Dreaming about the Blades keeping the band together

Saskatoon ultimately did right thing with reload

Tanner Molendyk in action for the Blades on March 22, 2024.

What could the Saskatoon Blades have done had they kept the band together in 2024-25?

As the CHL post-season has gone by, that thought does cross through a person’s head.

On Sunday, the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which determines a CHL champion, will be held at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. The WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers will take on the OHL champion London Knights in the tourney final (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

That contest features three players who started the 2024-25 campaign with the Blades.

Tanner Molendyk has been playing defence at an all-world level for the Tigers. The Blades defenceman of the year team award is named after him. 

Misha Volotovskii has become a shutdown checking centre for Medicine Hat who has chipped in goals and points at opportune times.

Austin Elliott is the netminder seemingly the entire WHL gave up on. In combined play in the WHL regular season, OHL regular season and post-season and Memorial Cup tournament, Elliott, who is in his overage season, has a 54-3 record. He went 3-0 with the Blades and has been 51-3 for the Knights.

Tanner Molendyk in action for the Tigers on April 13.

In 2023-24, the Blades had a stellar season finishing first overall in the WHL with a 50-13-2-3 mark. They advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in seven games to the eventual league champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

That epic series saw six games decided in overtime. In Game 7 at the SaskTel Centre on May 7, 2024, Warriors right-winger Lynden Lakovic got a positive bounced goal 36 seconds into overtime to deliver a 3-2 victory to Moose Jaw.

Lakovic put a backhand shot towards the Saskatoon net that deflected off the skate of Blades utility winger Tyler Parr into the net for the winning tally. Parr was covering Warriors star right-winger Atley Calvert on the play.

At the start of the 2024-25 campaign, Molendyk, Volotovskii, Elliott, Parr, Brandon Lisowsky, Rowan Calvert, Evan Gardner, Lukas Hansen, Ben Saunderson, Grayden Siepmann and Morgan Tastad were all part of the core of the 2023-24 squad that was returning. 

Unfortunately for the Blades, they dealt away a lot of key draft capital to load up for the 2023-24 campaign.

They also had five significant losses after the completion of the 2023-24 campaign. Captain Trevor Wong, standout right-winger Easton Armstrong and sturdy defensive-defenceman Charlie Wright all aged out of the circuit. Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov joined the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, who are the affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, and star centre Fraser Minten started the campaign as property of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs before being dealt to the Boston Bruins.

Misha Volotovskii in action for the Blades on April 3, 2024.

Minten saw action for the Maple Leafs, their AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies, the Bruins and their AHL affiliate the Providence Bruins.

On July 25, 2024, the Blades dealt steady defenceman John Babcock to the Regina Pats in an effort to get down to three overage players.

Elliott lost his spot as the Blades starting goalie to Gardner during the 2024 WHL Playoffs. 

When Gardner returned from NHL training camp activities with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared the WHL waiver wire.

He was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad. 

On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott. The puckstopper never played a game for the Colts.

Elliott would go on to have a sensational run with the Knights.

As the early part of the campaign moved on, the Blades sat first overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third overall in the league with a 17-6-1-2 mark going into action on December 6, 2024. It was decision time when it came to keeping the band together.

Misha Volotovskii in action for the Tigers on May 9.

Blades general manager Colin Priestner looked at what the team could potentially look like the next two seasons after the 2024-25 campaign if the band stayed together and decided to make deals to ensure the team didn’t bottom out.

Hansen, Lisowsky, Volotovskii and Molendyk were all dealt to bring in a haul of younger players and draft capital leading up to the WHL’s trade deadline on January 9. Overage left-winger Tanner Scott was the one veteran that came to Saskatoon in those deals.

Before the 2024-25 season started, the Blades acquired 19-year-old centre Ben Riche in a trade with the Victoria Royals. Riche was looking for a fresh start with a new club and had a major breakout half season with the Blades. He was dealt to the Prince George Cougars for two younger players and draft capital.

The Blades didn’t plummet down the WHL standings after the trades. They slowly dropped out of contention for top spot in the Eastern Conference but were battling for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

They closed the regular season with a home-and-home series against their archrivals in the Prince Albert Raiders and were looking to gain the East Division title. 

On March 21 at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime. One night later at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert in a winner take all battle for first place, the Blades fell 4-3 after the Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic netted the winner late in the third period.

Austin Elliott in action for the Blades on April 5, 2024.

Saskatoon finished third in the East Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 37-23-4-4 mark. The Blades were swept in a best-of-seven first round series by the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL Playoffs.

Still, the Blades are looking wise going into the future with the likes of Hunter Laing, Hayden Harsanyi, Jack Kachkowski and Kazden Mathies. They will go well together with returnees like Gardner, Ethan McCallum, Zach Olsen, Parr, Calvert, Cooper Williams, David Lewandowski and Isaac Poll.

In 2025-26, the Blades should still be a club that will be in a solid post-season spot. Still, it is fun to dream about what could have happened had Molendyk, Volotovskii, Elliott, Lisowsky, Hansen and Riche all stayed.

Knights claim 5-2 win over Wildcats in Memorial Cup semi

The London Knights weren’t going to be denied a return trip to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament.

On Friday, the OHL champion Knights found themselves locked in a 2-2 after 40 minutes with the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats in the Memorial Cup semifinal at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. The Knights rolled off three straight goals in the third period to pull out a 5-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators.

Left-winger Blake Montgomery scored the winner at the 3:35 mark of the third. Import left-winger Jesse Nurmi netted a dagger insurance tally with 6:49 remaining in the third. Knight star right-winger Easton Cowan scored into an empty net to complete the surge with 1:49 remaining in the frame.

With the win, the Knights advance to the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which decides a CHL champion, to take on the WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Last year when the Memorial Cup tournament was held in Saginaw, Michigan, the Knights, who were the OHL champions, fell to the host Spirit 4-3. Spirit 20-year-old left-winger Josh Bloom scored the winner with 21.7 seconds remaining in the third to break a 3-3 tie.

In Friday’s clash between the Knights and Wildcats, left-winger Landon Sim gave the Knights a 1-0 lead at the 4:07 mark of the first period. Wildcats centre Caleb Desnoyers scored on the power play with 1:40 remaining in the opening frame to even the score at 1-1.

Knights captain Denver Barkley tallied at the 5:24 mark of the second to put London up 2-0. Just 2:16 later, Wildcats defenceman Dyllan Gill fired home a power-play goal to even the score at 2-2. That set the stage for the Knights surge in the third period.

Austin Elliott stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Knights. During the 2024-25 campaign that began with three games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, Elliott has a 54-3 record including play in the WHL regular season, the OHL regular season and post-season and the Memorial Cup tournament.

Mathis Rousseau turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Wildcats. The Wildcats downed the host Rimouski Oceanic 6-2 in the final round robin game on Wednesday to advance to the semifinal.

The Wildcats were 1-2 in round robin play, while the Oceanic were 0-3. The Tigers topped the round robin standings at 3-0, while the Knights were second with a 2-1 mark.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

McDonald remains Raiders head coach, other notes

Ryan McDonald, centre, works the Raiders bench on March 18.

Ryan McDonald will remain the head coach of his hometown Prince Albert Raiders heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

On Tuesday, the Raiders removed the interim tag from McDonald’s job title as head coach. The 37-year-old first joined the club as an assistant coach in 2020-21.

McDonald was named the team’s interim head coach on March 10 after Jeff Truitt was dismissed as the club’s head coach. The Raiders went 5-1 in their last six regular season contests under McDonald allowing them to finish first in the WHL’s East Division with a 39-23-5-1 mark.

Following the team’s WHL Christmas break, McDonald took over for Truitt as interim head coach as Truitt left the team for medical reasons to have eye surgery. McDonald went 10-4-0-1 over that stretch to post a 15-5-0-1 mark in 21 regular season contests working the Raiders bench as head coach.

In the WHL Playoffs, McDonald saw his Raiders eliminate the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3 in a best-of-seven first round series after trailing the set 3-1. The Raiders were then swept in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series by the eventual WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

Way back in the 2002-03 campaign, McDonald suited up full time for the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team as a 14-year-old underage player. He played one more campaign for the Mintos before moving up to the WHL with the Regina Pats.

He was acquired by the Raiders from the Pats in a trade part way through the 2006-07 campaign. McDonald would play the next two full seasons with the Raiders before graduating from the WHL. In 2013-14, McDonald played in the U Sports ranks with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team.

• London Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan leads the Memorial Cup tournament in scoring with six points coming off two goals and four assists in four games.
• Medicine Hat Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie leads the Memorial Cup tournament with four goals coming in three games.
• London Knights star goaltender Austin Elliott has the lowest goals against average at the Memorial Cup tournament at 1.74 and the highest save percentage at .936 over four games. He is tied with Medicine Hat Tigers star netminder Harrison Meneghin for the most goaltending wins at this year’s tournament at three.
• On Friday, Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reported that the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks Men’s Hockey Team in the NCAA Division I ranks got verbal commitments from centre Cole Reschny and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, who were both members of the WHL’s Victoria Royals, to play starting in the 2025-26 season. Reschny turned 18-years-old in April and had 92 points coming off 26 goals and 66 assists to go with a plus-42 rating in the plus-minus department playing 62 regular season games for the Royals in 2024-25. He is a top prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Verhoeff will turn 17-years-old on June 19. As a 16-year-old rookie with the Royals in 2024-25, he appeared in 63 regular season games recording 21 goals, 24 assists and a plus-23 rating. Some believe he has the potential to be selected second overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
• Nathan Reiter, who is a sports reporter for the Prince Albert Daily Herald, put together a column on the latest developments on the landscape between the CHL and NCAA. That piece 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.

-------

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

Tigers down Knights 3-1, move on to Memorial Cup title game

If there were any doubts, the Medicine Hat Tigers proved they can win by gaining three yards in a cloud of dust.

On Tuesday night at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec, the WHL championship Tigers downed the OHL champion London Knights 3-1 in the final round robin contest for both sides at the Memorial Cup tournament which crowns a CHL champion. The win allowed the Tigers to finish on top of the round robin standings with a 3-0 record and advance directly to Sunday’s tournament championship game (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Knights posted a 2-1 mark to place second in the round robin portion of the event. They will play in a semifinal contest on Friday (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

In the semifinal, London will take on the winner of Wednesday’s final round robin game between the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats and host Rimouski Oceanic (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN). The Wildcats and Oceanic are both 0-2 in round robin play.

In the Tigers win over the Knights on Tuesday, the Medicine Hat side had to grind out victory. The Knights held a 36-29 edge in shots on goal. Both sides were changing things up on the ice to counter each others’ offensive attacks.

Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna wasn’t able to record a point.

Medicine Hat pulled out victory winning battles for the puck and blocking shots. The Tabbies were also powered by a spectacular 35-save performance by star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin in picking up the win.

The Knights got out to the fast start on Tuesday. Just seconds into the contest, Meneghin stoned Knights centre Jacob Julien on a two-on-one break into the Medicine Hat zone.

At the 3:34 mark of the opening frame, the Knight struck on the power play taking a 1-0 lead. Knights star defenceman Sam Dickinson floated a shot from the point that was deflected home by star right-winger Kasper Halttunen to give their side a one-goal edge.

Mathew Ward scored the winning goal for the Tigers.

London held a 9-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the first period before heading into the first intermission holding a 10-7 lead in that department.

Just inside the first two minutes of the second, Knights star left-winger Blake Montgomery was sprung into the Medicine Hat zone on a breakaway only to be turned away by a blocker stop from Meneghin.

The Tigers broke through on the scoreboard netting a gritty goal thanks to a positive bounce at the 5:11 mark of the second. Star defenceman Tanner Molendyk fired a shot from the point that deflected off a Knights player to Tigers veteran right-winger Ethan Neutens at the left side of the London net. Neutens quickly put the puck into an open left side of the London cage to even the score at 1-1.

The Knights came with a push back after the Tigers pulled even on the scoreboard, but the London side was kept at bay by Meneghin.

Just seconds into the third, Meneghin stoned Knights captain Denver Barkley, who fired a shot on goal from the front of the Medicine Hat net on an offensive rush.

Following that chance, the Tigers were buzzing in the London zone at the 1:17 mark of the frame. Tigers 19-year-old defensive centre Misha Volotovskii poked the puck down to overage left-winger Mathew Ward at the right side of the London net.

Ward quickly looped around the front of the London net and popped home his first of the tournament to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. That tally marked the first time the Knights trailed in the third period at any point in this year’s Memorial Cup tournament.

After going ahead on the scoreboard, the Tigers proceeded to focus on defensive structure. With 10:45 remaining in the frame, Knights star right-winger Easton Cowan put a shot off the post of the Medicine Hat net that Meneghin proceeded to gather up.

Harrison Meneghin made 35 saves in goal for the Tigers.

Late in the frame with the Knights on the power play, Cowan was stoned on a close in chance by Meneghin. After that power play expired, Tigers star captain Oasiz Wiesblatt came up with a big shot block on Dickinson with 71 seconds remaining in the frame to help prevent the Knights from pulling even on the scoreboard. At the time of that shot block, the Knights had star overage netminder Austin Elliott pulled for an extra attacker.

With 11.6 seconds remaining in the third, Wiesblatt sprung star right-winger Ryder Ritchie on a break down the right wing into the London zone. Ritchie fired the puck into an empty net to round out the 3-1 final score in favour of the Tigers.

Neutens had an assist to go with his goal finishing with a two-point night to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department for the Tigers.

Elliott turned away 26-of-28 shots to take the setback in net for the Knights. In action combined in the CHL regular season and post-season, Elliott saw his record in net fall to 53-3.

The veteran puck stopper started the 2024-25 campaign in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades winning all three of his starts with “the Bridge City Bunch.” Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared WHL waivers.

Elliott was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad. On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott.

The puck stopper never played a game for the Colts. He has a 50-3 record playing for the Knights.

During his time in the WHL with the Blades, Elliott won all six of his career starts against the Tigers.

Oasiz Wiesblatt had a big shot block and an assist for the Tigers.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Tigers have won 47 out of their last 55 games including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Now, the Tigers have four days off where they will wait to see who they will play in the Memorial Cup title game. They were last in the championship game of the Memorial Cup tournament on May 27, 2007 falling 3-1 to the host Vancouver Giants. The Tigers went into that tournament as the WHL champions.

The Tigers have won the Memorial Cup twice with the victories coming in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, the Tigers downed the host and OHL champion Oshawa Generals 6-2 in the Memorial Cup title game on May 15 of that year. 

In 1988, the Tigers outgunned the OHL champion Windsor Spitfires 7-6 in the championship contest on May 14 of that year with the event being hosted in Chicoutimi, Quebec.

Medicine Hat is also trying to become the first WHL team to win the Memorial Cup since the Edmonton Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3 on May 25, 2014, when the tournament was held in London, Ont.

Ethan Neutens had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

If the Tigers take the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday, they would make history on numerous fronts.

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

-------

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

Ritchie on fire for Tigers at Memorial Cup tourney

Medicine Hat improves to 2-0 with 3-1 win over Wildcats

Ryder Ritchie is flourishing in the spotlight of the Memorial Cup tournament.

On Monday, the star right-winger recorded a pair of goals and an assist to power his WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers to a 3-1 victory over the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats in a round robin contest playing before a sellout crowd of 4,512 spectators at Coliseum Sun Life Financial in Rimouski, Quebec. In two games at the event that crowns a CHL champion, Ritchie has recorded three goals, one assist and a plus-two in the plus-minus department as the Tigers have posted a 2-0 record.

Medicine Hat is guaranteed to play in at least Friday’s semifinal contest of the playoff round. The Tigers close their round robin schedule on Tuesday taking on the OHL champion London Knights (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Knights are also 2-0 in the round robin portion of the tournament. The winner of the clash between the Tigers and Knights will earn a berth in the tournament’s championship game on Sunday.

The Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25. They advanced through the OHL Playoffs with a 16-1 record.

The Wildcats fell to 0-2 with the setback. They will close the round robin portion of the tournament taking on the host Rimouski Oceanic on Wednesday (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Oceanic also have an 0-2 mark at the tourney. The club that wins Wednesday’s clash between the Wildcats and Oceanic advances to the tournament’s semifinal contest on Friday. The squad that loses will be eliminated from the event.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

During the post-game press conference on Monday, the action on the ice between the Tigers and Wildcats fell to the background after Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall said he found out about a tragedy in his family before the contest started.

Ryder Ritchie had two goals and an assist for the Tigers.

About 20 minutes before the Wildcats faced the Tigers, Rimouski RCMP contacted Moncton general manager Taylor MacDougall to let him know that his father-in-law Pat Buckley had a heart attack while golfing in Rimouski and passed away. Taylor is Gardiner’s son.

About five minutes before puck drop, Taylor relayed the devastating news of Buckley’s passing to Gardiner. Gardiner said Monday’s contest was the hardest game he ever had to coach.

During post-game interviews, Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins and Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt passed on condolences to the MacDougall family.

As for Monday’s game itself, the Tigers broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:24 mark of the opening frame on Ritchie’s first tally of the contest. Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna broke down the right-wing in the Moncton zone on a rush.

He fired a shot that went wide of the Moncton net, but the puck rebounded off the boards to Wiesblatt positioned at the right side of the Moncton goal. Wiesblatt passed the puck across the front of the net to Ritchie, who buried a shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers would outshoot the Wildcats 13-11 in the first period, but the Wildcats came with a big push back after the Tigers scored in the frame. Tigers star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin made three big saves that allowed his squad to head into the first intermission with a one-goal lead.

First, Meneghin made a left pad save to deny Wildcats right-winger Alex Mercier on a breakaway. Following that chance, Meneghin denied 19-year-old import right-winger Juraj Pekarcik on a wraparound. Meneghin then made a right pad save to stone Wildcats left-winger Maxime Cote on a chance alone in front of the Medicine Hat net.

The Tigers hit another gear in the second period outshooting the Wildcats 17-6 in the frame. Early in the stanza, Tigers import defenceman Veeti Vaisanen put a shot on net that came out from under Wildcats star 20-year-old netminder Mathis Rousseau and was trickling towards the Moncton net.

Wildcats defenceman Loke Johansson swept the puck out of the crease of the Moncton net to thwart the scoring chance.

The Tigers thought they went up 2-0 when it appeared super rookie right-winger Liam Ruck scored a power-play goal from the front of the Moncton net. Ruck kicked the puck into the goal from outside the crease, which would be a goal in the WHL but is not a goal in the rulebook used at the Memorial Cup. The tally was disallowed and that ruling held up after a video review.

Gavin McKenna had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

Still working on that same power play, Ritchie drove home a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle in the Moncton zone for his second goal of the night to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Just 31 seconds into the third period, the Wildcats got some traction after defenceman Dyllan Gill directed a point shot at the Medicine Hat net that deflected off a Tigers player into the goal. Gill’s mark cut the Tigers lead to 2-1.

With less than two minutes to play in the third, the Wildcats pulled Rousseau for an extra attacker.

The Wildcats had a clunky line change, and with 1:22 remaining in the third, they were called for having too many men on the ice. The infraction seemed to take the wind out of the Wildcats sails when it came to making one last gasp push to get the equalizer.

On the short-handed situation, the Wildcats were able to get Rousseau pulled again to play the Tigers five skaters against five skaters with about 21 seconds remaining in the frame.

With 7.3 seconds remaining in the third, McKenna fired a puck from his own zone and banked the puck off the right post of the Moncton net into the open cage to cement a 3-1 victory for his squad. McKenna’s tally was the rare power-play goal that was scored into an empty net.

Meneghin stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for Medicine Hat. Rousseau turned away 38-of-40 shots to take the setback in net for Moncton.

Star centre Cayden Lindstrom played his first game of the Memorial Cup tournament for the Tigers on Monday. Lindstrom is still on the comeback trail from a long term back injury.

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 21 shots in goal for the Tigers.

The Tigers have won 46 out of their last 54 games including play in the WHL regular season, the WHL Playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

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

-------

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

Tigers take on “Curse of the Drop” at Memorial Cup

Gavin McKenna has had a spectacular season for the Tigers.

The Medicine Hat Tigers are now on the clock to see if the “Curse of the Drop” still lingers.

For the superstitious types, that event took place on May 25, 2008 after the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs downed the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. After receiving the trophy, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton had the Memorial Cup fall apart in his hands as he attempted to give it to veteran defenceman Trevor Glass.

Since that drop, the WHL has only won the Memorial Cup once coming with the Edmonton Oil Kings win in 2014. In 2014, Edmonton captured the WHL and CHL titles that year playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with the Oil Kings 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in June of 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

In the championship game of the 2014 Memorial Cup tournament played in London, Ont., on May 25 of that year, the WHL champion Oil Kings downed the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-3. At the moment, that marks the last time a team from the WHL has won the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions.

The Tigers enter this year’s four-team tournament to be played in Rimouski, Quebec, as WHL champions. They will begin play on Friday taking on the host Rimouski Oceanic at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (5 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

Medicine Hat finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark and posted a 16-2 record in the WHL Playoffs capturing the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. The Tigers were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings that came out on March 25.

The Oceanic were second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 46-14-2-2 mark. They posted a 14-9 record in the QMJHL Playoffs falling in six games in the league championship series to the Moncton Wildcats. Rimouski was rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Currently, the WHL as a league is going through its longest drought of not winning the Memorial Cup. That drought stretches across the last eight straight Memorial Cup tournaments. That includes the tournaments played from 2015 to 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The Memorial Cup tournament wasn’t contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

During the drought, there were a few times the WHL champion was worn down by the grind of the WHL post-season, and while the players tried, they just didn’t have gas in the tank. That included the Swift Current Broncos in 2018 and the Prince Albert Raiders in 2019.

In 2023, the Seattle Thunderbirds made the championship game, when the tournament was played in Kamloops, B.C. On June 4 of that year, the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts blanked the Thunderbirds 5-0 in the tournament final. That allowed then Remparts head coach, general manager and overall hockey icon Patrick Roy to raise the Memorial Cup for a second time.

Harrison Meneghin has been incredible in the WHL post-season.

For whatever reason, it seems like a dark cloud hangs over WHL representatives at the Memorial Cup since the Chiefs drop back in 2008.

This time the WHL sends one of its most storied legacy franchises to the CHL championship tournament in the Tigers. The Tigers and the Kamloops Blazers hold the distinction of collecting the most WHL title wins at six. Medicine Hat has won the Memorial Cup twice coming back in 1987 and 1988.

The Tigers head into the Memorial Cup guided by their legendary head coach and general manager in Willie Desjardins. He is aided by a high caliber staff that works behind the team’s bench.

Of course, Tigers superstar 17-year-old left-winger Gavin McKenna will be the player most hockey fans will be watching at the Memorial Cup. McKenna finished second in the WHL regular season scoring race piling up 129 points coming off 41 goals and 88 assists to go with a plus-60 rating in the plus-minus department in 56 appearances.

McKenna was third in scoring in the WHL Playoffs piling up 38 points on nine goals and 29 assists to go with a plus-14 rating in 16 games.

Overage captain Oasiz Wiesblatt has vaulted his way to legendary status in the history of the Tigers franchise. He finished fifth in the WHL regular season scoring race with 103 points coming off 36 goals and 67 assists to go with a plus-47 rating in 66 appearances. Wiesblatt also had 148 penalty minutes during the regular season.

He was seventh in the scoring race in the WHL Playoffs posting 29 points coming off 14 goals and 15 assists to go with a plus-15 rating in 18 games.

Seemingly, everyone amongst the Tigers forward unit has skill with the big names including Andrew Basha, Cayden Lindstrom, Hunter St. Martin, Ryder Ritchie, Liam Ruck and Marcus Ruck.

Medicine Hat’s starting six on defence are as good as anyone’s in major junior hockey in Tanner Molendyk, Veeti Vaisanen, Bryce Pickford, Jonas Woo, Josh Van Mulligen and Niilopekka Muhonen.

The Tigers have received rock solid play in goal from star 20-year-old netminder Harrison Meneghin, who signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Meneghin played one regular season game with the Lethbridge Hurricanes before being dealt to the Tigers.

In the 36 total regular season games he has played, Meneghin posted a 23-10-1-1 record, a 2.58 goals against average, a .900 save percentage and three shutouts. In 16 appearances in the WHL Playoffs, Meneghin posted a 14-1 record, a 2.35 goals against average, a .906 save percentage and three shutouts. He was named MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

Oasiz Wiesblatt (#7) is the Tigers fearless captain.

Back when the Oil Kings won the Memorial Cup in 2014 to be the only WHL club at the moment to beat the “Curse of the Drop,” they played with special emotion aiming to honour Pelss.

The Tigers might have a similar situation this season. When the Tigers closed their regular season schedule back on March 23 with a 5-2 victory over the Hitmen in Calgary, Meneghin found out about the passing of his father, Derek. Derek’s passing came in an unexpected fashion.

During the post-season, it was obvious Meneghin was playing for his father, and the rest of the Tigers were playing for him. Perhaps what seems like the dark supernatural forces that are haunting WHL teams at the Memorial Cup tournament will take a pass in haunting this year’s Tigers.

Maybe, just maybe, fate will look favourably on Medicine Hat.

Former Blades goalie Elliott spectacular with Knights

Austin Elliott has been a man on a mission after continuing his major junior career in the OHL.

The Strathmore, Alta., product, had been a star netminder for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades playing two complete seasons for “The Bridge City Bunch” from 2022 to 2024. He struggled in the 2024 WHL Playoffs and the Blades turned the starting job over to Evan Gardner. With Gardner in net, the Blades advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in seven games to the eventual WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

As an overager in 2024-25, Elliott started the campaign with the Blades winning all three of his starts with the team posting a 2.33 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. When Gardner returned from NHL training camp activities with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Elliott was cut by the Blades and cleared the WHL waiver wire.

Elliott was actually claimed on CHL waivers by the Barrie Colts, but the powerhouse Knights wanted to bring him to their squad. On October 16, 2024, the Knights dealt a 14^th round selection in the 2026 OHL Draft and a conditional fifth round pick in the 2027 OHL Draft for Elliott. The puck stopper never played a game for the Colts.

Elliott, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 180 pounds, played in 33 regular season games for the Knights posting a 32-1 record, a 2.10 goals against average, a .924 save percentage and three shutouts. Thanks to Elliott’s work, the Knights topped the OHL standings with a 55-11-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings released on March 25.

Austin Elliott in action for the Blades on March 22, 2024.

He started all of the 17 games the Knights played in the OHL Playoffs posting a 16-1 record, a 2.46 goals against average and one shutout as London claimed a second straight league title.

Now, Elliott will try to backstop the storied Knights to a Memorial Cup title. The annual CHL championship tournament is being held in Rimouski, Quebec, and the Knights begin play on Saturday taking on the QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats at the Coliseum Sun Life Financial (4 p.m. Alberta and Saskatchewan time, TSN).

The Wildcats topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-9-2 mark and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Wildcats went 16-3 to capture the league title.

Saturday’s battle between the Knights and Wildcats is viewed as a contest that you have to watch. Elliott might prove to be the difference again for the Knights in that contest in what has been an unbelievable run for him in 2024-25.

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

-------

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