Gorzynski works overtime magic for Raiders in 4-3 win

Prince Albert takes first round series over Red Deer 4-1

Brandon Gorzynski (#29) and the Raiders enjoy their OT win.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders weren’t going to be denied in their second shot to advance out of the first round of the WHL Playoffs.

On Friday, the Raiders took on the visiting Red Deer Rebels in Game 5 of a best-of-seven first round series at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders could close out the set with a win, while the Rebels were trying to drag everything back to Red Deer for a Game 6 on Sunday.

With the Raiders holding a 3-2 lead, Rebels rookie defenceman Nate Yellowaga, who turned 18 in March, banked home the equalizer off the skates of Raiders captain Justice Christensen to force a 3-3 tie with 46.3 seconds remaining in the third period and overtime for the first time in the series.

Brandon Gorzynski (#29) reacts to scoring the OT winner.

The Raiders weren’t deterred by the break that didn’t go their way. At the 2:21 mark of overtime, Raiders star left-winger Brandon Gorzynski picked up the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Brayden Dube at the left side of the Red Deer net. Gorzynski proceeded to skate in behind the net and wrap home the winner into an open cage to give the Raiders a 4-3 victory before a raucous standing room crowd of 3,134 spectators at the 2,580 seat rink.

The victory allowed the Raiders to take the series 4-1 and eliminate the Rebels from the post-season.

Brandon Gorzynski (#29) gets set to be mobbed by his teammates.

“Obviously, it feels pretty good, kind of a weight off the shoulders,” said Gorzynski about the winning goal. “I mean they are a good team.

“They pushed us hard, but we didn’t want to go back to Red Deer. It felt amazing, and to get it with those guys. We worked so hard.

“I think we dominated that series, and I think we deserved that one.”

Gorzynski’s winner prevented Rebels star 18-year-old rookie netminder Matthew Kondro from stealing a second straight game. Kondro turned away 48 shots to take the setback in the Red Deer net on Friday giving his squad every chance to win the contest. In Game 4 on Wednesday in Red Deer, Kondro made 35 saves as the Rebels rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to pull out a 4-3 victory to keep the series alive.

The Raiders OT victory celebration ends up along the glass with their fans.

Just when it seemed Kondro might steal another contest on Friday, Gorzynski potted the overtime winner with his second tally of the post-season. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased his side pulled out the series-clinching win on Friday.

“The guys worked hard all game, played the right way, got pucks behind and were relentless,” said McDonald. “Again, it was no different there (on Gorzynski’s overtime winner).

“It was just a great play getting the puck underneath and then getting that shot and then grabbing that second opportunity and wheeling that puck around. He (Gorzynski) did such a great job, and he used his body all night. He was physical, got to the inside, got his looks, and it was nice to see him get rewarded.”

The Raiders faithful celebrates their team’s overtime winner.

Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Brock Cripps picked up the second assist on Gorzynski’s winner by making the first pass that started the club’s rush up ice that resulted in the winning tally. Cripps finished the contest with one goal, two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. He said the feeling was euphoric, when Gorzynski netted the winner.

“I was really excited,” said Cripps. “All the guys on the bench were pretty pumped.

“(We) finally get the job done and move on to the next series.”

Cripps got things going for the Raiders scoring at the 5:49 mark of the opening frame to give his club a 1-0. He came straight down the middle of the Red Deer zone with the puck and ripped a mid-range shot past Kondro for his third tally of the post-season.

Matthew Kondro makes one of his 48 saves in goal for the Rebels.

“It was definitely nice to put one in the back of the net there to get our team going,” said Cripps. “It was a good pass by my D-partner Benett Kelly.

“I think he set me up in a good spot there. It was just good to put the puck in the net.”

Just when it seemed momentum was rolling the Raiders side, the Rebels evened the score at 1-1 on their fifth shot of the contest, when star centre Beckett Hamilton fired home a mid-range shot at the 11:38 mark of the first.

With 55.7 seconds remaining in the first, Dube thought he had scored on a wraparound. The officials blew the play dead, and after a video review, it was ruled the puck did not cross the goal line.

Brock Cripps sets to fire home the Raiders first goal on Friday.

Just 2:08 into the second, Raiders 18-year-old rookie left-winger Owen Corkish put a mid-range shot from the front of the Red Deer net past Kondro to put the Raiders up 2-1.

With 5:34 remaining in the second and the two sides playing four skaters versus four skaters due to offsetting minor penalties, Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett, who turned 20 in early February, broke into the Red Deer zone on a two-on-one break. Burrett proceeded to fake a pass and put a backhand shot past Kondro for a nifty tally that gave the Raiders a 3-1 advantage.

Still, the Rebels didn’t quit, and that has been a traditional trademark of that franchise. Rebels 17-year-old left-winger Kohen Lodge had the puck at a sharp angle to the left side of the Prince Albert goal and fired home a slick shot to the top left corner of the net to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2 with 2:32 remaining in the second.

Beckett Hamilton had the Rebels first goal on Friday.

That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the third with Yellowaga’s equalizer and Gorzynski’s winner in overtime.

“They (the Rebels) are definitely a team that plays hard and doesn’t take a shift off, which is hard to play against,” said Cripps. “Respect to them, they are a good hockey club there, and I think we just stayed with it.”

Michal Orsulak stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

Dube and Evan Smith collected two assists each for the Raiders. Kalder Varga had a pair of assists for the Rebels, while Lodge had a helper to go with his goal for Red Deer.

McDonald was proud of the resilience of his squad, especially after the Rebels got the equalizer from Yellowaga that went off Christensen’s skates. The Raiders bench boss said resilience is a strength with his group of players.

Owen Corkish had the Raiders second goal on Sunday.

“We stay even keel,” said McDonald. “Our leadership group does an absolute tremendous job right down to the youngest guy on the team.

“We just continue to go about our business no matter what happens. The guys came back that next shift after that one went in. We marched down, and we got a couple opportunities right before the final buzzer went.

“We just continued to play the right way and got rewarded over time.”

The Raiders finished first in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the league with a 52-10-5-1 record. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished eighth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 26-36-4-2 mark.

The Raiders and Rebels take part in the handshake line after Game 5.

While the Raiders were the definite favourite in the series, they faced a good challenge in a Rebels side that refused to quit. Now, the Raiders wait to see how the rest of the first round of the WHL Playoffs plays out to see who they will play in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Prince Albert could still play the Calgary Hitmen, Regina Pats or Saskatoon Blades depending on how the rest of the first round plays out.

For now, Gorzynski wants to let the reality of his overtime winning moment to sink in. Having been acquired by the Raiders in a trade with the Hitmen near the midway point of the regular season on December 15, 2025, Gorzynski is pleased to help his Prince Albert teammates. He said he will always look fondly on his overtime series winner against the Rebels.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“It is the most fun feeling one,” said Gorzynski. “Coming here as the new guy on the team and stuff like that, it feels extra good.”

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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Hitmen ready to bring on the brooms against Blades

Calgary claims 4-1 victory in Game 3 in Saskatoon

Tanner Howe (#9) skates off after scoring the Hitmen’s second goal.

Tanner Howe landed a couple of counter punches the Saskatoon Blades couldn’t recover from.

On Tuesday, Howe and his Calgary Hitmen found themselves locked in a 1-1 draw in the second period with the host Saskatoon Blades in Game 3 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. At the midway point of the frame, the Blades had a glorious chance to take the lead.

Blades 16-year-old associate player call up right-winger Kohen Lodge received a backdoor pass at the right side of the Calgary net. Lodge fired a puck to what appeared to be an empty cage only to be robbed by Hitmen netminder Anders Miller, who slid across the crease to deflect the puck away with his left skate.

Tanner Howe had one goal and one assist for the Hitmen.

Lodge had been playing with his hometown Red Deer Chiefs under-18 AAA team before joining the Blades for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign. Had he scored on that backdoor opportunity, he would have given the Blades their first lead in any game to date of their current post-season series with the Hitmen.

Just moments later with 8:38 remaining in the second, the Hitmen jumped ahead 2-1, when Howe, who is the Hitmen’s start 19-year-old right-winger, put a backhand shot home from the front of the Saskatoon net.

Only 85 seconds later, Hitmen import defenceman Axel Hurtig passed the puck from the left corner in his own zone up the left wing boards to Howe, who was position right before the red-line. 

David Adaszynski scored the Hitmen’s first goal on Tuesday.

Howe proceeded to redirect puck across the ice to Hitmen 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel, who was jetting into the Saskatoon zone along the right wing. Kindel zipped past the Blades defence on the outside, cut across the front of the Saskatoon net and put home a backhand shot to give Calgary a 3-1 advantage.

The Hitmen would cruise from that point to claim a 4-1 victory to disappoint most of the 5,206 spectators in attendance at the SaskTel Centre. With the win, Calgary takes a 3-0 lead in the series.

The Hitmen will try to close the series out in Game 4 slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the SaskTel Centre.

The odds are very long that the Blades will be able to make a comeback winning four straight games. Since the WHL started in 1966-67, only three teams have rallied back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to claim the set.

Anders Miller made 20 saves for the Hitmen on Tuesday.

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 fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 in an Eastern Conference semifinal series in 2023 and stormed back to take that series 4-3.

Out of the three games the Blades and Hitmen have collided in during the 2025 post-season, Tuesday’s contest was the best effort that was turned in by the Saskatoon side in the set.

The teams played through a fairly even opening frame with the Hitmen finishing the stanza with a lot of late pressure. With 53.2 seconds remaining in the frame, gritty Hitmen centre David Adaszynski tipped home a shot from captain Carson Wetsch to put the visitors up 1-0. Calgary had a 10-5 edge in shots on goal after 20 minutes thanks to their late offensive pressure.

David Lewandowski scored the Blades lone goal on Tuesday.

The Blades came out with some jump in the second period. Just 2:31 into the frame, import rookie left-winger David Lewandowski, who turned 18-years-old in February, blew home a power-play goal from the right faceoff dot to even the score at 1-1.

Following Lewandowski’s goal, Blades star right-winger Tyler Parr, who turned 20-years-old in January, was denied in close by Miller. That set the stage for the robbery Miller made on Lodge and the Hitmen goals that followed from Howe and Kindel that gave the visitors a 3-1 advantage.

The Blades outshot the Hitmen 10-8 in the second period, while Calgary had the edge in total shots on goal 18-15 after 40 minutes.

Tyler Parr was denied on a key second period scoring chance.

The third period was controlled by the Hitmen, who held a 12-6 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

Hitmen star 20-year-old right-winger Connor Hvidston put to bed the competitive part of Tuesday’s contest scoring with 8:27 remaining in the third to push the Calgary lead out to 4-1. Hvidston had the puck in close in front of the Saskatoon net and put a shot past a Blades defenceman to the top left corner of the goal for his first of the post-season.

Evan Gardner turned away 26 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Miller stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hitmen.

The Blades were without 20-year-old left-winger Tanner Scott for a third straight post-season game with an upper body injury. 

Ben Kindel scored the third Hitmen goal on Tuesday.

Scott last suited up in the Blades last regular season contest when they fell 4-3 to the Raiders in Prince Albert on March 22.

For the first three games of the post-season, Calgary has been without the services of star overage netminder Daniel Hauser, who holds the WHL record for career regular season goaltending victories at 123. Hauser is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Eric Tu, who is a 16-year-old rookie, is serving as Calgary’s backup netminder.

The Hitmen entered the series having finished third overall in the WHL with a 45-17-3-3 record. They were also rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings that were released on March 25.

The Hitmen celebrate a goal from Connor Hvidston (#21).

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

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

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

The Hitmen enjoy their win on Tuesday.

Now, they will need a major effort on Wednesday in order to continue to be part of the WHL post-season.

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.