USask centre Pillar reflects fondly on his Mintos days

Centre aims to catch fire again with Huskies

Josh Pillar jets up ice for the Huskies on November 29.

Josh Pillar will always crack a smile when someone brings up his one full season stand with the Prince Albert Mintos Under-18 AAA Team.

In the current day, Pillar is a 23-year-old veteran centre playing out his third season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. The Warman product played a key role for the Huskies in the 2024-25 campaign culminating in the squad’s 19^th Canada West Conference championship win this past March.

Pillar is no stranger to lengthy post-season runs. During his 15-year-old season in 2017-18, he experienced one of those in “Hockey Town North.”

After suiting up with the Mintos as an associate player call up for two games in the 2016-17 season, Pillar joined the Mintos on a full-time basis for the following campaign. He helped the Mintos finish third overall in the SMAAAHL regular season standings with 32 wins, nine losses and three extra time losses.

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

Raiders’ grad Kosior leads P.A. connections that power Huskies

Landon Kosior in action for the Huskies in February of 2024.

Landon Kosior and a number of other Prince Albert connections have put the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team on quest to capture Canada West Conference and U Sports national titles.

Last Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place on the University of Saskatchewan campus, the Huskies concluded their regular season downing the University of Manitoba Bisons 4-2. That win allowed the Huskies to improve to 23-5 and lock up first place in Canada West and home ice advantage through the conference playoffs. The last time the Huskies pulled that feat off was back in the 2018-19 campaign under now retired legendary head coach Dave Adolph.

U of S is also rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

The Huskies roster includes Kosior and Keaton Sorensen, who are grads of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. U of S’s roster includes Rhett Rhinehart, who started his WHL career with the Raiders, and Ty Prefontaine, who played the first three games of his WHL career with the Raiders before playing most of his major junior career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Josh Pillar and Ashton Ferster are grads from the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team who are skating with the Raiders. Prince Albert product Ethan Regnier came up through Prince Albert’s minor hockey system and found his way to the Huskies after playing in the WHL with Swift Current Broncos and Everett Silvertips.

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

29 years in the making – Blades unique playoff run memorable

Provided great follow for stellar regular season

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

It will go down as the “I’m Still Standing” playoff run for the Saskatoon Blades.

When the Blades business brass were putting together plans for game day presentation for the 2022-23 campaign, it is highly unlikely anyone could foresee how fitting the decision would be to make Elton John’s hit tune from 1983 the club’s victory song. No one could have thought the Blades would win five games where they faced elimination from the WHL Playoffs and playing “I’m Still Standing” would be the perfect conclusion for the night’s events.

The Blades entered the post-season having put together a 48-15-4-1 record to sit fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the WHL Playoffs, the Blades eliminated Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats in an exciting seven game first round series, came back down 3-0 to take out the Red Deer Rebels in a seven game Eastern Conference semifinal series before being swept 4-0 by the Winnipeg Ice in the Eastern Conference final.

Blades fans cheer their team's Game 7 win over the Pats on April 10.

In total, the Blades played 18 post-season contests in the span of 34 days. The series comeback against the Rebels ensures that this edition of the Blades will be remembered forever.

They joined the 1996 Spokane Chiefs and the 2013 Kelowna Rockets as the only teams to lose the first three games in a best-of-seven series and rally to take the set. Any time a team falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven WHL post-season series, the 2023 Blades will be mentioned alongside the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets as the teams that rallied back to win a series from that type of deficit.

The scene after Trevor Wong scores an empty-net goal versus the Pats.

Overall, the Blades made their longest playoff run in 29 years. The last time they were in the Eastern Conference final was in 1994, when they eliminated the Brandon Wheat Kings in five games before falling to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers in the WHL final.

Going into the post-season, there were no thoughts about the Blades making their longest in the WHL Playoffs in 29 years. The single dominant storyline was the Blades versus Bedard.

Spencer Shugrue became “Mr. Game 7” for the Blades.

The Blades final two regular season home games were played against the 17-year-old phenom centre and the Pats. In the current seating configuration for the SaskTel Centre, the Blades sold out both of those contests with 14,768 spectators turning out for each of those games. 

That figure goes down as a Blades home attendance record, and those games were the first sellouts for the team in the SaskTel Centre’s current seating configuration.

Regina claimed the first encounter 4-2 on March 19, while Saskatoon took the second meeting 3-2 on March 24. The sellouts in contests involving Bedard were not a surprise.

Pats C Connor Bedard weaves his way through the Blades.

Bedard’s brand took a huge jump upwards since returning from this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B. At that event, Bedard set numerous Canadian team records helping Canada take the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in Halifax. Once he was back in the WHL, any game that involved Bedard was usually sold out and sometimes set a building attendance record.

In the seven games against the Blades, Bedard did his best to win that first round series by himself posting 10 goals, 10 assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department. He was in on 20 of the Pats 26 goals.

The highlights of every game of that series were shown nationally on TSN and Sportsnet often just showing Bedard’s plays with the final score. Still, the series was getting national attention.

Egor Sidorov (#19) starts celebrating scoring an OT winner.

The Pats won the first two games of the set in Saskatoon. In Game 3 in Regina, it appeared the Blades were going to make a quick post-season exit. At the 9:39 mark of the third period, Bedard scored to give the Pats a 3-1 lead and the sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre was rocking.

Just 53 seconds later, import star right-winger Egor Sidorov scored for the Blades to cut the Pats lead to 3-2. Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky netted the equalizer with 27.2 seconds remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie and overtime. At the 5:19 mark of overtime, Sidorov got the puck deep in the Regina zone, drove around Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil, cut across the front of the Pats goal and tucked home the winner to give the Blades a 4-3 victory.

Jake Chiasson scored a big OT winner for the Blades.

On night later in Game 4 at the Brandt Centre, Blades star left-winger Jake Chiasson scored the winner in overtime to give the Blades another 4-3 after again rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the contest. The Blades claimed Game 5 at home and the Pats took Game 6 at home to set up a winner take all Game 7.

In Games 1, 2 and 5 at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades drew respective crowds of 10,265 spectators, 10,598 fans and 12,098 onlookers. For Game 7 held on April 10, the Blades would get a sellout crowd to cement their post-season attendance record at home at 14,768 spectators. The host side was facing elimination from the post-season for the first time and skated away with a 4-1 victory.

Pats F Connor Bedard (#98) and Blades F Justin Lies (#43) shake hands.

The joy of the series win against the Pats didn’t last long. In an Eastern Conference semifinal series against Red Deer, the Rebels were poised, businesslike, hard-working and paid great attention to systems play claiming the first three games of the series outscoring the Blades 11-4. Saskatoon’s players looked like they were skating through quicksand trying to work their way up ice against the Rebels.

In Game 4 in Red Deer, it appeared this time the Blades would bow out of the post-season. The Rebels held a 2-0 lead after the first period and were up 2-1 going into the second intermission. Saskatoon was 20 minutes away from playoff elimination.

Egor Sidorov, left, and Tanner Molendyk celebrate a goal in Red Deer.

The Blades proceeded to roll off three straight goals in the third coming off the sticks of hard-working centre Jayden Wiens, Lisowsky and offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk to pull out a 4-2 victory. Following that rally up with wins in Games 5 and 6, the Blades were set to host Game 7 against the Rebels on April 25.

The two clubs were tied 2-2 going into the third period of Game 7, and the Blades rolled off three consecutive goals before a raucous and appreciative crowd of 9,489 spectators.

Blades utility player Spencer Shugrue cemented the fact he would be known as “Mr. Game 7” scoring two goals including the winner in that victory over the Rebels. Shugrue scored his team’s first goal in their Game 7 first round series win over the Pats and assisted on Chiasson’s game and series winner in that contest.

Blake Gustafson was injured in the series win over Red Deer.

While the Blades made history in their 3-0 series comeback against the Rebels, it wasn’t all good news. Saskatoon lost solid defensive-defencemen Blake Gustafson and Ben Saunderson to injuries in the series against the Rebels. Both weren’t available to play in the series against the Ice.

It wasn’t a good situation as 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 Blades dressed Black ace Morgan Tastad, who turned 17-years-old in January, and import rookie Tomas Zizka on the back end. 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.

The Blades celebrate a series winning goal by Spencer Shugrue (#26).

Zizka suited up for 32 regular season games for the Blades recording two assists and a plus-six rating. Both Zizka and Tastad played limited minutes.

As a result, captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, Molendyk, Charlie Wright and Shugrue played the bulk of the action it the four games against the Ice.

The Blades proceeded to lose Sidorov to injury in Game 2 against the Ice. Once the Blades back home to host Games 3 and 4 of that set, it was obvious the team was wearing down.

They tried to make one last push in Game 4 on Wednesday. The Blades got out to a good start and De La Gorgendiere opened the contest’s scoring at the 15:08 mark of the first period.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere looks to start a rush for the Blades.

The Ice evened the score at 1-1 heading into the first intermission and the teams were tied at 2-2 early in the third. Centre Briley Wood scored the game and series winner at the 6:19 mark of the third to deliver the Ice to a 3-2 victory before 5,638 spectators.

The Blades received a warm final salute before leaving to their dressing room. The WHL careers of De La Gorgendiere, Gustafson and centre Josh Pillar all came to an end as they were playing out their 20-year-old seasons.

Throughout the playoffs, the Blades received timely big saves from netminders Ethan Chadwick and Austin Elliott. Star centre Trevor Wong topped the team in scoring with 21 points coming off six goals and 15 assists.

Blades HC Brennan Sonne was the WHL’s coach of the year.

Sidorov was second in team scoring with nine goals and 10 assists. De La Gorgendiere was third in team scoring and topped all Blades defencemen with 17 points coming off three goals and 14 assists.

Throughout the post-season, the Blades received gritty performances from Wiens, Vaughn Watterodt, Lukas Hansen, Jordan Keller and Justin Lies in the forward group.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne was named the WHL’s coach of the year, and he long with his staff ensured the team’s players always believed they could rally past whatever adversity they faced. Over the entire campaign, Colin Priestner cemented himself as one of the league’s elite level general managers for his work on all fronts with the club.

The Blades and Ice shake hands after the Eastern Conference final.

The best part about the whole playoff run was that people in Saskatoon started talking about the Blades more than they had in arguably a decade. It became more frequent to see children around town wearing Blades jerseys.

Time will tell if the good vibes and Blades themselves will remain in the minds of the casual fans. 

The team still has to keep putting in the work to keep getting those casual followers out to games.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere hugs a teammate at the Blades bench.

At this moment, the people in Saskatoon are pumped about the memories the Blades gave to the city. They came through with unique moments that many never be replicated in the future.

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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Pats’ Stringer delivers OT winner for 2-0 series lead

Bedard piles up five points in 6-5 win over Blades

The Pats celebrate an OT winner from Zack Stringer (#13).

Connor Bedard loves to talk up his teammates and a playoff overtime win provides ample opportunity to do just that.

On Sunday, the 17-year-old phenom centre’s Regina Pats found themselves locked in a 5-5 tie in overtime with the host Saskatoon Blades in Game 2 of a best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series. Just 2:05 into the overtime, Blades star right-winger Conner Roulette was given a tripping minor sending the Pats to the power play.

On the ensuing power play, Blades veteran defenceman Charlie Wright blocked a shot off his knee and tried to continue to play looking visibly hobbled. Pats import star rookie right-winger Alexander Suzdalev got the puck along the right wing after the shot block.

Zack Stringer (#13) scores the OT winner for the Pats.

Suzdalev worked his way into the right corner of the Saskatoon zone and started to skate around the Blades net. As he approached the right post of the goal, Suzdalev fed a backhand pass to gritty 19-year-old power forward Zack Stringer, who was parked in front of the Saskatoon net.

Stringer quickly slid home the winner at the 2:58 mark of the extra session to give the Pats a 6-5 victory to the disappointment of most of the 10,598 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. A sizable contingent of Pats fans soaked in the final result.

Bedard was in on all of the Pats five goals during regulation netting a hat trick and two assists, but he was more pumped to see Stringer net the winner than anything else that happened that night.

The Blades react to their overtime loss.

“Whenever he has been playing, he has been a difference maker,” said Bedard. “He has been so great for us in every area.

“To him get rewarded like that and do what he does, it is awesome.”

Stringer turned heads as a 16-year-old rookie with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2019-20 recording 11 goals, 23 assists and a plus-13 rating in the plus-minus department in 48 regular season appearances. A Lethbridge product, Stringer was selected in the first round and eighth overall in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.

Connor Bedard breaks out of a scrum with the puck.

The Pats acquired Stringer in a trade on August 18, 2021. Stringer couldn’t escape the injury bug in his first season with the Pats appearing in 27 games during the 2021-22 campaign registering 10 goals and eight assists. Regina posted a 14-11-02 mark with Stringer in the lineup, but were 13-25-3 without him and missed the post-season.

Stringer missed the first 32 games of this season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He ultimately appeared in 31 regular season contests for the Pats posting five goals and 11 assists.

Bedard said it was tough to see Stringer dogged by injuries, and that he gives the Pats a boost every time he takes the ice for games. Stringer finished the night with two power-play goals.

Connor Bedard had a hat trick and two assists for the Pats.

“I think he is one of the best guys in front of the net in the league,” said Bedard. “You watch him, and he will block anything (in the defensive zone).

“It is pretty crazy some of the shots he blocks. I don’t know how he does it. I think just kind of his complete game and willingness to do what it takes for the team is big for us.”

Thanks to the effort of Stringer and Bedard, the Pats took a 2-0 lead in the series against the Blades. The series now shifts to Regina for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at the Brandt Centre for a 7 p.m. start both nights.

The Blades dropped the one-goal extra time decision in a 1980s firewagon style contest despite outshooting the Pats 47-19. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said his squad was looking to get back out on to the ice to play right away.

Alexander Suzdalev (#91) set up the OT winner for the Pats.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed in the result,” said Sonne. “If we can play with that kind of war, then there is nothing to get down about.

“This is a tighter series than 2-0 right now I’ll tell you that.”

Sonne didn’t think his squad played with a playoff sense of urgency in a 6-1 series opening loss in Game 1 on Friday at the SaskTel Centre. He thought his squad brought a playoff type intensity on Sunday.

“I liked our desperation today,” said Sonne. “I thought our desperation was really good.

“That is how we need to play now for the rest of the series. In Game 1, woof. That one that is how we need to play the rest of the series.”

Stanislav Svozil scored the Pats first goal on Sunday.

The Blades came out with a good initial start getting the first four shots on goal of the game. Saskatoon’s best chance to score from the opening flurry came from a shot from the right slot by offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk, who was turned away by Pats netminder Drew Sim.

The Pats proceeded to kill that early momentum seemingly out of nowhere. At the 5:08 mark of the first, Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil blew home a midrange shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to give the visitors 1-0 edge. The teams were playing some four-versus-four action thanks to offsetting penalties at the time of Svozil’s goal.

At the 13:33 mark of the first, Svozil made a sweet pass from the right point to find Bedard alone in close by the left side of the Saskatoon net. Bedard lifted home a shot to the top left corner of the Blades goal to give the visitors a 2-0 edge.

The Blades celebrate a first period goal by Justin Lies (#43).

When it seemed the breaks were going the Pats way, the Blades got a key traction goal with 1:59 remaining in the first. Blades import right-winger Egor Sidorov passed the puck to gritty winger Justin Lies at the left side of the Regina goal. Lies potted his first of the post-season to cut the Pats lead to 2-1.

Just 2:48 into the second, the Blades pulled even at 2-2, when gritty left-winger Lukas Hansen potted his second of the post-season from the right slot.

At the 4:31 mark of the second, Bedard drew a high-sticking penalty on Blades hard working right-winger Vaughn Watterodt. On the ensuring power play, Bedard got the puck down low with a slick pass to Stringer down low to the right side of the Saskatoon goal.

Lukas Hansen had the Blades second goal on Sunday.

Stringer put the puck home between the legs of Blades netminder Austin Elliott to put the Pats back out in front 3-2.

“He (Stringer) is a real key player for us,” said Pats all-time great head coach and general manager John Paddock. “For me and I am biased because I see it all the time, he is the best net front guy in the league.

“He has the ability to tip pucks and make plays in small areas.”

Just 70 seconds later, Blades star 21-year-old centre Josh Pillar drove home a shot from the left slot to even the score again this time at 3-3.

With 7:29 remaining in the second, the Pats went back out in front with a smart double shift for Bedard. With Regina’s fourth line working the puck deep in the Saskatoon zone, left-winger Brayden Barnett had the puck in the left corner of the Blades zone.

Alexander Suzdalev had four assists for the Pats on Sunday.

He centred a pass to a streaking in Bedard, who roofed home his second of the contest to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 4-3 edge.

Following that tally, the Blades pulled Elliott, who stopped 9-of-13 shots fired his way and 28-of-37 shots to that point in the series.

Saskatoon product Ethan Chadwick turned away 4-of-6 shots sent his way playing the rest of the way in relief and ultimately taking the setback in goal.

Chadwick was tested early as he stopped Bedard and Suzdalev on back-to-back chances shortly after entering the crease of the Saskatoon net.

Jayden Wiens (#9) had the Blades fourth goal on Sunday.

Shortly after the 8:30 mark of the third, the Blades scored twice in a span of 18 seconds to go ahead 5-4 with tallies coming off the sticks of veteran centre Jayden Wiens and Watterodt. That marked the first time the Blades held a lead in any of the first two games of the series.

The line of Hansen, Wiens and Watterodt combined for three goals and two assists for the Blades on Sunday.

“They have been our best line so far this series,” said Sonne. “They’re just playing with their hearts on their sleeves, and that is why.

“They’re just absolutely desperate all three of them.”

Vaughn Watterodt scored to give the Blades a 5-4 lead in the third.

The Pats didn’t go away. Bedard completed his hat trick potting the rebound of a shot that deflected off the post the Saskatoon net to force a 5-5 tie and ultimately overtime. That set up the dramatics for Stringer’s winner.

Sim stopped 42 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Suzdalev collected four assists for the visitors.

Bedard said his Pats were pleased to be up 2-0 in the series, but they now have to refocus for Game 3. He expects the Blades keep battling hard.

The Blades came into this series finishing fourth overall in the WHL with a 48-15-4-1 record and being rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

Connor Bedard’s hat trick goal forced a 5-5 tie.

“I think for us there is still lots of work to do,” said Bedard. “You have to win four games not two.

“We know the last two are going to be the hardest to win. Obviously, we are going to be happy about tonight and the weekend, but we have to really shift our focus to Tuesday.”

Sonne said the Blades plan to make some tweak type adjustments, but they want to focus on bringing the same intensity for Game 3 like they did in Game 2.

“There are a whole bunch of different words you can use a lot of synonyms – grit, desperate, playoff mode, competitive,” said Sonne. “Whatever one you want to use, that is our main focus.

The Pats celebrate their win on Sunday.

“That is the main thing we have to bring now. There are adjustments we need to make obviously special teams wise here and there. The main thing is us being gritty like we were tonight.”

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 lock up second in WHL’s Eastern Conference

Saskatoon downs desperate Wheat Kings 3-2

Blades LW Justin Lies hands a souvenir stick to a birthday girl.

Starting in the second round of the WHL Playoffs, the Saskatoon Blades picked up a victory on Saturday night that could prove crucial.

Playing before 3,887 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades slipped past a desperate visiting Brandon Wheat Kings side 3-2 in a WHL regular season clash. The win allowed the Blades to improve to 46-14-4-1 to lock up second place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

In the conference playoff format used by the WHL, the two division winners are given the first and second seeds in the first round. From the second round onwards, the teams are reseeded by standings points.

In the Eastern Conference, the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice (54-9-1) have top spot in the conference and the East Division locked up. The Red Deer Rebels (42-18-3-3) have secured first in the Central Division and are cemented as the third place team in the Eastern Conference.

Justin Lies had the winning goal for the Blades on Saturday.

Thanks to finishing second in the Eastern Conference, the Blades would have home ice advantage for any post-season meetings with the Rebels.

The Blades current total of 46 wins marks the most victories the club has posted in a season since posting a team record 56 victories in 2010-11, when the squad put up a 56-13-1-2 mark to finish first in the WHL.

Saskatoon is also guaranteed a fourth place finish in the WHL’s overall standings. The Blades, who have three games remaining on their regular season schedule, could potentially still finish third in the circuit’s overall standings, but Saskatoon trails the Memorial Cup hosting and B.C. Division champion Kamloops Blazers (47-11-4-2) by three points for third overall. The Blazers have four regular season contests left to play.

Blades C Trevor Wong, left, battles Wheat Kings RW Evan Groening.

The setback put a big dagger in the Wheat Kings post-season hopes as they fell to 26-32-8 with a fourth straight loss to sit 10^th overall in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining on their regular season schedule.

The Wheat Kings trail the Calgary Hitmen (28-28-5-3) by four points for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and the conference’s final playoff berth. The Hitmen need to earn one more standings point in their last four regular season games to eliminate the Wheat Kings from playoff contention.

In Saturday’s clash between the Blades and Wheat Kings, Saskatoon jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal from 19-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright at the 9:13 mark of the opening frame and a power-play goal from 21-year-old left-winger Josh Pillar at the 12:34 mark of the first.

Jake Chiasson had a pair of assists for the Blades on Saturday.

Blades 19-year-old left-winger Jake Chiasson picked up assists on both goals after signing a three-year NHL entry-level contract earlier in the day with the Edmonton Oilers.

The Wheat Kings battled back to even the score at 2-2 heading into the first intermission. Right-winger and Saskatoon product Nolan Flamand netted the Wheat Kings first tally with 2:12 to play in the opening frame. 

Rookie left-winger Caleb Hadland, who turned 17-years-old on March 6, potted the equalizer with 43.7 seconds remaining in the first to force the 2-2 draw. Right-winger Evan Groening picked up assists on both Brandon goals.

With 3:56 remaining in the second, Blades 18-year-old left-winger Justin Lies netted his eighth goal of the season which stood up as the winner in Saskatoon’s 3-2 victory. 

Charlie Wright has the Blades first goal on Saturday.

Lies’s tally was set up by some great work by Blades 17-year-old rookie right-winger Rowan Calvert.

Calvert intercepted a Wheat Kings pass in the right corner of the Brandon zone. He quickly fed a pass to the front of the Brandon goal to Lies, who buried the winner.

Lies played a strong two-way game for the Blades in being named the first star of the contest. After being named the first star of the contest at game’s end, Lies gave a souvenir stick to a birthday girl in the crowd.

In the third, the Wheat Kings showed their desperation outshooting the Blades 11-4 in the frame.

Netminder Ethan Chadwick turned away all 11 shots he faced in the third and 23 shots over the whole contest to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Nicholas Jones turned away 23 shots taking the setback in net for the Wheat Kings.

The contest ended with a big scrum when time expired in the third period. 

The Blades celebrate their victory on Saturday night.

The officials handed out penalties to only two players giving Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt, who turned 19-years-old in February, and Wheat Kings 20-year-old left-winger Calder Anderson double minors for roughing and 10-minute misconducts.

The Blades return to action on Sunday when they host 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats (33-28-3-1) in a highly anticipated match up at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Bedard leads the WHL in goals (69), assists (71) and points (140).

The Wheat Kings get back at it on Friday, when they host the Ice (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

Raiders eliminated from playoff contention, other notes

Tikhon Chaika made 23 saves for the Raiders on Saturday.

It took seemingly death by 1,000 paper cuts to bring the Prince Albert Raiders post-season hopes to an end, and they were officially brought to an end on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Raiders played the second of a three games in three nights road trip falling to the WHL leading Ice 4-1 in a regular season clash played before 1,746 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena. The game was 45 minutes late in starting due to the Raiders bus encountering mechanical issues, while traveling from Brandon to Winnipeg. The Raiders opened their trip on Friday in Brandon downing the host Wheat Kings 4-3.

The Raiders were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to the Ice and the Calgary Hitmen blanking the Tigers in Medicine Hat 2-0 on Saturday night. Prince Albert fell to 27-35-3 to sit 11^th in the Eastern Conference and can no longer move into eighth in the conference to take the conference’s final playoff berth.

The Hitmen sit eight in the Eastern Conference and hold the conference’s last playoff berth improving to 28-28-5-3.

Landon Kosior had an assist for the Raiders on Saturday.

The win for the Ice improved their winning streak to six games as they continue to top the WHL’s overall standings with a 54-9-1 mark. The Ice sit two points ahead of the Seattle Thunderbirds (52-9-1-2), and both clubs have four contests remaining on their respective regular season schedules.

The 54 wins are a new franchise record for the Ice for most victories in one season. Their previous record was set last season, when the Ice topped the WHL standings with a 53-10-3-2 mark.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Ice, the teams played through a scoreless opening 20 minutes. Ice star centre Zack Ostapchuk opening the game’s scoring at the 10:26 mark of the second to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

Ice increased their advantage to 4-0 in the third with singles coming off the sticks of Evan Friesen, Ben Zloty and Connor McClennon. McClennon’s goal was his 44^th tally of the season and he had an assist to go with his goal.

Carter Anderson had the Raiders lone goal on Saturday.

Ice star centre Matthew Savoie had three assists in the win.

Carter Anderson, who is an 18-year-old left-winger, netted the Raiders lone reply coming with 4:28 remaining in the third to round out the 4-1 final score. Raiders star offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior, who is in his 20-year-old season, picked up the lone assist on Anderson’s goal.

Star netminder Daniel Hauser stopped 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Ice. Import netminder Tikhon Chaika turned away 23 shots to take the setback in the Raiders net.

The Ice had won all five head-to-head meetings with the Raiders this season.

The two sides go at it again on Sunday at 5 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

• The Saskatoon Blades will set a new SaskTel Centre single game team attendance record when they face Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Blades, who have sold out that clash with the Pats, won’t break the SaskTel Centre’s record attendance for a single sporting event. That record will continue to be held by the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush, who pulled in 15,192 spectators on May 21, 2016 for their 12-9 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks in Game 2 of a best-of-three West Division semifinal series that they swept 2-0. The Rush are able to hold a party alley in one of the SaskTel Centre’s vehicle entrances leading to the venue’s playing surface. At Blades games, the vehicle entrances leading to the playing surface are usually filled with rink attendants and the team’s game night staff. There is also part of one section of seats that can’t be used for the building’s configuration for hockey games, but can be used for lacrosse games. Due to missing that party alley and being unable to use part of one section of seats, the attendance at Sunday’s game isn’t expected to surpass 15,000.
• Due to being able to use floor seating, the SaskTel Centre’s record attendance for a single event comes from a concert. On September 15, 2018, Metallica drew a record attendance of 16,874 spectators for their concert that night. The band dedicated their performance of “Nothing Else Matters” to those who died in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash on April 6, 2018.
• After 32 regular season home games, the Saskatoon Blades are averaging 3,865 spectators a game. That number will go up as the Blades final two home games on Sunday and this coming Friday are against Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats.
• The Regina Pats officially locked up a berth in the WHL Playoffs with their 7-3 over the Warriors in Moose Jaw in a game played before 4,965 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard had a hat trick, three assists and posted a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in that contest.
• The U.S. Division champion Seattle Thunderbirds (52-9-1-2) need to earn just two more standings points in their last four games to lock up first overall in the Western Conference.

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 rebound from letdown with 3-1 win over Raiders

Blades centre Josh Pillar, left, dishes a pass after taking a hit.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Saskatoon Blades made certain a nine minute letdown became a distant memory.

On Saturday, the Blades jetted out to a 3-0 first period lead, maintained that edge to the end of the second period and held on for a 3-1 victory over the host Prince Albert Raiders before standing room crowd 2,676 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The win was a big bounce back for the Blades after they dropped a 6-5 decision in overtime one night earlier against the Raiders at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon to start a home-and-home series between the two sides.

In Friday’s clash in Saskatoon, the Blades had a 5-2 lead over the Raiders with eight minutes remaining in the third. The Raiders rallied back with three straight goals in regulation and star left-winger Sloan Stanick potting the winner 49 seconds into overtime.

Jayden Wiens scored the Blades first goal on Saturday.

The Blades win on Saturday halted the Raiders winning streak at five games. Saskatoon improved to 38-13-4-1, while Prince Albert fell to 24-29-3.

“Yesterday was probably if not the biggest disappointment, it was one of the biggest disappointments of the season,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “We’ve had games where we weren’t ourselves or didn’t play hard or things like that.

“We hadn’t experienced what we did last night. To come in and play the exact same team, we put ourselves in the exact same situation and to handle it the way we did like you just watched us learn a lesson and grow as a team, which is exactly what championship teams do.”

The Blades celebrate a first period goal from Brandon Lisowsky (#8).

While the Raiders came out on the wrong head of the scoreboard on Saturday, head coach Jeff Truitt liked how his team competed in that contest.

He said the fact the Blades ultimately converted on two-of-three power-play chances, while the Raiders were 0-for-4 on the power play had a big impact on the final outcome. The shots on goal for the contest finished even at 25-25.

“I thought the difference was their power play versus our penalty kill tonight,” said Truitt. “(On their) three goals, two of them were power-play goals.

“One was a four on four. You take a look at the halfway mark of the first period I thought that we competed. I thought that we might not have had a tonne a quality chances, but we weren’t chasing the game at that point in time.

Brandon Lisowsky had a goal and an assist for the Blades.

“Then we get into penalty trouble and that is momentum. At the end of the day, that is the difference.”

The Blades entered Saturday’s game knowing they had officially clinched a berth in the WHL Playoffs. The playoff berth clinch happened earlier in the day when the Lethbridge Hurricanes downed the Hitmen in Calgary 4-3 in regulation.

If the WHL Playoffs started after Saturday’s action was complete, the Blades would be the third seed in the Eastern Conference in the first round.

The Raiders, who are 11^th overall in the Eastern Conference, are still four points back of a playoff berth. They trail the Hitmen (24-26-5-2) and the Swift Current Broncos (26-27-1-2) who are tied for the eighth and ninth positions in the Eastern Conference with 55 standings points. The Broncos blanked the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 4-0 on Saturday.

Jake Chiasson scored the Blades third goal on Saturday.

As for Saturday’s clash between the Blades and Raiders, the teams came out to an unexpected feeling out start as shots on goal were tied 1-1 after six minutes of play. At that point, the Blades power play kicked into gear.

Just eight seconds in their first chance with the man advantage, Blades star right-winger Brandon Lisowsky had the puck by the right side boards in the Prince Albert zone, and he slid a pass across the face of the Raiders net to linemate Jayden Wiens. Wiens converted a backdoor tap to give the visitors a 1-0 edge at the 11:23 mark of the frame.

Just a little over two minutes and 30 seconds later during four-versus-four action, Lisowsky blasted home a mid range shot from the front of the Prince Albert goal to put the Blades up 2-0. Lisowsky said it is always easy for his squad to get up for game at the Art Hauser Centre

Ryder Ritchie scored the Raiders lone goal on Saturday.

“The (Raiders) fans kind of get into it,” said Lisowsky. “It is kind of a rocking barn when things get going, so it is something that kind of fuels the team and kind of fuels me personally.

“I kind of want to make a difference and kind of score. It feels good to score in this barn.”

With 1:39 remaining in the opening frame, the Blades struck again on the power play to extend their advantage to 3-0. Blades overage star centre Josh Pillar had the puck by the left side boards and passed it into the doorstep of the left side of the Saskatoon goal to left-winger Jake Chiasson. Chaisson did a half spin move and tucked home his 18^th of the season to give the visitors their three-goal edge.

Ethan Chadwick makes one of his 24 saves on Saturday.

Just 34 seconds later, Chiasson was crushed into the left boards on the blue-line by Raiders defenceman Justice Christensen. Chiasson stayed down on the play and had to be helped off. He didn’t return to the contest.

The Blades exited the opening frame with an 8-6 edge in shots on goal. The two sides played through a scoreless second period that included a number of scoring chances with the Blades holding a 13-12 edge in shots on goal in that stanza.

Truitt liked his team’s mental toughness, and thought his Raiders missed out on making gains in the second.

“When we get opportunities off the rush, we have to be able to make chances count,” said Truitt. “You can’t miss nets.

Terrell Goldsmith controls the puck at the point for the Raiders.

“I thought we missed a lot of nets tonight. We had point blankers, and we missed the net. We just didn’t make him (Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick) make as many saves as we wanted to.”

Just 1:28 into the third, the Raiders got on the board when star 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ryder Ritchie blasted home his 17^th goal of the season from the left side of the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades lead to 3-1. The Raiders weren’t able to get any closer on the scoreboard, but Truitt said it wasn’t from a lack of effort.

“We go shift by shift after something like that happens,” said Truitt. “We’re going to continue to battle and continue to do what we need to be.

“You have to take chances every once in a while. In the third period, we open things up. We got a goal, and we kept the pressure on, and I thought we did a good job that way in the third period.”

Defenceman Blake Gustafson navigates the offensive zone.

Max Hildebrand turned away 22 shots to take the setback for the Raiders. Chadwick stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades.

Looking back on the win, Lisowsky said his team’s penalty kill played in creating a positive outcome for the visitors.

“I thought every time we took a penalty we just reset,” said Lisowsky. “Our penalty kill was probably the best it has been in the second half.

“I think we had unbelievable penalty kill guys laying out and blocking shots and doing all the good things. I think we just talked about it. Our bench was positive, and we just reset every shift keeping those positive vibes going.”

Raiders captain Evan Herman circles low in the offensive zone.

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). 

That contest will be the Raiders “This Girl Can” night. Stock car driver and Prince Albert product Shantel Kalika will be giving a girls’ empowerment speech as part of a special pre-game function.

The Blades get back it on Wednesday when they host the Rebels (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre). With having clinched a playoff berth, Lisowsky said his squad is aiming to finish as high up in the standings as possible.

“Now, we are just battling for a better seed,” said Lisowsky. “I think that is the mindset going forward.

Jordan Keller jets up ice for the Blades.

“I think today was a good start. We have to play like we did today throughout the whole month of March.”

Truitt said his players just have to regroup when they get up in the morning on Sunday.

“You take a look at the scoreboard tonight there is not a lot of room for error left,” said Truitt. “We’re ticking down on games here.

“Some teams that we are chasing are winning tonight and some are losing. We have to concentrate again keeping our work ethic right where it needs to be. Right from here to game 68, we’re not going to slow down for anything.

“We will give ourselves the best chance to get there.”

The Blades begin to celebrate their win on Saturday.

NOTES – The Raiders were without 19-year-old import netminder Tikhon Chaika for a second straight game as he is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Chaika last played this past Monday, when the Raiders slipped past the Wheat Kings in Brandon 4-3 in overtime. He made 30 saves in that contest. Cooper Anderson, who is a 15-year-old associate player call up from South Island Royals under-17 AAA team in Victoria, B.C., dressed as the Raider backup the past two contests. Anderson was selected by the Raiders in the 10^th round and 208^th overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft.

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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