Laing finds his offensive groove in Saskatoon

Blades lock up berth in WHL Playoffs with 4-1 win over Raiders

Hunter Laing reacts to scoring his second goal on Saturday.

Hunter Laing discovered that “Runnin’ Back To Saskatoon” is turning out to be the best thing for his WHL career.

The 18-year-old right-winger came to “The Bridge City” in a blockbuster trade on January 8. Laing was dealt by the Prince George Cougars along with 15-year-old prospect defenceman Luke Dumas, a first round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft and fifth round pick in the 2028 Prospects Draft to the Blades in exchange for 19-year-old centre Ben Riche.

On Saturday playing before 5,330 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Laing scored twice to power the host Blades to a 4-1 victory over their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders. The win allowed the Blades to improve to 33-21-3-4 to officially clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

Hunter Laing has five goals and one assist in his last three games.

Since arriving in Saskatoon, Laing has recorded 13 goals, five assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department in 21 games with the Blades. That includes the five goals and one helper he has put up in his last three outings. In the 36 games he played in the 2024-25 campaign with the Cougars, Laing posted 10 goals, 12 assists and a plus-seven rating.

“I think I’m just having a lot more confidence,” said Laing, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 209 pounds. “I’m playing with two great guys with Coop (Cooper Williams) and Lew (David Lewandowski) there.

“I think everything is just clicking. I’m enjoying myself right now.”

Hunter Laing came to the Blades in a trade on January 8.

Last season, Laing played his first full season in the WHL. He suited in 66 regular season games with the Cougars collecting 11 goals and 14 assists. The product of Kelowna, B.C., showed well enough that the Calgary Flames selected him in the sixth round and 170^th overall in the last year’s NHL Entry Draft.

With the Blades, Laing has shown he has a good set of hands working magic around the net to score goals. He is also getting more opportunities to contribute offensively on a younger Blades roster compared to the veteran heavy unit the Cougars are carrying.

“I think the coaches in P.G. trusted me,” said Laing. “I think here they trust me even more to be a guy that can put the puck in the net and be an offensive guy.

The Blades and Raiders engaged is some rough stuff on Saturday.

“I’ve kind of just taken that opportunity and just kept rolling with it.”

The Raiders came out of the gates strong getting the first five shots on goal of the contest. After that initial flurry, the Blades proceeded to carry momentum for an extended time.

Saskatoon opened the game’s scoring while working on the power play at the 7:47 mark of the opening frame thanks to Laing’s sweet hands. Williams, who is a rookie centre, fired a shot on goal that was deflected home by Laing to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

Growing up through the minor hockey ranks, Laing has always been a player who could put up points offensively.

Ethan McCallum made 40 saves for the Blades.

Blades head coach Dan DaSilva said the team’s coaching staff is working with Laing to bring that aspect of his game more to forefront in the WHL.

“We knew that he (Laing) had that capability,” said DaSilva. “He knows that he has the soft hands.

“He is a very smart player with an extremely high hockey IQ. He puts himself in really good position that he can finish. You saw that tonight.

“His hand-eye coordination, his deflection goals are crazy. That first goal tonight was unbelievable just to get a piece of that.”

Max Hildebrand stopped 31-of-34 shots in goal for the Raiders.

With 5:08 remaining in the first, things got a little heated resulting in a short fight by Raiders 18-year-old defenceman Tyrone Sobry and Blades 16-year-old right-winger and associate player call up Kohen Lodge, who has skated for his hometown Red Deer Chiefs under-18 AAA team this season.

The opening frame ended with Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic pinning Williams to the ice. Mrsic received a minor for roughing, which the Raiders killed off at the start of the second.

The Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 with 7:01 remaining in the second on a power-play goal from Williams. Williams took a shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected in off back checking Raiders centre Evan Smith.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Cooper Williams (#25).

At the time of the goal, the Blades were holding a 26-11 edge in shots on goal after having five straight power plays.

From that moment, the Raiders got some momentum as they got four straight power plays. Blades netminder Ethan McCallum stood his ground and ultimately made 40 saves in the game to pick up the win in the Saskatoon net.

That allowed Laing to add a dagger goal to seal the outcome of the contest with 6:58 remaining in the third. On a rush into the Prince Albert zone, Laing received a nifty backhanded pass from import centre Frantisek Dej, jetted towards the right side of the Raiders net and slipped home his second of the contest to push the Blades advantage out to 3-0.

Brayden Klimpke had a pair of assists for the Blades.

DaSilva appreciated Laing’s finish on his third period tally.

“It was a great big goal for us,” said DaSilva. “He (Laing) is a heck of a hockey player.

“You can see why he is drafted. Calgary saw something in his with the size and the skill. He is a great teammate.

“The guys love him. He has fit in here so well with our group.”

Blades veteran right-winger Tyler Parr, who turned 20-years-old in January, scored the rare short-handed empty-net goal with 70 seconds remaining in the third. While still on the penalty kill, the Blades tried their hardest to get McCallum his first shutout of his WHL career.

Tyler Parr had a short-handed, empty-net goal for the Blades.

With 15.8 seconds remaining in the third, sophomore right-winger Oli Chenier one-timed home a power-play goal from the left side of the Saskatoon net to break up McCallum’s shutout bid and round out the 4-1 final score in favour of the Blades. McCallum admitted he wanted to hold on to the shutout, but he had already shrugged it off when it didn’t happen.

“Obviously, you’re a little upset in the moment, because you’re battling so hard, especially with the six-on-four at the end there,” said McCallum. “You’re just trying to work your butt off, but at the same time, you’re not thinking about it too much.

Grayden Siepmann had a pair of assists for the Blades.

“Just when that goal goes in, it is not a huge deal. I’ve played enough games in this league where I’m just going to be patient with it.”

Max Hildebrand turned away 31-of-34 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders, who fell to 34-22-5-1. Raiders import defenceman Vojtech Vochvest was helped off the ice after blocking a shot late in the first period. He came back for a little bit but wasn’t on the Raiders bench for the third period.

Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke and 20-year-old rearguard Grayden Siepmann each finished with two assists.

The Raiders still sit first in the WHL’s East Division with a one standings point lead over the Blades and the idle Brandon Wheat Kings (33-21-4-3). The Blades and Wheat Kings each have one game in hand on the Raiders.

Frantisek Day had an assist for the Blades.

Brandon sits second in the division holding the standings tiebreaker over Saskatoon with three wins and three extra time losses in the six head-to-head meetings between the two squads. The Wheat Kings are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Calgary to take on the 40-15-3-3 Hitmen (2 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Blades get back at it on Tuesday when they travel to Regina to take on the 15-39-5-3 Pats (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Lethbridge to take on the 34-22-5-1 Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

With the WHL’s regular season nearing an end, Laing is excited to be in a final sprint for first place in the East Division with his team.

“It is getting close for sure,” said Laing. “We made a jump there.

The Blades celebrate their win on Saturday night.

“Every game is huge for us. We’ve got a couple of games against Brandon and P.A. We’ve got to keep it going 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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Banner battles are fun, Raiders fight for East Division title

The Raiders celebrate a goal in their game last Friday.

Being in the chase for banners is fun and winning banners is even more fun.

The WHL regular season is heading down its final straightaway, and the Prince Albert Raiders are in a heated race for first place in the East Division. Entering play on Tuesday, the Raiders (33-20-5-1) hold down first place in the East with a one standings point lead over the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3).

Sitting three points back of the Raiders and two points back of the Wheat Kings are the Saskatoon Blades (31-20-2-4). Both the Wheat Kings and the Blades have a game in hand on the Raiders.

Basically, the team that plays the hottest down the stretch will take the division title. The club that wins the East Division will also be the second seed in the WHL’s Eastern Conference for the first round of the playoffs.

That is a big prize considering the fact that the first place finisher will be the only East Division team with home ice advantage for the first round of the post-season. The top three teams in the Central Division sit ahead of the Raiders in the Medicine Hat Tigers (41-17-3-1), the Calgary Hitmen (39-15-3-3) and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (38-19-2-2).

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

Raiders’ grad Kosior is cool with school

Landon Kosior in action for the Huskies in February of 2024.

Landon Kosior is in the post-season groove.

The graduate of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders is looking forward to his second go in the playoffs in the U Sports ranks skating on the blue-line of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team. The Huskies topped the Canada West Conference regular season standings with a 23-5 record and will host the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a best-of-three conference semifinal series.

Games 1 and 2 will go Friday and Saturday respectively with a 7 p.m. start time on each night at Merlis Belsher Place. If necessary, a series-deciding Game 3 is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. at Merlis. The Thunderbirds finished fourth overall in Canada West with an 18-8-0-2 mark.

“Coming into the year just with the guys that we were bringing back, we kind of knew that we should have a pretty good team,” said Kosior, who stands 6-feet and weighs 190 pounds. “I think it has gone just as we had hoped.

“That being said, the playoffs are coming up. That is the main goal of the year is to win a championship, so the real season starts now.”

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

Tigers win fourth straight, last two without McKenna

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored his 30th goal of the season on Saturday.

Adversity seems to be firing up the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Saturday night, the Tigers won their fourth straight game blanking the Wheat Kings 5-0 before 3,264 spectators in Westoba Place in Brandon. The last two victories in Medicine Hat’s current streak have been accomplished without having superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna in the lineup.

The 17-year-old, who is the best player not only on the Tigers but in the entire WHL, has been serving a three game suspension for receiving a slashing major and a game misconduct in the Tigers 5-3 win over the Oil Kings in Edmonton last Sunday. McKenna has one game remaining on his suspension that will be served when the Tigers host the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).

With 4:39 remaining in the win over the Oil Kings, McKenna was hit high by Oil Kings 20-year-old defenceman Josh Mori near the Edmonton bench. The two spun towards the ice and McKenna swung his stick, with two hands, breaking his stick on Mori’s while the rearguard fell to the ice in a heap.

Mori left that game, but has played in all of Edmonton’s ensuing contests since the McKenna slash.

The incident has sparked lots of talk about the abuse McKenna has taken from opposing teams especially against the Oil Kings, who play a high tension and agitating style of hockey. Feisty overage centre Marshall Finnie often plays the role of top agitator on the Edmonton side.

The Tigers were also without standout defenceman Jonas Woo and Bryce Pickford, who are listed as week-to-week with upper body injuries. Tigers 19-year-old star left-winger Andrew Basha is out indefinitely with a lower body injury and last played in a 4-0 home ice win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Ryder Ritchie had a goal in the Tigers win on Saturday.

Star centre Cayden Lindstrom, who turned 19-years-old in early February, is with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets as he rehabs a back injury. Lindstrom, who was selected in the first round and fourth overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, is skating under the watchful eye of the NHL club. He hasn’t played a game in the 2024-25 campaign.

Still, the Tigers are overcoming all of these obstacles. With their win over the Wheat Kings, the Tigers continue to lead the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 41-17-3-1 mark, and they currently sit second in the overall WHL standings.

Medicine Hat opened the scoring at the 10:03 mark of the opening frame, when captain Oasiz Wiesblatt potted his 30^th goal of the campaign. That marked the first time in his WHL career the 20-year-old centre cracked the 30-goal plateau for one season.

The Tigers offence blew open the contest scoring three goals in the first 9:58 of the second to surge ahead 4-0. Mathew Ward, who is an overage centre, started the surge scoring on a spin-a-round shot from the point.

Star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up the second tally of the surge firing home a shot from inside the right faceoff circle to the top left corner of the Brandon net after a toe-drag move. The tally was Ritchie’s 25^th goal of the campaign.

Rookie right-winger Liam Ruck, who recently turned 17-years-old, completed the surge potting home a rebound from the front of the Brandon net that came from a shot by 18-year-old rookie winger Carter Cunningham. Ruck’s tally was his 19^th goal of the campaign.

Marcus Pacheco, who is a 19-year-old right-winger, rounded out the game’s scoring potting the Tigers final goal with 3:43 remaining in the third period.

Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin had an outstanding outing making 26 saves for his third shutout win of the season. Meneghin made a number of spectacular saves in the contest.

Harrison Meneghin made 26 saves in a shutout victory.

The Wheat Kings started 19-year-old star netminder Carson Bjarnason, who turned away 20-of-24 shots sent his way. Ethan Eskit played the third period in relief turning away 7-of-8 shots sent in his direction.

Brandon fell to 32-19-4-3 to sit one point behind the Prince Albert Raiders (33-20-5-1) for first in the WHL’s East Division. The Wheat Kings have one game in hand on the Raiders.

The Wheat Kings return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Red Deer to face the 23-28-5-2 Rebels (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).

The Tigers are looking to continue their roll and keep building momentum over their final six regular season games heading into the WHL Playoffs.

Broncos rally to 4-3 OT win over Raiders

Hunter Mayo had a dream night for a defenceman.

The 20-year-old rearguard with the Swift Current Broncos scored the overtime winner, picked up an assist and was a plus-four in the plus-minus department in his team’s wild 4-3 comeback victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday night. The Broncos erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 to the delight of most of the 2,510 spectators at the InnovationPlex.

After the two sides played through a scoreless first period, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic had the only goal in the second frame giving the visitors a 1-0 edge.

At the 9:13 mark of the third while working on the power play, Raiders breakout star 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube potted his 27^th goal of the campaign to increase his squad’s advantage to 2-0.

Broncos 19-year-old right-winger Rylan Gould scored 45 seconds later to cut the Raiders edge to 2-1.

Prince Albert would score their second power-play goal of the contest coming off the stick of rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk, who turned 17-years-old in late January, to push their edge out to 3-1 with 6:55 remaining in the third.

With 3:49 left in the third, Broncos 19-year-old defenceman Grayson Burzynski scored to trim the Raiders lead to 3-2. Mayo picked up an assist on that tally.

Broncos 20-year-old centre Carlin Dezainde proceeded to pot his 31^st goal of the campaign with 57.8 seconds remaining in the third to even the score at 3-3. Swift Current netted that goal with netminder Reid Dyck pulled for an extra attacker.

In overtime, Mayo roofed the winner to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net with 1:24 remaining in the extra session to deliver the Broncos to a 4-3 victory.

Dyck stopped 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos, who improved to 31-25-1-1. Swift Current’s magic number of standings points needed to clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs shrank down to 10.

Max Hildebrand turned away 24 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders record moved to 33-20-5-1 to sit one point ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3) for first place in the WHL’s East Division. Prince Albert is two standings points away from clinching a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the 15-37-5-2 Regina Pats (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Broncos get back at it on Wednesday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Warriors wipe out 12-game skid with 6-2 win over Blades

After failing to collect a victory in the month of February, the Moose Jaw Warriors are one-for-one in the win department for the month of March.

On Saturday before 2,981 pumped spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, the host Warriors dumped the visiting Saskatoon Blades 6-2. The win ends a 12-game skid for the Warriors, who dropped 11 games in regulation and one contest in overtime over that stretch.

Before Saturday’s victory, the Warriors last win came back on January 31, when they came up with a 4-3 victory on home ice after a tiebreaking shootout against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Warriors 20-year-old import left-winger Krzysztof Macias recorded a hat trick in the win over the Blades on Saturday, while 19-year-old defenceman Aiden Ziprick picked up three assists. Moose Jaw netminder Matthew Hutchison had an outstanding night stopping 36 shots in the win for a Warriors side that sits last in the WHL with a 12-41-5-2 mark.

Macias and Warriors captain Lynden Lakovic scored to give the host side a 2-0 edge in the opening frame. Blades 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing scored before the first period ended to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1.

Macias added his second of the contest at the 1:33 mark of the second to put Moose Jaw up 3-1. Blades rookie defenceman Jordan Martin, who turned 18-years-old in January, tallied a goal at the six-minute mark of the second to trim the Warriors lead to 3-2.

Macias scored on the power play to complete his hat trick before the second ended to push the Warriors lead out to 4-2.

Moose Jaw rounded out the game’s scoring in the third with a power-play goal from 19-year-old left-winger Pavel McKenzie and Lakovic potting a marker into an empty net for his second goal of the contest. Lakovic had an assist for a three-point night, and McKenzie had two helpers to go with his goal in a three-point night.

Ethan McCallum turned away 16-of-21 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The Blades fell to 30-20-3-4 with the loss, and their magic number of standings points to clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs is seven. Saskatoon is five points behind the Prince Albert Raiders (33-20-5-1) for first place in the East Division and four points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3) for second place.

The Blades have two games in hand on the Raiders and one game in hand on the Wheat Kings.

Saskatoon returns to action in Sunday hosting the 33-22-2-2 Edmonton Oil Kings (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Warriors are off until this coming Friday when they host the Regina Pats (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

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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Feisty affair – Oil Kings slip past Raider 5-4 in penalty filled clash

The Raiders and Oil Kings tangle in a second period scrum.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Jeff Truitt wanted to see his team getting going a touch quicker to counter a feisty foe.

On Friday, Truitt’s Prince Albert Raiders faced the Edmonton Oil Kings in a feisty WHL regular season contest that saw the two sides combine for 71 minute in penalties. The Oil Kings took 12 infractions for 35 minutes in penalties, and the Raiders had 14 infractions for 36 minutes in penalties.

When the dust settled, the Oil Kings edged the host Raiders 5-4 before a standing room crowd of 2,691 mostly unhappy spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The Oil Kings converted on 3-of-7 power-play chances in the contest, while the Raiders were 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

The Oil Kings celebrate a third period goal from Adam Jecho (#43).

The Edmonton side played an agitating brand of hockey that at times got under the skin of the Prince Albert players. Truitt, who is the Raiders head coach, said his squad just needs to navigate that aspect just a slight bit better.

“They’ve got speed, they’ve got size, and they’ve got grit,” said Truitt. “We’ve got to be smarter in that department as well.

“We can’t take the slashing penalties and the 10-minute misconducts. We just can’t take ourselves out of the game line that. This is where you’ve got to bite the bullet here a little bit.

“You know what? There is another game between these two teams, and we just have to show up earlier.”

Adam Jecho had the winning goal for the Oil Kings.

The Raiders and Oil Kings have split their four head-to-head encounters this season with each side collecting two regulation victories. They will meet for the fifth and final time in the regular season on Saturday, March 15 in Edmonton at Rogers Place at 7 p.m. local time.

Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic thought his squad played harder after the Oil Kings took the game to them in the opening 20 minutes. He said the biggest thing for his Raiders in the short term was to regroup for their next game.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

Lukas Dragicevic had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

Dragicevic said his club wants to play the Oil Kings again to improve upon what happened in Friday’s setback to the Edmonton side.

“We’re back in Edmonton’s building,” said Dragicevic noting the upcoming March 15 encounter. “We’re just going to continue to work hard, and we’re going to owe them one when we’re back there.”

Edmonton dominated the first period of Friday’s contest, but they weren’t able to crack on to the scoreboard due to the play of Raiders netminder Dimitri Fortin. Fortin was spectacular making 16 saves in the opening 20 minutes to keep the Oil Kings off the scoreboard.

The Raiders had just four shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, but one of those shots found its way into the Edmonton net. At the 5:14 mark of the stanza,

Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Dragicevic got the puck inside the left faceoff circle on a rush and wired home his 15^th tally of the season on the Raiders first shot on goal in the contest. That marker allowed the Raiders head into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Prince Albert jumped into the second period with more intensity holding an 18-10 edge in shots on goal in what turned out to be a back and forth frame.

The Oil Kings evened the score at 1-1 just 1:45 into the second on a power-play goal from Gracyn Sawchyn. Sawchyn fired home a shot from the left side of the Prince Albert goal for the equalizer.

Import centre Miroslav Holinka added the Oil Kings second power-play goal at the 12:44 mark of the second to put the visitor up 2-1.

Rylen Roersma had three assists for the Oil Kings.

Raiders captain Justice Christensen put the host side back on even terms firing home his 21^st of the season at the 14:13 mark of the second to force a 2-2 tie. With 54.5 seconds to play in the second, Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring tallied on the power play slipping home a bad angle shot from the right side of the Edmonton goal to give Prince Albert a 3-2 lead.

Just when it seemed the Raiders would take that lead into the second intermission, Oil Kings agitating overage centre Marshall Finnie scored with 18.4 seconds remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie.

“You have to play a complete 60 (minutes),” said Truitt. “In the second period, we started getting power plays.

Gracyn Sawchyn had the Oil Kings first goal on Friday.

“We picked up our pace a little bit and picked up our battle. Now the game gets going. We pushed back.

“I thought there was lots of intensity in the second and the third.”

With 5:56 remaining in the third, Oil Kings veteran right-winger Cole Miller scored off a set faceoff play to give the visitors a 4-3 lead. The visitors added a key insurance marker with 2:38 remaining in the third with a power-play goal coming off the stick of import right-winger Adam Jecho to give Edmonton a 5-3 advantage.

The Raiders didn’t go away. With Fortin pulled for an extra attacker, Dragicevic added his second of the contest and 16^th tally of the campaign with 86 seconds remaining in the third to cut the Oil Kings lead to 5-4. Prince Albert pressed hard in the final 86 second but was unable to come up with another equalizer.

Miroslav Holinka had the Oil Kings second goal on Friday.

“Obivously, the first period wasn’t too great,” said Dragicevic. “The second and third were.

“We got a goal on the power play that was huge. Obviously, they got a couple. Third period, I thought we battled hard, and they just ended up getting the last one.”

Dimitri Fortin turned away 36 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Ethan Simcoe stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings.

Star left-winger Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders. The Raiders were without star 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic, who was serving a one-game suspension for being accessed a kneeing major and a game misconduct in 2-1 home ice overtime loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday.

Justice Christensen had the Raiders second goal on Friday.

Rylen Roersma, who is a 20-year-old left-winger, recorded three assists and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department for Edmonton. Holinka had a pair of assists to go with his goal. 

The Oil Kings, who improved to 33-22-2-2 get back at it on Sunday when they travel to Saskatoon to face the Blades (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders fell to 33-20-4-1 with the setback and now have the same amount of standings point as the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-18-4-3) at 71 for first in the East Division. Prince Albert holds the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins, but the Wheat Kings have one game in hand on the Raiders.

Josh Mori controls the puck for the Oil Kings.

The Saskatoon Blades (30-19-3-4) sit four points back of both the Raiders and Wheat Kings. Saskatoon has two games in hand on Prince Albert and one game in hand on Brandon.

Dragicevic said his squad is excited to be battling late in the regular season for first place in the East Division. During the stretch run, he expects his Raiders will face some more feisty battles from opponents like what they experienced against the Oil Kings on Friday.

“It is hockey, right,” said Dragicevic. “Everything is going to always be tough, and we like it that way.

The Oil Kings celebrate their win on Friday.

“That is how we want to play, and they obviously just beat is tonight, which sucks. We’ll never complain about things getting greasy like that. That is how we want to play, and we’re just going to continue to get on with our season.”

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Unger reprises role as Blades frustrating nemesis

Hurricanes lock down playoff berth with 2-0 win

Jackson Unger made 30 saves for a shutout victory on Tuesday.

The Saskatoon Blades are likely looking forward to the day Jackson Unger graduates from the WHL.

The star netminder played a big part in derailing the Blades most memorable season in 30 years. Unger, who turned 20-years-old in January, backstopped the Moose Jaw Warriors to a seven game series win over the Blades in last year’s WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series, which saw a record six games go to overtime.

With the Blades holding a 3-2 lead in the series, Unger stopped 30 shots to push the Warriors to a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre on May 5, 2024 to even the series 3-3. In the series deciding Game 7 played two days later at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Unger turned away 37 shots to backstop the Warriors to a 3-2 overtime victory. Unger proceeded to backstop the Warriors to a four game sweep of the Portland Winterhawks to deliver a first WHL championship to the Moose Jaw franchise.

Jackson Unger has two shutout wins over the Blades this season.

For the Blades, the Game 7 loss to the Warriors was a heartbreaking end to the 2023-24 campaign that saw them finish first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 50-13-2-3 record.

On Tuesday at the SaskTel Centre, Unger was up to his old tricks playing for the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He stopped all 30 shots fired his way to power the Hurricanes to a 2-0 victory over the Blades to the disappointment of most of the 3,478 spectators in attendance.

The win allowed the Hurricanes to improve to 36-19-2-1 and officially clinch a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

Unger and superstar centre Brayden Yager were acquired by the Hurricanes in a blockbuster trade with the Warriors on December 2, 2024. Tuesday’s shutout win was Unger’s first shutout victory as a member of the Hurricanes and his second of the 2024-25 campaign.

Jackson Unger makes a third period stop for the Hurricanes.

The Calgary, Alta., product’s first shutout of the season came when he was still a member of the Warriors on November 21, 2024. In that contest played at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, Unger stopped all 32 shots sent his way in a 4-0 victory over – guess who – the Blades.

With both the Warriors and Hurricanes, Unger has faced the Blades five times this season posting three wins and turning away 129-of-135 shots fired his way. The Blades had to claw and scratch to get the two wins they did against Unger.

While the Hurricanes have loaded up in an attempt to make a long post-season run this year, Tuesday’s win over the Blades as a gritty one. Blades netminder Ethan McCallum came up with a big night making 25 saves and giving up just two goals in the setback.

Ethan McCallum made 25 saves in goal for the Blades on Tuesday.

The Hurricanes opened the game’s scoring at the 12:35 mark of the opening frame with a gritty goal. Hurricanes overage defenceman Logan McCutcheon fired a shot from the point that rebounded to the left side of the Blades net.

Lethbridge 16-year-old rookie centre Chase Petersen got to the rebound at the left side of the Saskatoon net and quickly potted his second of the season for a 1-0 lead.

The Hurricanes controlled play in the first period outshooting the Blades 14-5 in the frame. In the final seconds of the first, the Blades nearly got a traction moment. A puck game out to rookie centre Cooper Williams, who turned 17-year-olds on February 18, and Williams just missed getting his stick on the puck to deflect it into the Lethbridge net.

The Hurricanes celebrate a goal from Chase Petersen (#20).

On the Blades second power-play chance early in the second period, the Hurricanes pushed their lead out to 2-0 scoring short-handed. Hurricanes 20-year-old centre Brayden Edwards got the puck at his own blue-line and passed the puck to right-winger Luke Cozens jetting down the left wing to spark a two-on-one break.

Edwards entered the Saskatoon zone and passed the puck across the face of the Saskatoon net to McCutcheon. McCutcheon covered the backdoor feed to give the Hurricanes a two-goal edge.

The Blades had their opportunities to break on to the scoreboard including getting the first four power-play chances of the contest occurring before the eight-minute mark of the second period. Saskatoon never got a lot quality scoring chances on those first four power plays due to the Hurricanes defensive play and Unger’s stellar positioning in net.

Logan McCutcheon had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes.

Near the end of the fourth power play, Williams wired a puck off the post of the Lethbridge net for the Blades best scoring chance. The Blades, who have the seventh best power play in the WHL at 25.3 per cent, finished the contest 0-for-6 with the man advantage. The Hurricanes have the sixth best penalty kill in the WHL with an 81 per cent success rate.

Lethbridge failed to score on two power-play opportunities in the contest.

During the second half of the second period, the Blades started to pepper the Lethbridge net and finished with a 14-4 edge in shots on goal for the frame. Unger slammed the door to protect the two-goal edge.

Tyler Parr (#20) spins away from Caden Price (#22).

McCallum had to be sharp too in the second half of the second to keep the Blades in the game making a pad save on a breakaway chance from veteran Hurricanes right-winger Shane Smith.

In the third, the Blades two best scoring chances resulted in one misfire and one unfortunate break. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the third, Blades rookie defenceman Jordan Martin, who turned 18-years-old in January, missed an open net with a shot from the right side of the Hurricanes goal.

With about six minutes remaining in the third, Blades star left-winger Rowan Calvert received the puck at the right side of the Lethbridge net after a Hurricanes turnover. Calvert’s shot deflected off a stick wide of the Lethbridge net.

Jordan Martin missed an open net for the Blades.

Unger would make a key stop off Blades 18-year-old right-winger William James, who knocked the puck off the stick of Hurricanes star defenceman Caden Price towards the Lethbridge net.

In the final seconds of the third, the Blades were attacking with McCallum pulled for an extra attacker. 

During a scramble situation, the Hurricanes skaters collapsed around their net to ensure Unger picked up the shutout.

The Hurricanes sit third overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and are trying to finish as high in the standings as they can. They return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 33-19-3-1 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Cooper Williams had two big scoring chances for the Blades.

The Blades fell to 30-19-3-4 with the setback to sit along with the Brandon Wheat Kings (30-18-4-3) three points back of the Raiders for first in the East Division. The Wheat Kings have a game in hand on both the Blades and Raiders. Brandon holds the standings tiebreaker against the Blades posting three wins and two overtime setbacks in six head-to-head encounters.

The Blades get back at it on Saturday when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). Saskatoon’s magic number of standings points needed to lock up a playoff berth is seven.

While the Blades have no more head-to-head meeting with the Hurricanes in the regular season, it is possible the two sides could meet in the first round of the post-season. If that materializes, the Blades will face their frustrating nemesis in Unger once again.

The Hurricanes celebrate their win on Tuesday night.

NOTES – The Hurricanes ensured that five of their six players from Saskatoon and the nearby area were in the starting lineup on Tuesday. Trae Johnson, who is from Martensville, lined up at right wing. Yager, who lives just outside Saskatoon, took up his regular centre spot. A trio of defencemen in McCutcheon, Noah Chadwick and Price, who are all from Saskatoon, were out for the opening faceoff and first shift. Price lined up at left wing, while McCutcheon and Chadwick patrolled the blue-line.

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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Zablocki making mark on P.A.’s storied female hockey legacy

Stryker Zablocki, centre, sets to drop a ceremonial faceoff.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Stryker Zablocki hasn’t even graduated high school, and she has already done enough to ensure she will one day be part of Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame.

When her hockey career wraps up, there is a high likelihood she will end up with multiple Sports Hall of Fame nods. With that noted, the folks in Prince Albert love following and celebrating their sports heroes. Zablocki, who turned 18-years-old just past the middle of January, has carried hero status for a good stretch already in her hometown of “Hockey Town North.”

On January 12 in Vantaa, Finland, Zablocki had an empty-net goal helping Canada blank the United States 3-0 in the gold medal game of the IIHF’s Under-18 Women’s Would Championship Tournament. The skilled forward, who stands 5-foot-6, topped the tournament with eight goals and 12 points and was named to the tournament’s all-star team. Zablocki played for Canada one year earlier too at the Under-18 Women’s Worlds capturing a bronze medal at that event.

Stryker Zablocki, centre, gets a puck from Justice Christensen.

Last Friday, Zablocki received a hero’s welcome at the Art Hauser Centre when she dropped the puck for a ceremonial faceoff before for that night’s WHL contest between the host Raiders and the Moose Jaw Warriors, which the Raiders claimed 4-1. During the second intermission, Zablocki signed autographs for a seemingly endless line of fans in the Johnny Bower Lobby.

The supporters all wanted to ensure Zablocki knew they were proud of her. The upbeat smile never left Zablocki’s face, and she made sure everyone that came to see her left in high spirits.

Growing up in Prince Albert, Zablocki stood out in hockey and track and field. Zablocki played hockey in boys’ leagues on defence up until joining the Foxes female under-15 AA team and then switching over to forward.

Stryker Zablocki, right, signs a young fan’s jersey.

When it came time to choose an under-18 AAA team to play on, she elected to move away from home and join the Regina Rebels for the start of the 2022-23 campaign. The Rebels had just come off of falling in the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League championship series to the Notre Dame Hounds in April of 2022.

In 57 career regular season games with the Rebels from 2022 to 2024, Zablocki piled up 65 goals and 40 assists for 105 points. She helped the Rebels win SFU18AAAHL titles in both her campaigns with the squad.

On April 28, 2024, Zablocki scoring the winning goal as the Rebels downed the North York Storm 2-1 in the title game of the Esso Cup tournament that crowns a female national under-18 AAA champion. Zablocki recorded eight goals and three assists in seven games at the Esso Cup claiming honours as tournament MVP.

A large group of fans came to see Stryker Zablocki, right.

Zablocki also made a name for herself representing Canada in track and field. In July of 2023, she took part in the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Under-18 Championships in athletics held in San Jose, Costa Rica. She was part of Canada’s four member gold medal winner in the 4 X 400-metre female relay race.

As a Grade 11 student at Prince Albert’s Carlton Comprehensive High School in June of 2024, Zablocki won gold in the senior girls’ 100-metre and 200-metre races at the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association Track and Field Championships held in Saskatoon.

In September of 2023, Zablocki committed to the Northeastern University Huskies Women’s Hockey team in the NCAA Division I ranks for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. Northeastern University is located in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stryker Zablocki, right, shares a laugh with a young supporter.

Zablocki elected to join the Bishop Kearney High School Selects for her Grade 12 campaign this season in Rochester, New York, to prepare herself for the change of moving down south. The Selects are full of players from across the United States and have one player from Slovakia.

Zablocki will return to Saskatchewan for the final part of the school year to once again compete in track and field.

In hockey, Zablocki continuing the legacy of great female players who come out of Prince Albert including Danny Stone, Kaitlin Willoughby of the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres, Jessica Vance, Brooke Hobson of the PWHL’s New York Sirens, and Abby Soyko. All play with incredible skill, heart and grit, which a signature for hockey players from the “Gateway to the North.”

Stryker Zablocki, centre, is pictured with two young fans.

Zablocki has the potential to write many more successful chapters in her hockey career. It wouldn’t be a surprise if one day she turned out to be the best female player to ever come out of P.A.

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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Fabrizi perfect physical fit in “Hockey Town North”

Raiders rearguard gets goal in 4-1 win over Warriors

Matteo Fabrizi scored the Raiders third goal on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Matteo Fabrizi said it didn’t take long for Prince Albert to feel like home.

The 19-year-old physical defenceman was acquired by the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels on December 31, 2024. By tradition, both the Raiders and the Rebels like to play more of a physical game. That characteristic has allowed Fabrizi’s transition from Red Deer to Prince Albert to be seamless.

“They (the Raiders) traded for me for a reason,” said Fabrizi, who 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds. “They expect a certain game that they know I can play, and that I know I can play too.

“I just try to bring it every night and do what I can to help the team win every night.”

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Fabrizi was able to chip on offence. At the 9:33 mark of the first period of a WHL regular season contest against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, Fabrizi sent a shot from the point that deflected off a Warriors player into the Moose Jaw net.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Matteo Fabrizi (#5).

That tally was Fabrizi’s first goal as a member of the Raiders and it gave the Prince Albert side a 3-0 lead. The Raiders would cruise to a 4-1 victory from there to the delight of the 2,551 spectators in attendance.

In 51 games split between the Rebels and the Raiders this season, Fabrizi has three goals and nine assists for 12 points. His assist total is a career high and his point total matches a career high. The St. Albert, Alta., product was pleased to get his first goal as a member of the Raiders.

“I mean, no matter who you are, it is always good scoring a goal,” said Fabrizi. “I mean it is nice to get the first one here in the green.

“It is just whatever I can do to help the team.”

Matteo Fabrizi is known for his physical style of play.

The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 32-19-3-1 and jump back into first place in the WHL’s East Division combined with the fact the Brandon Wheat Kings dropped a 5-0 decision at home to the Calgary Hitmen. The Wheat Kings (30-17-4-3) and the Saskatoon Blades (30-18-3-4) both sit one standings point behind the Raiders for first. Brandon has a game in hand on both Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

The Blades slipped past the Rebels in Red Deer 3-2 in overtime on Friday night to keep the first place race in the East Division very heated.

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said it was big for the team to add Fabrizi’s physical style of play to the club’s roster.

“He is a big physical guy that stops pucks in our defensive zone,” said Truitt. “He makes the simple plays.

Niall Crocker celebrates scoring the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“He gets one tonight, which is tremendous. It is always nice to get one, but his job is to play defence and move pucks and be strong along the wall. We’ve got enough puck handlers and what not that can really motor.

“We needed to solidify things by adding on to what (import defenceman) Vojtech (Vochvest) does for us. We just thought that we needed a bigger body back there to help be a little bit more physical and simplify the game.”

Fabrizi said was welcomed into the Raiders organization and the team’s dressing room right from the start. He said it has been fun getting to witness the skill of the Raiders high-flying offensive players like Tomas Mrsic, Aiden Oiring, Rilen Kovacevic and Lukas Dragicevic.

Ty Meunier scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

“They are a great group of guys, and obviously, a lot of them are very high skilled,” said Fabrizi. “It is cool to watch, and it is fun to watch the power play work sometimes.

“I wish I had half that skill sometimes.”

The Raiders offence got going opening the game’s scoring at the 4:15 mark of the first while working the power play. Raiders 20-year-old standout left-winger Niall Crocker tallied from a trademark area from in front of the Moose Jaw net putting home a backhander for his 24^th goal of the season.

Exactly four minutes after Crocker’s tally, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ty Meunier slipped home a shot from the left boards in the Moose Jaw zone to put the host side up 2-0. Meunier’s tally was his 13^th of the campaign.

Matthew Hutchinson made 36 saves for the Warriors.

Fabrizi added his goal just 78 seconds after Meunier’s marker and the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre were rocking.

The Warriors were able to get some traction as 18-year-old right-winger and captain Lynden Lakovic tallied on the power play for his 20^th goal of the campaign to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Moose Jaw continued to battle with some pretty good jump for the rest of the contest, but they were unable to get another puck past Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, who finished the contest making 28 saves.

Oiring, who is a Raiders star centre, rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:43 remaining in the third period. He finished the contest with an assist to go along with his goal. Mrsic, who is a star left-winger, and Brayden Dube, who is breakout right-winger, each collected two assists for the Raiders.

Lynden Lakovic netted the Warriors lone goal on Friday.

Truitt was pleased with the game’s final outcome, but he added there were still areas that could be improved.

“I liked our first period for sure,” said Truitt. “I thought that we dictated a lot of the play.

“In the second period, we didn’t do enough. Even in the third period, I thought that we didn’t do enough. We had too many blind plays when we just let guys come right to our net.

“You’ve got to be tighter than that.”

Matthew Hutchinson turned away 36-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors (11-39-4-2).

The Warriors get back in action on Saturday when they return home to host the 36-15-3-2 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). Moose Jaw is looking to end a nine game losing streak.

Max Hildebrand stopped 28 shots in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders also return to action on Saturday when they travel to Regina to take on the 15-34-5-2 Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Back in the 2022-23 campaign, Fabrizi helped the Rebels top the WHL’s Central Division. He is enjoying trying to help the Raiders top their division this season.

“It is our goal, so we’re just trying to stay on the path that we want and put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny however it may be,” said Fabrizi. “We want top spot.”

When the regular season wraps up, Fabrizi said he would like to be part of a long post-season run. In his three previous seasons with the Rebels, Red Deer advanced to the second round of the post-season but was never able to make the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. Fabrizi wants to finally get pass the second round.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I got a lot of games, but I’m ready for a third round,” said Fabrizi. “Three second rounds in a row, it is time for more.”

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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