Raiders deliver big send off

“Hockey Town North” faithful treated to 5-1 season ending win

Captain Tim Vanstone salutes the Prince Albert fans.

    PRINCE ALBERT - “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” was ringing through the rafters of the Art Hauser Centre with over a minute to play in Saturday’s WHL game.

    It was that good of a night for the host Raiders, who downed their arch rivals the Saskatoon Blades 5-1 before a crammed crowd of 2,953 spectators. The Blades got out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, before the Raiders roared back with five straight goals through the final 40 minutes.

    Fitting a traditional clash between the Raiders and Blades, the night also contained a couple of fights and a few scrums. The win allowed the Raiders to finish the regular season with a 21-44-5-2 record, which included posting a 13-13-4 record after the WHL’s trade deadline passed on Jan. 10.

    While the Raiders had been long eliminated from playoff contention, overage captain Tim Vanstone said that Saturday’s win was still a good way for him to go out along with his overage teammates Kolten Olynek and Cavin Leth.

    “I didn’t script it like this for sure,” said Vanstone. “It just shows how much everyone cared.

    “We pulled for each other. It wasn’t just for me, Cavin (Leth) and Olyny (Olynek). It was for everybody.

    “This crest means way more than gold to a lot of those guys in that room. I think the foundation has been set, and they are just going to roll with it next year.”

Captain Tim Vanstone jets up ice for the Raiders.

    Vanstone played all five seasons of his major junior career with the Raiders having been selected in the third round and 52^nd overall by the club in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. The Swift Current product appeared in 299 career regular season games collecting 36 goals, 58 assists and 318 penalty minutes. He couldn’t imagine spending his career anywhere else.

    “I think you just look back and put it in perspective I guess the hard times, the good times and the long bus trips,” said Vanstone. “It is all worth it at the end of the day.

    “I think the biggest thing for me is I spent it in the same place. I went to the same places to eat. I saw the people at the same places.

    “No matter how good your game was or how bad your game was, they love you no matter what.”

    During the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s games, the Blades were doing their best to spoil the Raiders home finale. At the 5:39 mark of the opening frame, Blades winger Mason McCarty potted the rebound from a point shot to put the visitors ahead 1-0.

Simon Stransky controls the puck on the power play for the Raiders.

    Momentum changed in the second period, when Czech winger Simon Stransky went to work for the Raiders. He popped home a pair of goals to put the Raiders ahead 2-1.

    He then combined with Leth to set up winger Curtis Miske to score off a backdoor play while working on a power play to extend the host’s edge to 3-1. Miske’s tally was his 20^th goal of the season.

    The Raiders kept rolling in the third, when centre Adam Kadlec and defenceman Cody Paivarinta tallied singles one minute and 34 seconds apart from each other.

    Ian Scott made 24 stops to pick up the win goal for the Raiders. Brock Hamm stopped 26 shots to take the loss in goal for the Blades.

    Vanstone ended up engaged with Blades defenceman Evan Fiala in a second period fight and finished his final WHL outing with a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department and 19 minutes in penalties.

    When the Raiders overage players were called out as the game’s three stars, Vanstone took a decent sized lap to salute the fans.

Mason McCarty gave the Blades an early 1-0 lead.

    He said he loved how the fans in Prince Albert always came up to talk to him, ask how he was, ask how the team was doing and offer encouragement. He admitted he was going to miss those interactions saying the community is very close knit being in one of the league’s smaller markets.

    “Everyone in P.A. made P.A. everything to me,” said Vanstone. “I think that is how I can sum it up is absolutely that.

    “I am so grateful for the experience. I am going to be a Raider until I die that is for sure.”

    The Blades fell to 28-35-7-2 with the loss and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The Calgary Hitmen (30-32-8-2) finished five points ahead of the Blades for eight overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and the conference’s second wildcard berth.

    After Saskatoon won what turned out to be an emotional final home game on Friday where they beat the Raiders 5-3 and were officially eliminated from playoffs, Blades head coach Dean Brockman said his side had a bit of an expected letdown on Saturday. He said the reality of the fact the season was over hadn’t totally hit him yet.

    “It will hit me when we go to work Monday, and we don’t have to practice,” said Brockman. “There are a lot of things to digest where we went right and where we went wrong.

Adam Kadlec sets to fire a shot on goal for the Raiders.

    “There will be evaluations with our guys, with our management group. Obviously, it is very disappointing we are not continuing our season. Through all the adversity I thought we made some strides this year.”

    Going forward, Brockman believes the Blades have a lot of bright lights in players like forward Michael Farren and Chase Wouters, who concluded their 16-year-old season, and centre Kirby Dach, who will officially enter his 16-year-old season in the upcoming campaign.
    Dach, who was selected by the Blades second overall in last year’s WHL Bantam Draft, finished out this season in Saskatoon as a call up from the midget AAA ranks until getting hurt in the team’s fifth last game of the season.

    “For not knowing a lot about Michael Farren, he did really well,” said Brockman. “I think maybe if there was anything he ran out of gas later in the year.

Parker Kelly celebrates the Raiders win.

    “(Chase Wouters) is just a character kid that works and works and works. Those guys are going to be big cornerstones.

    “Kirby is going to be a good player. You don’t want to put too much pressure on the young guy, but he has got a bright future that is for sure.”

    As for the present on Saturday, the night belonged to the Raiders, and Vanstone was pleased to relish one last memory with the fans from “Hockey Town North.”

    “You can’t teach loyalty, and this city is all about it,” he said.

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

Broncos buck off Blades

Saskatoon’s hold on WHL playoff spot slips

Broncos goalie Taz Burman holds off Blades winger Josh Paterson.

    An early lead by the Saskatoon Blades wasn’t enough to make the Swift Current Broncos top forwards go away.

    On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the host Blades, who are in a heated race for a WHL playoff spot, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Broncos big guns got going. Swift Current scored twice in the second period and twice early in the third to go up 4-2.

    The Blades cut the gap to 4-3, but the Broncos sealed a 5-3 final with an insurance goal coming on the power play.

    In the Broncos rally, star winger Tyler Steenbergen scored twice to sit with 49 goals on the season. Standout forwards Aleksi Heponiemi and Lane Pederson each had singles.

    The Swift Current tally that hurt Saskatoon the most likely came from the Broncos third line.

Tyler Steenbergen celebrates his first of two goals.

    With the teams locked in a 2-2 draw early in the third, winger Arthur Miller blew down the wall on the left wing and slipped a beauty pass for centre Conner Chaulk in the slot. Chaulk blew home his eighth goal of the season to put the visitors ahead 3-2.

    “I thought we were OK going into the third,” said Blades head coach Dean Brockman. “We got walked down the wall, and they scored that one. It just kind of seemed to deflate us.

    “We are full of emotion right now, and we are in a playoff hunt. When something like that happens, you have to make sure you don’t get too low, and I think we got too low there.”

    The Blades fell to 27-32-7-2 and saw their lead in the standings for eighth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and hold on the conference’s second wildcard playoff berth slip to one point. The Calgary Hitmen, who sit ninth in the Eastern Conference, pulled out a 4-3 upset victory at home over the Lethbridge Hurricanes to improve to 26-31-8-2 to pull within a point of the Blades with a game in hand.

Braylon Shmyr scored twice for the Blades.

    In Friday’s loss, the Blades went up 2-0 in the first, when 19-year-old winger Braylon Shmyr scored twice to delight most of the 4,285 spectators in attendance.

    The Broncos slowly worked their way to an even score in the second. Heponiemi, who is an import from Finland, scored close in at the 12:37 mark of the second to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 2-1. With 2:33 to play in the frame and the Broncos working on the power play, Steenbergen converted backdoor feed to force a 2-2 tie.

    “Getting that goal was pretty nice,” said Steenbergen. “It lifted our spirits a bit to tie the game there. It gave us momentum going into the third.”

    After Chaulk put the Broncos up 3-2, Steenbergen added his second of the contest at the 7:47 mark of the third to put the visitors up 4-2.

    With 10:12 to play, Blades rearguard Evan Fiala, who is known for being a defensive defenceman, scored on a great individual effort cutting across the front of the Swift Current goal and lifting home the rebound of his first shot to cut Swift Current’s lead to 4-3.

    While Fiala’s goal created a lot of excitement for the locals, Pederson took the air out of the SaskTel Centre crowd scoring on the power play with 5:39 to play in the third to round out the 5-3 final in favour of the visitors.

Evan Fiala scored a finesse goal for the Blades.

    The Broncos improved to 36-21-4-6 and lock up at least a third place finish in the WHL’s East Division and a best-of-seven first round playoff series with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

    Steenbergen said his Broncos have confidence in their ability to comeback in games.

    “We’ve been down goals a couple of times this year,” said Steenbergen. “We’ve came back from them. We know we can do it.

    “We got pretty positive in that first intermission. We came out with a little fire under our butts. We’re happy to get the win and clinch that third place spot for sure.”

    Brock Hamm made 23 stops to take the loss in goal for the Blades. Taz Burman turned away 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos.

    The Blades and Broncos will go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Credit Union i-plex in Swift Current.

    Brockman said it is challenging to defend against Steenbergen and Heponiemi.

    “Certainly, you have to be aware of them,” said Brockman. “They are both very dangerous guys.

    “They might be two of the best players in the league. We will just battle away.

Aleksi Heponiemi celebrates scoring for the Broncos.

    “We just have to chip away at them one shift at a time. We have to win a game on the road here.”

Going forward, Steenbergen admits the chance to score his 50^th goal of the season is on his mind, and he doesn’t want it to be a distraction.

    “It would be nice to get it out of the way,” said Steenbergen. “I am going to try and not think about it too much.

    “It is there. If I get it, I will be really excited.”

    NOTES – Blades forward Kirby Dach, who was selected by Saskatoon second overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, left Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury. His status is uncertain for Saturday’s game. Broncos overage goalie Jordan Papirny didn’t dress for Friday’s contest due to illness.

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

Blades so close, yet so far

Saskatoon blanked 2-0 by Warriors in winnable game

A loose pick sits behind Warriors goalie Zach Sawchenko.

    If the Saskatoon Blades ultimately miss the playoffs, they might look back and regret the final outcomes in games like Sunday’s at the SaskTel Centre.

    Playing their third game in three nights and fourth game in five nights, the Blades dropped a 2-0 decision to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a match where the hosts actually showed some really good jump before a gathering of 3,844 spectators. The Blades played well enough to win, and it seemed they came inches away from obtaining victory.

    The game’s story was pictured in one moment in the second period, when the Blades were working on their second power play of the contest. A point shot from Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek squeezed through the pads of Warriors star goalie Zach Sawchenko and came to rest in the crease of the Moose Jaw goal about a foot in front of the goal-line.

The Warriors celebrate a goal from Luka Burzan.

    The puck sat there loose for what seemed like three seconds, and all the players on the ice stopped what they were doing obviously thinking Sawchenko could see the puck. The referee behind the goal-line was in perfect position to see the puck was loose, so no one blew the whistle. Finally, the players started to move, and Sawchenko had the presence to fall backwards, cover the puck and get a stoppage.

    During that sequence, there were Blades fans sitting behind the Moose Jaw net frantically screaming that the puck was loose hoping someone from the host side would react to those screams. For the fans that saw the loose puck, it had to be a time of agony where they were thinking why one of the Blades players couldn’t shove that puck in.

    It seemed all night the Blades were just inches away from being able to score and get in the game.

Sawchenko was forced to make 29 saves for his third shutout of the season.

    Brock Hamm was solid making 20 stops in the Blades net, and he likely deserved a better fate than getting saddled with another loss to his record. Actually, Hamm has lost his last five starts, but played well enough to be on the winning side in most of those games.

Defenceman Libor Hajek controls the puck at the point for the Blades.

    The power play was a sore spot for the Blades on Sunday, because they failed to score on five opportunities with the man advantage. That was the area where it was obvious the Blades haven’t had a full practice in a while to work out kinks due to the volume of games on their schedule.

    When they tried to transition to the offensive zone or set up in the offensive zone, the Blades looked disorganized. There were times when they would accidently get in each other’s way and even run into each other.

    The Warriors, who improved to 38-17-7-1, made good on a couple of timely opportunities. Just past the midway point of the first period, Warriors rookie centre Luka Burzan put his side up 1-0 scoring from the front of the Blades goal on a good individual effort.

Centre Justin Almeida gets set to blast home a goal for the Warriors.

    With 9:50 to play in the third, sophomore centre Justin Almeida blasted home the Warriors second goal with a shot from the slot to give the visitors a 2-0 edge.

    For the last three minutes of the third, the Blades played with Hamm pulled from their net for an extra attacker and had a power play thrown in during that stretch, but still couldn’t put the puck in the Warriors net. The Warriors were pinned in their own zone for lengthy periods of that stretch.

    To add more insult to the situation, the injury bug, which has been awful to the Blades all season, decided to take another bite out of the Saskatoon roster. With 4:10 to play in the second, Russian import defenceman Mark Rubinchik was on the receiving end from a knee-on-knee hit from Warriors 18-year-old centre Noah Gregor.

    Gregor received a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. The major penalty call will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Blades lost Mark Rubinchik to a knee-on-knee hit.

    Rubinchik was helped by the trainers, but he did skate off under his own power. He ultimately left the game and wasn’t on the Saskatoon bench for most of the third period.

    Blades winger Mason McCarty also received a double minor for high sticking in the third period, and the league will automatically review that play for a possible suspension.

    When everything added up, the Blades fell to 24-31-6-2 and sit two points behind the Calgary Hitmen (24-28-8-2) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Hitmen have a game in hand.

    The Blades now have four days off to regroup before hosting the Kootenay Ice (13-38-8-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. With nine games remaining on their schedule, the Blades are down to their last gasp stretch to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

    They need to keep up their effort and find a way to make more of the little inches fall in their favour to avoid once again being on the outside looking in as far as the post-season is concerned.

Huskies season ends in Game 3 heartbreaker

Defender Alyssa Dobler scored the Huskies only goal on Sunday.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team came up one agonizing win short of returning to the U Sports championship tournament for the first time since 2014.

    On Sunday in Vancouver, the Huskies battled the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a series deciding Game 3 in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series. The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Haneet Parhar and Kelly Murray.

    With 2:32 to play in the opening frame, the Huskies cut the gap to 2-1 thanks to a goal from fifth-year defender Alyssa Dobler. In a series where goals came at a premium, the Huskies couldn’t find the equalizer.

    Nicole Saxvik scored into an empty net with five seconds to play to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 victory in the game and a 2-1 victory in the series.

    Fifth-year star netminder Cassidy Hendricks stopped 19-of-21 shots playing her final career game in goal for the Huskies. Amelia Boughn turned away 21 shots earning the win in the Thunderbirds goal.
    Besides graduating Dobler and Hendricks, captain Lauren Zary and forward Rachel Johnson also played their final games for U of S in Sunday’s loss.

    The Thunderbirds went into the series as heavy favourites finishing first in Canada West with a 23-4-1 mark and being rated first in the U Sports top 10 rankings. The Huskies finished fourth in the conference with a 15-10-3 record, but they split the four head-to-head regular season meetings with UBC.

    With the series win, the Thunderbirds advance to host a best-of-three Canada West championship series against the U of Alberta Pandas. The first game of that series is this coming Friday in Vancouver.

    The Pandas were 21-4-3 during the regular season and rated sixth in the U Sports top 10 rankings. Both the Thunderbirds and Pandas earned berths in the U Sports women’s hockey championship tournament, which runs March 16-19 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

Cassidy Hendricks turned away 19 shots in her final game with the Huskies.

    The Huskies were ultimately done in on two fronts. On one front, they had to rely too much on star forward Kaitlin Willoughby coming through with superhuman games offensively, which is a lot to ask of any player on a night in and night out basis. She was held pointless in the three-game series with the Thunderbirds, and the Huskies only mustered two goals in the entire set.
    U of S’s struggles on the power play also rose to the surface. During the regular season, the Huskies power play ranked second last in the Canada West conference cashing in on only 14-of-132 power-play chances for a 10.6 per cent clip.

    In the Game 3 loss to the Thunderbirds, the Huskies failed to score on six power-play chances, which included four opportunities in the first period. They were also 0-for-12 on the power play in the three game series with the Thunderbirds and 1-for-22 in five post-season games for a 4.5 per cent success rate.

    Despite those deficiencies, the Huskies came up one win short of going to the U Sports championship tournament and had a solid season under first-year interim head coach Robin Ulrich, who performed admirably in her role. She showed she deserves to be a full-time head coach at the university level.

    If the Huskies had another high-end forward that was at Willoughby’s level and a consistent offensive-defender to quarterback the power play, they would likely be advancing in the post-season.     They might be able to recruit those pieces or developing them in one of the returnees next season.

Still, the Huskies took strides forward and are ahead of where they were the past two seasons. That is the big thing that can’t be forgotten in the 2016-17 campaign.

Stars sweep away rebuilding Gold Wings

Julia Rongve had five points on Saturday.

    The Saskatoon Stars returned to the final four of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League after sweeping away the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 3-0 in a best-of-five opening round series.

    The Stars closed out the series on Saturday at the Agriplace Arena downing the Gold Wings 16-0 in Game 3 of their opening round series. Traditionally, the Gold Wings are one of the stronger programs in the SFMAAAHL, but they are going through a rebuilding cycle.
    Stars veteran forward Julia Rongve, who is in her 17-year-old season, led the way offensively with a hat trick and two assists.

    Jayda Sachs, Brooke Hausermann and Joelle Fiala each scored twice for the Stars. Chance Sperling, Anna Leschyshyn, Jordyn Holmes, Kaitlin Jockims, Mackenna Parker, Abby DeCorby and Grace Shirley all had singles for Saskatoon.

    Jordan Ivanco turned away all 12 shots she faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Stars. Myah Battersby turned away 36-of-48 shots starting in goal for the Gold Wings. Meagan Perkins stopped 17-of-21 shots finishing the game in relief.

    The Stars, who were 25-2-1 in the regular season, are looking to win their third straight SFMAAAHL championship and advance to the Esso Cup national championship tournament for a third straight year.

    Saskatoon along with the Prince Albert Northern Bears, who swept away the Battlefords Sharks, are waiting to see who will be their opponents for their respective best-of-five SFMAAAHL semifinal series.

    In the other two best-of-five SFMAAAHL quarter-final series that are still ongoing, the Melville Prairie Fire lead the Notre Dame Hounds 2-1, and the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats had a 2-1 edge on the Regina Rebels.

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

Pats’ Leedahl hits milestone

Saskatoon product scores 30^th goal in win over Blades

Dawson Leedahl, right, was all smiles after hitting the 30-goal plateau.

    Dawson Leedahl had a unique personal milestone night in what could possibly be his last WHL game in his hometown.

    On Wednesday night, the overage winger for the Regina Pats netted his 30^th goal of the season against the host Saskatoon Blades. 

    Working on a power play just past the midway point of the second period, Leedahl, who is from Saskatoon, tapped in a puck at the side of the Blades net to put the Pats up 3-0 off a beauty setup from star centre Sam Steel.

    The Pats, who are rated second in the Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings, built a 4-0 lead and cruised to a 4-1 victory to mostly disappoint the 3,782 onlookers at the SaskTel Centre. A large number of Pats supporters were present at Wednesday’s game. Regina’s domination included posting a 47-16 edge in shots on goal.

Dawson Leedahl, left, battles for the puck behind the Saskatoon net.

    “It is exciting,” said Leedahl, about his 30^th goal. “It is a good milestone for sure.

    “I am more happy about the way we played today. We played a full 60 minutes and everyone had a good effort. It made it pretty easy to get my 30th.”

    Leedahl followed a little bit of direction from Steel that resulted in the Saskatoon product’s memorable tally.

    “Before the draw, Sammie (Steel) told me to go backdoor,” said Leedahl, who had an assist on the Pats first goal. “They made a nice play.

    “He (Steel) fired the puck backdoor, and I was ready for it. I just tapped it in.”

    Leedahl, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 193 pounds, was acquired by the Pats in a blockbuster trade last July with the Everett Silvertips. In that transaction, the Pats acquired Leedahl and the WHL playing rights to 18-year-old forward Tyson Jost in exchange for 18-year-old winger Sean Richards, a fourth round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft that was acquired from the Red Deer Rebels in another deal, and conditional draft picks that depend on Jost joining the Pats one day.

Pats captain Adam Brooks sniped a goal on Wednesday.

    Jost was a first round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and was a member of Canada’s team that won silver at the world junior championship that wrapped up in early January in Montreal.

    Before joining the Pats, Leedahl played four complete seasons with the Silvertips, and his best campaign came in the 2014-15 campaign, when he netted 14 goals and 19 assists in 52 regular season games. Way back in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft, the Silvertips selected Leedahl in the second round and 40^th overall.

    As an overager with the Pats, Leedahl has had a breakout season picking up career highs in goals (30), assists (44) and points (74) in 58 regular season games. Unless the Pats and Blades meet in the post-season, Wednesday’s encounter will be the last WHL game Leedahl plays in his hometown.

    “It is pretty crazy,” said Leedahl, who had 10 to 20 family members in attendance on Wednesday. “I was thinking about the first time I came in here when I was 16 with Everett and how excited I was to play in front of the big crowd and my parents and family.

    “It is pretty crazy that it has been five years, and it is gone now. Anytime you have family (in the stands) you want to impress them or just do your best for them. I think we did that.”

Netminder Brock Hamm turned away 43 shots in goal for the Blades.

    Nick Henry, captain Adam Brooks and Braydon Buziak all netted singles for the Pats. Tyler Brown turned away 15 shots to pick up the win in the Regina net.

    Michael Farren had the lone reply for the Blades scoring on a two-man advantage with 6:34 to play in the third period. Brock Hamm was sensational in the Saskatoon goal making 43 saves to keep his team in the game.

    The Pats went 3-for-7 with the man advantage, while the Blades were 1-for-4 on the power play. Regina had Saskatoon pinned in its own zone for much of the contest, and Leedahl said the Pats talked about having a relentless effort.

    “We hadn’t really played a good team game in a little while,” said Leedahl. “We wanted to stick to it.

    “I guess we just played hard and played the right way and things went the right way.”

    With the win, the Pats improved their WHL leading record to 43-9-6-1. Leedahl admitted that his final major junior season has been something out of a dream so far.

Winger Nick Henry, left, looks to drive a shot on goal for the Pats.

    “It has been a lot of fun,” said Leedahl. “There are lots of fun guys and a fun coaching staff.

    “Everyone is just really good at what they do, and it has made it a lot of fun and pretty easy to play here.”

    With the loss, the Blades fall to 23-29-6-2 to sit two points back of the Calgary Hitmen (23-26-8-2) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

    The Blades return to action Friday, when they host their arch rivals the Prince Albert Raiders (16-39-4-2) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Pats return home to host the Swift Current Broncos (30-18-4-6) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

Pats are fitting hosts for 100^th Memorial Cup

Some mementoes from when Regina hosted the 2001 Memorial Cup.

    There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Regina Pats these days, and that excitement hit another level last Saturday, when the Pats were named the host of the 100^th Memorial Cup next year.

    Normally, the hosting rights for the Memorial Cup cycles between the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, but the CHL elected to open the hosting rights for the 100^th tournament to all teams in its member leagues. The Pats are the oldest major junior franchise in the world beginning operation in 1917, so it seemed like a natural fit that they host the centennial edition of the Memorial Cup.

    The Pats are also named for the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and will be celebrating their 100^th anniversary next season. The 100^th Memorial Cup will take place May 17-27, 2018 at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

    The Pats last hosted the Memorial Cup in 2001, and it was a huge success on and off the ice. The WHL champion Red Deer Rebels claimed that tournament winning the championship final 6-5 in overtime against the QMJHL champion Val-d’Or Foreurs. The Ottawa 67s also took part in that Memorial Cup as champions of the OHL.

    In Regina, the Pats, who won the Memorial Cup in 1925, 1930 and 1974, have a huge loyal following due to their history in the Saskatchewan capital. When Regina hosted the Memorial Cup in 2001, there was strong excitement in the year leading up to the event despite the fact the Pats had a bit of an up and down campaign before finishing the 2000-01 regular season with a record of 40 wins, 27 losses, three ties and two overtime losses.

    People in Regina are already highly pumped up for the Pats. The Pats also have a good chance of returning a number of key players from their club this season to next season.

    Expect the 100^th Memorial Cup in Regina to be a smashing success.

Back in the Express with Slobodzian

Captain Willow Slobodzian is one of the Stars top stars.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature on Saskatoon Stars captain Willow Slobodzian.

    Slobodzian is playing in her final season with the Stars, and helped them post a team record for points in the regular season standings at 76 coming from 25 regulation wins, two regulation losses and one extra time loss. The Stars topped the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League’s regular season standings for a third straight year.

    In the fall, Slobodzian will join the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Hawks women’s team, who play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

    During her final campaign with the Stars, Slobodzian, who is an offensive defender, equaled her career high in goals (six) and set career highs in assists (21) and points (27) appearing in all of her team’s 28 regular season games.

    On Wednesday, the Stars opened a best-of-five first round SFMAAAHL playoff series by downing the Weyburn Southern Range Gold Wings 9-0 at the Agriplace Arena. Slobodzian had an assist in that contest.

    In the win over the Gold Wings, Grace Shirley had a hat trick and Anna Leschyshyn had a pair of goals for the Stars. Jordyn Holmes, Mackenna Parker, Abby Shirley and Kaitlin Jockims each had singles for Saskatoon. Abby Shirley also collected three assists.

    Jordan Ivanco made 14 saves to earn the shutout win in goal for the Stars. Meagan Perkins turned away 34 shots taking the loss in goal for the Gold Wings.

    Game 2 of the series is set for Friday in Weyburn, and Game 3 is slated for 7 p.m. in Saskatoon at the Agriplace Arena.

    The Express feature story on Slobodzian can be found here.

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

Point still important in big playoff picture for Blades

Blades goalie Brock Hamm holds off the Silvertips.

    The Saskatoon Blades have reached the point where they never like to lose, but when you are trying to cement a playoff berth, any point you can get in the standings is important.

    On Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades were looking to extend their winning streak to four games taking on the Everett Silvertips, who are rated eighth in the Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings. The two teams battled to a legitimate even 1-1 stalemate though 60 minutes of regulation time and a five-minute three-on-three overtime period.

    In a four-round tiebreaking shootout, the Silvertips prevailed 2-1 to take the contest 2-1 before 2,935 spectators. Riley Sutter netted the winner in the shootout for the Silvertips, who also received a goal from Orrin Centazzo in the tiebreaker session. Jesse Shynkaruk had Saskatoon’s lone goal in the shootout.

The Blades and Silvertips scramble in front of the Everett net.

    The win allowed the Silvertips, who have won three in a row, to improve to 34-12-8-2 and move a point ahead of the idle Seattle Thunderbirds (36-16-3-2) for first place in the WHL’s U.S. Division.

    The Blades saw their record move to 23-26-5-2. The point they earned in the standings allowed them to sit three points up on the idle Calgary Hitmen (20-26-8-2) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

    While the Blades expectations of themselves have increased despite the face they are missing six regulars due to injury, they still must be mindful of the bigger picture.

    Saskatoon is trying to nail down its first playoff berth since 2013, when the Blades hosted that year’s Memorial Cup. After three years of missing the post-season, the Blades are sitting in a playoff position as of Feb. 15. They were nowhere near such a spot this late in a campaign during the last three years.

Centre Kirby Dach (#77) gets set in the offensive zone for the Blades.

    On paper, you wouldn’t expect the Blades to match up well against a team like the Silvertips. The fact Saskatoon earned a point against Everett is big, because a number of other teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference playoff chase wouldn’t be able to say the same thing.

    The Blades have beaten some of the WHL’s elite teams this season including the Regina Pats, who top the WHL’s overall standings, and the Central Division leading Medicine Hat Tigers. Against the Silvertips, it appeared the Blades were poised to send another elite team down to defeat.

    Saskatoon opened the scoring in the clash with Everett in the first period, when underage centre Kirby Dach deflected home a point shot from Blades overage defenceman Bryton Sayers.

Riley Sutter (#14) wins a draw for the Silvertips.

    At the 14:04 mark of the second period, the Silvertips tied things up at 1-1, when overage left-winger Dominic Zwerger netted his 23^rd goal of the season.

    For most of the night, the goalies stole the show. Silvertips netminder Carter Hart, who played for Canada’s world junior team this season, turned away 30 shots over 65 minutes of play to allow the Silvertips to have a chance to win in a shootout.

    Blades netminder Brock Hamm, whose WHL career has shown a resurgence since the start of last December, stopped 28 shots over 65 minutes of work. Had Hamm bested Hart, it would have marked his biggest personal win of the season.

The Silvertips celebrate their victory after a tiebreaking shootout.

    As long as the Blades keep collecting points in the standings, they put that much more pressure on the Hitmen to keep pace. Saskatoon will try to increase its hold on the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference when they travel to Cranbrook, B.C., on Friday to face the Kootenay Ice.

    Every small step the Blades take in increasing their point total in the standings gets them that much closer to hitting the ice in the post-season.

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

Warriors’ Luka knows offence

16-year-old nets three points in 5-1 win over Blades

Luka Burzan, second from right, celebrates scoring for the Warriors.

    Luka Burzan appears to be one of the select few that can make and immediate impact in the WHL as a 16-year-old rookie.

    The Surrey, B.C., product was selected by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first round and sixth overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft, and he made a name for himself by piling up the points coming up through the minor hockey ranks in southern British Columbia.

    Even with that in mind, most first round WHL Bantam Draft selections usually experience their share of bumps as 16-year-old rookies, and they will often have break out campaigns later in in their careers.

    On Thursday night before 3,302 spectators at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon against the host Blades, Burzan showed he is ready to break out now. The skilled forward netted the Warriors first two goals, picked up an assist on his squad’s third marker and helped power Moose Jaw to a 5-1 victory. In 15 appearances so far this season, Burzan has seven goals, six assists and is a plus-four in the plus-minus department.

    He also picked up his points playing right wing on a line that contained a pair of 18-year-old standouts in centre Noah Gregor and Russian import Nikita Popugaev playing left wing. Burzan envisioned himself playing in a top six forward role with the Warriors as a 16-year-old rookie.

Luka Burzan gets set up in the offensive zone.

    “Coming into this season, I thought I would just try to get better this summer and just try to work my hardest,” said Burzan. “Coming into this season, that was my goal was to get in the top six and get this opportunity. I am just trying to take advantage of it.”

    Against the Blades, Burzan showed he has the smarts to take advantage of good opportunities. With 1:21 to play in the first period, Burzan converted a nice pass from Gregor coming across the face of the Saskatoon goal and easily popped the puck into an open cage to give the visitors a 1-0 edge. It was a goal Blades netminder Brock Hamm had no chance at stopping.

    Just 1:40 into the second, Burzan received a nice feed from Popugaev and snapped home a low wrist shot stick side on Hamm to put the Warriors up 2-0. Burzan has found it easy to play alongside Gregor and Popugaev.

    “They are two very great players,” said Burzan. “They move the puck really well.

    “They are very smart. They have good vision. When I am playing with them, it makes it way easier.”

    At the seven-minute mark of the second, Burzan set up Gregor in the slot, and he blew home a shot to put the visitors up 3-0.

Warriors centre Noah Gregor zips wide around a Blades defenceman.

    Blades captain Wyatt Sloboshan stopped the bleeding momentarily just 23 second later sneaking home a goal between the legs of Warriors netminder Zach Sawchenko to cut Moose Jaw’s edge to 3-1.

    Before the second ended, Warriors centre Jayden Halbgewachs scored on the power play to give the visitors a 4-1 edge. Gregor rounded out the game’s scoring with a short-handed breakaway goal in the third.

    Zawchenko made 32 save to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors, who improved to 12-4-4. The star 19-year-old goalie came up huge in the first period turning away 15 shots. The Blades were carrying the play in the contest until Burzan popped home his two goals.

    Hamm, who has struggled all season, turned away 30 shots to take the loss in goal for the Blades, who fell to 9-12-1.

    Blades head coach Dean Brockman said his squad had too many break downs defensively, which allowed the Warriors to roll.

    “It just seems like every time we make a mistake it ends up in our net,” said Brockman.

    Burzan believes his Warriors have the talent to challenge the WHL’s elite teams like their arch rivals the Regina Pats, who are an impressive 15-0-3.

Blades head coach Dean Brockman glances at a scoreboard replay.

    Moose Jaw’s depth became stronger after acquiring 19-year-old left-winger Brayden Burke in a recent trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Burke finished third in league scoring last season with 27 goals and 82 assists.

    The Warriors are also awaiting the return of captain Brett Howden, who is listed as out week to week with a lower body injury. Howden was taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and 27^th overall in last June’s NHL Entry Draft. He had nine goals and five assists in 11 appearances with the Warriors this season before getting hurt.

    “I think we are going to have very good team,” said Burzan. “We are going to have good chemistry.

    “We just need to learn how to compete and play hardest up against these teams like Regina, those hard teams. I think we can compete with them.

    “We will just try to get better as a team, and I think we will have a good season.”

    The Warriors travel to Swift Current on Friday to take on the Broncos. The Blades head to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings on Friday and Saturday night.

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

More work still awaits Blades

WHL club takes baby steps, misses playoffs again

Blades captain Nick Zajac looks dejected after a Wheat Kings goal.

    The Saskatoon Blades might be a perfect case study to show how long a rebuild normally takes in the Western Hockey League.

    A charter member of the WHL, the Blades entered the 2015-16 campaign with hopes of returning to the playoffs. Instead, they ended up missing the post-season for a third straight year – first for the team - after hosting the Memorial Cup tournament in 2013.

    While they are still one of the youngest squads in the league, the Blades jumped out to a 7-4-3 start and comfortably held a playoff spot posting 9-7-3 mark going into action on Nov. 20, 2015. From there, they went on a down stretch posting one win in 10 games.

    Going into the WHL Christmas break, the Blades record sat at 14-19-3, and they were two points out of a playoff position. They kept slowly slipping further and further out of the playoff picture, but did manage to play meaningful games in early March.

    Saskatoon finished with a 26-42-6 record to sit 20^th overall in the 22 team league with 56 points. Had they been able to earn 10 more points in the standings, they would have held down the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

Connor Gay led the Blades in scoring with 72 points.

    Still, they improved upon last season’s 19-49-2-2 mark and a 16-51-2-3 record posted in the 2013-14 campaign. After hosting the Memorial Cup, the cupboard was close to being empty, so a return to post-season action was expected to take some time.

    Even with all that in mind, the Blades hard their hearts set upon making the post-season at the start of the 2015-16 campaign. To some degree, it felt like the 2015-16 season was an opportunity that was missed.

    The double blue’s struggles occurred because they could never find consistency in goal or on defence. Saskatoon product Brock Hamm was the starter posting a 21-26-3 record, a 4.02 goals against average, a .885 save percentage and one shutout. Parker, Colorado, product Evan Smith finished as the back-up posting a 2-9 record, a 5.75 goals against average and a .843 save percentage.

    Looking at those statistics, one could see the Blades were going to be hard pressed to win games. Both netminders had their moments when they looked great, but they also had too many moments when it appeared the confidence was gone.

    The goalies didn’t have much help from the defensive unit. The Blades play from their defensive unit was as erratic as the play of their netminders.

Colton Waltz one of the more steady rearguards for the Blades.

    All the Blades regular defencemen had minus ratings in the plus-minus department. Overager Colton Waltz had the best campaign statistically recording five goals, 25 assists and a minus-five rating in 65 regular season games, but much of those stats were built playing 34 contests with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Waltz was acquired shortly before the WHL’s trade deadline.

    Payton McIsaac, who was a midget AAA call up from Fort Saskatchewan, had a plus-four rating in 10 appearances for the Blades to go along with an assist.  The second round selection in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft has a good chance to be part of the Blades on a full-time basis next season as a 16-year-old rookie.

    Saskatoon couldn’t do much to strengthen both of those departments via the trade route due to the fact goaltending and defence on average wasn’t as strong this season in the WHL as it has been in the past. Had both of those units just been slightly more productive, the Blades might have made up the 10 points they needed to get into the post-season.

    Up front, the Blades probably received what they could have out of their forward unit. Connor Gay, Cameron Hebig, captain Nick Zajac and Ryan Graham all netted 20 or more goals. Gay topped the team in scoring as an overager with 25 goals and 47 assists. Hebig battled injuries, but he still piled up 26 goals and 43 assists in 59 contests.

Head coach and GM Bob Woods has more retooling to do with the Blades.

    The Blades also had too many games in 2015-16 where their work ethic just disappeared. It seemed like the stench from the struggles from the previous two campaigns started to rear its head this season. If the opponent jumped out to a quick two-goal edge, the Blades folded way too often and lost by a convincing outcome.

    In 2014-15, it seemed like the work ethic was always there, even though the team was outmatched on most nights.

    With that in mind, head coach and general manager Bob Woods and assistant coach Dean Brockman both just finished their second seasons with the club. Both are capable hockey men and need to continue the progress that has been made.

    The Blades still pulled in 8,932 spectators for their final regular season game on Saturday, which they won 3-2 over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Saskatoon’s average attendance of 4,377 was still down from the past two seasons, but was 12^th overall in the league.

    “The Bridge City” bunch is getting there. A light at the end of the tunnel is visible. Playoffs may be a reality in 2017.

Ridley to call 3,700^th game

Bob Ridley calls a game at The Arena in Medicine Hat.

    When the Medicine Hat Tigers appear in their first standings tiebreaker game, their iconic play-by-play voice will hit another milestone.

    Bob Ridley, who has been the WHL team’s play-by-play voice since the club’s inception in 1970, will call his 3,700^th career game when the Tigers host the Edmonton Oil Kings on Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Canalta Centre. He has called 3,291 of the 3,292 games the Tigers have played in the regular season, all of the club’s 388 games in the WHL playoffs and all 20 contests the team has played in the Memorial Cup tournament.
    Tuesday’s match will mark the first time Ridley has called a tiebreaking game in his career.
    It is believed that no one in Western Canada has called more hockey games as the play-by-play announcer for one team at the amateur or professional level than Ridley has.

    The Tigers and Oil Kings both recorded 65 points in the WHL standings to finish in a deadlock for eighth overall in the Eastern Conference and the conference’s final playoff berth. The Tigers were 30-37-3-2, while the Oil Kings were 29-36-6-1. Medicine Hat earned home ice advantage due to having more wins.

    The winner of that contest travels to Brandon on Thursday to meet the Wheat Kings in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round playoff series. Brandon topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the league with a 48-18-4-2 record.

    The Tigers have made the WHL playoffs for the last 13 consecutive years and advanced to the second round in 12 of those appearances.

Shirley in the Express

Sophie Shirley in action last year for the Saskatoon Stars.

    I recently caught up with local hockey standout Sophie Shirley for a feature story in the Saskatoon Express.

    The 16-year-old forward was spent the 2015-16 campaign as a rookie with the Notre Dame Hounds squad that plays in the Junior women’s Hockey League. She was also a member of Canada’s team that won a silver medal at the under-18 world’s in January in St. Catharines, Ont.

    Last season, Shirley helped the Saskatoon Stars win their first Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League title and a bronze medal at the Esso Cup national championship tournament. Her Express feature story can be found 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.

Hebig hits stride with Blades

Cameron Hebig has exploded offensively for the Blades.

    When Cameron Hebig achieves a milestone, he automatically sets his sites on a higher goal.

    After his hometown Saskatoon Blades selected him in the third round and 56^th overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, Hebig saw that moment as an opportunity he wanted to take advantage of.

    “I just wanted to make it a goal of mine to make it into the WHL,” said Hebig. “The goals just keep getting hirer and hirer. I am always setting goals.”

    The speedy centre cracked the Blades lineup as a 16-year-old in the 2013-14 campaign. With the Blades having turned over most of their roster after hosting the 2013 Memorial Cup, Hebig received a lot of opportunity to gain experience and picked up 13 goals and 13 assists in 67 games.

    Having learned what the grind of the circuit was about, Hebig set out to improve his game in both the offensive and defensive zones as a 17-year-old sophomore last season. He dressed for all of the Blades 72 regular season games picking 18 goals and 22 assists.

    This season Hebig has become a force offensively piling up 22 goals and 27 assists in 43 games.

    “I just had a good start to the year and have just been positive,” said Hebig, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 190 pounds. “I think if you are working hard chances will come, and you just have to bury those.

    “I’ve been grateful for the points I have got and just keep going.”

    In their third season since hosting the Memorial Cup, the Blades are still going through growing pains. After jumping out to a strong 7-4-3 start, the Blades, who still have one of the youngest teams in the WHL, hit the wall in the middle of November. After falling 6-2 to the Brandon Wheat Kings before 4,637 spectators on Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon’s record dropped to 17-27-4.

    Hebig’s jump has not waivered during the down stretches. On Saturday night, he netted both of the Blades goals on a couple of nice shots and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department. On his second tally, he stole the puck from a Wheat Kings defender, used another rearguard as a screen and tucked a shot home past netminder Logan Thompson.

Cameron Hebig celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal.

    “He (Hebig) is our best player, and he brings it every night,” said Blades head coach and general manager Bob Woods. “He is not a real vocal guy, but he leads by example because of his work ethic.

    “He is a big part of our offence, so we really depend on him to take care of that.”

    Woods believes a missed goal helped kick Hebig into another gear this season.

    “I think not getting drafted (into the NHL) was kind of not a wakeup call, but he just didn’t like it,” said Woods. “He worked extremely hard this summer on his game.

    “We talked a little bit about just being the complete player. I thought last year maybe he didn’t do the things that he has to do. He is a skilled player, but he is not skilled enough to live on that.

    “He has to be that guy that can kills penalties and block shots and play good defensively. I think he has really come through with that, and I think that is a big reason why he is having more success.”

    Hebig prides himself in playing a strong two-way game. On the intangible side, he finds he just doesn’t get down on himself or his team when things get rough.

    While the Blades trail the Edmonton Oil Kings (19-22-6-1) by seven points for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, Hebig believes it is still possible for his club to make an appearance in the post-season.

Cameron Hebig looks to make a play in the offensive zone for the Blades.

    “We’ve got a good group here, and we believe in ourselves,” said Hebig. “When things get tough, we can’t pack it in. We always have to bring it every game and always try to get better.

    “Obviously, we want to make the playoff push. It is a goal of ours. It is just about sticking together as a team and playing together. Anything is possible.”

    When it comes to making the NHL, Hebig’s lack of size might be the biggest obstacle he has to overcome. He is quick to point out you don’t have to be 6-foot-2 and weigh over 200 pounds to make an impact in the NHL.

    The shifty skater lists off Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brendan Gallagher of the Montreal Canadiens and Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins as smaller players that have made an impact in hockey’s top professional league. Gallagher and Marchand both stand 5-foot-9, while Johnson is 5-foot-8.

    “When you are small, you just have to use your speed and show that you can play there and show that you are worthy of a draft pick,” said Hebig, who is rated 140th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings. “I don’t like the size comparison. I think it is what is in the heart.”

Cameron Hebig gets set to take a draw for the Blades.

    In Saturday’s tilt with Brandon, the Wheat Kings, who top the WHL’s East Division with a 29-13-2-2 mark, led 2-1 after the first period and 5-2 after the second frame after Hebig gave the Blades a short-lived 1-0 edge.

    Reid Duke had a hat trick for the Wheat Kings, who received a two-goal performance from Jayce Hawryluk and a single from John Quenneville. Thompson made 18 stops to earn the win in goal.

Brock Hamm turned away 25 shots to take the loss in net for the Blades.

    The Blades return to action Friday, when they travel to Regina to take on the Pats. The Wheat Kings are in Regina to face the Pats on Sunday.

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