Blades chase history, Rebels aim to close out series and advance

The Blades celebrate a goal in Game 4 against the Rebels.

The Saskatoon Blades are trying to do something that has only been done twice in the WHL.

The Red Deer Rebels are trying to close out a series to return to the WHL’s final four for the first time since they hosted the CHL championship tournament - the Memorial Cup - in 2016.

On Friday, the two squads resume their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series when they hit the ice for Game 5 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Rebels lead the series 3-1, and the Blades will be trying to stave off elimination on home ice.

The Rebels won the first three games of the series, and the Blades claimed a 4-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday in Red Deer. With that win, the Blades took a step in trying to become just the third team in the history of the WHL to come back and win a best-of-seven series after being down 3-0.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

In 1990, the Blades almost made history on that front. Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in the 1990 WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes.

The Rebels will be looking to make good on a second chance to eliminate the Blades on Friday. In Wednesday’s Game 4 encounter in Red Deer, the Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the first period and held a 2-1 edge after 40 minutes. The Blades scored three straight goals in the third to pull out the 4-2 victory.

The Rebels celebrate a goal in Game 4 on Wednesday.

The Rebels will be without star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January, for Friday’s contest. At the 3:24 mark of the first period of Game 4, Lind went down after being on the receiving end of a head shot from Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies.

Lind was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital on Wednesday and released later that same night. He did not make the trip to Saskatoon, but the Rebels posted a message on Twitter from Lind wishing his teammates well from his billet home.

Lies received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct for his hit on Lind. His hit will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension. As of late Thursday night, the WHL hadn’t posted if there will be a suspension for Lies.

The Blades acquired Lies in a trade with the Vancouver Giants before the current season began back on August 31, 2022. With the Blades, Lies has been the model teammate and a gritty hard working player that plays tough but within the rules.

In 56 regular season games with the Blades, Lies posted career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and the plus-minus department (plus-six). In his previous three seasons with the Giants, Lies was suspended twice for a total of six games, and that could play a part in the WHL’s disciplinary ruling for his hit on Lind.

Also in Game 4, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky received a double minor for high-sticking after a clip high stick on Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz. The nature of Lisowsky’s infraction will also be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension, but it would be surprising in this instance if there was a suspension.

Trevor Wong leads the Blades with 15 points in the playoffs.

Star centre Trevor Wong tops the Blades in post-season scoring with 15 points coming off four goals and 11 assists, which includes one goal and four assists against the Rebels. Wong led the Blades in regular season scoring with 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists.

Egor Sidorov, who is the Blades star import right-winger, sits second in team scoring in the post-season with 12 points coming off five goals and seven assists. Captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere leads all Blades defenceman in scoring with 10 points coming off one goal and nine assists.

Captain Jayden Grubbe tops the Rebels in post-season scoring with 15 points coming off two goals and 13 assists. Left-winger Ben King sits second in Rebels team scoring in the playoffs with 11 points coming off four goals and seven assists.

Uchacz had been held pointless in the first three games of the series against the Blades before scoring both Rebels goals in their Game 4 loss. He has nine points in the playoffs coming off six goals and three assists.

During the regular season, Uchacz topped the Rebels in scoring with 85 points coming off 50 goals and 35 assists.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Jayden Grubbe leads the Rebels with 15 points in the playoffs.

While Red Deer won the first three games of the set, every one of the first four contests has been tight. Now, we will see if the Blades can create more twists and turns in the series or the Rebels bring things to a conclusion to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series.

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