Boychuk’s patience and grit pays off for Raiders

Winger nets third period winner against Wheat Kings

The Raiders celebrate a winning goal from Riley Boychuk (#23).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Riley Boychuk made sure the Brandon Wheat Kings weren’t able to get out of Prince Albert with a steal.

On Tuesday, the Raiders found themselves holding a 2-1 lead over the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings after two periods in a WHL regular season clash played before 2,392 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders were holding a 27-8 edge in shots on goal including a huge 20-1 edge in the second period.

At the 5:29 mark of the third, Wheat Kings 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayson Burzynski scored with a shot from the left wing to force a 2-2 tie. Wheat Kings 19-year-old netminder and Prince Albert product Jayden Kraus had seemingly turned into Calgary Flames legend Miikka Kiprusoff and was denying tonnes of glorious scoring chances.

Riley Boychuk had one goal and was a plus-two on Tuesday.

Just 2:06, Boychuk had the puck at the right side of the Brandon net with Kraus sprawled out to make another save. Boychuk deked around the goalie and tapped home a backhand shot to put the Raiders up 3-2.

That tally would hold up as the winner and sparked a surge as Raiders wingers Owen Corkish and Brayden Dube added singles to cement a 5-2 victory for the host side in a game that had its rougher moments. The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 4-0 in head-to-head meetings with their East Division rivals this season.

“I think it was a complete game all around,” said Boychuk, who has nine goals and 34 assists in 39 regular season outings in the current campaign. “I think, obviously, we played them lots.

Riley Boychuk has nine goals and 34 assists in 39 games.

“They are a big rival with us. It is going to get rough out there, getting intense, division rivals. Our first (period), we kind of let them into it a little bit. I think the second we had a lot of chances.

“I think the credit to their goalie (Kraus) he played really well. I think credit to us though we stuck with it. In the third, it kind of opened up there.”

Boychuk, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 165 pounds, showed off a bit of a feisty edge too on Tuesday night. That was best seen in a scrum that occurred with 3.6 seconds remaining in the third period.

The scrum escalated when Wheat Kings star 20-year-old right-winger Luke Mistelbacher punched Raiders 17-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson to the ice. Boychuk jetted immediately into the fray with teammates following suit. The officials quickly got the situation under control and Boychuk received a roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct among the off-setting penalties that were handed out.

Luke Mistelbacker gave the Wheat Kings an early 1-0 lead.

During those feisty moments, Boychuk kind of mirrored the playing style of his head coach Ryan McDonald, who built a reputation as a feisty forward that could score during his WHL playing days with the Regina Pats and Raiders from 2004 to 2009.

“First, it is a big compliment to be in the same mention as him (McDonald),” said Boychuk, who was a plus-two in the plus-minus department on Tuesday night. “I think it is just trying to add that to my game.

“That situation there, Sivy (Sivertson) is a great guy on the team. I know he’d do the same for me. He (Mistlebacher) has got to get his punch in, especially at the end of the game, right?

Jayden Kraus makes one of his 39 saves on Tuesday.

“You want to stick up for your teammates, and that is not just me doing that. It is everybody that game in. If anybody else was on the ice, it would be the same for all of us.”

McDonald appreciated the effort Boychuk put in during Tuesday’s victory over Brandon.

“Chucky (Boychuk) is a tremendously smart hockey player,” said McDonald. “He has tremendous vision.

“You saw his patience on the goal. He has a fantastic defensive stick. At the end coming to the aid of a teammate and mixing it up a little bit, that is what our group does.

“They stick up for one another.”

Daxon Rudolph had the Raiders first goal on Tuesday.

The Wheat Kings broke on to the scoreboard first in Tuesday’s clash at the 6:50 mark of the opening frame. Wheat Kings 16-year-old rookie left-winger Prabh Bhathal sprung Mistlebacher in on the Prince Albert goal with a sleek pass. Mistlebacher snapped his 21^st of the season past Raiders star import netminder Michal Orsulak.

The Raiders evened the score at 1-1 while working on a two-man advantage at the 9:51 mark of the opening frame. Raiders star 17-year-old defenceman Daxon Rudolph sniped a seeing-eye shot past Kraus for the equalizer and his 19^th tally of the campaign.

In the second, Kraus was putting on a clinic denying waves of Raiders scoring chances that came his way. With 7:18 remaining in the second, Raiders 19-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett cut to the front of the Brandon net with the puck and slid home a backhand shot underneath Kraus to put the hosts in front 2-1. Burrett’s goal was the 16^th shot on net in the frame for the Prince Albert side.

Linden Burrett scored for the Raiders in the second period.

That set up the dramatics in the third period.

Heading into the third, Boychuk said the Raiders were focused on pushing forward. After Burzynski scored the third-period equalizer for the Wheat Kings, Boychuk said the Raiders kept pushing forward ultimately resulting in his goal.

“I think it started with the second (period),” said Boychuk. “I thought we were playing well.

“We only let up one shot in the second right there, so our message in the room was to keep going and don’t let up there. I thought that we did a really good job at the start of the third. They got a good shot there, lucky bounce, good shot, so on the bench, we just said stick with it.

Grayson Burzynski had the Wheat Kings second goal on Tuesday.

“I think that was a big goal there to get that momentum back.”

McDonald was pleased Boychuk ultimately netted the winning goal and that the effort of his squad never wavered at any point on the night.

“We just continued to build the game, and it was just a fantastic 60-minute effort from our group,” said McDonald. “The guys just stuck with it.

“They just kept inching forward and pushing forward and pushing and pushing until it finally broke. Chucky (Boychuk) scored with a fantastic patient opportunity where he gets the puck and is able to work around the goaltender.”

Orsulak stopped 15 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders, who improved their East Division leading record to 29-6-4. The Raiders are also rated fifth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday. Kraus turned away 39 shots to take the setback in net for the Wheat Kings, who have lost five straight falling to 22-17-1.

Owen Corkish had the Raiders fourth goal on Tuesday.

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

The Raiders return to action on Friday when they travel to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

Before heading on the road to Lethbridge, McDonald thought it was great for his Raiders to get a nice bounce back win on Tuesday after dropping a tough 5-3 decision to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday at the Hauser.

“This is a group that any time we leave points on the table they are not happy,” said McDonald. “It is a very determined group.

“We had a real good practice yesterday. It was very snappy. It was very direct.

“We did some great learning in video, and guys went out there and applied it tonight. We got to our pace and got our skating legs in a real hurry. We just kept pushing and kept wearing them down until it finally went.”

Riley Boychuk, left, gives a young fan a souvenir stick.

McDonald likes the resilience his players have displayed this season.

“That is the real power of our group is we don’t change, (and) we don’t waver,” said McDonald. “We just continue to play the same way.”

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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Brutal break does in Blades

Rockets rally for 3-2 win after tiebreaking shootout

It proved to be the perfect time for Poke Check to take a nap.

On Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Saskatoon Blades mascot found time to catch some sleep during a lengthy video review with 1:58 remaining in the third period in a WHL regular season contest between the host Blades and the visiting Kelowna Rockets. While the antics of the Blades mascot created some laughs, the outcome of the video review would ultimately not favour the home side.

With the Blades holding a 2-1 lead, the officials were trying to determine if the Rockets had scored the equalizer during a mad scramble around the Saskatoon net, where the play was blown dead after the goal was dislodged. The officials were trying to determine if the puck crossed the goal-line before the net came off its posts.

Eventually, the video review determined the puck had just gone into the Saskatoon net before the net itself came fully off its posts resulting in a good goal. Rockets offensive-defenceman Will Sharpe was given credit for scoring the equalizer.

Most at the SaskTel Centre among the paid attendance of 2,514 spectators rained down boos. Due to a blizzard happening in Saskatoon on Wednesday, a lot of the ticket buyers understandably no-showed for the contest.

The teams advanced into overtime locked in a 2-2 tie. Late in the overtime period, Blades 18-year-old defenceman Brayden Klimpke found himself alone on a breakaway, but he missed the net with his shot. A short time later, Rockets breakout star 18-year-old rookie netminder Harrison Boettiger made a huge left pad save off Blades 17-year-old right-winger Zach Olsen to force the contest to go to a tiebreaking shootout.

The Blades had dominated the three-on-three overtime session holding a 6-1 edge in shots on goal.

In the tiebreaking shootout, Rockets star 20-year-old centre Shane Smith scored the only goal by snapping a shot past Blades star netminder 19-year-old netminder Evan Gardner in the third round. Smith’s goal gave the Rockets a 1-0 victory in the tiebreaking session and a 3-2 overall win in the contest.

Boettiger proved to be a huge reason for the fact the Rockets, who will host the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – this coming May, pulled out the road triumph. He made 40 saves over the first 65 minutes of play and turned away all three shooters he faced in the shootout.

The Rockets improved to 16-11-3-1 with the win. They travel to Prince Albert on Friday to face the Raiders (22-5-4) at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. That will be the last game for both clubs before they head out on their respective Christmas breaks.

Gardner also had a huge night in getting saddled with the tough luck extra time setback. He made 33 saves over 65 minutes of play and stopped two-of-three shooters in the shootout.

With the extra time setback, the Blades record moved to 17-14-2-1.They now head off on their Christmas break. The Blades return to action on Saturday, December 27, for their Teddy Bear Toss Game hosting the Regina Pats (11-17-2-1) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

In Wednesday’s clash, the Rockets got on the scoreboard first on a goal from 18-year-old left-winger Levi Benson at the 8:37 mark of the opening frame.

Just over six minutes later, Blades standout 18-year-old centre Hayden Harsanyi evened things up at 1-1. Harsanyi proceeded to net his second of the contest and 10^th goal of the campaign with 3:59 remaining in the second period to give the Blades their 2-1 edge.

That set the stage dramatics in the third period, overtime and the shootout.

Overall, the fans that made it to the SaskTel Centre saw a really compelling game. One tough break for the home side and a great development for the visitors on a late third period video review turned out to be the difference in the contest.

Pats get puck luck in 5-4 win over Raiders

The Regina Pats puck luck around the net helped bring an end to the Prince Albert Raiders five game winning streak.

Playing before 2,576 spectators at the Brandt Centre on Wednesday night, the host Pats slipped past the visiting Raiders 5-4 despite the fact the Raiders had a 38-23 edge in shots on goal. Pats 19-year-old netminder Marek Schlenker had a big night making 34 saves in the win as Regina improved to 11-17-2-1. Raiders 19-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin turned away 18 shots as Prince Albert fell to 22-5-4.

The Raiders, who are rated third in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings, opened the game’s scoring at the 5:52 mark of the first period, when 18-year-old left-winger Oli Chenier put a between the legs shot to the top corner of the Regina net.

With 41.8 seconds remaining in the first, Pats 17-year-old right-winger Zachary Lansard fired home the equalizer that evened the score at 1-1. The two sides exited the opening 20 minutes locked in that 1-1 tie with the Raiders holding a 12-4 edge in shots on goal.

Raiders star offensive-defenceman Daxon Rudolph fired home a power-play goal just 1:33 into the second to put the visitors back in front 2-1. Before the second ended, the Pats received a power-play goal from Lansard and an even-strength tally from 20-year-old right-winger Caden Brown to head into the second intermission holding a 3-2 lead.

At the 4:50 mark of the third, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Connor Howe netted his second goal of the season to force a 3-3 tie.

The Pats responded getting an even-strength goal from captain Ephram McNutt and a power-play tally from 19-year-old centre Ellis Mieyette to jump ahead 5-3.

With 72 seconds remaining in the third, Raiders star 20-year-old captain Justice Christensen fired home his seventh of the campaign to trim the Regina lead to 5-4. The Raiders weren’t able to find another tally to force overtime.

Pats 18-year-old left-winger Connor Bear received a double minor for high-sticking with 4:30 remaining in the third, and Raiders 18-year-old rookie left-winger Owen Corkish was tabbed for a double minor for high-sticking with 3:34 remaining in the third. Both infractions will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Pats now head out on their Christmas break. They return to action on Saturday, December 27, when they travel to Saskatoon to face the 17-14-2-1 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders return home to host the Kelowna Rockets (16-11-3-1) on Friday (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Tigers run winning streak to 10, other notes

The Medicine Hat Tigers are heading into their WHL Christmas break on fire.

On Wednesday playing before 3,006 spectators at Co-op Place, the Tigers won their 10^th straight game downing the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-3. The Tigers win ends a seven game winning streak the Wheat Kings had been on.

Brandon scored the first goal in Wednesday’s clash coming off the stick of 17-year-old star centre Jaxon Jacobson just past the midway point of the opening frame. The Tigers pulled even at 1-1 just under two minutes later on a goal from 17-year-old rookie left-winger Noah Davidson.

Just 1:58 into the second period, 20-year-old centre Nicholas Johnson scored for the Wheat Kings to give them a 2-1 advantage.

The Tigers responded scoring three straight goals coming off the sticks of Kyle Heger, Liam Ruck and Ethan Neutens to take a 4-2 advantage at the 10:28 mark of the second.

Before the second ended, Wheat Kings 19-year-old centre Carter Klippenstein netted his 10^th goal of the season to cut the Tigers lead to 4-3.

Medicine Hat proceeded to cruise to victory in the third scoring three times to round out the 7-3 final score. Captain Bryce Pickford, Tyson Moss and Jonas Woo all netted singles for the Tigers. Pickford’s tally was his 25^th goal of the campaign, while Woo has a career-high 16 tallies on the season.

Carter Casey made 22 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers, who are rated ninth in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings. The Tigers improved to 22-6-3-2 to jump into first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference by sitting one standings point ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders (22-5-4). The Raiders have two games in hand on the Tigers.

Jayden Kraus turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Wheat Kings.

At the 7:15 mark of the second period, Wheat Kings 19-year-old rookie defenceman Max Lavoie took on Davidson in a fight.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, December 27, when they travel to Lethbridge to face the 11-22-0-1 Hurricanes (6 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

The Wheat Kings get back at it on Friday when they travel to Calgary to take on the 17-9-3-1 Hitmen (1 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

• In Calgary, import centre Andrei Molgachev collected four assists as the host Hitmen hammered the visiting Swift Current Broncos 9-2 on Wednesday. Caine Wilke, Kale Dach and Julien Maze all had two-goal nights for the Hitmen.
• In Kamloops, 18-year-old right-winger Savin Virk had the overtime winner, an assist and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department as his visiting Tri-City Americans edged the host Blazers 4-3. The Blazers held a 3-1 lead, but the Americans rolled off the last three goals of the contest to pull off the comeback.
• In Everett, 16-year-old star sophomore defenceman Landon DuPont had the winning goal, one assists and was a plus-two as his host Silvertips slipped past the visiting Wenatchee Wild 3-2. The Silvertips have won six straight and lead the WHL’s overall standings with a 26-3-2-1 mark. The Silvertips are rated first in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings.
• In Penticton, 20-year-old right-winger Brady Birnie netted a hat trick by scoring the final three goals to allow his Vees to down the visiting Prince George Cougars 5-2. The Vees now sport a 16-9-4-3 record in their first WHL season after moving up from the junior A ranks.
• On December 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on 16-year-old flag football star Adley Tomlenovich. In the piece, Tomlenovich talks about her journey in the sport as a quarterback. She also took up being the head coach for a Grade 6 female squad that plays in the 5 on 5 NFL Youth Flag Football circuit overseen by Saskatoon Minor Football. The piece on Tomlenovich can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by images of the Saskatoon Hilltops winning their 24^th CJFL championship. That post can be found by clicking right here.

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

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Raiders win, everyone pitches in

Man nets first WHL goal, Heise picks up winner

The Raidcrs celebrate a first career WHL goal from Matyas Man (#5).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Matyas Man was pumped to finally slam the first goal monkey off of his back.

On Friday playing in front of a standing room crowd of 2,942 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders import rookie 19-year-old defenceman was in search of his first career WHL goal playing in his 19^th regular season game. Just 4:50 into a clash with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Man received a pass at the top of the left faceoff circle from Raiders rookie 16-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey.

Man drove a shot past Wheat Kings netminder Jayden Kraus to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. From that point, the Raiders would skate on to post a solid 4-1 victory to improve their WHL East Division leading record to 16-1-4.

Matyas Man scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“The first thing that goes in my head was like, finally, after 19 games I finally scored my first goal,” said Man, who also has three assists and a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department on the campaign. “I was happy, and I don’t know what to do like how to celebrate and what I should do.

“I just turn around and wait for the boys. That is probably the first feeling after the goal that I scored.”

While it took a little time for him to get his first goal, Man said he has enjoyed his first season with the Raiders after coming over from the Czechia. He said his teammates on the Raiders are great in ensuring his spirits stay high.

“I think the boys are supportive,” said Man. “They always support me.

Max Heise tipped home a power-play goal for the Raiders.

“They cheer me, when I’m not going great. They cheer me up. I’m happy to be here.”

Man’s goal allowed the Raiders to hit high gear in Friday’s contest. Just 43 seconds after his tally, the Raiders struck on the power play to go ahead 2-0. Raiders sophomore 17-year-old right-winger Riley Boychuk took a shot from above the right faceoff circle that was tipped home by rookie 19-year-old centre Max Heise to give the hosts their two-goal edge.

The tally was the 10^th goal of the campaign for Heise, who wasn’t sure at first if he actually got the power-play marker.

“They kind of left me alone in front of the net, and I saw Chuck (Boychuk) rolling down high,” said Heise. “He made a good play to me.

Jayden Kraus stopped 28-of-31 shots for the Wheat Kings.

“I thought he kind of scored it. I felt it off my stick, but I wasn’t sure if it went in. Then, I just heard the crowd and saw him (Boychuk) celebrating and pointing at me.

“It was nice to get one.”

The Raiders proceeded to keep peppering the Brandon net with shots only to be kept at bay by Wheat Kings netminder and 19-year-old Prince Albert product Jayden Kraus, who was acquired in a trade with the Victoria Royals in the off-season. Kraus, who was stellar last season with the Royals, continued to keep the Raiders at bay in the second.

With 8:17 remaining in the second, the Raiders got a break off a positive bounce play. After pinning the Wheat Kings in their own zone, Raiders star 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring had the puck behind the Brandon net.

Brock Cripps netted the Raiders third goal on Friday.

Oiring centred a pass that deflected off the skate of Wheat Kings defenceman Max Lavoie right to Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Brock Cripps, who pinched down from the point to the front of the Brandon net. Cripps wired home a shot for his second goal of the season to push the Raiders advantage out to 3-0.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald liked the persistence his team showed on that third tally.

“I think you look at the goal, and you look how it was scored,” said McDonald. “The shift was sustained by just some tremendous work underneath the tops of the circles.

“I think we reset it two or three times underneath and just continued to keep grinding. We were able to suck them away from the net front, and then Cripsy comes down off that backside and gets rewarded.”

Luke Mistelbacher gave the Wheat Kings life with a power-play goal.

The Wheat Kings were able to create some suspense for a short moment in the third. While working on a two-man advantage, Wheat Kings star centre Luke Mistelbacher wired home a mid range shot from the front of the Prince Albert net to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

The host side stayed composed, and with 60 seconds remaining in the third, Boychuk fired home a long-distance empty-net goal to seal the 4-1 victory.

Heise said he has enjoyed the fact that everyone on the Raiders roster is contributing to the team’s success in the first third of the regular season, and that characteristic showed through again on Friday.

Michal Orsulak stopped 18 shots in goal for the Raiders.

“I think that defence wins championships, and we have four really balanced lines,” said Heise. “You need deep teams to win.

“That is what we have, and it is a great group.”

The rivalry between the Raiders and Wheat Kings did show itself with some various chippy moments. That included a big scrum at the end of the first period that saw Heise and Wheat Kings rearguard Nigel Boehm draw fighting majors.

Wheat Kings star centre Jaxon Jacobson left the game after the first period and did not return with an undisclosed ailment.

At the 11:04 mark of the second, Raiders centre Ethan Bibeau took on Wheat Kings centre Carter Klippenstein in a short bout, where Klippenstein was able to tackle Bibeau down to the ground.

Riley Boychuk had an empty-net goal for the Raiders.

“They’re a team that plays hard,” said McDonald. “They play heavy.

“They play straight lines. That is a playoff style game where you’re fighting for inches out there. Again for us, we have to be making sure you’re checking with your feet, not with your sticks and making sure that they’ve got to turn and get pucks every time that we have it.”

Michal Orsulak stopped 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Kraus turned away 28-of-31 shots to take the setback in net for the Wheat Kings (10-10-1).

The Wheat Kings return to action on Saturday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders are off until Friday, November 28, when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Assiniboine Credit Union Place). McDonald admitted it was a bit different to have a Saturday and Sunday off before playing again this coming Friday.

“It is an opportunity for us to continue to make sure that rest and recovery is top of mind,” said McDonald. “We came off a real extensive grind on that U.S. road trip in four (games) in five (days) to finish it off.

“You operate on the bus after playing a couple games back-to-back, and the lactic acid is built up in your legs for an 18-hour bus ride home. I am real proud of our effort out here tonight, and our game in total. It just gives us another opportunity to make sure that we’re ready for our peak performance level come (this coming) Friday.”

Mesenchuk, Twyver join Raiders Wall of Honour

Bob Twyver, centre left, and Wayne Mesenchuk, centre right, are honoured.

Wayne Mesenchuk and Bob Twyver were named as the two latest additions to the Prince Albert Raiders Wall of Honour.

The two builders were officially inducted to the Raiders Wall of Honour in a pre-game ceremony on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre before the Raiders downed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 4-1 in a WHL regular season clash. Both Mesenchuk and Twyver have long links with the Raiders and have played key roles in ensuring the franchise could continue to exist over the long term in “Hockey Town North.”

Mesenchuk became part of the Raiders general membership in 1985. He served as the team’s president for two years, vice-president for three years and governor for three years.

During the 1993-94 campaign while serving as president, Mesenchuk initiated a task force that had a mandate to study the long term viability of the Raiders as a non-profit community owned organization in a small market. The final report was completed in the spring of 1994 and many of the report’s recommendations were implemented in the years following that have resulted in the Raiders being a thriving franchise in the current day and a valued partner in the WHL.

Bob Twyver and Wayne Mesenchuk displays on the Raiders Wall of Honour.

Twyver has been a season ticket supporter for over 50 years, and he became the club’s director of business operations in the 2001-02 campaign. He was elected to the Raiders board of directors from 2002 to 2007 and was a founding member of the “Bring Back the Magic” campaign during 2003 to 2006.

That project saw the expansion and modernization of the Art Hauser Centre to meet WHL standards.

Twyver served as the Raiders education advisor from 2003 to 2010. During that time, the Raiders were awarded the WHL Scholastic Team of the Year Award in 2009.

Hockey Canada chose Twyver as the U-18 Team Canada education advisor for the 2006 world championships in Sweden, where Canada finished fourth. He served as the education advisor for the U-18 Team Canada squad in 2008, where Canada won gold at the world championships in Russia.

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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Clark enjoys returns to his late older brother’s “Hockey Town North” stomping grounds

Wendel Clark waves to crowd at the SaskTel Centre on Feb. 4, 2017.

Wendel Clark will always see Prince Albert as a place his late older brother Donn viewed as a home.

While Wendel is best known as being a legendary power forward for the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and playing defence for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL from 1983 to 1985, Donn developed big ties with the Prince Albert Raiders. Donn was a defenceman for the Raiders during their inaugural season in the WHL in 1982-83.

He was the club’s head coach for two seasons from 1993 to 1995. After leaving the Raiders, Donn returned to the team before the start of the 2000-01 campaign as head coach and transitioned over to the executive side part way into the 2001-02 campaign as the director of hockey operations and then later as general manager before being ousted on January 14, 2008.

During his years with the Raiders, Donn got to experience two magical post-season runs in 1995 and 2005 when the club advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in both of those jaunts in a series-deciding Game 7 to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Wendel will be back in Prince Albert on Saturday as the guest speaker for the Kinsmen-Raiders Sportsman Dinner to be held at the Ches Leach Lounge at the Art Hauser Centre. The doors open at 5 p.m., supper follows at 6 p.m. and the program starts at 7:15 p.m.

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

2025-26 campaign could be a fun one for Raiders

Justice Christensen is in his second season as Raiders captain.

The good early returns might foreshadow a fun 2025-26 campaign for the Prince Albert Raiders.

Usually when a team is a handful of games into a hockey season and the early returns are good, one usually cautions that the early returns can be deceiving. In the case of the Prince Albert Raiders, their fans might get to see a lot of memorable games at the Art Hauser Centre and wherever they decide to follow the legacy franchise on the road.

Just four games into the WHL regular season, the Raiders have gotten out to a 3-0-1 start. Last Friday, they downed the Pats before 4,929 spectators at the Brandt Centre in Regina 6-4. That contest was the home ice debut of expected 15-year-old Pats phenom centre Maddox Schultz, who was selected first overall in the WHL Prospects Draft held this past May.

Last Saturday at Assiniboine Credit Union Place in Brandon, Man., the Raiders found themselves trailing the host Wheat Kings 4-2 after two periods, but they rallied for a 5-4 victory in overtime. Star 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring got the extra time winner for Prince Albert.

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

Dube delivers winner takes all showdown with OT tally

Raiders/Blades meet for final East Division title battle Saturday

The Raiders pile on Brayden Dube after their overtime win.

Brayden Dube forced another big game.

On Friday night playing before a season high 10,990 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Dube broke the hearts of the host Saskatoon Blades and their faithful. Locked in a 2-2 tie playing a three-versus-three overtime period, Raiders captain Justice Christensen put a shot on goal from the top of the right faceoff circle that was deflected home by Dube just 98 seconds into the extra session.

Dube’s tally, which was his second goal of the contest, delivered the Raiders to a 3-2 victory in the WHL regular season clash. Following the overtime goal, the Raiders poured of their bench to celebrate in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone to the appreciative cheers of their contingent of fans who were in the crowd.

Brayden Dube scored the OT winner for the Raiders.

The victory allowed the Raiders to push their winning streak to four games and improve to 38-23-5-1. They have 82 standings points which equals the Blades, whose record moved to 37-22-4-4, for first place in the WHL’s East Division. Prince Albert holds the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins.

That result created a situation where the Raiders and Blades will play one winner take all contest for the East Division title. Both squads close their regular season schedules playing each other on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

Prince Albert’s extra time win on Friday also knocked the Brandon Wheat Kings out of contention for first in the East Division. The Wheat Kings dumped the visiting Regina Pats 7-3 on Friday night at Westoba Place in Brandon.

The Raiders fan contingent soaks in the overtime win.

With the win, the Wheat Kings improved to 37-23-4-3 to sit one point back of both the Raiders and Blades. The Wheat Kings and Pats (16-43-5-3) close their respective regular season schedules going at it again on Saturday in Regina (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Dube’s overtime winner was his second goal of Friday’s contest. The 19-year-old right-winger from Roblin, Man., has had an amazing breakout season having set career highs in goals (31), assists (35), points (66) and the plus-minus department (plus-20). He has also appeared in all of the Raiders 67 regular season contests to date in the 2024-25 campaign.

Raiders G Max Hildebrand (#30) denies Blades C Hayden Harsanyi.

Dube got things rolling early for the Raiders scoring 24 seconds into Friday’s game to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. At the centre ice zone, Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring made a backhanded pass to the left wing to spring Dube into the Saskatoon zone.

He proceeded to jet past the Blades defence, cut across the front of the Saskatoon net, and tucked home his first marker of the night.

Just 73 seconds later, the Blades had a great chance to get the equalizer. Blades 18-year-old right-winger William James received a backdoor pass at the right side of the Prince Albert net. He put a shot on goal only to be robbed by Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, who slid across his crease to make the stop.

David Lewandowski had the Blades first goal on Friday.

The Raiders had a glorious chance to increase their lead while working on the power play. On a rush into the Saskatoon zone, Raiders rising star defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, received a backdoor pass at the right side of the Blades net. Rudolph quickly released a shot only to be denied by a left pad save from Blades star netminder Evan Gardner.

The Blades found the equalizer that forced a 1-1 tie with 4:43 remaining in the opening frame. Blades 18-year-old head turning right-winger Hunter Laing came down the right wing on a rush and put a shot on goal that Hildebrand stopped but rebounded out the left of the Prince Albert net.

Blades rookie import left-winger David Lewandowski jumped on the loose puck and put it into an empty cage to force the even score.

Zach Olsen had the Blades second goal on Friday.

At the 6:07 mark of the second, the Blades went on the power play after Oiring picked up an interference minor after hitting Saskatoon import centre Frantisek Dej from behind into the boards in the right corner of the Blades zone. Dej went down on the ice and had to be helped off the ice. He would quickly return to the game after getting to the Blades bench.

On the ensuing power play, Blades rookie centre Cooper Williams, who turned 17-years-old in February, directed a shot pass midrange from the left of the Prince Albert net to the right side of the visitors goal. Blades rookie right-winger Zach Olsen, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, redirected the puck into an empty cage to put the host side up 2-1.

The Raiders celebrate an equalizer from Harrison Lodewyk (#29).

At that point, the rest of the second period seemingly became the Hildebrand show with the Raiders netminder making a number of big saves. Those included turning away Blades standout left-winger Rowan Calvert in close with a pad save and denying Blades centre Hayden Harsanyi with a blocker save close in.

From there, Hildebrand made a pair of diving stops on Laing and put up a wall on Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann twice in close. The Blades had every opportunity to bury the Raiders, but thanks to Hildebrand, Saskatoon had only a one-goal edge heading into the second intermission.

When the third period got rolling, Hildebrand made key stops on Calvert, Blades star right-winger Tyler Parr and Lewandowski. That gave the Raiders traction to get on even terms.

Justice Christensen had an assist on the Raiders OT winner.

With 5:07 remaining in the third, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker had the puck in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone, and he centred a pass to gritty centre Harrison Lodewyk, who turned 20-years-old earlier this month. Lodewyk was stoned on his first shot by Gardner, but the veteran forward collected his own rebound at the left side of the Saskatoon net and put home the equalizer that forced a 2-2 tie and ultimately overtime.

The Raiders had the only two shots on goal in the extra session. Gardner made a glove stop off Raiders start left-winger Tomas Mrsic but was ultimately beat by Dube’s deflection goal.

Hildebrand stopped 35 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Gardner turned away 20 shots to take the extra time setback in net for the Blades.

At first, it was viewed that Friday’s game at the SaskTel Centre was going to be the biggest clash of the season for the two archrivals. Now, they will meet in what will be the biggest game of the campaign between the two sides on Saturday in Prince Albert as they battle for a prize only one can win in an East Division banner.

The Raiders celebrate their win on Friday night.

You can expect the Raiders faithful with make the Art Hauser Centre a madhouse as it not every day the Raiders and Blades play their respective final regular season games against each other in a winner take all clash for the division crown.

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

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Blades down Wheat Kings 3-1, return to top of East Division

Evan Gardner made 33 saves in net for the Blades on Wednesday.

Evan Gardner’s roll has vaulted to Saskatoon Blades back to the top of the WHL’s East Division.

On Wednesday, the star netminder made 33 saves to backstop the Blades to a 3-1 victory in a regular season clash over the host Wheat Kings before 2,902 spectators at Westoba Place in Brandon. Gardner, who turned 19 in January, has won his last six straight starts.

He also signed three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. The Blue Jackets selected Gardner, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 177 pound, in the second round and 60^th overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Thanks to his efforts, the Blades, who have won their last three straight games, improved to 37-22-3-4 to return to the top of the East Division. They lead their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders (37-23-5-1) by one standings point and hold a two point edge over the Wheat Kings, who fell to 36-23-4-3. All three of those squads each have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

The Blades and Raiders close their respective regular season playing a home-and-home series against each other. The two sides go at it Friday in Saskatoon (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre) and Saturday in Prince Albert (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The winner of Friday’s encounter will sit first in the East Division heading into action on Saturday. The Blades are expecting to draw over 10,000 spectators for Friday’s clash.

The Wheat Kings conclude their slate with a home-and-home series against the Regina Pats (16-42-5-3). Those two teams play Friday in Brandon (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place) and Saturday in Regina (6 p.m., Brandt Centre). Brandon needs to win both of those contests to have a chance to finish first in the East Division.

The Wheat Kings have won their respective regular season series with the Blades and Raiders. If Brandon finishes tied in wins and standings points with either or both of Saskatoon and Prince Albert, the Wheat Kings will take the standings tiebreaker in that instance.

Wednesday’s battle between the Blades and Wheat Kings was a fairly tight checking affair. The two sides played through a scoreless opening frame with Blades standout 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert nailing the post with a shot inside the final minute of the stanza.

Early in the second, Wheat Kings 20-year-old star right-winger Marcus Nguyen put a backhand shot off the crossbar of the Saskatoon net.

Saskatoon broke through on the scoreboard at the 8:15 mark of the second. Import rookie left-winger David Lewandowski circled around the right side of the Brandon zone holding off a defender and fired home a shot through a screen to put the visitors up 1-0.

Rowan Calvert scored for the Blades on Wednesday.

With two seconds remaining in the second, Blades import centre Frantisek Day engaged Wheat Kings star 18-year-old centre Roger McQueen in a fight. The bout came about in a clunky manner.

During a scramble on the Saskatoon zone, Day cross-checked McQueen accidentally into Gardner. Day saw McQueen knock Gardner and then went after the Brandon forward.

McQueen was given a fighting major, while Day was given a minor for instigating, a major for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct. Working on that ensuing power play early in the third, Wheat Kings standout 18-year-old centre Jordan Gavin wired a shot off the post.

Once the Brandon power play came to an end, the Blades jumped ahead 2-0 at the 7:19 mark of the third, when Calvert tucked in his 24^th goal of the season with a bad angle shot just above the icing line to the left side of the Wheat Kings net.

The Wheat Kings didn’t go away. With 8:13 remaining in the third, Wheat Kings 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Luke Shipley wired a midrange shot through a screen for his 18^th tally of the campaign to cut the Blades lead to 2-1. Wheat Kings 16-year-old rookie centre Jaxon Jacobson stole the puck working the forecheck deep in the Saskatoon zone, and he got the puck to Gavin. Gavin setup Shipley for his goal-scoring shot.

Inside the final two minutes of the third with Brandon having pulled star 19-year-old netminder Carson Bjarnason for an extra attacker, Shipley wired a shot off the post of the Saskatoon goal.

Just moments after that missed chance, Lewandowski potted a long range empty-net goal from the left side boards beside the faceoff circle in the Saskatoon zone to seal the 3-1 victory for the visiting Blades. That tally was the second of the contest for Lewandowski and his 14^th marker of the campaign.

Bjarnason turned away 24-of-26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings.

Last season, the Blades finished with a 50-13-2-3 mark to top the WHL’s overall standings. In the post-season, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in an epic seven-game set that saw six contests go to overtime to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

Going into the current campaign, the Blades weren’t expected to challenge for first in the division. They occupied first place for most of the first half of the regular season.

Leading up the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9, the Blades unloaded stars Brandon Lisowsky, Tanner Molendyk and Ben Riche to stock up on draft capital and add solid younger players. The Blades dealt a lot of high draft selections during a load up last season.

Saskatoon fell out of top spot in the East Division in late January. The Blades weren’t expected to be sitting at the top of the division with two regular season games remaining on their schedule.

Now, they will try to conclude a heated three team race with what would be a surprise division title.

Hitmen’s Hauser gets career wins record

Daniel Hauser is the WHL’s new all-time goaltending career wins king.

On Wednesday night, the star netminder, who turned 21 in January, made 21 saves to backstop his Calgary Hitmen to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels before 2,573 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The triumph allowed Hauser to move alone to the top of the WHL’s career regular season goaltending wins list with 123 victories.

Hauser had been tied for top spot at 122 wins with Nolan Maier, who played his entire WHL career with the Saskatoon Blades from 2017 to 2022.

“It feels awesome,” said Hauser to the WHL’s director of public relations and brand communications Taylor Rocca. “I could stand here for hours listing the people I can thank for putting me in this position.

“I’m super grateful for this team, this organization and every team I’ve been on in the past. To share (the record) with this group – these guys play so well in front of me every night. They made it special for me tonight, and it was awesome.”

Hauser, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 166 pounds, started his WHL career playing for the Winnipeg Ice during the circuit’s abbreviated campaign in 2021. The Ice played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He moved with the Ice franchise when it relocated to Wenatchee, Washington, to become the Wenatchee Wild at the start of the 2023-24 campaign. On January 2, Hauser was dealt to the Hitmen in a blockbuster trade.

Hauser, who is a Chestermere, Alta., product, has appeared in 175 career WHL regular season contests posting a 123-36-9 record, a 2.59 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and 17 shutouts. In combined action with both the Wild and Hitmen this season, Hauser has posted a 28-13-3 record, a 2.57 goals against average, a .912 save percentage and five shutouts.

The Hitmen did their best to ensure Hauser wouldn’t be denied the record on Wednesday. Carson Wetsch and Hunter Aura netted singles in the first period to give Calgary a 2-0 lead. Brandon Gorzynski, Sawyer Mynio and Ethan Moore potted singles in the second period to push the Hitmen’s advantage out to 5-0.

Samuel Drancak tallied for the Rebels in the third to round out the game’s scoring.

Hitmen star right-winger Oliver Tulk collected a pair of assists to hit the 100-point barrier in one regular season for the first time in his WHL career. Tulk, who turned 20 in January, has recorded 38 goals and 62 assists for 100 points to go with a plus-44 rating in the plus-minus department in 63 games with the Hitmen this season.

Peyton Shore turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels, who fell to 26-32-6-2 as they play out the string in 2024-25.

The win allowed the Hitmen to improve to 44-16-3-3.  Their 94 standings points ties the Medicine Hat Tigers (45-17-3-1) for top spot in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. The Tigers hold the standing tiebreaker due to having more wins. Both clubs have two games remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

The Hitmen and Rebels go at it again on Saturday in Red Deer (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium). The Tigers are also in action on Saturday as they host the rival Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).

The Hitmen and Tigers conclude their respective regular season slates playing each other on Sunday in Calgary (5 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Rebels conclude their 2024-25 campaign on Sunday traveling to Edmonton to take on the Oil Kings (4 p.m. local time, Rogers Place).

Royals jump to top of B.C. Division

The Victoria Royals are back on top of the B.C. Division.

On Wednesday, the Royals downed the host Rockets in Kelowna 5-3 before 3,451 spectators at Prospera Place. The Rockets took a 2-0 lead in the second period before the Royals rolled off three straight tallies to take a 3-2 edge into the second intermission.

Kelowna scored the equalizer early in the third to force a 3-3 tie, but the Royals netted the contest’s final two markers to pull out the two-goal victory.

Cole Reschny led the way for the Royals with two goals and one assist. Brandon Lisowsky, Reggie Newman and Kenta Isogai all netted singles for Victoria. Isogai tallied into an empty net.

Hiroki Gojsic, Levi Benson and Jakub Stancl replied with singles for the Rockets.

Jayden Kraus stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Royals. Rhett Stoesser turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in net of the Rockets.

With the win, the Royals improve to 39-17-3-7 to hold a lead of two standings points over the Prince George Cougars (40-20-4-2) for first in the B.C. Division. Both squads conclude their respective regular season schedules playing each other twice in Prince George. They go at it 7 p.m. local time Friday and 6 p.m. local time Saturday at the CN Centre.

The Rockets have lost 10 straight games to fall to 17-43-4-2 to sit in the basement of the Western Conference. They are playing out the string and have two games remaining on their regular season slate.

The Rockets host the Kamloops Blazers on Saturday (6 p.m. local time, Prospera Place) and head on the road Sunday to take on the Vancouver Giants in Langley, B.C., (4 p.m. local time, Langley Events Centre).

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

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Raiders getting spark after coaching change

The Raiders celebrate a goal during a game earlier this season.

Maybe the Prince Albert Raiders really did need a new main voice behind the bench.

On March 10, the Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt relieved head coach Jeff Truitt, 59, of his duties. Ryan McDonald, 37, was promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach.

At the time of those moves, the Raiders were sitting first in the WHL’s East Division with a 34-22-5-1 record. They had a one standings point lead over the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades.

During the final six games where Truitt served as the Raiders head coach, they posted a 1-3-2 record including dropping both ends of a home-and-home series to the archrival Blades in regulation. It seemed like the Raiders were repeating a trend from the previous campaign, where they went 2-9 over their last 11 games including action in the regular season and the WHL Playoffs. It is possible that parallelism was one of the factors that went into Hunt’s decision to make a move.

Hunt told Nathan Reiter of the Daily Herald that he made the decision because he thought a new voice was needed in the dressing room. The Raiders got a preview of what things would look like with a new main voice behind the bench during their first 15 games after coming back from their Christmas break.

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

Raiders outlast Oil Kings 4-1 for second straight win

Max Hildebrand made 32 saves in goal for the Raiders on Saturday.

The Prince Albert Raiders have a spark.

On Monday, the Raiders relieved 59-year-old head coach Jeff Truitt of his duties. While the Raiders were sporting a 34-22-5-1 record at the time, they had one win in their previous six outings posting a 1-3-2 mark over that stretch. In Truitt’s final two games as head coach, the Raiders lost both ends of a home-and-home series in regulation to their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades.

It seemed like the Raiders were repeating a trend from the previous campaign, where they went 2-9 over their last 11 games including action in the regular season and the WHL Playoffs.

The Raiders promoted 37-year-old assistant coach Ryan McDonald to interim head coach. McDonald is a Prince Albert product and played for the Raiders as a player from 2006 to 2009.

In the Raiders first 15 games after returning from their WHL Christmas break this season, McDonald served as interim head coach at that time as Truitt was on medical leave for eye surgery. Over those 15 games, the Raiders posted a 10-4-0-1 mark.

After making the moves on the coaching front, Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt told Nathan Reiter of the Prince Albert Daily Herald that he made the decision because he thought a new voice was needed in the dressing room.

With McDonald in his second stint as interim head coach for the campaign, the Raiders traveled to Lethbridge on Wednesday, held leads of 2-0 and 3-2, but fell to the host Hurricanes 5-3. On Friday, the Raiders made their way to Red Deer, fell behind 3-1 and rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Rebels. Star centre Aiden Oiring scored a hat trick including the winner in overtime.

On Saturday, the Raiders ventured to Edmonton for their latest WHL regular season clash to play the host Oil Kings before 12,142 spectators at Rogers Place. Riding a 32 save performance from star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, the Raiders posted a 4-1 victory for their second straight win.

Daxon Rudolph had the Raiders third goal on Saturday.

The two straight wins have the Raiders sitting second in the WHL’s East Division with a 36-23-5-1 mark. They almost pulled ahead of the Brandon Wheat Kings for top spot in the division. The Wheat Kings snuck out a 5-4 overtime victory over the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday night for a third straight win to improve to 36-22-4-3 to sit one standings point ahead of the Raiders.

The idle Blades (35-22-3-4) sit two points back of the Wheat Kings and one point back of the Raiders with a game in hand on both clubs. The Blades make up that game in hand on Sunday when they host the 15-41-5-3 Regina Pats (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Prince Albert and Brandon have three games remaining on their respective regular season schedules. Saskatoon has four regular season contests remaining in the 2024-25 campaign.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Oil Kings, the visitors jumped out to a 1-0 lead with 3:21 remaining in the opening period. Breaking down the left wing into the Edmonton zone on a rush, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ty Meunier flipped a smart pass over to fellow rookie Riley Boychuk to an open area by the right side of the Oil Kings net.

Boychuk, who turned 17-years-old in January, potted his 14^th of the campaign to give the Raiders their one-goal edge.

At the 4:36 mark of the second, Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic made a backhand pass from behind the Edmonton net to breakout 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube in front of the goal. Dube one-timed home his 29^th tally of the campaign to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0.

With 68 seconds remaining in the second, Raiders rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, wired home a shot from the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Edmonton net to allow the Raiders to hold a 3-0 advantage.

With 11.9 seconds remaining in the second, the Oil Kings struck on the power play when import centre Miroslav Holinka tipped home a point shot from start linemate Gracyn Sawchyn at the right side of the Prince Albert net. That goal cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

The third period saw the Raiders kill off four Oil Kings power plays, while Edmonton killed off one Prince Albert man advantage. Prince Albert’s first infraction of the frame was a delay of game penalty to 18-year-old defenceman Tyrone Sobry for clearing the puck over the glass from his own zone. For the rest of the frame, it seemed the Oil Kings were going down easy trying to dive like a 1980s European hockey team which drew three other power-play chances.

Niall Crocker scored an empty-net goal for the Raiders.

After all those infractions were killed, Raiders 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker scored a long distance empty-net goal with 50.9 seconds remaining in the frame to round out the 4-1 final in favour of the Raiders. The final 50.9 seconds of the third elapsed with no drama.

Alex Worthington turned away 12-of-15 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings who fell to 35-26-2-2.

The Raiders won three out of the five head-to-head encounters with the Oil Kings this season.

The Oil Kings return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Calgary to take on the 43-15-3-3 Hitmen (2 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Raiders get back at it on Tuesday when they host the 14-43-6-2 Moose Jaw Warriors (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Wheat Kings get scare in Moose Jaw, prevail in OT

The Brandon Wheat Kings had to make a comeback and work overtime to continue to control their destiny in the race for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

On Saturday, the Wheat Kings found themselves trailing 4-3 to the host Moose Jaw Warriors in a WHL regular season contest played before 3,215 spectators at the Temple Gardens Centre. The Warriors are going through a big rebuild and sit last in the entire WHL after winning their first WHL championship last season.

With 5:14 remaining in the third, Wheat Kings 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Luke Shipley pounced on a loose puck in the right faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone and buried his 17^th goal of the campaign to even the score at 4-4.

Just moments into overtime, Warriors captain Lynden Lakovic got in on a short breakaway on the Brandon net. He put a backhand shot on goal that was swallowed up by Wheat Kings star 19-year-old netminder Carson Bjarnason.

A short time after that scoring chance, Wheat Kings star overage centre Nolan Flamand blew home the winner at the 44-second mark of the extra frame to give the visitors a 5-4 victory.

Brandon held a 3-2 lead after the first period only to see Moose Jaw pull ahead 4-3 going into the second intermission.

Roger McQueen recorded one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department for the Wheat Kings, who received singles from Marcus Nguyen and Matteo Michels. Lakovic, Casey Brown, Pavel McKenzie and Riley Thorpe replied with singles for the Warriors.

Bjarnason stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings. Matthew Hutchison turned away 28 shots to take the setback in net for Moose Jaw.

With the win, the Wheat Kings, who have won three straight games, continue to lead the WHL’s East Division improving to 36-22-4-3. They hold a one standings point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders (36-23-5-1) and sit two points ahead of the idle Saskatoon Blades (35-22-3-4).

The Blades have a game in hand on both the Wheat Kings and Raiders. The Blades make up that game in hand on Sunday when they host the 15-41-5-3 Regina Pats (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Warriors saw their record move to 14-43-6-2 as they continue to remain last in the entire WHL. They return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Wheat Kings return home to host the Blades on Wednesday in a big late season contest at 7 p.m. at Westoba Place.

Tigers’ McKenna explodes for seven points, other notes

Saturday night was a banner night for Medicine Hat Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna.

The 17-year-old was in on all his team’s goals as the Tigers blasted the visiting Red Deer Rebels 7-3 in a WHL regular season clash before 5,645 spectators at Co-op Place. McKenna recorded a hat trick and four assists for seven points to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category in the win.

Medicine Hat jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first period, held a 5-3 advantage after two periods and cruised to the 7-3 victory. The Tigers have won eight straight games improving to 45-17-3-1 to sit first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and Central Division.

They sit two standings points ahead of the Calgary Hitmen (43-15-3-3). The Hitmen have two games in hand on the Tigers. Medicine Hat has two games remaining on its regular season schedule, while Calgary has four contests remaining.

After recording seven points against the Rebels, McKenna sits comfortably in second in the WHL’s scoring race with 121 points coming off 37 goals and 84 assists to go with a plus-54 rating in 54 games. He also has points in his last 38 consecutive appearances dating back to November 6, 2024. During that stretch, McKenna has piled up 92 points coming off 28 goals and 64 assists.

Tigers 20-year-old captain Oasiz Wiesblatt also had a big night in Saturday’s win. He recorded a hat trick and two assists for five points to go with a plus-two rating. The hat trick allowed Wiesblatt to surpass the 100-goal mark in his WHL career. In 282 career regular season games all with the Tigers, Wiesblatt has 101 goals, 184 assists, 285 points and a plus-42 rating.

Wiesblatt also has 100 points coming off 36 goals and 64 assists to go with a plus-42 rating in 64 games with the Tigers this season. That marks the first time Wiesblatt has hit the 100-point plateau for one season in his WHL career.

Star defenceman Tanner Molendyk had the Tigers first goal on Saturday. He also had an assist for a two-point night and posted a plus-one rating.

Tigers overage centre Mathew Ward had an assist in the win. With that helper, Ward has 250 points in his WHL career coming off 90 goals and 160 assists in 261 career regular season games.

Matthew Gard scored twice for the Rebels, while Ollie Josephson had a single.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Peyton Shore turned away 19 shots to take the loss in net for the Rebels.

The Rebels, who will miss the WHL Playoffs, fell to 26-31-6-2. They return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Calgary to take on the Hitmen (7 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The Tigers are off until this coming Saturday when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place). The Tigers and Hitmen close their respective regular season schedules going head-to-head on Sunday, March 23 at 5 p.m. local time at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.

• On Thursday, the Tri-City Americans announced defenceman Terrell Goldsmith was released from hospital late Wednesday night and is resting at home. He will continue to be monitored by the Americans medical staff. Goldsmith, who is a former member of the Prince Albert Raiders, was injured in a fight with defenceman Ashton Cumby of the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday night in a game at the Toyota Centre in Kennewick, Washington. That contest was suspended after Goldsmith’s injury.
• On Saturday, 20-year-old defenceman Hunter Mayo recorded two goals, three assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to power the visiting Swift Current Broncos to a 7-5 victory over the Pats in Regina. The Broncos, who have a berth locked up in the WHL Playoffs, improved to 34-28-1-2 with the win.
• On Saturday, veteran right-winger Ethan Moore scored twice to power the visiting Calgary Hitmen to a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Lethbridge. The Hitmen improved to 43-15-3-3 with the win, while the Hurricanes fell to 41-20-3-2. Both teams will have home ice advantage to for best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs.
• On Sunday, March 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on ultra-busy track and field coach Jason Reindl. The 40-year-old has coaches the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Track and Field and Cross-Country Teams since the start of the 2017-18 campaign. He also has many other roles in the sport. The piece on Reindl can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is anchored by pictures from the Saskatoon Nordic Ski Club to bid farewell to the winter sports season. It also includes photos from baseball, rugby, softball and speed skating. That post can be found by clicking right here.

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

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