series.

• On Monday, Winnipeg Ice left-winger Owen Pederson was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending on May 8. He had a goal and four assists helping the Ice win the first two games of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
• On Monday, Kelowna Rockets import right-winger Pavel Novak signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild. The Wild selected Novak in the fifth round and 146^th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Novak, who turned 20-years-old on April 16, appeared in 62 regular season games for the Rockets in 2021-22 recording 29 goals, 43 assists and a plus-26 rating in the plus-minus department.
• Last Wednesday, Mitch Love, who is the head coach of the Stockton Heat, was named the AHL’s coach of the year. Love guided the Heat to a first place finish in the Pacific Division with a 46-16-5-2 record. The 46 victories is a regular season record for the Heat along with the team’s 97 standings points. The division title win was a first in Heat franchise history. Before joining the Heat, Love was the head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades for three seasons.
• I put together new content for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex’s Howe Happenings blog that went live on Monday. I created a piece called “Home is where the heart is for Neufeld – O-lineman finds stomping grounds in Sask. and the ’Peg.” It is a catch up piece with Winnipeg Blue Bombers star offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld, who is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football team from the U Sports ranks. That article can be found by clicking right here. I also created a photo roundup that 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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Maier’s heart will always be with Blades, his only WHL team

Record setting netminder sees Saskatoon as second home

Nolan Maier has a WHL record 122 career regular season wins.

Nolan Maier will always wear his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the Saskatoon Blades, and he expects it will take some time to digest his playing career has come to a close with the team.

On top of being the team’s overage star netminder, Maier played his entire WHL career with the Blades. He joined the team full time as a 16-year-old on November 14, 2017.

He came to the Blades after playing for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge that was held jointly that year in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C.

Maier’s WHL career officially came to a close with a 6-3 loss to the Warriors in Moose Jaw in Game 5 of a WHL first round series on Friday, April 29. The Warriors took the best-of-seven series 4-1.

Over the course of five seasons, Maier put a tremendous investment into the Blades and has become fond of Saskatoon as a city itself. Even eight days after the campaign ended, it is a tough pill for Maier to digest that won’t be playing for Saskatoon’s WHL side anymore.

“It is emotional,” said Maier. “I think when you spend a good part of your life in one spot and you get to know a lot of people very well and just like seeing you guys (the media members) every day at the games being around the rink it is very emotional.”

He still feels the sting of the post-season ending loss in Moose Jaw at Mosaic Place.

“It still hurts,” said Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 172 pounds. “I think none of us wanted it to end like that or that way at all.

Nolan Maier has a Blades record 5,788 career regular season saves.

“We all thought we had more in us. I think I’m just more grateful that it happened, and I was around such a great group of guys and coaches and management for my whole time here the whole five years. It has just been an honour for me so far.”

Maier departs the Blades as one the team’s all-time greats. He appeared in 216 career regular season games posting a 122-72-18 record, a 2.89 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

Along with those statistics, Maier has played 12,609 career minutes in goal for the Blades and made 5,788 career saves.

His 122 career regular season wins is a WHL record. Maier’s career shutout, games played, minutes played and saves totals are all Blades regular season franchise records.

Getting the WHL career wins record was Maier’s highlight with the Blades. He took sole possession of the record with his 121^st win that came on April 8 with a 2-0 victory over the archrival Prince Albert Raiders before 4,802 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

Maier made 20 saves to pick up his 12^th and final regular season shutout of his career.

He moved past Corey Hirsch and Tyson Sexsmith for top spot on the WHL’s career regular season wins list. Hirsch and Sexsmith sit tied for second on that list with 120 victories.

Hirsch picked up his 120 victories playing four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers from 1988 to 1992. Sexsmith collected his 120 wins over five seasons with the Vancouver Giants from 2005 to 2009. He also had one non-decision relief appearance for the Medicine Hat Tigers late in the 2004-05 campaign.

Nolan Maier makes a save as a 16-year-old rookie in Nov. 2017.

“It is something I will never forget,” said Maier. “It was kind of the perfect ending just to have it home against P.A. while you get a shutout.

“It was almost like that storybook ending. To get that record definitely means so much, especially just with the same jersey on my back for five years. That definitely meant more to me just to have that.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the team and obviously management for trusting me to play me as much as they did when I was young. That was the only reason I was able to come close. It was something that I will never forget and super special.”

The Yorkton, Sask., product said the WHL wins record wasn’t his greatest achievement with the Blades.

“I think the friendships and the family is what I’m most grateful to achieve,” said Maier. “I think that is something that I will never forget.

“The record, obviously, means a lot to me and is close to my heart, but just the people and everyone that I’ve known and love for the past five years here will be forever.”

Over the past five seasons, the Blades didn’t have any questions in net with Maier playing goal. The Blades will return backup Ethan Chadwick, who is a graduate of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team, and associate player call up Austin Elliott, who played most of 2021-22 with the Notre Dame Hounds in the junior A ranks of the SJHL, to be in the goaltending mix as 18-year-olds in 2022-23.

Maier believes the Blades future is bright in goal with the youngsters.

“It will be fun to watch,” said Maier. “I think I will be able to just see from a different view almost as a fan now and just always keeping an eye on them.

Nolan Maier makes a save versus the Raiders on Dec. 27, 2021.

“They have bright futures, and they just got to stick with it and just kind of play their game, because they are here for a reason. They just have to find their own way and just kind of get as many games in as they can, because that is all you have to do especially coming in as a young person. They’ll be fine.

“I’m extremely happy to kind of see their careers unfold.”

As for his future in hockey, Maier doesn’t know what is going to happen. While he has put of great statistics, the 21-year-old has never been drafted by an NHL team or even invited to an NHL training camp.

The fact he stands just 6-feet tall and isn’t at least 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3 is the obvious drawback as most NHL personal look at size in goaltenders.

Maier said he doesn’t let the lack of NHL opportunities bother him.

“It used to drive me nuts,” said Maier. “It is just that nothing has unfolded yet.

“I’m just looking forward to hopefully something happening this summer. I’m just getting ready for any chance I get.”

Maier is still hoping to play professionally. If that doesn’t work out, he would like to play for a post-secondary school team.

The veteran netminder said he has talked to a lot of post-secondary school teams, but he hasn’t gone any further on that route.

Nolan Maier (#73) departs the Blades as one of their all-time greats.

“I don’t have one picked at all or if I am going to go the school route,” said Maier. “I’m just trying to digest everything kind of coming to an end here.

“I don’t what the future is going to hold, but I will know later on.”

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

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