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.

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 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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Not easy – Blades gut out 4-2 victory over Broncos

WHL basement dwellers make Saskatoon earn win

The Blades celebrate a third period goal from Elias Pul.

On paper, it appeared to be a “get right game” for the Saskatoon Blades.

In their last two outings on January 9 and Wednesday, the Blades dropped respective decisions to the Edmonton Oil Kings and Brandon Wheat Kings by identical 3-1 scores. The Oil Kings are sitting inside the top four in the WHL, while the Wheat Kings are in the top eight of the major junior circuit.

Looking to put an end to a two-game skid that came against quality opponents, the Blades welcomed the Swift Current Broncos to the SaskTel Centre for a WHL regular season clash. The Broncos sit firmly in the basement of the entire WHL. In their last outing, the Broncos were drubbed by the Pats in Regina 7-0 on Wednesday.

Elias Pul had the winning goal for the Blades on Friday.

However, the WHL is not NCAA college football where quality teams can get their collective confidence back by steamrolling a foe at the bottom of the standings. In the WHL, all teams can be competitive on any given night, so you can’t just pencil in a notch in the win column against foes near or at the bottom of the standings.

On Friday night, the Blades found themselves locked in a 2-2 draw with the lowly Broncos for much of the third period. Saskatoon entered the third holding a 2-1 lead, but that changed when Broncos 18-year-old centre Parker Rondeau scored 92 seconds into the frame.

Working on the forecheck in the Saskatoon zone, Rondeau threw the puck to the front of the Saskatoon net, got to the front of the net to retrieve the puck and scored the equalizer off a spin around shot. Rondeau’s goal came when both teams were playing four-versus-four hockey due to off-setting penalties.

Aiden Eskit stopped 32-of-35 shots in goal for the Broncos.

With 7:11 remaining in the third, Blades 19-year-old rookie import left-winger Elias Pul proved to be opportunistic at just the right time. As the hosts were applying pressure in the Swift Current zone, Pul pounced on a loose puck sitting in front of the Broncos goal and wired home his fourth of the campaign to put the Blades in front 3-2.

The tally was Pul’s first goal as a member of the Blades after being acquired in a significant trade with the Spokane Chiefs on December 9, 2025. Pul was playing in just his third game with the Blades after returning to the WHL having played for Germany’s entry at world juniors.

Saskatoon’s victory was finally sealed when captain Tyler Parr scored into an empty net with 42.2 seconds to play in the third to round out the 4-2 win to the delight of the 3,497 spectators in attendance. The win allowed the Blades to improve to 22-16-2-1 to sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.

Evan Gardner (#35) makes one of his 26 saves for the Blades.

The Broncos fell to 9-30-3 to continue to sit last in the entire WHL, and they are winless in their last five straight games recording four regulation losses and an overtime setback over that stretch.

When Friday’s contest started, it appeared an early good omen for the Saskatoon side might foreshadow a feel good night. The Blades jumped in front 1-0 just 1:48 into the first period as 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies slid home his 12^th of the season from the front of the Swift Current net. The officials at first ruled no goal on the ice as Mathies drew contact with Broncos netminder Aiden Eskit.

The video review showed Mathies was guided into the Broncos puck stopper by a Swift Current skater, and the officials reversed the original ruling on the ice calling the goal good to allow the hosts take their one-goal edge.

Kazden Mathies had the Blades first goal on Friday.

Mathies’s tally did not spark a surge where the Blades would fill the Swift Current net with pucks. Instead, Eskit and Blades 19-year-old star netminder Evan Gardner played really sound. The Blades exited the opening 20 minutes with their 1-0 lead with the shots on goal being even at 11-11.

In the second period, the Broncos showed they weren’t going to mail Friday’s game in and evened the score at 1-1 at the 9:26 mark of the frame. Swift Current captain Hudson Darby gloved down a high Blades clear attempt at the Saskatoon blue line to create the scoring chance.

Darby skated in and put a shot on goal that was kicked out by Gardner. The rebound was directed out to Broncos rookie import left-winger Stepan Kuryachenkov. Kuryachenkov quickly potted home his eighth of the campaign for the equalizer.

Stepan Kuryachenkov scored the Broncos first goal on Friday.

Swift Current’s push back was strong enough to build a 21-16 edge in shots on goal with 10:17 remaining in the second.

However, momentum would jump back on Saskatoon’s side before the stanza came to an end. With 3:36 remaining in the second, the Blades pulled ahead 2-1 scoring on a two-man advantage.

Working the puck in the Swift Current zone, Blades standout centre Cooper Williams found himself with the puck off to the right of the Bronco net. Williams centred a pass to 20-year-old linemate Rowan Calvert in front of the Swift Current net. Calvert redirected the puck past Eskit for his team-leading 22^nd tally of the season for the power-play marker.

After 40 minutes, the Blades were still holding their 2-1 edge and had a 26-23 advantage in shots on goal. That set the stage for the dramatics in the third period.

Rowan Calvert netted a power-play goal for the Blades.

Gardner stopped 26 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Eskit turned away 32-of-35 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos. The 17-year-old rookie netminder is still in search of his first career WHL regular season victory.

Pul had an assist to go with his goal. His assist came from a smart pass that helped set Mathies on a path to score the first goal of the contest. Blades 18-year-old import left-winger David Lewandowski, who was also a member of Germany’s entry at world juniors, picked up two assists in Friday’s win.

The Blades picked up the win they were expected to pick up on Friday, but improving to 4-0 against Swift Current head-to-head didn’t come easy. That has kind of been a bit of a theme for the Blades at home this season as they now have a 10-9-0-1 record at the SaskTel Centre. Saskatoon’s home record rates 16^th among the WHL’s 23 clubs.

On the road, the Blades are 12-7-2, which rates as the ninth best road record in the WHL. They hope their luck on the road will continue on Saturday, when they travel to Swift Current to face the Broncos again at 7 p.m. at the Innovationplex.

The Blades salute their fans after their win on Friday.

While the Blades have experienced some success on the road, the Broncos will likely do their best to make it difficult for the Saskatoon side to continue that success.

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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Power player powers Oil Kings, comes up empty for Blades

Max Curran (#8) celebrates scoring a second period power-play goal.

The power play can giveth, and the power play and taketh away.

The Edmonton Oil Kings and Saskatoon Blades learned that lesson in a huge way in a head-to-head WHL regular season clash played before 3,934 spectators on Friday at the SaskTel Centre. The visiting Oil Kings went 3-for-6 with the man advantage and skated away with a 3-1 victory.

The Blades came up empty on six power-play opportunities and had to wonder what might have been. Saskatoon entered the contest having scored on 39-of-134 power-play chances on the campaign for a 29.1 per cent success rate to rate fourth overall in the WHL. The Blades penalty kill was about middle of the pack with a 77.9 per cent success rate entering play on Friday.

Max Curran scored two power-play goals for the Oil Kings.

Edmonton’s power play entering play on Friday was 28-for-139 for a 20.1 per cent success rate, which was in the bottom half of the league. The Oil Kings were also tied with the Wenatchee Wild for giving up the most short-handed goals against at eight. The penalty kill was a different story for Edmonton as the Oil Kings had an 81.8 per cent success rate entering play on Friday to sit in the top four on the circuit.

The win was a sixth straight for the Oil Kings, who improved to 28-7-3-1 to sit in a tie with the Prince Albert Raiders (28-5-4) for second and third overall in the Eastern Conference. Edmonton was rated sixth in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday, while the Raiders are third.

Evan Gardner makes one of his 26 save in goal for the Blades.

The Blades saw their four game winning streak come to an end on Friday. They fell to 21-15-2-1 to sit fifth overall in the Eastern Conference.

Going into Friday’s contest, it wasn’t expected the Oil Kings would outshine the Blades on the power play. That ended up being exactly what happened.

The Oil Kings broke on the scoreboard first scoring on the power play on their first shot of the game at the 4:06 mark of the opening frame. Oil Kings import right-winger Miroslav Holinka had the puck along the left wing and fed a pass across the front of the Saskatoon net to star centre Max Curran positioned by the right faceoff circle.

Curran, who helped Czechia win silver at the world juniors that concluded on Monday in Minnesota, one-timed home his 12^th of the season to give the visitors their one-goal edge.

Miroslav Holinka had a pair of assists for the Oil Kings.

With 8:30 remaining in the first, the Blades had a huge chance to pull even on the scoreboard. Blades rookie import left-winger Elias Pul deflected a point shot from the front of the Edmonton net only to be denied by Oil Kings reliable 17-year-old rookie netminder Parker Snell.

At the 4:06 mark of the second, the Oil Kings pushed their advantage out to 2-0 scoring their second power-play goal that was almost a carbon copy of their first. Holinka had the puck up high by the left point and slid a pass to the right side of the Saskatoon net to Curran. From a bad angle, Curran slid home his second of the contest and 13^th of the campaign to give Edmonton a two-goal advantage.

Isaac Poll had the Blades lone goal on Friday.

Oil Kings star 19-year-old defenceman Ethan MacKenzie picked up assists on both of those first two power-play goals. MacKenzie was playing his first game with the Oil Kings after having helped Canada win bronze at the world junior that wrapped up on Monday.

By the time the second period came to an end, the Blades had failed to score on five of their chances with the power play. They still managed to gain some momentum before the second frame ended.

With three seconds remaining in the second, the Blades got a big traction goal from sophomore 18-year-old defenceman Isaac Poll. Poll had the puck by the right side boards in the Edmonton zone above the right faceoff circle and floated home a shot for his first tally of the campaign to cut the Oil Kings lead to 2-1.

Blake Fiddler scored a key third period power-play goal.

The Oil King proceeded to get a key dagger goal at the 4:38 mark of the third period scoring their third power-play marker on the night. Edmonton defenceman Blake Fiddler took a shot from the point that deflected off a couple of bodies into the Saskatoon net to push the visitors lead out to 3-1.

With 6:56 remaining in the third, Blades 17-year-old right-winger Zach Olsen was given a double minor for high sticking and that infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension. The Oil Kings were unable to build on their lead on that four-minute power play.

Evan Gardner turned away 26 shots taking the setback in goal for the Blades. Snell stopped 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings, who have won two-of-three meetings with the Blades this season.

The Oil Kings return to action on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Oil Kings celebrate their win on Friday night.

The Blades are off until Wednesday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Going forward, the Blades will be looking to rediscover their prolific touch on the power play.

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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