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.

-------

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.

Memorial Cup nix part of déjà vu moments in Canadian sports

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan celebrate a Memorial Cup win in 2018.

The sports world in Canada seems to like 2020 reruns in 2021.

The 2020 reruns are being caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic was unfortunately running in full force in 2020, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any in 2021 as variants add another difficult layer in trying to deal with it.

That is forcing government restrictions in various degrees around the world to stay in force in order to combat the pandemic.

Vaccines are rolling out across Canada, but life is still far from the normal experienced pre-pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Canadian Hockey League officially announced the Memorial Cup tournament was cancelled for 2021 marking the second straight year major junior hockey’s championship event was nixed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 event was to be played in one of Oshawa, Ont., or Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

The host city was never finalized and no dates were ever set for the tournament.

The 2020 Memorial Cup was supposed to be held in Kelowna, B.C., before it was called off due to the pandemic.

The cancellation hardly comes as a surprise when looking at the three major junior leagues that make up the CHL.

The QMJHL has attempted to hold a 2020-21 campaign that has included many stops and starts due to positive COVID-19 tests. Most teams have played on average 35 games.

The circuit is looking to start playoffs with action involving the teams paced in the province of Quebec on April 23.

The WHL’s four divisions had staggered and very late starts with each team playing a 24-game developmental regular season. 

The Red Deer Rebels enjoy a win at the 2016 Memorial Cup.

The Central Division began play in late February and the other three divisions hit the ice at different times in March.

Positive COVID-19 tests have caused some schedule reshuffling for the Central and B.C. Divisions.

The OHL hasn’t been able to start its 2020-21 regular season, and with Ontario once again experiencing stricter lockdown measures, it seems like a matter of time before the 2020-21 OHL campaign is outright cancelled without hitting the ice.

In a statement, CHL president Dan MacKenzie said a number of considerations were taken into account when it came to cancelling the Memorial Cup.

“The CHL is committed to the health and safety of our players, their families and billets, our teams, staff and officials, and the communities is which we play,” said MacKenzie in a statement. “The decision was made based on the limitations on travel, border restrictions, and quarantining requirements that would make it impossible to produce league champions.”

The CHL said the timing and location of the 2022 Memorial Cup would be announced at a later date.

For all sports in Canada, it appears limitations on travel, border restrictions and quarantine requirements will remain issues for the foreseeable future especially with regards to interprovincial and national competitions. Those were issues sports in Canada were still dealing with last year at this time.

In the CFL, stories are again circulating about that league talking to the Canadian federal government about financial assistance to play a 2021 campaign. That feels like a repeat of last year, when the CFL ultimately couldn’t secure funds to get back on the field.

Speculation is starting to rise that the CFL will push back the start of its 2021 campaign. Similar speculation was going down at this time last year.

One difference in the realm of the CFL this year compared to last year at this time is there were no talks about forming a partnership with the XFL. For the about the past month, there has been a tonne of speculation about what a CFL and XFL partnership could look like, or if it even will ultimately happen.

As the calendar progresses, one wonders what the summer sports season will look like when it rolls out.

Regina is hoping to hold the Canadian Masters Athletics Track and Field Championships from Aug. 27 to 29.

Cody Fajardo in action for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2019.

While that event is still listed as being on for the moment, Athletics Canada has already cancelled the Legions Youth Track and Field Championships, which were set for Aug. 6 to 8 in Sherbrooke, Que.

You can bet a few minor sports governing bodies in Canada will have mixed messages like that when it comes to scheduling. That happened last year too at this time.

As September approaches, one wonders if speculation will begin again about when major junior hockey or U Sports seasons will start up.

Right now in Canada, everything is the sports world hangs on whether mass vaccinations will make the COVID-19 pandemic go away. The actions of society in Canada and for North America for that matter don’t make any other option possible.

For the moment, it appears what happened in the Canadian sports world in 2020 is set to repeat in 2021.

Dach back rolling with NHL’s Blackhawks

SNIPE 🚀

Kirby Dach sets up Brandon Hagel perfectly to net the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner! pic.twitter.com/y0zVLcYyAZ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 13, 2021

Kirby Dach is back, and he is on a roll.

The alumnus of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades has appeared in nine games this season for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks posting one goal, four assists and minus-one rating in the plus-minus department.

Back on Dec. 23, 2020, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product fractured his right wrist playing for Canada in an exhibition game in a bubble environment at Rogers Arena in Edmonton, Alta., just before world juniors. 

Kirby Dach in action for the Saskatoon Blades in 2018-19.

Dach, who was Canada’s captain, injured his wrist on what seemed like a harmless bodycheck in a 1-0 victory over Russia.

Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 197 pounds, was originally expected to be out four to five months, which would have pegged his return for late April.

The 20-year-old centre made his return to the Blackhawks on March 27 in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Nashville Predators.

On Monday, Dach made the highlight rounds on social media for his beautiful set up pass to linemate Brandon Hagel, who netted the OT winner in the Blackhawks 4-3 victory over the Blue Jackets in Columbus.

Dach’s return is a welcome one for the Blackhawks, who have a 20-18-5 record going into their game Thursday against the Red Wings in Detroit. The Blackhawks are looking to make a push for the final playoff berth in the NHL’s Central Division sitting fifth and four points out of a post-season berth.

Maier equals Blades career shutout record, other notes

Nolan Maier tied the Blades career shutouts record.

Nolan Maier is on the cusp of taking sole ownership of another career Saskatoon Blades goaltending record.

On Wednesday playing in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the product of Yorkton, Sask., made 27 saves to back the Blades to a 3-0 regular season victory over the Swift Current Broncos. The win was the ninth career shutout Maier has collected in regular season play.

Maier, who has one season of WHL eligibility remaining, equaled the Blades record for career regular season shutouts held by Andrey Makarov. Makarov collected his nine regular season shutouts playing two seasons for the Blades from 2011 to 2013.

Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 173 pounds, holds the Blades career regular season goaltending wins record, which currently sits at 89 victories.

In the first period of Wednesday’s contest, veteran right-winger Blake Stevenson scored twice in the first period to give the Blades a 2-0 lead. Captain Chase Wouters rounded out the scoring for the Blades with a single early in the second period.

Isaac Poulter made 37 saves to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

The Blades improved to 13-2-2 with the win, while the Broncos fell to 3-13-1.

The Blades return to action on Thursday, when they face the Regina Pats (6-8-2-1) at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The Broncos get back at it on Friday, when they face the Winnipeg Ice at 6 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

• Last Thursday, The Canadian Press came out with story that said Canada Soccer, Curling Canada, Hockey Canada, Rugby Canada, Skate Canada and Tennis Canada have joined forces in asking the Canadian federal government for a $75-million sport recovery program. Those bodies want that program to support local and grassroots initiatives for all sports still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The story on CBC’s website can be found by clicking right here.
• On Monday, the Lethbridge Hurricanes head coach Brent Kisio picked up his 200^th career regular season win. Kisio’s Hurricanes downed visiting Red Deer Rebels 8-5 in a WHL regular season clash for the milestone victory. Kisio became the Hurricanes head coach on June 4, 2015.
• On Monday, Saskatoon Blades centre Tristen Robins was named the WHL play of the week. He picked up four goals and five assists in four games for the week ending on Sunday. The Blades posted a 3-0-1 record over those four games. Regina Pats overager Roddy Ross was named the WHL goaltender of the week. Ross won both his appearances for the week ending on Sunday posting a 0.99 goals against average and a .964 save percentage.
• On Tuesday, the WHL announced the Medicine Hat Tigers have been cleared to return to team activities. Last week, the Calgary Hitmen had a player in their team cohort test positive for COVID-19, and the Tigers were deemed close contacts after falling 5-4 after a tiebreaking shootout on April 5 at Co-Op Place in Medicine Hat. Since the positive result from the one player on the Hitmen, the Tigers have continued to test negative allowing for the clearance to play. The Tigers will host the Red Deer Rebels on Friday in Medicine Hat.
• On Tuesday, the WHL announced the Kelowna Rockets were cleared starting Wednesday to resume team activities after all individuals in the team cohort tested negative for COVID-19. The Rockets entered a league mandated 14-day isolation period following the discovery of a positive COVID-19 test on March 30. Shortly after going into isolation, the Rockets had seven other members in their team cohort test positive for COVID-19. Since the club wasn’t involved in team activities and in isolation at that time, the positive tests didn’t effect when the Rockets would return to play. The Rockets are slated to play the Prince George Cougars on Saturday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C.
• On Tuesday, former Medicine Hat Tigers import netminder Mads Sogaard signed a three-year entry-level NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators. The Senators selected the product of Aalborg, Denmark, in the second round and 37^th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Sogaard, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 201 pounds, played two seasons for the Tigers from 2018 to 2020 appearing in 74 WHL regular season games posting a 40-21-6 record, a 2.58 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and three shutouts.
• On Tuesday, Calgary Flames left-winger Milan Lucic played in his 1,000^th career NHL regular season game. The 32-year-old had an assist and won a fight in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Maple Leafs in Toronto. After the Flames 4-1 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal on Wednesday, Lucic, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 231 pounds, has appeared in 1,001 NHL regular season games posting 213 goals, 325 assists, 1,166 penalty minutes and a plus-81 rating. He broke into the NHL in 2007 with the Boston Bruins and also spent time with the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. Before joining the NHL, Lucic helped his hometown Vancouver Giants win a WHL title in 2006 and the Memorial Cup title in 2007 playing in the CHL championship tournament as the host team.
• On Tuesday, organizers for the annual Country Thunder music festival set in Craven, Sask., announced that event has been cancelled for a second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s Country Thunder was scheduled to be held July 8 to 11.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan wrote a piece in his Taking Note blog, where he gave another run down on how the COVID-19 pandemic is still wrecking havoc on the sports world. His Tuesday piece led with announcement in Buffalo, New York, that stated all spectators looking to attend home games of the NFL’s Bills and NHL’s Sabres will have to show proof of being vaccinated for COVID-19 before being allowed into those team’s home venues. Drinnan’s piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Wednesday, former Moose Jaw Warriors and University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team netminder Zach Sawchenko signed an NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, which runs through the end of the 2021-22 campaign. The 23-year-old, Calgary, Alta., product has split time this season with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and Allen Americans in the ECHL. Sawchenko, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 185 pounds, played four seasons in the WHL for the Warriors from 2013 to 2017 appearing in 177 regular season games posting an 88-65-16 record, a 3.11 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and nine shutouts. In two seasons with the Golden Bears from 2017 to 2019, Sawchenko appeared in 34 regular season games posting a 28-4-1 record, a 1.74 goals against average, a .919 save percentage and five shutouts. He helped the Golden Bears win the David Johnston University Cup as U Sports champions in 2017-18.

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

-------                                     

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.

Belarusian duo lifts Raiders past Rebels in Game 2

Sergei Sapego celebrates his first goal Saturday with Dante Hannoun (#17).

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders Belarusian duo proved to be too much for the Red Deer Rebels to handle.

    On Saturday before a standing room crowd of 3,152 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, winger Aliaksei Protas and defenceman Sergei Sapego, who are both from Belarus, each had two goals and an assist to lift the host Raiders past the Red Deer Rebels 6-4 in Game 2 of their first round WHL playoff series.

    With the win, the Raiders lead the best-of-seven set 2-0. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer with a 7 p.m. local time start.

    Protas, who is a rookie who turned 18-years-old in early January, was pumped to experience two wins in his first two post-season games in the WHL.

Aliaksei Protas scored twice for the Raiders on Saturday.

    “I am so excited about that,” said Protas, who was a plus-three in the plus-minus department on Saturday. “You just play fast, play physical like how we can.

    “We just win for fans and for us.”

    The Raiders looked dominant in the first period jumping out to a 3-1 lead. Sapego, who is in his second WHL campaign, netted both of his goals in the opening frame, while Protas had his first tally.

    Chris Douglas had the lone reply for the Rebels.

    “We play very well,” said Sapego, who was a plus-four on Saturday. “We just make sure just minimum penalties and just keep working.

    “We just try and play hard shift by shift.”

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun picked up assists on all three Raiders goals in the first period finishing the contest with the three helpers and a plus-three rating.

Sergei Sapego drives home his first of two goals on Saturday.

    “Obviously, it was a good one,” said Hannoun. “We just put the first game behind us.

    “It is a new day and a new game. We came in and prepared ourselves the right way.”

    The game’s momentum changed at the 3:50 mark of the second, when Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason received a major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct for a hit on Rebels winger Cameron Hausinger. Leason’s hit will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

    Rebels overage winger Brandon Hagel scored near the end of the five-minute power play to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2. Hagel evened things up at 3-3 at the nine-minute mark of the second shortly after Leason’s infraction expired.

Brandon Hagel had a hat trick for the Rebels on Saturday.

    With the scored tied up at 3-3, Raiders captain Brayden Pachal blew home a point shot through a screen from the point to give the Raiders a 4-3 edge.

    Before the second period ended, the Raiders could have increased the lead, when defensive defenceman Jeremy Masella was hauled down on a breakaway by Rebels centre Josh Tarzwell. Masella wasn’t able to score on his penalty shot.

    At the 2:08 mark of the third, Protas tapped home a loose puck in the crease of the Rebels goal to put the Raiders up 5-3 and give the host side a push to close out the game.

    Protas said his third period goal was important, because it helped counter the momentum the Rebels gained from scoring on the power-play. Red Deer went 3-for-5 with the man advantage in the contest.

    “It was big a goal,” said Protas of his second tally of the night. “We just tried to bring it back and just score and just keep playing our way.”

Dante Hannoun (#17) had three assists for the Raiders on Saturday.

    Rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt put the Raiders up 6-3 in the third before Hagel netted his third goal of the night to round out the scoring in the contest.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was pleased with how his side dealt with the changes in momentum on Saturday.

    “A win is a win,” said Habscheid. “We faced some adversity.

    “We got up early, which was good. They got that power play to make it 2-1. I thought a key point again was Sapego’s goal, that bank shot in the first to make it 3-1.

    “We got into a little penalty trouble in the second. We had to overplay some guys. I thought in the third they dug in and obviously did real well in the third.”

Raiders D Jeremy Masella (#3) jets off on a second period breakaway.

    Ian Scott made 19 saves in goal for the Raiders, who topped WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record. Ethan Anders turned away 25 shots in goal for the Rebels, who finished eighth overall in the Eastern Conference in the regular season at 33-29-4-2.

    Habscheid liked the effort his squad received from Sapego at both ends of the ice.

    “He is a multidimensional player,” said Habscheid. “He plays good offence, but he is gritty.

    “He is tough to play against. He has been important for us.”

    Habscheid thought Protas’s level of play has risen in the post-season.

The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheers one of the Raiders goals.

    “He is a big guy,” said Habscheid. “He is smart.

    “He has done real well. In the playoffs, it is a whole different game, and he has really embraced the playoffs.”

    Habscheid said he didn’t think the second period infraction to Leason should have been called a major penalty noting Hausinger was out for the ensuing power play. The bench boss thought Hausinger embellished the hit he received.

    Habscheid added that Hagel came by and taunted the Raiders bench after one of his goals, which helped get the host side fired up along with the team’s fans. 

The Raiders and Rebels scrum it up in the third period.

    Hausinger was booed almost every time he touched the puck after Leason was kicked out of the contest, while Hagel received heckles as well.

    The veteran coach said the response from the crowd gave his side some extra jump.

    “They are smart hockey fans,” said Habscheid. “They are hardcore fans.

    “They know the game. They saw Hausinger came right out and then they saw that Hagel was taunting our bench. They (the fans) pick up on those things, and it makes a difference for us.”

The Raiders celebrate their Game 2 win on Saturday night.

    As the series shifts to Red Deer, Hannoun said his club has to enter Game 3 looking to play their best game of the series.

    “We’re just focused one game at a time,” said Hannoun. “Every game in front of us, we just have to focus on what we need to do, and we have to bring our A-game.”

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

-------

    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.

The WHL at its best

Rebels and Pats have delivered a spectacular series

Adam Brooks (#77) of the Pats battles Rebels captain Luke Philp.

    It is almost sad that the WHL playoff series between the Red Deer Rebels and Regina Pats has to end.

    While the Victoria Royals and the Kelowna Rockets have been engaged in a thrilling second round series played in front of the Shaw TV cameras out west, the series out east between the Rebels and Pats has been the WHL at its best.

    The Rebels lead the best-of-seven set 3-2 with Game 6 set for Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Game 6 sold out on Saturday afternoon. From a pure hockey fan standpoint, you almost hope a series deciding Game 7 would be needed, which would be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer.

    The Rebels versus Pats series has had everything. You have seen the odd tight defensive game, a lot of stellar offence, red hot work on the power play, great goaltending and the odd interesting storyline. You also have two buildings that have been rocking, which has added to the overall atmosphere.

    With all the action that has taken place, you almost wish the series could go on forever.

Haydn Fleury is strong in all situations.

    The main storyline that has come out of the last two games has been the return of Rebels starting goaltender Rylan Toth, who had been out with a lower body injury since the middle of February. He was in a walking boot just before playoffs started.

    Trevor Martin took over the starter’s role and ran with it. During the playoffs, the Ardrossan, Alta., product started out playing like a money goalie, and he was a key reason the Rebels took Games 1 and 2 against the Pats.

    The Pats, who have a lot of gifted players, started to get more and more pucks past Martin, when the series shifted to Regina. “The Queen City Kids” took Game 3 by a 6-3 score and Game 4 by 6-4 count.

    In Game 4, the Rebels pulled Martin at the 12:18 mark of the second period after he stopped 18 of 22 shots. Toth entered in relief stopping nine of 10 shots fired his way before the Pats added an empty netter.

    The Rebels started Toth for Game 5 on Friday in Red Deer and the Saskatoon product turned away 28 of 29 shots fired his way in a 5-1 victory. Now the question becomes can Toth continue to deliver.

    During the series, a lot of players have delivered. Rebels captain Luke Philip has two goals and five assists to top his team in scoring for the series. Brandon Hagel has delivered too with a goal and five assists for Red Deer.

    Others like Adam Musil have come through at key times, like when Musil tipped home the power-play game winner in the Rebels 4-3 victory in Game 2.

    Defenceman Josh Mahura, who missed 70 regular season games with a serious knee injury, has been a force recording two goals, two assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department. He has shown signs of being an elite player.

Connor Hobbs has been a rock on the Pats back end.

    Mahura's play has almost overshadowed the fact that Rebels star rearguard Haydn Fleury, who has been a member of Canada world junior team, has continued to handle himself well playing in all situations.

    For the Pats, Adam Brooks and Cole Sanford have been the offensive stars they have always been. Brooks, who led the WHL in scoring during the regular season, has a goal and seven assists, while Sanford has three goals and four assists.

    Overage captain Colby Williams and Connor Hobbs have been dynamite on the back end for Regina. Williams, who is from Regina, has a goal and four assists, while Hobbs, who is from Saskatoon, has two goals and three assists.

    Pats centre Jake Leschyshyn, who is in his 16-year-old rookie season, has come through in key gritty moments in Regina picking up a goal and two assists in the series.

    The power play success for both sides has been off the charts. Red Deer has connected on 7-of-19 chances for a 36.8 per cent success rate. Regina has cashed in on 11-of-30 chances for a 36.7 per cent success rate.

    In the stands, the Rebels have drawn crowds of 5,845, 4,802 and 6,185 in their three home dates. The Red Deer fan base is loyally behind Rebels head coach, general manager and owner Brent Sutter, who has always been a strong community minded person in that centre. Sutter and his family are enduring figures in the hearts of the Rebels faithful.

The Pats and Rebels battle for the puck along the boards.

    The Pats have drawn crowds of 6,247 and 6,171 in their two home games. As the oldest junior hockey franchise in the world dating back to 1917, the Pats have an entrenched and loyal following in Regina. The passion gets cranked up a few notches in the post-season making the Brandt Centre a tough place to play for the opposition.

    This series has been one to remember, but someone has to win it and advance to the WHL Eastern Conference championship series to face the defending conference champion Brandon Wheat Kings.

    For now, fans in both Red Deer and Regina should enjoy the present and the remaining action of this series while it lasts.

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