Laing on fire for Blades

Winger scores twice in win over Raiders, leads WHL in scoring

Hunter Laing (#27) celebrates his second of two goals on Saturday.

Hunter Laing has the proverbial chip on his shoulder and is on a mission in his final WHL campaign.

Over the summer, the 20-year-old Saskatoon Blades star right-winger saw the Calgary Flames allow his NHL signing rights to expire on June 1. Laing had been selected in the sixth round and 170^th overall by the Flames in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

After the Flames elected not to sign Laing, the skilled forward, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 210 pounds, was able to re-enter the NHL Entry Draft held this past June 26-27 in Buffalo. He went unselected there, which means he is a free agent when it comes to the professional level of the game.

Hunter Laing leads the WHL in scoring with nine points.

Returning to the Blades for his final season in the major junior ranks, Laing has started the young 2026-27 campaign on fire. In his first four games of the season, the Kelowna, B.C., product has taken the lead in the WHL scoring race with nine points coming off five goals and four assists.

On Saturday, Laing’s sweet hands were on display as he scored a pair of goals in the team’s regular season home opener before 7,379 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. Laing’s efforts allowed his Blades to post a 5-2 victory over their archrivals in the Prince Albert Raiders and also claim both games in a home-and-home series to improve to 2-1-1.

Following Saturday’s game, Laing said the fact he went unsigned by the Flames and is a professional free agent is in the back of his mind.

Hunter Laing is a free agent when it come to professional hockey.

“It obviously sucked when I found out,” said Laing. “I used that as motivation this summer, and it kind of helped me out doing the extra work and extra reps.

“It is definitely on my mind to prove people wrong this year, and that is what I’m going to keep doing.”

Just 19 seconds into Saturday’s game, Laing was attempting to give a spark to his team by engaging Raiders star 18-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson in a fight. Both are best known for their scoring and not for throwing punches.

The bout was a short one and kind of produced a moment where one could have a laugh. Sivertson threw an overhand right that missed and his momentum carried himself to the ground. Laing looked befuddled at the scene, and the officials jumped in to break things up.

Hunter Laing wants to prove he can play at the next level.

Sivertson and Laing were both given fighting majors for their efforts.

For the rest of the night, Laing showed what he is best known for, which is his sweet hands around the opposition net. With the two sides locked in a 1-1 tie at the 14:47 mark of the second, Laing picked up a rebound from a shot taken by Blades defenceman Jack Lavallee at the right side of the Prince Albert net.

Laing skillfully moved the puck around fallen Raiders star import netminder Michal Orsulak and tucked home a backhander to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

With the Blades up 3-1 at the 6:36 mark of the third, Laing received a pass at the left side of the Raiders net from Blades star 18-year-old centre Cooper Williams while working on the power play. Laing toe dragged the puck around Orsulak putting it into the right side of the net to give the Blades a 4-1 lead.

Hunter Laing (#27) celebrates his first goal on Saturday.

“You’re always trying to contribute for the boys,” said Laing. “You’re trying to do what it takes to win, and you score goals in the crease.

“I’m a big guy. I love being in the crease, (because) that is where you score goals. I’m lucky they went in.”

Blades head coach Dan DaSilva said it has been noticeable how much Laing has increased the intensity in his game.

“He (Laing) is a big man,” said DaSilva. “He has got a great set of hands, and he is looking like he is really determined this year to take his game to the next level.

“He can finish absolutely. He is getting those goals around the net. He will still get his goals where he comes down the win and rips on top shelf too using his shot, but he just looks more determined to prove that he belongs at the next level next year.

Riley Boychuk scored to give the Raiders an early 1-0 lead.

“He is winning his puck battles, he is harder on pucks, he is more competitive, and obviously, he had a fight at the start of the game too to try and set the tone early. I really like where his game is at right now, and we need that to continue from him.”

At first, it looked like the Raiders were going to spoil things for the Blades in their home opener. Just 1:49 into the first, Raiders 18-year-old centre Riley Boychuk collected a rebound at the right side of the Blades net from a shot by linemate Owen Corkish and popped the puck home into an empty cage to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Prince Albert took that lead into the first intermission despite being outshot 11-6.

Just 1:52 into the second period, Blades import left-winger David Lewandowski brought the puck down the right wing and put a backhand pass across the face of the Raiders net to linemate in 19-year-old centre Hayden Harsanyi. Harsanyi converted the backdoor tap to even the score at 1-1.

Hayden Harsanyi (#6) keeps the puck from Owen Corkish.

After Laing put the Blades up 2-1 with his first tally of the contest, Lewandowski found the back of the net at the 2:23 mark of the third, when he collected a rebound at the right side of the Raiders net from a shot taken by 19-year-old import right-winger Hutzinger Kostantin to pop home his second of the campaign.

With his two-point effort on Saturday, Lewandowski now had two goals, two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. He returned to the Blades on Friday morning after attending training camp with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers to help his WHL side sweep the home-and-home series with the Raiders. Lewandowski said it was natural to jump right back into things with the Blades.

“It is not unusual,” said Lewandowski. “We have a lot of games here anyway, so it is just another day, another game and keep going.”

David Lewandowski had one goal and one assist for the Blades.

Following Laing’s second tally that put the Blades up 4-1, Raiders 17-year-old left-winger Connor Howe fired home a mid range shot on a power play to trim the Saskatoon advantage to 4-2 with 5:10 remaining in the third.

Blades 19-year-old left-winger Kazden Mathies rounded out the game’s scoring with the rare short-handed empty-net goal with 11.9 seconds remaining in the third.

So far this season, the Blades lead the WHL with 18 goals scored. Laing said the team has been playing with good chemistry having returned 12 players from last season and re-acquiring 20-year-old defenceman Tyrone Sobry in an off-season trade with the Prince George Cougars.

Kazden Mathies (#77) gets hugged by Brayden Klimpke after a goal.

“When you have a team with chemistry, it is always good,” said Laing. “You can play with anyone on this team, and we’re all good players.

“I think we can play all four lines and six-D. It is a good thing, and that makes a good team.”

Martin Psohlavec stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Michal Orsulak turned away 24-of-28 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders, who fell to 1-3.

The Raiders get back at it on Wednesday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades return to action on Friday when they host the Rebels (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Before the Blades turn their attention to Rebels, Laing admitted his squad was going to take a little time enjoying beating the Raiders two straight after losing six-of-eight regular season meetings in 2025-26 and being swept in four straight in an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series in the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

Hunter Laing gives a souvenir stick to a young fan.

“The vibes are good,” said Laing. “You know, the boys love beating P.A.

“They’re our rivals, so it is always nice beating them. We owe them from last year still, so it was nice to get the win. We’re going to reset and focus for next week.”

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“So what do you want to talk about?” – Raiders and Blades had it all on a feisty Friday

The Raiders and Blades engage in a game-ending scrum.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – You can always count on the Prince Albert Raiders and the Saskatoon Blades to come through with a classic rivalry game.

Friday night’s game at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre had pretty much everything you would come to expect from a clash of arch-enemies. There were saves, goals, punches thrown and of course some controversy.

The controversy came with 2:56 remaining in the third period when Raiders star Brandon Gorzynski was given a slashing minor with the combatants locked in a 2-2 tie. Gorzynski was given the infraction working his way into his own zone on the backcheck and made a move to swat the puck off the stick of Blades 19-year-old import rookie right-winger Yegor Gusev.

Brandon Gorzynski was victimized by a tough break penalty call.

Definitely from an overall Raiders perspective you could say the call was really chintzy. 

From a Blades perspective, you could lean into the argument that Gorzynski’s light stick swat was a slash, but a break was likely gained on that call. When you get a break, you never question it, and you never apologize if you get a win out of it.

That is exactly what happened. On the ensuing power play, Blades star left-winger David Lewandowski wired home a shot from the just off centre parallel to the top of the left faceoff circle for the goal that gave the visiting Blades a 3-2 victory before a mostly disgruntled standing room crowd of 2,819 spectators at the Raiders 2,580-seat home rink.

David Lewandowski delivered a winning goal for the Blades.

After Lewandowski’s tally, the Raiders nearly sent the game to overtime. With 28.7 seconds remaining in the third, Raiders standout centre Maddix McCagherty attempted a wraparound to an open left side of the Saskatoon net with Blades import rookie netminder Martin Psohlavec sprawled in his crease. Psohlavec managed to reach out his blocker to make a game-saving stop.

The 18-year-old product of Ostrov, Czechia, was mostly sensational in his WHL regular season debut making 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the visitors, who improved to 1-1-1. Psohlavec returned to the Blades earlier this week after attending training camp activities with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. He had been at Blades training camp and took part in winning one pre-season game before departing to Philadelphia.

Maddix McCagherty almost had an equalizer.

When the final buzzer sounded on Friday, a huge scrum took part in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone, which also saw someone in the crowd throw a water bottle onto the ice.

After the officials separated the players on both sides, the Blades celebrated their win departing the ice surface to a series of boos, which is the norm when they pull off victories at the Hauser. During the three star selections, Psohlavec and Lewandowski, who returned to the Blades Friday morning after taking part in training camp activities with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, took polite small laps after being named the respective first and second stars in the building.

You were kind of expecting them to potentially embrace the WWE villain role like netminder Nolan Maier and feisty left-winger Riley McKay did in a Blades 3-2 victory at the Hauser way back on December 27, 2019. In that contest, Maier and McKay were the respective first and second stars in the building, and they went out making big laps of the ice surface with smiles on their faces applauding the booing crowd.

Martin Psohlavec made 26 saves to win his WHL regular season debut.

While Raiders fans can come away from the night saying they were robbed, the Blades were deserving of the victory. The hosts came out strong in the scoreless opening frame getting the first eight shots on goal and holding a 13-6 edge in that department after 20 minutes. Psohlavec made his presence felt in that frame making a number of robbery type stops.

Over the final two periods, objective persons would have to give the edge in play to the Blades, especially in the third frame when the visitors had a 16-7 edge in shots on goal. The Raiders controlled the game in the opening stanza and that control slipped out of their grasp in the second and third periods.

Connor Howe had a goal for the Raiders.

Even with that development, the scoring swung back and forth.

With exactly eight minutes remaining in the second, the Blades struck on the power play working on a two-man advantage. Working the puck on the point, Blades captain and star defenceman Brayden Klimpke fired a seeing-eye shot and the puck rebounded to Blades 19-year-old left-winger Kazden Mathies in front of the Prince Albert net.

Mathies put home a backhand shot to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

The Raiders would even the score at 1-1 working on a power play of their own. With 15.7 seconds remaining in the second, Raiders 17-year-old left-winger and fan favourite Connor Howe slipped home a point shot through a screen for the equalizer.

Jack Kachkowski had a positive-bounce goal for the Blades.

At the conclusion of the second, Howe engaged Blades 19-year-old defenceman Jack Kachkowski in a crowd-pleasing fight. The two players traded hard shots before Howe came through with rapid hard shots to bring Kachkowski down to the ice.

Just 2:02 into the third, the Raiders went ahead 2-1 thanks to a rookie mistake by Psohlavec. Raiders 17-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey got the puck in the right slot rushing towards the Blades net and Psohlavec came out to poke check him.

Psohlavec missed with the poke check, and Harvey curved around him and slid the puck into an empty Saskatoon cage to give the host’s their one-goal edge. For the longest time, it appeared that tally would be the Blades undoing.

Connor Howe and Jack Kachkowski go at it in a fight.

The visitors proceeded to benefit from a positive bounce with 6:01 remaining in the third. At that moment in the game, Kachkowski had the puck in the left corner of the Prince Albert zone and made a centering pass to the front of the Raiders net. The puck deflected off the skate of Raiders defenceman Hubert Clarke into the Prince Albert goal to force the contest into a 2-2 tie.

That set the stage for the dramatics inside the final three minutes of the third.

Import star netminder Michal Orsulak had a solid night making 29 saves taking the setback in goal for the Raiders (1-2).

The two teams go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. That contest will be the regular season home opener for the Blades.

Martin Psohlavec, left, enjoys his first WHL regular season win.

Including the pre-season, Saturday’s game will mark the fifth time the Raiders and Blades have gone head-to-head this month. There will likely be more fireworks coming in that encounter that could exceed the pyrotechnics the Blades use in their pre-game festivities.

NOTES – Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald was absent from Friday’s game and will miss Saturday’s game in Saskatoon due to personal reasons. In McDonald’s absence, Raiders assistant coaches Cole Bell and Conor Yawney are assuming co-head coaching duties. The Raiders asked that McDonald’s privacy be respected at this time.

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Calvert ensures Blades are still standing after round one

20-year-old’s Game 7 OT winner sinks Oil Kings

It was a Game 7 win that had the perfect story book ending for the Saskatoon Blades.

Locked in a 2-2 with the host Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place in overtime on Monday, the Blades went to the power play when Oil Kings sophomore right-winger Kanjyu Gojsic collided with Saskatoon star netminder Evan Gardner at the 6:59 mark of the extra session and was penalized for goaltender interference. The collision came after Gardner made a sprawling left pad stop on a backhand shot from Oil Kings rookie centre Andrew O’Neill, who turned 19-years-old in February.

On the ensuing power play, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski fired a point shot that was deflected home by Blades heart and soul 20-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert just 24 seconds later. Calvert’s tally allowed the Blades to prevail 3-2 in the series-deciding Game 7 to the disappointment of most of the 4,857 spectators at Rogers Place.

The Blades also take the best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against the Oil Kings 4-3. In the 2020s, the Blades have played more Game 7s than any other team in the WHL going 3-1 during that time in those series-deciding contests, which have all happened since 2023. Monday’s game also marked the first time the Blades have won a Game 7 on the road in their team history dating back to their inception in 1964.

Monday’s win also meant the Blades can lay claim to having the only series upset in the first round of the WHL’s post-season. The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. They were pegged as having a serious chance to go all the way to the WHL Championship Series.

The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark. There weren’t a lot of expectations outside of those linked to their club that they would even make it out of the first round of the post-season.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

They have played their best hockey of the campaign in the 2026 WHL Playoffs in their seven game series win against Edmonton. The Blades were legit good even in the games they lost to the Oil Kings. As a result, they were the only team in the first round of the WHL Playoffs that eliminated an opponent that had a superior regular season record.

The best part about Monday’s win was the fact Calvert got the winner. The Moose Jaw, Sask., product first skated for the Blades for 13 regular season contests in the 2021-22 campaign. He proceeded to join the Blades on a full-time basis the next season.

During his career with the Blades, Calvert has done everything the team has asked of him in a quiet and businesslike manner. He will kill penalties, play the power play and play the defensive shutdown role protecting a lead in the last two minutes of a contest.

For the past two seasons, Calvert has taken on more of an offensive role. In the 2024-25 campaign, he had 24 goals and 29 assists in 64 regular season appearances. This past regular season as an overager, he had 31 goals and 22 assists in 67 regular season contests.

When he scores, there are no exuberant celebrations. Calvert usually displays a big smile.

It was fun to see him let loose by celebrating his overtime winner against the Oil Kings taking a dive to centre ice and being mobbed by his teammates. The Blades also showed him leading the “our house” chants on their social media channels in the dressing room after the contest.

Actually, Calvert had two huge moments in Game 7. The first huge moment came in the third period.

When the two sides were locked in a 1-1 tie, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett fired home his first goal of the 2026 post-season from the right faceoff dot in the Saskatoon zone to give the hosts a 2-1 lead with 5:41 remaining in the third.

Just 33 seconds later when the announcement for Hodnett’s tally was still being made, Calvert had the puck along the right side boards in the Edmonton zone. He put a backhand pass out to Blades star centre Cooper Williams, who was alone in front of the Edmonton net. Williams fired home the equalizer that forced a 2-2 tie and ultimately overtime.

Calvert’s family has strong links to the WHL. His father, Jeff, was a goaltender for five seasons on the circuit from 1989 to 1994 with the Moose Jaw Warriors and the then Tacoma Rockets. Older brother, Atley, cemented himself as one of the Warriors all-time greats playing forward from 2019 to 2024 helping Moose Jaw win a WHL championship in his final campaign with the club in 2023-24.

Rowan Calvert has built his own legacy as a career member of the Blades. He will go down as one of the all-time fan favourites in Saskatoon for his will to do anything for the team.

The Blades started out Monday’s contest taking the game to the Oil Kings holding a 9-1 edge in shots on goal just eight minutes into the opening frame. As has been the case in what was the most compelling series in the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the Oil Kings pushed back resulting in the first period ending in a scoreless tie with the Blades holding an 11-8 edge in shots on goal.

The visitors caught a big break at the 6:11 mark of the second period. They would go on a two-man advantage for two minutes after Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson took a minor for high sticking and centre Andrew O’Neill took a minor for tripping.

Just 35 seconds into the power play, Lewandowski one-timed home a shot from the right faceoff dot to put the visitors up 1-0. He converted a beauty cross ice pass from Williams.

The Oil Kings authored a quick response. Working on the power play just two minutes later, Oil Kings standout centre Aaron Obobaifo took up position in front of the Saskatoon net and deflected home a point shot from star defenceman Carter Sotheran to even the score at 1-1.

That set up the dramatics for the third period and overtime.

Gardner stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for Saskatoon. Parker Snell turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

Lewandowski and Williams each finished with one goal and one assist for the Blades. Star 19-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing had a pair of helpers for Saskatoon.

Obobaifo had an assist to go with his goal for the Oil Kings. Sotheran finished his final career WHL outing with a pair of helpers for Edmonton.

The Blade converted on 2-of-5 power play chance on Monday, while the Oil Kings were 1-for-4 with the man advantage. During the seven games of this series, the road team pulled out five victories.

The Blades held Oil Kings star centre Miroslav Holinka and star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn off the scoresheet. Both players had minus-one ratings in the plus-minus department.

Along with Sotheran, Holinka and defenceman Austin Zemlak all exhausted their WHL eligibility with Edmonton’s Game 7 loss. The Oil Kings also fell in Game 7 in a first round series in the 2025 WHL Playoffs to the Prince Albert Raiders.

Speaking of the Raiders, the Blades now advance to face their archrivals in the Raiders in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Raiders topped the Eastern Conference with a 52-10-5-1 mark and placed second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Game 1 is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

When this series gets going, both teams will likely show the Highway 11 Rivalry is the most intense right now not just in the WHL but the entire CHL.

Before even looking forward to that set, the Blades can soak in the fact they concluded their series with the Oil Kings with an all-time memorable moment for the franchise. Even Raiders fans have to give a nod of respect to the fact that Calvert was the one to deliver it.

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Blades, their fans, bitter over double OT penalty call

Oil Kings force deciding Game 7 in series with Saskatoon

The Oil Kings mob Miroslav Holinka (#92) after his double OT winner.

It was a classic controversial finish that made you rageaholic mad, if you are a fan of the Saskatoon Blades.

The Blades themselves were bitter about how Game 6 of their best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs ended with the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre. The two sides were locked in a 2-2 tie in double overtime, and with 7:07 remaining in the second overtime frame, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski tripped Oil Kings 20-year-old star defenceman Carter Sotheran down to the ice, when Sotheran was trying to skate out of his zone with the puck.

Miroslav Holinka reacts to scoring the double overtime winner.

The officials gave Lewandowski a minor penalty for hooking.

On the ensuing power play, Sotheran had the puck in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone and he passed the puck up to the left point to Oil Kings 20-year-old star import centre Miroslav Holinka. Holinka one-timed home his seventh goal of the post-season to deliver the Oil Kings to a 3-2 victory.

Just 98 seconds before Lewandowski went off for his obstruction infraction, Oil Kings overage defenceman Austin Zemlak cross checked Blades overage captain Tyler Parr from the side into the boards by the Saskatoon blue line well away from where the puck was. The officials didn’t call a penalty in that instance even after having a conference with Parr and Sotheran after the play was blown dead.

Blades captain Tyler Parr (#20) discusses an illegal hit he received. 

Thanks to the no call on Zemlak regarding an extra-curricular hit and nailing Lewandowski with an obstruction infraction that resulted in the winning goal, the Blades faithful was irate. After Holinka scored his winner, arguably the loudest boos of the season in the building rained down from the 5,104 spectators in attendance. A handful of spectators threw debris on the ice including a couple of full plastic pop bottles.

The Blades entered the contest needing a win to take the series with the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings victory forces a 3-3 tie in the set, and the two clubs will face each other in a series-deciding Game 7 on Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 7 p.m. local time.

Evan Gardner makes one of his 41 stops in goal for the Blades.

Following Game 6, Blades head coach Dan DaSilva was not happy with how the end of Sunday’s game went. He wasn’t pleased he did get any explanations from referees Corey Koop or Mark Pearce regarding the call on Lewandowski.

“They didn’t tell me anything,” said DaSilva. “They just made their call, and they wouldn’t come over and have a conversation about it at all.

“Obviously, it is extremely frustrating, and there are probably, I don’t know, eight penalties in overtime that could have been called. One was just minutes before on our captain along the boards he gets hit from behind without touching the puck, without the puck ever really ever coming near him. They don’t call that a pretty egregious hit from behind, board, whatever you want to call it.

Oil Kings goalie Parker Snell turns away a scoring chance.

“Then, they decide to step in and call a trip that is 190 feet away from our end without being a scoring chance or having really anything to do with the play. Anyways, it is what it is. Maybe they had Easter dinner plans.”

DaSilva then switched to refocusing on Monday’s winner take all Game 7 with the Oil Kings.

“We’re going to keep fighting and go down to Edmonton,” said DaSilva. “We’ve played some really good hockey down there this series, and I expect it to be the same tomorrow.”

Aaron Obobaifo had the Oil Kings first goal on Sunday.

Blades star sophomore centre Cooper Williams thought the Blades vans stood up for the team by voicing their displeasure, which also gives the players motivation heading into Game 7.

“I mean the crowd let them (the officials) hear it,” said Williams. “Just having their support behind us and just putting this game past us and focusing on tomorrow, I think that is the biggest factor.”

The Oil Kings understandably pumped to have won the contest and to have forced a series-deciding Game 7 in their home rink. Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith said there was a lot of joy amongst everyone on his squad after Holinka scored the double overtime winner in Game 6.

“It was obviously a great feeling for our bench – for our guys,” said Smith. “We had some guys get back in the lineup tonight that had been out.

The Oil Kings celebrate a goal from Dylan Dean (#14).

“The excitement and winning in overtime is one of the greatest things you can do in hockey. It is exciting. We need to refocus, recover.

“The guys need to make sure they get their rest, their food and be ready to go tomorrow.”

The Oil Kings would get an early contribution from one of their returnees. They broke on to the scoreboard first thanks to a positive bounce at the 7:28 mark of the opening frame.

A puck came off the stick of Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett and took a positive bounce to Edmonton centre Aaron Obobaifo in front of the Saskatoon net. Obobaifo, who missed the three previous games of the series due to an undisclosed ailment, wired the puck past Blades star netminder Evan Gardner to put the visitors up 1-0.

Brayden Klimpke scored the Blades first goal on Sunday.

“It is really tough just kind of being in and out of the lineup,” said Obobaifo. “I just keep trying to play my game.

“I’m lucky enough a bounce came my way, and I capitalized.”

The visitors pushed their edge to 2-0 with a bank shot power-play goal with 3:26 remaining in the first. Oil Kings 17-year-old rookie right-winger Dylan Dean had the puck at the left side of the Saskatoon net, and he banked a shot off Blades defenceman Kaden Allan into the Saskatoon goal to give the visitors their two-goal edge.

Just 18 seconds later, the Blades got a positive bounce tally to cut the Oil Kings lead to 2-1. Standout 18-year-old offensive-defenceman Brayden Klimpke took a shot from the point that deflected off the arm of Sotheran into the Edmonton net to cut the visitor’s lead down to one goal.

The Blades enjoy an equalizer from Cooper Williams (#16).

Regulation time didn’t have any drama over any penalty calls. For the majority of that part of the contest, the Oil Kings were playing the perfect road game.

Starting in the second period, they took more territorial control of the contest holding an 11-7 edge in shots on goal for that frame. The visitors were more territorially dominant in the third period keeping the Blades pinned in their own zone for extended stretches while holding a 10-3 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

After controlling the entire third period, the Oil Kings gave up a gift icing with 10.1 seconds remaining in the third. Off the draw in the left faceoff circle of the Edmonton zone, a scramble ensued in front the Oil Kings net. Williams ended up with the puck in front of the Edmonton net, and he fired home the equalizer to force a 2-2 tie with exactly seven seconds remaining in the third. That tally also forced overtime.

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Blades faithful had been fairly silent through the second and third periods, but they came to life after Williams scored the equalizer to force overtime.

“The crowd to hear that it was pretty cool,” said Williams. “It felt so good to see that one go in for sure.”

The crowd was into the contest in a big way through the two overtime frames. The Blades controlled play in the first overtime period holding a 15-7 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

The Blades best chance to score in the first overtime came on a drive by centre Hayden Harsanyi from the left faceoff circle in the Edmonton zone. His shot got through Oil Kings breakout rookie netminder Parker Snell, and the puck was inching across the crease towards the open net. It was swept off the crease by Oil Kings right-winger Adam Jecho to preserve the tie score at that point in the frame.

Cooper Williams was denied on a prime scoring chance in overtime two.

The hosts had a couple of huge chances to get the winner in the second overtime. Williams found himself at one point alone in front of the Edmonton net with the puck. He tried to put a deke move on to fake out Snell, but the netminder would push the puck off Williams stick and away from the net to end that threat.

A short time later, Parr wired a shot off the post of the Edmonton net. That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the contest that resulted in Holinka’s winner.

Gardner turned away 41 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Snell stopped 37 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings.

Carter Sotheran set up the Oil Kings winning goal.

The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

They have played their best hockey in the post-season. If they are able to beat Edmonton in Game 7, the Blades would be the only team to post a series upset in the first round of the WHL’s post-season.

Blades RW Gavin Clark encounters traffic in the Edmonton zone.

Over the first six games between the Blades and Oil Kings, the road team has pulled out victory four times, with the two squads collecting two road wins each. DaSilva believes that Game 7 is up for grabs for both teams going into it.

“I almost think that the home ice advantage is nothing in this series, honestly,” said DaSilva. “It is so close that is why.

“It is just the games are so close. The margin for error is really thin. I think both teams are leaving it all out there, whether they’re at home or on the road it doesn’t really matter.

The Oil Kings depart to their dressing room after Sunday’s win.

“Game 7, anything can happen. It doesn’t matter if we’re at home or on the road. We’re just going to show up and compete like we always do.”

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Blades split with Oil Kings in Edmonton to start post-season

Saskatoon hosts Games 3 and 4 of first round series

Ethan MacKenzie ensured his Edmonton Oil Kings avoided being in an unenviable position after their second game of the WHL Playoffs.

On Sunday afternoon, the Oil Kings and the Blades were locked in a 3-3 tie in overtime in Game 2 of a best-of-seven first round series at the Rogers Place. The Blades claimed Game 1 of the series on Friday at Rogers Place 3-2, where they also had a 30-29 edge in shots on goal.

In the later stages of overtime on Sunday, the Oil Kings were working on a power play that was nearing an edge. At that point, MacKenzie, who is the Oil Kings star 19-year-old defenceman, one-timed home a shot low in the right faceoff circle of the Saskatoon zone past Blades star netminder Evan Gardner to give the host Oil Kings a 4-3 victory.

MacKenzie’s goal came with 3:06 remaining in overtime and three seconds remaining on the power-play his club was working on. He converted a beauty setup pass from 20-year-old star import centre Miroslav Holinka. The tally sent the Oil Kings home crowd of 5,173 spectators into an ecstatic frenzy.

With the win, the Oil Kings even the series at 1-1. They are still facing challenging waters as the series shifts to Saskatoon for Game 3 and 4 to be held Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at the SaskTel Centre for a 7 p.m. start time on both nights.

The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

In their first two contests of the 2026 post-season, it can be argued the Blades had a couple of their best outings in the overall 2025-26 campaign.

In Game 2 on Sunday, the Blades took a 1-0 lead on a goal from veteran centre Hayden Harsanyi with 2:32 remaining in the first period. The Oil Kings would even the score at 1-1 with a power-play goal coming from standout left-winger Aaron Obobaifo with 4:02 remaining in the second period.

Starting with 6:37 remaining in the third, the Oil Kings scored goals 83 seconds apart from each other to go ahead 3-1. Holinka tallied on the power play, while 17-year-old centre Dylan Dean scored at even strength.

The Blades didn’t go away. With 3:04 remaining in the third, the two clubs were playing four skaters versus four skaters due to off-setting minor penalties, and Blades pulled Gardner for an extra attacker. Harsanyi potted his second goal of the contest at that point to trim the Oil Kings lead to 3-2.

With Gardner back tending the Saskatoon net and both sides playing at full strength, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski fired home the equalizer with two minutes remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie and overtime.

That set the stage for MacKenzie to score the winner in the extra session.

Gardner turned away 38 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Oil Kings 17-year-old rookie Parker Snell stopped 41 shots to pick up the win in goal for Edmonton.

Lewandowski had a pair of assists to go with his goal and finished with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. Blades rearguard Tristen Doyle posted a pair of assists and a plus-one rating.

Holinka had a pair of assists to go with his goal, while MacKenzie had a helper to go with his overtime winner. Oil Kings star 20-year-old defenceman Carter Sotheran finished with a pair of assists.

The Blades were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Oil Kings converted 3-of-6 chances with the man advantage.

If the Blades can now find success on home ice in Games 3 and 4 of this set, they can bring the upset watch up to another level.

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

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Blades’ sheriff Calvert hauls in Warriors’ Wutzke

Saskatoon sinks Moose Jaw 5-2

Chase Wutzke, left, battles Rowan Calvert for the puck.

Rowan Calvert played the role of sheriff when Chase Wutzke tried to get away with grand larceny.

In a WHL regular season clash on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, Wutzke, who is the star 19-year-old netminder for the Moose Jaw Warriors, looked for the longest time that he could potentially steal win despite his team being badly outplayed by the host Saskatoon Blades. Ultimately, Wutzke was handcuffed by Calvert, who is the Blades standout 20-year-old left-winger.

Calvert scored the Blades first goal, and with his side holding a slim 3-2 lead entering the third period, the long time WHL veteran closed out the contest completing a hat trick performance to give the Blades a 5-2 victory before a happy gathering of 4,843 spectators. He also now has exactly 30 goals on the campaign marking the first time he has hit the 30-goal plateau in his WHL career.

Chase Wutzke makes one of his 43 saves on Friday.

Wutzke deserved a better fate than being on the wrong end of the scoreboard, as he turned away 43-of-47 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors.

The win was the second straight for the Blades who improved to 32-25-4-2 as they continue to build towards playing in the WHL Playoffs sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Warriors fell to 21-34-5-2 to remain ninth in the Eastern Conference just, one standings point behind the Red Deer Rebels (23-34-2-2) for eighth place and the final post-season berth in the Conference. Red Deer has one game in hand on Moose Jaw.

The Blades stormed out of the gates in the first period holding a 20-3 edge in shots on goal. They exited the opening 20 minutes only holding a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal coming from Calvert.

Rowan Calvert had a hat trick to power the Blades to victory.

Calvert was working in his office right in front of the Moose Jaw net banging home a loose puck for his 28^th tally of the campaign. At the time of that tally, the Blades were holding a 7-1 edge in shots on goal.

While Wutzke was holding the fort in the opening frame making 19 saves for the visitors, Blades star netminder Evan Gardner, who turned 20-years-old in late January, had to come up with a big stop at the end of the stanza. With 47.3 seconds remaining in the first, Gardner swallowed up a close in chance from Warriors import left-winger Jan Trefny.

Rowan Calvert (#23) celebrates the first of his three goals.

At the 5:05 mark of the second, the Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 when star sophomore centre Cooper Williams burst up the middle of the Moose Jaw zone in through traffic, got in a lone and roofed home a backhand shot for his 21^st goal of the campaign.

Just 39 seconds later, the Warriors 20-year-old star defenceman Aiden Ziprick fired home a point shot for a power-play goal that cut the Saskatoon lead to 2-1.

At that point, Wutzke was the main reason the contest didn’t get away from Moose Jaw. He would turn away Blades star import right-winger David Lewandowski, who was in alone on the Warriors net and attempted a backhand shot.

Wutzke would then stone Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies in close and reject Blades 17-year-old rookie centre Ben Bowtell on another in tight opportunity. Mathies would then get a breakaway opportunity only to be denied by a left pad stop by Wutzke.

Chase Wutzke (#35) stones David Lewandowski.

With 1:46 remaining in the second, the host side would break onto the scoreboard again. Blades 19-year-old import left-winger Elias Pul cut across the face of the Moose Jaw net and popped home a backhander for his 10^th goal of the campaign to push the Blades lead out to 3-1.

That two-goal edge didn’t last long. Just 42 seconds later, Warriors standout 20-year-old left-winger Pavel McKenzie was sprung on a breakaway and he fired a mid-height shot stick side on Gardner to trim the Saskatoon edge to 3-2. That tally was the 17^th marker of the season for McKenzie.

The Blades took that slim 3-2 advantage into the second intermission while holding a lopsided 35-10 edge in shots on goal.

Cooper Williams had the Blades second goal on Friday.

At the start of the third, Wutzke proceeded to come up with big saves on Blades rookie import left-winger Dustin Willhoft and Bowtell.

Saskatoon then proceeded to get the dagger tallies to lock down the win. With 2:59 remaining in the third and working on a power play, Williams had the puck in the right faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone and put a shot pass towards the Warriors goal. Calvert deflected the puck home for his second goal of the contest and 29^th marker of the campaign.

Just 23 seconds later, Calvert completed his hat trick firing a puck from his own zone into an empty Moose Jaw net for his 30^th goal of the season to round out the 5-2 victory for the Blades. Calvert finished with nine goals in the Blades six encounters with the Warriors in the current regular season, and that included Friday’s hat trick performance and a hat trick in a win back in December.

The Blades celebrate a hat trick goal from Rowan Calvert (#23).

Gardner stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. The victory was the 24^th of the season for Gardner, which is a new career high in that department.

McKenzie had an assist to go along with his goal.

With his hat trick, Calvert now has goals and points in three consecutive games recording five goals and one assist over that time.

The only bad news the Blade encountered came shortly after they went ahead 4-2, when 18-year-old sophomore defenceman Isaac Poll tried to check McKenzie into the boards, when McKenzie was rushing into the Saskatoon zone. While pinning McKenzie into the boards, Poll accidently drove his own head into the glass and went down on the ice.

Poll, who has a lengthy history with injuries, was helped off the ice and didn’t return.

The Warriors get back at it on Saturday when they return home to face the Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m., Temple Gardens Centre).

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday night.

The Blades are off until this coming Friday when they host the Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

“The Bridge City Bunch” will be looking to build off of strong performances in their past two outings as they only have five more regular season games remaining before entering the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

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“Blades jinx” haunts Rebels

Saskatoon sweeps season series with Red Deer

The Blades celebrate a second period goal from Rowan Calvert (#23).

While being consistently inconsistent has been the Saskatoon Blades forte in the 2025-26 WHL campaign, one thing they can consistently do is beat the Red Deer Rebels.

On Wednesday playing before 3,307 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades edged the Rebels 3-2 in a back-and-forth contest that was the final regular season meeting between the two sides in the current campaign. With the win, Saskatoon swept the season series with Red Deer taking all four head-to-head encounters between the two sides in regulation time. Overall dating back to last season, the Blades have won seven straight games against the Rebels.

Rowan Calvert had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

Lots of players on both sides had good games in Wednesday’s clash, but the performance of two reliable veterans in 20-year-old standout left-winger Rowan Calvert and star netminder Evan Gardner, who turned 20-years-old in late January, put the Blades over the top.

On the scoresheet, Calvert recorded one goal – his 27^th of the season – and a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department. Well above what was seen in the statistical department, he was steady and reliable playing a 200-foot game.

When it came to defensive responsibilities, Calvert was always in the right position. When the Rebels pulled breakout 18-year-old rookie netminder Matthew Kondro for an extra skater inside of the final two minutes of the third, Calvert played a key part with his positioning in allowing the Blades to hold on to their 3-2 lead at the end of the contest.

Evan Gardner made 33 saves for the Blades on Wednesday.

Calvert and the Blades shutdown unit basically kept the Rebels pinned in their own zone for about the final 44 seconds of the third to preserve their one-goal victory.

Gardner made 33 saves to pick up the win in the Saskatoon net in another stellar outing. The puck stopper, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, earned his 23^rd victory of the campaign to match his career high for wins in a season set in the 2024-25 campaign.

The Blades were able to ride out times when the Rebels carried the momentum and rally with push backs. Any adversities that came up, the Saskatoon side was able to overcome them. Saskatoon has done this a number of times this season, but they haven’t been able to do that over a consistent long stretch of contests.

Matthew Kondro made 33 saves for the Rebels on Wednesday.

The Rebels, who are battling for their playoff lives, came out with a big push after downing the Raiders in Prince Albert 4-3 on Tuesday. Against the Raiders, the Rebels entered the third period trailing 3-1 before rolling off three straight goals to pull out the victory. It was a huge win for Red Deer as the Raiders sit second overall in the WHL and are rated second in the CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday.

On Wednesday against the Blades, the Rebels hit the scoreboard first just 1:55 into the opening frame, when 17-year-old left-winger Cameron Kuzma roofed home a power-play goal with a drive from the top of the left faceoff circle for his 10^th tally of the season. Red Deer would hold a 17-12 edge in shots on goal after 20-minutes but was unable to expand the 1-0 lead due to the work of Gardner.

Cameron Kuzma scored the Rebels first goal on Wednesday.

The Blades came with a big push back in the second frame. At the 8:39 mark of the second, Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies attempted to score on a wraparound only to be stopped by Kondro.

The rebound went out to Calvert close in at the right side of the Red Deer net, and Calvert popped the puck home to even the score at 1-1. Calvert’s tally came during a stretch when the two sides were playing four skaters versus four skaters due to off-setting penalties.

At the 15:14 mark of the second, Blades star sophomore centre Cooper Williams, who turned 18-years-old in February, intercepted a pass by a Rebels player in the Red Deer zone. Williams proceeded to skate into the left corner of the Red Deer zone and centred a pass to 19-year-old import left-winger Elias Pul. Pul wired home his ninth goal of the campaign to put the Blades in front 2-1.

Poul Anderson had the second goal for the Rebels on Wednesday.

During their pushback in the second, the Blades held a 15-7 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

The Rebels didn’t go away and showed their traditional no quit will in the third. Just 77 seconds into the frame, Rebels 18-year-old right-winger Poul Anderson wired home his 19^th goal of the campaign from the top of the right faceoff dot in the Saskatoon zone to even the score at 2-2.

Saskatoon wasn’t shaken by that change in momentum. With 5:07 remaining in the third, Blades star import right-winger David Lewandowski fired home a lazer shot from the point for a power-play goal that put the host side up for good at 3-2.

David Lewandowski had the winning goal for the Blades.

Kondro turned away 33 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.

With the win, the Blades ended a two-game skid improving to 31-25-4-2 to remain solidly sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. The Rebels fell to 23-33-2-2, but they still continue to hold a one point lead over the Moose Jaw Warriors (21-33-5-2) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer has one game in hand on Moose Jaw.

The Blades return to action on Friday when they host the Warriors at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The Rebels also get back at it on Friday when they travel to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).  

The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday.

Over their final six games of the regular season, the Blades will try to find the consistency they had during their first 12 contests of the regular season, when they jumped out to a 9-3 start. They can potentially be a handful for whoever they face in the post-season, if they can find the consistency to play well over a longer stretch.

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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