Raiders series sweep victory would not be denied

Blades go down with big final battle in 5-3 defeat

The Raiders celebrate their series win over the Blades.

You have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good.

On Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the puck was taking all sorts of positive bounces for the Prince Albert Raiders in the first period in Game 4 of their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against their archrivals in the host Saskatoon Blades. Thanks to three positive bounce goals, the Raiders surged ahead of the Blades 4-1 in the first period holding a 15-4 edge in shots on goal in Game 4 of a WHL Eastern Conference Semifinal Series.

With the Raiders having built a 3-0 series lead in rather dominant fashion, it could have been easy for the Blades to pack it in after the three positive bounce goals went the Raiders way in the opening 20 minutes of Game 4 coming away with the thought that it is just not meant to happen for them.

Raiders fans celebrate their team’s series sweep.

The Blades battled back with their best two periods of the series cutting the Raiders lead to 4-3 in the second period. Star right-winger Hunter Laing and captain Tyler Parr fired home goals that got the host side back into the game.

Inside the final 70 seconds of the second, a puck from a battle along the left boards at centre ice came out to Raiders star centre Max Heise. Heise jetted into the Saskatoon zone on a rush down the left wing and wired a bullet shot short side to the top left corner of the Blades net to make the Raiders lead stand at 5-3 with 57.7 seconds to play in the frame. That tally, which was the first of the post-season for Heise, proved to be a dagger goal.

The two sides proceeded to skate to a stalemate in the third allowing that 5-3 score to hold up as the game’s final outcome. The Raiders swept the set 4-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 2019, when they last won the WHL title.

David Lewandowski reacts to the Blades season coming to an end.

At game’s end, the 6,361 spectators in the building, who were engaged with the contest all night, paid respects to both squads. The Raiders faithful, who were present in large numbers making just a 75 minute drive down Highway 11 to “The Bridge City,” celebrated the fact their squad was going to a conference final in what has been a memorable season.

The Blades faithful, which still made up the majority of the crowd, gave their team a rousing final salute. In the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the Blades pulled off an inspiring seven game series upset of the heavily favoured Edmonton Oil Kings to set up the rivalry series against the Raiders.

A quartet of Blades supporters take in post-game happenings.

Raiders captain Justice Christensen was pleased his squad got the win on Wednesday to advance to the WHL’s final four in the post-season.

“It means a lot,” said Christensen. “The guys battled hard tonight and are definitely enjoying it right now.

“We will move on here pretty quick, but enjoy it for the time being.”

With that noted, Christensen was part of the Raiders underdog squad that fell to the Blades in five games in the opening round of the WHL Playoffs in 2024, when the Blades finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings. The Blades went to the Eastern Conference final falling 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at home to the Moose Jaw Warriors, who would move on to win the WHL title.

Rowan Calvert give a final salute to the SaskTel Centre crowd.

The Raiders star defenceman was happy his squad returned the favour to the Blades this season, when Prince Albert was favoured to beat the Saskatoon side.

“It was nice for sure to get that one and do it four,” said Christensen. “I definitely didn’t forget about that one in 2024.

“I had that in the back of my mind the whole time, so it was nice to get it done.”

Parr, who exhausted his WHL eligibility with Wednesday’s setback, was on the victorious side in the 2024 series with the Blades. He didn’t like being on the losing end of the series this time, but he enjoyed the fight his team put up.

“It sucks losing to the Raiders, but I’m super proud of this group over the year,” said Parr, who graduates from the team along with standout left-winger Rowan Calvert. “I am super proud of the effort against them.

The Raiders and Blades shake hands at the conclusion of Game 4.

“I am super proud of the effort in this series. We fought right to the end, so I’m super proud of the guys.”

The positive bounces for the Raiders started just 68 seconds into Wednesday’s contest. Raiders star centre Braeden Cootes had the puck below the icing line in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone. Cootes banked the puck off the back of Blades star netminder Evan Gardner into the Saskatoon net to put the visitors up 1-0.

Imports Alisher Sarkenov, left, and Elias Pul visit at game’s end.

A short time later, Blades star import left-winger David Lewandowski rang a shot off the post of the Prince Albert net.

Moments after that scoring chance, the Raiders would cash in on their second positive bounce. Raiders 16-year-old breakout rookie defenceman Brock Cripps banked a shot off teammate in 19-year-old standout left-winger Maddix McCagherty into the Saskatoon net to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0 at the 4:53 mark of the opening frame. McCagherty was actually being guarded well by sophomore defenceman Jack Kachkowski, when Prince Albert’s second goal banked home off the Raiders forward.

Members of the Raiders faithful salutes their team.

Just 79 seconds after that tally, Raiders standout rookie import defenceman Matyas Man fired home a shot from a sharp angle at the left side of the Saskatoon net to the top right corner of the Blades goal to make the Raiders lead sit at 3-0. The Blades immediately called a timeout to regroup after that tally.

The Blade proceeded to get a break just 38 seconds later, when Lewandowski put home an off-speed shot close to the blue-line along the right boards for his fourth of the post-season to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1. Lewandownski’s shot went through an inadvertent screen by a Raiders player skating through the play that blocked the visit of Prince Albert’s star import netminder Michal Orsulak.

Max Heise scored the Raiders fifth goal, and it was a big one.

Blades offensive-defenceman Brayden Klimpke would proceed to hit a goalpost setting the stage for the next big positive bounce for the Raiders.

With 2:57 remaining in the opening frame, Raiders star defenceman Daxon Rudolph drove a shot on net that Gardner got a piece of. The puck proceeded to fall into the crease of the Saskatoon net and started to slowly creep towards the goal. Blades defenceman Jordan Martin went to play the puck and inadvertently poked it into his own net to make the Raiders advantage sit at 4-1.

“We were playing on them,” said Rudolph. “We were getting pucks in, getting behind them and playing a fast game, which is hard to play against.

“I think sometimes pucks can get bouncing when you’re rushing plays and things like that. I don’t really know what the reason is, but fortunate for us, we will take those bounces there in the first.”

Braeden Cootes had the Raiders first goal on Wednesday.

The Blades proceeded to battle back in the second period, where they outshot the Raiders 16-9. At the 11:39 mark of the frame, the Blades got a gritty goal as Laing found a loose puck around the Prince Albert net during a net scramble and popped it home to trim the Raiders lead to 4-2.

Just 2:51 later and working on a rare four-versus-three power play, Parr drove a mid range shot home through a screen from the front of the Prince Albert net to cut the Raiders lead to 4-3.

“The first wasn’t what we wanted at all obviously,” said Parr. “They came out pretty hard.

“We just kind of said, ‘This is it.’ It is time to get desperate. They’ve challenged us here, and it is how do we respond.

Brock Cripps (#12) works some creativity in the offensive zone.

“There was only one option, and that was to do everything we could to fight back into the game and we did that. It was a two-goal game, but a bounce here, a bounce there, it could have been tied. I’m just super proud of how we responded after the adversity in the first period, and I hope the guys can learn from that.”

Heise proceeded to pot his insurance goal with 57.7 seconds remaining in the second.

With about 13 minutes remaining in the third, Blades standout centre Hayden Harsanyi rang a shot off the crossbar of the Prince Albert net to further add to the total of bounces that did go in the direction of the host side.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Maddix McCagherty (#17).

Orsulak stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Evan Gardner turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

“I’m just really proud of our group, how we played,” said Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald. “I thought our start was absolutely tremendous as we got to our skating legs right away.

“Even the resilience throughout the game, the Blades pushed hard. That is a real scrappy team over there, and again, they didn’t go away and kept pushing us and again got the game close. We had to again buckle down and get back to our game.

“Give our guys a lot of credit, we got into that third period and really locked things down.”

Blades head coach Dan DaSilva was proud of how his club responded, when it looked like things were going to go south fast for his club in the opening frame.

Matyas Man scored the Raiders third goal on Wednesday.

“I thought that it (the game) was unfortunate the way it started,” said DaSilva. “I think our guys were excited, and they were ready to go.

“We had a couple of bad breaks early and got behind the eight ball right away. As we’ve seen all year long, there is no quit in our group. They used the timeout and the intermission to reset and get back to work.

“They played with so much pride in the last 40 minutes. They weren’t going to say die. I thought we had our best period of the series in the second period there.”

Going into this rivalry series, the Raiders were the favourites.

They finished first in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the league with a 52-10-5-1 record during the regular season. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the first round of the playoffs, Prince Albert eliminated the Red Deer Rebels, who were eighth in the Eastern Conference, in five games.

Daxon Rudolph netted the winning goal for the Raiders.

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. In the first round of the playoffs, they upset the Edmonton Oil Kings, who were third in the Eastern Conference and fifth overall in the WHL, in seven games taking Game 7 by a 3-2 score in overtime. In the seven games against the Oil Kings, the Blades played their best hockey of the 2025-26 campaign.

DaSilva was pleased his squad bowed out on a note where they battled hard in their Game 4 season ending loss to the Raiders in their Eastern Conference semifinal.

“It was our best game of the series,” said DaSilva. “We still came up short, hit a few posts, a couple of bad bounces.

The Blades celebrate a goal from captain Tyler Parr (#20).

“It is behind us now. I am just proud of the group, proud of the season and proud of everything that they gave. It is truly a pleasure to stand in front of that group and coach them every day.

“They are hard workers. They’re good human beings and good young men. We had a lot of fun this year.”

Before the playoffs started, expectations were high that the Raiders would face the defending WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers in a heavyweight showdown in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Championship Series. The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third in the league’s overall standings at 50-10-5-3. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Tyler Parr ensures a young fan leaves with a big memory.

On Wednesday, the Tigers finished off the other Eastern Conference Semifinal Series in a 4-0 sweep posting a 5-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary in Game 4 of that set. The heavyweight showdown between the Raiders and the Tigers in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series will happen with the schedule to be announced.

It is expected both clubs will have about eight off days between games as the two Western Conference semifinal series are still ongoing. The Tigers swept the Raiders in an Eastern Conference Semifinal Series a year ago.

For now, the Raiders want to enjoy for a short time the fact they swept away their archrivals in the Blades and are now 5-4 in all-time post-season series between the two clubs.

The Blades give a final salute to their fans at the SaskTel Centre.

“It feels good, obviously,” said Rudolph. “We have a long, historic rivalry here against the Blades.

“To come out on top in this series is definitely big for us. It is just a super happy feeling right now and super happy to get it done.”

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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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Oil Kings’ Holinka hammers Blades with hat trick

Edmonton evens series with Saskatoon 2-2

The Oil Kings celebrate a hat trick goal from Miroslav Holinka (#92).

Miroslav Holinka is becoming the Edmonton Oil Kings version of Connor McDavid.

On Wednesday, the 20-year-old import centre showed why he has become one of the WHL’s superstars. In Game 4 of a best-of-seven first round playoff series against the host Saskatoon Blades, Holinka fired home a hat trick and was a plus-two in the plus- minus department to power the Oil Kings to a 5-2 victory to disappoint most of the 4,834 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

With the win, the Oil Kings even the series at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 6 p.m. local time for Rogers Place in Edmonton. Game 6 is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Miroslav Holinka was on fire for the Oil Kings on Wednesday night.

Holinka, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, came into Wednesday’s contest having posted two goals, two assists and an even rating in the previous three games of the set. He nearly doubled his offensive output for the post-season in one contest.

Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith said Holinka gave his squad the boost they needed to even the series with the Blades.

“He is an experienced player in this league,” said Smith. “He is a 20-year-old guy, and he has expectations to play well and lead our team.

“His game tonight was outstanding, and it was a 200-foot game. He played well on both ends. He was out on the penalty kill and did a real good job.

Lukas Sawchyn had one goal and two assists for the Oil Kings.

“That is what you need from good players is good effort.”

Thanks to his hat trick performance, Holinka’s line had a great night. On Wednesday, Holinka for most of the contest centred a forward unit that contained rookie left-winger Kayden Stroeder, who turned 17-years-old in early March, and star veteran right-winger Lukas Sawchyn.

Stroeder finished with two assists and a plus-one rating, while Sawchyn posted one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating.

“They’re really skilled players,” said Blades head coach Dan DaSilva. “They are some of the best players in the league.

Kayden Stroeder had a pair of assists for the Oil Kings.

“They can make you look silly, if you’re not playing the body on them. I thought tonight we made it too easy on them and kind of let them off the hook a little bit. We’ve been doing a really good job on those guys.

“They are high-end players. They are going to have their nights, (and) they are going to get their looks. We’ve got to try and do a better job of limiting those looks and being more physical on them.”

At the 7:34 mark of the first period, Holinka opened the game’s scoring firing home a shot from the left slot to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

With 5:39 remaining in the first, Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies had a loose puck deflect off his skate from a rebound in front of the Edmonton net to even the score at 1-1.

Before the first came to an end, the Oil Kings would go back in front by scoring on the power play with 1:16 remaining in the stanza on a highlight reel effort by Holinka. Holinka skated through the Blades defence up through the centre of the Saskatoon zone and put home a close in backhand shot for his second of the contest to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.

Kazden Mathies had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

Sawchyn said it is a blast to play on the same line as Holinka, especially when the Czech product makes plays like he does like on his second tally on Wednesday.

“He (Holinka) is a great player and super smart,” said Sawchyn. “He can pretty much throw from anywhere on the ice, so it is fun giving him the puck.”

At the 4:29 mark of the second, the Oil Kings top line rushed into the Saskatoon zone, and Stroeder dropped a smart pass to veteran star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn. Sawchyn fired a perfect snipe to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net to push the Oil Kings lead to 3-1.

The Blades would answer back with 4:27 remaining in the second with a goal from star right-winger Hunter Laing. Laing tapped home a puck at the left side of the Edmonton net after receiving a cross crease feed from veteran defenceman Tristen Doyle to cut the Oil Kings lead to 3-2.

Hunter Laing had the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

Just when the Blades seemed to have the momentum, Holinka would complete his hat trick at an absolute dagger of a time. After catching the Blades on a bad line change, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett received a cross ice pass at the left side of the Saskatoon net from Sawchyn.

Blades star netminder Evan Gardner made a sprawling save but the puck rebounded out to Holinka at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Holinka popped home his hat trick tally with 21.5 seconds remaining in the frame to make the Oil Kings advantage sit at 4-2.

Mathies said his squad has to do a better job at playing against Holinka’s line.

“I think we have to be hard on them and not allow them to make just like the cute plays,” said Mathies. “We have to play physical and close the gap on them as quick as you can, so they can’t make those plays.”

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Blades made a big push in the third outshooting the Oil Kings 14-7 in the frame, but they weren’t able to put any pucks past Oil Kings veteran netminder Ethan Simcoe. Saskatoon even got to work on a four-minute power play as Oil Kings centre Andrew O’Neill picked up a double-minor for slew-footing. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL Office for a possible suspension.

Oil Kings import right-winger Adam Jecho scored into an empty net with 2.2 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 5-2 final score in favour of the visitors.

Tristen Doyle had a slick assist for the Blades.

Gardner turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Ethan Simcoe stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings. 

The Oil Kings are without 17-year-old rookie netminder Parker Snell with an undisclosed ailment. Associate player call up Elias Mitrikas, who is a 15-year-old who played for the North Shore Warriors Under-18 Prep Club, dressed as Edmonton’s backup netminder.

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.

Landon Hanson sets to shoot in the offensive zone for the Oil Kings.

At the moment, the Blades have shown they can compete at the same level as the Oil Kings. DaSilva is confident in his group going into Game 5, and he believes his players will be better than they were in Game 4.

“I think that we lacked a little bit of bite in our game,” said DaSilva. “It was not the game that you’ve seen from our group through three games in the series.

“They are a good team, (and) we knew they were going to push back. They were going to have their best effort here tonight. They didn’t want to be going home down 3-1.

“It is a best of three series. Anything can happen. We feel comfortable playing in Roger’s Place.”

Smith said his Oil Kings didn’t expect the series against the Blades would be a short one. As the two clubs head into the deep waters of the series, Smith said his squad will just focus on the next game.

The Oil Kings celebrate their Game 4 win on Wednesday.

“I think we kind of talked about it from the start of the playoffs that it is a game by game reset,” said Smith. “You’ve got to be prepared to play hard games.

“It is going to be very competitive, and you’ve got to be emotionally and physically involved in it to wear through it.”

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Raiders rally past Blades in Valentine’s Day heart stopper

Prince Albert takes tiebreaking shootout 2-0 and contest 5-4

The Raiders celebrate their win on Saturday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Sometimes the Prince Albert Raiders have to live out the phrase, “Just win baby.”

The Raiders found a way to do just that in taking on their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades in a regular season clash on Saturday, which was also Valentine’s Day. The contest was likely both thrilling and hard on the hearts for the fans of both squads. The hosts took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission only for the visitor to score four straight in the first 7:42 of the second to surge ahead 4-2.

Prince Albert proceeded to rally back by scoring once during the remaining time in the second and the equalizer in the third to force a 4-4 tie. After the two sides played through a scoreless three-versus-three overtime period, 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring and star centre Braeden Cootes scored as the first two shooters in the tiebreaking shootout to allow the Raiders to take that session 2-0 and the overall game 5-4 to the delight of most of the 2,892 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre.

Aiden Oiring (#19) puts the shootout winner past Evan Gardner.

The win came off the heels of the Raiders dropping a 4-3 decision to the Wheat Kings in Brandon on Friday. That setback saw Raiders 19-year-old import defenceman Matyas Man be given a suspension with a length to be determined for his part in a second period fight with Wheat Kings 18-year-old right-winger Joby Baumuller, who was injured in the bout.

Man was given a roughing minor, an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, a fighting major and a game misconduct for that fight, while Baumuller was given a fighting major.

Aiden Oiring had an assist in regulation time on Saturday.

After the eight hour bus trip back to Prince Albert, Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased his side found a way to take Saturday’s clash with the Blades.

“Guys dug deep,” said McDonald. “You know what, we had some tough travel coming back, no excuses, and that is what that room does in there.

“They dig deep right till the end, and it took us 65 plus to get the two points, and those guys played hard right till the bitter end.”

The Raiders, who are rated second in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, built their 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes with goals coming off the sticks of Ben Harvey and Brandon Gorzynski. Harvey, who is a 16-year-old rookie right-winger, deflected home a backhand shot rookie 18-year-old import left-winger Alisher Sarkenov at the 3:47 mark of the first.

Brayden Klimpke had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Gorzynski put an off-speed shot from the point home through a screen with 25.4 seconds remaining in the opening frame to give the Raiders their two-goal edge.

The Blades quickly erased that advantaged by scoring four straight goals in the first 7:42 of the second to take 4-2 lead. Hunter Laing, with his 21^st goal of the campaign, David Lewandowski, Ben Bowtell and captain Tyler Parr all had singles in the surge. 

Parr capped the goal explosion scoring on a breakaway. With that tally, Parr now has goals in four straight games.

“I think some of our puck management and our risk management started to go a little bit,” said McDonald. “We got under some pucks.

“They started flying some guys out of the zone, and they started getting some rush opportunities. Give them credit, (because) they capitalized on some of our mistakes. Halfway through the second period, the guys snapped back in, and were getting strong through the middle.

Justice Christensen had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

“We had numbers in the picture. We were able to kill those rush opportunities for them and get pucks going back into the other direction.”

Just 51 seconds after Parr’s goal put the Blades in front 4-2, the Raiders got a key traction marker from sophomore right-winger Riley Boychuk, who tipped a puck home from the front of the Saskatoon net. Boychuk got his stick on a shot taken by Gorzynski from the left side boards in the Saskatoon zone.

“It was huge,” said Oiring of his linemate’s goal. “They had a couple of quick ones back to back there.

“When we went out there, we had to shift the momentum a little bit, just put her deep. We got a lucky bounce to put her in the net.”

The Raiders celebrate a first period goal by Ben Harvey (#20).

At the 5:22 mark of the third, the Raiders evened the game’s score at 4-4, when 17-year-old right-winger Brandon Sivertson shoveled home the puck from the front of the Saskatoon net collecting a rebound from a shot he took. Sivertson’s tally was his 19^th goal of the campaign.

“Everyone in our group, we battle right to the end,” said Sivertson. “It is important for everyone to battle hard.”

Both teams had their chances to pull ahead through the remainder of the third. In overtime, Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies was stopped by Raiders star netminder Michal Orsulak on an early breakaway. That was the Blades only shot on goal in overtime, while the Raiders couldn’t find the back of the Saskatoon net with their seven shots on goal.

Hunter Laing had the Blades first goal on Saturday.

That set the stage for the tiebreaking shootout, where Oiring and Cootes both fired home goals low to the stick side on Blades star netminder Evan Gardner. 

Oiring, who had an assist in regulation time, said the Raiders coaches do scouting work to give the players options on what to do in the shootout.

“We definitely have an idea in our head, and we have a plan A going down,” said Oiring, whose team is 2-0 in tiebreaking shootouts this season. “If we see it, we execute it, but if not, there is a plan B that we are thinking off.

“I think both the shooters really stuck with plan A there.”

Orsulak stopped 18 shots over 65 minutes and both shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. 

Tyler Parr scored the Blades fourth goal on Saturday.

Gardner turned away 32 shots over 65 minutes and didn’t turn away any shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in net for the Blades.

Raiders captain and star defenceman Justice Christensen finished with two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. Blades offensive-defenceman Brayden Klimpke finished with two assists and a plus-one rating.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 41-8-5 to remain first in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the WHL. The Blades remained sixth overall in the Eastern Conference as their record moved to 27-22-4-2.

The Raiders return to action on Monday when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (2 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Brock Cripps brings the puck up ice for the Raiders.

The Blades also get back at it on Monday when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (2:30 p.m., Assiniboine Credit Union Place).

After the Raiders tied Saturday’s game in the third, McDonald was pleased his players didn’t get discouraged when they couldn’t take the lead in the rest of that frame or win it in overtime. The bench boss liked how his players continued to battle.

“Sometimes it takes longer than 60 minutes,” said McDonald. “In this case tonight, it took 65 plus, but that is our group.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“We just keep pushing and pushing and pushing until we find a way to get it done.”

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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Biggest win of the season

Blades down Tigers 3-2 after tiebreaking shootout

The Blades celebrate their win over the Tigers on Friday.

If the Saskatoon Blades need a boost in the “believe” department, they got it against one of the best the CHL has to offer.

On Friday night playing before 4,263 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the host Blades found themselves trailing the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 2-1 late in the third period of a WHL regular season contest. The Tigers came into the contest sitting third overall in the WHL, leading the circuit’s Central Division and were rated fifth in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday.

Inside the final minute of the third, the Blades were working the puck in the Medicine Hat zone with star netminder Evan Gardner pulled for an extra skater. The Blades worked the puck down to star 17-year-old centre Cooper Williams, who was positioned off the right of the Medicine Hat net just above the icing line.

Cooper Williams scored with 55.8 seconds remaining in the third.

Williams ripped a shot from that spot past Tigers 18-year-old rookie netminder Carter Casey with 55.8 seconds remaining on the clock to force a 2-2 tie and overtime.

The two squads proceeded to skate through a five-minute three-versus-three overtime still locked in a 2-2 tie causing the contest to go to a tiebreaking shootout. Blades 18-year-old centre Hayden Harsanyi scored in the second round of the shootout and Gardner turned away all three shooters he faced to deliver the Blades to a 1-0 victory in the tiebreaking session and a 3-2 win in the contest overall.

The win allowed the Blades to improve to 24-16-3-1 to sit fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Tigers saw their record move to 32-7-3-3 to remain third overall in the WHL and second overall in the Eastern Conference.

Hayden Harsanyi had the shootout winner for the Blades.

The Blades victory over the Tigers was both a gutty and surprising one. Saskatoon’s odds of pulling out the upset were hampered due to entering the contest having four defencemen out of the lineup due to injury.

The hosts were missing Derek Thurston and Jordan Martin due to upper body injuries and Isaac Poll and Kaden Allan due to lower body injuries. In order to take the ice with six defencemen, the Blades had to dress a pair of 16-year-old associate player call ups.

Julian Revel skated in his fourth game with the Blades having been brought in from the Edge School Under-18 Prep team in Calgary. Luke Dumas suited up in his second game for the Blades after being brought in from the Northern Alberta Xtreme Under-18 Prep team located in Devon, Alberta, which is just southwest of Edmonton.

Ethan Neutens scored to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers were missing a key member of their roster as captain Bryce Pickford was out with an upper body injury. Aside from Pickford’s absence, the Tigers had everyone else on their roster ready to be utilized.

While the Blades were incredibly short staffed on defence, they played the Tigers pretty much even up throughout the night on Friday.

The Tigers opened the game’s scoring at the 8:50 mark of the opening frame. Medicine Hat 20-year-old right-winger Ethan Neutens deflected home a point shot from rookie import 18-year-old left-winger Yaroslav Bryzgalov to give the visitors a one-goal edge.

While the visitors got the opening tally, they weren’t able to build their lead. The Tigers held an 11-10 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes. Casey and Gardner locked things down in their respective nets resulting in Medicine Hat going into the first intermission holding just the one-goal edge from Neutens’ tally.

Hunter Laing scored the Blades first goal in the third period.

The netminders on both sides continued to shine in a scoreless second period that saw the Tigers hold an 11-5 edge in shots on goal. With about 7:40 remaining in the frame, Blades 19-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing appeared to pop home the equalizer, but the play had been blown dead with a scrum around the Medicine Hat net.

With about 30 seconds remaining in the second, 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies had a pair of chances in close in front of the Medicine Hat net, but he was denied by Casey.

Just before the midway mark of the third period, the Blades were finally able to break through on to the scoreboard to force a 1-1 tie. Laing had the to the right of the Medicine Hat net just above the icing line close to the right side boards. He slipped home a shot to the short side over top of Casey’s shoulder for the equalizer.

Andrew Basha gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 8:01 left in the third.

After Laing got the Blades on even terms, it appeared Tigers 20-year-old star centre Andrew Basha delivered what could have been a dagger moment in the contest. With 8:01 remaining in the second, Basha fired a shot from the left side boards in the Saskatoon zone that Gardner got a piece of, but the puck fell into the crease and slowly slid across the goal-line into the Saskatoon net to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

That set the stage for the dramatics where Williams netted the equalizer inside the final minute of the third and the Blades proceeded to get the win after the tiebreaking shootout.

Gardner stopped 27 shots over 65 minutes and all three shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Casey turned away 29 shots over 65 minutes and one of two shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in net for the Tigers.

Evan Gardner came up with a big performance in goal.

Both teams entered the contest having solid success on the power play only to come up empty in that department. The Blades failed to score on five opportunities with the man advantage, and the Tigers were unable to score on three of their own power-play chances.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 34-6-4 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). The Raiders, who are rated second in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, hold a two point lead over the Tigers for first in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the WHL. Prince Albert has a game in hand on Medicine Hat.

The Blades get back at it on Sunday when they travel to Edmonton to take on the 30-9-3-2 Oil Kings (4 p.m. local time, Rogers Place). The Oil Kings are rated sixth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Blades were in good spirits after their win over the Tigers.

Throughout the 2025-26 campaign, the Blades have had a season that has been a bit all over the map. On Friday, they showed they can rise to the occasion and pick up wins over the elite in the WHL and by extension the CHL.

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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Gardner’s 40 stops can’t save Blades in Game 1

Hitmen look the part of favourites in 4-2 win

Evan Gardner made 40 saves in net for the Blades on Friday.

Evan Gardner gave his Saskatoon Blades a chance, but the Calgary Hitmen weren’t going to be denied.

On Friday night, the Hitmen looked the part of favoured team in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against the Blades. Gardner, who is the Blades star netminder, did his best to steal the contest making 40 saves and showing why he backstopped the Saskatoon side to being one win shy of advancing to the WHL Championship Series one year ago.

In the series opener, the Hitmen proved to be too much for the Blades to handle. The Calgary side skated away with a 4-2 victory they had to work for while holding a 44-17 edge in shots on goal playing before a home crowd of 3,770 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on Tuesday.

The Blades finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-23-4-4 mark. They enter the WHL Playoffs with the second youngest roster out of the 16 teams that are playing in the circuit’s post-season with an average age of 17.9 years on their roster.

A year ago, the Blades entered the playoffs having topped the WHL standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark and were loaded with a lot of star veterans. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship series where they fell 3-2 in overtime in Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

The 2024-25 campaign ended up being a reload season for the Blades, who traded a number of veteran stars before the WHL’s trade deadline back on January 9 acquiring needed draft capital and younger players. Even with those moves, the Blades still comfortably landed in a position to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

While Calgary finished higher in the standings, Saskatoon could still enter the series with some confidence. The Blades actually won the season series in the regular season between the two sides recording two regulation wins and one overtime setback in four head-to-head encounters.

The two sides met twice after the trade deadline. The Hitmen posted a 4-1 victory at home on January 10, and the Blades claimed a 6-3 victory at home on February 14.

Calgary went into Game 1 without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Anders Miller, who is an 18-year-old rookie, started in goal for the Hitmen, and he was backed up by 16-year-old rookie Eric Tu.

The Hitmen broke on to the scoreboard at the 4:26 mark of the opening frame with a short-handed goal. On a clearance into the back boards to the right of the Saskatoon net, Hitmen star 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe hit Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke into the boards and got the puck.

Howe centred the puck to veteran Hitmen right-winger Ethan Moore, who buried the short-handed marker to give the host side a 1-0 lead. Calgary outshot Saskatoon 18-5 in the opening frame.

At the 5:16 mark of the second, Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann fired home a point shot through a screen to even the score at 1-1.

Calgary proceeded to pull away at that point. With 3:18 remaining in the second, Hitmen star right-winger Oliver Tulk stole a breakout pass just inside the blue-line of the Saskatoon zone. Tulk jetted in on goal and snapped a shot past Gardner to give the Hitmen a 2-1 edge.

Appearing in 65 regular season games with the Hitmen in 2024-25, Tulk finished sixth in the WHL scoring race with 100 points coming off 38 goals and 62 assists to go with a plus-40 rating in the plus-minus department.

Calgary had a 12-8 edge in shots on goal in the second.

At the 7:58 mark of the third while working on the power play, Moore deflected home a shot pass from star defenceman Sawyer Mynio at the left side of the Saskatoon net to push Calgary’s lead out to 3-1.

Just 2:25 later, Mynio put a point shot on the Saskatoon net that rebounded to Hitmen star centre Ben Kindel in front of the goal. Kindel popped home the loose puck to increase Calgary’s advantage to 4-1.

The Blades didn’t go away. Just 25 seconds later, Blades breakout rookie centre Cooper Williams, who turned 17 in February, stole the puck from a Hitmen defenceman in the Calgary zone. Williams had the puck on the left wing and passed it to breakout 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing in the right faceoff circle.

Laing went in alone on Anders and snapped home a shot to cut the Calgary lead to 4-2. The Blades couldn’t close any further as the Hitmen held a 14-4 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

Anders made 15 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen. Howe had a pair of helpers in the Calgary victory.

After a day off, the series resumes with Game 2 set for Sunday at 2 p.m. local time at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

While the Hitmen get full credit for their win on Friday, the opportunity is there for the Blades to make a push back to turn some heads. They are in a “house money” position where they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

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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