Wings freeze Rush comeback attempt in OT

Cattoni’s winner drops Saskatchewan to 3-1

Clark Walter (#9) of the Rush keeps the ball away from a Wings defender.

Holden Cattoni played the role of Grinch to the chagrin of the Saskatchewan Rush and their fans.

On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre just three days after Christmas Day, Cattoni fired home five goals including the overtime winner to allow his Philadelphia Wings to pull out a 12-11 overtime victory over the host Rush in an NLL regular season clash. The Rush were down in the contest 11-8 but rallied with three fourth quarter goals to even the score at 11-11 and force overtime.

The Wings celebrate their overtime win on Saturday.

After the Rush came up empty on their two offensive possessions in the extra session, Cattoni slipped the winner home past Rush goalie Frank Scigliano 95 seconds into the stanza to disappoint most of the 6,016 spectators in attendance. Saturday’s game marked the third time this season Saskatchewan had gone to overtime this season. The Rush won their two previous overtime contests.

Rush co-head coach Jimmy Quinlan appreciated the resilience shown by his club, but he would like his squad to play a bit more consistent in regulation time.

“Kudos to our group,” said Quinlan. “They are an interesting bunch, and it is great.

Holden Cattoni scored five goals for the Wings on Saturday.

“They never feel like they are out of it. They feel like it doesn’t really matter what is going on they stick to the game plan. Those overtime ones though, it is kind of next shot wins.

“We kind of maybe got a little bit too far off one of their shooters, and he made a play. If we clean up a lot of those areas and we get better on the power play, we probably don’t find ourselves in that spot. It is a tough league to win in, and we figured that one out tonight.”

Saturday’s setback dropped the Rush to 3-1. They were looking to put together their first 4-0 start since the 2017-18 campaign when the last won the NLL title.

For the Wings, Saturday’s victory was their third straight as they improved to 3-1.

Mike Triolo scored four goals for the Rush on Saturday.

“Obviously, the guys in the locker room are pretty upset, because we had our chances to win that game tonight,” said Rush rookie defender Jake Naso, who scored his first career NLL goal on Saturday. “Definitely, we had a chance we could have gone 4-0.

“We’re going to watch the film and get back at it. We have a bye week, and everyone’s going to work as hard as they can to get healthy and get right for our next game and just take it one week at a time.”

Mike Triolo scored four goals from the Rush, who also received singles from Josh Zawada, Clark Walter, Ryan Barnable, Brock Haley, Jake Boudreau and Zach Manns.

Brennan O’Neill and Mitch Jones each had two-goal nights for the Wings, while Blaze Riorden, Joe Resetarits and Phil Caputo had singles for the Philadelphia side.

Zach Manns scored the goal that forced overtime on Saturday.

The Rush jumped out to a quick 2-0, but they were locked in a 3-3 tie with the Wings at the end of the first quarter. After the Rush scored early in the second quarter to go up 4-3, the Wings went on a 5-1 run to close out the first half jumping out to an 8-5 lead.

Naso said the Rush might have halted that run, if everyone on his side clamped down for a second more on their individual defensive matchups.

“Looking back at it, yeah, we could have prevented it,” said Naso. “That is what we were dealt with, and we came back.

“We came back with a hunger in the second half, and made that score even at the end and just fell short.”

The Wings proceeded to exit the third quarter with an 11-8 advantage. The fourth quarter belonged to the Rush as Triolo netted his third and fourth goals of the contest with Manns following up with the equalizer to cause the 11-11 tie and force overtime.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre celebrate a Rush goal.

Quinlan was pleased that Triolo came through with a big game. The bench boss said Triolo’s impact was similar to the impact Manns had on the Rush in their 9-8 overtime win over the Halifax Thunderbirds at the SaskTel Centre on December 14, where Manns scored six goals including the extra time winner. Triolo is playing his second season with the Rush after signing with the club as a free agent.

“He (Triolo) was phenomenal,” said Quinlan. “He is a guy that when we got him last year we asked a lot of things of him.

“We always knew he could carry the ball. He is just a guy who again will do anything you ask, and it was good to see him rewarded. He is one of those guys when he starts to feel hot it is give him the ball and get out of his way.

The O16 Electric Crew performs during halftime.

“Similar to what Zach Manns did here against Halifax, he got us into that game and gave us a chance. I was happy for him.”

Before Cattoni netted the overtime winner for the Wings, the Rush had two offensive possessions in the extra session. Quinlan believed his squad had a good chance to claim victory on the first possession.

“I thought the first one we did exactly what we wanted to and executed a great look,” said Quinlan. “Joshua (Zawada) got a shot right from the high scoring percentage area in the middle of the floor, and their goalie made a save.

Ryan Keenan works in the offensive zone for the Rush.

“The second possession, again, I think we kind of maybe passed up a shot we should have taken, and then I’ve seen all the balls on the ground. You get into those situations of overtime a lot of times it is getting balls on net, and maybe not necessarily looking for the perfect shot.

“I thought our first possession was excellent. Our second possession, I’d have to go back and look at it, but I thought we passed up a good shot.”

Scigliano made 37 saves to take the setback in goal for the Rush. Nick Damude stopped 47 shots to pick up the win in net for the Wings.

The Rush return to action when they host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. 

Zach Manns (#2) attracts defenders from the Wings.

Looking forward, Rush captain Ryan Keenan said everyone on his team has to like the fact they are 3-1 after posting 8-10 records in each of the past three campaigns and failing to make the post-season in each of those campaigns.

“We’re in a good spot,” said Keenan. “I think we all know in that room there are a lot of areas to improve.

“Our offence, we have to execute a lot better. We were a bit sloppy. We had some unforced errors and turnovers.

The Rush will look to rebound from their loss on Saturday.

“We’ve got the guys in the room to win and compete for a championship. We just have to start putting it together for 60 minutes.”

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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WHL’s Eastern Conference is wild

Tanner Howe (#9) and Aiden Oiring battle for the puck.

Six points out of first place and one point out of the post-season picture.

That is how crazy the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings are at the WHL’s Christmas break. With a 15-11-3 mark, the Prince Albert Raiders are in that exact position. At the moment, they sit tied with the Red Deer Rebels (15-14-1-2) for the eighth and ninth positions in the conference with 33 standings points.

If the WHL was to go into playoff action following the Christmas break, the Raiders and Rebels would play in a tiebreaking game. As both teams have 15 wins, Red Deer would host that contest as they beat the Raiders 3-2 on December 3 in the only meeting between the two clubs so far this season.

If the Raiders would have had six more standings points, they would have been tied for first place in the conference with the Medicine Hat Tigers (19-14-1) at 39 points. If the Raiders had seven more standings points, they would be sitting alone for top spot in the conference.

As for the Tigers, they would be sitting out of a playoff position if they had seven fewer standings points. That line alone sounds strange when you are talking about a first place club in hockey.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Hitmen emerging as surprise team in WHL

Oliver Tulk leads the Hitmen in scoring with 49 points.

“Shhhhhh. We want to sneak up on people. We are actually good.”

The Calgary Hitmen have flown in under the radar. At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, they were expected to contend for a position in the WHL Playoffs, but they weren’t penciled in to win any division, conference or league titles.

Last season, the Hitmen placed ninth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 28-31-8-1 mark finishing two standings points back of the Prince Albert Raiders (31-32-2-3) for eighth place and the conference’s final post-season berth. Calgary has failed to make the post-season in two of the last three WHL campaigns.

On November 11 of this season, the Hitmen dropped 6-5 overtime decision to the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington. That result moved the Hitmen’s record to 7-7-3-1 after 18 games.

Since that time, the Hitmen have gone on a tear posting a 10-2 mark to improve to 17-9-3-1. They sit one standings point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (19-14-1) for top spot in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference.

Calgary is tied with the Saskatoon Blades (17-10-2-2) for second and third overall in the Eastern Conference with 38 standings points. The Blades hold the standings tiebreakers due to topping the WHL’s East Division and posting a win and an extra time setback in two head-to-head meetings with the Hitmen.

The Hitmen have been riding the heroics of returnees Oliver Tulk, Ben Kindel and Carter Yakemchuk. Tulk is in his fourth full season with the Hitmen. The 19-year-old right-winger leads Calgary in scoring with 49 points coming off 15 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-six rating in the plus-minus department.

Kindel is a 17-year-old sophomore centre who sits second in Hitmen team scoring with 46 points coming off 19 goals and 27 assists to go with a plus-eight rating. He was listed as a B-ranked skater by NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings for the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.

Carter Yakemchuk tops all Hitmen blue-liners with 29 points.

Carter Yakemchuk is a star 19-year-old offensive defenceman who is in his fourth season with the Hitmen. Yakemchuk, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators, tops the Hitmen in blue-line scoring with 29 points coming off 12 goals and 17 assists in 25 appearances this season.

The Hitmen haven’t been afraid to strengthen their roster via the trade route under the direction of general manager Garry Davidson, who served a strong run as general manager of the Everett Silvertips from 2012 to 2021. At age 73, Davidson is still as sharp as ever.

Just before the regular season started back on September 19, Davidson sent 19-year-old left-winger Connor Dale, a second round selection and a fourth round pick in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Swift Current Broncos for 20-year-old centre Connor Hvidston. Hvidston sits third in Hitmen team scoring with 30 points coming off 11 goals and 19 assists.

Davidson proceeded to make two blockbuster moves in November. On November 17, the Hitmen sent the WHL rights to 15-year-old centre Nathan Gardiner, a second round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and third and seventh round selections in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Moose Jaw Warriors for 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker.

Just four days later on November 21, the Hitmen acquired now 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe from the Regina Pats in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton, 18-year-old left-winger Keets Fawcett, a third round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a second round selection in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

On November 19, the Hitmen signed 18-year-old netminder Anders Miller to a WHL scholarship and development agreement. The Anchorage, Alaska, product was playing junior A for the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Hockey League and immediately joined the Hitmen after signing with the Calgary side.

Calgary elected to go with highly touted 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu as their second netminder. Tu made the Hitmen out of training camp and was selected by Calgary in the second round and 31^st overall in the 2023 Prospects Draft.

Miller and Tu have come up with timely saves for the Hitmen. As they continue to get more comfortable playing in the WHL, you can expect both to continue to improve.

The Hitmen acquired Kalem Parker in a trade on November 17.

Veteran 39-year-old coach Paul McFarland has been able to bring the Hitmen together in his first year as the club’s head coach. He came to Calgary after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.

The exploits of the Hitmen sometimes don’t get brought to the surface as they play in a saturated sports market in Calgary, which has seen major cuts to the sports media. Even with numerous high profile sports teams calling Calgary home, the Hitmen enjoyed great coverage through the 2000s and most of the 2010s from Scott Fisher until he was let go by the Calgary Sun. Fisher covered the Hitmen like an NHL club and was well respected for his work.

It would have been sweet to have Fisher covering the Hitmen in the current day, because they appear to be on a rocket rise. When the dust settles, they could very well top the Eastern Conference standings and be looking at the prospects of going on a long post-season run.

Saskatoon, PA feel at world juniors

Caden Price will play for Canada at world juniors.

A number of folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert will be paying extra attention to world juniors.

A total of six players have ties to one community or the other or both centres, when the annual hockey tournament hits the ice in Ottawa, Ont., on Thursday, December 26. Canada’s roster includes Saskatoon produces in defenceman Caden Price and centre Berkly Catton.

Price, who is 19-years-old, leads the Kelowna Rockets in defencemen scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-14 rating in the plus-minus department in 26 games. Catton, who is 18-years-old, sits second in Spokane Chiefs scoring with 47 points coming off 14 goals and 33 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 28 games.

Brayden Yager, who is a 19-year-old centre, started the campaign with the Moose Jaw Warriors before being traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He will also be skating for Canada, and he will be the squad’s captain. In 23 games played between the Warriors and Hurricanes, Yager has 34 points coming off 12 goals and 22 assists.

Brayden Yager is Canada’s captain at world juniors.

Yager resides in the Saskatoon area in the off-season, but he got his start playing hockey skating in Prince Albert’s minor hockey system. Due to having links to both cities, folks in Saskatoon and Prince Albert have followed Yager’s career.

Tanner Howe, who is a 19-year-old left-winger, is a Prince Albert product who will suit up for Canada. Howe started the WHL campaign with the Regina Pats before being dealt to the Calgary Hitmen. In 16 games with both the Pats and Hitmen, has 16 points coming off nine goals and seven assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Saskatoon Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk will skate for Canada at world juniors. The 19-year-old Kamloops, B.C., product leads the Blades in defence scoring with 21 points coming off four goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-four rating in 21 games. Molendyk, who is one of Canada’s assistant captains, is a career member of the Blades skating in 210 career regular season with the Saskatoon side recording 26 goals, 108 assists and a plus-66 rating.

Blades 17-year-old import rookie centre David Lewandowski will play for Germany at world juniors. In 20 games with the Blades, Lewandowski has recorded seven goals, eight assists and a plus-13 rating.

Canada opens the tournament on December 26 taking on Finland at the Canadian Tire Centre (7:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN). Germany also opens play on December 26 facing the United States (2:30 p.m. eastern time, TSN).

Pats struggle with attendance, other notes

The Brandt Centre has a lot of empty seats for Pats games this season.

There was a day when it was believed the Regina Pats would still average over 4,000 spectators per game even in their down seasons.

After 16 home dates this season, the Pats are averaging 2,422 spectators per game at the Brandt Centre, which can hold 6,499 patrons for hockey. That total is the second lowest average attendance in the WHL.

Last season, the Pats averaged 3,219 spectators for their 34 home dates. In 2022-23 the final campaign with phenom centre Connor Bedard, the Pats averaged 4,501 spectators per game for 34 regular season home games and sold out all three home post-season outings.

When the Pats finished first overall in the WHL and advanced and fell in the WHL final to the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2016-17, the Pats averaged 5,456 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all 12 home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators.

Back in the 2017-18 campaign when the Pats hosted the Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion, the Pats averaged 6,076 spectators for 36 regular season home contests. They sold out all three of their home games in the WHL Playoffs with the Brandt Centre configured to hold 6,484 spectators. In the five games the Pats played at the Memorial Cup tournament, they skated in front of sellout crowds in their last three contests.

Since hosting the Memorial Cup in 2018, the Pats have only played in the post-season once. While the lack of playoffs appearances has hurt, numerous Pats fans have complained online about ticket prices and how they were increased before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, when the Pats still had Bedard.

Currently, single game tickets for Pats games ranges from $31.31 to $43.27. In most WHL markets, tickets hover around $25 to $27.

• On Friday, the Everett Silvertips home rink in the Angel of the Winds Arena topped a league survey of WHL players as the most difficult building to play in on the road. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 25.4 per cent of the players said the Angel of the Winds Arena was the most difficult building to play in. The Prince Albert Raiders home rink in the Art Hauser Centre came in second with 15.6 per cent of the votes, the Seattle Thunderbirds home building in the Accesso ShoWare Center came in third at 9.2 per cent, the Red Deer Rebels rink in the Peavey Mart Centrium was fourth at 7.6 per cent and the Swift Current Broncos home barn in the InnovationPlex was fifth at 7 per cent.
• On Friday, Calgary Hitmen star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk announced he was committing to the NCAA’s storied University of Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey Team for the 2025-26 campaign. In 227 career regular season games with the Hitmen played over four seasons, Tulk has collected 88 goals and 120 assists for 208 points. Tulk’s commitment with the Badgers means he wouldn’t be with the Hitmen for a potential 20-year-old season.
• On Saturday, Everett Silvertips defenceman Landon DuPont topped a league survey of WHL players on who they think will win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year. The WHL surveyed 328 players from all 22 of the league’s clubs and 38 per cent of the votes said DuPont would take rookie of the year honours for the circuit. DuPont was granted exceptional status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old for the current campaign, and he has been as good as advertised. He sits second in rookie scoring with 32 points coming off six goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games. Gavin Garland, who is an 18-year-old centre with the Tri-City Americans, was second on the survey taking 15.2 per cent of the votes. He leads the WHL in rookie scoring with 35 points coming off 18 goals and 17 assists to go with a plus-20 rating in 29 games.

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 getting “Scrooged” in December of 2024

Saskatoon falls 4-2 to Wheat Kings heading into Xmas break

The Blades stop Wheat Kings LW Carter Klippenstein on a scoring chance.

December has been nasty for the Saskatoon Blades.

Before December rolled around, the Blades were on a heater.

Back on November 30, they downed the Swift Current Broncos 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout at the SaskTel Centre. That win allowed the Blades to improve to 17-6-1-1 to have a solid hold on first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. At the time, that victory was a third straight for the club and also a sixth triumph in the squad’s previous seven contests.

Luke Shipley scored twice for the Wheat Kings on Sunday.

The Blades appeared to be a surprise team in the WHL. Last season, they finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark. In the WHL Playoffs, they advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship Series falling 3-2 in overtime in a series deciding Game 7 to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors at the SaskTel Centre.

Due to the fact the Blades made some trades to load up for a long post-season run, many weren’t expecting them to have the type of campaign where they would challenge for top spot in the conference. While the Blades had to deal with a number of key graduations, they had enough strong returning players that they expected to be in the post-season mix and not fall to the bottom of the standings.

Brandon Lisowsky scored twice for the Blades on Sunday.

When the 2024 calendar flipped over to December, the wins dried up for the Blades. In six outings so far for December, the Blades have two extra time losses and have dropped their last four straight games in regulation.

On Sunday playing before 5,274 spectators at the SaskTel Centre before heading to their Christmas break, the Blades fell 4-2 to the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Wheat Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but the Blades rallied to even the score 2-2 at the 8:37 mark of the third period.

Wheat Kings 20-year-old defenceman Luke Shipley scored a pretty goal during a stretch of four-on-four play with 5:56 remaining in the third for the winning tally, and he sealed victory with an empty-net marker with 4.2 seconds remaining in the frame.

Ethan Eskit made 27 saves for the Wheat Kings on Sunday.

Despite the winless stretch, Saskatoon still sits first in the WHL’s East Division with a 17-10-2-2 mark. The Blades trail the Medicine Hat Tigers (19-14-1) for top spot in the Eastern Conference by one standings points with three games in hand.

The Wheat Kings improved to 15-9-3-1 with the win and trail the Blades by four standings points for first in the East Division with three games in hand. The Wheaties still have one game to play before departing on their Christmas break to pull closer to Saskatoon in the standings.

They are back in action on Tuesday hosting the 7-19-3-1 Warriors (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place). Both the Wheat Kings and Warriors will head on to their respective Christmas breaks after that contest.

Ben Riche set up the Blades first goal.

The Blades have a long stretch to ponder where they are at this point in the 2024-25 campaign. Saskatoon doesn’t play again until hosting the Warriors on Friday, December 27 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

While the Blades have two extra time setbacks in December, all four of their regulation losses have been heartbreakers. Saskatoon has fallen twice by one goal in those regulation losses. The other two losses have come by two goals, where the opponent has sealed victory with an empty-net tally like Brandon did on Sunday.

Sunday’s clash with the Wheat Kings was played pretty evenly by the two sides. Brandon basically was able to make two more plays than Saskatoon did, but the Blades are likely lamenting missed chances.

Nicholas Johnson had a goal and an assist for the Wheat Kings.

Just 1:51 into the opening frame, the Wheat Kings jumped ahead 1-0 off a Blades turnover in their own zone. A pass between Blades captain Ben Saunderson and 19-year-old centre Lukas Hansen was botched causing the puck to sit on the stick of Wheat Kings breakout centre Matteo Michels.

Positioned midrange off to the right of the Blades goal, Michels roofed a shot to the top left corner of the Saskatoon net for the opening marker of the contest.

The Wheat Kings pushed their edge out to 2-0 scoring on the power play at the 11:30 mark of the opening frame. During a scramble for the puck at the left side of the Blades net, Wheat Kings right-winger Brady Turko fed a backhanded pass across the front of the goal to left-winger Nicholas Johnson at the open right side of the cage. Johnson popped the puck into the empty side of the net to give the visitors their two-goal edge.

Ben Saunderson brings the puck up ice for the Blades.

The Blades came into the second period on fire applying all sorts of pressure in the Brandon zone holding a 15-7 edge in shots on goal for the stanza. Some sharp play by Wheat Kings netminder Ethan Eskit ensured the visitors went into the second intermission still holding the lead.

Saskatoon trimmed Brandon’s lead to 2-1 at the 8:33 mark of the second on a vintage goal by star 20-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky. Entering the Wheat Kings zone on a two-on-one break, Blades breakout star centre Ben Riche drove down the left wing into the Wheat Kings zone with the puck and fed the puck across the front of the Brandon net to Lisowsky. Lisowsky fired a one-timer home to cut the Wheat Kings lead to one.

Matteo Michels scored the Wheat Kings first goal on Sunday.

Just four seconds into a power play at the 4:04 mark of the third, the Blades thought they had the equalizer when right-winger Hudson Kibblewhite tipped home a puck in front of the Brandon net that came off a point blast from 20-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann. The officials immediately waved off the goal ruling Kibblewhite knocked home the puck with a high stick.

The officials went to a video review that determined the call on the ice was correct much to the dismay of the Blades faithful in attendance.

The Blades finally broke through with the man advantage scoring five seconds into their fourth power-play chance. Working low in the left side of the Brandon zone, Kibblewhite sent a smart pass to Lisowsky positioned at the top of the left faceoff circle.

The Blades celebrate an equalizer from Brandon Lisowsky (#8).

Lisowsky one-timed home his second goal of the contest to even the score at 2-2 at the 8:37 mark of the third. With his two tallies on Sunday, Lisowsky now has 139 career goals for the Blades moving him one tally ahead of Josh Nicholls for sixth on the Blades career goal scoring list. Nicholls played five seasons for the Blades from 2008 to 2013.

Shipley proceeded to spoil the comeback party for the hosts. Entering the Blades zone driving down the right wing on a three-on-one break, Shipley weaved around Saunderson, who slide on the ice to break up any potential passing plays.

Brayden Klimpke starts a breakout for the Blades.

After getting around Saunderson along the icing line, Shipley cut to the front of the Saskatoon net and put home a backhander to give the Wheat Kings a 3-2 advantage with 5:56 remaining in the third. He proceeded to add his empty-net goal to round out the game’s scoring.

Johnson picked up an assist on Shipley’s empty-net tally to round out a two-point night with one goal and one assist.

Evan Gardner turned away 26-of-29 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Eskit stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings.

As the Blades head into their Christmas break, one has to wonder if they are falling back to earth and if the graduations from last season are finally catching up to them.

Evan Gardner stopped 26-of-29 shots for the Blades.

Their 17-10-2-2 record might be an accurate reflection on where they sit. While they played well building a 17-6-1-1 mark after their win over the Broncos on November 30, they likely overachieved and got a couple of wins that they shouldn’t have.

Over their winless last six games that have included two extra time setbacks, the Blades likely deserved some breaks to get victory in a couple of those contests.

When they return to action after the Christmas break, the Blades will be in the mix in a wide open Eastern Conference. They could get back to the Eastern Conference Championship Series for a third straight year, or they could be eliminated in the first round of the post-season.

Ethan Eskit, left, and Nolan Flamand celebrate the Wheat Kings win.

No matter how the 2024-25 campaign plays out for the Blades, it should be entertaining to watch.

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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Dragicevic, Mrsic delivering for Raiders

Lukas Dragicevic in action for the Raiders last Friday.

Lukas Dragicevic and Tomas Mrsic are as good as advertised.

The pair came to the Prince Albert Raiders off-season trades with hopes both can give the club an offensive boost. Entering play on Tuesday, Mrsic, who is an 18-year-old skilled forward , sits second in team scoring with 34 points coming off 17 goals and 17 assists. Dragicevic, who is a 19-year-old offensive-defenceman, is third in team scoring with 28 points coming off two goals and 26 assists.

The pair helped the Raiders convert on 30-of-106 power-play opportunities for a 28.3 per cent success rate to sit third in the WHL. Last season, the Raiders converted on 60-of-258 power-play chances for a 23.3 per cent success rate, which was good enough for 10^th in the WHL.

Tomas Mrsic in action for the Raiders last Friday.

Dragicevic, who has a signed entry-level contract with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, came to the Raiders in a blockbuster trade with the Tri-City Americans on July 25. Dragicevic was acquired by the Raiders along with 18-year-old prospect goaltender Eric Kahl and a seventh round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft in exchange for 19-year-old shutdown-defenceman Terrell Goldsmith, 18-year-old centre Grady Martin, 19-year-old netminder Nathan Preston and a third round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft.

Mrsic, who was selected in the third round and 113^th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, was picked up by the Raiders in a head turning trade with the Medicine Hat Tigers on August 26. In that deal, the Raiders received Mrsic, a third round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a third round pick in the 2028 Prospects Draft in exchange for star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Raiders grit and perseverance delivers 4-3 victory

Fortin’s 39 saves holds off Hitmen

Niall Crocker, left, enjoys his winning goal with Aiden Oiring.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Head coach Jeff Truitt appreciated the battle of his Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before 2,432 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders built a 3-0 lead on the visiting Calgary Hitmen and carried a 3-1 advantage into the third period. The Hitmen evened the score at 3-3 in the third, but the Raiders ensured the Calgary comeback was not to be.

With 4:08 remaining in the third period, Raiders 20-year-old standout right-winger Niall Crocker came up with one is his specialties. He banged home a gritty power-play goal from the front of the Calgary net on a four-on-three advantage to ultimately deliver the Raiders to a 4-3 victory.

“I really liked our compete,” said Truitt. “I thought that we skated real well.

Justice Christensen had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“I thought that we were on pucks. I thought that we carried the speed quite a bit. I like a lot about our game and our physicality from time to time.

“We’re not going to get pushed around, and we showed that here tonight. It was kind of a team effort that way. We had to grind her out under some weird conditions in the third period and got her done.”

Raiders captain Justice Christensen opened the game’s scoring firing home a shot from the left point at the 9:56 mark of the opening frame. With Friday’s contest being the Raiders Toque and Teddy Bear Toss night, stuffed animals and mitts rained down on to the Art Hauser Centre’s ice surface after Christensen’s tally.

The players and off-ice staffers along with the game’s linesmen made sure the clean up was completed in rapid order.

The Raiders celebrate a Teddy Bear goal from Justice Christensen.

The Hitmen got into penalty trouble inside the final 92 seconds of the opening frame. First, they got unsettled after 19-year-old star offensive-defenceman Carter Yakemchuk was hit by Raiders 19-year-old centre Harrison Lodewyk in the right corner of the Calgary zone.

The Hitmen coaching staff argued loudly from the bench with the officials for a penalty for hitting from behind, and no infraction was called. Just 18 seconds later, Hitmen 20-year-old import left-winger Max Muranov forearm hit Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph in the Calgary zone starting a big scrum. The Raiders came away with a power play with Muranov being given an interference minor making the difference in how the penalties were sorted out.

The Raiders show off some of the stuffed animals that were collected.

With 23.2 seconds remaining in the first, Hitmen star 20-year-old defenceman Kalem Parker was given a roughing minor to give the Raiders a two-man advantage for 69 seconds.

Just 33 seconds into second working that two-man advantage, Raiders star offensive-defenceman Lukas Dragicevic wired home a power-play goal from the left point to push the host side’s edge out to 2-0. For Dragicevic, that was his first goal since he tallied once in a 6-4 loss to the Royals in Victoria back on October 18.

His tally on Friday came on a Raiders power play that entered the day’s action leading the WHL with a 28.3 per cent success rate.

The Raiders and Hitmen engage in a first period scrum.

“It feels good,” said Dragicevic, who has two goals and 26 assists in 22 games with the Raiders this season. “Obviously, the power play has been really good this year.

“It just fits that I got it on the power play. I play with good players on that line. They set me up pretty good, and I just had to do the rest.”

At the 4:07 mark of the second, the Hitmen gave the puck away to Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker. Crocker got the puck to import left-winger Krzysztof Macias, who wired home a mid-range shot to give Prince Albert a 3-0 advantage.

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

The Hitmen stopped the bleeding at the 7:20 mark of the second when 19-year-old centre David Adaszynski sent home a mid-range off-speed shot through a screen for a goal to cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

With 10:02 remaining in the second working on a power play, Hitmen star 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe thought he scored a goal during a mad scramble. The officials first called the play a goal, proceeded to have a conference over the call and waved the tally off on the ice.

The Hitmen thought they had another goal with 3:53 remaining in the second with a shot coming off the stick of captain Carson Wetsch. That goal was waved off as Hitmen 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel was given a minor penalty for goaltender interference.

Krzysztof Macias, left, enjoys scoring the Raiders third goal.

Just 62 seconds into the third, Hitmen 20-year-old star centre Connor Hvidston snuck a turnaround shot past Raiders 18-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin to further trim the host side’s edge to 3-2.

The Hitmen evened the score a 3-3 with 5:21 remaining in third on a power-play goal from star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk. 

Tulk tipped home a puck from the front of the Prince Albert net that came from a pass by Wetsch.

That set the scene for Crocker to come through with the winning tally.

Dimitri Fortin made 39 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“We don’t give up,” said Dragicevic. “Maybe at the start of the year that is something that would have done, but we’ve grown as a team.

“We’ve grown as individuals. We knew we were going to get one on that power play. Our power play is too good to get stopped there.

“Crocks (Crocker) obviously banged that one home. It was a couple of passes before that one that led to that, and it was a nice goal.”

Fortin stopped 39 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (12-9-3). Anders Miller turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen (13-9-3-1).

Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Star 18-year-old left-winger Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Truitt has been pleased with how solid Fortin has been for the Raiders after joining the club in a trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors on November 27.

“Since he has come in, he has been calm and cool,” said Truitt. “He has just done his job.

“He has made some key saves, but he hasn’t had to make many circus saves here. He has been pretty good. The guys in front of him have been good as well, but he has been solid.”

The Hitmen return to action on Saturday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 17-6-1-2 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders salute their faithful after Friday’s win.

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they travel to Brandon to battle the 13-8-3-1 Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

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