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.”

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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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.

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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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Raiders’ grad Kosior leads P.A. connections that power Huskies

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

Landon Kosior and a number of other Prince Albert connections have put the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team on quest to capture Canada West Conference and U Sports national titles.

Last Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place on the University of Saskatchewan campus, the Huskies concluded their regular season downing the University of Manitoba Bisons 4-2. That win allowed the Huskies to improve to 23-5 and lock up first place in Canada West and home ice advantage through the conference playoffs. The last time the Huskies pulled that feat off was back in the 2018-19 campaign under now retired legendary head coach Dave Adolph.

U of S is also rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

The Huskies roster includes Kosior and Keaton Sorensen, who are grads of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. U of S’s roster includes Rhett Rhinehart, who started his WHL career with the Raiders, and Ty Prefontaine, who played the first three games of his WHL career with the Raiders before playing most of his major junior career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Josh Pillar and Ashton Ferster are grads from the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team who are skating with the Raiders. Prince Albert product Ethan Regnier came up through Prince Albert’s minor hockey system and found his way to the Huskies after playing in the WHL with Swift Current Broncos and Everett Silvertips.

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

Unfortunately, sports and politics do collide

Expect trend to increase with Trump as US President

Has anybody in Canada seen much of Steven Guilbeault in recent weeks?

From 2021 to 2024, it seemed like the famed former member of Greenpeace was a regular on Canadian news networks serving as Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, which is a position he still holds. Guilbeault seemingly spoke as Prime Minister of Canada 1A creating policies to force Canada to move towards a green economy. He was the star shown all over the place as it seemed to be Canada was positioned to be the hero that was going to save the world from climate change under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Guilbeault was seen regularly in early January 2025 until January 20 rolled around and Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States of America for a second term taking over from Democrat Joe Biden, who beat Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election. Since becoming the President of the United States again, Trump signed off on an avalanche of executive orders changing numerous aspects of life in that country and using the threats of tariffs to declare economic war on first Canada and Mexico along with seemingly the rest of the world.

Of course, he keeps repeating that line about making Canada the “51^st state.”

All of that has thrown Canada’s political scene in a crisis mode with the country’s economy being very dependent on what has traditionally been a good relationship with the United States. Under the specter of this current political climate, it seems like there is a fear that Canada could turn into a third world country overnight, if Trump makes good on his plans.

All of a sudden, you don’t hear much about Guilbeault and talk about Canada’s environmental policies has become muted. If they are talked about, they seem out of place in dealing with the economic challenges Canada now faces.

Shifting to the sporting world, Trump appeared at Super Bowl LIX on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. He received big cheers, but left early as the Philadelphia Eagles stormed to a 34-0 lead and hammered the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. The Chiefs scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter to make the final score look better cosmetically.

On Sunday, Trump appeared at the Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Air Force 1 took a flyby of the track and Trump road in his armoured Cadillac limousine nicknamed “The Beast” and lapped the track with his presidential motorcade leading the field of cars.

In Canada, the national anthem of the United States has been booed before NHL and NBA games hosted in Canadian cities and the two 4 Nations Face-Off games the United States team played at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The booing is done to show displeasure with Trump’s tariff threats.

On Monday, Bill Guerin, who is the Team USA general manager for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, said on Fox News he would be very happy to see Trump in the crowd for Thursday’s championship game. The USA will face Canada in the final to be played at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts (7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet). At the moment, it does not look like Trump will be attending this contest.

Trudeau was in attendance for the preliminary round game between Canada and the USA taken 3-1 including an empty-net goal by the Americans last Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal. That game started with three fights in the first nine seconds of the opening frame.

If the United States wins the 4 Nations Face-Off title game, you can be sure you will see messaging on social media that Canada was put in its place and that the USA owns Canada. You will likely hear messages from the folks in the United States that Canada has become an embarrassment in the game it loves and that Canada really isn’t a real country and should become a state.

When it comes to sport on the international scene, sport has become the place where a sizable number of countries use that space as the spot that proves their country and culture is superior that of another country and its culture.

When the Soviet Union existed, it often used both Summer and Winter Olympic Games along would world championships to declare being the world’s most superior nation state. Russia would do that under the rule of Vladimir Putin before their sports bodies were banned at Olympic and various other international sporting events following their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

When Canada’s NHL players face the Soviet Union in the famed eight-game Summit Series of 1972, it became a tribalistic battle between cultures and peoples out on a hockey rink. Canada claimed that series with four wins, three losses and one tie on Paul Henderson’s famed Game 8 winner that broke a 5-5 tie and gave Canada a 6-5 victory with 34 seconds remaining in the third period.

Unfortunately, I believe the politics of the current day has devolved into a clown show and that has happened over the last 15 years.

To me, the extreme left that is seen as the woke left follows Trudeau. To me, it seems like that group of people believes concerns about the environment and climate change surpass all other issues, people are not born with a gender and can chose their gender, the Christian religion is evil, religion has no place in government, diversity, equity and inclusion is important, people are citizens of the world and should work toward a good of the globe view, the media should be controlled, the right wing voices should be silenced and the education system should conform to the leftist view that were listed.

To me, the extreme right follows Trump and the idea of Trumpism. To me, it seems like that group of people believes the economy is the issue of greatest concern, being hired on merit is more important than diversity, equity and inclusion, the Christian religion is good, religion has a place in government, there are only two sexes in male and female, women’s sports are for biological women, concerns about the environment and climate change have gone too far, those on the left wing are crazy, being combative with the media and those that don’t share your views is an acceptable behaviour and the education system should conform to the rightist view that were listed.

For both the extreme left and extreme right, I feel like if you don’t follow the dogmas I listed for each side those on each side believe you are an evil person that should be destroyed or at minimal cancelled.

Both sides have had their surprises.

In Canada especially Western Canada, the Liberals climate agenda when fully implemented would see only electric vehicles being used in Canada and all structures would be warmed by electric heat pumps. If you lived in Saskatchewan the last 10 days and experienced the extended extreme cold weather, those policies would mean no one would go anywhere and people would be freezing to death as electric heat pumps quit when it is colder than -25 C. In already following a green economic policy that has partially been put into action, tent cities and homeless has become the norm in Canadian centres of all sizes due to job losses and increased poverty.

Also if only electric vehicles were used, people at the moment would need to pay $31,000 to $75,000 to replace a battery on an electric vehicle. You are not likely to get three years out of a battery of an electric vehicle. The battery in an electric vehicle like all batteries declines in efficiency every time it is used, and electric vehicle batteries decline faster due to the size of the charge they need to hold.

Also, it does way more environmental damage to mine for the lithium for electric batteries for vehicles, and as my mechanic told me, the electric vehicle graveyard is already bigger than the gas vehicle graveyard. The world also doesn’t have enough lithium for there to be a full conversion to electric vehicles.

In the United States, President Trump’s second term so far has been more than anyone expected on the surprise front with all the executive orders he has signed. He is trying to change how government there operates, clear out senior executives in the FBI, send buyout offers to the entire CIA workforce, threaten economic war with Canada and Mexico and seemingly most other parts of the world and has seemingly sided with Russia in its war with Ukraine falsely saying that Ukraine started that war.

To me, both those on the far left and far right are trying to work things on the financial front to profit themselves and their buddies. If they do actually want to help the people they govern, they don’t truly know how to do that.

I said this before, but I personally have no use for Trudeau and Trump. I also believe there is value in trying to understand why people vote for either side, especially if their views are moderate or centralist. I believe it helps to figure out why we got to where we are in the world.

I believe the strong centralist voice has been lost. I believe good democracy comes from doing the art of the compromise well.

I also believe there are too many lies told in this world being both “white” lies and straight out lies. Those lies make trust hard to achieve and gives conspiracy theories traction.

I believe I don’t fit with either the far left or the far right, which means those on both spectrums will hate me. I understand that is an “it is what it is” thing, and I am fine with it.

Things will play out however they play out, and I will adjust to those factors when the effect me the best I can using the cards that are dealt my way. I feel like I have constantly said that since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started in March of 2020.

For myself, I personally wish sports and politics did not mix. Unfortunately, the reality is sports and politics do mix, and they have mixed pretty much for all time. The intensity of how sports and politics mix constantly changes as the years go on and can rage for a small to no mix up to a big mix.

With the way the world is currently especially in North America, the sports and politics mix appears set to happen on a more regular and intense basis going forward. Buckle up.

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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Tkachuk brothers flush politics with fisticuffs at 4 Nations

Early fights allowed Canada/USA game to be enjoyed

Brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk were the MVPs of Saturday night.

Their antics allowed the 4 Nations Face-Off clash between Canada and the United States at the Bell Centre in Montreal to be enjoyed. They both got involved in fights after the respective first two faceoffs of the game.

From that point, the sellout pro-Canadian crowd of 21,105 spectators at the Bell Centre and I dare say those watching the contest on TV networks in both countries felt free to enjoy the game. The USA prevailed by a 3-1 score that included an empty-net goal.

Heading into that contest in that best-versus-best tournament that includes Finland and Sweden, most watching the game on the Canadian front were likely watching for the political story. That story was crowds at Canadian hosted NHL and NBA games were booing the national anthem of the United States due to the tariff and trade war policies enacted against Canada via executive orders by United States President Donald Trump.

The United States national anthem was booed before Thursday’s contest at the Bell Centre that saw the USA down Finland 6-1.

On Saturday in the clash between Canada and the United States, the crowd did boo the entire singing of the United States national anthem.

The crowd proceeded to sing O Canada in traditional bilingual form singing the Canadian national anthem in French before switching to English at the line, “God keep our land.”

At that point, the Tkachuk brothers ensured politics were forgotten for the next three hours. Off the opening faceoff, Matthew, who is a United States forward, engaged Canadian forward Brandon Hagel in a crowd-pleasing staged fight.

On the ensuing faceoff, younger brother Brady set to take the draw against Sam Bennett of Canada. After one second ticked off the clock, Brady and Bennett went at it in a second crowd-pleasing staged fight. When Brady was escorted off to the penalty box, he exchanged “fives” with brother Matthew before getting in the box.

As a bonus in the bout department, a six-second shift ensued that ended in a scrum around the Team Canada net. United States forward J.T. Miller and Canadian defenceman Colton Parayko came out of that scrum engaged in a big fight. After officials broke up that bout, the Bell Centre was rocking like the old Montreal Forum in NHL rivalry clashes that involved the Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques in the 1980s.

At that point in time, it is safe to say no one was thinking about politics unless they were a “political animal” that only thinks about politics. Anyone watching that game was glued to looking at the action to see what happens next. All of a sudden, it felt like those who were watching the game were allowed to have the freedom to watch the game and even enjoy it.

During post-game interviews that were shown on television, the word “politics” wasn’t brought up when the Tkachuk brothers were interviewed. They said they were just trying to do something that would get everybody focused on the game and the idea of the staged fights was dreamed up earlier that day.

Of course, Brady is the captain of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and Matthew played for the NHL’s Calgary Flames before being traded to the Florida Panthers and winning a Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season. Their father, Keith Tkachuk, was a popular power forward with the first version of the Winnipeg Jets. The Tkachuk family knows how passionate Canadian fans are when it comes to the game of hockey.

During their hockey careers, Matthew and Brady have relished playing the role of villain. While they love their home fans, you get the feeling they extra energized when they go into an opposition rink and they know they are going to be booed and heckled.

It can be argued that the last player to relish being a villain even more than the Tkachuk brothers was all-time agitator and top tier scorer Theo Fleury.

It was only fitting that if there were going to be any staged fights to start Saturday’s battled between Canada and the United States, the Tkachuk brothers would be involved. All that fans that boo and heckle the Tkachuk brothers have to admit they would love it if they played on their favourite hockey team.

To see an example of a villain getting love, all one has to do was look at Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand playing for Canada on Saturday. While Montreal hockey fans despise the Bruins, they cheered Marchand every time he got near the puck.

Also, big time credit has to be given to Hagel and Bennett for stepping up on the staged fight dance card along with Miller and Parayko for taking part in the third fight in the game’s first nine seconds.

In the current day, hockey is pretty tame and not a lot of old school happenings occur in the fight department at any level of the sport. Even for myself, I am 15 years removed from seeing antics similar to the Canada versus United States clash on Saturday in the fight department happening at any level - especially at the start of a hockey game.

Following those three bouts, Canada and the United States played a typical intense and tight checking style of NHL post-season game.

Canada scored first at the 5:31 mark of the opening frame when defenceman Drew Doughty sprung all-world forward Connor McDavid into the United States zone on a stretch pass. McDavid lifted a backhand shot over the glove of United States netminder Connor Hellebuyck for a 1-0 lead.

At the 10:15 mark of the first, United States forward Jake Guentzel put a shot between the legs of Canadian netminder Jordan Binnington to even the score at 1-1.

The United States took a 2-1 lead at the 13:33 mark of the second when Canadian legend Sidney Crosby uncharacteristically gave the puck away with an ill-advised cross ice pass just inside the blue-line of the United States zone. The USA broke up ice the other way on a two-on-one break that ended with forward Dylan Larkin firing home the winning goal blocker side on Binnington.

Guentzel rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net tally with 1:19 remaining in the third to complete a two-goal night.

Binnington turned away 20-of-22 shots for Canada. Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots for the United States.

Matthew didn’t play the final 12:36 of the contest due to an apparent injury and stayed on the United States bench. He told reporters after the game that he would be fine.

The win allows the United States to improve to 2-0 and earn a spot in the tournament final set for Thursday at the TD Garden in Boston. Canada has an overtime win and regulation loss and sits tied with two points in the tournament standings with Finland, who has an extra time win and a regulation loss, and Sweden, who has two extra time losses.

Canada plays Finland on Monday, while the United States faces Sweden. Both those contests will be at the TD Garden.

Overall, the specter of politics will still hang over this tournament.

Still, it was fantastic that the Tkachuk brothers made sure Saturday night was alright, even if it was just for a few hours.

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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Defence, goaltending come up big for Blades

Saskatoon downs powerhouse Hitmen 6-3

Ethan McCallum, right, begins to celebrate Friday’s win.

The Saskatoon Blades lived out the cliché that defence and goaltending wins hockey games.

On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades young blue-line came up big on offence. Four different players on the backend had single goals to help Saskatoon down the powerhouse Calgary Hitmen 6-3 before a supportive crowd of 4,071 spectators that braved fictional planet Hoth like temperatures to attend the WHL regular season contest.

Out of the Blades defenders, sturdy standout 20-year-old veteran Grayden Siepmann had the biggest night recording one goal, two assists and a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department. Sophomore defenceman Jack Kachkowski, who turned 18-years-old in January, 17-year-old rookie blue-liner Isaac Poll and fellow rookie rearguard Jordan Martin, who turned 18-years-old in January, all picked up singles for Saskatoon.

Grayden Siepmann had one goal and two assists for the Blades.

Veteran netminder Ethan McCallum had a spectacular outing stopping 39 shots to pick up the victory in goal for the host side.

The win allowed the Blades to improve to 28-17-3-3 to keep pace in the race for first place in the WHL’s East Division. Their 62 standings points equals the total of their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders (29-18-3-1), but the Raiders hold the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins. The Brandon Wheat Kings (27-16-4-3) sit one point back of both the Raiders and Blades with one game in hand.

The Hitmen came out of the gates on fire outshooting the Blades 7-1, and they broke through on the scoreboard just 3:33 into the opening frame. Hitmen 20-year-old star centre Connor Hvidston got the puck in front of the Saskatoon net off a positive bounce and roofed his 16^th tally of the season to the top left corner of the net to put the visitors up 1-0.

Kalem Parker had a goal for the Hitmen.

The Blades got their wheels going and evened score 1-1 on the power play at the 8:36 mark of the first on a goal from Siepmann. Siepmann fired home a point shot for the equalizer with the man advantage.

Saskatoon took a 2-1 lead at the 7:34 mark of the second, when breakout 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams wired home his 16^th marker of the campaign.

The Hitmen proceeded to even the score at 2-2 at the 10:40 mark of the second. Working in the Saskatoon zone, Hitmen 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker had the puck on the icing line to the right side of the Saskatoon net. He banked home the puck off McCallum’s stick into the Saskatoon net to force a tie game.

Jack Kachkowski had a goal for the Blades on Friday.

Just 11 seconds later, Hitmen standout 18-year-old right-winger Carson Wetsch thought he scored from the front of the Saskatoon net to put his side ahead, but the play continued. The officials from the timekeeper’s booth blew the play down seconds later for a video review.

The review showed Wetsch’s shot just crossed the goal line of that Saskatoon net, and the officials ruled a goal for Wetsch to officially put the Hitmen ahead 3-2.

As quickly as the momentum swung to the Hitmen, it swung back just as quickly to the Blades.

With 3:23 remaining in the second, Kachkowski wired home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Calgary goal to even the score at 3-3. 

Isaac Poll had the Blades fourth goal on Friday.

The tally was Kachkowski’s first goal as a member of the Blades having been acquired in a trade on January 6.

The Blades proceeded to go ahead 4-3 with 1:32 remaining in the second when rookie 17-year-old defenceman Isaac Poll slipped home a shot from the point through a screen for his second marker of the season.

Just past the midway point of the third, Martin jetted down the right wing into the Calgary zone and ripped a shot from the right faceoff dot to the top left corner of the Calgary net to push the Blades lead out to 5-3.

Blades 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert sealed the victory scoring on the power play during a net scramble with 4:25 remaining in the third. 

Jordan Martin scored for the Blades on Friday.

Calvert’s tally was his 21^st goal on the season and 16^th marker on the power play.

Both Williams and Calvert each finished recording one goal and one assist for the Blades. Hvidston finished with one goal and one assist for Calgary. Daniel Hauser turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen.

With the setback, the Hitmen fell to 33-14-3-2 to remain three points back of the idle Medicine Hat Tigers (35-16-3-1) for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Hitmen have three games in hand on the Tigers.

Due to the Lethbridge Hurricanes downing the visiting Regina Pats 6-5 in overtime, the Hurricanes improve to 34-16-2-1 and equal the Hitmen with 71 standings points. 

The Blades celebrate their victory on Friday night.

The Hurricanes hold second in the Eastern Conference due to having more wins than the Hitmen, but Calgary has one game in hand on Lethbridge.

The Blades head on the road on Saturday to Swift Current to take on the 27-22-1-1 Broncos (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

The Hitmen also get back at it on Saturday traveling to Prince Albert to take the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Going forward, the Blades are hoping their young back end and McCallum can keep delivering big games. If that happens, Saskatoon can likely deliver a few more surprises as the WHL campaign continues.

Raiders surge past Broncos 6-1, other notes

Lukas Dragicevic had one goal and two assists for the Raiders.

A four-goal knockout shot in the third period allowed the Prince Albert Raiders to put away the Swift Current Broncos.

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the host Raiders took a 2-1 lead into the third period and piled up four goals in the third to surge past the visiting Broncos 6-1 to the delight of the 2,555 spectators in attendance. The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 29-18-3-1 and hold a slim edge for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

The Raiders have the same amount of standings points as the Saskatoon Blades (28-17-3-3) at 62, but Prince Albert holds the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins. The Brandon Wheat Kings (27-16-4-3) sit one point back of both the Raiders and Blades with a game in hand on both clubs.

Star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic opened the game’s scoring netting his 13^th of the season at the 4:01 mark of the opening frame ripping home a midrange shot from the left faceoff circle.

Tomas Mrsic had one goal and two assists for the Raiders.

With 5.8 seconds remaining in the first, Raiders 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker potted a power-play goal from the front of the Swift Current net to put the host side up 2-0.

In the second, Broncos 20-year-old centre Carlin Dezainde wired home a shot to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net from the front of the goal to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1. Dezainde converted a beauty setup pass from 19-year-old left-winger Rylan Gould from the left corner of the Prince Albert zone.

The Raiders opened the flood gates in the third. Tomas Mrsic, who is the team’s star 18-year-old left-winger, netted his 31^st goal of the campaign to push the Raiders edge out to 3-1. Brayden Dube picked up his 24^th goal of the season with his club working on the power play to give the Prince Albert side a 4-1 advantage.

Raiders captain Justice Christensen scored once at even strength and once on the power play to round out the 6-1 final score in Prince Albert’s favour. Christensen now had 18 goals on the campaign.

Justice Christensen scored twice for the Raiders.

Dragicevic and Mrsic each finished with one goal and two assists for Prince Albert.

Max Hildebrand stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Joey Rocha turned away 33 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos (27-22-1-1).

The Broncos return home on Saturday to host the Saskatoon Blades (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

The Raiders also get back at it on Saturday as they host the Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

• On Friday in Lethbridge, veteran centre Shane Smith scored at the 1:19 mark of overtime to deliver the host Hurricanes to a 6-5 victory over the Regina Pats. Hurricanes 19-year-old import right-winger Leo Braillard scored with 6.9 seconds remaining in the third period to force a 5-5 tie and overtime.
• On Friday in Kamloops, netminder Logan Edmonstone made 35 saves to backstop the host Blazers to a 3-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. Conner Radke, who is an 18-year-old right-winger, scored the winning goal for the Blazers in the second period. The win allowed Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston to pick up his 583^rd career WHL regular season head coach victory. He moves one win ahead of Marc Habscheid, who is best known for guiding the Rockets and Prince Albert Raiders as head coach, for fifth all-time on the WHL’s career head coaching wins list.
• On Friday in Victoria, the host Royals won their sixth in a row downing the visiting Vancouver Giants 5-2. Royals 19-year-old star left-winger Teydon Trembecky had two goals and two assists in the win. Victoria improved its B.C. Division leading record to 32-14-3-5.
• Also on Friday in the WHL, the Brandon Wheat Kings doubled up the Moose Jaw Warriors 6-3; the Everett Silvertips slipped past the Prince George Cougars 3-1; the Red Deer Rebels downed the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1; the Tri-City Americans edged the Spokane Chiefs 5-4 after a tiebreaking shootout; and the Portland Winterhawks edged the Wenatchee Wild 6-5 in overtime.
• On Tuesday, Cami Kepke, who is the WHL’s manager of communications and content, put together a great story on Manny Viveiros rediscovering his love for hockey after battling two cancer diagnosis and depression. Viveiros was a legendary defenceman on the Prince Albert Raiders squad that won the WHL title and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985. He guided the Swift Current Broncos to a WHL championship as head coach in 2017-18, and he currently serves as the head coach of the Vancouver Giants. Kepke’s story on Viveiros can be found right here.
• On Sunday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on softball power hitter Olivia Prokopchuk. The 17-year-old first base infielder has signed on with the University of South Carolina-Union Bantams Women’s Softball team located in Union, South Carolina. She is also coming back from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by pictures from the Saskatoon Valkyries Winter Camp. It also includes photos from baseball, football, rugby, softball and speed skating. That post can be found by clicking right here.

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

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