Wenatchee biggest winner in Ice off-ice saga in WHL

The Ice celebrate a goal in Game 1 of the WHL final on May 12.

The Winnipeg Ice are no more and the Wenatchee Wild era has begun.

On Friday, the WHL announced that the Winnipeg Ice franchise was sold to David and Lisa White of the Shoot the Puck Foundation. The Shoot the Puck Foundation is a non-profit organization based in California. The franchise has relocated to Wenatchee, which is located in the state of Washington in the United States.

The Whites through the Shoot the Puck Foundation own the junior A Wenatchee Wild franchise that had played in the British Columbia Hockey League since 2015. The Wild won the Fred Page Cup as BCHL champions in the 2017-18 campaign and the Doyle Cup as the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Pacific region champion.

The Wild appeared in the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament in 2018 known at the time as the Royal Bank Cup, which was held at Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, B.C. Wenatchee posted a 2-2 record in round robin play and fell in a tournament semifinal 2-1 to the Wellington Dukes from Ontario.

Wenatchee was the only U.S. centre to have a team playing in the BCHL.

With the purchase of the Ice WHL franchise, the Whites own what was once Winnipeg’s membership in the major junior circuit. A relocation of a franchise was executed without the use of any moving trucks.

Zach Benson in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 13.

The Wild as an entity will be promoted up from junior A to major junior. As part of the WHL, they will play in the U.S. Division that will now have six teams.

The division will provide the Wild instantly with four in-state rivals in the Everett Silvertips, the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Spokane Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans. The Portland Winterhawks, who have been one of the circuit’s elite clubs for the past 14 seasons, round out the U.S. Division.

The Wild hockey operations and business staff that is already in place will now operate the club in the WHL. The hockey operations staff is under the direction of general manager Bliss Littler, and Chris Clark is the club’s head coach and assistant general manager. After the announcement that Wenatchee was in the WHL was made, the Wild on Friday put up job postings for a full-time athletic trainer and a full-time equipment manager.

Wenatchee will play out of the Town Toyota Centre that has a seating capacity of 4,300.

The Ice roster and protected list is transferred to the Wild. The fate of the Wild’s BCHL franchise is still to be determined outside of the fact the BCHL said it won’t operate in 2023-24.

As for the players that were part of the Wild’s junior A roster, BCHL commissioner Steve Cocker told Castanet on Friday there won’t be a dispersal draft and the players are now free agents.

Matthew Savoie in action for the Ice in the WHL final in May 12.

As of June 1, the BCHL began governing its teams outside of Hockey Canada’s system. With the departure of Wenatchee, the BCHL has 17 teams all operating in British Columbia. It hasn’t been addressed if the BCHL’s decision to leave Hockey Canada’s system played a part in the Wild owners electing to leave that circuit for the WHL.

While the community of Wenatchee was the biggest winner in this development, it wasn’t a positive development on a tonne of other fronts. If you check out social media on Friday and Saturday, you can find a boatload of disappointment and hurt feelings over the sale of the Ice franchise.

In the 2010s, the WHL pursued a vision of having a team in each capital city in Western Canada. That vision was realized when the Ice franchise under the ownership of 50 Below Sports + Entertainment Incorporated headed up by Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell began playing at the 1,600 seat Wayne Fleming Arena on the University of Manitoba campus at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Fettes served as the Ice’s governor, and Cockell was the club’s president, general manager and alternate governor.

The Ice franchise had been relocated from Cranbrook, B.C., where the club was known as the Kootenay Ice. The Ice franchise was sold to Fettes and Cockell on April 27, 2017 by the Chynoweth family.

Carson Lambos in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 12.

Fettes and Cockell moved the Ice to Winnipeg with the promise they would be able to build a new arena for the team to play in that was up to WHL standards.

The Ice put out a statement by Fettes on Friday and part of that statement regarding building a new arena said, “Unfortunately, we were just never able to get the project on solid footing due to the changing landscape (during and post-pandemic). Simply put, we ran out of time.”

While there has been criticism Fettes and Cockell took the WHL for a ride, it is possible to say it was true the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world causing massive shutdowns in March of 2020 caused any efforts to build a WHL sized arena that would seat 4,500 to 5,000 spectators to go up in flames.

If anyone has seen the news cycle, stories on economic inflation dominate it, so anyone who lives in reality knows the chances of getting the funding together to build a new WHL size rink in Winnipeg were remote. It is safe to say Fettes and Cockell don’t have those types of assets in the bank to build a rink on their own.

Still, how the WHL’s situation played out in Winnipeg will invite heaps of criticism, and the criticism is deserved. The WHL does come out of this saga sporting a look that it got suckered.

Gregg Drinnan, who is still the all-time dean of WHL sportswriters, took a deep dive on his Taking Note blog of the many levels of how ugly the Ice saga is, and that piece can be found by clicking right here. He could probably wrote a longer piece than he did, and that is crazy to think about.

HC James Patrick mans the Ice bench in the WHL final on May 12.

While the Ice were a mess off-ice with their arena situation, the Ice’s on ice product was far from a mess. In fact, the Ice were one of the WHL’s best teams on ice in the four seasons they played in Winnipeg posting a 166-49-6-2 mark in regular season play.

In 2021-22, the Ice topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 mark and advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in five games to the eventual league champion Edmonton Oil Kings. This past season, the Ice again topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in five games to the Thunderbirds.

If you were able to travel to Winnipeg, you would have found out the Ice developed a following. On the coverage priority of the local sports media, the Ice were buried well behind the NHL’s Jets, the CFL’s Blue Bombers and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

While the majority of the attention was on those three professional teams, it is a disservice to say the Ice had no fans in Winnipeg. They had a fan following, and that fan following got burned.

Ice head coach James Patrick is one of top first class hockey guys you will find in hockey. He is now living in his hometown without a team to coach. If the Jets do decide to go in the direction of a total rebuild, Patrick would be a perfect candidate for a potential future new head coach in a start over scenario.

Fans watch the Ice play in Winnipeg in the WHL final on May 12.

The Ice had good people on their hockey operations and business staff, and now they will all be out of work.

The Ice players will still have a chance to play in the WHL, but now they have to adjust to a new community.

The community of Cranbrook, which was home to the Ice from 1998 to 2019, still feels burned by the WHL. The Ice were successful for most of their years in Cranbrook having won WHL championships in 2000, 2002 and 2011 and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 2002.

During the Ice’s final season in Cranbrook in 2018-19, they finished last in average attendance in the WHL averaging 2,214 spectators per game for their 34 regular season home dates, but there were people there who still felt the team could turn around and experience brighter days again in that community.

In October and November of 2015, there was a local based group in Cranbrook that talked to Chynoweth family about possibly purchasing the Ice, but nothing came out of those talks. It is likely failure of that attempt to purchase the team and keep it in Cranbrook hurt some in the community there.

Jeff Chynoweth, who oversaw the Ice’s operations, and his family began trying to sell the Ice in 2011 and the team stayed for sale until the deal was reached with Fettes and Cockell in April of 2017. It should be noted that Cranbrook is a tourist industry town and the Chynoweth family was faced with the constant task of reintroducing the game to new fans during the Ice’s time in that centre.

Daniel Hauser in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 12.

Life also changed for the Chynoweth family with the passing of patriarch Ed Chynoweth in April of 2008. Ed played an instrumental role as a builder in the history of the WHL. Ed’s passing and the unique challenges to marketing the team in Cranbrook had Jeff and his family looking to get out of the WHL ownership game.

Still, there were a lot of Ice supporters in Cranbrook who hold ill will toward Jeff Chynoweth over when his family sold the Ice.

Along with that, the City of Cranbrook has a lawsuit against the Winnipeg Ice and the WHL that is still before the courts regarding the arena deal the Ice had with the B.C. centre that was to run through to June of 2023.

On a sentimental front, other group that lost out in this saga are the alums of the Ice franchise. The alums especially the ones that played for the Ice during their days in Cranbrook often have great memories of the B.C. centre.

It is common for alums of other WHL clubs to return to their former teams when they are older and have families for visits. Those visits often include alums getting pictures taken with their families in their old dressing room stalls during the summer months. There are Ice alums that lament they can’t partake in doing something like that.

On top of that, the Ice franchise identity will now cease to exist on the WHL landscape. While the Wenatchee owns the Ice WHL franchise, the Wild team identity will continue to be used, and it will go on as continuation from that club’s junior A days in the BCHL.

In the end, the WHL’s experiment with the Ice in Winnipeg failed. Had True North Sports and Entertainment the parent company that owns the Jets and Moose had interest in owning a WHL franchise, the major junior circuit might still be in the Manitoba capital.

The Ice salute their fans after Game 1 of the WHL final on May 12.

Overall, at least the franchise transfer was done at this early juncture of the off-season, so all parties that have a stake in what is going on know where they stand. From an “it is what it is” perspective, the ugly is there.

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 playoff return marks sweet night at SaskTel Centre

Max Gerlach (#9) hugs goalie Dorrin Luding after Saturday’s win.

    Two recent near misses made Saturday night that much more sweet for the Saskatoon Blades and their fans.

    On Saturday, the Blades ensured they will make their long awaited return to the WHL playoffs locking up a post-season berth with a 4-3 regular season victory after a tiebreaking shootout over the visiting Kootenay Ice at the SaskTel Centre. Saskatoon will be part of the WHL post-season for the first time since 2013.

    Going into that contest with the Ice, the Blades and their fans knew they would clinch a playoff berth with a win and either a regulation loss that night by either the Brandon Wheat Kings or the Red Deer Rebels.

Dorrin Luding (#31) stops the final shooter in the shootout.

    The Wheat Kings were in Prince Albert taking on the Raiders, while the Rebels were hosting the Edmonton Oil Kings in Red Deer.

    Due to the fact we live in an age when people can get instant information on their mobile phones, it is safe to say most of the 4,334 in attendance at the SaskTel Centre knew the Wheat Kings were getting drubbed by the Raiders 7-1.

    The Blades were up on the Ice 3-1 going into the third period only to have the Ice rally to tie things up at 3-3 and force overtime. As fate would have it, the standings point the Blades gained going to extra time would give them a playoff spot. The fact Rebels fell to the Oil Kings 5-2 cemented that scenario.

Chase Wouters was floating on air after Saturday’s win.

    Still, it made the celebrations of returning to the post-season feel that much better for those in the building, when the Blades pulled out the win taking a tiebreaking shootout 1-0 on a goal from rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

    Had the Blades lost in extra time to go to the post-season, it would have made the night feel incomplete. People would have likely dwelled on the fact the Blades still ultimately lost.

    After getting the win, it seemed like everyone was in a type of joyful mood that hadn’t been seen for some time in a Blades game at the SaskTel Centre. The moment had a special feeling in the air.

    For the current Blades players, coaches, trainers, hockey staff and front office staff, there was a sense of accomplishment. Getting to the playoffs is one of those tangible pieces of proof that validates all the hard work it took to get to that point.

Kirby Dach turns up ice for the Blades on Saturday night.

    The Priestner family had to be feeling all sorts of emotions, when the Blades locked down their playoff berth.

    Edmonton product Mike Priestner bought the Blades from Jack Brodsky before the start of the 2013-14 campaign. The new regime faced a major rebuilding project due to the fact the Blades’ future was mortgaged to stock the team with a roster worthy of hosting the Memorial Cup in 2013 and a major trade that brought star hometown product Brayden Schenn to the club in the 2010-11 campaign.

    Mike’s son, Colin, began working with the team almost immediately and took over the role of general manager before the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

Blades fans participate in a game during a stoppage.

    It was almost a given the first couple of seasons would be lame duck campaigns as the rebuild got underway under Mike Priestner’s ownership. In the 2013-14 season, the Blades finished with a 16-51-2-3 record for 37 points in the standings. The road back to respectability was going to be a long one.

    The first legitimate chance the Blades had to return to the playoffs came in the 2016-17 season.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Reece Harsch (#52).

    They posted a 28-35-7-2 record to sit five points behind the Calgary Hitmen (30-32-8-2) for the second and final wildcard berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference in that campaign after a slump inside of the team’s final 11 games.

    The 2017-18 campaign proved to be more heartbreaking. The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 regular season record to fall three points shy of the Prince Albert Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second and final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference. Again struggles in the final 11 games of the regular season caused a playoff berth to be missed.

Zach Huber, middle, breaks in on a scoring chance.

    The memories of those disappointments made Saturday’s win over the Ice that much more sweet.

Blades mascot Poke Check was posing for pictures with happy fans.

    Blades captain Chase Wouters, who is in his third full season with the Blades, seemed to be walking on air after the game. His wide smile was infectious.

    The moment was a great one for Blades 19-year-old netminder Dorrin Luding. Last June, the Blades acquired Luding in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Clayton Kroeker rocks an “Uncle Gary” T-shirt.

    He knew he was coming in to backup sophomore star Nolan Maier, but Luding was pumped to be on a team that had potential to do great things. He became popular in the dressing, and as a huge bonus, he started against the Ice making 34 saves over 65 minutes and turning away all three shooters he faced in the shootout to get the win.

    Right now, Luding wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Saskatoon.

    Crnkovic, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, seemed to still be wide-eyed taking in the realization of what went down on Saturday during post-game interviews.

    Even first year head coach Mitch Love allowed himself exit his coached focused persona to loosen up and say he was excited about the fact the Blades will be back in the playoffs.

Ryan Hughes sets up for a scoring chance for the Blades.

    What might be even cooler is the fact the Blades aren’t just scraping into the playoffs. At 38-14-8, they currently sit fourth overall in the WHL standings. They are one of the WHL’s elite clubs.

Since bringing back their traditional Pac-Man jerseys as their full-time look before the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the Blades are 73-47-11-1.

    For the longest time during the lean years in the rebuild, Blades president Steve Hogle received a tonne of credit for helping create some great promotions around home games. The hockey side of the team’s operations longed to have the good on ice product to go with those promotions.

    Now, the Blades have a total package. They also have a very likable and great group of players to follow too, and six of them have cool novelty T-shirts for fans to buy too.

    Another thing that will make things fun is going to the playoffs and taking in the experiences will feel new once again. The Blades will write their own story on a clean slate. Most with the club don’t have any links to past post-season forays.

The Blades celebrate locking up a playoff berth on Saturday.

    The first new experience will be tuning up for the playoffs over the team’s last eight regular season games. That beings on Tuesday, when the Blades host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    No matter what happens going forward, those linked with the current Blades will always remember how good Saturday’s post-season clinching win over the Ice felt at the SaskTel Centre.

    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 post-season bound for first time since 2013

Saskatoon edges Ice 4-3 in shootout to clinch WHL playoff spot

The Blades celebrate locking up a WHL playoff berth.

    The drought is over.

    The Saskatoon Blades are finally back in the WHL playoffs.

    They made sure their post-season clinching game had lots of drama too.

    On Saturday night, the Blades downed the Kootenay Ice 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout before 4,334 spectators at the SaskTel Centre to officially lock up a playoff berth for the first time since 2013. Saskatoon took the tiebreaking session 1-0 to win the regular season clash.

    The Blades clinched a playoff berth with their win combined with the fact the Prince Albert Raiders downed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 7-1 at the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday night.

    For Blades captain Chase Wouters, the clinching victory was a long time coming. 

Blades captain Chase Wouters is pumped to go to the WHL playoffs.

    The veteran centre, who turned 19-years-old earlier this month, was selected by the Blades in the first round and 18^th overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.

    He is skating through his third full season with Saskatoon club and saw his squad just miss the post-season in each of the past two years thanks to some late season slumps.

    Following the Blades win on Saturday, Wouters had a bit of tingly feeling knowing a playoff berth has been secured.

    “It is kind of something I looked forward to ever since I got drafted to Saskatoon when I was 14,” said Wouters, whose team sits third overall in the WHL with a 38-14-8 mark. “I guess it is just a pretty surreal like feeling knowing that we are going to be able to play in them this year.

    “It is something we’ve been talking about all year. It has been a goal since the start. It is pretty important to our group here to be able to play in the playoffs.”

Kyle Crnkovic had the shootout winner for the Blades.

    Saskatoon built a 3-1 lead after two periods only to see the Ice rally to force overtime with two third period goals.

    After a scoreless overtime frame, Blades rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, was the only player to score in the shootout. He deked and slid a backhand shot between the legs of Ice netminder Jesse Makaj.

    Crnkovic was excited about the fact the Blades, who are rated 10th in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, clinched a playoff berth.

    “It is an awesome group of guys,” said Crnkovic. “I think we’ve worked for it, and we’ve earned it.

    “It is going to be an awesome time. To bring the team to the playoffs and all the fans, they deserve it. It should be a fun time.”

    The Blades broke the Ice at the 6:57 mark of the opening frame when import right-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen banged home a gritty goal from the front of the Ice net.

    Saskatoon extended its edge to 2-0 with 5:40 remaining in the opening frame on a sweet play off an offensive zone faceoff. On the play, Wouters won the draw back to defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus.

Gary Haden (#14) celebrates scoring a goal with Chase Wouters.

    Schuldhaus quickly fed “Uncle” Gary Haden with a backdoor pass, and he buried his 28^th goal of the season.

    The Ice didn’t go away. With 1:39 remaining in the first period, Kootenay right-winger Jaeger White wired a midrange shot to the top left corner of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

    The Blades extended their lead to 3-1 at the 5:05 mark of the second, when veteran defenceman Reece Harsch wired home his fourth goal of the season.

    It seemed the Blades were going to cruise to victory holding a 3-1 edge after 40 minutes and a 31-17 advantage in shots on goal.

Dorrin Luding makes a glove save for the Blades.

    While Saskatoon was controlling play, Blades first year head coach Mitch Love didn’t think his players were at their best in those frames and being a bit off became more obvious in the third and overtime.

    “I didn’t think we played a great hockey game tonight,” said Love. “Guys are aware of that.

    “We have some things we have to tighten up. At the end of the day for the city and for the organization, it is a big day to get back in the playoffs and see what happens.”

    Before joining the Blades this season, Love spent the previous seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. The Quesnel, B.C., product started with the Silvertips as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach. 

Jaeger White sniped home a goal for the Ice.

    He finished his time in Everett as an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager.

    The Silvertips have never missed the playoffs since their inaugural campaign in 2003-04.

    During his post-game media scrum on Saturday, Love said he was focused on correcting what the Blades did wrong and looking to find ways to help the Saskatoon players continue to improve.

    When asked if he was just conditioned to always expecting to be in the post-season from his time in Everett, Love smiled and stepped out of the focused coach zone for a bit.

    “There are a few guys in the room who obviously haven’t played a playoff game in their career,” said Love. “It is awesome for them.

    “They are going to get that experience. We have a lot of guys that we have brought in here throughout the year that have had playoff experience.

    “This is my eighth consecutive season of playoff hockey, so I may look like I’m not that excited tonight, but I am. I’m a hockey coach, and I am always looking to be better the next day. I’m excited for our guys.”

Bradley Ginnell had a goal for the Ice.

    The Ice came with a huge push back in the third. Ice left-winger Bradley Ginnell scored with a spin around shot with 9:55 remaining in the third, and Kootenay rookie centre Jakin Smallwood potted the equalizer with 6:44 remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie and overtime.

    The Blades almost didn’t make it to the shootout had it not been for the play of netminder Dorrin Luding. He made a glove save on a dangerous shot from White and later stopped the overager on a breakaway.

    In the final seconds of overtime, Luding had to stone Ice defenceman Marco Creta on a dangerous chance to allow the contest to progress to a shootout.

    That set the stage for Crnkovic to come through with his heroics in the shootout.

    Luding made 34 saves over 65 minutes and stopped all three shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Makaj turned away 38 shots over 65 minutes and turned away two of three shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in the Ice net. Kootenay saw its record move to 11-38-7-3.

Kyle Crnkovic (#16) celebrates scoring his shootout winner.

    Luding, who split last season between the Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds, said it was big for the Blades to return to the post-season.

    “It is a great accomplishment for us,” said Luding, who was traded by the Thunderbirds to the Blades last June. “I think we’ve made such large strides, and we can only make larger ones.

    “I think the sky is the limit for us.”

    The Ice return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Place.

Blades mascot Poke Check enjoys a celebration moment with the fans.

    The Blades resume play on Tuesday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    Going forward, Love said the Blades have to keep finding ways to get better and keep progressing.

    “We have to again just go back to work,” said Love. “It is nice we have an “x” across our name in the standings, but we have a tough opponent coming in here on Tuesday, and we have to be ready for that.”

    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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Huskies hammer Cougars

Men’s hockey Dogs open post-season with impressive 5-1 romp

Alex Forsberg had two goals and two assists for the Huskies on Friday.

    The red hot University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team stayed red hot in their U Sports post-season opener.

    Riding a 10-game winning streak to end the regular season to lock up first place in the Canada West Conference, the Huskies rolled to an impressive 5-1 victory over the Mount Royal University Cougars in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series on Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place. U of S will try to sweep the series in Game 2, which is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Huskies came out of the gates quickly to stun the visiting Cougars.

The Huskies celebrate Alex Forsberg’s second goal on Friday.

    At the 3:45 mark of the first period, fourth-year winger Levi Cable scored the first Huskies post-season goal in their brand new rink to take a 1-0 lead.

    The hosts expanded their lead to 2-0 at the 6:19 mark of the first when sophomore winger Alex Forsberg scored a power-play goal on a four-on-one rush.

    From that point, the Cougars never really got into the game. The Huskies held 14-6 edge in shots on goal going into the first intermission.

    They proceeded to play the bulk of the second period in Mount Royal’s zone.

    Fifth-year right-winger Parker Thomas scored at the 4:36 mark of the second to give the Huskies a 3-0 advantage. Forsberg banged home a gritty goal from the front of the Cougars net for his second tally of the night giving the Huskies a 4-0 lead at the 13:03 mark of the second to delight the 1,580 spectators in attendance.

Levi Cable scored twice for the Huskies on Friday.

    Besides his two tallies, Forsberg picked up assists on the Huskies first and third goals for a huge four-point night. He was also a plus-three in the plus-minus department.

    After 40 minutes, the Huskies had a 4-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 30-12 edge in shots on goal.

Had this game been a boxing match, the referee might have stopped the proceedings at that point in the contest. The Huskies were that good.

    Cable roofed home his second tally of the night at the 4:10 mark of the third to put the Huskies up 5-0.

    Mount Royal’s high point of the night came with 4:11 remaining in the third, when sophomore forward Bradley Kennedy scored on the power play to end the shutout bid of Huskies star netminder Taran Kozun.

Parker Thomas scored early in the second period on Friday.

    Kozun made 19 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Riley Morris turned away 36 shots to take the loss in goal for the Cougars.

    Playing their inaugural season in the newly built Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, have had a special campaign posting their best regular season record in team history at 25-3. They entered their series with the Cougars as big favourites.

    Mount Royal finished fifth in Canada West with a 12-11-5 mark and went on the road to Vancouver, B.C., to down the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 2-1 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series last weekend.

Huskies captain Jesse Forsberg, left, sizes up a scoring chance.

    The Huskies play on the ice this season has looked as good as their impressive new home rink. They can roll all four of their forward lines and not lose a step.

    Their starting six on defence make up one of the best blue-lines you will see in U Sports. While Kozan has received most of the accolades with an impressive season in goal, back-up netminder Travis Child is fairly accomplished in his own right.

    When you saw the Huskies play on Friday, it was easy to see why four of their players were named Canada West Conference all-stars, while one of the first-year players cracked the all-rookie team. Kozun, captain and star offensive defenceman Jesse Forsberg and forward Carson Stadnyk were named to the first all-star team. Winger Kohl Bauml cracked the second all-star team, while defenceman Gordie Ballhorn made the all-rookie team.

    At the moment, the Huskies are one win away from returning to the Canada West Championship series and the U Sports national championship tournament, the University Cup.

    One has to wonder how far will their roll go?

Playoff berth clinch put on hold for Blades

Max Gerlach scored for the Blades on Friday.

    The Saskatoon Blades hopes to lock up a berth in the WHL playoffs were put on hold by the live-or-die sprint the Brandon Wheat Kings are on at the moment.

    On Friday, the Blades had a chance to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2013, if they earned a regulation time win against Wheat Kings in a WHL regular season clash at Westoba Place in Brandon. The Wheat Kings romped to a 6-2 victory before 3,875 spectators to erase any thoughts the Saskatoon side had of celebrating a playoff berth.

    The win was the sixth straight for the Wheat Kings, who improved to 29-22-3-4. They now hold the second wildcard spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a two-point standings lead on the Red Deer Rebels (29-23-4-1). Red Deer has a game in hand on Brandon.

    The Blades, who are rated 10th in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end. Going into Friday’s clash with the Wheat Kings, the Blades were riding a stretch of earning standings points in 13 straight contests posting 11 wins and two extra time setbacks over that stretch. They still sit third overall in the WHL standings with a 37-14-8 mark.

    Saskatoon started Friday’s game with optimism taking a 1-0 just 2:18 into the first period on Ryan Hughes’s 24^th tally of the season.

    Near the midway point of the first, the Blades had a glorious chance to go up by two goals, when veteran left-winger Gary Haden was awarded a penalty shot. Haden was stopped by Wheat Kings netminder Jiri Patera, and that save seemed to change the feel of the contest.

    Brandon rolled off five straight goals to go ahead 5-1.

    Ridly Greig and Zach Wytinck netted singles before the first period ended to give the Wheat Kings a 2-1 advantage. Luka Burzan, who scored his 35^th goal of the season, Caiden Daley and captain Stelio Mattheos, who potted his 40^th goal of the campaign, had singles in the second to put Brandon up 5-1.

    Overage right-winger Max Gerlach netted his 37^th goal of the season for the Blades at the 4:47 mark of the third to cut Brandon’s lead to 5-2.

    Ben McCartney netted a short-handed goal for Brandon shortly after the midway point of the third to round out the game’s scoring.

    Nolan Maier started and took the setback in goal for the Blades turning away 17-of-22 shots sent his way. Dorrin Luding played the third period in relief for Saskatoon and stopped five-of-six shot sent his way.

    Patera turned away 37 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wheat Kings.

    The Blades return home on Saturday to host the Kootenay Ice (11-38-7-2) at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Saskatoon can clinch a playoff berth on Saturday night with a win and a regulation loss by either the Wheat Kings or Rebels that same night.

    The Wheat Kings travel to Prince Albert on Saturday to face the WHL leading Raiders (48-8-1-2) at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. The Rebels host the Edmonton Oil Kings (33-18-4-4) at 7 p.m. local time at the Enmax Centrium.

Scott, Leason power Raiders to shutout win over Ice

Brett Leason had three assists for the Raiders on Friday.

    Ian Scott and Brett Leason made big returns to the Prince Albert Raiders lineup.

   On Friday before 2,380 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, Scott and Leason both came off the injury list to help the Raiders blank the Kootenay Ice 4-0. Scott, who is the team’s star netminder, made 21 saves to pick up his fifth shutout of the season. Leason, who is the team’s star right-winger, picked up assists on three of the Raiders goals.

    Both Scott and Leason last dressed for the Raiders in their 8-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary on Feb. 8. Since that contest, both were out with lower body injuries.

    Against the Ice on Friday, the Raiders, who are rated second in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, built a 2-0 lead after the first period and held a 3-0 lead after the second frame. They rounded out the game’s scoring with a final tally in the third to improve their WHL leading record to 48-8-1-2.

    Overage centre Sean Montgomery scored twice for the Raiders, while captain Brayden Pachal and Ozzy Wiesblatt had singles.

    Curtis Meger turned away 26 shots to take the loss in goal for the Ice (11-38-7-2).

    The Raiders return to action on Saturday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    The Ice travel to Saskatoon on Saturday to face the Blades at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Pandas put Huskies on the ropes in Canada West semi

Jessica Vance made 25 saves in goal for the Huskies on Friday.

    The U of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team faces a major challenge in trying to keep their season a live.

    On Friday in Edmonton, Alta., the Huskies were blanked 2-0 by the host U of Alberta Pandas at the Clare Drake Arena in Game 1 of a best-of-three Canada West Conference semifinal series. The Huskies need to win Game 2 on Saturday in Edmonton to remain alive in the U Sports playoffs and force a series deciding Game 3 on Sunday in Edmonton.

    The Pandas, who are rated first in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, jumped out to a 1-0 lead, when star fourth-year forward Alex Poznikoff scored at the 1:37 mark of the first period. Amy Boucher gave the Pandas a 2-0 advantage scoring with 4:45 remaining in the third period.

    Kirsten Chamberlin made 17 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Pandas. Jessica Vance turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    The Pandas finished first in Canada West with a 23-5 record and won their last seven straight regular season games heading into the post-season.

    The Huskies finished fourth in Canada West with a 16-10-1-1 record. They eliminated the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-1 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series last weekend to advance to play the Pandas.

    The Pandas have won their last three games including action in the regular season and playoffs with the Huskies by identical 2-0 scores. All three of those contests were played at the Clare Drake Arena.

    Overall, the Pandas have downed the Huskies in their last four straight encounters including action in the regular season and playoffs.

    On Wednesday, Huskies physical offensive-defender Leah Bohlken was named a first team Canada West all-star.

    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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McNabb’s highlight reel goals delivers victory to Blades

Cyle McNabb, left, celebrates scoring a goal with linemate Zach Huber.

    REGINA, Sask. – For one night, Cyle McNabb looked like the second coming of Bernie Federko.

    The recently acquired 18-year-old left winger scored two highlight reel goals on Saturday to help deliver the visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 4-2 victory over the Pats in Regina before 5,444 spectators at the Brandt Centre. The outburst marked the first two-goal game McNabb has experienced in his WHL career.

    For a short moment, he mirror what Federko once did for this Blades suiting up at forward for the major junior squad from 1973 to 1976 in his legendary hockey career.

    McNabb, who is a sophomore from Winnipeg, Man., has appeared in 102 career regular season games with the Vancouver Giants, Kootenay Ice and Blades to date recording four goals and three assists.

Cyle McNabb had his first two-goal night in the WHL on Saturday.

    He now has three goals in his first four appearances with the Blades. The Blades acquired McNabb in a trade with the Ice on Jan. 7 in exchange for 18-year-old forward Brandon Machado and a fifth round selection in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.

    “Obviously, it was a good night,” said McNabb about the outburst. “Our line was going the whole night, and it paid off in the end.

    “In the end, we are happy to get two points, and we’re just going to try and keep it rolling.”

    The Pats, who are going through a major rebuild, gave the Blades everything they could handle with an extreme hardworking effort.

    Despite being outshot 16-13 in the first period, the Blades exited the frame holding a 1-0 lead, when veteran centre Eric Florchuk tucked home at power-play goal between the legs of Pats netminder Dean McNabb.

    Early in the second, McNabb, who was playing on a line centred by Tristen Robins and Zach Huber playing right wing, went to work. 

The Blades recently acquired Cyle McNabb from the Kootenay Ice.

    McNabb collected the puck at a bad angle at the right side of the Regina net and proceeded to snipe home a shot to the far side of the Pats goal.

    “Robby (Robins) got stepped up on, and he got a big hit,” said McNabb, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 191 pounds. “The puck was lying there.

    “Me and Hubs (Huber) had a two-on-one to the net, and I just saw the far side and I took it. It went in.”

    The Blades extended their lead to 3-0 with 70 seconds to play in the second, when Florchuk tucked home a backhand shot on a breakaway.

    The Pats proceeded to fight back early in the third. With the Blades working on the power play, Pats right-winger Duncan Pierce was hacked down while skating into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway by a Blades player resulting in a penalty shot.

    Pierce scored on a shuffle move on the penalty shot to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 3-1 at the 2:30 mark of the third.

Eric Florchuk (#17) scored twice for the Blades on Saturday night.

    That set the stage for McNabb to step up again a little over three-and-a-half minutes later. With the Blades applying pressure in the Regina zone, McNabb got a hold of the puck, danced around Pats goalie in Davidson, Sask., product Dean McNabb and dumped the puck into an empty cage.

    Cyle McNabb gave credit again to his line for helping him out on his goal that gave the Blades a 4-1 edge.

    “That was nice too,” said McNabb. “Again, Robby (Tristen Robins) made a great play and banked it off the back wall.

    “I just put it in the net.”

    Pats 18-year-old rookie right-winger Riley Krane scored his 10^th goal of the season on a determined short-handed effort with 8:33 remaining in the third period to cut the Blades lead to 4-2. 

Duncan Pierce (#22) celebrates scoring on a penalty shot for the Pats.

    Krane was stopped initially on a breakaway, picked up the puck behind the Saskatoon net and came out in front to score.

    That tally wasn’t enough to spark a comeback for the host side.

    Nolan Maier turned away 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (28-13-6). Dean McNabb stopped 28 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pats (12-33-1-1).

    Maier was pleased with how his teammates played in front of him on Saturday. He noted that helped him have a good night.

    “A lot of the shots our forwards and the D (defence) kept them to the perimeter,” said Maier. “I think it kind of helped me out getting settled into the game nicely.

Nolan Maier makes one of his 32 saves for the Blades.

    “We came out with two points, and that is all we could ask for.”

    Maier was happy to see Cyle McNabb have a great game for “The Bridge City Bunch.”

    “I think it is really good to see him producing here, and we are lucky to have him,” said Maier.

    Now having played four games with the Blades, McNabb believes he has settled in.

    “Ever since I got here, everyone has been very welcoming of me,” said McNabb. “All the guys are great. The coaches are great.

    “Everyone in Saskatoon is great. They made the transition really easy. I’m happy to be here.”

    He is looking forward to playing the rest of the campaign with the blue and gold.

    “It is exciting,” said McNabb. “They have a great group of guys here, a really good hockey team.

The Blades celebrate their victory over the Pats on Saturday night.

    “I’m just excited to be here, and I am going to do whatever I can to help the team get wins until the end of the year.”

    The Blades return to action when they travel to Swift Current this coming Friday to face the Broncos at 7 p.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex.

    The Pats return to action this coming Friday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    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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White’s third-period winner puts Blades on Ice

Jaeger White had the winning goal for the Ice on Thursday.

    Jaeger White believes he hit the jackpot when it comes to playing with potential linemates as an overage player in the WHL.

    The 20-year-old Medicine Hat product was traded from his hometown Tigers to the Kootenay Ice on Aug. 14. With the ice, White has found himself playing right wing on a forward line centred by 17-year-old star Peyton Krebs, who is targeted to be a possible high selection in next year’s NHL Entry Draft.

    The two combined for a highlight reel goal in a Thursday WHL regular season clash between the Ice and the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre. With the two sides locked in a 2-2 tie in the third period, Krebs and White broke into the Blades zone on a rush.

    Krebs slide a pass across the face of the Saskatoon net to White, who promptly buried his ninth goal of the season to give the Ice a 3-2 at the 9:32 mark of the frame.

The Ice celebrate White’s winning goal.

    With 64 seconds to play in the third, Krebs blasted home and insurance marker to give the Ice a 4-2 victory before 3,802 spectators.

    “Obviously, I am really fortunate to play with Peyton (Krebs),” said White, who has nine goals and six assists appearing in all 16 of the Ice’s regular season games in the current campaign. “He has unbelievable skills.

    “I try to just keep it simple out there and do the right things for him. We found some success so far this year.”

    Scoring the winning goal helped White out on his individual game. Entering play on Thursday, he was held pointless in each of the Ice’s three previous outings.

    “I’ve been in a little bit of a slump, so that was obviously a big goal and good for my confidence,” said White. “To get the two points and help the team out is nice.”

    The Blades drew first blood in Thursday’s clash, when feisty left-winger Riley McKay forced a turnover on the forecheck in the offensive zone. The puck found its way to Blades centre Tristen Robins behind the Ice net.

Jaeger White (#21) had a strong game on the forecheck.

    Robins centred a pass to the front of the net to Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen, and the Norwegian import right-winger quickly buried his sixth goal of the season to give the Blades a 1-0 lead at the 11:45 mark of the first period.

    The Ice tied things up at 1-1 just 46 seconds later. On rush down the right wing, Krebs sent a shot on the Saskatoon goal off a spin move, and right-winger Nick Bowman potted the equalizer on the rebound.

    While White is Krebs’ linemate, the veteran winger said he hasn’t needed to pass on any advice to sophomore centre.

    White first began playing in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 16-year-old with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2014-15 campaign. He has been a journey man in the major junior ranks being a member of six different teams and hitting the ice to play for five of those squads.

Cameron Hausinger had two assists for the Ice on Thursday night.

    “I am always there, if he (Krebs) needs someone,” said White. “He is a super intelligent kid.

    “He is mature beyond his years. I’m there when he needs me, but for the most part, he is a pretty smart kid. He has a good head on him.”

    With 14.1 seconds remaining in the second period, the Blades jumped back out in front 2-1, when left-winger Gary Haden knocked home a loose puck in the crease of the Ice goal.

    Just seconds after that goal, Blades netminder Nolan Maier stoned Ice centre Brett Davis on a chance from in front of the Saskatoon goal.

    Thursday’s game derailed for the hosts in the third period. At the 6:02 mark, Meier tried to pass the puck down the boards in his own zone.

Peyton Krebs had a goal and two assists for the Ice on Thursday night.

    The puck landed on the stick of Ice right-winger Cameron Hausinger. Hausinger passed the puck in front of the Saskatoon goal to linemate Brad Ginnell, who fired home his fourth goal of the season to force a 2-2 tie.

    Ginnell’s goal kicked the Ice into high gear resulting in the tallies from White and Krebs that followed. Hausinger picked up his second assist of the contest on Krebs’s goal.

    “I thought we had an unbelievable third period and overall a good game,” said White, who had a strong game on the forecheck. “Obviously, that is a good team over there.

Peyton Krebs, left, and Duncan McGovern celebrate the Ice’s win.

    “We were really proud of our effort tonight.”

    Maier made 27 saves to take the setback in goal for the Blades (9-6-2). Duncan McGovern stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in the Ice (6-7-2-1) net.

    The Ice face a big challenge on Friday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face the WHL leading Raiders (15-1). The Raiders have been the top rated team in the CHL Top 10 rankings for the past three weeks.

    Going forward, White is happy he has found a home for his overage season with the Ice.

    “It is nice to finish off the year and play as a 20-year-old,” said White. “I am really happy to finish it out with Kootenay.

    “We have a good team here, a lot of guys that want to be here and succeed. For sure, we are going to push for playoffs.”

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors (6-4-3).

Clark out of Four Nations Cup with leg injury

Emily Clark waves to the SaskTel Centre crowd.

    One look at Emily Clark and it was obvious that she wouldn’t be available to play for Canada at the Four Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament.

    The 22-year-old Saskatoon product is a forward on Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team and helped Canada win a silver medal at the Winter Olympics held last February in PyeongChang, South Korea. Clark took part at a pre-game ceremony at the Saskatoon Blades contest on Thursday night at the SaskTel Centre sporting a walking boot on her left leg.

    The skilled forward suffered a left leg injury while playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Clark’s injury occurred in the opening minutes of a Badgers 4-2 home win on Oct. 13 against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

    Hockey Canada announced on Thursday that Clark and forward Sarah Potomak, who is from Aldergrove, B.C., would be unable to play in the Four Nations Cup due to injury.
    Kristin O’Neill, who is from Oakville, Ont., and Jamie Lee Rattray, who is from Kanata, Ont., will replace Clark and Potomak on the Canadian roster for the Four Nations Cup, which will run in its entirety at the SaskTel Centre.

    Clark is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars female midget AAA hockey team.

    The Four Nations Cup opens on Tuesday with Finland taking on the United States at 12 noon, and Canada will take on Sweden at 7 p.m. The four-team tournament runs through to Nov. 10.

    Canada will face Finland in pre-tournament game on Sunday in Prince Albert at 6 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

Back in the Express with Four Nations Cup advancer

    I was back in the pages of Saskatoon Express this week with a cover story to advance the Four Nations Cup hockey tournament.

    The Four Nations Cup is an annual elite women’s hockey tournament that features the senior national teams from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden. It starts on Tuesday and runs through to Saturday, Nov. 10 with all games being held at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Four Nations Cup itself started in 1996 as the Three Nations Cup featuring Canada, the United States and Finland. The event became the Four Nations Cup in 2000, when Sweden joined the field.

    My Express story on that event 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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