Tigers rebound in Regina

Medicine Hat praises youthful Pats in playoff battle

Keets Fawcett, left, of the Pats chases Noah Davidson of the Tigers.

REGINA, Sask. – It was a great night to be a fan of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Tuesday playing before 3,603 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Tigers downed the host Regina Pats by a convincing margin of 8-2 in Game 3 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the set with Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

The victory was a big one for the Tigers, who dropped a 4-2 decision to the Pats in Game 2 on Saturday at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Before that Game 2 encounter, the Tigers had beaten the Pats 12 straight times, where Regina’s previous victory was a 5-4 overtime win on home ice back on January 20, 2024.

Zach Moore was snake bitten with a disallowed goal.

While Medicine Hat won by a convincing final score on Tuesday, Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins saluted his team’s youthful foes in the Pats.

“I thought Regina played well,” said Desjardins. “They were right there early.

“I thought our goaltending played well early. They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team.

“They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team. We’re going to have to play good.”

Medicine Hat came into the first round series as heavy favourites to beat Regina. The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third in the league’s overall standings at 50-10-5-3. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Yaroslav Bryzgalov scored the Tigers first goal on Tuesday.

The Pats finished seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 25-34-7-2 mark. The Regina side is a more youthful side that is starting to see positive results from a rebuild. The Pats strength is in their younger age groups seen in forwards Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue, who are playing half-time with the squad as 15-year-old underage players.

Tigers captain Bryce Pickford has been impressed with the young Pats. He was happy his club came up with the rebound win on Tuesday night, but he said he is aware of what the Pats are capable of doing.

“They’re a really good team,” said Pickford. “They came into our barn for the second game, and they stole it from us.

Kade Stengrim scored the Tigers second goal on Tuesday.

“We can’t underestimate them. We knew they were going to be good tonight. We had all the energy.

“We knew what we had to do, and we did it.”

Just 1:48 into the contest, the Pats were snake bitten by some bad luck. Zack Moore, who is a 19-year-old centre, appeared to score on a backhand shot, but the goal was waved off as he scored it using a broken stick. He also received a delay of game penalty on the play for using the broken stick, but the Regina side was able to kill off the infraction.

Bryce Pickford posted one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating.

The Tigers weren’t deterred without being able to score on that power play. At the 7:47 mark of the first, import left-winger Yaroslav Bryzgalov sniped home a shot from low down in close to the left side of the Regina net to put the visitors up 1-0.

With seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, Pats left-winger Keets Fawcett drew a penalty shot on a rush to the Medicine Hat net. On his penalty shot attempt, he was stoned by Tigers starting netminder Jordan Switzer.

After that missed chance by the host side, Tigers left-winger Kade Stengrim scored with 6:06 remaining in the third and Pickford tallied with 34.7 seconds remaining in the frame to push the visitor’s advantage out to 3-0. 

Andrew Basha (#34) celebrates his first of two goals on Tuesday.

The Tigers exited the opening frame holding that 3-0 lead, while having a 13-12 edge in shots on goal.

Pickford said his squad caught a couple of breakings in the opening 20 minutes, especially with Moore’s disallowed goal early in the frame.

“I think that luck was definitely on our side there with that no goal,” said Pickford. “We got lucky.

“We’re lucky the stick broke there. We got a bounce, and then we bounced back and we scored. They’re a really good team.

“They started off hot. They played better than us in the first I thought, and we just found a way to win the game.”

Just 43 seconds into the second, import left-winger Ruslan Karimov scored for the Pats to cut the Tigers lead to 3-1. 

Liam Pue scored his first WHL post-season goal on Tuesday.

Tigers star 20-year-old left-winger Andrew Basha responded with a pair of goals coming at the 9:53 and 12:25 marks respectively to push Medicine Hat’s lead out to 5-1.

Following Basha’s second goal, the Pats pulled starting goalie Marek Schlenker, who turned away 14-of-19 shots taking the setback in net for Regina. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 17-of-20 shots playing the rest of the way in relief in the Pats net.

Regina responded quickly to the netminder change. 

Just 29 seconds after Basha’s second tally, Pue netted his first career WHL post-season goal for the Pats to trim the Tigers lead to 5-2.

Maddox Schultz brings the puck up ice for the Pats.

The Tigers proceeded to stall any momentum the Pats gained. With 30.2 seconds remaining in the second, Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham wired home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Regina net to give the visitors a 6-2 advantage heading into the second intermission.

Noah Davidson and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll added singles for the Tigers in the third to round out the 8-2 final score in favour of Medicine Hat.

Switzer stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

Pickford said his squad has to continue to be aware of what the Pats are capable of.

Markus Ruck congratulations Jordan Switzer on a good game.

“They’re a young team, but they played really good,” said Pickford, who had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-three in the plus-minus department for the Tigers. “Their forwards are fast.

“Their “D” are good. We just have to keep it going. After the first game, we kind of let off and then they took the second game. I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to learn from this game is that we’ve got to keep it going more than just one game.

“They are a really good team over there. We’re going to get their best next game, so we’ve got to be ready.”

Desjardins said Tuesday’s game was a lot closer than the final score said it was. He has been impressed with the Pats’ battle, and he expects the Regina side to continue to play hard for the rest of the series.

“They’re giving us everything we can possibly handle,” said Desjardins. “We were worried coming in tonight for sure.

A group of Tigers players close the night with their prayer circle.

“We were taking nothing for granted. They played well at home and in our building. They’ll be playing hard tomorrow.

“We know that.”

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Bedard lifts Pats to Seventh Heaven with Game 6 win

Blades host series deciding Game 7 on Monday

Connor Bedard had a goal and three assists for the Pats on Saturday.

REGINA, Sask. - Connor Bedard is a miracle worker.

So far in a best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series, the Saskatoon Blades have to be wondering if the Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre is human. It might be accurate to say Bedard is not a god, but he appears to be somewhere in between.

On Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre with the host Pats facing elimination from the WHL Playoffs, Bedard set up the Pats first three goals and scored the winner in a 5-3 over the Blades in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series. With the win, they even the set 3-3 and force a series deciding Game 7.

Connor Bedard does a fly by after scoring for the Pats.

The Blades, who had won three straight before falling in Game 6, will host Game 7 on Monday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

During the six games so far in the series, Bedard has 10 goals, nine assists and a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department. The North Vancouver, B.C., product has been in on 19 of the Pats 25 goals of the series.

“I think that might have been our best game of the series overall probably that and Game 1,” said Bedard referring to the Pats 6-1 victory to open the set on March 31. “It feels good to have that, but obviously, we know the job is not done here.

“We have to go in their barn Monday and get a win.”

The Brandt Centre faithful cheer a Pats goal.

The Blades entered the series as favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

In Game 6 on Monday, the Pats took a 3-2 lead into the third period. Just 64 seconds into the third, the Blades evened the score at 3-3, when star centre Trevor Wong tipped home a point shot from 19-year-old veteran defenceman Charlie Wright. The tally was Wong’s second goal of the contest.

Connor Bedard has 19 points in six post-season games.

That set the stage for Bedard to have another heroic moment. Just 55 seconds after Wong tied the contest, Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil hit Bedard with a stretch pass to spring him on a break into the Saskatoon zone.

Bedard snapped home a shot glove side in Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick to put the Pats up 4-3, and the Regina side never trailed in the contest again.

“I liked our game basically from start to finish,” said Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock. “That doesn’t mean it was easy or we were far superior, because it is two teams that are obviously going to Game 7.

“That says a lot about the series. I liked our game from the start.”

Zackary Shantz scored a goal that caused controversy.

While Bedard had another sensational game, the other biggest memory from Saturday’s contest came after the Pats scored a controversial insurance goal with 8:36 remaining in the third. Pats left-winger Riley Ginnell had the puck deep in the left side of the Saskatoon zone and passed the puck across the face of the net to linemate Zackary Shantz.

Ginnell’s pass deflected off Shantz’s skate into the Saskatoon net to put the hosts up 5-3. The officials went to a view reviewed and waved off the goal saying it was kicked in.

Following that ruling, the officials elected to look at the video again, and after the second review, the officials ruled that Shantz’s tally was indeed a good goal.

Jayden Wiens scored to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

“The refs told me that they called back down because there was a new angle, and then they couldn’t determine from that angle whether it was a distinct kicking motion,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “That is what I was told.”

Access Communications was showing the game to their provincial network on television on their own channel. Michael Ball was doing the play-by-play work for the Access Communications broadcast, and he wrote on Twitter someone with the WHL asked to look at the replay angles that the broadcast crew had. According to Ball, after the officials saw the video Access Communications had the no goal ruling was reversed to a ruling of a goal.

Trevor Wong scored twice for the Blades on Saturday.

Sonne found it challenging to talk about the situation around Shantz’s goal.

“You’re asking me to comment about or have an opinion about things that absolutely really nothing to do with me aside from the fact that why did it even get into that situation to begin with,” said Sonne. “The rest of it that is for the league to decide whether that is the look they want or if that is the process they want to go through.

“It is up to management to have those discussions. Me, I’m in charge of why it even got there in the first place. I don’t really have a comment about it.

“I want to just focus on what I do.”

Alexander Suzdalev sets to snap home a goal for the Pats.

Paddock said he wasn’t sure what had happened during the reviews of Shantz’s goal.

“I’m just sort of guessing, but that speaks to not the inadequacy but of the video replay in this building or in the league,” said Paddock. “They are all supposed to be up to a standard.

“Obviously, something else happened. He (the referee) wasn’t going to listen to me. Something else happened, so somebody upstairs reviewed it whatever five or eight minutes again for the 14^th time, and they changed it.

“I don’t have an explanation. You would have to ask them, but no, that was strange.”

Pats mascot K9 works his way through the Brandt Centre faithful.

Ultimately, Shantz’s goal stood and the 5-3 score held up as the game’s final outcome.

The Blades actually opening the game’s scoring on a goal from hardworking centre Jayden Wiens at the 9:42 mark of the first. The Pats evened the score at 1-1 just over five minutes later when star import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev one-timed home a Bedard set up pass from a bad angle at the right side of the Saskatoon goal.

At the 5:04 mark of the second, the Pats jumped ahead 2-1, when Suzdalev received another pass from Bedard and snapped home a midrange shot for a power-play goal.

A couple of fans show signs supporting Connor Bedard.

Bedard proceeded to follow up with what might have been his best assist of the contest at the 12:45 mark of the second. Holding the puck along the left board deep in the Saskatoon zone, Bedard made a seeing-eye pass from that spot across the front of the Blades net to linemate Tanner Howe, who one-timed home a shot to increase the Pats advantage to 3-1.

“I can’t really put it into words anymore,” said Paddock about the magic that Bedard can make on the ice. “The assists were because he sees the ice so well.

“The play he made to Howie (Tanner Howe) for the goal there was no way to describe it. It was major league.”

Connor Bedard quarterbacks the Pats offence.

Bedard said his teammates did an outstanding job of burying goals on Saturday.

“When guys are open, I obviously try to find them,” said Bedard. “There were a lot of nice finishes from our guys tonight, so they make it easy when they can put the puck into the net like that.”

The Blades didn’t go away. With 2:26 remaining in the third, Wong wired home a setup pass from Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky from a bad angle at the right side of the Regina net to cut the Pats lead to 3-2.

That set the dramatics in the third, where Wong tied the game only for Bedard and Shantz to score for the Pats to pull out victory.

Tanner Howe had a goal for the Pats on Saturday.

“I think today we were a lot more physical and played our style of game,” said Howe. “We didn’t let them get set up, and I thought that was huge.

“We played hard.”

Drew Sim stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Ethan Chadwick turned away 15 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

Stozil finished the contest with three assists.

Sonne didn’t like the start his Blades had to Saturday’s game, and he is looking for his team to have a big response in Game 7 as they face elimination from the post-season for the first time.

“It (Saturday’s game) was not to our standard,” said Sonne. “I think the players agree on that.

The Pats celebrate their win on Saturday.

“Then about halfway through the second we started playing. You can’t play half a game. For us, that is our focus.

“Now, our family is on the line. Our season is on the line. It should be a level of competitiveness, passion (and) desperation that shows that.”

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Chiasson has “The Touch” for the Blades in overtime

Saskatoon evens series with Pats at 2-2 with extra time win

Jake Chiasson (#61) celebrates his OT winner with his teammates.

REGINA, Sask. – When it comes to superheroes, Jake Chiasson might be Optimus Prime.

The 19-year-old left-winger with the Saskatoon Blades is a hero in the real world and the hockey world. Before coming to the Blades in a deal before the WHL trade deadline on January 10, Chiasson became a hero in the real world with his former team the Brandon Wheat Kings along with Brandon teammates Calder Anderson, Nolan Ritchie and Ben Thornton.

On November 29, 2022, the four players helped a distressed man who was contemplating suicide on the First Street Bridge in Brandon. They came across the man after volunteering at Samaritan House.

Jake Chiasson scored the OT winner for the Blades on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, Chiasson was a hero on the ice for the Blades in Game 4 of their best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series against the Regina Pats. With the two teams locked in 3-3 tie in overtime playing before a sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre, Chiasson blew home a midrange shot from near the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Regina goal to give the visitors a 4-3 victory at the 7:20 mark of the extra frame.

The win allowed the Blades to even the best-of-seven set at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Chiasson does reflect on what he and his Wheat Kings teammates were able to do in saving the man on the bridge in Brandon, and he is still relieved that event turned into a positive one.

The scene around the Pats net after Jake Chiasson’s OT winner.

“That was a situation early in the year that you can never really prepare yourself for,” said Chiasson, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers. “We were obviously just so relieved and happy to see that what we did helped.

“It got the attention of the public eye that there is a lot of good in his sport, and I think that is what we really liked about it. It was kind of through a stretch there where hockey was being put down a little bit. It felt good to have a good story come out of junior hockey.

Jake Chiasson (#61) hugs Aidan De La Gorgendiere after his OT winner.

“Obviously ultimately, it was just really a relief that the man was in a good spot afterwards, and we were able to help through that time.”

Chiasson got to enjoy a moment all hockey players live for in scoring an overtime winner in the post-season. When he saw his shot go into the Regina goal, Chiasson couldn’t believe the rush of excitement he had.

“You kind of lose control of yourself a little bit to be honest,” said Chiasson. “(It was) a sense of relief, excitement.

The Blades come off their bench to celebrate an OT win.

“Ultimately, wins are so important at this time of year. Nothing feels better than coming back into that locker room after a win. For me, it was just excitement and kind of look ahead for Friday.”

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said Chiasson has a levity that allows him to come through in big moments on the ice and in life.

“I just think that Chiasser (Chiasson) has like a low resting heart rate meaning he doesn’t panic,” said Sonne. “He is very poised with it.

“He got the assist on the tying goal yesterday (in a Blades 4-3 OT win in Game 3) too. He doesn’t grip his stick tight or panic or anything like that. That is what you saw tonight.

Egor Sidorov scored the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

“There are all sorts of bodies and meat around the boards, and he come out with it and doesn’t just shoot it right away. He takes a step and knows his spacing, and he makes a really good shot. I just think his calm is what makes him able to perform in those big moments.”

In Wednesday’s clash, the teams played through a tight checking scoreless first period, where the Blades held a 7-4 edge in shots on goal.

The Blades opened the game’s scoring working on the power play at the 7:18 mark of the second on a tally from star import right-winger Egor Sidorov. Sidorov set up in the right slot and one-timed home a setup pass from star centre Trevor Wong to give the Blades a 1-0 edge.

Connor Bedard had two goals for the Pats on Wednesday.

Saskatoon’s power play came courtesy of slew footing double minor given to Pats left-winger Brayden Barnett. The infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension. The Blades were only able to work on a two-minute power play as 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson was given a roughing minor at the same time.

The 10:50 mark of the second period featured a fight between Blades right-winger Justin Lies and Pats defenceman Corbin Vaughan. The bout was a short one with Lies getting a takedown.

Saskatoon appeared set to take their one-goal edge into the third until Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard stepped into the spotlight. With the Pats working on the power play, Bedard drove home a midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to the top right corner of the goal even the score at 1-1.

Pats D Corbin Vaughan, left, tangles with Blades RW Justin Lies.

The Pats came out flying in the third scoring twice in lightning fashion to take a 3-1 lead. Just 13 second into the frame, Bedard scored his second of the contest banging home the rebound of his own shot from the front of the Saskatoon net.

Just 40 seconds later, Pats star centre Tanner Howe deflected home a midrange shot from star import offensive-defenceman Stanislav Svozil to give the hosts a two-goal edge.

The Blades called a timeout after Howe’s goal in order to regroup. Saskatoon proceeded to calmly roar back.

Trevor Wong has two assists for the Blades.

“Obviously, there is a little bit of I wouldn’t say panic, but desperation kind of kicks in a little bit,” said Chiasson. “You know that it is the most crucial 20 minutes to the season.

“For us, it was just important to stay even keel as best we could, and like we showed out there, we just kind of stuck to how we play, and it ultimately benefited us down the stretch.”

Just 1:53 after Howe’s goal, Blades hardworking centre Jayden Wiens banged home a puck from the front of the Regina net to cut the Pats lead to 3-2. Wiens got the puck from a rebound from a shot taken by Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere.

Tanner Howe (#43) had a goal for the Pats on Wednesday.

With 9:59 remaining in the third, Wong fired a shot from the point on the Regina goal, and the rebound came out to Blades 19-year-old veteran defenceman Charlie Wright, who pinched down to the front of the Pats net. 

Wright put home the rebound to force a 3-3 tie and ultimately set up the dramatics in overtime.

Ethan Chadwick stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Drew Sim turned away 33 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

Wong and De La Gorgendiere each had two assists for the Blades.

Charlie Wright scored the goal that forced OT on Wednesday.

The Blades entered the series as favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

Regina took the first two games of the series in Saskatoon before the Blades evened the series with two wins in Regina. 

While the road team has won every game of the series so far, Chiasson believes his team can buck that trend in Game 5 on Friday in Saskatoon.

“I think we can turn that around,” said Chiasson. “Obviously our fans back home, they showed in those first two games.

The Blades celebrate their overtime win on Wednesday.

“They’re there to support us. They’re there to kind of grind through this process with our team. We’re excited to get back there and maybe give them a little bit of redemption for opening weekend.”

The last three contests of the series have gone to overtime with the Pats taking Game 2 on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre 6-5 and the Blades claiming Game 3 at the Brandt Centre 4-3.

“It is a good series,” said Chiasson. “It is tight.

“We’re just looking to play every minute the way that we can. It comes down to so many bounces in this time of year. Three overtimes in a row.

“That is the playoff hockey you dream of to be honest. It is the kind you want to play in, and it is exciting to be part of.”

Blades’ Sonne up for WHL coach of the year

Blades HC Brennan Sonne is up for WHL coach of the year.

Saskatoon Blades head coach Brennan Sonne is up for some major hardware.

On Wednesday, the WHL announced Sonne was the coach of the year for the East Division. With that node, Sonne is a nominee for the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the WHL coach of the year.

The 35-year-old Sonne is in his second season as the Blades head coach. Under Sonne’s guidance, the Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record, and they were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Blades collected 101 standings points marking the fifth time since the club was formed in 1964 they’ve recorded 100-or-more standings points in team history.

Mark Lamb of the Prince George Cougars was the B.C. Division coach of the year, Willie Desjardins of the Medicine Hat Tigers was the Central Division coach of the year and Stu Barnes of the Tri-City Americans was the U.S. Division coach of the year. Lamb and Desjardins also serve as general managers for their respective franchises.

The WHL also announced their division winners for executive of the year, and they will be up for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as WHL executive year.

Shaun Clouston, who is the head coach and general manager of the Kamloops Blazers, is the B.C. Division’s executive of the year, Desjardins is the executive of the year for the Central Division, Matt Cockell, who is the general manager of the Winnipeg Ice, is the East Division’s executive of the year and Bil La Forge, who is the general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds, is the B.C. Division’s executive of the year.

The WHL award winners will be announced from May 2 through to May 10.

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Blades enter hostile territory with Brandt Centre faithful

Pats aim to ride energy of raucous home crowd

The Pats and Blades resume their playoff series in Tuesday.

The Saskatoon Blades won’t be taking any sledgehammers to the ice for the resumption of their playoff series with the Regina Pats.

Entering their best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series with the Pats, the Blades had the role of favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 48-15-4-1 mark and being rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 record.

In the first two games of the series played at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, the Pats claimed a 6-1 victory in Game 1 on Friday and 6-5 triumph in overtime in Game 2 on Sunday. Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard was in on eight of the Pats 12 goals posting five goals, three assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department. The North Vancouver, B.C., product was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week end on Sunday.

The series resumes in Regina with Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. each night at the Brandt Centre. The Pats home rink can be one of the toughest buildings to play in during the WHL Playoffs, especially if the Regina faithful believes their team can do something special.

Going into the atmosphere, the Blades will be viewed as WWE villains by the Pats faithful. With that in mind, Blades head coach Brennan Sonne doesn’t think his club has to do anything out of character.

Connor Bedard has eight points in two post-season games.

“I don’t think that is on our mind,” said Sonne. “We’re not going to be Triple H or anything like that – The Undertaker.

“That is my era – “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. I think we’re just going to go in there and try and be as gritty and competitive as we can.”

The sledgehammer was the preferred weapon of Triple H to use in the storybook world of the WWE Universe. Sonne prefers to see his squad display more of that playoff battle they showed in their overtime loss in Game 2, where they outshot the Pats 47-19.

“There are a whole bunch of different words you can use a lot of synonyms – grit, desperate, playoff mode, competitive,” said Sonne. “Whatever one you want to use, that is our main focus.

“That is the main thing we have to bring now. There are adjustments we need to make obviously special teams wise here and there. The main thing is us being gritty like we were tonight.”

The experience of what lies ahead isn’t lost of the Pats best player, who is also the best junior aged hockey player in the world. Bedard can’t wait to get on the ice to see the Brandt Centre’s post-season atmosphere.

Vaughn Watterodt has a goal and three assists in two playoff games.

“I’m pretty fired up,” said Bedard, who squad could be playing before a sell out crowd of 6,499. “I’ve watch some highlights and games from obviously the runs that the Pats have had in their great history.

“For us, it is a lot of guys that haven’t experienced that in our own building. We’re super excited for that. Our fans have been unreal all year, so we’re pretty grateful for them every night.

“We’re pretty excited to see what they bring when they come on Tuesday.”

Tuesday’s game will mark the first time the Pats have played at home in the post-season since falling 3-0 in the title game of the 2018 Memorial Cup 3-0 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on May 27 of that year. The experience of playing at home in the post-season will be a new one for all the current Pats.

“It is going to be my first experience playing in a playoff game at the Brandt,” said Bedard. “We’re pretty excited for that.

“We’re focused on what we have to do and how we’re going to play. Obviously, the fans are always going to give you an extra kick when you are playing in front of them for sure.”

Blades RW Egor Sidorov and Pats RW Ty Spencer battle for the puck.

Pats all-time great head coach and general manager John Paddock has seen a number of memorable nights in the post-season at the Brandt Centre including the Pats journey to the WHL Championship Series in 2017, where they fell in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Pats topped the WHL standings in 2016-17 with a 52-12-7-1 record and had a huge home backing when they advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2015 and 2016.

Paddock is expecting the atmosphere for Tuesday’s game will also be a memorable one.

“It will be loud and good,” said Paddock. “It is an old arena that basically needs to be replaced, but the seating capacity of it and how it was built is as good as there is in junior hockey.

“You can get 6,400 people in there in a tight area, so it is a great building to play in. It is a great building for fans to be in when it is a full house for sure.”

As for the Blades, Sonne said his side is just focused on getting a win on Tuesday to start extending the series. He said his team gained some belief with how they played in Sunday’s overtime loss.

Intensity between the Pats and Blades could continue to heat up.

“We’re just saying ‘that’,” said Sonne. “‘That.’ If we can outshoot a team 47-19 with that kind of work and compete, why would we panic?

“That is how I feel. Let’s do that. That is what we need to do, and we will be OK.”

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Blades, Wong yank spotlight from Bedard, Pats

Trevor Wong had a hat trick and an assist for the Blades on Sunday.

Fans at the Brandt Centre were looking for a star performance on Sunday, but the Wong guy took centre stage.

Trevor Wong recorded a hat trick and assisted on the winning goal to power his visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 5-2 WHL regular season victory over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats to disappointment of most of the 6,022 spectators in attendance. Wong, who is the Blades 19-year-old star centre and alternate captain, picked up just the second hat trick of his WHL career in the win, while posting a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Bedard, who is the Pats 17-year-old phenom centre, was held pointless and had a minus-five rating. He was held without a point for just the third time this season.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product still lead the WHL in goals (59), assists (64) and points (123) to go with a plus-36 rating. In the 20 games Bedard has played with the Pats since rejoining them after helping Canada win gold at world juniors this past January 5 in Halifax, N.S., he had piled up 32 goals, and 27 assists for 59 points to go with a plus-22 rating.

Bedard’s brand took a big jump upward after he set numerous Canadian team records at this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B.

Barring something unforeseen, Bedard will be the first overall selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft which will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29. He is rated first among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings.

Since returning from world juniors, Bedard has been attracting season high crowds for the Pats opponents on the road as well as sellouts and near sellouts at the Pats home rink. The Pats went into Sunday’s clash with the Blades have won six straight and playing their third game in three nights.

Wong has been a quiet lead by example leader all season for the Blades, and he tops his team in scoring with 77 points coming off 23 goals and 54 assists, while posting a plus-16 rating appearing in all of the Blades 60 games this season. 

The Blades have about 10 or 11 players who get more press or recognition than Wong does, but the Vancouver product is happy to just produce and see teammates enjoy the spotlight.

Egor Sidorov scored twice on Sunday for the Blades.

On Sunday, Wong helped the Blades improve their winning streak to five games and get standings points in their last 10 outings coming off nine wins and one overtime setback. That run has allowed the Blades to vault to third in the WHL’s overall standings and second in the Eastern Conference standings with a 42-14-4-1 record.

The Blades were also playing their third game in three nights along with their four game in five nights and claimed victory in all four of those contests.

They sit 10 points back of the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice (49-9-1). The Blades sit six points ahead of the Central Division leading Red Deer Rebels (39-17-2-3), who sit third overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

In the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the division winners in each conference are awarded top seeds in their respective conference brackets. In the second round, the seeds in the conference brackets are determined by standings points.

At the moment, the Blades would have home ice advantage if they should meet the Rebels in a best-of-seven playoff series.

With the loss on Sunday, the Pats fell to 31-25-2-1 and continue to sit sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.

In Sunday’s clash between the Blades and Pats, the first period featured a fight between Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt and Pats rookie defenceman Carter Herman.

The Regina side opened the game’s scoring 1:36 remaining in the first period, when Pats import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev one-timed home a bad angle shot from the right side boards in the Saskatoon zone. Import defenceman Stanislav Svozil fed a perfect pass for Suzdalev to one-time home.

At the 8:23 mark of the second, Wong put the Blades on even terms at 1-1 scoring his first of the contest. He tapped home a puck at the left side of the Pats net after receiving a pass from star left-winger Jake Chiasson, who entered the Regina zone on a rush down the right wing and fed a pass across the face of the Pats net.

Jake Chiasson had a pair of assists for the Blades on Sunday.

Just over two minutes later, the Pats jumped in front 2-1, when left-winger Sam Oremba drove home a goal from the left slot in the Saskatoon zone. Oremba was placed in prime scoring position after receiving a setup pass from Svozil.

Just 82 seconds after that tally, Wong evened the score at 2-2 potting the rebound from his own shot in close on the left side of the Regina goal.

Early in the third, the Blades and Pats ended up playing four-versus-four hockey after a minor penalty by each side was taking 13 seconds apart from each other.

During that stretch of four-versus-four play, Bedard drove into the Saskatoon zone and wired a shot off the right post of the Blades net.

The puck came right out to Wong who broke down the other way down the right-winger on a two-on-one rush into the Regina zone. Wong sauced a perfect pass past a Pats defenceman across the front of the Regina goal to star import 18-year-old right-winger Egor Sidorov, who buried the game-winning tally to put the Blades up 3-2 at the 2:17 mark of the frame.

Just over four minutes later, Sidorov popped home his second of the contest and his 40^th goal of the season to push the Blades advantage out to 4-2. Sidorov finished the night with those two tallies and sits second in Blades team scoring with 74 points coming off his 40 goals and 34 assists to go with a plus-26 rating in 49 games.

Sidorov became the first Blades player to tally 40 or more goals in a season since right-winger Max Gerlach fired home 42 goals for the Saskatoon side in the 2018-19 campaign.

Wong completed his hat trick scoring into an empty net with 1:27 remaining in the third.

Austin Elliott, an 18-year-old rookie netminder, stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Drew Sim turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pats.

Chiasson finished the contest picking up a pair of assists for the Blades. The Blades have won three out of four head-to-head encounters with the Pats this season.

The Pats, who have nine games remaining on their regular season schedule, will look to regroup when they next hit the ice on Wednesday by hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings (7 p.m., Brandt Centre). The Oil Kings sit last in the entire WHL with an 8-48-3 record.

Austin Elliott stopped 22 shots for the Blades on Sunday.

The Blades, who have eight games remaining on their regular season schedule, will try to keep their roll going as they also get back at it on Wednesday returning home to host the 28-28-1-2 Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

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Pats had epic night in 2017 series comeback win

Sam Steel celebrates his game opening goal.

For Regina Pats fans, April 17, 2017 marked one of the most joyful nights in recent memory to be supporter of the world’s oldest major junior franchise.

Before a raucous sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Pats faced the visiting Swift Current Broncos in a series deciding Game 7 in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal set. The Pats scored twice before the game was five minutes old and rolled to a 5-1 victory.

The win allowed the Pats to return to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time in 24 years. The Pats - a franchise that was founded in 1917 - also erased a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in team history.

As the final minute of that Game 7 victory against the Broncos ticked away, the Brandt Centre faithful stood and roared the entire time. The cheers grew louder and louder and hit a peak when the time left on the third period clock elapsed.

Filip Ahl (#61) battles in the corner for the Pats.

At that moment, I was standing in the Zamboni tunnel behind the Pats net shooting pictures of the scene that was unfolding. A few of the old Brandt Centre staffers were still around from when I lived in Regina from 1995 to 2001.

Back in that time, the staff made the Brandt Centre feel like one of the most friendly rinks on the WHL circuit. That friendly feeling extended to that game day and even the present day with the new staffers.

During the 2016-17 WHL campaign, I felt I established a pretty good rapport with the staff at the Brandt Centre.

Connor Hobbs had three assists in the win.

After the third period clock hit zero in that Game 7 win over the Broncos, I remember one of the staffers opening the Zamboni door behind the Pats net and telling me in a fun tone to get out there on the ice.

From the ice, I remember looking up at the crowd and thinking, “Holy (explanative)!”

That was the loudest I’ve ever heard the crowd at the Brandt Centre. I took a moment to soak in that site of pure joy.

While Regina loves the Pats, the thought was imbedded in my mind that fate wouldn’t allow the Pats to have a moment like that. The Pats had won three Memorial Cup titles in their history, but the last came back in 1974.

They hadn’t been to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series since 1993 until beating the Broncos in Game 7 on that night at home in 2017. I was always convinced that something would happen to derail a good Pats season.

In 2016-17, the Pats were outstanding. They finished first in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 52-12-7-1 mark.

The Pats faithful cheer on their team at the Brandt Centre.

For much of the campaign, the Pats were rated first in the Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings and topped the final rankings that were released on March 22, 2017.

The Pats swept the Calgary Hitmen 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round playoff series.

All of a sudden, it seemed like Regina’s magical run would come to an end at the hands of the Broncos.

The Broncos took a 3-1 lead in the series, and Pats star overage captain Adam Brooks went down with a knee injury in Game 2 of the series.

Nick Henry was one of the Pats key players.

If the Pats rallied, they would have to win three games in four nights beginning Friday, April 14, 2017. In an outstanding major junior playoff encounter, the Pats stayed alive with a 3-2 victory.

If you went out on the Dewdney Avenue strip after that Pats victory, you would have thought the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders were going to the Grey Cup or had won the Grey Cup. That was how good parties were after that Pats second round Game 5 win.

The Pats were far from out of the woods. Game 6 would be played the next night at the Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, and the Broncos faithful were gitty about holding a Saturday night celebration likes of which that small Saskatchewan centre hadn’t seen in some time.

Just 2:27 into the second period of Game 6, the Broncos scored twice to go ahead 3-1. After those tallies, Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin broke in on Pats netminder Tyler Brown on a breakaway and the sellout crowd of 2,890 at the Credit Union i-Plex rose to their feet expecting another goal.

Tyler Brown keeps focused on the action up ice.

Brown stoned Gawdin to the disappointment of the onlookers. Had Gawdin scored at that moment, it likely would have been lights out for the Pats in the 2017 WHL playoffs.

The Pats scored twice late in the second to even things up and 3-3 and skated away with a 5-3 victory.

Two nights later, the Pats skated into a series deciding Game 7 with all sorts of momentum.

Just 2:19 into Game 7, Pats star centre Sam Steel popped home the rebound on a shot taken from linemate Nick Henry to give the Pats a 1-0 lead. Pats import winger Filip Ahl followed that up with a breakaway goal at the 4:57 mark of the opening frame and the “Pats’ Regiment” was in a frenzy after that tally.

Swift Current did have an opportunity to get back into the contest closing out the final nine minutes of the opening frame with three power-play chances.

The Pats mob Tyler Brown after their series win.

Brown stoned Broncos star winger Tyler Steenbergen on a golden opportunity in close and robbed Broncos import rearguard Artyom Minulin with a huge glove save on a rocket shot through a screen from the point.

The Pats proceeded to pull away with a convincing win from that point. Offensive defenceman Connor Hobbs had three assists and was a plus-four in the plus-minus department in the romp.

During that 2017 playoff run, that night was the only time the Pats clinched a series win at home.

Following that big victory, the Pats won the WHL Eastern Conference title downing the Lethbridge Hurricanes in six games with Brooks returning to game action. Regina proceeded to fall in the WHL Championship series in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Pats salute their fans at the Brandt Centre.

The Thunderbirds took Game 6 of the series with a 4-3 win in overtime in Regina after erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period.

The Broncos wrote a good epilogue after falling to the Pats in Game 7 in 2017. Swift Current finished second overall in the WHL standings in 2017-18 with a 48-17-5-2 record and went on to win the WHL title in that campaign.

Still, Pats fans will never forget that Game 7 victory over the Broncos in 2017. When that victory happened, the realization of a long Pats playoff run was better than the dream.

Could WWE provide clue for normal times, other notes

Welcome to The New Era. @RaquelWWE @BiancaBelairWWE + @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/sG7SwPMQkD

— WWE (@WWE) April 17, 2021

When the WWE tours again, is that a sign the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is over?

When the WWE does indeed start touring again, it will not be the sign the COVID-19 pandemic is either over or not. It will probably be a tangible sign that things are moving more to the direction of being normal.

The main driver of the sports entertainment company are the weekly televisions shows it produces like Monday Night RAW, NXT and SmackDown. A massive COVID-19 outbreak on the WWE roster would have a severe impact on the storylines that come out in weekly television programs, and those storylines build towards pay per view events.

WWE has made last minute adjustments at different moments during the past year due to positive COVID-19 tests.

For most of the last 13 months, RAW and SmackDown were filmed at an empty WWE Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida, or a virtual online video screen crowd venue set up the WWE calls the Thunderdome, which was held at Tropicana Field in Tampa.

NXT has been filmed at the Performance Centre since October in front of a virtual onscreen crowd and a small gather of fans. Before that, NXT was being filmed at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida without fans going back to March 2020.

Last weekend, the WWE had its first huge live crowds in over 13 months this past weekend hosting WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa this past Saturday and Sunday. The WWE maxed out the crowd they were allowed to have on each night at 25,675 spectators.

Before WrestleMania 37, the last major crowd WWE had for a weekly show was the episode of RAW that aired on March 9, 2020.

WWE wanted fans back at its showcase event in WrestleMania but hasn’t made public any plans to go back to touring full time or holding any other live shows.

WWE has moved its Thunderdome from Tropicana Field in Tampa to the Yuengling Center located at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The move was made due to the fact the Tampa Bay Rays, who are the main tenant at Tropicana Field, have begun their MLB season.

This past Monday’s RAW was filmed at the new Thunderdome location. The WWE plans to remain at the Yuengling Center while gauging when it would be prudent to return to a live weekly model.

In an interview with Joe Otterson of Variety for a story that went live on Wednesday, WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan did open the door for the possibility of having more live in person events.

Khan said plans have been made and to stay tuned for announcements.

“But just know that once we’re back on the road, we’re on the road full time,” said Khan. “We’re not looking to do other one offs.

“Again, this was WrestleMania, and we felt it needed to be done for the fans. So look for news coming soon.”

When the WWE does return to touring, it will be interesting to see how that looks. The company could tour first in states in the United States that have removed a significant amount of COVID-19 protocols regarding large gatherings.

For a company that is used to touring all over the world, would touring in a handful of states equate to touring full time?

Outside of Khan’s quote, the WWE doesn’t seem to be in too much of a rush to leave the safe filming confines of the Thunderdome.

On Thursday, the WWE released 10 wrestlers including Samoa Joe, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Chelsea Green, Mickie James, Tucker, Kalisto, Bo Dallas, Mojo Rawley and Wesley Blake. The released talent was severely underused by the WWE.

If the WWE was going to return to touring any time soon, it would be hard to see all these cuts getting made.

A year ago around this time, the WWE released just over 20 people in the talent department. Those releases were part of the company’s initial reaction to a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In current times, the WWE is still making major amounts of money and produces a massive profit.

• On Friday, organizers cancelled the Regina Folk Festival for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was slated to be held Aug. 6 to 8 in Victoria Park in the Saskatchewan capital city. Organizers do hope to hold some type of summer programming.
• On Friday, the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings announced Doug Gasper will be the club’s new general manager. Gasper has been an assistant general manager for the Wheat Kings since 2019. He will replace Darren Ritchie, who is leaving the Wheat Kings to become an amateur scout with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Ritchie became the Wheat Kings general manager in July of 2019. He will stay on with the Wheat Kings until they complete their current WHL regular season, which is being held for developmental purposes.
• On Friday, the NHL’s Ottawa Senators announced they signed 21-year-old winger Cole Reinhardt to a three-year entry-level contract that will start with the 2021-22 season. Reinhardt had been playing on an amateur tryout contract with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He has three goals and four assists in 21 games this season in Belleville. Reinhardt played four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings from 2016 to 2020 appearing in 252 career regular season games collecting 75 goals, 66 assists and a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department.
• On Saturday, the WHL announced the Tri-City Americans have suspended all activities due to a positive COVID-19 test to a player. The Americans have had three games so far postponed including a Saturday clash with the visiting Spokane Chiefs. In a release, the WHL said it was working in consultation with the Washington State Department of Health regarding the situation with the Americans. Being located in the United States, the Americans situation will likely be dealt with differently compared to positive tests involving clubs located in Canada. The Americans last played this past Tuesday, when they fell 4-2 to the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
• Saskatoon products Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley are currently taking part in the selection camp for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team in Halifax, N.S. The camp runs through to Thursday. The camp is the final opportunity to evaluate players for the women’s worlds, which are scheduled for May 6 to 16 in Halifax and Truno, N.S.
• On Thursday, Danny Austin, a Postmedia sportswriter in Calgary, stirred the pot tweeting out a letter from Alberta Health dated from April 9, 2021 regarding the return of crowds for performance events. The letter targeted late July for the removal of capacity restrictions for performance events in Alberta. The letter said the targets were contingent on how the COVID-19 pandemic plays out including progress on vaccinations. There had been talk this sort of letter existed, and Austin posted it after he got a copy of it. The reactions in the replies went all over the place. The tweet is shown below.

Interesting pic.twitter.com/B8HowG7Y6N

— Danny Austin (@DannyAustin_9) April 16, 2021

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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