Chiefs cruise past Tigers 6-2 in Game 2 of WHL final

Championship series evens up at 1-1 heading to Spokane

The Chiefs enjoy a third period goal by Berkley Catton, centre.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – The Medicine Hat Tigers early jump on the scoreboard didn’t pay the same dividends this time around.

The Spokane Chiefs responded with a nasty counter punch.

Just 55 seconds into Game 2 of the WHL Championship Series at Co-op Place on Sunday night, Tigers star center Cayden Lindstrom scored to give his squad a 1-0 lead. Lindstrom’s goal was his first since returning from a long term back injury in Game 1 of the series.

In Game 1 on Friday, Lindstrom’s linemate Andrew Basha scored 54 seconds into that contest returning from a long term lower body injury as the Tigers skated to a 4-1 victory. A similar story didn’t play out on Sunday night.

Berkly Catton had two goals and an assist for the Chiefs.

Starting at the 6:50 mark of the opening frame, the Chiefs scored four goals in a span of four minutes and 46 seconds to surge ahead 4-1. They cruised to a 6-2 victory from that point to the disappointment of most of the 6,238 spectators in attendance outside of a contingent of Chiefs supporters.

“I think it was the response we wanted,” said Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer. “Obviously, we didn’t want to give up that first goal that quick, but I thought our kids it didn’t faze them.

“I thought we stuck with it and found a way. We had a really good first period. We were able to score four, so it was a good response.

“It was a good start, which is what we wanted.”

Cayden Lindstrom scored 55 seconds into Sunday’s game.

With the win, the Chiefs even the best-of-seven series 1-1. The series now shifts to Spokane. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. local start time at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

The Tigers jumped ahead 1-0 just 55 seconds into the opening frame when Lindstrom received a backdoor pass at the right side of the Spokane net from linemate Hunter St. Martin to pop home the first goal of the game. 

Ultimately, scoring the opening goal of the contest proved to be bittersweet for Lindstrom due to the final result of the contest.

“Scoring goals is fun and all, but I think winning is better,” said Lindstrom. “You can score as many goals as you want, but if you don’t win the game, it is not the best.”

Rasmus Ekstrom (#13) scored the Chiefs second goal on Sunday.

At the 6:50 mark of the first, Chiefs star left-winger Shea Van Olm brought the puck into the Medicine Hat zone and dropped the pass to linemate Berkly Catton at the right point. Catton drove to the front of the Medicine Hat goal, deked around a Tigers defenceman and tucked home the equalizer between the legs of Tigers 20-year-old star netminder Harrison Meneghin to even the score at 1-1.

The Chiefs surge continued with goals coming off the sticks of Rasmus Ekstrom, Owen Martin and Van Olm to give the visitors their 4-1 advantage.

“I thought Spokane played really well,” said legendary Tigers head coach and general manager Desjardins. “I thought they were quicker than us in the first period.

Owen Martin (#21) celebrates scoring the Chiefs third goal.

“They were just a little bit hungrier. I don’t think there is much more than that. They just played a really good game, and they outplayed us tonight.

“They deserved the game.”

Lauer said his squad had productive video sessions and meetings following the Game 1 loss, which helped lead to a different result in Game 2.

“With these guys here, it doesn’t take a lot,” said Lauer. “We didn’t have to show them too, too much.

“It was just some conversations that we had, and then we backed it up with a little bit of video. This time of year, a lot of these guys know (what to do). After the game when we lost, we kind of asked them some questions about what we need to be better at.

Shea Van Olm had the Chiefs fourth goal on Sunday.

“They had all the right answers. They kind of knew what we needed to focus on. We don’t try to overload them, but right now, they are good students after this game.”

It appeared the Tigers were going to get some traction in the second period. At the 5:55 mark of the frame, offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford drove home a mid-range shot from the front of the Spokane net working on a four-versus-three power play to cut the Chiefs advantage to 4-2.

With 55.7 seconds remaining in the second, St. Martin drove down the right wing and fired a shot off the left post of the Spokane net that one of the referees at first pointed to the net and called a goal. The play went to a video review that correctly determined the puck did not go in the Spokane net, which meant the Chiefs would continue to hold a 4-2 lead.

Bryce Pickford scored the Tigers second goal on Sunday.

“I thought we played pretty good in the second,” said Desjardins. “We had a chance and Hunter (St. Martin) hit the goalpost, and that would have put it 4-3.

“Maybe that would have made it different, but in the end, they deserved it.”

Still trailing 4-2 in the third, Tigers star defenceman Tanner Molendyk would ring a shot off the post. Following that scoring chance by Medicine Hat, the Chiefs would put the game away.

At the 12:07 mark of the third, Martin put a backhand pass from the right side of the Tigers net across the face of the goal to 16-year-old rookie right-winger Mathis Preston at the left side of the net. Preston knocked home the backdoor tap to give the visitors a 5-2 advantage.

Ryder Ritchie (#21) battles Andrew Cristall (#82).

Preston finished the night recording one goal, one assist and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. He said he enjoyed playing the first two games of the WHL final in Medicine Hat.

“It is a great environment,” said Preston. “They are sold out every night, and it is super fun to play with all these fans.

“Being the away team, it gives you energy too, not just the home team. It is lots of fun, and I think our team feeds off it.”

With 4:42 remaining in the third, Catton scored on a breakaway for his second tally of the night which rounded out the 6-2 final in favour of the Chiefs. To go with his two goals, Catton also posted one assist and a plus-two rating.

Mathis Preston accounted for the Chiefs fifth goal on Sunday.

“He (Catton) was there,” said Lauer. “Obviously, he understood the importance of this game and him being our captain.

“The way he played, and the way he came out and skated with the puck he wanted to make sure that we weren’t going to lose this game. You could see it by his effort tonight.”

Meneghin turned away 19 shots to take the setback in net for the Tigers, who lost for the first time at home in the post-season on Sunday and saw their 11 overall game winning streak come to an end. Dawson Cowan stopped 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Chiefs.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna was held without a point. That brought an end to his streak of recording points in 54 straight games played between the regular season and post-season. During the 54 games of that streak that dated back to November 6, 2024, McKenna recorded 137 points coming off 40 goals and 97 assists.

A group of young fans keeps cheering hard for the Tigers in the third.

The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark. The Chiefs were fourth overall in the regular season with a 45-20-1-2 record.

As for the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released back on March 25, the Tigers were ranked third, and the Chiefs were rated sixth.

Looking ahead to Game 3 in Spokane, St. Martin said his Tigers have to play with a little more jump.

Gavin McKenna (#72) was held without a point on Sunday.

“I think they just outplayed us,” said St. Martin. “It was simple.

“They won more battles than us. They got more bounces. I think now we take and reflect what we can.

“We have to rebound. It is a quick turnaround here on the bus, and we have to get to it on Tuesday.”

Chiefs star right-winger Andrew Cristall, who collected a pair of assists on Sunday, said his squad heads into Game 3 with a renewed belief in themselves.

“All four lines played an unreal game,” said Cristall, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals. “We obviously wanted to have a little more of a bounce back game.

The Chiefs celebrate their victory on Sunday.

“I thought five-on-five we played pretty well. It gives us a lot of confidence, especially heading back home and hopefully it keeps going.”

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Big saves, returns power Tigers in opener of WHL final

Medicine Hat claims hard fought 4-1 win over Chiefs

The Tigers celebrate their Game 1 win in the WHL final.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Harrison Meneghin, Andrew Basha, and Cayden Lindstrom oh my!

The Medicine Hat Tigers were full of storylines in Game 1 of the WHL Championship Series. Getting a big emotional lift from the return of Basha and Lindstrom coming off long-term injuries, the Tigers jumped out to 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the contest.

Along with that spark, Meneghin would make 36 saves on the night to allow the host Tigers to skate a 4-1 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs before a raucous sellout crowd of 6,244 spectators at Co-op Place. With the win, the Tigers lead the best-of-seven set 1-0. Game 2 is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. at Co-op Place.

Andrew Basha scored the Tigers first goal on Friday.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna also picked up a pair of assists in the hard-fought contest, and he now has points in 54 straight games played between the regular season and post-season. During the 54 games of the streak, McKenna has recorded 137 points coming off 40 goals and 97 assists.

“I thought it was a hard game for sure,” said legendary Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “Spokane is a very good team.

“I thought that we had a great start, which was huge for us. Then I thought that, you know, we stepped back maybe a little bit, but a lot of credit goes to Spokane. We were ready, and you know, they played hard.”

Before Friday’s contest, Basha last played for the Tigers in their 4-0 home ice victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 28, 2024, and he had been out with a lower body injury since that time.

Cayden Lindstrom had an assist on the Tigers first goal on Friday.

Lindstrom had been battling a back injury since December 16, 2023. Before Friday’s contest, he last suited up for the Tigers on April 5, 2024. The Tigers fell 5-2 at home that night to be eliminated from the WHL Playoffs in Game 5 of a first round series against the Red Deer Rebels.

The two took the spotlight on the Tigers first tally just 54 seconds into the contest. Off a dump in, Lindstrom recovered the puck in the right corner of the Spokane zone.

He passed the puck to star right-winger Hunter St. Martin just above the right faceoff dot. St. Martin dished the puck across the front of the Spokane net to Basha at the left side of the goal. Basha fired home the backdoor setup to give the Tigers the first goal of the contest.

Andrew Basha (#34) celebrates scoring the Tigers first goal.

The 19-year-old Calgary product was awestruck by the whole experience of being back on the ice.

“It was really weird,” said Basha, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. “I said it before it was just a very slow winter for me.

“The past kind of three weeks it just started picking right back up again, and now, we are here. I was kind of telling Willie the whole time I was going to do it. I was pretty just kind of mesmerized that it was unbelievable to see that crowd.

“It is so special how well the boys have played throughout this whole run. It is just great to get back out there with them.”

The fans at Co-op Place cheer the Tigers first goal.

At the 6:27 mark of the opening frame, McKenna broke into the Spokane zone on an offensive rush. He dangled and did a half-spin at the top of the right faceoff circle and put a pass out to offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford. Pickford drove home a mid-range shot for his eighth tally of the post-season to push the Tigers edge out to 2-0.

Pickford, who turned 19-years-old in early April, scored his Game 1 tally in the WHL final a year to the day he was acquired by the Tigers in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Chauvin, Alta., product played two complete seasons in Seattle before coming to Medicine Hat.

Bryce Pickford had the Tigers second goal on Friday.

“Gav (McKenna) made an unreal play entering the zone,” said Pickford, who was a member of the Thunderbirds 2023 WHL title winning team. “I didn’t think he was going to find me, but he always does.

“I came as the fourth guy, and he found me and I scored.”

The Chiefs proceeded to mount a pushback and outshot the Tigers 13-7 in the opening 20 minutes. Meneghin ensured the visitors didn’t get on the scoreboard.

Meneghin and Chiefs star netminder Dawson Cowan took the spotlight in a scoreless second period that saw the Tigers hold a 12-9 edge in shots on goal. Cowan made the biggest stop of the period as his left pad denied a breakaway chance by McKenna just past the midway point of the frame.

Harrison Meneghin makes one of his 36 stops on Friday night.

Spokane made another big push in the third. At the 4:44 mark of the frame, the Chiefs broke through on the scoreboard tallying on their fourth power-play chance of the contest. Chiefs star left-winger Shea Van Olm had the puck along the left boards on a rush up ice and flipped a pass over to captain Berkly Catton to send him in alone on the Medicine Hat goal.

Catton put a backhand shot between Meneghin’s legs to cut the Tigers edge to 2-1.

“Special teams are huge, and obviously, it is even bigger in the playoffs,” said Catton. “I think we like to have speed in our break in.

Two Tigers fans show off signs and lead crowd chants.

“I think that Shea (Van Olm) made a great play to me, and I just finished it. I think it was a great break in, and it just started off that.”

Just 72 second later, the Tigers pushed their advantage out to 3-1 when right-winger Ethan Neutens, who turned 20-years-old on May 3, flipped a knuckleball shot that flipped high through the air and overtop Cowen into the Spokane net.

Tigers star defenceman Tanner Molendyk rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 2:17 remaining in the third. The Chiefs had outshot the Tigers 15-3 in the stanza.

Cowan turned away 18-of-21 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs.

Berkly Catton had the Chiefs lone goal on Friday.

“We had some chances,” said Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer. “I think some of the areas where we were getting a little bit frustrated were the turnovers and making the mistakes that we did over and over again a couple of times.

“It is one of those games where we kind of kept giving them the puck, especially in the second period and kind of put us on our heels for a little bit. We did stick around. We did find a way to get to 2-1.

“We’ve done that all year. We find ways to get back into games. We’ll go through the videotape, and we’ll make the corrections that we need to make for Game 2.”

Shea Van Olm had an assist on the Chiefs lone goal on Friday.

The Chiefs defensive players started to jump up in the play a little more in the third period attempting to help their squad get on even terms with the Tigers. 

Chiefs overage defenceman Brayden Crampton said the blue-liners understand the risks of jumping up in the play against the Tigers.

“We want to get up in the rush as much as possible,” said Crampton. “I thought there were times where, you know, we could jump up in a rush, but it is a bit risky just because they are such an offensive team.

“We know that. You just have to take your chances when you can go and when you can’t.”

Gavin McKenna had a pair of assists for the Tigers on Friday.

Overall, Meneghin had a night where Tigers fans could have been seeing flashbacks of Matt Keetley making stops in the Medicine Hat net, when he backstopped the Tigers to the WHL title in 2007 and was named the MVP of the WHL post-season.

“’Keets’ (Keetley) was an unbelievable goaltender,” said Desjardins, whose squad has won 11 straight post-season contests. “He was so good during that run.

“It is hard to say how good he was. He was there every night. Harrison (Meneghin) has been for us as well.

“We’ve had lots of tough games, and tonight, he was good. He was just so calm back there, and that gives you a lot of confidence, when he is that calm as well. There is a lot of series left here, and we’re going to need him to be big as we go forward.”

Ethan Neutens had the Tigers third goal on Friday.

The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark. The Chiefs were fourth overall in the regular season with a 45-20-1-2 record.

As for the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released back on March 25, the Tigers were ranked third, and the Chiefs were rated sixth.

With the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band set to play Co-op Place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, the Tigers and Chiefs will enjoy a day off before going at it again in Game 2 on Sunday. Desjardins believes the day off will be good for both teams.

“We will get the rest we need,” said Desjardins. “We’ll go over video and take a look at it.

“It is good to get that break especially guys like Andrew (Basha) and Lindy (Lindstrom) where they haven’t been playing for a while. It is nice to get the break. It is good for everybody.

The Tigers enjoy their win on Friday night.

“Playoffs is such a hard time that you need every break you can get. They will get the same break though, and they’re going to be really hungry for Game 2. We’ll have to be better Sunday.”

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Tigers, Chiefs accomplish a lot making WHL final

League championship series starts Friday in Medicine Hat

Oasiz Wiesblatt, left, and Gavin McKenna enjoy a Tigers goal.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. - The Medicine Hat Tigers and Spokane Chiefs have had memorable seasons.

Of course, they would both love to make the 2024-25 campaign more memorable by winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup to become WHL Champions.

The two sides will go at it in the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series starting Friday at 7 p.m. at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark. The Chiefs were fourth overall in the regular season with a 45-20-1-2 record.

As for the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released back on March 25, the Tigers were ranked third, and the Chiefs were rated sixth.

With all that noted, it is a major accomplishment for both to make the WHL final. It is hard to win in the WHL let alone win it all. That goes for two legacy franchises like the Tigers and Chiefs.

Since first hitting the ice back in 1970, the Tigers have won five WHL titles and claimed the Memorial Cup twice in 1987 and 1988 to become CHL champions. Medicine Hat’s last WHL championship came back in 2007 when the circuit’s championship trophy was still called the President’s Cup.

After last winning the WHL title in 2007, the Tigers continued to pile up wins and accomplishments. They advanced as far as the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series in 2011 and 2014. A berth in the league final eluded the Tabbies until this year.

The 2010-11 Tigers battled a whole host of injuries finishing fifth overall in the WHL with a 46-18-4-4 mark and still looked poised to go all the way. They were swept in the Eastern Conference final by the Kootenay Ice who went on to win the last WHL title in the team’s history in Cranbrook, B.C.

In 2016-17, the Tigers finished second overall in the WHL with a 51-20-1 mark and looked like they would have a storybook season. That campaign came to a heartbreaking end when the Tigers dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to their traditional rivals the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Game 7 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong netted the winner for Lethbridge at Co-op Place, which was then known as the Canalta Centre.

The Chiefs began play in 1985 when the Kelowna Wings franchise was relocated to Spokane. Spokane won the WHL title in 1991 and 2008 and marched to capture the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in both those campaigns.

Since winning both the WHL title for the now minted Ed Chynoweth Cup and Memorial Cup in 2008, the Chiefs weren’t able to make it back to the WHL final until this year. They returned to the Western Conference final in 2011 and 2019.

In 2010-11, the Chiefs were fourth overall in the WHL with a 48-18-4-2 mark and fell to the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference Championship Series in six games. Spokane fell in the 2019 Western Conference final in five games to the Vancouver Giants.

Both the Tigers and Chiefs in the current day are loaded with talented rosters.

Some of the big names dressing for the Tigers include and are not limited to Gavin McKenna, captain Oasiz Wiesblatt, Ryder Ritchie, Hunter St. Martin, Tanner Molendyk, Bryce Pickford and netminder Harrison Meneghin. 

Fans in “The Gas City” have some extra home that star forwards Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom could return from long term injuries.

Basha last played in the Tigers 4-0 home ice victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 28, 2024 and has been out with a lower body injury since that time. Lindstrom has been battling a back injury since December 16, 2023 and last suited up on April 5, 2024, when the Tigers fell 5-2 at home to be eliminated from the WHL Playoffs in Game 5 of a first round series against the Red Deer Rebels. Both have been practicing regularly this week with the Tigers.

McKenna has had the most memorable campaign. The superstar left-winger finished second in scoring during the WHL regular season recording 129 points off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department in 56 contests. On Wednesday, McKenna was named the winner of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Player of the Year.

He currently has points in his last 53 straight games played between the regular season and post-season. During the 53 games of the streak, McKenna has recorded 135 points coming off 40 goals and 95 assists.

The Chiefs roster is loaded with big names that include and are not limited to Andrew Cristall, captain Berkly Catton, Shea Van Olm, Brayden Crampton, Rasmus Ekstrom, Chase Harrington and Dawson Cowan.

Tanner Molendyk has been stellar on the Tigers back end.

Cristall came to the Chiefs in a blockbuster trade with the Kelowna Rockets on January 8. In 57 regular season contests played between the Rockets and Chiefs, Cristall, who turned 20-years-old on February 4, topped the WHL in scoring to claim the Bob Clarke Trophy with 132 points coming off 48 goals and 84 assists to go with a plus-59 rating in the plus-minus department.

Van Olm topped the WHL with 49 goals during the regular season.

Both teams have outstanding coaching staffs. The Tigers are led by their legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. The ultra-talented Brad Lauer leads the Chiefs bench staff as head coach. Chiefs general manager Matt Bardsley was named the winner of the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s executive of the year.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Tigers have posted a 12-1 record so far and swept the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final. The Chiefs have gone 12-3 so far and swept the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference final.

The statistical difference that jumps on the page comes in goals against in the post-season. The Tigers have given up 35 goals against in their 13 contests and have a 2.65 goals against average as a team. The Chiefs have given up 59 goals against in their 15 contests and have a 3.57 goals against average.

It should be noted that you can bet Lauer and his coaching staff have been working on team defence during their lengthy stretch of time off.

The Chiefs will have had seven off days leading up to the WHL final, while the Tigers will have had eight off days leading to that series. Both squads should be fresh for Game 1.

Again, both teams should be praised for getting this far and for being two of the six squads across the CHL who are still in action. A total of 60 teams took the ice across the CHL this season, which means 54 clubs have seen their 2024-25 campaigns come to an end.

The Tigers salute their faithful at Co-op Place.

What the Tigers and Chiefs have done to this point is special, and it can’t be taken away from either squad.

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Fate allows Oil Kings to make up lost time with playoff run

Edmonton to face Thunderbirds in WHL Final

Jake Neighbours (#21) and Kaiden Guhle (#4) share a laugh.

It seems fate has conceded a deserved long run through the WHL Playoffs to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

In advancing to the WHL Final, the Oil Kings have been on a tear posting a 16-1 record in their last 17 outings including play in the regular season and playoffs. That record includes posting a 12-1 mark so far in the WHL’s post-season.

The Oil Kings open the WHL Championship series on Friday at 7 p.m. local time at Rogers Place in Edmonton taking on the Seattle Thunderbirds in a best-of-seven set.

So far in the WHL post-season, the Oil Kings swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-0 in a first round series and got the brooms out again for an impressive 4-0 of the Red Deer Rebels, who had a 45-19-2-2 regular season record.

In the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series, the Oil Kings looked like they were going to be in a heavyweight fight against the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice had the WHL’s top record in the regular season at 53-10-3-2, while the Oil Kings were second overall at 50-14-3-1.

The final CHL Top 10 rankings released on April 20 saw the Ice rated second overall, while the Oil Kings were listed third overall.

The Oil Kings needed an overtime goal from centre Tyler Horstmann to take Game 1 of that series with the Ice in Winnipeg 5-4. One night later in Game 2, the Ice posted a 5-1 victory on home ice to even the series at 1-1.

The Ice win ended a 13-game winning streak for the Oil Kings that stretched back into the regular season. The victory was a costly one for the Ice, who lost star 18-year-old centre Matthew Savoie to injury.

Justin Sourdif has been a big addition for the Oil Kings.

Savoie suffered an upper body injury when Oil Kings centre Justin Sourdif drove him into a linesman along the boards. During the regular season, Savoie, who is a projected first round selection for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, led the Ice in scoring with 90 points coming off 35 goals and 55 assists to go with a plus-54 rating in the plus-minus department.

Savoie wasn’t able to return to the series and the Ice’s fortunes went downhill. Due to the distance between Edmonton and Winnipeg, the series between the two clubs was played in a two-three-two format, and the Oil Kings closed the set out in five games with three straight wins at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

The Oil Kings claimed a 4-3 overtime win in Game 3 with Sourdif potting the winner. Edmonton also held a 55-21 edge in shots on goal in that contest.

The Oil Kings proceeded to claim a 4-2 victory in Game 4 holding a 36-22 edge in shots on goal. In Game 5 held last Friday, the Oil Kings cruised to a 7-1 victory to clinch the series holding a 37-20 edge in shots on goal.

Edmonton held a 7-0 lead until Ice star right-winger Connor McClennon scored with 2:40 remaining in the third period to break up the Oil Kings chances of getting a shutout.

Overage left-winger Carter Souch had two goals and two assists in that series clinching win for the Oil Kings. Veteran right-winger and Oil Kings regular season scoring leader Dylan Guenther, who turned 19-years-old in April, posted four assists, while star offensive-defenceman Kaiden Guhle and a pair of goals and one assist.

The Oil Kings are more than making up for lost time with their current long run in the WHL post-season. The previous time a WHL Playoffs were held back in 2019 the Oil Kings advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship Series and ultimately fell to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders in six games.

Dylan Guenther has piled up the points for the Oil Kings.

Edmonton was a team on the rise finishing fifth overall in the 2018-19 WHL regular season standings with a 42-18-4-4 record. It was a huge improvement for the Oil Kings, who finished last in the overall WHL regular season standings in 2017-18 with a 22-42-6-2 mark.

After falling to the Raiders in the 2019 WHL Eastern Conference Championship series, the Oil Kings were expected to be contenders for a league crown in the immediate upcoming campaigns. With the world falling into the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the WHL was unable to hold playoffs in 2020 and 2021, and the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – was also cancelled in each of those years.

In 2019-20, the Oil Kings sat third overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 42-12-6-4 before the WHL campaign was paused on March 12, 2020 before the remainder of the campaign was ultimately scrapped.

During an abbreviated 2020-21 regular season held for development purposes, the Oil Kings topped the overall regular season standings with a 20-2-0-1 record.

Edmonton’s turnaround coincided with Kirt Hill becoming the team’s president of hockey operation and general manager and Brad Lauer taking on the role of head coach before the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

The Oil Kings entered the current campaign with a roster loaded with veteran stars and elected to go “all in” on the trade front in an effort to try and win league and CHL championships assuming the post-season would be played to a conclusion.

Carter Souch wants to close his WHL career on a big high note.

Sourdif, who is a Florida Panthers draft selection, Guhle, who is a Montreal Canadiens draft selection and defenceman Luke Prokop, who is a Nashville Predators draft selection, were all key players acquired via trades.

The Oil Kings have five other NHL Draft selections on their roster including captain Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues), Guenther (Arizona Coyotes), netminder Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings), import centre Jakub Demek (Vegas Golden Knights) and left-winger Jalen Luypen (Chicago Blackhawks).

Edmonton’s depth include import and overage offensive-defenceman Simon Kubicek, who led all Oil Kings blue-liners in regular season scoring with 41 points coming on 14 goals and 27 assists.

Overage right-winger Josh Williams was second in team scoring in the regular season with 82 points coming off 34 goals and 48 assists. Overage left-winger Carter Souch also had a strong campaign piling up 71 points on 22 goals and 49 assists playing in all the Oil Kings 68 regular season games. 

When the Oil Kings post-season run ends, they will graduate their three overages and will only be able to return three of the 11 players currently on their roster as 19-year-olds. The Oil Kings will like return to a reloading phase, when next season comes around.

The Oil Kings will have their hands full with a feisty Thunderbirds team. The Thunderbirds finished fourth overall in the WHL’s Western Conference regular season standings with a 44-18-4-2 record.

Luke Prokop was a huge addition to the Oil Kings blue-line.

Seattle eliminated the Kelowna Rockets in five games in the first round, went the distance taking out the Portland Winterhawks in seven games in the second round and survived another seven game series against the Kamloops Blazers in the Western Conference Championship Series.

The Thunderbirds were down 3-1 in their series against the Winterhawks before rallying for the 4-3 win. Seattle trailed Kamloops 3-2 in the Western Conference Championships Series and won two straight to take that set 4-3.

The Thunderbirds took Game 7 of the series against the Blazers by a 3-2 score on Tuesday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops.

Seattle’s roster includes playmakers in 19-year-old centre Jared Davidson, overage right-winger Lukas Svejkovsky, 17-year-old defenceman Kevin Korchinski and netminder Thomas Milic, who turned 19-years-old in April. Head coach Matt O’Dette has done a solid job of getting the Thunderbirds to this point.

In another twist to this series, the WHL didn’t have any interlocking play between conferences during the regular season, so the WHL Championship Series will be the first time the Oil Kings and Thunderbirds have seen each other in the current campaign.

The Oil Kings have an added bonus in this series as it will be played in a two-two-three format. The Thunderbirds are only able to host Games 3 and 4 of the set at the ShoWare Centre in Seattle due to schedule conflicts with high school graduations.

Josh Williams is closing out his Oil Kings career.

If Games 5 to 7 of the series are needed, they will all be hosted in Edmonton with Seattle being designated the home squad for Game 6. The winner of the series advances to the Memorial Cup tournament, which will be held in Saint John, N.B., from June 20 to 29.

The Oil Kings have to like their chances of capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions for the first time since 2014, where they also advanced on to win the Memorial Cup.

While the Oil Kings weren’t able to see potential long playoff runs in 2020 and 2021 due to world events, they are making up for lost time in the 2022 post-season to fulfill the old adage it is better late than never.

In the grand scheme of things, the long run through the WHL Playoffs is a just reward for the Oil Kings.

Blazers’ Stankoven named WHL player of the year, other notes

Kamloops Blazers captain Logan Stankoven was named the WHL’s player of the year for the 2021-22 campaign.

The skilled centre, who turned 19-years-old in late February, claimed the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as part of the WHL handing out its individual awards on Wednesday. Stankoven appeared in 59 regular season games with the Blazers in the 2021-22 campaign recording 45 goals, 59 assists and a plus-46 rating in the plus-minus department.

He helped his hometown Blazers top the B.C. Division for a third straight season posting a 48-17-3 regular season record in the 2021-22 campaign. The Blazers finished second overall in the WHL’s Western Conference during the regular season.

Beside taking the WHL’s player of the year award, Stankoven was also the recipient of the Brad Hornung Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s most sportsmanlike player.

Stankoven was one of three Blazers who captured major individual awards. Dylan Garand took home the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s goaltender of the year, and right-winger Connor Levis was named the recipient of the Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s scholastic player of the year.

Other award winners include Olen Zellweger of the Everett Silvertips, who claimed the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s defenceman of the year, defenceman Luke Prokop of the Edmonton Oil Kings captured the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s humanitarian of the year and left-winger Arshdeep Bains of the Red Deer Rebels was presented the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s top scorer.

Bains led the WHL in regular season scoring with 112 points coming off 43 goals and 69 assists appearing in all of the Rebels 68 regular season games.

Moose Jaw Warriors centre Brayden Yager took home the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year. During the regular season, Yager put up 59 points for the Warriors coming off 34 goals and 25 assists in 63 games skating through his 16-year-old season.

Yager played for the Warriors full time during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign that lasted 24 games as a 15-year-old. The WHL allowed the first year players from the 2020-21 campaign to be eligible for rookie of the year honours this season.

The WHL did name a rookie of the year for the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign with Regina Pats phenom centre Connor Bedard taking that accolade for that campaign.

Also on Wednesday, Winnipeg Ice head coach James Patrick captured the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s coach of the year. Patrick led the Ice to first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 record.

Ice general manager Matt Cockell claimed the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s executive of the year.

The Brandon Wheat Kings were named the winners of the Jim Donlevy Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s scholastic team of the year, and the Silvertips claimed the WHL’s business award.

Referee Chris Crich captured the Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s top official.

• Last Friday, the CHL announced the Kamloops Blazers were awarded the hosting rights for the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament that crowns a CHL champion. It will mark the second time in team history the Blazers have hosted the Memorial Cup. The Blazers hosted the 1995 Memorial Cup and won that tournament after also winning the WHL championship.
• On Monday, the Saskatoon Blades signed defenceman Isaac Poll to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Blades selected Poll, who is from White City, Sask., in the first round and 21^st overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held on May 19. Poll, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 160 pounds, played for the Prairie Storm under-15 AA team last season posting 10 goals and 28 assists in 26 games.
• On Tuesday, the Prince Albert Raiders signed centre Luke Moroz to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Raiders selected Moroz, who is from Grand Coulee, Sask., in the first round and 15^th overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held on May 19. Moroz, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 143 pounds, played for the Prairie Storm under-15AA team last season posting 47 goals and 61 assists in 27 regular season games.
• I was back in the pages of the Prince Albert Daily Herald with a column on the WHL U.S. Priority Draft and the WHL Prospects Draft. That column 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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Ice, Oil Kings - Recipe for classic WHL conference final

The Ice celebrate scoring a goal on March 23.

The seemingly inevitable clash of WHL titans in 2021-22 is going to happen, and it could deliver a classic post-season series.

Throughout the 2021-22 campaign, the Winnipeg Ice and Edmonton Oil Kings seemed destined to be on a collision course to meet in the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series. The two squads pretty much sat either first or second in the overall league standing throughout the 2021-22 regular season.

When the regular season came to a close, the Ice finished first overall with a 53-10-3-2 record, while the Oil Kings were second overall with a 50-14-3-1 mark. The final CHL Top 10 rankings released on April 20 saw the Ice rated second overall, while the Oil Kings were listed third overall.

The Eastern Conference Championship between the Ice and Oil Kings was finalized on Friday night. That occurred when the Ice downed the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 6-3 in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

The victory allowed the Ice to take the best-of-seven series with the Warriors 4-1.

Game 1 of the series between the Ice and Warriors is set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Game 2 follows one night later on Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m. local time.

Dylan Guenther led the Oil Kings in regular season scoring.

The schedule for the rest of the series is still to be announced. The series will be played in a two-three-two format thanks to the lengthy travel distance between the two cities with the Ice holding home ice advantage.

As the 2021-22 campaign motored along, it was easy for opinion to swing back and forth on which club was the best team.

The Ice were an impressive 18-1-1-1 in their final 21 regular season contests leading into the post-season. The Oil Kings were 6-3-1 in their last 10 games heading into the playoffs.

At that point, it appeared the Ice would be the favourites, if the two sides met in the playoffs.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Ice took out the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a best-of-seven first round series and proceeded to eliminate the Warriors in one Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Oil Kings swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-0 in a first round series and got the brooms out again for an impressive 4-0 of the Red Deer Rebels, who had a 45-19-2-2 regular season record. Including play in the regular season, the Oil Kings have won their last 12 straight games.

The two sides met four times in the regular season with the Oil Kings claiming three of those encounters. With that said, it would be hard to forecast a winner off those results.

Out of those four encounters, three of them occurred before Dec. 31, 2021. The last clash came on Feb. 21, where the Oil Kings posted a 6-3 victory on home ice at Rogers Place. That contest was also a lengthy time ago.

Zachary Benson had a big season for the Ice.

At this point, determining a favourite in a series between the two sides might be a tossup.

Both clubs have exciting rosters to watch.

For the Ice, the strength in their roster might be in their youth. Centre Matthew Savoie, right-winger Conor Geekie and netminder Daniel Hauser are eligible to play three more full campaigns each in the WHL. Centre Zachary Benson could potentially suit up for four more seasons of eligibility in the WHL.

Jonas Woo, who is a 15-year-old defenceman, plays regular minutes on the Ice’s back end through all the club’s 10 games to date in the 2022 post-season. He joined the Ice on a full-time basis after his Winnipeg Bruins under-18 AAA team was eliminated from their provincial playoffs.

Savoie led the Ice in regular season scoring with 90 points coming off 35 goals and 55 assists to go with a plus-54 rating in the plus-minus department. Geekie had 70 points in the regular season coming off 24 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-49 rating.

Hauser appeared in 40 regular season games for the post recording a 34-3-1 record, a 2.00 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Benson skated in 58 regular season games with the Ice posting 63 points coming off 25 goals and 38 assists to go with a plus-40 rating. He leads the Ice in post-season scoring with 18 points coming off eight goals and 10 assists to go with a plus-12 rating.

Kaiden Guhle was a huge addition to the roster of the Oil Kings.

Woo as a 15-year-old regular on defence has one goal, one assist and a plus-five rating skating in all of the Ice’s 10 post-season games to date. He appeared in 15 regular season games with the Ice recording one goal, two assists and a plus-18 rating.

The Ice have a number of star and standout veterans too in Connor McClennon, Mikey Milne, Jakin Smallwood, Benjamin Zloty, Jack Finley, Carson Lambos and seemingly the rest of the roster has made big contributions at some point during the campaign.

Zloty, who could return next season as an overager, led the Ice in defenceman scoring in the regular season posting 64 points coming off eight goals and 56 assists skating in 62 regular season games. He also had a plus-38 rating in the plus-minus department.

Ice head coach James Patrick and has staff have done an outstanding job ensuring the Winnipeg side place consistent on a nightly basis.

The Oil Kings head into the series with the Ice with an older roster. Edmonton is carrying 10 players who are skating through their 19-year-old campaign along with the allowed three overagers each WHL club can have.

The Oil Kings roster has eight players who have been a selection in the NHL Entry Draft. Edmonton’s notable acquisitions going all-in on the trade front for this season include centre and Florida Panthers draft selection Justin Sourdif, defenceman and Montreal Canadiens draft selection Kaiden Guhle and rearguard and Nashville Predators draft selection Luke Prokop.

Benjamin Zloty had 64 points in 62 games for the Ice.

Management for the Edmonton side made the aggressive moves with the team having lost two potential long post-season runs in 2020 and 2021 due to the WHL Playoffs and the CHL Championship Tournament – the Memorial Cup – being cancelled in each of those years due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Right-winger Dylan Guenther, who can potentially return for two more WHL campaigns, led the Oil Kings in regular season scoring with 91 points coming off 45 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-51 rating. Guenther tops the Oil Kings in post-season scoring with 12 points coming off nine goals and three assists to go with a plus-eight rating.

Overage import defenceman Simon Kubicek led all Oil Kings blue-liners in regular season scoring with 41 points coming off 14 goals and 27 assists to go with a plus-29 rating.

Star 19-year-old netminder Sebastian Cossa, had an outstanding regular season posting a 33-9-3 record, a 2.28 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and six shutouts in 46 appearances.

 The Oil Kings have plenty of other stars and standouts like captain Jake Neighbours, Josh Williams, Carter Souch, Jalen Luypen and Jakub Demek. Neighbours only appeared in 30 regular season games, but he posted 45 points coming off 17 goals and 28 assists to go with a plus-24 rating.

Head coach Brad Lauer guided the Oil Kings to the Eastern Conference final in 2019 when they fell to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders. Lauer and his staff will do their best to ensure their club gets past the conference championship round this season.

The Oil Kings celebrate a goal on Jan. 1.

The Ice and Oil Kings potentially have a series that would be great to showcase the WHL on a national television sports network.

For ticket buyers in Winnipeg and Edmonton, they will be in for treat with what they see in the rink.

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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Eastern Conference final turned in Game 4 when Raiders got their wheels going

The Raiders celebrate Noah Gregor’s goal in Game 4 versus Edmonton.

    Once the Prince Albert Raiders got over their Saskatoon Blades hangover, it spelled doom for the Edmonton Oil Kings.

    On Sunday, the Prince Albert Raiders won their first WHL Eastern Conference title since 1985, when they downed the Oil Kings in Edmonton 4-2 in Game 6 of the conference championship series. Prince Albert claimed the best-of-seven series 4-2.

    The turning point of the series came in Game 4 in Edmonton last Wednesday. Going into that contest, the Oil Kings had won two straight games to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

    The previous night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the Raiders were coming off arguably one of their worst performances of the season falling 5-1.

    In Game 4, the Raiders got their wheels going and started to play like themselves for the first time in the series. Star right-winger Brett Leason scored in the second period and star overage centre Noah Gregor tallied early in the third to give the Raiders a 2-0 advantage.

    Oil Kings defenceman Wyatt McLeod scored with 6:06 remaining in the third to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1, but Edmonton couldn’t get any closer. The Raiders got 25 saves from star goalie Ian Scott to pull out a 2-1 victory.
    Dylan Myskiw turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Oil Kings.

Brett Leason had a big goal for the Raiders in Game 4.

    With the win, the Raiders tied the series up at 2-2. From that point forward, they looked like a club that topped the WHL overall standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Raiders took Game 5 of the series 4-0 at home before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre last Friday before clinching the series on Sunday.

    The Raiders played with tonnes of jump and had a physical edge to their game. Power forward Parker Kelly closed out the series throwing a number of big hits for Prince Albert.

    During the first three games of the series, the Raiders seemed to be suffering a hangover after taking a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades 4-2. It seemed like it was hard for the Raiders to get up for the Oil Kings.

    Even the fans seemed to suffering from a Blades hangover at the stars. When I visited with a number of Raiders fans during Games 1 and 2 of the Oil Kings series at the Art Hauser Centre, they said it felt like a disappointment when the Blades series ended.

    They even seemed to be a little off when it came to being engaged with the first two games against Edmonton. With that in mind, the Raiders 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the conference final seemed like a feeling out contest for the hosts and the visiting Oil Kings.
    After the Raiders evened up the series at 2-2 in Game 4, the Prince Albert fans were equal to the Raiders players for being on their game in a Game 5 romp in “Hockey Town North.”

Noah Gregor was clutch for the Raiders in Game 4.

    Had the Oil Kings found a way to gut out another couple of goals to take Game 4, the series potentially could have had a different ending despite the fact the Raiders played well.

    Edmonton was a tough challenge having finished first in the Central Division and fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 record. The Oil Kings were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Kudos to head coach Marc Habscheid and the Raiders coaching staff by just letting their players watch the video of the Game 3 loss and then discuss their thoughts before Game 4. The Raiders have a tight bunch and the visuals from Game 3 made them realize they didn’t want to go down playing like that.

    Now, the Raiders are back in top gear heading into the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

Meet the Giants

Bowan Byram is a Giants star defenceman.

    The Prince Albert Raiders will be in for a tough challenge in the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants.

    The series is a tough one to predict as the two side met just once in the regular season due to playing in separate conferences. On Jan. 24, the Giants downed the Raiders 3-1 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.

    Davis Koch scored twice for the Giants in that contest including an empty-net goal, while Brayden Watts had a single. Captain Brayden Pachal replied for the Raiders in that contest.

    Trent Miner made 31 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Giants. Ian Scott turned away 25-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

    The Raiders followers will likely not know a whole lot about the Giants due to the fact they make an appearance in Prince Albert once every second season. With that in mind, here are some basics about the Giants.

    The Giants finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings at 48-15-3-2 and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Barclay Parneta is the Giants first year general manager, and he has a lengthy career in hockey scouting in the WHL and NHL.

    Michael Dyck is in his first year as the head coach of the Giants. He guided the Lethbridge Hurricanes as head coach for four seasons from 2005 to 2009 and led the Hurrcanes to an appearance in the WHL final in 2008.

    Dyck has coached hockey at various levels in high level capacities, and he is a very talented bench boss.

    Koch is a star overage right-winger for the Giants, and he led his team in regular season scoring with 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points to go with a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department. He has two goals and 15 assists in the Giants 15 post-season games.

    Milos Roman is a star Slovakian import centre who posted 27 goals 33 assists and a plus-19 rating in 59 regular season games.

Dylan Plouffe is a steady defenceman for the Giants.

    Saskatoon product Dawson Holt is skating through his 19-year-old season with the Giants. He had six goals and 13 assists in 53 regular season games. He has five goals and seven assists in the Giants 15 playoff games.
    Sophomore offensive defenceman Bowen Byram has had a breakout season. The skilled 17-year-old finished second in Giants team scoring in the regular season with 26 goals and 45 assists for 71 points to go with a plus-33 rating.

    Byram tops the Giants in post-season scoring with seven goals and 11 assists in the club’s 15 games. He has a plus-10 rating as well. He is a hot prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft earning the number two ranking among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

    The Giants added 18-year-old defenceman Seth Bafaro in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades partway through the season. In 55 regular season games between the Blades and Giants, Bafaro has six goals, six assists and a plus-nine rating.
    Dylan Plouffe is another steady rearguard. He posted eight goals, 27 assists and a plus-10 rating in 63 regular season games. Plouffe has four goals, nine assists and a plus-three rating in the Giants 15 playoff games.

    David Tendeck has emerged as the Giants go-to guy in goal during the post-season. The NHL Draft selection of the Arizona Coyotes appeared in 38 regular season games posting a 24-10-3 record, a 2.48 goals against average, a .911 save percentage and four shutouts.

    In 10 playoff appearances, Tendeck has posted an 8-2 record, a 2.14 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

    The Giants will pose a significant challenge to the Raiders.

Two hot points made Lauer fine big

Officials in Game 5 were targeted by Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer.

    When Edmonton Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer went off on the officials following his team’s Game 5 loss in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series to the Raiders in Prince Albert, two spots made his fine a steep one.

    After the Oil Kings dropped a 4-0 decision to the Raiders in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final last Friday, Lauer expressed his displeasure with the officials. Lauer was upset the Raiders were awarded three power plays in that contest, while his squad didn’t have any power-play chances.

    For the majority of his post-game scrum with reporters following the game, Lauer went off on the officials. The next day, he was fined $1,500 by the WHL office.

    One of the reasons for the steep fine was the following comment.

    “I’m not saying we didn’t deserve penalties,” said Lauer. “I’m not saying that.

    “The calls they called on us there were infractions going against us the same way, and they didn’t get called. To me, that is a choice.”

    When Lauer said that line, he was claiming the officials on the ice made a choice to not call penalties on the Raiders in order to hurt the Oil Kings. That struck at the integrity of referees Brett Iverson and Mark Pearce along with linesmen Sean Dufour and Deion Foster.

    As a result, the fine was going to be a big one.

    The other part that cost Lauer was this comment.

    “The head officials were here, there should be an evaluation there too,” said Lauer. “For me, it is unacceptable to be in the third round to have zero power plays.”

    For me, that was the first time I’ve ever heard a goal go after the officials supervisors that were at the game. WHL officiating development coach Tom Kowal and officiating supervisor Tim Tisdale were present for Game 5.

    Lauer’s comment here likely caused a bigger fine.

    It should be noted Lauer doesn’t usually criticize the officials. He is a really good interview and very accommodating.

    For my two cents, I was good with the job the officials did in Game 5 of that series, and I didn’t think the work of the officials had an effect on the Raiders winning that series against the Oil Kings.

    There was only one mess up in Game 2, when a late first period goal by Oil Kings overage centre Andrew Fyten should have been waved off due to incidental contact on the goaltender. Edmonton won that contest 4-3 in overtime.

    Still, it took looking at various replays and still photos to come to that conclusion on that play.

Gavlas earns shot to be overager next season

Parker Gavlas had a good season with the Oil Kings.

    Parker Gavlas made good on what had to be one of his last shots to turn heads and stay on a few hockey radars.

    The 19-year-old defenceman entered this past season with very limited experience on the WHL front. The Saskatoon product suited up for eight regular season games and three post-season contests in 2017-18 with the Regina Pats, who were hosting that season’s Memorial Cup.

    Gavlas, who stands 6-feet and weighs 184 pounds, spent most of the 2017-18 campaign in the junior A ranks appearing in 35 regular season games with the Yorkton Terriers recording one goal and 11 assists.

    He made the Pats as a 19-year-old rookie this season, but the Pats, who are in the midst of a major rebuild, were doing whatever they could to round out a roster.

    Gavlas appeared in 12 regular season games with the Pats collecting an assist and posting a minus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

    Last Nov. 9, Gavlas was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for an eighth round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

    In Edmonton, Gavlas took off. In 46 regular season games with the Oil Kings, Gavlas posted one goal and nine assists to go with a plus-15 rating.

Parker Gavlas became a solid defensive defenceman for the Oil Kings.

    He followed up his regular season with a solid post-season. Appearing in all of the Oil Kings 16 post-season games, Gavlas recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-nine rating.

    Gavlas became a solid defensive defenceman who played big shutdown minutes. He was a regular on Edmonton’s penalty killing unit as well.

    He brought a physical edge too. In the Oil Kings six game WHL Eastern Conference final loss to the Prince Albert Raiders, Gavlas often mixed it up with Raiders power forward Parker Kelly.

    Over the course of the season, Gavlas went from roster throw in to a sound roster regular. He did enough to be seriously considered for one of the league’s 66 overage spots next season.

    Edmonton could potentially return six players from their current roster to compete for the team’s three overage spots next season. He could return for a second season with the Oil Kings.

    It will be interesting to see where he lands when the annual overage shuffle gets underway.

Raiders sweep WHL player of the week awards

Aliaksei Protas, left, was all smiles after a memorable week.

    The Prince Albert Raiders took home both of the WHL’s player of the week awards for this past week.

    Import Belarusian left-winger Aliaksei Protas was named the player of the week for the week of April 22 to Sunday.

    Protas earned the honours with two big games. On Friday, he had his first career WHL hat trick and an assist to power the Raiders to a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 5 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    In Game 6 on Sunday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Protas had a hat trick in the Raiders 4-2 series clinching victory over the Oil Kings.

    Over the Raiders 16 post-season games to date, the “Viper” from Vitebsk leads the WHL with 11 goals, while adding four assists and posting a plus-11 rating.

Ian Scott was the goaltender of the week for the WHL.

    In 61 regular season games, Protas, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 192 pounds, posted 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points while adding a plus-24 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Raiders star netminder Ian Scott was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week running from April 22 to Sunday. During that span of time, Scott appeared in four games recording a 3-1 record, a 2.00 goals against average, a .935 save percentage stopping 115 of 123 shots fired his way and one shutout.

    In 49 regular season appearances with the Raiders, Scott posted a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

    Over the Raiders 16 post-season games, Scott has recorded a 12-4 record, a 1.85 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and three shutouts.

    Scott has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Early season Raiders column popular

Parker Kelly salutes the fans at the Art Hauser Centre.

    A column I wrote early this season on the Prince Albert Raiders seems to be the gift that keeps on giving.

    Back on October 5, 2018, I wrote a column titled “As always – The song in Prince Albert is “Go Raiders Go.””

    The piece was typed out that night after the Raiders had downed the Hurricanes in Lethbridge 5-1 to improve to 7-0. The column touched on a thought that this could turn out to be a special season for the Raiders.

    I wrote that the Raiders fans should embrace this team and the team should embrace the fans, because the memories that could be made.

    For the rest of the regular season, the Raiders were in standing room territory on most nights averaging 2,615 spectators per game at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre for 34 home dates. In the playoffs, the Raiders are averaging 3,247 spectators over eight home games.

    The Raiders topped the overall WHL standings with a 54-10-4-4 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Raiders fans enjoy a fun moment at the Art Hauser Centre.

    They will face the Vancouver Giants in the best-of-seven WHL Championships series with Game 1 slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Over the course of the season, I’ve had a number of Raiders fans come up to me and tell me they loved that column. They said it got them pumped up for the season and motivated early on to head to the rink.

    If the piece helped a few Raiders fan to soak in what has been a special campaign for pretty much the whole season, I am happy about that. I hope the fans embraced and have enjoyed every moment and will continue to enjoy the action that will hit the ice in May.

    If you want to check out that early season piece, you can do so 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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.