Blades juggle roster, close to cementing 20-year-olds

The Blades traded Justin Lies on June 6.

The Saskatoon Blades have put in some early work to clear up how their roster will look this coming season.

The 2022-23 campaign turned out to be one of the best the Blades have had in some time. They finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-13-4-3 record.

Saskatoon advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 1994 falling in four games to the Winnipeg Ice. In a WHL Eastern Conference semfinal series in the 2023 playoff run, the Blades fell behind 3-0 to the Red Deer Rebels before rallying back to take the series 4-3. The Blades joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as only teams to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series and rally back to take the set in WHL history.

Naturally, the Blades in a perfect world would like return as many players as possible from last season who gained valuable experience from that post-season run. Plus, the rosters of the clubs that finished first to third overall in the WHL regular season in the Ice, league champion Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers are going to look a lot different this season due to their decisions to load up.

The Ice do have the potential to bring back seven core players from their 2022-23 team in Daniel Hauser, Jonas Woo, Zach Benson, Evan Friesen, Carson Latimer, Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie, but there will be a lot of changes around that group.

With that noted, the Blades have to deal with their share of the cyclical nature of junior hockey. Gone due to graduation having exhausting their major junior eligibility playing out there 20-year-old seasons are captain and offensive-defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere, defenceman Blake Gustafson and centre Josh Pillar.

One of the decisions the Blades had to make was in between the pipes. Did they want to return two goalies in their 19-year-old seasons in Austin Elliott and Ethan Chadwick?

The two netminders rotated starts for pretty much the entire campaign last season. Elliott appeared in 37 regular season games in 2022-23 posting a 25-6-3 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .911 save percentage and two shutouts. He was named a second team WHL East Division all-star and was named to the CHL’s all-rookie team.

Chadwick appeared in 34 regular season contests in 2022-23 posting a 23-9-2 record, a 2.61 goals against average, a .899 save percentage and two shutouts.

On May 11, the Blades traded Chadwick to the Everett Silvertips for a second round selection in the WHL Prospects Draft that was held that day and originally belonged to the Kamloops Blazers and a fourth round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft. Saskatoon used the second round selection to pick 15-year-old netminder Ryley Budd, who played with his hometown Calgary Northstars Under-15 AAA team last season.

The Blades traded Conner Roulette to the Chiefs on May 31.

In 20 regular season appearances in the Alberta Elite Hockey League, Budd posted an 8-10 record, a 3.34 goals against average, a .916 save percentage and two shutouts.

With that move, Elliott will likely be the Blades starter next season and a younger goalie in their system will be an apprentice backup. Chadwick will have a good shot to be the Silvertips start for the upcoming campaign.

After trading Chadwick, the Blades started to narrow down the players that could take the three 20-year-old spots they are allowed on their roster. Upon being eliminated from the 2023 WHL Playoffs, the Blades had seven potential players that could fill those 20-year-old spots.

On May 31, they dealt right-winger Conner Roulette to the Spokane Chiefs for a second round selection in the 2024 Prospects Draft and a third round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft. Appearing in 60 regular season games in 2022-23 with the Blades, Roulette collected 24 goals and 38 assists for 62 points to go with a plus-19 rating in the plus-minus department.

On June 3, the Blades traded rugged right-winger Justin Lies to the Victoria Royals for a conditional third round selection in the 2026 Prospects Draft. Lies appeared in 56 regular season contests for the Blade in 2022-23 posting career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and plus-minus (plus-six).

Having completed those two moves, the Blades are down to five potential players who could fill their three 20-year-old spots. Out of that group, left-winger Jake Chiasson has a signed three- year NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers and could potentially be assigned to one of the Oilers’ minor professional affiliates.

Chiasson played 70 regular season games in 2022-23 split between the Blades and the Brandon Wheat Kings posting 20 goals and 38 assists. The Blades acquired Chiasson in a trade on January 10.

If Chiasson is assigned in the Oilers system, the Blades would be down to four potential players that could fill their three 20-year-old spots. Skilled centre Trevor Wong is highly likely to fill one of those spots as he topped the Blades in regular season scoring in 2022-23 posting 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists to go with a plus-23 rating appearing in all the club’s 68 regular season contests.

Defenceman Charlie Wright seems like a solid choice to fill a second 20-year-old spot. Appearing in 66 regular season contests with the Blades in 2022-23, Wright posted career highs in goals (eight), assists (32), points (40) and plus-minus (plus-33).

That would leave the third spot to go to either centre Jayden Wiens or utility player Spencer Shugrue, who are both popular in the Blades dressing room. Wiens battled an injury during the regular season being limited to 42 games, where he posted 17 goals, 10 assists and a plus-one rating.

The Blades dealt Ethan Chadwick to the Silvertips on May 11.

Shugrue mainly played defence last season, but his versatility to play up front or on the back end has become valuable. In 55 regular season appearances in 2022-23, Shugrue collected one goal, six assists and a plus-two rating.

In the 2023 WHL Playoffs, Shugrue earned the nickname “Mr. Game 7” for his heroics in the team’s two Game 7 victories over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats and the Rebels collecting three goals and an assist in those clutch performances.

Unless a deal comes up the Blades can’t turn down, they will likely sit on their 20-year-old situation as is until training camp comes around.

With all that noted, they’ve done well to find good potential landing spots for Chadwick, Roulette and Lies for the upcoming campaign.

Valkyries receive bye in WWCFL playoffs, other notes

QB Alex Eyolfson (#15) and her Valkyries had this weekend off.

For a second straight year, the Saskatoon Valkyries have advanced to the final four of the WWCFL Playoffs thanks to a forfeit victory.

This past Tuesday, the Valkyries, who topped the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference with a 4-0 record, were informed the Winnipeg Wolfpack, who were 0-4 in the regular season, were forfeiting their WWCFL quarter-final to the Saskatoon powerhouse squad. The Wolfpack also forfeited a quarter-final contest last season to the Valkyries, who advanced on to win their seventh WWCFL championship.

The Valkyries and Wolfpack met in a regular season contest on May 28 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field. Saskatoon blanked Winnipeg 59-0 in a game that was called at halftime due to injuries that had piled up for the Wolfpack.

The Valkyries weren’t the only squad to advance in the WWCFL post-season thanks to a forfeit win. This past Thursday, the Lethbridge Steel, who were 0-4 in the regular season, informed the Edmonton Storm, who were 2-1 in the regular season, they were forfeiting their quarter-final contest to club from the Alberta capital. That contest had originally been scheduled for a 2 p.m. local start in Edmonton on Saturday.

With the forfeit win, the Storm advance to the WWCFL’s Western Conference Championship game to take on the Calgary Rage, who posted a 3-0 record in the regular season. This contest will be played on either Saturday, June 17 or Sunday, June 18 in Calgary at a place and time to be announced.

The Storm and Rage met once in the regular season with the Rage pulling out a 33-14 victory way back on April 29 in Calgary. The two sides were to have played on May 20 in Edmonton, but that contest was outright cancelled due to heavy smoke from the wildfires burning all over Western Canada.

The only quarter-final game that was played came on Saturday as the Winnipeg-based Manitoba Fearless traveled to Regina to face the Riot at Mosaic Stadium. Both squads were 2-2 in regular season play.

The Riot downed the Fearless 26-13 to advance to play the Valkyries in the WWCFL’s Prairie Conference Championship game. That contest will be played at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on either Saturday, June 17 or Sunday, June 18 at a time to be announced.

The Valkyries head into that contest having won their last 25 games overall including two forfeit victories. Saskatoon’s last loss came seemingly a lifetime ago back on June 24, 2018 falling 14-10 in the WWCFL Championship Game to the Riot in Regina at Mosaic Stadium.

This year’s WWCFL Championship Game will be hosted in Saskatoon on Saturday, June 24 at 2 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium. The Valkyries need to beat the Riot in the Prairie Conference final in order to play in the WWCFL final as the host squad.

• On Thursday, the junior A Battlefords North Stars, who are the defending SJHL champions, announced they had signed head coach and general manager Brayden Klimosko, who is 35-years-old, to a five-year contract extension. Klimosko joined the North Stars before the start of the 2018-19 campaign as head coach and took on duties as the general manager before the start of the 2019-20 campaign. This past season, the North Stars top the SJHL regular season standings with an impressive 48-5-2-1 record. They rolled through the SJHL Playoffs posting a 12-1 record to claim the league championship and advance to the national junior A Centennial Cup Championship Tournament in Portage la Prairie, Man. The North Stars advanced to the title game of the Centennial Cup tournament falling to the Alberta-based Brooks Bandits 4-0. The Bandits have won the Centennial Cup the last three times it has been awarded.
• On Thursday, Rob Vanstone received his Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for his extraordinary leadership and service to local sports. Vanstone had worked full-time for the Regina Leader-Post as a sports writer and columnist from late July 1987 to this past February. He left the Leader-Post to join the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders as their Senior Journalist and Historian. When it comes to the sports scene in Regina, Vanstone has covered it all. His stories on minor sports were as good as the ones he would produce on the Roughriders and WHL’s Regina Pats. The effort he gave to all the stories and columns he wrote was outstanding. He was a deserving recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
• On June 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on Callie Steen, who is a rising star in track and field. Steen is finishing up her Grade 12 year at Hanley Composite School in Hanley, Sask., and she has committed to join the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Women’s Track and Field team in the NCAA Division I ranks this fall. The piece on Steen can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that shows the track and field season in top gear and the spring season at the Complex rolling on. That post can be found by clicking right here.

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

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Ice top guns freeze out Blades

Winnipeg takes 2-0 lead in Eastern Conference final

Connor McClennon had a hat trick and an assist on Saturday.

The Winnipeg Ice top line felt the need for speed and the need for goals.

The forward unit of right-winger Connor McClennon, centre Matthew Savoie and left-winger Zach Benson delivered an abundance of both in Game 2 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series on Saturday afternoon against visiting the Saskatoon Blades. The Ice trio combined for five goals and five assists to power their host squad to a 6-2 victory before an appreciative gathering of 1,720 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

McClennon had a hat trick and an assist, while both Savoie and Benson each had a goal and two assists.

With the win, the Ice take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. Games 3 and 4 are set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. both nights at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Before the Ice stars took flight, the Blades came with a good initial push at the start of the first period. The visitor’s early momentum was assisted by the face Ice standout centre Conor Geekie was given a minor penalty for tripping at the 4:07 mark of the opening frame.

On the ensuing power play, Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser turned away two dangerous chances coming from a midrange shot from the left slot by Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky and a point blank shot from the front of the Winnipeg net by centre Jayden Wiens.

Matthew Savoie had a goal and two assists on Saturday.

Right as the power play expired, the Ice turned the game’s momentum around. First, Ice defenceman Karter Prosofsky dumped Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov with a big hit.

A short time after that hit, Ice star offensive-defenceman Carson Lambos had the puck in his own zone and hit McClennon with a stretch pass at centre ice. McClennon jetted into the Saskatoon zone down the right wing and snapped home a shot just above the right faceoff dot to give the hosts a 1-0 edge. The goal came on Winnipeg’s first shot of the contest.

After the Ice went ahead on the scoreboard, the Blades had a chance to pull even off a good rush by Lisowsky. On a rush down the left wing into the Winnipeg zone, Lisowsky made a toe drag move around an Ice defenceman and snipped a shot on goal that was turned away by Hauser.

With 2:29 remaining in the first, McClennon scored his second of the contest to put the Ice up 2-0 with the Winnipeg side working on the power play. Ice star offensive-defenceman Ben Zloty had the puck above the right faceoff circle and fed a pass down to McClennon, who was left all alone by the left post of the Saskatoon net. McClennon made no mistake potting his second of the contest into an open cage to give his squad a two-goal edge.

The Ice power-play goal ended a run for the Blades where they had killed 12 straight power-play chances by their opposition.

Zach Benson (#9) had a goal and two assists for the Ice.

When the opening 20 minutes came to a close, the Blades held a 10-9 edge in shots on goal, but the Ice held a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard.

At the 3:25 mark of the second, the Ice’s topped line lived out the cliché that you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. McClennon put the puck into the right corner of the Saskatoon zone on what seemed like a harmless dump in.

Blades netminder Austin Elliott started to skate behind his net in anticipation of playing the puck. The puck took a wicked curl off the boards and shot out across the face of the Saskatoon goal straight to a forechecking Benson. Benson dumped the puck into an empty Blades net to push the hosts lead out to 3-0.

With 7:31 remaining in the second, the Ice received a goal from outside their top forward line. Geekie had the puck just inside his own blue-line and hit standout centre Owen Pederson, who turned 21-years-old in late March, with a stretch pass just before the Saskatoon blue-line.

The Blades were caught on a line change, which allowed Pederson to streak into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. Pederson snuck a nifty backhand shot between the legs of Elliott for his third goal of the post-season to give the Ice a 4-0 lead.

Justin Lies scored for the Blades.

Just 68 seconds into the third, McClennon completed his hat trick to put the Ice ahead 5-0 on a play that almost resembled his power-play goal earlier in the contest. Ice defenceman Graham Sward had the puck at the right point and he fed a smart pass down to McClennon, who was again alone at the left post of the Saskatoon goal.

McClennon calmly potted his hat trick goal into an empty cage to give the hosts a five-goal edge. The tally was also the 10^th of the post-season for McClennon.

The Blades broke through for the first time in the series on the scoreboard shortly after the midway point of the third period where gritty left-winger Justin Lies seemingly turned into Blades all-time great Bernie Federko for a rush. Lies got the puck in the centre ice zone, jetting down the right wing, deked out and zipped around Lambos to get in alone on the Winnipeg net and slipped home a shot between the legs of Hauser to cut the Ice lead to 5-1.

With 5:21 remaining in the third, the Blades struck on the power play to trim the Ice advantage to 5-2. Wiens knocked home a puck about a foot in the air off the ice surface at the right side of the Winnipeg net to pull the Blades to within three. The opportunity Wiens cashed in on came from a rebound off a shot taken by Blades star centre Trevor Wong.

The officials checked out the tally on a video review and confirmed the goal was a good one.

The Blades were hoping to build on the two-goal surge and pulled Elliott for an extra attacker with 4:38 remaining in the third.

Jayden Wiens scored for the Blades on Saturday.

The Ice sealed the final outcome with 3:33 remaining in the third with an empty-net goal from Savoie that rounded out the 6-2 final.

Hauser made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice, who have won five straight post-season games. Elliott turned away 27-of-32 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

The Blades were without 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson and 18-year-old rearguard Ben Saunderson on Saturday as they were both injured in the team’s second game Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Red Deer Rebels. They have yet to suit up for the Blades in their series with the Ice.

Black ace Morgan Tastad, who turned 17-years-old in January, dressed for his second career WHL post-season contest on Saturday and second straight game to allow the Blades to have six defencemen.

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

Saskatoon elected to dress left-winger Mikhail Volotovskii in place of centre Jordan Keller with the hopes of getting a spark offensively.

Trevor Wong had an assist for the Blades on Saturday.

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

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

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

The Blades overcame a 2-0 deficit in a first round series against Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats and a 3-0 deficit in an Eastern Conference semifinal against the Rebels to win those sets in respective Game 7s.

The Ice are pleased to have a 2-0 series lead.

Looking ahead, the Blades can’t be counted out, but the Ice’s skill and depth in skill will be tough to overcome.

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 will live on in WHL lore thanks to 3-0 series comeback

The Blades celebrate Spencer Shugrue’s winning goal on Tuesday.

The best of the Saskatoon Blades came out when their season was potentially 20 minutes from ending.

On April 19, the Blades were down 3-0 in their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Red Deer Rebels, and the Rebels were holding a 2-1 lead in Game 4 on home ice at the Peavey Mart Centrium after two periods. In the first three games of the series, the Rebels clamped things down defensively in those third periods to close out victories, so it was hard for any objective person to think Game 4 was going to be any different.

The only people that would have believed the Blades were going to pull out that contest were the Blades players, coaches, management and staff along with ultra-passionate fans that see everything with rose coloured glasses. Red Deer held a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes in that contest, and Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere scored on a power play in the second to pull the visitors to within 2-1.

In a span of four minutes and three seconds coming before the nine minute mark of the third, the Blades rolled off three straight goals coming from the sticks of Jayden Wiens, Brandon Lisowsky and Tanner Molendyk. Throw in a 34 save performance from Saskatoon product Ethan Chadwick in goal, and that 4-2 advantage in favour of the Blades held up as the game’s final score.

While the Rebels still held a 3-1 series lead following Game 4, it felt like the complexion in the series changed. You could see in the eyes of the Blades players and coaches that they had belief that this series wasn’t over.

The Blades faithful cheer on their team on Tuesday.

Last Friday in Game 5 in Saskatoon, the Blades stormed their way to a 6-3 victory while outshooting the Rebels 31-17. The hosts drew their lowest attendance of the post-season but still a good crowd of 5,908 spectators to the SaskTel Centre. The fans were engaged with what was happening on the ice, and following that contest, it felt realistic that the Blades could win two more games to take the series.

Game 6 held this past Sunday back in Red Deer against a Rebels side that was truly refocused was going to be a hard one for Saskatoon to get. The Blades received a huge traction moment 34 seconds into the contest from star import right-winger Egor Sidorov.

Sidorov stole the puck at the left side boards in the Red Deer zone from Rebels star 20-year-old right-winger Ben King. Sidorov wheeled behind the Red Deer goal with King in pursuit and scored on a one-handed wraparound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.

The Rebels came with a huge push back and held 12-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the first period. Blades star centre Trevor Wong scored with 3:36 remaining in the opening frame, and Saskatoon exited the opening 20 minutes with a 2-0 despite being outshot 16-6.

Spencer Shugrue has become “Mr. Game 7” for the Blades.

The Blades built a 4-1 lead at one point in the second, but the Rebels got one back near the end of the frame and a goal with 7:47 remaining in the third to cut Saskatoon’s advantage to 4-3. Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens scored an empty-net goal with 1:52 remaining in the third to seal a 5-3 victory. Netminder Austin Elliott made 35 saves to ensure the Blades pulled out victory.

The Rebels also had to lament a number of turnovers that resulted in Blades goals.

Following that win, Blades head coach Brennan Sonne told the team’s longtime play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk, “Nothing is going to distract us from making history simple as that.”

This past Tuesday 9,489 spectators made their way to the SaskTel Centre to see if the Blades could be the third team in the history of the WHL to lose the first three games in a best-of-seven series and rally back to win the set 4-3. After Katelyn Lehner finished singing the national anthem, the cheers at that point leading to the opening faceoff were the loudest they had been in some time for that point in a Blades game.

After puck drop, the fans stayed engaged with the contest. They even had a hex chant going for Rebels netminder Kyle Kelsey. Usually, there are never such chants for the opposing team’s netminder inside SaskTel Centre.

The building became quiet after Rebels defenceman and Saskatoon product Hunter Mayo scored for the visitors. Just 2:35 later, the noise picked up as star left-winger Conner Roulette replied for the Blades to force a 1-1 tie.

Tanner Molendyk (#24) enjoys a goal with Egor Sidorov in Game 4.

Blades utility player Spencer Shugrue proceeded to ensure he would be cemented with the nickname “Mr. Game 7.”

He scored at the 5:41 mark of the second to give the Blades a 2-1 lead. That was short-lived as Rebels left-winger Ryker Singer replied just 1:54 later to even the score at 2-2.

At the 4:29 mark of the third, Shugrue added his second goal of the contest to put the Blades up 3-2, and that held up as the winner. Roulette popped his second of the contest and Vaughn Watterodt scored into an empty net to round out a 5-2 victory for the Blades.

Elliott made 23 saves to earn the win in goal for the Blades. Kelsey turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The Blades received a lengthy and deserved salute from their faithful in attendance. The players applauded the fans for their enthusiasm and a few went right to the boards to thank their faithful up close.

The series between the Blades and Rebels was expected to be a tight one, and it ultimately was. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Ethan Chadwick had a huge Game 4 performance.

On top of coming back to win a best-of-seven series after dropping the first three games in the set to complete the reverse sweep, the Blades also advanced to the Eastern Conference Championships Series for the first time since 1994.

They will face the Winnipeg Ice, and Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in the Manitoba capital at 6 p.m. local time. The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

No matter what happens during the rest of the post-season, the Blades will skate away with a special distinction. Any time a team falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in the WHL Playoffs, the Spokane Chiefs of 1996 and the Kelowna Rockets of 2013 are brought up as the two teams that rallied back to win a best-of-seven series 4-3 after dropping the first three games of that set.

The current Blades will be mentioned along with the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets to now share that accomplishment.

Following the Blades Game 7 win on Tuesday, De La Gorgendiere said it hadn’t set in that his Blades team will be brought up with the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets any time a WHL club falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series as the group of three teams that erased that series deficit to win the set.

Austin Elliott earned wins in Game 6 and 7 over the Rebels.

There were times after Tuesday’s game concluded and when leaving the rink that night it felt surreal that the Blades had pulled off that rally. On Wednesday, a surreal feeling hit another level when a few Blades fans went on social media to note a number of people in the fan base hadn’t been born the last time the team was in the Eastern Conference final in 1994.

In 1994, the Blades eliminated the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-1 in the Eastern Conference final before falling 4-3 in the WHL final to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

The current Blades have found that special will that is needed to win in the post-season. Including their seven-game first round series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have faced elimination five times and won each of those contests.

When their backs are against the wall, the current Blades players realize they don’t want to go their separate ways and raise their level of play in order to stay together. They have built a family feeling with the various team activities they have done away from the rink over the course of the entire 2022-23 campaign.

In the Eastern Conference final, the Ice will be the favourites. You can count that the Blades won’t go down without a fight, and their fight might be good enough they advance to the WHL Championship Series.

The Blades celebrate their series comeback win over the Rebels.

The Blades epic and historical series comeback over the Rebels should be celebrated, but it would not be a surprise if more high points were to come as the post-season moves on.

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 win away from history, force Game 7 on Tuesday

Rivalry with Rebels cemented as real, series tied 3-3

The Blades erased a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7 with the Rebels.

No one could have ever imagined how fitting it would be when the Saskatoon Blades chose Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” as their victory song.

While they weren’t on home ice to hear it on Sunday, the Blades have the chance to potentially make the playing of that tune the most meaningful it has ever been.

On Sunday afternoon, the Blades were in Red Deer and were facing elimination from their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series for the third straight outing. Playing before 5,067 spectators at the Peavey Mart Centrium, Blades import right-winger Egor Sidorov made the first big play that set the tone for a post-season contest that seemingly had everything.

Just 34 seconds into Game 6 of the series, Sidorov stole the puck at the left side boards in the Red Deer zone from Rebels star 20-year-old right-winger Ben King. Sidorov wheeled behind the Red Deer goal with King in pursuit and scored on a one-handed wraparound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.

The Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 by the end of the first and built a 4-1 advantage in the second before the Rebels closed to within 4-2 going into the second intermission. Red Deer further cut the Saskatoon lead to 4-3 in the third, but Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens sealed a 5-3 victory with an empty-net goal with 1:52 remaining in the third.

With the Game 6 victory, the Blades have won three straight in the series to tie the set up at 3-3. In the process, they force a series deciding Game 7 to be played on Tuesday at 7 p.m. back on their home stomping grounds in the SaskTel Centre.

Egor Sidorov scored 34 seconds into Game 6 on Sunday.

The Blades are trying to become just the third team in WHL history to come back and win a best-of-seven series 4-3 after losing the first three games of the set.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

The Blades have also rallied back from being down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series to tie it up at 3-3 for the second time in team history.

Back in 1990, Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in that year’s WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes. Of course, the current edition of the Blades will try to one up their club from the 1990 post-season by getting a Game 7 win.

Actually, the Blades were actually 20 minutes away from being eliminated in their series with the Rebels as they trailed Red Deer 2-1 after two periods in Game 4 at the Peavey Mart Centrium before rallying for a 4-2 victory in that contest to start the three game winning streak.

Going back to their first round seven game series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have won four straight contests in this WHL post-season where they have faced elimination.

Austin Elliott made 35 saves in goal for the Blades on Sunday.

Sunday’s Game 6 win in Red Deer did not come easy. Over the course of the series, the Blades and Rebels have developed a real rivalry where the players on the two teams have shown a real dislike for each other resulting in the series having a snarl to it.

After Sidorov opened the Game’s scoring, the Rebels came with a huge push back and held a 12-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the opening frame. The Rebels had the Blades pinned in their own zone and the outstanding play of Saskatoon netminder Austin Elliott kept the host side off the scoreboard during that wave of momentum.

Just when it seemed the Rebels were rolling, the Blades broke through for their second tally of the contest. With 3:36 remaining in the first, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky got in close to the left side of the Red Deer goal and fired a shot off the left post.

The puck rebounded to the right side of the Red Deer net to Blades star centre Trevor Wong, who put a backhand shot into an open cage to give the Blades their 2-0 advantage. Wong’s goal came on the Blades third shot on goal of the contest.

The opening frame came to a close with the Blades holding a 2-0 lead and the Rebels holding a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.

Red Deer kept pushing at the start of the second and the hosts were finally rewarded for their efforts with a goal. At the 5:09 mark of the second, Rebels left-winger Jace Isley banged home a puck from the front of the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

Jace Isley scored twice for the Rebels on Sunday.

A short time later, the Blades restored their two-goal edge scoring on the power play thanks to a Red Deer gaff. Rebels captain Jayden Grubbe had the puck in his own zone and tried to make a pass up the centre of the ice though the Red Deer blue-line.

Wong picked off the pass just inside the Red Deer zone to create a three on the goalie break for the Blades. The skilled centre and Lisowsky got the puck over to Sidorov on the right side of the Red Deer net on a tick-tack-toe passing play, and high-scoring winger popped home his second of the contest to give the Blades a 3-1 lead.

Rebels netminder Chase Coward, who was making his first start in the post-season, had absolutely no chance to make a stop on the play.

With 2:23 remaining in the second, the Blades would score off another Rebels turnover. Rebels defenceman Mats Lindgren had the puck in the deep left corner of his own zone and tried to clear it high to centre ice.

Blades utility player Spencer Shugrue knocked down the clearing attempt and took the puck over to the right side of the Rebels net. He passed the puck across the front of the net to Blades star left-winger Jake Chiasson, who buried his fourth of the post-season to give the Blades a 4-1 advantage.

Before the second ended, the Rebels got some traction. Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz drove into the Saskatoon zone on a rush, made a toe drag move and fired home a laser shot from mid range from the front of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades lead to 4-2.

Kai Uchacz had a goal for the Rebels on Sunday.

With 7:47 remaining in the third, the determination of Isley paid off again for the Rebels. Isley got a loose puck low in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone and snapped home a shot from the lower part of the right faceoff circle for his second tally of the contest to cut the Blades lead to 4-3.

Red Deer’s rally would be cut short by another turnover. Shortly after pulling Coward for an extra attacker, Grubbe was rushing through the centre ice zone with the puck and he gave it away to Wiens on an attempted short pass.

Wiens popped home an empty-net goal just before the Red Deer blue-line with 1:52 remaining in the third to round out the 5-3 victory.

Any thought of a comeback was further erased when King was given a goaltender interference minor with 74 seconds remaining in the third to put the Blades on the power play.

Frustrations and the personal rivalries boiled over as there were two scrums in the final minute of the third and a third stoppage for an undisciplined Rebels penalty.

The first scrum with 47.7 seconds remaining in the third was the main event of the extra-curricular activities of the final minute of the frame. Out of that scrum, a fight broke out between Isley and Blades right-winger Lukas Hansen. Both players were giving cross-checking minors and fighting majors.

Jayden Grubbe had a tough outing for the Rebels on Sunday.

Out of that scrum, Rebels left-winger Rhett Larson was locked up with Blades centre Jordan Keller. Larson was given a minor for instigating, a fighting major, a game second fight misconduct and a game misconduct.

Keller stayed in the game and took a slashing minor as part of the second scrum with 23.8 seconds remaining in the third.

Ultimately, it took about 12 minutes of real time to complete the final minute of the third. The WHL office will likely look at the shenanigans of the final minute for further possible discipline.

Elliott stopped 35 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Coward turned away 18-of-22 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The WHL discipline department had been busy with activities from the previous two games in this series.

On Sunday, the Blades were without gritty right-winger Justin Lies, who was sitting out the second of a three-game WHL imposed suspension for a head hit he threw on Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind in the Blades 4-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday. Lind has been out with a head injury since that hit.

The Rebels were without import right-winger Frantisek Formanek due to a one-game suspension under supplemental discipline by the WHL. In Game 5, Formanek was giving a boarding minor penalty at the 7:21 mark of the first period in the Blades 6-3 victory in that contest.

Trevor Wong had a goal and an assist for the Blades on Sunday.

Formanek hit Blades 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson from behind, and Gustafson was able to prevent himself from making a hard crash into the boards. The Blades sent in video to the WHL office asking for supplemental discipline as this was a dangerous play.

Gustafson missed Game 6 with an upper body injury. Blades right-winger Misha Volotovsky was also out with an upper body injury and hasn’t played since Game 1 of this series.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. 

The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

When the two sides meet in Game 7 on Tuesday in Saskatoon, the Blades will be trying to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time since 1994, and the Rebels are looking to get back to the Eastern Conference title set for the first time since 2016.

Jayden Wiens and the Blades host Game 7 on Tuesday.

The Blades will do everything they can to allow their home ice music man to play “I’m Still Standing” at game’s end, while the Rebels will try to negate that tradition playing the role of spoiler.

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Blades living shades of 1990 against Rebels

Saskatoon trims Red Deer’s series lead to 3-2

The Blades celebrate Tanner Molendyk’s first goal on Friday.

The Saskatoon Blades are reliving the spirit of 1990.

When the dust ultimately settles in their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Red Deer Rebels, “The Bridge City Bunch” hopes to do one win better in the best-of-seven set.

On Friday night before an appreciative crowd of 5,908 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades downed the Rebels 6-3 holding a 31-17 edge in shots on goal in a spirited effort to take Game 5 of the series. Saskatoon’s victory cut the Rebels lead in the set to 3-2 with a second straight victory. Friday’s contest was by far the most physical out of the five games the two sides played to date.

Saskatoon’s win forces a Game 6 of the series set for Sunday back at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer for a 2 p.m. local start time. If the Blades win that contest in Red Deer, they will force a series deciding Game 7 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere had the winning goal for the Blades.

The Blades are one win away from erasing a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series for the second time in team history.

Back in 1990, Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in that year’s WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes.

This year, the Blades are trying to become the third team in the history of the WHL to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to win it 4-3.

Egor Sidorov scored twice on the power play for the Blades.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

In Friday’s clash between Red Deer and Saskatoon, the Rebels visibly came out with a game plan to be more physical. The Blades matched the physicality of their Alberta foes. This contest had much more of a feisty edge to it compared to the first four games of the series.

The Rebels got a little too undisciplined with their physical effort and the Blades special teams were back playing to their stellar regular season form took advantage. Saskatoon converted 3-of-6 power-play chances and killed off all three power-play opportunities the Rebels had.

Kai Uchacz had a pair of goals for the Rebels on Friday.

During the regular season, the Blades had the fourth best power play in the WHL converting on 73-of-265 chances for a 27.5 per cent success rate, and they had the third best penalty killing unit on the circuit killing off 202-of-245 opposition power-play opportunities for an 82.4 per cent success rate.

The Blades scored the winning goal on a power play that came on an undisciplined Rebels penalty. Late in the second period with the teams locked in a 3-3 tie, Rebels defenceman Nicholas Andrusiak hit Blades star winger Jake Chiasson from behind on open ice by the boards at the Saskatoon blue-line.

Andrusiak was given a minor penalty for interference with 2:23 remaining in the second period. On the ensuing power play, Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere scored with 24.8 seconds remaining in the second to give the host side a 4-3 lead. De La Gorgendiere was trying to make a pass from the right side of the Red Deer goal to a teammate on the other side of the net.

Ollie Josephson had the Rebels third goal on Friday.

The puck hit a stick and deflected back to De La Gorgendiere, who quickly buried a shot for his second goal of the post-season and second tally in his second straight contest.

In the third, Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens knocked home the rebound of his own backhand shot to give his squad a 5-3 advantage at the 5:41 mark of the frame.

With 7:26 remaining in the third, the Blades were working the puck down low in the Red Deer zone. Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt flipped a high pass across the face of the Red Deer net that offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk knocked home in mid air for his second goal of the contest to round out the 6-3 final.

Tanner Molendyk had a pair of goals for the Blades on Friday.

The play went to a video review to see of Molendyk knocked the puck home with a high stick, but the officials confirmed the goal was good.

While Molendyk closed the game’s scoring, he also opened the scoring in the contest at the 5:39 mark of the first period. On a rush into the offensive zone, Molendyk wheeled to the left faceoff dot and ripped home a shot to the top right corner of the Red Deer net to give the Blades a 1-0 edge.

The opening 20 minutes of Friday’s contest was straight out of the 1980s with lots of goals and banging in the physicality department.

Friday’s contest featured a few scrums between the Blades and Rebels.

Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz evened the score at 1-1 at the 11:08 mark of the first slipping a shot between the legs of Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick.

Just 61 seconds later, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov slid a shot through screen from the right wing boards for the Blades first power-play goal to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage.

Just under five minutes later, Uchacz banged home a rebound at the right side of the Saskatoon net for his second tally of the contest to even the score at 2-2.

With 1:57 remaining in the first, Sidorov scored his second power-play goal to give the Blades a 3-2 lead. Sidorov faked a Rebels defenceman down the ground and wired home a shot to give the hosts their one-goal edge.

The SaskTel Centre faithful cheer on the Blades.

Following Sidorov’s second marker, the Rebels pulled starting netminder Kyle Kelsey. Kelsey stopped 4-of-7 shots sent his way.

Heading into Friday’s game, Kelsey was the only goalie the Rebels used in their previous nine contests in this year’s WHL Playoffs. In those nine games, Kelsey had posted a 7-2 record, a 1.93 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout.

Veteran Chase Coward, who turned 20-years-old in January, played the remainder of Friday’s game in relief in goal for the Rebels. He turned away 21-of-24 shots fired his way and was the netminder of record who took the loss in goal for the Rebels.

Just 88 seconds into the second, Rebels centre Ollie Josephson tapped home a loose puck in the crease of the Saskatoon goal to once again even the score at 3-3.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Jayden Wiens (#9).

That set the stage for De La Gorgendiere to score his winner and the Blades to seal the win in the third. De La Gorgendiere had a pair of assists to go with his goal.

Sidorov had an assist to go with his goal. Blades star centre Trevor Wong had three assists in the victory.

Chadwick stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades.

Friday’s game ended with a big scrum occurring in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone as time expired. The officials dished out two minor penalties from that scrum including an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction to Rebels right-winger Craig Armstrong and a cross-checking infraction to Blades right-winger Lukas Hansen.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. 

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

The series has played out to be a tight one but not in a way that was expected with the Rebels winning the first three games and the Blades now claiming the last two contests. In the process, the players on the two teams have developed a dislike for each other creating a little snarl in the series.

Now all attention turns to Game 6 on Sunday in Red Deer. Will the Blades take another step in their pursuit of history or will the Rebels finally slam the door on the series for good?

This series has become a must-watch spectacle.

WHL suspends Blades’ Lies for hit on Lind

Justin Lies in action for the Blades on Wednesday.

The WHL’s department of discipline has Saskatoon Blades hard-working and rugged right-winger Justin Lies watching games from the stands for the foreseeable future.

On Friday, the WHL announced Lies has been suspended for the head check major and game misconduct he received for his hit on Red Deer Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January. The length of the suspension is still to be determined.

Lies’ head check major and game misconduct penalties were assessed at the 3:24 mark of the first period in Game 4 of the WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two clubs on Wednesday. The game was scoreless at the time. The Rebels led 2-0 after the first, 2-1 after the second and fell by a 4-2 final at game’s end.

Lind was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital on Wednesday and released later that same night. He did not make the trip to Saskatoon, but the Rebels posted a message on Twitter from Lind on Thursday wishing his teammates well from his billet home.

The Blades acquired Lies in a trade with the Vancouver Giants before the current season began back on August 31, 2022. With the Blades, Lies has been the model teammate and a gritty hard working player that plays tough but within the rules.

In 56 regular season games with the Blades, Lies posted career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and the plus-minus department (plus-six). Lies had appeared in the Blades first 11 games of their current post-season run posting one goal, one assist and a minus-one rating.

In his previous three seasons with the Giants, Lies was suspended twice for a total of six games, and that could play a part in the WHL’s final decision on his suspension length.

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Blades become bad guys in Red Deer to stay alive

Rebels’ Lind released from hospital after taking cheap head hit

Brandon Lisowsky celebrates his winning goal for the Blades.

RED DEER, Alta. - The Saskatoon Blades had to dawn the black cowboy hats in the eyes of the Red Deer Rebels fans in order to stay alive in the WHL Playoffs.

On Wednesday, the Blades went into Game 4 facing elimination in their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series against the host Red Deer Rebels. The visitors fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 4-2 victory.

With the win, the Blades cut the Rebels lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-1. They will get to host a Game 5 on Friday at 7 p.m. back at the SaskTel Centre.

Normally, this would be a contest that would be remembered for a heroic comeback script. Instead the contest will be remembered for an early incident that cast a pall over the night’s proceedings for the 4,702 spectators in attendance at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

Justin Lies is public enemy #1 in Red Deer.

With the game still scoreless at the 3:24 mark of the opening frame, Rebels left-winger Kalan Lind, who is pegged as big prospect for the coming NHL Entry Draft, was skating through centre ice and knocked a puck that came off the glass down to his stick.

As Lind started to continue up ice, he was felled by a vicious blindside elbow to the head from Blades 19-year-old right-winger Justin Lies. The impact of the hit set Lind’s helmet flying though the air. Immediately, Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz came out to challenge Lies, but the officials jumped in quickly to ensure nothing else escalated.

Lind was laid out on the ice for seven minutes being attended to by the medical staffs of both clubs. He was stretchered off to an ambulance and taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital. At night’s end after Wednesday’s game was complete, the Rebels announced that Lind had been released from hospital.

Rebels C Kai Uchacz (#19) challenges Blades RW Justin Lies.

Lies received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct. His hit will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

At first, it appeared the Rebels were going to rally around their fallen teammate. Uchacz, who hadn’t record any points for the first three games of the series, looked like he was going to play the role of hero for the host side.

On the ensuring five-minute power play after Lind went down, Uchacz, who was the Rebels leading scorer in the regular season, gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead scoring with the man advantage at the 6:27 mark of the frame. The De Winton, Alta., product popped home a loose puck during a net scramble around the Saskatoon goal.

Kai Uchacz scored twice in the first to put the Rebels up 2-0.

At the 13:05 mark of the opening frame, Uchacz got his second of the night to put the Rebels up 2-0. Uchacz won a race for a loose puck in the left faceoff circle in the Saskatoon zone and snapped a shot past Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick to give the hosts a two-goal edge.

When the first period came to a close, the Rebels looked like they were going to live up to their romantic image of honour that has been a part of the team since Brent Sutter bought the franchise before the start of the 1999-2000 campaign. The romantic image sees the Rebels as gritty, skilled hardworking, well mannered and well dressed team that never quits, and if one of their players goes down to a cheap hit, they never lose that game.

In the second, it appeared they were going to have ample opportunity to bury the Blades.

Kai Uchacz celebrates his second goal for the Rebels.

At the 6:14 mark of the frame, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky clipped Uchacz with a high stick that drew blood. Lisowsky received a double minor for high-sticking which will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Despite having the four minute power play, the Rebels weren’t able to add to their lead. After that kill, it seemed the momentum of the contest was starting to turn.

At the 12:09 of the second, the Blades got further traction when captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere fired home a power-play goal from the point through a screen to cut the Red Deer lead to 2-1. While the Rebels had a 15-9 edge in shots on goal in the second, it felt like the Blades had the better period.

Jace Isley brings the puck up ice for the Rebels.

The Blades proceeded to stun the Rebels faithful scoring on their first two shots of the third to take a 3-2 lead. At the 4:12 mark of the third, Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens fired a shot through a screen from the point on his squad’s first shot of the frame to even the score at 2-2.

Just 43 seconds later, the Blades were able to get the jump on the Rebels by finally getting a stretch pass to work. From deep in his own zone, Blades 18-year-old defenceman Ben Saunderson sprung Lisowsky on a breakaway connecting with him on a stretch pass at the Red Deer blue-line.

Lisowsky snapped a shot to the top left corner of the Red Deer goal to give the Blades a 3-2 lead.

Ethan Chadwick made 34 saves to allow the Blades to rally.

The Blades surge wasn’t done there. At the 8:15 mark of the third, offensive defenceman Tanner Molendyk took a pass from De La Gorgendiere, skated into the left shot and snapped a shot passed Rebels netminder Kyle Kelsey to give the visitors a 4-2 advantage.

At that point, Chadwick slammed the door on the Rebels. With 5:16 remaining in the third, Chadwick made a key stop on a close in backhand shot on Rebels 19-year-old left-winger Jace Isley.

That was the Rebels second shot on goal in the frame. They would pepper the Saskatoon net with 10 more shots before the third came to an end, which included the Rebels having pulled Kelsey for an extra attacker for most of the final 2:39 of the stanza.

The Blades celebrate an Aidan De La Gorgendiere traction goal.

Despite the shot volume, the Rebels weren’t able to beat Chadwick. One of his best saves was a glove stop on Rebels right-winger Jhett Larson.

Chadwich ultimately made 34 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades in his first start of the series. Kelsey turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

It was expected that this would be a tight series going in. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Jayden Wiens (#9) scored the equalizer for the Blades.

Frustration did show from the Rebels at times with some scrum action once the Blades had taken a two-goal lead. At one point before the Rebels pulled Kelsey, it looked like Red Deer captain Jayden Grubbe was going to nail Wiens with a hard hit, but it seemed the Rebels skilled centre thought better of it creating a near miss situation at the last moment.

When the contest ended, the Rebels fans excited the Peavey Mart Centrium with the sober tonne of seeing the bad guy wrestler win a title belt in a WWE live event.

Still both teams showed great composure for the rest of the game. Had something like the Lies hit on Lind happened 20 years ago in WHL, the contest would have likely been a fight filled one the rest of the way. Instead, both teams moved on and got focused on the task at hand.

Tanner Molendyk scored a key insurance goal for the Blades.

The Blades acquired Lies in a trade with the Vancouver Giants before the current season began back on August 31, 2022. With the Blades, Lies has been the model teammate and a gritty hard working player that plays tough but within the rules.

In 56 regular season games with the Blades, Lies posted career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and the plus-minus department (plus-six). In his previous three seasons with the Giants, Lies was suspended twice for a total of six games, and that could play a part in the WHL’s disciplinary ruling for his hit on Lind.

There could potentially ill will between the two clubs as the series carries on. Still, both teams moved on to focusing on the game at hand on Wednesday when play resumed after Lind’s hit.

Blades D Blake Gustafson (#3) skates the puck out of trouble.

In the current era of the game of hockey, usually nothing lingers on and things blow over pretty quick. Plus, the likelihood is high one of the WHL top executives will be on hand in Saskatoon for Game 5 on Friday to make sure everything goes smoothly. That often means WHL vice-president of hockey Richard Doerksen will be on hand to make sure everyone plays nice.

Coming under the ownership of the Priestner family before the start of the 2013-14 campaign, the Blades have pretty much always carried the image of being the good guys like Bret “the Hitman” Hart.

The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday night.

In a weird twist, they were the bad guys like Roman Reigns for a one-night aberration, and it resulted in them getting a win to keep their season alive.

When the dust settled, it felt like everything that happened on Wednesday night was hollow until news came out that Lind was released from hospital. That was the true victory on the night.

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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