Raiders’ Rudolph ready for WHL, scores equalizer in debut

Pats spoil party claiming 3-2 OT victory

Daxon Rudolph had a solid first outing for the Raiders.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Maybe it was just a little too early for the Hockey Gods to allow Daxon Rudolph to write a storybook finish in the WHL.

The 16-year-old rookie defenceman, who was the first overall selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft, nearly played hero on Friday night for the Prince Albert Raiders making his major junior regular season debut. Facing the Regina Pats in the regular season opener for both clubs, the Raiders found themselves down 2-1 late in the third period.

Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker had the puck behind the Regina net and put a backhand pass to Rudolph, who pinched down from the right point into the right faceoff dot. Rudolph fired home his first goal of his WHL career to even the score at 2-2 with two minutes remaining in the third. That tally fired up the faithful at the Raiders storied home in the Art Hauser Centre and sent the contest to overtime.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Daxon Rudolph (#10) on Friday.

Just over two minutes into overtime, Rudolph found himself with the puck in the left slot of the offensive zone with a glorious chance to net the winner. His drive was swallowed up by Pats veteran netminder Kelton Pyne.

With 46.4 remaining in extra time, the Pats played spoiler. Inside the final minute of overtime, the visitors got the puck into the Prince Albert zone creating a lot of frantic play. Pats sophomore 17-year-old left-winger Cole Temple got control of the puck in the left corner of the Prince Albert zone below the icing line.

Temple passed the puck to the front of the net to Pats veteran 19-year-old centre Zachary Shantz. Schantz wired home the winner to the top right corner of the Prince Albert goal to deliver the Pats to a 3-2 victory.

Daxon Rudolph was selected first in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

When the dust settled, Rudolph imagined what the scene would have been like had he netted the overtime winner.

“That would have been awesome,” said Rudolph, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 195 pounds. “The crowd would have went crazy.

“The boys would have went crazy. To get a win there would have been awesome, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way.”

Still, Rudolph’s first outing in the WHL was memorable one, and one most players wish they could have when they break into the major junior ranks. The Lacombe, Alta., product recorded one goal, four shots on net and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. He said the fans in “Hockey Town North” made it a blast to suit up for the Raiders on home ice.

Sam Oremba scored the Pats first goal on Friday.

“It was really fun,” said Rudolph. “All the guys were amped up, and it is too bad we didn’t come out with the win.

“We pushed into overtime for a good game.”

Of course Rudolph is never going to forget his first goal, especially when it came at a critical moment for his club in forcing a 2-2 tie with two minutes remaining in the third period.

“It was awesome,” said Rudolph. “I mean the last two minute of the game to get one to get us back to even is big for our team.

Kelton Pyne stopped 37 shots for the Pats.

“It was great to hear the building go wild and get us kind of back into the game and get some energy heading into overtime. It is too back we didn’t come out with a win, but we got a (standings) point.”

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt was pleased to Rudolph net his first career goal. The veteran bench boss believed Rudolph would get that milestone tally sooner than later.

“These kids are all good players, and it is just a matter of time before they score,” said Truitt. “Dax (Rudolph) got this one tonight and good for him.

“It is quite an accomplishment to get your first one.”

Overall, the Raiders dressed five 16-year-old rookies on Friday including Rudolph, defenceman Benett Kelly, left-winger Ty Menuier and right-wingers Riley Boychuk and Jonah Sivertson. While they lack experience at the WHL level, Truitt thought the 16-year-olds showed that they belong.

Niall Crocker had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

“You know what, they might be 16, but they don’t look like 16 sometimes,” said Truitt. “Sometimes when you’re the home team you get the matchup.

“We were chasing the game a little bit. Do you rely on them at this point in time? Not always.

“We gave them some chances here and there, but we wanted to fight back and usually you go with your older group a little bit. Those younger guys I thought fit in real well.”

In Friday’s clash, the Raiders came out of the gate with some jump recorded the first three shots on goal in the contest. The Pats would turn away the host side’s early moment netting a power-play goal at the 7:07 mark of the opening frame.

While working with the man advantage, Pats 20-year-old centre Braxton Whitehead broke into the Raiders zone on a rush down the right wing. He centred a pass across the face of the Prince Albert net to linemate Sam Oremba, who popped home the contest’s opening tally to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

Samuel Laplante scored his first WHL goal on Friday.

With 2:01 one remaining in the opening frame, the Raiders evened the score at 1-1 on a gritty goal from 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker. Raiders sophomore 17-year-old left-winger Luke Moroz tried to pop home a shot during frantic action around the Regina net.

Pyne got a piece of the shot, but the puck sat loose in the crease of the Regina goal. Crocker swooped in and popped the loose puck home for the equalizer.

Just 2:21 into the second, the Pats went ahead 2-1 thanks to positive bounce goal. Pats 17-year-old rookie defenceman Samuel Laplante floated a puck from the right point towards the Raiders net.

Laplante’s floater deflected off Raiders 20-year-old defenceman Cedricson Okitundu into the Prince Albert net to give the visitor’s their one-goal edge. The tally was also Laplante’s first career WHL regular season goal.

Luke Moroz had an assist for the Raiders on Friday.

Okitundu, who spent last season with the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, was signed by the Raiders earlier in the day. He had been released by the Bulldogs and was able to join the Raiders after clearing waivers.

That set the stage for the dramatics late in the third period and in overtime.

“I thought that at times we were sloppy with the puck and just the pace of play here a little bit,” said Truitt. “It is going to smooth out.

“It is going to take some time, and we know that. We had our chances. We had some chances here that we could have obviously scored on, but we didn’t finish and that seems to be the difference.

Cole Temple picked up an assist on the Pats OT winning goal.

“They score a power-play goal. They score on some of their chances, and we don’t and that is the difference.”

Max Hildebrand turned away 22 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Pyne stopped 37 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats.

Both clubs were still missing players who were away at pro training camps.

The Raiders have three players attending NHL training camps including centre Tomas Mrsic (St. Louis Blues), defenceman Lukas Dragicevic (Seattle Kraken) and import defenceman Norwin Panocha (Buffalo Sabres). Raiders import 20-year-old left-winger Krzysztof Macias is at the training camp of the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

Zackary Shantz (#42) reacts to scoring his OT winner.

Pats star left-winger and Prince Albert product Tanner Howe is still at the training camp of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Pats return home to host the Brandon Wheat Kings (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). It will banner raising night for the Warriors, who won their first WHL championship last season.

Rudolph is ready to get after it in his upcoming second career regular season game against the Warriors on Saturday.

“I think you can always get better every day,” said Rudolph. “We have to build off this one for sure.

The Pats celebrate their OT win on Friday.

“We have a few things to work on, but yeah, we’re looking forward to it tomorrow, and we’ll be in for a good one in Moose Jaw.”

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’ Bedard, ex-factor Shantz too much for Blades

Regina takes Game 1 of first round series 6-1

Connor Bedard (#98) celebrates his first of two goals on Friday.

Connor Bedard showed he has the heart of Adam Brooks, Sam Steel, Austin Wagner, Josh Mahura, Connor Hobbs and Tyler Brown.

The Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre recorded a pair of goals, one assist and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus category to a power his squad to a 6-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round WHL Playoff series. The result came to the disappointment to most of the 10,265 spectators at the SaskTel Centre outside of the sizable contingent of Pats fans who showered their team with cheers and salutes at game’s end.

When the dust settled on Game 1, Pats all-time great head coach and general manager John Paddock reflected on Bedard’s play in comparison to the crew of Brooks, Steel, Wagner, Mahura, Hobbs and Brown that helped the Pats top the WHL regular season standings in 2016-17 with a 52-12-7-1 record and advance to the WHL Championship series falling in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Blades C Jayden Wiens, left, battles Pats C Connor Bedard for the puck.

This season, the Pats finished sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 record well back of the Blades, who finished fourth overall in the WHL with a 48-15-4-1 mark and are rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

“His (Bedard’s) individual play,” said Paddock. “We’re a young team.

“Him and (Tanner) Howe, those guys are 17-years-old. When Sam (Steel) was 17 Brooksy (Adam Brooks) was 19, and they threw a scare in Red Deer (in the second round of the 2016 WHL Playoffs) when they were hosting (the Memorial Cup). Our team was building.

Connor Bedard works with the puck deep in the offensive zone.

“This is a different situation, but on an individual player basis, there is nobody close to Connor (Bedard). Those guys were great players, but on an individual basis, it isn’t even close.”

Bedard was humbled to hear about Paddock’s kind words at the end of Friday’s game in comparison to the Pats star players that powered the franchise to the 2017 WHL Championships Series. The North Vancouver, B.C., product added he just made his post-season debut and that group accomplished some special things in the post-season.

“It is great, but I’ve only played one game in the playoffs,” said Bedard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds. “They, obviously, helped take their team to the final.

Stanislav Svozil had a goal and assist for the Pats.

“I don’t want to compare myself to anyone or look at that. Obviously, we have a rich history, and they are a big part of it so I don’t want to compare myself to anyone. It is nice that I am hearing my name with those guys that are great players and great Pats obviously.

“Like I said, I’m not here to compare myself to anyone. We have a goal here, and we want to kind of do something like they did.”

The Pats held a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes, when the Blades held the edge in territorial play holding a 23-12 edge in shots on goal. The wheels then fell off for the host side in the third.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne thought his side wasn’t desperate enough on Friday and needed to find another level of play. He was asked about how Blades all-time great head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken, who guided Saskatoon WHL Championship appearances in 1992 and 1994, used to say it takes a special will to win in the playoffs, and Sonne said that was where he was going.

Zackary Shantz scored the Pats first goal on Friday.

“That is exactly what he (Molleken) was talking about in my opinion what was missing,” said Sonne. “How were our rebound battles at their net?

“Did we dig in on those second opportunities? We’re all three guys buzzing in the offensive zone, or was one guy kind of by himself way too much. Were we all three guys working across the rink to recover pucks in the offensive zone?

“When we use the word desperate like Lorne (Molleken) is and like I am right now, that is what that means. That is when I say we have another level that is what I mean.”

The teams came out and played a feeling out type opening 20 minutes, where the Blades held a 10-8 edge in shots on goal.

Alexander Suzdalev had an assist for the Pats.

In the first, the Blades got a great scoring chance early, but left-winger Jake Chiasson and robbed close in at the right side of the Regina net by Pats netminder Drew Sim. Late in the opening frame, Sim stoned Blades star centre Trevor Wong close in at the right side of the Regina net.

The Pats best chance to score in the first came about seven minutes into the frame. Bedard fed a pass to the front of the Saskatoon goal to left-winger Riley Ginnell. Ginnell fired a shot from close in and was stoned by Blades netminder Austin Elliott.

At the 4:11 mark of the second, the Pats jumped ahead 1-0 from an unlikely source. Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil sprung rookie centre Zackary Shantz in alone on the Saskatoon goal.

Riley Ginnell scored nine seconds into the third period.

Shantz roofed home a shot to the top right corner of the Blades net to give the visitors a 1-0 edge. The tally was Shantz’s first career WHL goal in either the regular season or the post-season. The Pats fourth line forward unit of Shantz, left-winger Brayden Barnett and right-winger Jaxsin Vaughan had a strong outing on Friday.

“He (Shantz) has a fair amount of skill, but he got hurt early and he got a really bad collarbone break,” said Paddock. “He was out for like 15 weeks with it.

“It (Shantz’s goal) was nice in that way, and it was big. Sometimes that is what happens in playoffs or any time. Some sort of unsung hero comes up big, but I thought Barnett and Vaughan played strong games on the walls and finished checks.”

Drew Sim made 27 saves for the Pats on Friday.

With 6:48 remaining in the second, Bedard went to work. Entering the Blades zone on a rush down the right wing, Bedard was being hooked down by Blades defenceman Ben Saunderson, but the Pats centre still fired a shot home to the top left corner of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 2-0 edge.

As short time later, Bedard had two good scoring chances on the same shift. He was stopped on a rush down the right wing, but he collected the puck in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone behind the icing line. Bedard tried to bank the puck in off Elliott, but the Blades managed to keep the puck out of their net.

Just nine seconds into the third, Ginnell netted the Pats third goal to extend their advantage to 3-0 banking home a long shoot in off a stanchion into the net.

Lukas Hansen had the Blades lone goal on Friday.

The Blades responded 22 seconds later when left-winger Lukas Hansen, who turned 18-years-old in February, tallied on a spin-around shot from the left slot to cut the Pats lead to 3-1.

Right before the 10-minute mark of the third, Svozil put a dagger in the Blades comeback hopes. Holding the puck deep in the left side of the Blades zone, Svozil fired home a bad angle shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon goal to give the Pats a 4-1 lead. Bedard and star import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev picked up assists on Svozil’s tally.

Following Svozil’s tally, Bedard proceeded to add another highlight with 6:33 remaining in the third. He broke down the left wing in the Saskatoon zone, cut in between two Blades defencemen, crossed the front of the Saskatoon goal and roofed home a shot to the top right corner of the net to increase the visitor’s advantage to 5-1.

The Pats celebrate an empty-net goal from Tye Spencer, right.

Tye Spencer rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 2:31 remaining in the third.

Austin Elliott turned away 19-of-24 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Kelton Pyne stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats.

Game 2 of the series is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Bedard said he is aware of the historical sports rivalry between Regina and Saskatoon including how it extends to football with the University of Regina Rams taking on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in U Sports and the Regina Thunder tangling with the Saskatoon Hilltops in the CJFL. He knows the Pats and Blades have had their battles in the past, and with the two sides now having played each other four times since the start of March, Bedard thinks the intensity in the series is going to pick up.

Blades RW Egor Sidorov, left, and Pats C Tanner Howe trade words.

“It has been fun to play in these games,” said Bedard, who led the WHL in regular season scoring with 143 points coming off 71 goals and 72 assists to go with a plus-39 rating. “Obviously, they are a really good hockey team.

“We feel we are that too. I think just getting to play them so much, and obviously, seeing them in the first round, it is kind of cool how the schedule played out with that. You learn how to play against each other, and obviously that kind of hatred grows.

“It is going to be an intense series, and it is going to be tight.”

Before the Blades get into the rivalry aspect with the Pats, Sonne wants his team to focus on playing at a playoff intensity and energy level in Game 2.

The Pats celebrate their win on Friday night.

“You have to make it happen too,” said Sonne. “I thought we were clinical.

“I thought we structured and all that stuff. We have to get to that next gear, which is a playoff gear. I just didn’t think we were there enough.

“It is one game of a seven game series. Just like in the regular season, we learn and adjust and come at them for Game 2.”

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Tigers buck Broncos 4-3, capture final WHL post-season berth

The Tigers celebrated a berth in the WHL Playoffs on Saturday.

The Medicine Hat Tigers weren’t going to be denied by an opponent who had their number for most of the season.

On Saturday, the Tigers hosted the Swift Current Broncos at Co-op Place in a win and you’re in showdown for the final post-season berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and the final remaining berth in the WHL Playoffs. Entering the final regular season contest for both clubs, the Broncos had won six of the previous seven head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

This time the Tigers overcame a hot start by the Broncos to pull out a 4-3 victory before 4,506 spectators. The win allowed the Tigers to improve to 30-29-8-1 to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference and capture the conference’s final playoff berth.

Swift Current fell to 31-33-1-3 to finish ninth in the Eastern Conference and three points back of the Tigers for the conference’s final playoff position.

The Broncos forced Saturday’s winner take all clash for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference posting a 3-1 victory over the Tigers on Friday at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current.

Swift Current got out to a quick start in Saturday’s clash at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Just 3:16 into the first period, Broncos star 18-year-old right-winger Connor Hvidston netted his 21^st of the season to put the visitors up 1-0.

Just under five minutes later while working on the power play, Broncos centre Josh Davies, who turned 19-years-old on Friday, netted his 20^th goal of the season to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. The shots on goal were finished tied 10-10 when the first period came to a conclusion.

The Tigers turned the tables on the Broncos in the second surging ahead 3-2 holding a 16-4 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored the Tigers second goal on Saturday.

Just 14 seconds into the second, 18-year-old left-winger Tyler MacKenzie netted his 18^th goal of the season to cut the Broncos lead to 2-1. At the 7:52 mark of the second with Medicine Hat working on the power play, Tigers 18-year-old centre Oasiz Wiesblatt netted his 26^th goal of the season to even the score at 2-2.

With 4:25 remaining in the second, the Tigers jumped ahead 3-2 on a power-play goal from 20-year-old right-winger Dallon Melin. Tomas Mrsic, who is a rookie left-winger who turned 17-years-old in late February, had the puck at the right side boards and passed the puck across the front of the Swift Current goal to defenceman Dru Krebs, who turned 20-years-old in February.

Krebs fed a pass across the face of the Broncos net to Melin, who converted the backdoor tap to give the host side a one-goal edge.

At the six-minute mark of the third, right-winger Brayden Boehm, who turned 19-years-old in January, had the puck in the left corner of the Swift Current zone. He centred a pass to linemate in rookie centre Cayden Lindstrom, who one-timed home his 19^th goal of the season to push the Tigers lead out to 4-2. Lindstrom, who turned 17-years-old in February, posted 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points to go with a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department in 61 games with the Tigers this season.

The Broncos didn’t go away. Just after a power-play opportunity expired at the 10:26 mark of the third, Broncos star right-winger Josh Filmon, who turned 19-years-old on March 18, potted his 47^th goal of the campaign to cut the Tigers lead to 4-3.

Late in the frame, Broncos 17-year-old left-winger Brady Birnie hit a goalpost, and that was how close the visitors game to scoring the equalizer that forced overtime.

The Tiger proceeded to hold the Broncos off the scoreboard for just their second head-to-head victory between the two sides this season.

Tigers 15-year-old left-winger and associate player call up Gavin McKenna had a pair of assists in the win. In 16 appearances with the Tigers, McKenna, who was selected first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, posted four goals, 14 assists and a plus-seven rating. McKenna played most of the 2022-23 campaign with the Southern Alberta Hockey Academy Under-18 prep team located in the Medicine Hat area.

Tyler MacKenzie scored the Tigers first goal on Saturday.

Beckett Langkow stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Reid Dyck turned away 26 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos.

The Broncos are still looking for their first playoff berth since 2018, when they loaded up with a veteran roster to win their third WHL championship since the franchise relocated from Lethbridge to Swift Current for the start of the 1986-87 campaign.

The Tigers return to the WHL Playoffs after finishing last in the entire league in 2021-22 with an 11-53-3-1 record.

Medicine Hat will be heavy underdogs taking on the Winnipeg Ice in a first round best-of-seven series. The Ice topped the WHL standings with a 57-10-1 record. Game 1 of the series between the Tigers and Ice is set for Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg.

Blades hit 100-point plateau for fifth time

Trevor Wong scored twice for the Blades on Saturday.

The Saskatoon Blades hit a rare milestone in their last outing of the regular season.

On Saturday, the Blades traveled to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors in the final regular season contest for both teams. The visiting Blades doubled up the host Warriors 6-3 to disappoint most of the 3,786 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

With the win, the Blades concluded the regular season posting a 48-15-4-1 record for 101 standings points. That marks just the fifth time in team history dating back to the team’s creation in 1964 the Blades have recorded 100-or-more standings points in a campaign.

The Blades won the most games and posted the most points in a season since going 56-13-1-2 in the 2010-11 campaign. Saskatoon’s 56 wins and 115 standings points from that campaign are both club records.

In Saturday’s clash with the Warriors, the Blades jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes on goals from star right-winger Brandon Lisowsky and hard-working centre Jayden Wiens.

At the 3:08 mark of the second with Moose Jaw working on a power play, Warriors star right-winger Atley Calvert netted his 39 goal of the season to cut the Blades lead to 2-1. The Warriors evened the score at 2-2 at the 9:23 mark of the second on a goal from 20-year-old defenceman Logan Dowhaniuk, with Calvert picking up an assist on that tally.

Before the second ended, the Blades surged back in front 4-2 with goals coming from the sticks of 19-year-old left-winger Justin Lies and rookie 17-year-old right-winger Rowan Calvert.

At the 8:42 mark of the third, Atley Calvert potted his 40^th goal of the season for the Warriors, who were working on the power play, to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 4-3. That was as close as the Warriors would come to making a comeback.

Blades star centre Trevor Wong scored 55 seconds later to give the Blades a 5-3 edge. Wong added a second tally scoring into an empty net with less than 55 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 6-3 final score.

Rowan Calvert had the winning goal for the Blades on Saturday.

Wong topped the Blades in scoring this season with 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists to go with a plus-23 rating in the plus-minus department appearing in all the team’s 68 games. Lisowsky had an assist to go with his goal and finished the campaign with career highs in goals (38), assists (33), points (71) and plus-minus (plus-17).

Right-winger Jake Chiasson and utility player Spencer Shugrue each had a pair of assists for the Blades on Saturday.

Ethan Chadwick stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Jackson Unger turned away 25-of-30 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors, who fell to 41-24-0-3.

The Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL and second in the 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 Winnipeg Ice took top spot in the conference, the overall WHL standings and the East Division. The Red Deer Rebels (43-19-3-3) topped the Central Division and finished third overall in the Eastern Conference. They will be the top two seeds in the first round of the playoffs.

That means the Blades will face Connor Bedard and the Regina Pat in a first round best-of-seven series in the WHL Playoffs. Game 1 of that series set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre. The Pats finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

The last time the Blades and Pats met in the post-season came back in the 2006 WHL Playoffs, where the Blades claimed a best-of-seven first round series 4-2.

The Warriors finish fourth overall in the Eastern Conference and will face the fifth place Lethbridge Hurricanes (36-26-3-3) in a best-of-seven first round series. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Raiders close with 5-3 win over Pats, other notes

Sloan Stanick (#23) had a hat trick on Saturday.

Sloan Stanick closed the 2022-23 campaign for the Prince Albert Raiders by outshining Connor Bedard in the Regina Pats home rink.

On Saturday, Stanick had a hat trick for the Raiders to power them to a 5-3 victory past the Pats to the disappointment of most of the sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre. The contest concluded the regular season schedules for both squads.

For the Raiders who had already been eliminated from WHL post-season contention, the win allowed them to halt a three-game skid and improve to 28-37-3. The Raiders finished 11^th in the 12 team Eastern Conference and 18^th overall in the 22 team WHL.

Prince Albert got close to shutting out Bedard, who is the Pats 17-year-old phenom centre, for the contest. Bedard netted the game’s final goal with five minutes remaining in the third period. The North Vancouver, B.C., product finished the regular season leading the WHL in goals (71) and points (143) to go with a plus-39 rating in the plus-minus department in 57 appearances.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Pats, the Raiders drew first blood with 3:21 remaining in the opening frame on a power-play goal from 17-year-old centre Aiden Oiring, who netted his 12^th tally of the season. Defenceman Easton Kovacs and 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up assists on the tally.

In the second, Stanick, who is the Raiders star 19-year-old left-winger, went to work scoring at even strength at the 10:23 mark and short-handed at the 12:44 mark to put the visitors up 3-0. Those tallies allowed Stanick to his the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his WHL career.

Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil scored at the 2:59 mark of the third to cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Just 76 seconds after Svozil’s tally, Stanick completed his hat trick to put the Raiders up 4-1. At the 8:54 mark of the third, Raiders overage captain Evan Herman potted his 18^th goal of the season to increase the visitors’ edge to 5-1.

Landon Kosior had 63 points this season for the Raiders.

Star 17-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe and Bedard replied with singles for the Pats to round out the game’s scoring.

With his hat trick, Stanick finished up the 2022-23 campaign as the Raiders leading scorer posting 64 points coming off 31 goals and 33 assists to go with an even rating appearing in 67 games. Landon Kosior, who is the Raiders star 20-year-old offensive-defenceman, finished second in team scoring with 63 points coming off 17 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-three rating in 60 appearances.

Ritchie finished the contest recording a pair of assists for the Raiders. He finished third in team scoring with 55 points coming off 20 goals and 35 assists in 61 appearances.

Import netminder Tikhon Chaika stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Kelton Pyne turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

The Pats finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark and will face the Saskatoon Blades (48-15-4-1) in a best-of-seven first round playoff series. Game 1 of that series set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre.

The last time the Blades and Pats met in the post-season came back in the 2006 WHL Playoffs, where the Blades claimed a best-of-seven first round series 4-2.

The Raiders finished 10 points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (30-29-8-1) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

• The Winnipeg Ice topped the WHL overall standings with a 57-10-1 mark and their 57 wins and 115 standings points are both team records. The Ice’s old records of 53 wins and 111 standings points were set last season when they went 53-10-3-2 to finish first overall in the WHL.
• The Seattle Thunderbirds finished second overall in the WHL with a 54-11-1-2 mark and their 54 wins and 111 standings points are both team records. The Thunderbirds old records of 52 wins and 111 standings points were set back in the 1989-90 season. In 1989-90, the Thunderbirds finished second overall in the WHL with a record of 52 wins, 17 losses and 3 ties.
• Prince George Cougars star centre and Saskatoon product Riley Heidt, who turned 18-years-old on Saturday, finished fifth in the WHL scoring race with 97 points coming off 25 goals and 72 assists appearing in all his teams 68 regular season games. Heidt’s assists total of 72 tied for tops in the league with Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard.

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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Beauty sight to see SaskTel Centre packed for WHL

Blades bring in record crowd for Bedard, Pats visit

Connor Bedard scored his 70th goal of the season on Sunday.

Thanks to Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Saskatoon Blades played in front of a home crowd the likes they had never seen before.

On Sunday, the Blades and Pats went at it in a WHL regular season clash in front of a sellout crowd of 14,768 spectators. The attendance was a team record for the host Blades.

The Blades old single game attendance record came back on February 9, 2013 when 12,588 spectators turned out see Saskatoon down the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-2. Sunday’s encounter marked the first time the Blades sold out a game in the SaskTel Centre’s current configuration, when more seats were added to the inside of the building to host world juniors during the 2009-10 campaign.

Saskatoon’s WHL franchise came fairly close to hitting the SaskTel Centre’s record attendance for a single sporting event. That record continues 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 were able to pull in more spectators mainly due to holding a party alley in one of the SaskTel Centre’s vehicle entrances leading to the venue’s playing surface. That party alley has the vibe of a mini nightclub with a mingling area and bar underneath the stands. At Blades games, the vehicle entrances leading to the playing surface are usually filled with rink attendants and the team’s game night staff.

The SaskTel Centre’s record attendance for a single event comes from a concert due to the fact you can use floor seating. On September 15, 2018, Metallica drew a SaskTel Centre record attendance of 16,874 spectators for their concert that night.

Heading into Sunday’s action in the WHL, the Blades had averaged 3,865 spectators a game after 32 regular season home games. With Sunday’s game in the books, the Blades average attendance grew to 4,195 spectators per game over 33 home dates.

That average attendance number will grow again when the Blades will host Bedard and the Pats once more on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre to close the home part of their regular season schedule. As of Sunday, there are only 200 tickets remaining for sale for that contest. That is the next game up for both teams.

When the Blades and Pats met on Sunday, it was one of those rare times the action on the ice took a backseat to the crowd that was in the stands. The atmosphere was electric, and you could feel it during the national anthem.

Brandon Lisowsky had a pair of goals for the Blades on Sunday

The appearance of Bedard brought in a tonne of casual fans that had either not seen a live WHL game for some time or hadn’t seen a live WHL game at all. While Bedard was the draw, the crowd was behind the Blades, and it is hoped the newcomers enjoyed themselves enough that they will come out for other games.

As for the game itself, the Pats ultimately prevailed 4-2, and Bedard delivered his 70^th goal of the season and an assist. After a scoreless opening frame, the 17-year-old phenom centre set up the Pats first goal to open the game’s scoring.

With the puck by the left side of the Saskatoon net, Bedard centred a pass across the face of the Blades goal to Pats star import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev. Suzdalev, who turned 19-years-old on March 5, tapped in the backdoor feed for his 38^th goal of the season.

After the Pats took a 3-1 lead in the third, Suzdalev returned the favour setting up Bedard for his 70^th goal. Suzdalev was cutting to the Saskatoon net with the puck and made a sweet drop pass to Bedard, who was set up on top of the right faceoff circle. Bedard one-timed home the shot to give the Pats a 4-1 lead.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product was given polite applause by the crowd for his milestone tally.

Bedard became the first Pats player to score 70 or more goals in a season since centre Dale Derkatch recorded 72 goals and 87 assists for 159 points in 62 regular season games in the 1983-84 campaign.

The last player to score 70-or-more goals in a WHL campaign was Moose Jaw Warriors centre Jayden Halbgewachs in the 2017-18 season. Halbgewachs appeared in all of the Warriors 72 regular season contests in 2017-18 posting 70 goals and 59 assists for 129 points.

This season, Bedard leads the WHL in goals (70), assists (72) and points (142) to go with a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department in 55 regular season appearances.

Left-winger Tanner Howe scored at the 15:07 mark of the second period for the Pats to give them a 2-0 lead.

Blades star 18-year-old winger Brandon Lisowsky had both goals for the host side. Lisowsky has career highs in goals (35), assists (32) and points (67) to go with a plus-16 rating in 63 regular season appearances.

Tanner Howe had a goal for the Pats on Sunday.

His first tally at the 7:46 mark of the third to cut the Pats lead to 2-1 was met with huge cheers. Star centre Trevor Wong and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere picked up assists on Lisowsky’s first tally.

The Pats proceeded to pull away as 18-year-old rookie left-winger Brayden Barnett scored at the 10:48 mark of the third and Bedard posted his 70^th goal of the campaign at the 14:47 mark of the third to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.

With 1:59 remaining in the third and the Blades having pulled netminder Austin Elliott for an extra attacker, Lisowsky potted his second of the contest to round out the 4-2 final. Offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk and star right-winger Conner Roulette picked up assists on Lisowsky’s second tally.

Elliott turned away 18 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Kelton Pyne stole the game in goal for the Pats making 42 saves for a well-earned victory.

As it appears now, the SaskTel Centre could host more Bedard games in the first round of the WHL Playoffs. A first round series between the Blades and Pats is close to being locked up.

With the setback on Sunday, the Blades fell to 46-15-4-1, but they sit second overall in the 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 (55-9-1) 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. They will be the top two seeds in the first round of the playoffs.

The Blades are cemented as the third seed for the opening round of the post-season in the Eastern Conference.

The Pats improved to 34-28-3-1 to sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, and they can’t be passed for that position. As soon as the Lethbridge Hurricanes (35-24-3-3) earn one more standings point, the Pats will be locked into finishing sixth overall in the Eastern Conference and face the Blades in a best-of-seven first round series.

Trevor Wong had an assist for the Blades.

In the big picture of things, it was great to see a sellout crowd turn out to the SaskTel Centre for a Blades home date. It would be cool if crowds of over 10,000 turned out frequently for Blades games after Bedard graduates from the junior ranks.

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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Fate keeps Raiders in playoff chase after loss to Pats

Connor Bedard (#98) had two goals and an assist for the Pats.

A playoff berth is a pot of gold to the Prince Albert Raiders that is frustratingly fingertips out of reach.

On Saturday, the Raiders had a golden chance to seize a little bit more control as far as the chase for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference is concerned, but that opportunity fell through their fingers. They dropped a 5-3 decision to Pats before 5,123 spectators at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

Even with that setback, the Raiders are still alive in the hunt for a playoff berth with two games remaining on their regular season schedule.

The Raiders received a huge assist from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who downed the visiting Calgary Hitmen 5-1 at the Enmax Centre on Saturday night.

That win by the Hurricanes, who improved to 31-30-4-1, locked them into a seventh place overall finish in the Eastern Conference and a first round best-of-seven series against the 47-14-3-1 Edmonton Oil Kings, who are guaranteed of first place finish in the Central Division.

In the race for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, the Swift Current Broncos (26-34-5-2) currently sit in eight spot with 59 standings points. The Hitmen (25-32-6-2) sit one point behind the Broncos in ninth place overall.

The Pats (26-34-3-2) and Raiders (26-35-4-1) both sit two points behind the Broncos and one point behind the Hitmen. Regina is 10^th overall and Prince Albert is 11^th overall in the conference.

The Broncos have one game remaining on their schedule, while the Hitmen and Pats both have three games remaining in their respective regular season slates.

If two teams finish tied in points for eighth in the conference, a standings tiebreaking game will be held to determine who moves on to the post-season.

Evan Herman scored twice for the Raiders on Saturday.

The bunch up in the standings for that final playoff berth means there will be a lot more scoreboard watching over the final eight days of the regular season.

The Raiders also dropped a 2-0 heartbreaker to the Blades in Saskatoon on Friday, with the Blades scoring twice inside the final eight minutes of the third. A win in that contest would have drastically helped the Raiders chances in the post-season chase.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Pats, 16-year-old right-winger Tanner Howe scored short-handed with 3:56 remaining in the third period to give the Regina side a 1-0 lead.

Just 2:45 into the second period, Raiders left-winger Cale Sanders netted a short-handed goal of his own to even the score at 1-1.

Before the second ended, the Pats got goals from 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard and rookie right-winger Borya Valis to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. Valis’s tally came on the power play.

Just 1:44 into the second, Raiders veteran centre Evan Herman scored to cut the Pats lead to 3-2. At the 3:59 mark of the third, Raiders left-winger Keaton Sorensen was awarded a penalty shot after being tripped up on a breakaway.

Sorensen proceeded to hit the crossbar on the penalty shot attempt with a backhander.

Bedard scored his second of the game with the Pats working on the power play at the 6:46 mark of the third to push Regina’s advantage to 4-2.

Just 40 seconds later, Herman netted his second of the contest to cut the Pats lead to 4-3.

Pats captain Logan Nijhoff sealed the 5-3 victory with an empty-net goal with 1:40 remaining in the third. Bedard picked up an assist on Nijhoff’s goal to finish with a three-point night.

On the season, Bedard sits fifth in WHL scoring with 92 points coming on 49 goals and 43 assists appearing in 59 games for the Pats.

Logan Nijhoff had an empty-net goal for the Pats.

Howe, who is a Prince Albert product, had a pair of assists to go with his goal for a three-point night.

Kelton Pyne, a 16-year-old netminder who joined the WHL Pats after spending most of the season with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team, made 24 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Regina side. Import rookie Tikhon Chaika turned away 13-of-17 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

The Pats return to action on Thursday when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Ice (7 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena).

The Raiders get back at it on Friday when they travel to Swift Current to face the Broncos (7 p.m., Innovation Credit Union i-Plex).

Ice clinch first in WHL’s Eastern Conference, other notes

Jakin Smallwood had a goal and two assists for the Ice.

The Winnipeg Ice put the race for first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference on ice.

On Saturday playing before 1,681 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena, the Ice downed the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers 6-1 to lock up first place in the Eastern Conference. The Ice, who are rated second in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, improved to 50-10-3-2 with the win.

Winnipeg needs to earn just one more point in the standings to clinch first overall in the WHL.

Overage right-winger Jakin Smallwood potted his 24^th goal of the season at the 6:20 mark of the first to give the Ice a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers evened the score at 1-1 with a goal by overage right-winger Carter Chorney at the 6:40 mark of the second.

From that point, the Ice dominated the rest of the way taking a 3-1 lead into the second intermission before rounding out the game’s scoring with three tallies in the third. Cole Muir and Chase Wheatcroft each scored twice for the Ice, while Jack Finley netted a single.

Smallwood had two assists to go along with his goal, while Wheatcroft had one helper to go with his two tallies.

Daniel Hauser made 16 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Ice. Garin Bjorklund turned away 38 shots to take the setback in net for the Tigers (11-51-3-1).

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

• The Oil Kings locked up first place in the WHL’s Central Division with a 6-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels on Saturday. Oil Kings centres Justin Sourdif and Dylan Guenther each had two goals and two assists in the win. Edmonton improved to 47-14-3-1 with the win, while the Rebels fell to 44-18-2-2.
• The Brandon Wheat Kings won their fifth in a row downing the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors 3-2 after taking a tiebreaking shootout 1-0. Wheat Kings centre Nate Danielson, who had an assist in regulation, had the lone goal in the shootout. The Brandon win tightens the race for fourth in the Eastern Conference and home ice advantage for a first round playoff series. The Saskatoon Blades (37-26-3-1) and Warriors (36-23-3-3) each have 78 standings points. Saskatoon sits fourth due to having more wins, while the Warriors are fifth. The Wheat Kings (35-25-3-2) sit sixth in the Eastern Conference three points back of both the Blades and Warriors. The Warriors and Wheat Kings, who both have two games in hand on the Blades, face each other again on Tuesday in Brandon.
• Rebels overage left-winger Arshdeep Bains leads the WHL in scoring with 105 points coming on 39 goals and a league high 66 assists appearing in all the Rebels 66 games. He has a three-point lead over teammate in 19-year-old centre Ben King and Kamloops Blazers centre Logan Stankoven. King recorded his 102 points on a league leading 50 goals and 52 assists appearing in all the Rebels 66 games. Stankoven posted his 102 points on 44 goals and 58 assists appearing in 57 games for the Blazers.
• Blazers netminder Dylan Garand leads the WHL in goaltending wins at 33. Garand has appeared in 43 games this season posting a 33-8-1 record, a 2.15 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and four shutouts.
• I put together new content for the Gordie Howe Sports Complex’s Howe Happenings blog that went live on Saturday. I created a piece called “Sawi makes surprise burst on to football scene – Running back thankful friends prompted him to try sport.” That piece focuses on Holy Cross High School Crusaders football team running back Charles Sawi naming an out of nowhere rise to standout status. Sawi has an extremely bright football future. That article can be found by clicking right here. I also created a photo round up that 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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A night to remember for Blades’ import rookie Sidorov

Belarusian nets first career WHL hat trick in 6-2 win over Pats

Egor Sidorov (#19) smiles after scoring his hat trick goal.

Egor Sidorov outshone Connor Bedard.

On Saturday night before 3,813 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Sidorov, who is a 17-year-old rookie right-winger from Vitebsk, Belarus, notched his first career WHL hat trick to power his Saskatoon Blades to a 6-2 regular season victory over the visiting Regina Pats.

Sidorov put up more points than Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard. Bedard, who is in his second season in the WHL, was in on both Pats goals collecting one goal and one assist.

With the Blades holding a 5-2 lead, they ended up going on the power play inside of the final 25 seconds of the third period. The Blades coaches put Sidorov out on the power play with hopes that he might get his hat trick tally.

Egor Sidorov looks for an opening to score his hat trick goal.

Sidorov was able to put home a long range shot for his third goal of the night.

“On the third goal, it was just a power play,” said Sidorov. “(Blades head coach) Brennan Sonne said, ‘Sido go score.’

“I have to score.”

Sidorov was pumped to get his first three-goal night of his WHL career.

“I was just happy,” said Sidorov. “Team was very happy.

“We just keep going step by step.”

Sonne said the Blades coaching staff was trying to get Sonne in the ice, when star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic scored an empty-net goal with 56.1 seconds remaining in the third to put the Blades up 5-2. That tally was Crnkovic’s 30^th goal this season.

Egor Sidorov netted his first career WHL hat trick on Saturday.

When the power play opportunity came around inside the final 25 seconds of the third, Sidorov was sent out on the ice to try and get that third tally, which he did.

Sidorov also had a goal one night earlier when the Blades downed the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-1 at the SaskTel Centre.

“I think he (Sidorov) has been playing extremely well the last 10 or so games,” said Sonne, whose team has won three straight contests. “He is using his edges.

“He is skating so well. He is creating time and space for himself. It is really nice that this weekend he got rewarded.”

Saturday’s game had a bit of a slow start as both teams played cautiously immediately out of the gate.

Egor Sidorov gets in position to score his first goal on Saturday.

During a short spurt of four-versus-four action just before the midway point of the opening frame, the Pats had a major scoring chance when import defenceman Stanislav Svozil was buzzing down low in the Saskatoon zone with the puck. He was turned away on two in close shots by Blades star overage netminder Nolan Maier.

The Blades drew first blood in Saturday’s game with 4:38 remaining in the opening frame when Sidorov came out from behind the Pats goal to just below the right faceoff dot in the Regina zone and fired home his 12^th of the season.

Sonne said Sidorov has done well in making a major adjustment in his playing style since coming over to North America. Sonne said in Europe teams play more of a possession style of hockey.

Egor Sidorov celebrates scoring his first goal on Saturday.

In that style, teams will call of offensive zone rushes to circle back in their own zone to regroup before making another offensive rush.

Sonne said teams in North America try to get on an opponent with speed to prevent the defencemen from getting set and catching them flat footed.

“When you talk to Sido (Sidorov) and kind of try and get that north mentality, he actually even says in Belarus if you don’t like what you have then you just circle back and just keep the puck and go back behind the net,” said Sonne. “That is a tough thing.

“That is a structural shift for him. With his skill set, with his edges, with his skating, he has adapted extremely quickly. His English is coming along really quickly.

“He is an excellent hockey player.”

Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist for the Pats.

Just 16 seconds after Sidorov’s first goal, the Pats evened the score at 1-1 when Bedard blew home a shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net after skating just 10 feet inside the Blades zone.

Inside the final 30 seconds of the first, Pats left-winger Cole Dubinsky almost put the visitors in front, but he fired a shot off the post.

The Blades ended the second period with a big surge of momentum. With 3:48 remaining in the frame, they jumped ahead 2-1, when 20-year-old centre Tristen Robins jetted down the right wing and put home his 21^st of the season low stick side on Pats netminder Spencer Welke.

Robins break up ice was created thanks partly to Bedard’s line taking a lengthy shift. Blades left-winger Brandon Lisowsky got a hold of the puck and sent Robins in for the chance where he bagged the go-ahead goal.

Tristen Robins scored the Blades second goal on Saturday.

Right at the end of the second, Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere scored a buzzer-beating power-play goal on a point shot. The officials went to video review to confirm the goal, and it was confirmed with officially 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock.

Before the Blades went on their current three game winning streak, they dropped a 6-1 decision to the Red Deer Rebels on February 5 at the SaskTel Centre. De La Gorgendiere was pleased with how his team got back on track after that setback.

“I think we got challenged last week after the Red Deer game,” said De La Gorgendiere, whose team has won all four meetings against the Pats this season. “I think we all came out this weekend, and we responded.

“That is what we asked out of our group, and we did it.”

After 40 minutes, the Pats pulled Welke in favour of 16-year-old backup Kelton Pyne. Welke turned away 13-of-16 shots fired his way to take the setback in net for the Pats (17-23-1-1).

Aidan De La Gorgendiere had a buzzer-beating goal on Saturday.

Pyne stopped 11-of-13 shots playing the rest of the way in relief.

Both Welke and Pyne are associate player call ups. Regina’s two regular goalies in 17-year-old Matthew Kieper and 18-year-old Drew Sim are both out with upper body injuries.

Welke, who is in his 19-year-old season, was called up for the Camrose Kodiaks of the junior A ranks. Pyne was called up from the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team.

Just 22 second into the third, the Pats cut the Blades lead to 3-2 on a goal from 16-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe. Taking a pass from Bedard, Howe beat Maier with a backhand shot from close in on the right side of the Saskatoon goal.

The Blades pushed their lead out to 4-2 just 96 seconds later, when Sidorov potted his second of the contest on a shot from just under the right faceoff dot in the Regina zone.

Tanner Howe scored the Pats second goal on Saturday.

That set the stage for Crnkovic to get his empty-net tally and for Sidorov to pop home his hat trick marker. De La Gorgendiere said it was a highlight for the team to see Sidorov get a hat trick.

“It was awesome,” said De La Gorgendiere. “I’m so happy for him.

“I thought he had a great game – a great couple of games actually. I’m super happy for him. He has improved every day.

“He doesn’t know much English, but he is awesome in the room. He keeps on getting better every day.”

Maier stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (26-16-1-1). He said it has been good for the Blades to get on a bit of a roll in winning eight of their past 10 games.

Nolan Maier made 28 saves for the Blades on Saturday.

“It feels good,” said Maier. “I think it is a huge confidence booster for us going into our next stretch of games.

“It is really positive for us.”

Outside of the action on the ice, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock and Pats assistant coach Ken Schneider were absent from Saturday’s game for reasons that weren’t known. Assistant coach Brad Herauf and goaltending coach Rob Muntain ran the Pats bench.

The Pats get back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Winnipeg to face the Ice.

The Blades are off until Friday when they travel to Red Deer to face the Rebels. That contest starts a five-game road trip for the Saskatoon side.

Egor Sidorov (#19) and the Blades enjoy their win on Saturday.

“I guess this whole next week is really preparation for a big road trip, and then you have to create your own momentum,” said Sonne. “When the puck drops in Red Deer, we have to create our own momentum right away.”

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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