Hitmen manage to stay alive in WHL post-season
race
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| The Blades celebrate an OT winner from Brandon Lisowsky (#8). |
On Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades found themselves going to overtime locked in a 3-3 tie with the visiting Calgary Hitmen in a WHL regular season encounter. In the three-versus-three extra session, Blades star center Fraser Minten stole a pass from a Hitmen player just inside the Calgary blue-line.
Minten got the puck to Lisowsky springing the 19-year-old star winger in on a breakaway. Lisowsky roofed home the winner to the top left corner of the Calgary goal giving the Blades a 4-3 victory just 65 seconds into overtime to the delight of the 4,271 spectators in attendance.
The overtime winner was Lisowsky’s second goal of the night and 40th of the campaign. That marks the first time the Port Coquitlam, B.C., product hit the 40-goal plateau in his WHL career.
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| Brandon Lisowsky scored twice for the Blades on Wednesday. |
With the win, the WHL leading Blades improve to 48-13-3-2. They just need two more standing points over their final two regular season games to lock up first overall in the WHL for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign. That can quickly be accomplished with one more win.
Saskatoon sits three points up on the B.C. Division champion Prince George Cougars (47-15-1-3) and five points ahead of the U.S. Division champion Portland Winterhawks (46-15-3-1).
The Blades will get their first chance to clinch top spot on the major junior circuit on Friday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face their archrivals the 31-30-2-3 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). Those two clubs close their respective regular season schedules facing each other on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
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| Carter Yakemchuk had a goal for the Hitmen. |
The Blades came with a push back after the Hitmen went ahead which included Lisowsky getting robbed at point blank range by the right side of the Calgary net by Hitmen netminder Ethan Buenaventura.
The opening 20 minutes was fairly evenly played as the Hitmen exited the frame with their 1-0 lead and holding a 13-11 edge in shots on goal.
The Hitmen came out with some jump to start the second period getting the first three shot on goal in the frame.
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| Easton Armstrong had a goal for the Blades. |
With 3:11 remaining in the second, the Blades evened the score at 1-1 on a power-play goal by star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong. Armstrong received a pass in front of the Calgary goal from Blades captain Trevor Wong and slid a shot home into the right low corner of the Hitmen net for his 33rd tally of the campaign.
At the close of the second period, the Blades held a 25-20 edge in shots on goal.
Just 51 seconds into the third, Hitmen star offensive-defenceman Carter Yakemchuk fired home a shot from the left point for his 28th goal of the season to put the Hitmen back out in front 2-1.
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| Maxim Muranov netted 22nd goal of the season. |
The Blades proceeded to jump ahead 3-2 with 5:40 remaining in the third period, when Lisowsky tipped home a point shot from offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk for a power-play marker.
With 64 seconds remaining in the third, Hitmen left-winger Connor Dale, who turned 19-years-old in January, slipped home a bad angle shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net to even the score 3-3 and force overtime.
That set the stage for Lisowsky to come through with his winner in the extra session.
Gardner stopped 22 shots to pick up his 20th win in goal for the Blades, who are rated sixth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings. Buenaventura turned away 43 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Hitmen.
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| The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday night. |
In order for the Hitmen to be able to stay alive in the race to make the WHL Playoffs, they need to win their final two regular season games and the Raiders must lost their final two regular season games in regulation. If that happens, a standings tiebreaking game would be held at a date to be determined in Prince Albert as the Raiders are guaranteed to finish with more wins than the Hitmen.
The Hitmen get back at it on Friday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (7 p.m., InnovationPlex). Those two squads close their respective regular season schedules facing each other on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome at 6 p.m. local time.
Raiders rock Regina 5-1, sit one point from
playoff clinch
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| Ryder Ritchie had a goal and two assists for the Raiders. |
On Wednesday night before 2,447 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders rocked the visiting Pats 5-1 in a WHL regular season clash. The win allowed the Raiders to end a three-game losing streak and improve to 31-30-2-3 to strengthen their grip on eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.
Combined with the Calgary Hitmen falling 4-3 in overtime to the WHL leading Blades in Saskatoon on Wednesday, the Raiders need to earn one more point in the standings to lock up a berth in the WHL Playoffs. Prince Albert sits four points up on the Hitmen (27-30-8-1), who are ninth overall in the conference.
The Raiders with have their first chance to clinch a post-season berth on Friday when they host their archrivals in the Blades (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). Those two clubs close their respective regular season schedules facing each other on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
In order for the Hitmen to be able to stay alive in the race to make the WHL Playoffs, they need to win their final two regular season games and the Raiders must lost their final two regular season games in regulation. If that happens, a standings tiebreaking game would be held in at a date to be determined in Prince Albert as the Raiders are guaranteed to finish with more wins than the Hitmen.
The Hitmen get back at it on Friday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (7 p.m., InnovationPlex). Those two squads close their respective regular season schedules facing each other on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome at 6 p.m. local time.
As for Wednesday’s encounter between the Raiders and the Pats, the Raiders stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period with goals coming from the sticks of offensive-defenceman Justice Christensen, 18-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube, star 17-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie and 18-year-old centre Aiden Oiring. The tallies from Dube and Oiring came on the power play.
The Raiders held a 16-8 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
Oiring again tallied on the power-play at the 5:52 mark of the second. That tally was also the sophomore’s 20th goal of the campaign marking the first time he has hit the 20-goal plateau in his WHL career.
The Pats finally hit the scoreboard with 5:07 remaining in the third, when captain Tanner Howe scored on the power play to round out the 5-1 final score in favour of the Raiders.
Max Hildebrand stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Ritchie had a pair of assists to go with his goal. Christensen had a helper to go with his tally.
Kelton Pyne turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats, who fell to 22-38-4-2 as they play out the string.
The Pats return to action on Friday when they return home to face the Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).
Broncos claim first division title since
2001
On Wednesday, the Broncos downed the visiting Red Deer Rebels 6-3 at the InnovationPlex before an overjoyed crowd of 2,371 spectators. The win allowed the Broncos to improve to 39-21-4-2 to lock up first place in the WHL’s Central Division.
Wednesday’s win marked the first time the Broncos have won a division title since they claimed first in the East Division back in the 2000-01 campaign, when they posted a record of 43 wins, 20 losses, seven ties and two overtime losses. The Broncos made it to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series in that campaign falling in six games to the Rebels, who went on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions.
Swift Current never did win a division title in the club’s last WHL championship winning season in 2017-18. In that campaign, the Broncos finished second overall in the WHL and second in the East Division behind the Moose Jaw Warriors, who posted a 52-15-2-3 mark. The Broncos eliminated the Warriors in seven games in a second round series in the 2018 post-season.
The Broncos did actually win the Central Division title on one other occasion back in the 1995-96 campaign, when they posted a record of 36 wins, 31 losses and five ties. Swift Current fell in six games in a first round series to Red Deer.
In Wednesday’s meeting between the Broncos and Rebels, it appeared for a time in the opening frame the Rebels would be spoilers. Rookie import centre Samuel Drancak, who turned 18-years-old in February, scored on the power play at the 6:33 mark for the Rebels to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.
With 48 seconds remaining in the first, Broncos breakout left-winger Clarke Caswell was sprung on a breakaway and he slipped home a low shot to the left side of the Red Deer net to even the score at 1-1.
Red Deer held a 17-8 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
At the 11:43 mark of the second, Broncos veteran 20-year-old defenceman Ryan McCleary fired home a shot from the left slot for his 11th tally of the season to put the host side up 2-1. McCleary completed a crisp passing play from Caswell and star centre Conor Geekie.
Broncos star centre Mathew Ward tallied at the 5:37 mark of the third to put the Broncos up 3-1. Just 18-seconds later, Ward’s linemate in star right-winger Josh Filmon netted his 27th goal of the season to push Swift Current’s advantage out to 4-1.
That led to the third ending with a crazy final eight minutes. With 7:42 remaining in the third, Rebels right-winger Talon Brigley scored his 20th of the campaign to cut the Broncos lead to 4-2.
Following that tally, Broncos 18-year-old centre Connor Gabriel scored for the host side to push the Broncos lead out to 5-2. Red Deer scored again with 3:10 remaining in the third thanks to a power-play goal from right-winger Jhett Larson that trimmed Swift Current’s lead to 5-3.
Just four seconds later, Broncos star right-winger Connor Hvidston put the puck into an empty Rebels net for his 27th goal of the season to round out the 6-3 final score in favour of the host side.
Reid Dyck stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos. Rhett Stoesser turned away 21-of-26 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels (33-24-3-6).
With Wednesday’s results, the Rebels got locked into a best-of-seven first round playoff series with the Medicine Hat Tigers (36-2-3-5-2). The Tigers will have home ice advantage being locked into fourth overall in the Eastern Conference, while the Rebels are locked into fifth overall.
The Broncos return to action on Friday when they host the 27-30-8-1 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).
The Rebels get back it on Saturday when they host the 25-37-3-1 Edmonton Oil Kings (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).
The Broncos had a rocky beginning to the 2023-24 campaign. They started 9-9-1 under head coach Devan Praught. On Nov. 14, 2023, Praught was suspended for violating WHL Standards of Conduct for an on ice incident at practice on day earlier.
Taras McEwen was named the interim head coach. Praught, who is 36-years-old, would never return to coach the Broncos as he and the team later agreed to mutually part ways.
With the 33-year-old McEwen behind the bench as interim head coach, the Broncos have posted a 30-12-3-2 mark. McEwen’s father, Brad McEwen, was the Broncos head coach and general manager when they won the East Division title in 2000-01. Brad McEwen currently scouts for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
The Broncos are slated to move to the East Division before the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
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