Thunderbirds cash in on Ice gifts in Game 2 of WHL final

Seattle claims 4-2 victory to even series at 1-1

Brad Lambert, centre, reacts to scoring his second goal in Game 2.

WINNIPEG, Man. – The Seattle Thunderbirds are always willing to receive gifts, and the Winnipeg Ice – to their detriment – were in a giving mood.

On Saturday in Game 2 of the WHL Championship Series, the Thunderbirds gained control of the contest cashing in on a pair of Ice giveaways that turned a 1-1 tie in the third quickly into a 3-1 score in favour of Seattle. That swing of events allowed the Thunderbirds to pull out a 4-2 victory to the disappointment of most of the 5,691 spectators at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

“It was a much better game for us,” said Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette, whose squad dropped a 3-2 decision in Game 1 of the series one night earlier. “I thought we played more to our identity and executed the game plan the way we need to.

Brad Lambert scored twice for Seattle on Saturday.

“It was night and day compared to last night. There were some spurts we could have been better, but overall, we were much happier with the effort in the game tonight.”

The win allowed the Thunderbirds to even the best-of-seven series 1-1. The Thunderbirds will host the next three games of the series at the Accesso ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash.

Games 3 and 4 are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. local time. After a day off on Thursday, Game 5 will go Friday for another 7 p.m. local time start.

Ice head coach James Patrick said the loss in Game 2 on Saturday was tough to take due to the fact that errors by his squad led directly to the Thunderbirds being able to pull out victory.

Brad Lambert does the fly by after scoring his first goal in Game 2.

“I thought tonight our puck management hurt us,” said Patrick. “It wasn’t our defending.

“It wasn’t our D-zone coverage. It was strictly our puck management that gave them some opportunities that they capitalized on.”

The Thunderbirds and Ice entered the third period of Saturday’s clash locked in a 1-1 draw. After what seemed like a cautious start to the frame, the complexion of the contest changed quickly.

At the 5:02 mark of the third, the Ice got careless with the puck in their own zone, and it proved costly. First, Ice veteran 19-year-old defenceman Karter Prosofsky made a bad clearing pass out of his own zone and turned the puck over to Thunderbirds star centre Brad Lambert just inside the Winnipeg blue-line.

Zach Benson scored twice for the Ice on Saturday.

Lambert powered toward the Winnipeg net and drove home a shot to the top left corner of the goal to give the Thunderbirds a 2-1 lead. The 19-year-old’s goal marked the first time the Thunderbirds held a lead in any game of the series with the Ice.

Just eight seconds later, the Ice veteran 19-year-old defenceman Graham Sward made a bad pass behind their own net that was gathered up by Thunderbirds star right-winger Dylan Guenther. Guenther set up behind the Winnipeg net and centred a pass out to standout left-winger Reid Schaefer.

Reid Schaefer had a goal and an assist for Seattle in Game 2.

Schaefer wired a shot past Hauser to give the Thunderbirds a 3-1 advantage.

“It is hard times, but you definitely don’t want to hand these guys anything,” said Ice captain Carson Lambos. “We’re going to go over the video and be better next game.”

The Ice tried to battle back. Just over three minutes after the Thunderbirds two quick tallies, there was a scramble in front of the Seattle goal, and the Ice’s top line connected on a tick-tack-toe passing play that resulted in a goal that cut the Thunderbirds lead to 3-2.

Ice star left-winger Connor McClennon and Ice star centre Matthew Savoie combined to set up Ice star right-winger Zach Benson for his second tally of the contest to trim Seattle’s lead to one goal.

Dylan Guenther had two assists for Seattle in Game 2.

Inside of the final three minutes of the third before the Ice could pull their netminder for an extra attacker, Lambert struck again for the Thunderbirds. Guenther made a high looping pass from deep in his zone to centre ice that took a positive bounce for the visitors past Ice import left-winger Vladislav Shilo.

Lambert got past Shilo, corralled the puck and jetted into the Winnipeg zone on a breakaway. Lambert snapped a shot to the top right corner of the Winnipeg net for his second tally of the night that put a capper on the Thunderbirds 4-2 victory. Guenther picked up his second assist of the contest on Lambert’s second goal and finished with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Daniel Hauser makes one of his 35 saves in goal for the Ice.

The two-goal night was a special one for Lambert, who also picked up an assist on Seattle’s first goal. Born in Lahti, Finland, Lambert has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets after being selected by them in the first round and 30^th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Lambert started the 2022-23 campaign in Winnipeg playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He played for Finland at world juniors and was assigned to the WHL’s Thunderbirds shortly after his return from that tournament. The skilled centre was pleased to return to Winnipeg and have a big night.

“It is obviously special just to be playing for the WHL championship,” said Lambert. “It is unbelievable.

Carson Lambos starts a rush up ice for the Ice.

“Not many guys get the opportunity, so we’re just trying to make the most of it. For it to be in Winnipeg, obviously, it adds a little more to it.”

In the first period of Saturday’s clash, the Ice broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:11 mark when Benson blew home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to top right corner of the Seattle goal to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

At the 5:57 mark of the opening frame, Thunderbirds star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was given a double minor for high sticking, and that infraction will trigger an automatic review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Ice had pressure and chances on the four minute power play, but they couldn’t get the puck past Thunderbirds star netminder Thomas Milic.

Jeremy Hanzel had Seattle’s first goal on Saturday.

Inside the final seconds of the first, the Ice turned the puck over to Thunderbirds star 20-year-old centre Jared Davidson deep in the Winnipeg zone. Davidson was turned away on a point blank chance by Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser.

Just 1:24 into the second, the Thunderbirds pulled even on the scoreboard at 1-1, when offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel one-timed home a shot from the right point. Hanzel converted a beauty setup pass from Schaefer.

That set the stage for the dramatics in the third.

Milic stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Hauser turned away 35 shots to take the setback in net for the Ice, who had won their previous eight straight post-season games.

The Thunderbirds celebrate a goal from Jeremy Hanzel (#4).

Benson said Hauser gives his club a chance to win every time he takes up position between the pipes of the Winnipeg net.

“He (Hauser) is unreal,” said Benson. “He has been a rock back there all season for us.

“He is one of the best goalies in the league for a reason. He has been outstanding this series and whole playoffs.”

The WHL final between the Ice and Thunderbirds is expected to be a heavyweight tilt.

Winnipeg topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

Thomas Milic makes one of his 29 saves in goal for Seattle.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams and seven players who participated in the last world juniors. Winnipeg’s roster contained eight players who have been drafted by NHL teams and one player who participated in the last world juniors.

Each side has played the first two contests of the WHL final with one notable absence due to injury.

The fans at the Canada Life Centre cheer on the Ice.

The Thunderbirds were without standout centre Jordan Gustafson. 

During the Thunderbirds six-game Western Conference Championship Series win over the Kamloops Blazers, it is suspected Gustafson was injured as part of the celebration for Hanzel’s overtime winner in Game 2 of that set claimed by the Thunderbirds 4-3.

The Ice were without 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 of the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Last season, the Thunderbirds made it to the WHL final and fell in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings. 

Owen Pedersen sets up in the offensive zone for the Ice.

The Ice made it to the Eastern Conference Championship Series and fell in five games to the Oil Kings.

With that noted, the Thunderbirds have the benefit of being in the WHL final a year ago. On top of returning players from that squad, they added Guenther and defenceman Luke Prokop via the trade route from the Oil Kings, and Guenther and Prokop were important in helping Edmonton win the WHL title in 2022.

“We pretty fortunate to have that experience,” said Milic, who backstopped the Thunderbirds to the WHL final for two straight seasons. “At the end of the day, it is still the same game.

Seattle D Nolan Allan, left, battles Winnipeg RW Zach Benson.

“A lot of guys we’re played with and against also have the same experience. I think it definitely helps mostly just knowing how to handle different situations that come up in playoffs. You’re going to be tired.

“You’re body is going to start breaking down. You just know how to manage things like that, and also how to manage highs and lows during games and during series as well. Just having a short memory is really important.”

Now the focus shifts to Game 3 on Tuesday in Kent, Wash., for a 7 p.m. local time start at the Accesso ShoWare Center. Patrick said his Ice squad won’t dwell on the Game 2 loss.

“We knew it was going to be a long series,” said Patrick. “You’re going to have to put in a lot of work.

Kevin Korchinski brings the puck up ice for the Thunderbirds.

“It is not going to be easy. We’ll learn from this. We’ll move on.

“We’ll be ready for Game 3.”

O’Dette said his Thunderbirds are looking forward to playing at home, but they know they have to be at their best to keep pulling out wins.

“We’re just looking towards the next game,” said O’Dette. “We’re going to be excited to be in front of our home fans.

“Having last change, yes, it is nice to have that. They have some dangerous guys, and you want to make sure you have the right guys on the ice. Playoffs at home or on the road, I think it is a little bit less of a factor.

The Thunderbirds enjoy departing Winnipeg with a win.

“We’ll need to be ready bottom line.”

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Sweet WHL Eastern Conference title sweep for Ice

Winnipeg advances to league championship series

The Ice celebrate Briley Wood’s winning goal on Wednesday.

The Winnipeg Ice withstood the hurricane they expected was coming.

On Wednesday night, the Ice were trying to capture the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship by sweeping the host Saskatoon Blades out of the best-of-seven conference final at the SaskTel Centre. The Blades, who were down 3-0 in the series, came out on fire and gave every last bit of gas they had in playing their 18^th post-season contest in 34 days.

The host side jumped ahead 1-0 in the opening frame to excite the 5,638 spectators in attendance, but the Ice evened things at 1-1 heading into the first intermission. The Ice led 2-1 after 40 minutes only for the Blades to even the score at the 2:45 mark of the third.

Ice captain Carson Lambos, left, gets a conference title trophy.

At the 6:19 mark of the third, unlikely heroes came through for the Ice in left-winger Carson Latimer and centre Briley Wood. Latimer had the puck at the left side boards in the Saskatoon and fed a pass to the front of the net to Wood. Wood deflected the puck past Blades netminder Austin Elliott to put the visitors up 3-2.

The Ice were able to close out things defensively from there and make that 3-2 score hold up as the game’s final. With the win, the Ice sweep the Eastern Conference Championship Series 4-0.

“It is a great accomplishment,” said Ice captain Carson Lambos, whose club lost last year’s Eastern Conference final to the eventual WHL champion Edmonton Oil Kings in five games. “I think a lot of guys in our room ending last season the way we did it was pretty disappointing.

The Ice are pictured with the Eastern Conference title trophy.

“It left a sour taste for a long time. To get to where we are right now, it is a great feeling, but at the same time, we haven’t accomplished our main goal. We still have a lot of work to do.”

With the series win over the Blades, the Ice advance to the WHL Championship Series to host the winner of the best-of-seven Western Conference Championship Series between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers. The Thunderbirds lead that series 2-1 with Game 4 set for Thursday in Kamloops.

If the Blazers prevail in that series, the Ice will earn a berth in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup – as the WHL representative. The Blazers host the Memorial Cup tournament from May 26 to June 4 at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, so the WHL’s Eastern Conference Champion would make that event, if Kamloops makes the WHL final.

Blades players digest their Eastern Conference final loss

Ultimately, the Ice would like to win the WHL title and move on to capture the Memorial Cup as their main goal. Still, Ice head coach James Patrick was pumped his team won the Eastern Conference title on Wednesday.

“Right now, I feel proud of the group,” said Patrick. “Last year, we had a good playoff run.

“We didn’t get past this round. From that point on, we talked about what we had to do to be a better playoff team to play the game the right way to be stronger. We made a commitment in the off-season and during the season.

The Ice and Blades shake hands at the conclusion of their series.

“We spent more time in the gym. It was could we get stronger as the year went on, because you know come playoff time it is 50/50 battles. It is paying the price.”

As for the Blades, they went into Game 4 with optimistic hopes. When they faced the Red Deer Rebels in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Blades fell behind 3-0 in that set. In Game 4 of that series in Red Deer, the Blades trailed 2-0 after the first period and 2-1 after the second frame. Saskatoon was 20 minutes away from having its season come to an end.

Defensive partners Tanner Molendyk and Aidan De La Gorgendiere hug.

The Blades rallied to take Game 4 by a 4-2 score and ultimately came back to claim a series deciding Game 7 by a 5-2 score again at the SaskTel Centre before 9,489 spectators. Saskatoon joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the only teams to lose the first three games in a best-of-seven series and rally to take the set.

Saskatoon went into Wednesday’s game having won five straight contests in the current WHL post-season where they faced elimination from the playoffs. The streak included four straight wins against the Rebels and a 4-1 victory in Game 7 of a first round series against Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats.

The Blades celebrate a goal by Aidan De La Gorgendiere (#5).

That streak came to an end on Wednesday, but Blades head coach Brennan Sonne loved how his team went down fighting.

“Every ounce of gas that those guys had in the tank they used,” said Sonne. “That tank is completely dry.

“There is no hanging heads in shame at all. (It is) the opposite. (I am) completely and absolutely utterly proud of this team.”

In Wednesday’s encounter, the Blades open the game’s scoring with 4:52 remaining in the first when captain and offensive-defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere fired home a point shot on a delayed penalty call on the Ice. The 1-0 lead marked the first time in the series the Blades were ahead on the scoreboard in the series.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere played his final game for the Blades.

The advantage lasted for three minutes and 32 seconds.

The Ice pulled even at 1-1 scoring on a power play with 1:20 remaining in the first period. Ice star centre Matthew Savoie wired a shot off the crossbar and the rebound was collected by Ice star right-winger Connor McClennon. McClennon tucked the puck into the left side of the Saskatoon net for the equalizer.

Winnipeg exited the opening frame holding an 11-8 edge in shots on goal. The Ice jacked up the pressure in the second holding a 16-4 advantage in shots on goal in the frame, but the visitors only exited the stanza with a 2-1 edge.

Connor McClennon scored twice for the Ice on Wednesday.

The Ice go-ahead goal came when some fatigue was coming over the Blades skaters. Ice standout defenceman Graham Sward had the puck at the right point in the Saskatoon zone, and he fed a pass to McClennon who was somehow alone in front of the Saskatoon net.

McClennon’s initial shot from point blank range was stopped by Elliott, but the Winnipeg winger banged home the rebound from his own shot to give his squad a 2-1 advantage. Patrick was pleased to see how well his squad responded after falling behind on the scoreboard and was impressed by the battle that the opposition presented.

“I felt that this was the best game that they (the Blades) had played,” said Patrick. “I give the Blades all the credit in the world for the resiliency, the no quit and what they had to do to get to this coming back from the deficits they did.

Trevor Wong got a positive bounce third period goal.

“I felt at the start of the series they looked tired. They had some beat up bodies, and they had some injures. I felt this was the toughest game.

“This was what it was like playing them all year long.”

Even after falling behind going into the third period, the Blades didn’t pack it in and kept fighting. At the 2:45 mark of the third, utility player Spencer Shugrue fired a shot from the point that deflected off Blades star centre Trevor Wong at the right side of the Winnipeg goal and found its way into the visitor’s net to tie things up at 2-2.

That set the stage for Latimer’s and Wood’s heroics just under four minutes later. Patrick was pleased to see Latimer and Wood deliver in the clutch.

Graham Sward had an assist for the Ice on Wednesday.

“I think the depth that has been a big part of our success,” said Patrick. “When you have a guy like Carson Latimer who can play anywhere in the lineup, we kind of had him playing with (Conor) Geekie and moved him down to (Briley) Wood.

“The two of them made the big play at the right time.”

Elliott stopped 33 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blades. Hauser turned away 16 shots to pick up the win in net for the Ice.

“We did come out hard,” said De La Gorgendiere, who graduated from the junior ranks with the Blades loss on Wednesday. “I feel like we were pretty desperate tonight.

“Aussie (Austin Elliott) was awesome for us. He made some huge saves to keep us in that game. Obviously, we find a way to get a power play or two there.

Austin Elliott made 33 saves in goal for the Blades on Wednesday.

“Everything is still pretty fresh to me right now. I thought our work was there and our desperation. That is all you can really ask for.”

The Blades were without solid defensive-defencemen Blake Gustafson and Ben Saunderson once again as they were both injured in the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Rebels. Saskatoon was also without star import right-winger Egor Sidorov with an undisclosed injury suffered in the club’s Game 2 loss to the Ice.

Had fatigue and injuries not been a factor for the Saskatoon side, it was expected the series between the Blades and Ice would be a competitive one on paper.

Zach Benson distributes the puck for the Ice.

Winnipeg topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Saskatoon appeared in the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 1994. 

The Ice won their first conference title since 2011, when the franchise was still the Kootenay Ice located in Cranbrook, B.C. The Ice franchise also claimed the WHL title in 2011.

The Ice celebrate their win on Wednesday.

While the Blades overcame a lot of adversity to get to this point and tried hard to get past the adversity they faced in the series with the Ice, De La Gorgendiere still had difficulty digesting the season came to an end.

“I’m pretty emotional right now,” said De La Gorgendiere. “It is pretty fresh.

“Our team battled every single night. We go to war with each other every single night, and we love doing it. I was just upstairs, and I was telling (Blades play-by-play voice) Les (Lazaruk) how much I love these guys in our room.

“I’ve been here for five years now, and it is tightest team I’ve played for. It was pretty special what we did coming back from down 3-0 there in the Red Deer series. It is tough right now it really is tough.”

The Ice were without 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 of the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Moose Jaw Warriors. 

The Blades salute their fans at the SaskTel Centre on Wednesday.

While the Ice had a lot less adversity in the injury and fatigue department to overcome than the Blades, Lambos said having a tough battle with Saskatoon to close out the Eastern Conference final will help the Ice in the rest of their post-season push.

“This is what it is going to look like moving forward,” said Lambos. “(There are going to be) tight games and there is not going to be a lot of scoring especially five-on-five.

“Special teams are huge. That is what it was tonight. To have a tough game was really good for us I think.

“Even our second round, a lot of games with Moose Jaw were tight. We had our backs against the wall there at times. It is definitely helpful to go through some adversity, because it is not going to be smooth sailing here.”

Blades’ Sonne named WHL coach of the year

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

Saskatoon Blades head coach Brennan Sonne was feted with an honour a bench boss with the team hasn’t claimed in 29 years.

On Wednesday, the WHL announced Sonne was winner of the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the WHL coach of the year. The last Blades bench boss to pick up that honour was Lorne Molleken back in the 1993-94 campaign when the club advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in seven games to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

The 36-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.

“I am very honoured to receive the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy,” said Sonne in a release. “It is truly an organizational award starting with the players.

“This season we’ve had a group of dedicated teammates, fantastic leadership and a work ethic you wouldn’t believe. To management who does everything they can to help these players and us as a staff, a pleasure to work with every day; to my wife, my parents, brothers and in-laws, such a great group of people beside me.

“I would like to thank Mitch Love, Jay Varady and Kevin Constantine for teaching me how to be a coach.”

Blades HC Brennan Sonne tracks the play on the ice.

In one of his previous coaching stops, Sonne was an assistant coach with the Everett Silvertips from 2014 to 2017, and he worked with Constantine and Love. As a left-winger with the Silvertips from 2005 to 2007, Sonne was coached by Constantine and Varady.

Unfortunately for Sonne and his Blades, their season came to an end on Wednesday night a number of hours after the coach of the year announcement. The Blades fell 3-2 at the SaskTel Centre in Game 4 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series to the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice swept the best-of-seven set 4-0.

After that loss, Sonne said sadness over the result in Game 4 against the Ice was the prevailing emotion.

“Hockey is all about the team in my opinion, so I’d feel this way whether it was me or anyone else on this group that got an individual award,” said Sonne. “While it is awesome, but hockey is a team sport, and that is why I love it so much.

“That is why I am not a golfer or a tennis player or have any interest in individual sports. That is why I love team sports so much. It is actually a very sad moment that this group is done, because this team has been such a pleasure to coach.

“I’m really proud and my head will not hang or anything, (but) it is a very sad moment. That is how I kind of feel. It is nothing to do with me at all it is sad that this team is over.”

Also on Wednesday, the WHL announced Bil La Forge, who is the general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds, was named the winner of the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy as WHL executive of the year.

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Ice blue-liners give Blades the blues in Game 1

Saskatoon falls 3-0 in WHL Eastern Conference final opener

Ben Zloty scoring the winning goal for the Ice on Friday.

When you go almost three months between playing games head-to-head, a great team’s underrated players can catch a strong foe off guard.

In Game 1 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series, Winnipeg Ice offensive-defencemen Ben Zloty and Carson Lambos reintroduced themselves to the Saskatoon Blades. Zloty and Lambos each had a goal as the Ice blanked the visiting Blades 3-0 on Friday before 1,613 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena to open the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.

Friday’s encounter marked the first time the two sides met since February 4, when the Blades posted a 3-2 regular season victory over the Ice at the SaskTel Centre.

When one looks at the Ice roster, it is easy to be memorized by the talent in the club’s forward group consisting of the likes of Zach Benson, Matthew Savoie, Connor McClennon, Conor Geekie, Owen Pederson and Zack Ostapchuk. With that noted, the Ice are at their best when their defence is quarterbacking the contest.

Zloty and Lambos rank among the top defenders in the WHL, because they can do it all. Their strong play in the defensive zone often gets overlooked, because they are so strong at the offensive side of the game.

When either Zloty or Lambos gets the puck even if it is deep in their own zone, it seems they have command with a presence of what the Winnipeg side wants to do on offence like Tom Brady quarterbacking the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL.

Carson Lambos scored the Ice’s third goal on Friday.

It should come as no surprise that Zloty, who turned 21-years-old in late February, led the WHL in defencemen scoring during the regular season. In 64 regular season appearances with the Ice, Zloty posted 81 points coming off 13 goals and 68 assists to go with a plus-67 rating in the plus-minus department.

Lambos, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild and turned 20-years-old in January, had a strong campaign posting 48 points coming off 12 goals and 36 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in 61 regular season appearances with the Ice.

The poise of Zloty and Lambos seems to run off on the rest of the Ice’s defensive unit including solid 19-year-old veterans like Graham Sward and Karter Prosofsky and 16-year-old dynamo Jonas Woo. Sward, Prosofsky and Woo can all motor up ice fearlessly with the puck. If they are on the ice with Zloty and Lambos, the supporting trio seamlessly looks after the defensive end allowing the team’s main point producing defenders to look after the offensive end.

Woo and Zloty teamed up to account for the Ice’s first goal at the 14:39 mark of the first period. Woo got the puck to Zloty at the left point in the offensive zone and allowed Zloty to go to work from there.

Zloty circled with the puck to the top of the right faceoff circle and put home a backhander through a screen to give the Ice a 1-0 lead. The tally was the first of the post-season for Zloty to go with 15 assists to sit second in defenceman scoring in the WHL Playoffs with 16 points.

With 4:28 remaining in the first, the Blades went on the power play after Benson took a minor infraction for hooking. Early in the power play, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov got a prime scoring chance wiring a shot on goal from the right slot, but he was robbed by the glove had of Ice netminder Daniel Hauser.

Egor Sidorov had a good chance to score on a first period power play.

Shortly after that scoring chance, the Ice had a huge scoring opportunity with 3:55 remaining in the first when Ostapchuk had a short-handed breakaway.  As Ostapchuk closed in on the Saskatoon goal, he was hacked by Blades star centre Trevor Wong on the backcheck.

The officials awarded Ostapchuk a penalty shot. On the penalty shot, Ostapchuk wire home a shot blocker side on Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick to push the host side’s advantage out to 2-0 for the rare short-handed penalty shot marker.

While the Ice had a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission, the opening 20 minutes was played fairly evenly with the hosts holding a 10-8 edge in shots on goal.

The Ice came out of the gates controlling play in the second period. At the 7:45 mark of the second, Savoie got the puck top Lambos at the left point. Lambos carried the puck just inside the blue-line of the Saskatoon zone and floated home an off-speed point shot to put the hosts up 3-0.

The tally was the first of the post-season for Lambos, who also has four assists to go with a plus-10 rating in 11 contests.

The Blades would get two power play chances before the second period came to a close, but the visitors weren’t able to find a traction goal. Early in the third period, the Blades went on the power play for the fourth and final time of the contest but still weren’t able to put a puck past Hauser.

Ethan Chadwick made 25 saves in goal for the Blades on Friday.

The Ice had one power-play chance in the game, but the Blades were able to kill that penalty off. In the post-season the Blades have currently killed off 12 consecutive opposition power plays.

With three minutes to play in the third, the Blades pulled Chadwick for an extra attacker. The Ice appeared to get an empty-net goal with 28.3 seconds remaining in the third from import right-winger Vladislav Shilo. The goal was waved off after a video review after it was determined the Ice were offside on the rush into the Saskatoon zone.

Hauser stopped all 16 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the current post-season. Chadwick turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The Blades were without 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson and 18-year-old rearguard Ben Saunderson on Friday as they were both injured in the team’s second game Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Red Deer Rebels. Black ace Morgan Tastad, who turned 17-years-old in January, dressed for his first career WHL post-season contest to allow the Blades to have six defencemen.

Tastad played most of the 2022-23 campaign with the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team. In 41 regular season appearances with the Contacts, Tastad had three goals and 24 assists.

Gritty right-winger Justin Lies returned to the Saskatoon lineup after serving a league imposed three-game suspension. Lies was suspended for a head shot he threw on Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind in the Blades 4-2 win in Game 4 of that series.

The Ice got to enjoy a Game 1 win over the Blades.

The Ice’s biggest scratch was 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson. Winnipeg elected to dress 17-year-old rookie rearguard Ashton Cumby for his second career post-season contest.

The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The series resumes on Saturday with Game 2 at the Wayne Fleming Arena for a 4 p.m. start local time. In that contest, we will see if the Blades are able to adjust to the Ice defence led by Zloty and Lambos who love to activate and get into the play offensively.

T-Birds, Blazers to open Western Conference final, other notes

Brad Lambert leads the Thunderbirds in post-season scoring.

The Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers are set to get it on.

The two powerhouse clubs open their best-of-seven Western Conference title series on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. Game 2 of the series is slated for Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Accesso ShoWare Center.

The Thunderbirds and Blazers met in last year’s Western Conference Championship series. That series went to a deciding Game 7, and it was claimed 3-2 by the Thunderbirds at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. The Blazers led the series 3-2, before the Thunderbirds closed the set out with two straight wins.

Seattle went on to fall in the WHL Championship Series in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

The Blazers, who are hosting this year’s Memorial Cup tournament, finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Seattle swept away the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series and the Prince George Cougars 4-0 in a best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal series. Kamloops swept the Vancouver Giants 4-0 in the first round and the Portland Winterhawks 4-0 in the other Western Conference semifinal series.

The Thunderbirds have been off since April 19, when they closed out their series with the Cougars with an 8-2 victory in Game 4 of that series in Prince George. The Blazers have been off since April 20, when they close out their series with the Winterhawks with a 10-4 victory in Game 4 in Portland.

Jared Davidson topped the Thunderbirds in regular season scoring.

Centre Jared Davidson topped the Thunderbirds in regular season scoring with 82 points coming off 38 goals and 44 assists to go with a plus-41 rating in the plus-minus department in 60 appearances. Centre Brad Lambert leads the Thunderbirds in post-season scoring with 16 points coming off two goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-nine rating in six appearances.

Star centre Logan Stankoven topped the Blazers in regular season scoring with 97 points coming off 34 goals and 63 assists to go with a plus-36 rating in 48 appearances. Stankoven and star defenceman Olen Zellweger share the Blazers team lead in post-season scoring at 21 points in the team’s eight playoff outings.

Stankoven has recorded his 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists to go with a plus-12 rating. Zellweger has his 21 points coming off seven goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-17 rating.

The star netminders for both sides have had strong post-seasons. Thomas Milic has played every minute of the playoffs in goal for Seattle winning all eight of his starts posting a 1.13 goals against average, a .953 save percentage and one shutout. Dylan Ernst has played every minute in of the playoffs in goal for Kamloops winning all eight of his starts posting a 1.80 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and three shutouts.

If the Blazers win the series against the Thunderbirds, the winner of the Eastern Conference Championships Series between the Winnipeg Ice and Saskatoon Blades will earn a berth to the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Blazers last appeared in the WHL Championship Series in 1999 falling in five games to the Calgary Hitmen.

• When the Saskatoon Blades fell 3-0 to the host Winnipeg Ice on Friday in Game 1 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series, it marked the first time long time Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk called a game in a conference final. He has been the Blades play-by-play voice since the start of the 1994-95 campaign. Lazaruk’s hometown is Winnipeg, and he had a lengthy sports broadcast career there before becoming the Blades play-by-play voice.
• The Blades purchased a billboard on Pembina Highway in Winnipeg welcoming Lazaruk back to his hometown. A couple of others on social media added that the welcome home billboards for Lazaruk are up in a couple of other locations in the city.
• Four WHL officials will work the upcoming International Ice Hockey Fedaration World Championship, which will run May 12 to 28 in Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Nevada. The four WHL officials heading to worlds include referees Adam Bloski and Mike Langin and linespersons Brett Mackey and Tarrington Wyonzek.
• The Saskatoon Blades appearance in this year’s WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series marks the first time they’ve gone this far in the WHL post-season since 1994. In 1994, the Blades took the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Championship Series 4-1 over the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Blades fell in the WHL Championship Series in seven games to the Kamloops Blazers, who went on to win the Memorial Cup. In 1994, the Swedish group Ace of Base had the best selling album in the United States that year with “The Sign.” The album’s title track “The Sign” was the best selling single in the United States in 1994.

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

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Ice set to win now, Oil Kings paying price going all in

Connor McClennon zips up ice for the Winnipeg Ice.

The Winnipeg Ice are the team to beat in the WHL, while the Edmonton Oil Kings are showing the consequences of going all in.

As all the teams in the WHL approach their respective 10-game marks, it is starting to become clear which clubs will be the teams to beat. The Ice top the list of the teams to beat, and they happen to be listed first in the CHL Top 10 rankings.

Last season, the Ice finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 record. They advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series falling in five games to the eventual WHL champion Oil Kings.

The Ice roster is stocked with returnees from last year like Matthew Savoie, Zach Benson, Connor McClennon, Conor Geekie, Ben Zloty, Carson Lambos and Daniel Hauser. They have solid youngsters like defenceman Jonas Woo, who turned 16-year-old in November and played every game in the Ice’s playoff run last season.

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

Ice return to top of WHL

Winnipeg wins ninth straight, ready for post-season grind

The Ice celebrate a goal from Jack Finley (#26).

The Winnipeg Ice jumped back on top of the WHL mountain and showed they are ready for the post-season grind.

On Wednesday night before 2,808 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Ice won their ninth straight contest downing a game Saskatoon Blades side 4-2 in a WHL regular season clash. The Ice jumped back to the top of the overall WHL standings with a 45-9-3-2 mark having picked up standings points in 13 straight contests posting 11 wins, one overtime loss and one shootout setback over that run of games.

Winnipeg sits two points up on the 45-12-2-1 Edmonton Oil Kings for top spot overall in the WHL with one game in hand.

Ice centre Zachary Benson (#9) battles to the puck from his net.

During their nine-game winning streak, the Ice are showing they have the depth and they are capable of grinding out wins in tight checking contests. They are doing their best to show they are ready to make a long run through the WHL playoffs.

The most impressive part of the Ice victory on Wednesday was the fact they picked up a win without their two best players in the lineup.

The Ice were without star centres Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie, because they were in Kitchener, Ont., taking part in the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Savoie and Geekie are both in their 17-year-old seasons, and both are pegged to be selected early in the next NHL Entry Draft.

Jack Finley scored the first goal for the Ice on Wednesday.

Savoie leads the Ice in scoring with 78 points coming on 28 goals and 50 assists in 56 games. He is also a plus-39 in the plus-minus department.

Geekie sits fourth in team scoring recording 59 points coming on 19 goals and 40 assists in 54 games, while posting a plus-33 rating.

Besides beating the Blades, the Ice slipped past the Prince Albert Raiders 3-2 in overtime at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert without Savoie and Geekie.

In Wednesday’s clash with the Blades, the Ice got out to a hot start.

They had the game’s first big scoring chance at the 7:26 mark of the opening frame. Ice star left-winger Mikey Milne got in alone in front of the Saskatoon goal, but he was robbed on a backhand shot thanks to a glove save by Blades overage star netminder Nolan Maier.

Jakin Smallwood had the second goal for the Ice on Wednesday.

Just before the midway point of the first, the Ice broke through on the scoreboard as power forward Jack Finley blasted home his 21^st of the season off a midrange shot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The Ice kept the pressure coming. A few minutes after their opening goal, Ice centre Evan Friesen had a dangerous scoring chance off a rebound, but he was turned away on a kick save by Maier.

With 2:10 remaining in the first, Ice right-winger Jakin Smallwood set up in the left slot and one-timed home a setup pass from linemate Zachary Benson to increase the Ice’s advantage to 2-0.

In the finals seconds of the opening frame, the Blades had a quality scoring chance from import right-winger Egor Sidorov. Working on the power play, Sidorov drove a shot from the left boards on goal, but he was denied by the glove hand of sophomore netminder Daniel Hauser.

Tristen Robins had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

The Ice held a 13-4 after 20 minutes and could have had a bigger lead had it not been for the play of Maier.

In the second, the Ice showed they could withstand a pushback from a quality foe, as the Blades came out with some fire. With 7:14 remaining in the second, Blades star overage centre Tristen Robins netted his 31^st goal of the season to cut the Ice lead to 2-1.

Inside the final 76 seconds of the second, the Blades had a couple of big chances to even the score while working on the power play. Blades standout left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was denied on a drive from the left slot.

Chase Wheatcroft scored the third goal for the Ice on Wednesday.

In the dying seconds of the frame, Blades sophomore left-winger Vaughn Watterodt had a point blank chance, but he was stopped by Hauser.

At the 2:06 mark of the third, the Ice extended their lead to 3-1 when 19-year-old left-winger Chase Wheatcroft deflected home a point shot from defenceman Omen Harmacy.

Down two goals, the Blades didn’t go away. Just under six minutes after the Ice went up 3-1, the Blades cut the lead to 3-2 when rookie right-winger Tyler Parr roofed home a shot from the front of the Winnipeg goal after receiving a sweet setup pass from Watterodt.

Tyler Parr scored the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

From that point, the Ice were able to tighten up their checking to prevent the Blades from getting the equalizer.

With 26 seconds remaining in the third, Ice overage defenceman Nolan Orzeck sealed the win shooting home a long-distance empty-net goal from his own blue-line to round out the 4-2 final score in Winnipeg’s favour.

Hauser stopped 16 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Ice. Nolan Maier turned away 25-of-28 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades (33-22-3-1).

In the win over the Blades, 10 different players picked up at least one point for the Ice. 

Veteran offensive-defenceman Carson Lambos collected two assists and was the only Ice player to have a multi-point night.

Carson Lambos recorded two assists for the Ice on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s clash was also the last regular season encounter between the Ice and Blades, and the Ice claimed six out of those eight head-to-head contests.

Saskatoon had a solid effort against the Ice. The Blades will continue their quest to lock up a playoff spot when return to action on Friday when they host the Regina Pats (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

“The Bridge City Bunch” can lock up a playoff berth by collecting four more standings points.

The Ice get back at it on Saturday when they host the Prince Albert Raiders (7 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena).

The Ice celebrate their win on Wednesday.

Winnipeg is ready to win right now. Considering a sizable group of their best players are in the 17-year-old age group, the Ice might be at the start of a run where they will be a force in the WHL for some time to come.

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

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