Rebels push back against Blades expected in Game 2

Blades D Grayden Siepmann battle Rebels LW Carson Birnie.

Dave Struch thought his Red Deer Rebels entered the second round of the WHL’s post-season with a thud.

On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Rebels interim head coach saw his team drop a 4-1 decision to the host Saskatoon Blades in Game 1 of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. In that contest, the Blades held a 24-17 advantage in shots on goal and a 38-24 advantage in faceoffs won.

The two sides go at it again in Game 2 on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Struch said his club has to have a lot better effort in Game 2 and the rest of the best-of-seven set in order to be a threat to take the series.

“I would hope that we play a more physical game along the way,” said Struch. “I would hope that our game gets a lot better, so we can give them a challenge.”

Coming into this series, the Blades were tabbed as the favourites. They topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They took down their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a first round series.

Rebels RW Kalan Lind (#13) gets the puck on the backcheck.

The Rebels had an up and down regular season finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and eighth overall on the circuit with a 33-26-3-6 mark. They took out one of their biggest rivals in the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in a first round series.

Since taking over behind the Rebels bench with the team having eight games remaining in the regular season, Struch believes his players have shown good resiliency. He saw some positives in Game 1, but he knows there is lots of room for improvement.

“With the way that they play, they try to get outnumber situations with the long rims,” said Struch. “I thought that we did a good job there.

“We kept the outnumber situations to a minimal. The counters for us I think that when we counter as slow as we did we’re not going to get enough offence. Those are things we have to get better at getting into Sunday.”

Fraser Minten had a big night in Game 1 Friday for the Blades.

While the Blades won Game 1, head coach Brennan Sonne said that contest didn’t play out structurally like his club though it would.

“It wasn’t crazy off what we expected to be coming, but I definitely predict there will be some adjustments,” said Sonne. “The lessons learned (on Friday) I thought we were very committed in certain areas like shot blocking was great (on Friday) for us.

“Lessons learned I think are structural. Game 1s are a little bit of a feeling out process. You’re seeing what they did all week.

“We’re trying to do what we did all week, and then you make little tweaks from here. Now, it is our turn as coaches to do our job.”

Game 1 of the series wasn’t all that physical outside of a big first period hit Blades rookie defenceman Morgan Tastad put on Rebels star right-wing Kalan Lind. There also weren’t that many scrums after the whistle, and Blades star centre Fraser Minten said his squad is trying to avoid engaging in extra-curricular activities.

“For us, that is intentional,” said Minten. “We don’t want to get into that stuff.

Hunter Mayo looks to start a rush for the Rebels.

“We feel we can out skill team and out skate teams. That is how we win. We don’t win by fighting after whistles and pushing and shoving.

“We just stay away from that and play hockey.”

Minten had a big night for the Blades in Game 1 collecting two goals, one assist and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. He also won 18-of-24 faceoffs. Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky had one goal and one assist. Veteran defenceman Grayden Siepmann had a pair of assists for Saskatoon.

The Rebels big line of centre and captain Kai Uchacz, left-winger Frantisek Formanek and Lind had a relatively quiet night. They each had just one shot on goal. Left-winger Carson Birnie had the Rebels lone goal.

Also, the Rebels lack of puck possession was affected by the fact the Blades won 61.3 per cent of the faceoffs in Game 1, which helped keep the line of Uchacz, Formanek and Lind at bay.

Minten believes the Blades have to repeat a lot of the little things they did right in Game 1 in Game 2 like success in the faceoff circle.

“We just have to do it again,” said Minten. “We have to get ready and get prepared.

Egor Sidorov works in the offensive zone for the Blades.

“It will be a new game right from the start. We just have to go out and play like we can.”

NOTES - The Blades were without utility winger Tyler Parr with a leg injury and star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong with an undisclosed injury in Game 1. In the series opener, the Rebels were without overage defenceman Elias Carmichael with a lower body injury. Carmichael has yet to appear in the 2024 WHL post-season. Red Deer was also without second-year netminder Rhett Stoesser due to an undisclosed ailment.

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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Is playoff created rivalry in store for Blades and Rebels?

Two squads battle again in round two of WHL post-season

Fraser Minten (#16) and Ollie Josephson (#17) in action.

Will a rivalry be born between the Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels?

For the second straight year, the two sides will do battle in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series in the WHL Playoffs. Coming into this year’s series, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They took down their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a first round series.

The Rebels had an up and down regular season finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and eighth overall on the circuit with a 33-26-3-6 mark. They took out one of their biggest rivals in the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in a first round series.

The Blade and Rebels open up their series on Friday with Game 1 set for 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Game 2 is slated for Sunday at 4 p.m. at SaskTel. In the four regular season encounters between the two squads, each side won twice.

The Saskatchewan Rush have Saturday occupied at SaskTel as they host the San Diego Seals at 7 p.m. in NLL regular season action. That caused the first two games of the series between the Blades and Rebels not to be played on consecutive nights.

Last year when the Blades and Rebels met in an Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Rebels jumped out to a 3-0 series lead. The Blades rebounded winning the last four games of the series to take the set 4-3. In the process, the Blades became just the third team in the history of the WHL to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-series and rally back to win the set.

Egor Sidorov can pile up goals for the Blades.

While both teams have gone through some regular junior hockey turnover from last season, both squads return a sizeable group of players from last year. The Blades have 12 players on their roster from a season ago, while the Rebels have 14 returnees from the 2022-23 campaign.

Some of the Blades returnees include captain Trevor Wong, star import right-winger Egor Sidorov, star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky, gritty left-winger Vaughn Watterodt, utility forward Tyler Parr, star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk, 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright, standout 19-year-old rearguard Ben Saunderson and 19-year-old star netminder Austin Elliott.

Some of the Rebels returnees include captain Kai Uchacz, star centre Kalan Lind, hard-working centre Ollie Josephson, Czechia import right-winger Frantisek Formanek, gritty right-winger Dwayne Jean Jr., gritty left-winger Jhett Larson, gritty right-winger Talon Brigley, offensive-defencemen Mats Lindgren and Hunter Mayo, gritty defenceman Jace Weir and netminder Rhett Stoesser.

In a different twist, Blades 19-year-old defenceman Nicholas Andrusiak was actually playing for the Rebels in last year’s post-season. He came to the Blades in a trade on December 12, 2023 that saw a fifth round selection in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft go to the Rebels.

There are enough returnees on the ice that the potential of personal battles being triggered on the ice from a season ago are high. The ingredients are there to create a rivalry between the Blades and Rebels due to the encounters in the post-season.

Kai Uchacz is the Rebels high scoring captain.

While the Blades eliminated a physical team in the Raiders in round one, Saskatoon will see an even more physical side in Red Deer. The Rebels have more experience and a little more skill than the Raiders did.

In the opening round of the playoffs, the Rebels eliminated a team in the Tigers that likes to play with lots of skill and put up offence and transition fast up and down the ice. The Blades style of team mirrors that of the Tigers, but the Blades have more experience and a little more skill than the Medicine Hat side did this season.

Due to the Rebels physical play, it is common that their post-season series will have some high tension moments. 

By tradition, the Rebels are a team that will grind and grind and grind and never give up in a game even if they are down by like a 6-1 score. That never surrender battle has been a Rebels constant since Brent Sutter became the owner on May 11, 1999.

Last year, some of the Blades fans seemed caught off guard with the physical and high tension aspects that occurred in a series with the Rebels. For some of the Blades faithful, their dislike for the Rebels was bigger for a short time than their dislike for the Raiders.

On the coaching front, Brennan Sonne is back as the Blades head coach from a year ago. He was named the WHL’s coach of the year last season and was named the WHL’s East Division’s coach of the year again this season.

Trevor Wong is the high scoring captain for the Blades.

The Rebels were guided by veteran bench boss Steve Konowalchuk a year ago. He resigned from the Rebels in May of 2023 looking to find a situation that worked better for his family life. His permanent residence at the time was still Seattle, Wash., where he served as Seattle Thunderbirds head coach from 2011 to their WHL title winning season in 2017.

Derrick Walser was the Rebels head coach for most of the 2023-24 campaign. He and the Rebels mutually parted ways after a 7-5 loss at home to the Swift Current Broncos on March 1.

With eight games remaining in their regular season, the Rebels named good guy coach Dave Struch as the club’s interim head coach. Struch is best known for his WHL coaching stays with the Regina Pats that ran from the start of the 2014-15 campaign to November of 2021 and with the Blades that ran from the 2006-07 campaign to the 2013-14 campaign.

As a player, Struch played centre for the Blades for four seasons from 1988 to 1992. In 253 career regular season games with the Blades, Struch posted 134 goals and 151 assists for 285 points.

The Blades head into this year’s series with a little more depth than a season ago. Star centre Fraser Minten, star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong, star right-winger Alexander Suzdalev, defensive-defenceman John Babcock and breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner were all big additions from a season ago.

During the regular season, Gardner posted a 21-5-2 record, a 1.91 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and four shutouts.

Hunter Mayo puts up points from the Rebels back end.

The Rebels biggest additions have been overage defensive-defenceman Elias Carmichael and breakout rookie netminder Chase Wutzke. During the regular season, Wutzke posted a 19-10-4 record, a 2.82 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and one shutout. Wutzke’s shutout win was a 36-save gem in a 5-0 victory over the Blades in Saskatoon on February 27.

On the injury front, Parr went down for the Blades with a leg injury in their Game 4 win over the Raiders. Gardner and Armstrong didn’t play the final two periods of the Blades series clinching victory over the Raiders in Game 5.

Of course, the Blades aren’t tipping their hand on the status of any of those three for Game 1 versus the Rebels.

In the series versus the Rebels, the attrition rate could be a factor that determines the series outcome. A realist will expect this series to be a physical war.

DuPont gets exceptional status to play in WHL, other notes

Landon DuPont in a promo picture. (Photo by Jenn Pierce, WHL)

Landon DuPont is on his way to being “the next big thing” in the WHL.

On Monday, the WHL announced on behalf of Hockey Canada and Hockey Alberta that DuPont has been granted Exceptional Player Status and is eligible to play in the WHL on a full-time basis beginning with the 2024-25 campaign. The Calgary product, who is a skilled defenceman, will turn 15-years-old on May 28.

DuPont is eligible to be selected in the WHL Prospects Draft set to be held online on May 9. The Everett Silvertips currently hold the first overall selection in the Prospects Draft.

Players looking to achieve Exceptional Player Status must possess a level of mental, social and emotional maturity that belies his age along with hockey skills that greatly exceed those of other elite level players both in their age group and among player several years older.

The Exceptional Player Status process was administered by Hockey Alberta with a Hockey Canada special evaluation panel which reviewed DuPont’s hockey and academic documentation. The process also assessed DuPont’s level of maturity.

“It is such an honour for me to receive Exceptional Player Status from Hockey Alberta and Hockey Canada,” said DuPont in a release. “I would like to thank my family, all of my coaches, trainers, advisors and most of all, my teammates through my entire hockey journey for helping me get to this point.

A second Landon DuPont promo shot. (Photo by Jenn Pierce, WHL)

“I’m excited to continue my development in the WHL and will work hard every day to continue to improve.”

DuPont becomes the first defenceman and second player in the history of the WHL to be granted Exceptional Player Status by Hockey Canada. Connor Bedard, a phenom centre, was the first to be granted Exceptional Player Status to play in the WHL in 2020. The North Vancouver, B.C., product played three seasons with the Regina Pats before joining the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks this season.

On top of that, DuPont, who is a right shot blue-liner, becomes the ninth player in CHL history to be granted Exceptional Player Status by Hockey Canada.

Dupont, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 170 pounds, spent the 2023-24 campaign playing for the Edge School U18 Prep squad in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League where he recorded 62 points (19G-43A) in 30 regular season games to finish third in CSSHL U18 scoring. His 62 points led all blue-liners and established a new CSSHL U18 Prep single-season scoring record for defencemen.

DuPont added another 16 points (5G-11A) in five playoff games tying the CSSHL U18 Championship scoring record held by former Edmonton Oil Kings and Seattle Thunderbirds star Dylan Guenther. The defenceman was named CSSHL U18 Prep Championship MVP and helped Edge capture the CSSHL U18 title.

• The WHL U.S. Priority Draft is slated for May 8, and it will be conducted online. The Regina Pats have the first overall selection in that draft.
• Prince Albert Raiders import left-winger Krzysztof Macias was given a two-game suspension by the WHL on Tuesday for receiving a major for head checking and a game misconduct in the Raiders 6-2 loss to the Blades in Saskatoon on April 5. That loss in Game 5 of a best-of-seven first round series brought the Raiders campaign to an end. The two-game suspension will carry over to the 2024-25 regular season, if Macias is back in the WHL as a 20-year-old.
• On Tuesday, the WHL suspended Wenatchee Wild defenceman Jonas Woo for a slashing major and a game misconduct he took in the Wild’s 4-2 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna on Sunday. That loss in Game 6 of a best-of-seven first round series brought the Wild’s campaign to an end. The suspension will carry over to the 2024-25 regular season, when Woo begins his 18-year-old campaign.
• The WHL Eastern Conference semifinal between the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Swift Current Broncos begins Friday night in Moose Jaw. The Warriors finished second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 44-21-0-3 mark, while the Broncos were third overall in the Eastern Conference and tops in the Central Division with a 40-22-4-2 mark.
• The WHL Western Conference semifinal between the Prince George Cougars and the Kelowna Rockets begins Friday in Prince George. The Cougars finished first in the Western Conference and the B.C. Division with a 49-15-1-3 mark, while the Rockets were fifth in the Western Conference with a 33-30-4-1 mark.
• The WHL Western Conference semifinal between the Portland Winterhawks and Everett Silvertips begins on Friday in Portland. The Winterhawks finished second in the Western Conference and tops in the U.S. Division with a 48-15-4-1 mark, while the Silvertips were third overall in the Western Conference with a 45-18-2-3 mark. Due to scheduling conflicts in Everett, this series will be played in a two-three-two format with the Winterhawks hosting the first two and the last two games of the set.
• Former Saskatoon Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies is having an outstanding 20-year-old campaign in the junior A ranks with the Flin Flon Bombers, who are the only Manitoba squad that plays in the SJHL. Lies, who is from Flin Flon, played in 55 regular season contests recording 41 goals and 35 assists for 76 points. In eight post-season contests, Lies has nine goals and five assists for 14 points. The Bombers finished first overall in the SJHL with a 44-9-2-1 mark and have advanced to the league championship series in the SJHL Playoffs. They face the winner of a semifinal series between the Melfort Mustangs and the Humboldt Broncos.  
• I love the passion of the Prince Albert Raiders fans. I hope that never chances in “Hockey Town North.”
• There are a tonne of young guys in the media doing outstanding work on the WHL circuit. Some of those guys include Nathan Reiter of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, Prince Albert Raiders play-by-play voice Nolan Kowal, James Tubb of the Medicine Hat News, Medicine Hat Tigers play-by-play voice Gino De Paoli, Ian Gustafson of the Red Deer Advocate and Regina Pats play-by-play voice Dante De Caria. With team communications staffs, Kyle Kosowan, who is the manager of communications and media relations with the Raiders, and Tanner Chubey, who is the Saskatoon Blades communications manager, have been outstanding too. I’ve found it fun being the old veteran with this group on the circuit.
• On Tuesday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on the excitement the local football community had over the fact flag football will be a sport in men’s and women’s play at the 2028 Olympic Games. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that showed fun from the Playground To Pros camp and other happenings on the Complex grounds. 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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Blades, Rebels face off in unique Game 7 encounter

Saskatoon aims for series win after trailing set 3-0

Trevor Wong leads the Blades with 19 points in the playoffs.

The Saskatoon Blades are one win away from being remembered forever.

The Red Deer Rebels will do whatever they can to derail a potential history making moment.

On Tuesday, the two sides will collide in a winner take all Game 7 of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The winner moves on to face the Winnipeg Ice in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference Championship series.

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. They advanced to the Eastern Conference title series having downed the Warriors in Moose Jaw 8-2 on Monday to claim Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series taking the set 4-2.

As for the series between the Blades and Rebels, it was expected to be a tight one. 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.

Many thought the series would go to six or seven games, but no one could have predicted it going to a Game 7 in the way it did. The Rebels took the first three games of the series to lead the set 3-0, but the Blades rebounded with three straight win to tie the set at 3-3.

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.

Jayden Grubbe leads the Rebels with 15 points in the playoffs.

Gregg Drinnan, who is the dean when it comes to covering the WHL, added on his Taking Note blog that Game 7 of those two series both ended in overtime. In the 1996 Game 7 between the Chiefs and Winterhawks, forward Darren Sinclair scored 58 seconds in overtime to deliver the Chiefs to a 4-3 victory. In the 2013 Game 7 between the Rockets and Thunderbirds, forward Tyson Baillie scored at the 5:10 mark of overtime to give the Rockets a 3-2 victory.

Current Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk was the head coach of the Thunderbirds in 2013 when they lost their 3-0 series lead to the Rockets. Konowalchuk would guide the Thunderbirds to a WHL championship in 2016-17 before departing to the NHL to become an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks.

The Blades have actually 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.

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.

Star centre Trevor Wong leads the Blades in post-season scoring with 19 points coming off five goals and 19 assists. He has points in his last five consecutive games posting two goals and seven assists over that stretch of time.

Egor Sidorov has 18 points in the playoffs.

Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov sits second in Blades post-season scoring with 18 points coming off nine goals and nine assists. Captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere leads the Blades in defencemen scoring in the playoffs with 13 points coming off two goals and 11 assists.

Captain Jayden Grubbe tops the Rebels in post-season scoring with 15 points coming off two goals and 13 assists. Star centre Kai Uchacz is second in Rebels scoring in the playoffs with 13 points coming off nine goals and four assists. Mats Lindgren leads all Rebels defencemen in post-season scoring with nine points coming off two goals and seven assists.

The starting goaltenders for each side might not be known until game time. In their three straight wins to tie the series, the Blades have used both Ethan Chadwick and Austin Elliott. Chadwick picked up the wins in Games 4 and 5, while Elliott was in net for the series tying victory in Game 6.

Kyle Kelsey has been the Rebels starter for the entire post-season until he was pulled during his club’s 6-3 loss in Game 5 on Friday at the SaskTel Centre. Chase Coward started Game 6 on Sunday for the Rebels, where they dropped 5-3 decision on home ice.

During the series, the Blades and Rebels have developed a legitimate rivalry. The players on the two teams have shown a real dislike for each other resulting in the series having a snarl to it.

The Blades will be without gritty right-winger Justin Lies for Game 7 as he will be sitting out the third game of a three-game WHL imposed suspension for a head shot 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 faced league discipline on Monday for shenanigans that occurred in the final minute of the Blades 5-3 victory in Game 6 in Red Deer on Sunday. Rebels right-winger Jhett Larson was suspended for one game for receiving a fight instigator penalty in the final five minutes of that contest. The Rebels as a team were fined $500 due to one of their players receiving an instigator penalty inside the final five minutes of that Game 6 setback.

Kai Uchacz has nine goals and 13 points in the playoffs.

The Blades are attempting to reach the Eastern Conference Championships series for the first time since 1994. The Rebels are trying to get back to the Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time since 2016, when they hosted the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

Over the past three games, the Blades are 5-for-14 on the power play, and they’ve allowed the Rebels to score on 1-of-10 chances with the man advantage. The Blades have successfully killed off their last nine consecutive penalty killing situations.

As of Monday night, the Blades had sold over 8,000 tickets for the Game 7 clash with the Rebels. Those in attendance might ultimately see one of the Blades most memorable days in franchise history, but don’t expect the Rebels to go away quietly.

T-Birds, Blazers battle for Western Conference title, other notes

The Thunderbirds have had a stellar 2022-23 campaign.

The Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers were the class of the WHL’s Western Conference, and it came as no surprise that both clubs advanced to the Western Conference Championship series.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

The Blazers, who are hosting this year’s Memorial Cup tournament, finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Seattle swept away the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series and the Prince George Cougars 4-0 in a best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal series. Kamloops swept the Vancouver Giants 4-0 in the first round and the Portland Winterhawks 4-0 in the other Western Conference semifinal series.

The two clubs open their best-of-seven Western Conference title series on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.

The Thunderbirds and Blazers met in last year’s Western Conference Championship series. That series went to a deciding Game 7, and it was claimed 3-2 by the Thunderbirds at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. The Blazers led the series 3-2, before the Thunderbirds closed the set out with two straight wins.

Seattle went on to fall in the WHL Championship Series in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

• For those who purchased a $99 playoff pass to guarantee their seat for all Saskatoon Blades home games for the WHL Playoffs, they are feeling really good about their purchase. When the Blades host the Red Deer Rebels in Game 7 of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the SaskTel Centre, it will be the Blades eighth home post-season game. If you attended all eight of those post-season home games on a playoff pass, you have spent about $12.50 getting into each contest.
• So far in the WHL Playoffs, the Seattle Thunderbirds have the top power play going 11-for-25 for a 44 per cent success rate. The Moose Jaw Warriors have the second best power play going 10-for 23 for a 43.5 per cent success rate. The Kamloops Blazers sit third going 16-of-39 on the power play for a 41 per cent success rate.
• Star centre Logan Stankoven and star defenceman Olen Zellweger have been on fire for the Kamloops Blazers recording 21 points each in their team’s eight post-season games. Stankoven has recorded his 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. Zellweger has his 21 points coming off seven goals and 14 assists.

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.

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 power play and penalty kill heat up

Rebels need to reset and get back on task

The Blades celebrate a power-play goal from Egor Sidorov (#19).

The Saskatoon Blades power play and penalty kill is catching fire, and it could aid them in their quest to try and achieve the greatest playoff series comeback in team history.

The Red Deer Rebels are looking to reset and get back on task playing with a sound structure that has them to within one win of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championships Series.

The two clubs go at it on Sunday at 2 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer for Game 6 of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Rebels hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set.

Red Deer opened by winning the first three games against the Blades to get one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Championship Series. Saskatoon won the last two contests to get two wins away from being 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 been able to change the complexion of the series thanks to the play of their power play and penalty killing units over the past two games. Saskatoon has scored on 4-of-8 power play chances and allowed the Rebels to score on 1-of-6 chances on the man advantage. The Blades have successfully killed off the Rebels last five consecutive power-play opportunities.

The Rebels celebrate a goal from Kai Uchacz (#19).

In Game 4 on Wednesday in Red Deer, the Blades only allowed one power-play goal coming off the stick of Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz at the 6:27 mark of the first period. Red Deer was working on at five-minute power play after Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for delivering a head shot to Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January.

While Uchacz was able to score, the Blades were still pretty strong on that kill.

The Rebels were able to exit the first period with a 2-0 advantage after Uchacz scored at even strength. Red Deer had a huge opportunity to put Saskatoon away when Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was given a double minor for high-sticking at the 6:14 mark of the second.

The Blades gained some traction successfully killing off that double minor. A short time after that kill, the Blades got more traction going on the power play themselves, and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who is a star offensive-defenceman, scored his first goal off the post-season on the man advantage to cut the Rebels lead to 2-1.

That set the stage for the Blades to roll off three straight goals in a span of four minutes and three second in the third to pull out a 4-2 victory.

Egor Sidorov is finding success on the power play for the Blades.

In Game 5 of the series on Friday in Saskatoon, the Blades took advantage of the Rebels taking some undisciplined penalties going 3-for-6 on the power play and killing off all three Red Deer power-play chances to pull out a 6-3 victory. Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov scored twice on the power play and De La Gorgendiere scored the winner on a chance with the man advantage.

During the regular season, the Blades power play and penalty killing units were among the best in the WHL. The Blades had the fourth best power play in the league 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.

If the Blades special teams units stay hot, it will greatly help their chances of winning Game 6 and forcing a series deciding Game 7, which is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre if needed.

The Rebels, on the other hand, need to get back to what they were doing well when they took a 3-0 lead in the series. During those first three games, the Rebels were sound in their structural play along with being poised, businesslike and hard working.

Kai Uchacz is piling up goals for the Rebels.

Red Deer clogged up the centre ice zone taking away the Blades tendency to go for stretch passes. In the defensive zone, the Rebels played with poise and had good spacing. The Blades players were often kept to the outside and seemed to second guess what they wanted to do when it came time to pass the puck.

In the offensive zone, the Rebels set up a strong forecheck that kept the Blades pinned for numerous stretches in their own zone. When the Rebels had the puck in the offensive zone, they moved it around with confidence and shot it with purpose once it was in a prime scoring area.

Red Deer was sound with systems play taking a 2-0 lead in the first period in Game 4. While the Blades had some push back in second period to cut the Rebels lead to 2-1, the Red Deer side was just 20 minutes from closing out the series going into the second intermission.

The Rebels seemed to unravel after the Blades surged ahead to take the contest 4-2 in the third and visibly showed frustration at times after going down by two goals. In Game 5, the Rebels were too occupied with trying to be physical, and that resulted in undisciplined penalties that allowed the Blades to take the game.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere has two post-season power-play goals.

It seemed like the Rebels got off track after Lind went down to injury. Lind is very popular amongst his teammates and is a fan favourite of the community of Red Deer.

The Rebels appeared to want to show their romantic “all heart” characteristic to try and pull out a win for their fallen teammate. Emotion can be a thing that speeds a team up and allows club to achieve new levels of greatness.

Emotion can also be a thing that causes a team to try too hard and lose composure. At that point, emotion can be a determent to a team, and that seems to be the case the Rebels find themselves in.

The Rebels also have to be concerned about their situation in goal too. 

In their first nine games in the WHL Playoffs, Kyle Kelsey posted stellar numbers with a 7-2 record, a 1.93 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout.

In the third period of Game 4, he allowed three goals on seven shots as the Blades surged to victory. Kelsey started Game 5 and was pulled with 1:57 remaining in the opening frame after allowing three goals on seven shots. Chase Coward played the rest of the way in relief and ultimate took the loss in net.

Ben King is one of the Rebels top offensive players.

The Blades were without Lies for Game 5, because he was suspended by the WHL for his head shot on Lind. On Saturday, the WHL finalized Lies’ suspension at three games. If the Blades are able to make the Eastern Conference Championship Series, Lies would be eligible to return for Game 1 of that set.

The Lies suspension marked only the second time in the 2022-23 campaign in the regular season and playoffs that the Blades have had a player get suspended.

Also on Saturday, the Rebels learned that they will be without import right-winger Frantisek Formanek due to a one-game suspension under supplemental discipline. In Game 5, Formanek was giving a boarding minor penalty at the 7:21 mark of the first period.

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.

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.

The Blades and Rebels engage in activity after the whistle.

Taking an unconventional route, it has become a tight series. The next chapter and potentially closing chapter of this drama will play out on Sunday.

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 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.

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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