T-birds upset Golden Bears

UBC to face Huskies in Canada West final in Saskatoon

Thunderbirds G Rylan Toth stoned the Golden Bears. 

    A veteran from two Memorial Cup tournaments did in the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
    On Sunday before 1,408 spectators at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Alta., third-year netminder Rylan Toth made 40 saves to back his University of British Columbia Thunderbirds to a 2-1 victory over the host Golden Bears in a deciding Game 3 of a Canada West semifinal series.

    With the win, the Thunderbirds take the best-of-three set 2-1 in a monumental upset.

    The Golden Bears finished first in the Canada West Conference in the regular season with a 23-5 record and were rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. They had won the last three straight Canada West titles and the David Johnston University Cup as U Sports national champions in 2018.

    The Thunderbirds were fifth in Canada West with a 9-14-4-1 record. They upset the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-1 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series to set up the semifinal series with the Golden Bears.

    Mount Royal was fourth in Canada West with an 18-8-0-2 record.

    On Friday, UBC posted a 3-2 overtime victory over U of A in Game 1 of that Canada West semifinal. Toth made 51 saves in that surprising outcome.

    The Golden Bears rebounded on Saturday taking Game 2 of the series by a convincing 6-1 final.

    That set the stage for Sunday’s series deciding Game 3. In that encounter, Golden Bears forward Steven Owre scored in the opening frame to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    With 5:17 remaining in the second period, Thunderbirds third-year forward Austin Glover scored to put his squad on even terms at 1-1.

    Just 2:18 into the third period, third-year forward Tyler Sandhu tallied to put the Thunderbirds up 2-1. The visitors held tough to ensure that score would be the final outcome.

    The Golden Bears outshot the Thunderbirds 21-6 in the third and 41-19 over the entirety of the contest.

    Matt Berlin turned away 17 shots to take the setback in goal for the Golden Bears.

Tyler Sandhu scored the upset series winner for the Thunderbirds.

    Toth has started all six of UBC’s games in the post-season posting a 4-2 record, a 2.83 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

    Before joining UBC, the 23-year-old Saskatoon product played three seasons in the WHL from 2015 to 2017 with the Red Deer Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds.

    Toth was the Rebels starting goaltender when they hosted the 2016 CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. He backed the Rebels into that year’s WHL Eastern Conference Championship series, where they fell to the eventual WHL champion Brandon Wheat Kings.

    In the Memorial Cup, Toth backstopped the Rebels into the semifinal contest, where they fell 3-1 to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

    Following that season, Toth was traded to Seattle for his overage campaign. He helped Seattle win the WHL title in the 2016-17 campaign on a roster that contained star centre Mathew Barzal, who is now a member of the NHL’s New York Islanders, and defenceman Ethan Bear, who is a member of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

    Toth played in the 2017 Memorial Cup in Windsor, Ont., where Seattle bowed out with an 0-3 record.

    Having shocked the Golden Bears, the UBC Thunderbirds advance to the best-of-three Canada West Championship series to face the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    The Huskies finished second in Canada West with a 22-4-2 record and are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. U of S won all four head-to-head regular season encounters with UBC.

    The Huskies will host all three games of the Canada West title series. Game 1 is slated for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. 
    Game 2 follows this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, a series-deciding Game 3 is set for this coming Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    U of S last won the Canada West title in 2016. UBC has never won the Canada West crown in men’s hockey.

    Both teams are guaranteed berths to the David Johnston University Cup, which is the U Sports men’s hockey national championship tournament. The U Sports national championship tournament is played in an elite-eight format. It runs from March 12 to 15 in Halifax, N.S.

Focht on verge of becoming Rebels all-time leading scorer

Lauren Focht is on the cusp of the Rebels all-time scoring record.

    Regina Rebels co-captain Lauren Focht captured a major team record and is on the cusp of getting another.

    On Saturday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Focht collected a goal and an assist as her Rebels blanked the visiting Saskatoon Stars 4-0 in a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season game. With her tally, the skilled forward, who turned 18-years-old in January, became the Rebels all-time leader in career regular season goals.

    Focht had 64 career regular season goals at the end of that contest to put herself one clear of the total of 63 posted by former Regina career goals leader Kennedy Bobyck, who played for the Rebels from 2014 to 2017.

    Allee Gerrard, Emma DeCorby and Tavia Terry all had singles for the Rebels on Saturday. Terry tallied into an empty net.

    Payton Schlamp made 26 saves to earn her fourth shutout of the campaign for the Rebels.

    Kaitlyn Cadrain turned away 34-of-37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Stars (12-13-3).

    On Sunday at the Co-operators Centre, Focht had a goal and an assist as the Rebels blanked the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats 5-0 in another SFMAAAHL regular season clash.

    The win allowed the Rebels to lock up first place in the SFMAAAHL with a 24-1-1 record. The Wildcats fell to 19-6-1 and are guaranteed to finish second.

    Alexis Petford had a goal and three assists for the Rebels. Neena Brick had a pair of goals and an assist for Regina. Shaelyn Myers had a single for the host side.

Lauren Focht is the Rebels all-time leader in career goals.

    Chantel Weller made 23 saves to pick up her fifth shutout win of the season for the Rebels.
    Cheyenne Jamieson turned away 27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wildcats.

    With her performance over the Rebels last two games, Focht has 65 goals and 55 assists for 120 points in 101 career regular season games. She is tied for second on the Rebels all-time regular season scoring list with Bobyck.

    Bobyck had 63 goals and 57 assists for 120 points in 80 career games with the Rebels.

    Focht needs one more point to equal Emma Waldenberger as the Rebels all-time leading scorer in regular season play and two points to sit alone as the Rebels all-time leading scorer.

    Waldenberger piled up 60 goals and 61 assists for 121 points playing in 109 career regular season games with the Rebels from 2010 to 2014.

    Focht, who is a Regina product, has committed to play for the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team in the fall. Waldenberger played five seasons for the Cougars from 2014 to 2019.

    On Tuesday, Focht will have her first chance to become the Rebels all-time leading scorer, when they travel to Weyburn to face the 5-21-2 Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings at 7:30 p.m. at Crescent Point Place.

    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’ alum Davidson slides into big role with Golden Bears

Dawson Davidson has settled into life with the Golden Bears.

    Dawson Davidson is getting to be himself with the University of Alberta Golden Bears men’s hockey team.

    Last season, the Moosomin, Sask., product had a dream overage season playing for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The offensive-defenceman appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games and led the team in scoring piling up 13 goals, 62 assists for 75 points to go with a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Davidson was named a first team WHL Eastern Conference all-star and helped the Blades post the fourth best record in the league at 45-15-8. He helped the Blades advance to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in six games to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    During that run, Davidson appeared in all 10 of the Blades post-season games collecting nine assists.

    A veteran of five WHL seasons including stops with the Kamloops Blazers and Regina Pats, Davidson elected to join the Bears in the U Sports ranks, who are the defending Canada West champions.

Dawson Davidson has 13 points in 16 games with the Golden Bears.

    In 16 regular season games with the Golden Bears, Davidson leads all of the U of A rearguards in scoring with two goals and 11 assists for 13 points to go with a plus-16 rating.

    He was held off the scoresheet on Friday night, when his Golden Bears blanked the host University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-0 in a U Sports regular season clash played before 1,581 spectators at Merlis Belsher Place.

    Still, the 21-year-old Davidson is enjoying his time with his new team.

    “It has been good,” said Davidson, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds. “It has been a little bit of an adjustment just playing against older guys.

    “Everyone is stronger out there. You don’t have 16 and 17-year-olds who are still younger and developing. Just adding school to it just adds that extra element.

Dawson Davidson has enjoyed getting back in the classroom.

    “It is great hockey, and we have a great club here. They made it pretty easy for me to jump right in and start to contribute.”

    When it came to deciding on playing for a U Sports program, Davidson said the fact the Golden Bears have won 16 U Sports national titles was a big draw. U of A fell in last year’s U Sports title game 4-2 to the University of New Brunswick Reds.

    “I wanted to go somewhere where I could get an opportunity to play pro and at the same time get good degree,” said Davidson. “I weighed out my options, and U of A to me was just the best place to get to where I wanted to be.

    “They have a great track record of having good teams. This year we have a pretty good team as well. I think that all weighed into my decision.”

    An arts major, Davidson has found the academic aspect of school to be enjoyable.

Dawson Davidson had a plus-16 rating in the plus-minus department.

    “It is an adjustment, but like anything, once you start getting into the groove it is not too bad,” said Davidson. “It is just that extra element.

    “It is kind of nice going to class with your buddies and kind of getting that school aspect of life that you don’t really get as much in the Western League. It has been an adjustment, but it hasn’t been too bad.”

    When the season started, Davidson wasn’t sure if he would be putting up points like he had in the past. He made it to one of the games between the Huskies and Golden Bears in last year’s best-of-three Canada West Championship series held at Merlis and was impressed with the level of play.

    The Bears took that series posting a 1-0 victory in a series-deciding Game 3.

    “I didn’t know what to expect,” said Davidson. “I came to Game 2 of the (Canada West) finals last year.

Tyler Soy scored twice for the Golden Bears on Friday.

    “That was the only U Sports game I had ever seen. I knew it was tough hockey, and it was older guys. I’ve always believed in myself.

    “I didn’t really put a projection of what I wanted to get. I just wanted to come play my game and help the team get wins. If points come, that is just a bonus.”

    As for Friday’s game itself, the Golden Bears, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, jumped ahead 1-0 with 5:49 remaining in the first period. Bears left-winger Trevor Cox sprung linemate Tyler Soy on a breakaway, and Soy slipped a shot past Huskies netminder Taran Kozun.

Taran Kozun made 49 saves in goal for the Huskies.

    Kozun did his best to keep the Huskies, who are rated fifth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, in the game over the first 40 minutes stopping 33-of-34 shots sent his way. U of A came with tonnes of pressure in the second period holding a 21-7 edge in shots on goal.

    Two of his best saves included a glove stop that thwarted a laser blast from Golden Bears centre Chad Butcher and making a sprawling pad stop on a backdoor attempt Golden Bears left-winger Steven Owre.

    Despite Kozun’s best efforts, he couldn’t keep the Golden Bears at bay.

    Just 65 seconds into the third, Golden Bears left-winger Grayson Pawlenchuk cut across the front of the Huskies goal and fired a shot past a fallen Kozun.

    The visitors expanded their lead to 3-0 just 51 seconds later, when Soy picked up his second of the contest.

The Golden Bears celebrate their win on Friday.

    With the setback, the Huskies saw their eight game winning streak come to an end.

    Kozun made 46 stops in goal for the Huskies (11-4-2). Matt Berlin turned away 18 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Golden Bears (15-2).
    The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    Davidson has enjoyed the battles between the “forever rivals” in the Golden Bears and Huskies. He experienced two of the WHL’s greatest rivalries in Pats versus Moose Jaw Warriors and Blades versus Raiders.

    He said he gets excited for heated rivalry contests and Golden Bears versus Huskies has lived up to its reputation.

    “It is a great rivalry,” said Davidson. “Whenever you can play a team that you don’t like too much, the games get really heated as you saw tonight.

    “Those are the fun games. I expect U of S to regroup, and I think tomorrow is going to be a really great game.”

Red hot Pandas slip past Huskies 2-1

Kate Ball scored for the Huskies on Friday.

    The U of Alberta Pandas women’s hockey won their sixth straight game after withstanding a strong effort for the U of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    On Friday at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, the Pandas, who are rated 10^th in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, downed the visiting Huskies 2-1 with all the game’s goals coming in the second period.

    Alex Gowie gave the Pandas a 1-0 lead, but rookie Kate Ball evened things up at 1-1 just under two minutes after Gowie’s tally.

    Madison Willan scored the winner for the Pandas just over two minutes after Ball’s marker.

Halle Oswald made 23 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Pandas (11-6). Jessica Vance turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies (9-5-2-1).

    The two sides go at it again on Saturday in Edmonton.

Blades to host Dach bobblehead night

The Kirby Dach bobblehead doll.

    Kirby Dach may be gone to the NHL, but he will always be remembered by his WHL club the Saskatoon Blades.

    The Blades will be celebrating Dach’s career in the WHL holding a Kirby Dach bobblehead night when they host the Prince George Cougars on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product began his career with the Blades in the 2016-17 campaign appearing in 19 regular season games as 15-year-old midget AAA call up. In those games, Dach posted six goals, four assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

    That was a sign of things to come.

    He remained with the Blades through the end of the 2018-19 campaign appearing in 133 career regular season games collecting 38 goals, 91 assists and a plus-eight rating.

    Helping the Blades post the WHL’s fourth best regular season record with a 45-15-8 mark last season, Dach assisted the Blades in advancing to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell in a six-game series to the eventual WHL champion Prince Albert Raiders.

    Over the Blades 10 post-season outings, Dach posted five goals, three assists and a minus-one rating.
    In last year’s NHL Entry Draft, Dach, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 198 pounds, was selected in the first round and third overall by the Chicago Blackhawks. Dach made the Blackhawks as an 18-year-old rookie and has six goals, five assists and a minus-two rating in his first 36 NHL regular season games.

The side view of the Kirby Dach bobblehead doll.

    “Obviously, he is a pretty special player when he goes number three overall in the NHL (Entry) Draft and plays as an 18-year-old,” said Blades assistant general manager Steve Hildebrand, who has been with the team for 19 years. “As an organization, it is great to see him where he is and excelling and playing well.

    “We’re extremely happy for him.”

    Dach’s bobblehead night will mark the first time the Blades have held a bobblehead night since Feb. 18, 2015, when they held one for defenceman Nelson Nogier. Nogier was traded to the Red Deer Rebels in December of 2014, and the Blades honoured the rearguard when he returned to Saskatoon with central Alberta WHL squad.

    Nogier currently plays with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

    Dach came to the Blades as a highly touted prospect. The Saskatoon side selected him in the first round and second overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.

    Hildebrand said Dach was also an all-star person off the ice.

    “He is a class act,” said Hildebrand. “He has been a class act since we knew him at 14-years-old.

    “I think those type of people they are fun to be around. They are good to be around. Those are the type of people we’ve wanted to build our organization around.”

    Dach’s bobblehead doll was made in the likeness of his goal celebration in Game 2 of the second round series against the Raiders in Prince Albert. After scoring a spectacular goal to give the Blades a 1-0 lead, Dach put his hand to his ear looking to hear the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, who had gone silent.

    The Blades built a 2-0 edge in that contest and led 2-1 going into the third period. The Raiders netted two goals in the third to pull out a 3-2 victory.

The Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League gets a cool donation.

    Hildebrand enjoyed the idea of the bobblehead doll the Blades marketing department came up with.

    “Honestly, I had nothing to do with it, but when (Blades director of business operations) Tyler (Wawryk) told me about it, I thought it was great,” said Hildebrand. “I think that is a great part about our rivalry with P.A.

    “They are a great organization as we are. I think that over the last few years it has kind of built up. That was I think one of those moments that we’ll look back on during that series as one of those moments and great goals that he scored.

    “I think they (the Dach bobblehead dolls) turned out really well.”

    During the press conference at Brandt Tractor Limited to announce the Dach bobblehead night, the local Brandt Tractor outlet donated $2,500 to the Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League.

Wouters delivers overtime win to Blades

Chase Wouters scored the OT winner for the Blades.

    Captain Chase Wouters came through as the overtime hero for the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night.

    Facing the Rebels in Red Deer to start a short two-game road swing, the Blades were locked in a 3-3 tie in a WHL regular season clash with the host side after regulation playing before 4,073 spectators at the Westerner Park Centrium.

    At the 3:35 mark of overtime, the Blades entered the offensive zone on a two-on-one break and right-winger Tristen Robins fed a perfect pass across the face of the Rebels goal to Wouters, who potted his 15^th of the campaign for a 4-3 victory.

    Scott Walford, Nolan Kneen and Kyle Crnkovic netted singles for the Blades. Arshdeep Bains scored twice for the Rebels, while Josh Tarzwell had a single.

    Nolan Maier made 30 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (18-16-1-2). Byron Fancy turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels (13-19-1-3).

    The Blades conclude their short road swing on Sunday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings lead the overall WHL standings with a 26-7-5-2 mark.

Raiders fall 1-0 in Brandon

Raiders captain Zach Hayes was involved in a fight on Friday.

    The Prince Albert Raiders are going through one of those stretches where it seems like they can’t buy a win.

    On Friday, the Raiders fell 1-0 in a WHL regular season contest to the Wheat Kings before 3,363 spectators at Westoba Place in Brandon. With the setback, the Raiders have posted six regulation losses and one extra time setback in their last seven games.

    Wheat Kings defenceman Chad Nychuk scored the game’s lone goal at the 10:52 mark of the second period.

    Raiders captain Zach Hayes engaged Wheat Kings left-winger Ben McCartney in an early third period fight.

    Jiri Patera made 29 saves to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Wheat Kings (18-17-1-2). Boston Bilous turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders (20-13-4-1).
    Prince Albert was active on the trade front on Friday. The Raiders acquired 19-year-old goaltender Keegan Karki from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.
    Karki, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 210 pounds, is playing in his first WHL season. He has appeared in 14 games with the Silvertips posting an 8-1-2 record, a 3.19 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.

    The Raiders return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Ice, who lead the WHL’s East Division with a 23-13-1 record.

    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’ Dach melts Ice with three-point night

Kirby Dach had a goal and two assists for the Blades on Wednesday night.

    For a short time, it appeared Kirby Dach was going spoil his own big night.

    On Wednesday in Cranbrook, B.C., Dach’s Saskatoon Blades held a 2-1 third period lead over the host Kootenay Ice. With his team working on the power play, the rookie centre accidentally turned the puck over to Ice winger Cameron Hausinger.

    Hausinger sprung linemate Brett Davis on a breakaway, and he capitalized with his 21^st goal of the campaign to tie things up at 2-2 with 6:27 to play in the frame.

    Dach ensured Davis’s short-handed goal wouldn’t be a turning point in the contest. With 2:48 to play in the third, Dach entered the Kootenay zone on a two-on-one break.

    He fed a setup pass over to right-winger Michael Farren, who popped home the deciding tally in the Blades 3-2 victory before 2,022 spectators at Western Financial Place.

    Dach returned to the Saskatoon lineup having missed one game after being banged up from receiving a hit from behind by Prince Albert Raiders winger Parker Kelly during a Blades 6-3 victory at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday.

    Against the Ice on Wednesday, the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product had one of his better nights outside of the third period turnover playing a part in manufacturing all three of the Blades goals.

    At the 9:25 mark of the first, Dach, who turned 17 in January, wired home a shot to the top right corner of the Kootenay goal to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

    The Blades increased their edge to 2-0 on the Ice at the 4:16 mark of the second, when defenceman Dawson Davidson beat Kootenay netminder Matt Berlin with a low shot on the power play. Dach picked up an assist on that tally.

Michael Farren scored the winning goal for the Blades on Wednesday night.

    Before the second ended, the Ice cut the Blades edge to 2-1, when overage right-winger Colton Veloso one-timed home his 20^th goal of the season with Kootenay working on the power play. Veloso hit the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his WHL career having spent the past two full seasons with the Portland Winterhawks.

    That set the stage for the dramatics inside of the final seven minutes of the third period.

    Rookie Nolan Maier, who turned 17 in January, turned away 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Berlin stopped 24 shots to take the setback in goal for the Ice, who fell to 24-31-3.

Before Wednesday’s game, the Blades had lost their five previous road games, with their last road win being a 3-2 overtime victory over the Rebels in Red Deer on Jan. 13. Saskatoon now has a 12-14-2-1 record on the road this season.

    Overall, the Blades have won three straight to improve to 29-26-2-1 to hold a six-point edge over the Prince Albert Raiders (22-23-9-2) for the second wildcard spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Raiders have two games in hand on the Blades.

    Saskatoon trails the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats (29-24-5-1) by three points for the Eastern Conference’s first wildcard spot and the Brandon Wheat Kings (30-21-3-2) by four points for third in the East Division. The Blades have a game in hand on the Pats. The Wheat Kings have two games in hand on the Blades.

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when they travel to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes (26-24-6).

Back in the Express with Vance

Jessica Vance had a spectacular regular season for the Huskies.

    I was back in the pages of the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature story on netminder Jessica Vance of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team.

    The 20-year-old Prince Albert, Sask., product had an outstanding season playing goal for the Huskies. Vance had nine shutouts during the regular season which ties former University of Pandas netminder Stacey McCullough for the second most shutouts ever recorded in the Canada West Conference in one U Sports regular season. McCullough posted nine shutouts in the 2000-01 campaign.

    Lindsey Post, who is another former Pandas netminder, holds the Canada West record for most shutouts in one U Sports regular season at 10 recorded in the 2014-15 campaign.

    In 2017-18, 54 of the 112 regular season games played in the Canada West Conference for women’s hockey ended in shutouts, and the Huskies posted 12 total shutouts as a team in the campaign to equal a Canada West Conference team record for one season. The Pandas also posted 12 shutouts coming in the 2008-09 campaign.

    Besides leading the Canada West Conference in shutouts, Vance posted a 14-3-1 record, a 0.77 goals against average and a .964 save percentage. Vance topped the Canada West Conference with the most wins and the best save percentage.

    Thanks to Vance, the Huskies finished second in Canada West with a 19-7-2 record. The win total was a regular season team record for the Huskies. Before the current campaign, U of S last finished second in Canada West in the 2013-14 campaign posting an 18-4-6 mark.

    The Huskies will host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series from Feb. 23 to 25 at the ancient Rutherford Rink. Games 1 and 2 are set for a 1:30 p.m. start on Feb. 23 and 24 respectively.

    The story on Vance can be found right here.

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

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Blades hold off late Ice rally

Right-winger Michael Farren (#27) scored twice for the Blades in their win on Tuesday.

    The Saskatoon Blades likely didn’t want things to get that dramatic on the ice.

    On Tuesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades put together one of their better outings. They appeared poised to cruise to victory holding a 4-1 lead on the visiting Kootenay Ice with three minutes to play in the third.

    The Ice proceeded to score two goals in a span of 52 seconds to cut the Blades edge to 4-3 with 1:54 to play in the third.

Chase Wouters sealed the Blades win with an empty-net goal.

    The drama came to an end when Blades centre Chase Wouters scored into an empty net just inside of the final 55 seconds of the third to cement a 5-3 victory for the host side in the WHL regular season clash played before 2,861 spectators.

    “I saw them score the first goal, and I was a little bit upset about that,” said Blades right-winger Michael Farren. “Then they got the second, and we all kind of knew right there we kind of have to flip the switch.

    “The game is not over until the last buzzer. We did that, and we ended up holding on to the win.”

    Had the Ice completed the comeback, it would have dampened the fact that Farren had arguably his best outing of the campaign. The 17-year-old Surrey, B.C., product scored twice to account for his first multipoint night of the season.

    At the 2:47 mark of the second, Farren potted the rebound from a Max Gerlach shot for a power-play goal to give the Blades a 1-0 lead. 

Blades LW Eric Florchuk, left, battles Ice C Peyton Krebs for the puck.

    After Ice captain Colton Kroeker scored to tie things up a 1-1, Farren deflected home a shot from Blades Russian import defenceman Mark Rubinchik to put the host side up 2-1 at the 7:33 mark of the second.

    Farren, who is in his second WHL season, scored both of his goals by driving to the net. He said he wasn’t overly consumed with doing that, but with the way the game played out, he ended up going hard to the Ice goal.

    “I think I just tried to play my game,” said Farren. “Luckily, it (success) happened to me, so I am pretty grateful for it. I think I should start going there more.”

    Last season, Farren turned some heads appearing in 63 games with the Blades as a 16-year-old rookie netting eight goals and 22 assists. The offensive numbers haven’t come as frequently this season as Farren has six goals and five assists in 45 appearances.

Max Gerlach had a goal for the Blades.

    In hopes of helping Farren find some confidence, Blades head coach Dean Brockman put the sophomore forward on a line centred by Kirby Dach along with Eric Florchuk on left wing. Brockman was pleased to see Farren pick up two solid tallies with that move.

    “He (Farren) had such a good year last year,” said Brockman. “He was having a tough year.

    “We are just trying to gain him some confidence as we are going down the stretch. Obviously, we talked to him a lot. We can’t play for him, so it was great to see him get a couple.”

    Before the second period ended, centre Brad Goethals scored a short-handed goal for the Blades tucking home the rebound from a shot taken by Dach.

    At the 5:12 mark of the third, 19-year-old right-winger Max Gerlach found himself on a breakaway and laser beamed a shot home to the top right corner of the Kootenay goal to put the Blades up 4-1.

    The Blades had such good control of the contest that they actively tried to set Farren up for a hat trick goal while working on a power-play chance that came shortly after the halfway point of the third.

    When everything seemed secure, the Ice comeback attempt took off. Kootenay right-winger Colton Veloso scored with 2:46 remaining in the third to cut the Blades lead to 4-2. Veloso proceeded to set up standout rookie centre Peyton Krebs for another Ice tally just 52 seconds later to cut the Blades lead to 4-3.

Josh Paterson, right, drives a shot on goal for the Blades.

    That set the stage for Wouters to ice the game.

    Nolan Maier turned away 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for Saskatoon.
    The Blades improved to 26-25-2-1 to sit two points up on the Prince Albert Raiders (21-20-9-2) in holding the second wildcard spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Raiders have two games in hand on the Blades.

    Matt Berlin, who turned 20-year-old in January, turned away 29-of-33 shots to take the setback in goal for the Ice, who sit third in the Central Division with a 23-27-3 record.
    The Ice were without 17-year-old rookie goalie Duncan McGovern, who was sitting out a one-game league imposed suspension for taking a match penalty in the Ice’s 5-3 loss at home to the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday.

The Blades celebrate their win on Tuesday.

    The Blades ended a two-game losing skid with their win on Tuesday. Brockman said his club’s performance was much better than in their last outing, when they traveled to Prince Albert last Friday and fell to the Raiders 5-2.

    “Our effort level was I think up from the last game in P.A. for sure,” said Brockman. “Certainly, there is a long ways to go. A win is a win, and we need wins.

    “We are just going to try and consume ourselves with us. I think that is the most important thing right now.”

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (29-19-3-2).

Back in the Express with Maier

Nolan Maier makes a glove stop for the Blades on Tuesday.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature on Saskatoon Blades rookie sensation Nolan Maier.

    Maier, who turned 17-year-old on January 10, has had an outstanding first season playing goal for the Blades. In 29 regular season games, the Yorkton, Sask., product had posted a 17-10-1 record, a 3.24 goals against average, a .902 save percentage and two shutouts.

    He joined the Blades permanently on a full-time basis last Nov. 14 after playing for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held jointly in Dawson Creek and Fort St.  John, B.C.
    The Express story on Maier can be found 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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