Blades take Game 2 overtime classic 3-2 over Warriors

WHL’s Eastern Conference final all even at 1-1

The celebration is on after Fraser Minten scores the OT winner.

Two nights, two overtime classics.

The WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors is pure fire.

In Game 1 on Friday at the SaskTel Centre, star centre Brayden Yager scored at the 12:34 mark of overtime to deliver his Warriors to a 4-3 victory to open the best-of-seven series between the two sides.

In Game 2 played before 9,328 spectators at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday, star centre Fraser Minten played the role of overtime hero for the Blades. With the two sides locked in a 2-2 tie in the extra session, Minten broke into the Warriors zone on a two-on-one break with Lukas Hansen, who was in possession of the puck.

The Blades faithful cheers their team’s overtime winner.

Hansen entered the zone jetting down the right wing and made a backhand pass across the face the Moose Jaw goal to Minten, who was open for a backdoor feed at the left of the net. Minten made no mistake firing home his first game winning and overtime winning goal of the post-season to deliver the Blades to a 3-2 victory to the loudest cheers heard at the SaskTel Centre in the current WHL campaign. The tally came with 6:54 remaining in the extra session.

With the Blades win on Saturday, the Eastern Conference Championship Series is now tied 1-1.

The series now switches back to Moose Jaw for Games 3 and 4 set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. For the few tickets that remain for those contests, purchasers would be wise to pick them up as quickly as possible and get popcorn at the ready.

The Blades pile on top of Fraser Minten after he scored in OT.

With the way Games 1 and 2 played out in Saskatoon, it is highly likely the people attending Games 3 and 4 in Moose Jaw are in for a show. The skill on both sides has shown through, and the speed of how both teams get up and down the ice has been incredible.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne and Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary were constantly juggling their forward lines through the contest trying to find the final push that would give their respective side the edge.

The unsung heroes of the first two games might be Blades breakout netminder Evan Gardner and Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger. Both have come through with some big time saves to date in this series.

Fraser Minten’s OT goal was his first extra time tally of the playoffs.

As for Saturday’s game, the Blades came out with some jump. On an early power play in the first period, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was stopped in close by Unger.

After that big stop by Unger, the Warriors ensured they knocked the Blades fans into silence and gave reason for their fans to cheer like they were back in their team’s raucous old home rink the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was best known as “The Crushed Can.”

At the 12:33 mark of the opening frame, the Warriors broke into the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one with two of their high-end skilled players. Centre Matthew Savoie came down the left wing and made a pass over to star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert. Calvert blew home his fifth of the post-season to put the Warriors up 1-0.

Atley Calvert had the Warriors first goal on Saturday.

Just under five minutes later, Warriors offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker put home a smart midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Parker’s goal was one that would have made his older sister Mackenna, who starred for the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA team from 2014 to 2018, proud.

When first period came to a close, the Warriors held a 2-0 lead with the Blades holding an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.

The Blades rallied in the second. At the 11-minute mark of the frame, Blades star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk slid home a power-play goal from the top of the right faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1. Molendyk’s tally came off the rare four versus three power-play opportunity.

Kalem Parker scored to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

With 2:31 remaining in the second, Lisowsky potted a rebound at the front of the Moose Jaw net from a shot taken by Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov to even the score at 2-2. Sidorov finished the contest with a pair of assists, and he has points in his last four consecutive games piling up eight goals and four assists over that time.

In the final seconds of the second, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager tried to bury a shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net, but he was denied by a right pad kick save Gardner.

The Warriors came out flying in the third holding a 5-1 edge in shots on goal over the first eight minutes of the frame. After that surge, Gardener made a big stop on Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk at the left side of the Saskatoon net.

Tanner Molendyk scored the Blades first goal on Saturday.

The Blades responded with a push back in the second half of the third. Unger stoned Sidorov on a one-time shot from the right wing and later followed up with a big glove save on Lisowsky. That set the stage for overtime.

Early in the extra session, Gardner stoned Yager on a shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net. One of the most challenging moments Gardner had to deal with was collecting a high in the air weird bounce shot at the right side of the Saskatoon net. The netminder has to secure the puck while Warriors left-winger Martin Rysavy was right in his face.

Those stops allowed the Blades to ultimately win the contest on Minten’s winning goal, which actually came about by veteran savvy hard work from Blades gritty right-winger Vaughn Watterodt. Watterodt is skilled at agitating players on the opposition.

Blades fans celebrate a goal from Tanner Molendyk.

Before Minten scored, the Warriors were pressing for the winning tally in the Saskatoon zone. Mateychuk attempted to fire a shot on goal from the point, but his drive was blocked by Watterodt.

The Warriors defenceman followed his shot and attempted to get the puck back from Watterodt. Watterodt used his right stick hand to make a backhanded pass to the right wing that sprung Hansen on the two-on-one with Minten that resulted in the overtime winner.

While making the backhanded pass to Hansen, Watterodt made a quick and slick sleight of hand tug with his left hand on Mateychuk’s stick. That tug caused Mateychuk to tumble on the ice and prevented him from getting back to defend the Blades offensive rush the other way.

Brandon Lisowsky celebrates scoring the equalizer for the Blades.

That sequence happened so fast that depending on what angle you watched it from, you might have thought Mateychuk lost his balance and fell while battling Watterodt for the puck.

Savoie talked to officials on the ice about that whole sequence following Minten’s goal, but his arguments didn’t have any effect on changing the game’s outcome.

Gardner stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Unger turned away 34 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors.

Before the Eastern Conference final between the Blades and Warriors started, the series was expected to be a barnburner.

Brandon Lisowsky fires a shot on goal for the Blades.

During the regular season, the Blades topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

After two games, the Eastern Conference final so far has managed to actually exceeded expectations of how good it could be.

Egor Sidorov had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Going into Game 3 on Tuesday in Moose Jaw, the Blades roster will get a boost as star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong returns after serving a four-game league imposed suspension. 

Armstrong was suspended for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct in the Blades 2-1 overtime win over the Red Deer Rebels at home on April 14.

Armstrong was given his infractions in Game 2 of that series with the Rebels after he bowled over Red Deer netminder Chase Wutzke.

In 62 regular season game split between the Wenatchee Wild and the Blades in 2023-24, Armstrong recorded 34 goals and 22 assists to go with a plus-24 rating in the plus-minus department. 

Vaughn Watterodt (#18) blocks a shot for the Blades.

In six post-season games with the Blades, Armstrong recorded five goals and three assists to go with a plus-four rating.

His return will give the Blades offence a boost.

Adding another good player is going to further increase the entertainment value of this series. Anyone involved with this series whether you are with the competing teams, game staffers or spectators should soak in the moment, because something special is going down.

Fraser Minten gives a stick to a young fan.

When the dust ultimately settles in this battle between the Blades and Warriors, it will likely be one of those things where you have to smile because it happened.

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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Raiders wipe out Wheaties 7-3

Sloan Stanick had a pair of goals and an assist for the Raiders.

The Prince Albert Raiders are heating up at home.

On Saturday, the Raiders thumped the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-3 in a WHL regular season clash to the delight of 2,428 spectators at the team’s storied home rink in the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders have now won six straight games at home.

With Saturday’s win, the Raiders improve to 24-25-1-3 and vault to seventh in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings. Prince Albert sits one standings point ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (24-23-3) and the Calgary Hitmen (22-21-6-1) who are tied for the eighth and ninth positions in the conference standings. The Hurricanes and Hitmen both have three games in hand on the Raiders.

Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Wheat kings started out as a bit of a back-and-forth affair. Centre Nolan Flamand scored 10 seconds into the contest for the Wheat Kings to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

The lead didn’t last long as Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Sloan Stanick scored at the 3:57 mark of the first to even the score a 1-1. Wheat Kings star 20-year-old left-winger Brett Hyland tallied on the power play at the 6:35 mark of the opening frame to put the visitors back out in front 2-1.

Raiders import left-winger Krzysztof Macias scored to force a 2-2 tie at the 8:30 mark of the third. Following Macias’s tally, Raiders rookie right-winger Oli Chenier, who turned 17-years-old in late January, potted his 10^th goal of the campaign with his squad working on the power play to put the hosts up 3-2.

At the 8:29 mark of the second, Raiders 19-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker scored short-handed to push Prince Albert’s lead out to 4-2. With 69 seconds remaining in the second, Wheat Kings import centre Dominik Petr tallied to cut the Raiders lead to 4-3.

The Raiders proceeded to pull away from there in the third. Macias, Crocker and Stanick all netted their respective second goals of the contest to round out the 7-3 final score in the Raiders favour. Macias, Crocker and Stanick all finished with three point nights each collecting two goals and one assist.

Max Hildebrand stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Ethan Eskit turned away 38 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings, who fell to 26-20-5-1.

The Raiders were still without star 17-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Back on December 15, 2023, Ritchie was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit from Kelowna Rockets 19-year-old left-winger Max Graham in a 4-3 setback to the Rockets at the Art Hauser Centre. Ritchie is listed as being out week to week.

The Raiders were also without 16-year-old rookie centre Luke Moroz on Saturday. Moroz went down at the 8:21 mark of the third period of a 6-1 loss on Friday to the Blades in Saskatoon after being on the receiving end of a cross check from Blades captain Trevor Wong. Wong received a minor infraction on the play.

The Raiders are now off until this coming Friday when they travel to Medicine Hat to face the Tigers (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).

The Wheat Kings get back at it this coming Thursday when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

Hansen lifts Blades to eighth straight win

Egor Sidorov scored the Blades first goal on Saturday.

Defensive centre Lukas Hansen put on the hero’s cape to deliver the Saskatoon Blades to an eighth straight win.

On Saturday playing in front of 2,610 spectators at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current, the Blades found themselves locked in a 2-2 tie against the host Broncos going into the final 10 minutes of the third period. At the 11:28 mark of the third, Hansen scored his 11^th goal of the season that ultimately delivered the Blades to a 3-2 victory. The tally was Hansen’s fourth winner of the season.

In the final seconds of the third, Hansen came up with a big shot block to help preserve the win for the visitors.

The eighth straight win allowed the Blades to improve their WHL leading record to 39-9-2-3. They also officially locked up a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

Saskatoon took a 1-0 lead over Swift Current in Saturday’s clash with a first period power-play goal from star import right-winger Egor Sidorov.

At the 5:20 mark of the second, Blades star overage centre Easton Armstrong was given a major penalty for goaltender interference and a game misconduct. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension. The Broncos were unable to score on that five-minute power play.

The hosts would even the score at 1-1 in the second with a tally from 18-year-old left-winger Brady Birnie.

At the 3:26 mark of the third, Blades star 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky netted his 30^th goal of the season to put the Blades up 2-1. Lisowsky has now scored 30-or-more goals in three straight seasons for the Blades.

Broncos sophomore left-winger Clarke Caswell evened the score a short time later scoring at the 5:01 mark of the third to force a 2-2 tie.

That set the stage for Hansen to deliver his heroics to close out the contest.

Austin Elliott stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Joey Rocha turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos, who fell to 26-19-4-2.

Blades captain Trevor Wong finished the contest with a pair of assists.

The Blades return to action this coming Friday when they travel to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, Enmax Centre).

The Broncos get back at it on Wednesday when they host the Hurricanes (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

Clark, Shirley have sweet homecoming, other notes

An Emily Clark hockey card.

Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley got the hometown salutes they so rightly deserved.

On Wednesday, the two skilled forwards dressed for Canada’s National Women’s Hockey team in Game 5 of their Rivalry Series against the United States at the SaskTel Centre in their hometown of Saskatoon. A total of 7,576 spectators came out to see the local products wearing Team Canada colours on home ice for the first time.

Clark, who is 28-years-old, has been a veteran with Canada’s senior national team dating back to the 4 Nations Cup in 2014. Shirley, who is 24-years-old, was called up to Canada’s roster just before the start of Game 5.

While they weren’t able to hit the scoreboard in Canada’s 4-2 win on Wednesday, both players had their highlight moments. Clark had a really energetic game that included getting stopped on a first period breakaway. Shirley showed her still getting a good scoring chance off a half toe-drag snapshot.

The win allowed Canada to cut the United States lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

As the final seconds of the victory on Wednesday ticked away, Team Canada head coach Troy Ryan ensured both Clark and Shirley were on the ice at the same time to be saluted by their hometown crowd.

“It blew my expectations out of the water,” said Clark after Wednesday’s game. “I was feeling the love, our team was feeling the love, and I’m so proud of our group for getting that win for the crowd.

“We showed a lot of character, and this time last year, we had our backs against the wall. We’re just taking it one game at a time. I’m proud of our team and so happy the series is still going.”

“I had about 15 to 20 family in the crowd, and it was a super cool experience for me,” said Shirley on Wednesday. “I know I was called in late, but I just wanted to do my best every time I was out there.

“It was probably in my very first shift, as soon as I got out there, with the atmosphere and being at home with family made it even more exciting for me.”

Canada trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes on Wednesday before rallying for the 4-2 victory.

Brianne Jenner, Ashton Bell, Renata Fast and Laura Stacey netted singles for Canada. Hayley Scamurra and Gabbie Hughes replied with singles for the United States.

Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for Canada. Nicole Hensley turned away 24-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the United States.

The hometown treatment for Clark and Shirley turned into warm home province treatment for Game 6 of the series on Friday night at the Brandt Centre in Regina. After playing through a scoreless opening 40 minutes, Canada exploded for three goals in the third to post a 3-0 victory and even the series 3-3.

Clark had Canada’s second goal in the third-period surge. Natalie Spooner had Canada’s first goal, and Sarah Nurse has the third goal for the host country.

Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 27 shots to pick up the shutout win for Canada. Maschmeyer now has 11 career shutouts playing for Canada. Aerin Frankel turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the United States.

Fast played in her 100 career international game for Canada on Friday.

At game’s end Clark and Shirley took a victory lap in front of the Regina crowd.

Canada was down 3-0 in the Rivalry Series before rallying back for three wins. Game 7 is set for Sunday in St. Paul, Minn., (1 p.m. Saskatchewan Time, TSN4).

Last season, Canada trailed the Rivalry Series 3-0 before rallying back with four straight wins to take the set.

• On Saturday in Medicine Hat, the host Tigers trailed the Red Deer Rebels 4-1 after 40 minutes in a WHL regular season encounter. The Tigers roared back with three straight goals in the third and 20-year-old import defenceman Bogdans Hodass scored with 19.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the hosts a wild 5-4 victory.
• Medicine Hat News sports reporter James Tubb laid out a compelling case for why the City of Medicine Hat and the Medicine Hat Tigers should bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup, which is the CHL’s annual championship tournament. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Saturday in Kelowna, centre Emmitt Finnie scored four times for the visiting Kamloops Blazers as they dumped the host Rockets 7-3. The Rockets led the contest 2-1 after the first period. The Blazers scored three goals in the second to go up 4-2 and roll from there.
• On Saturday in Prince George, 20-year-old right-winger Zac Funk scored a hat trick for the host Cougars as they outlasted the visiting Victoria Royals 9-6. Funk leads the WHL with 49 goals so far this season.
• On Friday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a story on the sport of cricket in Saskatoon and the growth that sport is seeing in “The Bridge City.” Officials with Cricket Saskatoon said new facilities are needed for cricket in Saskatoon to handle the surging interest in the sport. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is highlighted by a visit from members of the Toronto Blue Jays to the Indoor Training Centre along with various winter happenings. That post can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Wright strides into hero’s spotlight in Blades 6-3 win

Saskatoon downs archrival Raiders in crazy clash

Charlie Wright (#47) roofs home the winning goal for the Blades.

Charlie Wright found the perfect timing to find his inner Bobby Orr.

On Wednesday night, Wrights’ Saskatoon Blades were locked in a 3-3 tie with the Prince Albert Raiders late in the third period of a WHL regular season clash at the SaskTel Centre between the archrival clubs. When the Blades went on the power play with 2:31 remaining in the frame, the 20-year-old defenceman skated into the spotlight.

After getting possession of the puck, Wright skated down the right wing of the Prince Albert zone, cut across the front of the visitor’s set and roofed home a power play goal to put the host side up 4-3 with 2:09 remaining in the third. Wright’s power-play tally held up as the winner as left-winger Tyler Parr and centre Lukas Hansen added empty-net goals to deliver the Blades to a 6-3 victory before a season high crowd of 7,920 spectators.

The Blades celebrate Charlie Wright’s power-play winning goal.

Wright’s winning goal was his fourth tally of the season to go along with 17 assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department. While the Blades often relay on Wright to be a shutdown defensive-defenceman in his own zone, he has shown this season and last season he can deliver offensively when the Blades need him too.

Last season, Wright posted eight goals, 32 assists and a plus-33 rating appearing 66 regular season games for the Blades.

Wednesday’s encounter between the Blades and Raiders was the first game for both sides since returning from their respective Christmas breaks. It was a crazy one that was full of momentum swings and some irregular occurrences.

Charlie Wright has four goals and 17 assists this season.

The contest was also the Teddy Bear Toss game for the Blades, so that provided sites that are only seen for one home date a season.

Both teams had some key players missing out of their respective lineups, so you got to see how the Blades and Raiders persevered through that development too. The Blades were without star centre Fraser Minten, who is serving as the captain of Canada’s team for the world juniors going on right now in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Blades star 18-year-old defenceman Tanner Molendyk was originally on Canada’s roster for world juniors. Molendyk suffered a fractured wrist in Canada’s 6-2 win over Switzerland in a pre-tournament game this past Friday and is currently unavailable to play for Canada or the Blades.

Easton Armstrong (#27) scored the Teddy Bear goal for the Blades.

Saskatoon’s other scratches due to injury included defenceman Carter Herman (upper body, week-to-week), and left-wingers Misha Volotovskii (upper body, day-to-day) and Vaughn Watterodt (upper body, week-to-week). Associate player call up Colten Worthington was a healthy scratch.

The Raiders were without star 17-year-old left-winger Ryder Ritchie who is listed as week-to-week after taking a knee-to-knee hit by Kelowna Rockets 19-year-old left-winger Max Graham. That hit occurred in the Raiders 4-3 home loss to the Rockets on Dec. 15 at the Art Hauser Centre.

A member of the Blue Crew helps with the stuffed animal clean up.

Raiders 17-year-old import rookie right-winger Matej Kusiesa is out week-to-week with an upper body injury.

In a game that had a lot of back-and-forth play, the Blades broke through on the scoreboard scoring the Teddy Bear goal with 2:42 remaining in the opening frame.

Blades right-winger Rowan Calvert had the puck right beside the ride side of the Prince Albert net. He put a backhand pass out to star 20-year-old left-winger Easton Armstrong, who was set up in perfect shooting position by the right side of the Raiders goal.

A truck is stuffed with stuffed animals for Saskatoon are charities.

Armstrong wired home his 18^th of the season to give the Blades a 1-0. After Armstrong scored, seemingly a whole tonne of Teddy Bears rained downed from the 7,920 fans in the building.

The fans in attendance did such an outstanding job littering the ice with stuffed animals that will be distributed to various Saskatoon area charities it took about 32 minutes in real time to complete the clean up and the first intermission. The teams were sent to the dressing room for an early first intermission after the clean up and the remaining 2:42 of the opening frame was completed after the intermission.

Sloan Stanick had two goals and an assist for the Raiders.

The two pickup trucks that were brought out on the ice to haul away the stuffed animals were filled up to the point that they were overflowing. Blades players and Blades and SaskTel Centre staffers had to push the stuffed animals into a couple of different corner exits to get them off the ice in as speedy a fashion as possible.

When the teams returned to the ice, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov extended Saskatoon’s advantage to 2-0 with 1:33 remaining in the third. Sidorov roofed home his 33^rd goal of the season on a backhand shot to give the hosts their two-goal edge.

The Raiders proceeded to get some traction scoring 61 seconds into the second period. Star 20-year-old left-winger Sloan Stanick scored on a wraparound on a fallen Blades netminder Evan Gardner to cut the Saskatoon lead to 2-1.

Eric Johnston had an assist for the Raiders on Wednesday.

The visitors pressed hard for the rest of the frame searching for the equalizer, but they weren’t able to even the score when the second period expired.

At the 8:48 mark of the third, the Raiders evened the score at 2-2 after scoring a goal off a positive bounce. 

While applying pressure in the Saskatoon zone, Raiders centre Harrison Lodewyk fired a shot that miss the Saskatoon net, but the puck deflected off the back boards behind the net right to Stanick, who was alone at the left side of the Blades net.

Stanick popped his second goal of the contest to put his Raiders on even terms with the Blades on the scoreboard.

Tyler Parr had two goals and an assist for the Blades on Wednesday.

With 9:18 remaining in the third, the Raiders jumped in front 3-2 on a power-play goal from centre Hayden Pakkala, who deflected home a point shot from Prince Albert captain Eric Johnston.

The Blades didn’t go away and pulled even on the scoreboard just under three minutes later on a strange tally.

While applying pressure in the Prince Albert zone, Parr fired a shot on net past a fallen Raiders netminder Max Hildebrand, and the shot appeared to be kept out of the goal and cleared away by Raiders right-winger Brayden Dube. 

Egor Sidorov scored his 33rd goal of the season on Wednesday.

Dube cleared the puck right on to the stick of Blades veteran defenceman Ben Saunderson. Saunderson quickly popped home the gift for the apparent equalizer.

The officials checked the play out on video review and discovered that Parr’s initial shot indeed crossed the goal-line of the Raiders net to allow the Blades to even the score at 3-3. 

Parr was credited with the equalizer about three seconds before Saunderson put the puck in the net on the original continuation of the play.

That set the stage for Wright to come through with the winner on the power play and for the Blades to round out the scoring with two empty-net goals.

Lukas Hansen scored an empty-net goal for the Blades.

Gardner stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades, who sit first overall in the WHL with a 24-8-2 mark. Hildebrand turned away 31-of-35 shots in net for the Raiders, who fell to 17-16-0-2 to sit seventh overall in the Eastern Conference.

Parr had an assist to go along with his two goals. Armstrong had a pair of assists to go with his Teddy Bear tally. Stanick had an assist to go along with his two markers.

The Blades, who are rated sixth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, return to action on Friday when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Westoba Place).

The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday.

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they return home to host the Moose Jaw Warriors (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

So far this season, the Blades have won all four of their head-to-head matchups with the Raiders. Even during stretches were one side is collecting all the wins, Wednesday’s contest showed that rivalry clashes between the Blades and Raiders are still must watch encounters.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Blades react to their overtime loss.

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

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

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

Connor Bedard breaks out of a scrum with the puck.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stanislav Svozil scored the Pats first goal on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lukas Hansen had the Blades second goal on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

Alexander Suzdalev had four assists for the Pats on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Pats celebrate their win on Sunday.

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

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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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