Gorzynski works overtime magic for Raiders in 4-3 win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders faithful celebrates their team’s overtime winner.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beckett Hamilton had the Rebels first goal on Friday.

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

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

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

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

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

Owen Corkish had the Raiders second goal on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

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

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Raiders run over Rebels with 6-0 win in Game 2

Prince Albert takes 2-0 lead in first round post-season series

The Raiders celebrate a short-handed goal from Daxon Rudolph (#10).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – When the dam burst, it burst big.

On Saturday, the Prince Albert Raiders found themselves being thwarted on numerous scoring opportunities by Red Deer Rebels star rookie netminder Matthew Kondro in the first third of Game 2 of a WHL best-of-seven first round playoff series. The teams exited the first period locked in a scoreless tie with the Raiders holding a 13-3 edge in shots on goal.

Just 1:37 into the second period, Raiders 16-year-old skilled rookie defenceman Brock Cripps scored a power-play goal on an end-to-end rush. From that point, the host Raiders added four more goals in the second to push their advantage out to 5-0. They would finish off the contest cruising to a 6-0 victory to the delight of a jubilant standing room crowd of 2,997 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre.

Brock Cripps had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

With the win, the Raiders, who were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings, take a 2-0 lead in the series. Going back to the regular season, they have won eight straight games.

“You know what, we have a game plan,” said Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald. “We have a process that we stick to.

“It hasn’t wavered all year no matter who we’re playing. The guys did a great job going out there executing the game plan tonight.”

During the first period, it appeared the Raiders might get snake bitten around the net for the night. Star centre Braeden Cootes had a backhand shot chance in close that was turned away by a paddle stop by Kondro.

The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheer on the Raiders.

Late in the frame, Raiders star defenceman Daxon Rudolph had a partial breakaway, but he fanned on his shot. The fanned shot was still a chance Kondro had to make an alert stop on.

The host side’s luck changed around the net, when Cripps scored on his end-to-end rush. On that play, the puck disappeared from sight underneath Kondro’s pads, but referee Adam Bloski was positioned behind the net and made the call of a good goal on the ice.

Following the goal call, the play went to a view review that lasted for about five minutes. After the review, the officials ruled the call on the ice stands.

“You look at the entry, the speed that Brock (Cripps) possessed getting into the zone, it was a great move to get around the stand,” said McDonald. “He took the puck right to the net and got rewarded.”

Ben Harvey had one goal and one assist for the Raiders.

Just two minutes after Cripps’ goal, the Raiders pushed their advantage to 2-0, when 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ben Harvey fired a shot from the front of the net to the top right corner of the Red Deer goal. Harvey converted a sweet setup feed from Rudolph.

“Dax (Rudolph), obviously, made a nice play coming down the wall and found me in the middle,” said Harvey. “I kind of just popped up and tried to get it past the first layer there, and I don’t think their goalie saw it.”

Just under five minutes later, the Raiders picked up a short-handed tally from Rudolph to push their lead out to 3-0. Cootes sent a smart pass to Rudolph to spring the rearguard into the Red Deer zone on a rush. Rudolph charged to the front of the net and ripped home a shot to the top right corner of the goal.

Daxon Rudolph had one goal and two assists for the Raiders.

With 3:52 remaining in the second, Raiders sophomore centre Riley Boychuk potted home a loose puck during a net scramble for a power-play goal that made the Raiders lead sit at 4-0. With 2:05 remaining in the second, Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube sniped home a power-play marker from inside the right faceoff circle in the Red Deer zone to give the Raiders a 5-0 edge.

Prince Albert’s momentum proceeded to carry over to a right between rookie 16-year-old left-winger Connor Howe and Rebels 17-year-old defenceman Cameron Dillard. The bout was a spirited one that ended with Howe, who stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 155 pounds, getting the take down on the much larger Dillard, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 218 pounds. The Art Hauser Centre faithful rained down thunderous applause for Howe, who is a hometown product.

Brayden Dube had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

“Everyone is just playing the right way,” said Harvey, who had an assist to go with his goal. “We’re just sticking to our game and playing fast.

“It is just eventually they’re going to come.”

Dube proceeded to score his second of the contest taking a drop pass from Cootes and wiring home a shot from the right faceoff dot in the Red Deer zone to round out the 6-0 final score in favour of the Raiders.

“I was just in the right spot at the right time it felt like,” said Dube. “It was nice to get a couple.”

Following Dube’s second tally, the Rebels elected to pull Kondro. Kondro took the loss in the Red Deer net turning away 30-of-36 shots sent his way. Peyton Shore played the rest of the way in the third in relief turning away all four shots sent his way.

Fans at the Art Hauser Centre do the wave.

Overall, Dube was pleased with his team’s effort and thought it was a good follow up to their 4-1 victory over the Rebels in Game 1 on Friday at the Hauser.

“I think we played similar to yesterday,” said Dube. “The goals didn’t come that quick, but I think we wore them down.

“They started making mistakes, and we capitalized on them.”

Raiders star 18-year-old import rookie netminder Michal Orsulak stopped all 13 shots sent his way to pick up his first career post-season shutout in the WHL. He also had an assist on Cripps’s goal.

While the Raiders had the Rebels pinned in their own zone for a large part of Saturday’s game, Orsulak had to come up with a huge sprawling glove save on a Rebels left-winger Poul Andersen inside the final seven minutes of the third to preserve his shutout.

Michal Orsulak made 13 saves for the shutout win on Saturday.

“He was sticky and tidy when called upon,” said McDonald. “It was just a real solid night from him tonight.”

Rudolph finished with a pair of assists to go with his goal and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. Cootes had a plus-two rating to go with his two helpers.

The Raiders were without breakout star centre Max Heise, who was injured after being hit into the boards by Rebels right-winger Owen DeWitt early in Game 1. McDonald said Heise is listed as day-to-day when it comes to possibly returning.

The series between the Raiders and Rebels now shifts to Red Deer. Games 3 and 4 will be held Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. local time on both nights at the Marchant Crane Centrium. In looking forward to those contests, Dube said his Raiders need to keep doing what they have been doing so far in the series.

The Raiders celebrate their win on Saturday.

“I know they’ll be better in Red Deer,” said Dube. “We just have to stick to our game and clean some things up that we can work on and just keep it going.”

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Raiders playoff opening win a Hauser crowd pleaser

Prince Albert downs Red Deer 4-1 in intense clash 

Braeden Cootes (#34) battles Jake Missura (#3).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – It was a playoff victory that was a blast for the faithful of the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday, the Raiders downed the visiting Red Deer Rebels 4-1 in Game 1 of their first round WHL best-of-seven playoff series before a standing room crowd of 3,078 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The victory to open the post season was a sound one by the Raiders, who gradually pulled away in the contest.

The contest also was an intense one played between a pair of teams whose cultures are grounded in some good old school hockey values. The contest had physical moments where both sides will likely have to agree to disagree on how they viewed those instances.

Braeden Cootes had two goals and an assist for the Raiders.

The Raiders started the night entering the ice to Airbourne’s “Live It Up” drawing a call back to their last WHL championship winning campaign in 2018-19. That tune was the squad’s entrance song for that campaign.

The host side kept the pre-game nods to their past coming by having Carole Ring come out to sing the national anthem. Ring has lifetime links to the Raiders being best known for being a longtime billet mom for a number of the club’s players and serving for a time as the team’s secretary way back in the early 1980s.

During the opening faceoff, both teams tried to set the tone as the starting centres in Raiders 20-year-old Aiden Oiring and Czech import Matej Mikes, who turned 19 in February, butted into each other before referee Josh Grimm could drop the puck.

Braeden Cootes had plus-two rating in the plus-minus department.

The contest’s next big moment was one of the spots of the night the Raiders fans weren’t happy with. About 90 seconds into the first period, Raiders breakout star centre Max Heise was battling for the puck in the right corner boards of the Prince Albert zone against Rebels import defenceman Jiri Kamas. As the puck battle was going on, Heise got slammed awkwardly into the boards by Rebels centre Owen DeWitt, who jetted into the hit with speed.

Heise fell down to the ice and was helped to the dressing room and didn’t return to the contest. That meant the Raiders had to play without the man that led the squad with 29 goals during the regular season and finished with 63 points in 63 regular season contests. The officials didn’t call any penalties on the play causing the moment to be a missed potential charging call on DeWitt.

Michal Orsulak stopped 22 shots in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to push on after that development.

With 5:17 remaining in the first, they broke through on the scoreboard while working on the power play. Star centre Braeden Cootes got the puck at the top of the right faceoff circle and fired a blast past Rebels star 18-year-old rookie netminder Matthew Kondro to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

About a minute later, a moment happened that the Rebels weren’t happy about. Rebels right-winger Patrick Sopiarz was coming out of his zone with the puck, when he got hit knee-to-knee by Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett.

The collision happened right in front of the Red Deer bench, and most of the Rebels players were up in arms voicing their displeasure to the officials. The officials didn’t call any penalties on the collision making the moment another missed call, but they did give an unrelated tripping minor to Raiders sophomore right-winger Riley Boychuk just about 15 seconds later.

Matthew Kondro made 35 saves in net for the Rebels.

Sopiarz ended up being alright after the hit by Burrett and was out to play on the Red Deer power-play after Boychuk took his tripping minor.

Between those two physical moments in the opening frame, both teams locked into focusing on playing their systems in transitioning the puck up ice and trying to create turnovers forechecking in the offensive zone.

Just 2:03 into the second period, the Raiders pushed their lead out to 2-0 off a positive bounce goal by star defenceman Daxon Rudolph. Rudolph circled around behind the Red Deer net with the puck coming out on the left side of the goal. He slid a shot into the crease of the Rebels net and had the puck deflect off Kondro into the goal to give the hosts their two-goal edge.

Outside of that moment, Kondro had an outstanding period making 19 saves as the Rebels were outshot 20-7 in the second period. One of his best stops came late in the frame on a close in screen shot opportunity by Boychuk.

Daxon Rudolph celebrates scoring for the Raiders.

The physical play continued in the second too. Before the midway part of the stanza, Raiders captain Justice Christensen hammered Rebels 20-year-old defenceman Aleksey Chichkin into the Prince Albert bench. That drew a huge roar from the Raiders faithful.

Later on in the frame, Raiders 17-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson delivered a crowd-pleasing hit on Rebels 17-year-old left-winger Cameron Kuzma.

During the second period, Raiders star import netminder Michal Orsulak, who turned 18 in early January, had to be sharp even if he wasn’t as busy as Kondro. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the second, the Rebels sprung 17-year-old right-winger Kalder Varga into the Prince Albert zone on a breakaway. Varga was stoned by Orsulak.

Poul Andersen scored for the Rebels on Friday.

In the third, the Rebels pushed back, and they broke through on the scoreboard at the 7:35 mark of the frame with a positive bounce goal on the power play. Rebels left-winger Poul Andersen shot a puck from the left side boards in the Prince Albert zone, and the puck deflected off a Raiders defenceman into the Prince Albert goal cut the host side’s lead to 2-1.

The Raiders ensured the Rebels wouldn’t complete the comeback. With 9:02 remaining in the third, Cootes got the puck on a rush into the Red Deer zone, and he fired home his second of the contest from just under the right faceoff dot to give the Raiders a 3-1 advantage.

Right after scoring that goal, Cootes got tangled up with Rebels 17-year-old defenceman Jake Missura causing a scrum to develop. The officials promptly got the players on both sides untangled and sent to their respective benches.

Brock Cripps had the Raiders fourth goal on Friday.

With 3:14 remaining in the third, Cootes gave the puck to Raiders skilled 16-year-old rookie defenceman Brock Cripps with a slick pass just inside the Red Deer zone. Cripps skated to the top of the right faceoff circle and drove home a shot to round out the final 4-1 score in favour of the host side.

An oddity proceeded to occur with 28.4 seconds remaining in the third as Raiders import left-winger Alisher Sarkenov and Rebels 20-year-old centre Tyson Yaremko got tangled up and had a holding match. That ultimately was the end of the extracurricular activities for the night.

At the final buzzer, both sides made a point to give a quiet nod of respect to each other and skated away from each other to their respective ends.

When the dust was settled, Orsulak had stopped 22 shots to pick up his first career WHL post-season win in goal for the Raiders. Kondro turned away 35 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

Both sides will go at it in Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. While Friday’s Game 1 had some good intensity, one can expect that factor to keep increasing as the series goes on.

As for the Raiders faithful, they will be hoping to see another crowd pleaser in Game 2 where, of course, the home side prevails once again.

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“Blades jinx” haunts Rebels

Saskatoon sweeps season series with Red Deer

The Blades celebrate a second period goal from Rowan Calvert (#23).

While being consistently inconsistent has been the Saskatoon Blades forte in the 2025-26 WHL campaign, one thing they can consistently do is beat the Red Deer Rebels.

On Wednesday playing before 3,307 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades edged the Rebels 3-2 in a back-and-forth contest that was the final regular season meeting between the two sides in the current campaign. With the win, Saskatoon swept the season series with Red Deer taking all four head-to-head encounters between the two sides in regulation time. Overall dating back to last season, the Blades have won seven straight games against the Rebels.

Rowan Calvert had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

Lots of players on both sides had good games in Wednesday’s clash, but the performance of two reliable veterans in 20-year-old standout left-winger Rowan Calvert and star netminder Evan Gardner, who turned 20-years-old in late January, put the Blades over the top.

On the scoresheet, Calvert recorded one goal – his 27^th of the season – and a plus-one rating in the plus-minus department. Well above what was seen in the statistical department, he was steady and reliable playing a 200-foot game.

When it came to defensive responsibilities, Calvert was always in the right position. When the Rebels pulled breakout 18-year-old rookie netminder Matthew Kondro for an extra skater inside of the final two minutes of the third, Calvert played a key part with his positioning in allowing the Blades to hold on to their 3-2 lead at the end of the contest.

Evan Gardner made 33 saves for the Blades on Wednesday.

Calvert and the Blades shutdown unit basically kept the Rebels pinned in their own zone for about the final 44 seconds of the third to preserve their one-goal victory.

Gardner made 33 saves to pick up the win in the Saskatoon net in another stellar outing. The puck stopper, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, earned his 23^rd victory of the campaign to match his career high for wins in a season set in the 2024-25 campaign.

The Blades were able to ride out times when the Rebels carried the momentum and rally with push backs. Any adversities that came up, the Saskatoon side was able to overcome them. Saskatoon has done this a number of times this season, but they haven’t been able to do that over a consistent long stretch of contests.

Matthew Kondro made 33 saves for the Rebels on Wednesday.

The Rebels, who are battling for their playoff lives, came out with a big push after downing the Raiders in Prince Albert 4-3 on Tuesday. Against the Raiders, the Rebels entered the third period trailing 3-1 before rolling off three straight goals to pull out the victory. It was a huge win for Red Deer as the Raiders sit second overall in the WHL and are rated second in the CHL Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday.

On Wednesday against the Blades, the Rebels hit the scoreboard first just 1:55 into the opening frame, when 17-year-old left-winger Cameron Kuzma roofed home a power-play goal with a drive from the top of the left faceoff circle for his 10^th tally of the season. Red Deer would hold a 17-12 edge in shots on goal after 20-minutes but was unable to expand the 1-0 lead due to the work of Gardner.

Cameron Kuzma scored the Rebels first goal on Wednesday.

The Blades came with a big push back in the second frame. At the 8:39 mark of the second, Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies attempted to score on a wraparound only to be stopped by Kondro.

The rebound went out to Calvert close in at the right side of the Red Deer net, and Calvert popped the puck home to even the score at 1-1. Calvert’s tally came during a stretch when the two sides were playing four skaters versus four skaters due to off-setting penalties.

At the 15:14 mark of the second, Blades star sophomore centre Cooper Williams, who turned 18-years-old in February, intercepted a pass by a Rebels player in the Red Deer zone. Williams proceeded to skate into the left corner of the Red Deer zone and centred a pass to 19-year-old import left-winger Elias Pul. Pul wired home his ninth goal of the campaign to put the Blades in front 2-1.

Poul Anderson had the second goal for the Rebels on Wednesday.

During their pushback in the second, the Blades held a 15-7 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

The Rebels didn’t go away and showed their traditional no quit will in the third. Just 77 seconds into the frame, Rebels 18-year-old right-winger Poul Anderson wired home his 19^th goal of the campaign from the top of the right faceoff dot in the Saskatoon zone to even the score at 2-2.

Saskatoon wasn’t shaken by that change in momentum. With 5:07 remaining in the third, Blades star import right-winger David Lewandowski fired home a lazer shot from the point for a power-play goal that put the host side up for good at 3-2.

David Lewandowski had the winning goal for the Blades.

Kondro turned away 33 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.

With the win, the Blades ended a two-game skid improving to 31-25-4-2 to remain solidly sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. The Rebels fell to 23-33-2-2, but they still continue to hold a one point lead over the Moose Jaw Warriors (21-33-5-2) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Red Deer has one game in hand on Moose Jaw.

The Blades return to action on Friday when they host the Warriors at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The Rebels also get back at it on Friday when they travel to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).  

The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday.

Over their final six games of the regular season, the Blades will try to find the consistency they had during their first 12 contests of the regular season, when they jumped out to a 9-3 start. They can potentially be a handful for whoever they face in the post-season, if they can find the consistency to play well over a longer stretch.

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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