Maier’s heart will always be with Blades, his only WHL team

Record setting netminder sees Saskatoon as second home

Nolan Maier has a WHL record 122 career regular season wins.

Nolan Maier will always wear his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the Saskatoon Blades, and he expects it will take some time to digest his playing career has come to a close with the team.

On top of being the team’s overage star netminder, Maier played his entire WHL career with the Blades. He joined the team full time as a 16-year-old on November 14, 2017.

He came to the Blades after playing for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge that was held jointly that year in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, B.C.

Maier’s WHL career officially came to a close with a 6-3 loss to the Warriors in Moose Jaw in Game 5 of a WHL first round series on Friday, April 29. The Warriors took the best-of-seven series 4-1.

Over the course of five seasons, Maier put a tremendous investment into the Blades and has become fond of Saskatoon as a city itself. Even eight days after the campaign ended, it is a tough pill for Maier to digest that won’t be playing for Saskatoon’s WHL side anymore.

“It is emotional,” said Maier. “I think when you spend a good part of your life in one spot and you get to know a lot of people very well and just like seeing you guys (the media members) every day at the games being around the rink it is very emotional.”

He still feels the sting of the post-season ending loss in Moose Jaw at Mosaic Place.

“It still hurts,” said Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 172 pounds. “I think none of us wanted it to end like that or that way at all.

Nolan Maier has a Blades record 5,788 career regular season saves.

“We all thought we had more in us. I think I’m just more grateful that it happened, and I was around such a great group of guys and coaches and management for my whole time here the whole five years. It has just been an honour for me so far.”

Maier departs the Blades as one the team’s all-time greats. He appeared in 216 career regular season games posting a 122-72-18 record, a 2.89 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

Along with those statistics, Maier has played 12,609 career minutes in goal for the Blades and made 5,788 career saves.

His 122 career regular season wins is a WHL record. Maier’s career shutout, games played, minutes played and saves totals are all Blades regular season franchise records.

Getting the WHL career wins record was Maier’s highlight with the Blades. He took sole possession of the record with his 121^st win that came on April 8 with a 2-0 victory over the archrival Prince Albert Raiders before 4,802 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

Maier made 20 saves to pick up his 12^th and final regular season shutout of his career.

He moved past Corey Hirsch and Tyson Sexsmith for top spot on the WHL’s career regular season wins list. Hirsch and Sexsmith sit tied for second on that list with 120 victories.

Hirsch picked up his 120 victories playing four seasons with the Kamloops Blazers from 1988 to 1992. Sexsmith collected his 120 wins over five seasons with the Vancouver Giants from 2005 to 2009. He also had one non-decision relief appearance for the Medicine Hat Tigers late in the 2004-05 campaign.

Nolan Maier makes a save as a 16-year-old rookie in Nov. 2017.

“It is something I will never forget,” said Maier. “It was kind of the perfect ending just to have it home against P.A. while you get a shutout.

“It was almost like that storybook ending. To get that record definitely means so much, especially just with the same jersey on my back for five years. That definitely meant more to me just to have that.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the team and obviously management for trusting me to play me as much as they did when I was young. That was the only reason I was able to come close. It was something that I will never forget and super special.”

The Yorkton, Sask., product said the WHL wins record wasn’t his greatest achievement with the Blades.

“I think the friendships and the family is what I’m most grateful to achieve,” said Maier. “I think that is something that I will never forget.

“The record, obviously, means a lot to me and is close to my heart, but just the people and everyone that I’ve known and love for the past five years here will be forever.”

Over the past five seasons, the Blades didn’t have any questions in net with Maier playing goal. The Blades will return backup Ethan Chadwick, who is a graduate of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team, and associate player call up Austin Elliott, who played most of 2021-22 with the Notre Dame Hounds in the junior A ranks of the SJHL, to be in the goaltending mix as 18-year-olds in 2022-23.

Maier believes the Blades future is bright in goal with the youngsters.

“It will be fun to watch,” said Maier. “I think I will be able to just see from a different view almost as a fan now and just always keeping an eye on them.

Nolan Maier makes a save versus the Raiders on Dec. 27, 2021.

“They have bright futures, and they just got to stick with it and just kind of play their game, because they are here for a reason. They just have to find their own way and just kind of get as many games in as they can, because that is all you have to do especially coming in as a young person. They’ll be fine.

“I’m extremely happy to kind of see their careers unfold.”

As for his future in hockey, Maier doesn’t know what is going to happen. While he has put of great statistics, the 21-year-old has never been drafted by an NHL team or even invited to an NHL training camp.

The fact he stands just 6-feet tall and isn’t at least 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3 is the obvious drawback as most NHL personal look at size in goaltenders.

Maier said he doesn’t let the lack of NHL opportunities bother him.

“It used to drive me nuts,” said Maier. “It is just that nothing has unfolded yet.

“I’m just looking forward to hopefully something happening this summer. I’m just getting ready for any chance I get.”

Maier is still hoping to play professionally. If that doesn’t work out, he would like to play for a post-secondary school team.

The veteran netminder said he has talked to a lot of post-secondary school teams, but he hasn’t gone any further on that route.

Nolan Maier (#73) departs the Blades as one of their all-time greats.

“I don’t have one picked at all or if I am going to go the school route,” said Maier. “I’m just trying to digest everything kind of coming to an end here.

“I don’t what the future is going to hold, but I will know later on.”

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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Warriors whack Blades out of WHL Playoffs

Moose Jaw advances with 6-3 victory in Game 5

Jagger Firkus had two goals and an assist for the Warriors on Friday.

The Moose Jaw Warriors put on a performance that would have had the locals partying the night away at the Rocking Royal in the old days of “The Crushed Can.”

On Friday, the Warriors downed the visiting Saskatoon Blades 6-3 in Game 5 of a WHL first round playoff series between the two sides played before 3,364 pumped up spectators at Mosaic Place. The victory allowed the Warriors to claim the best-of-seven series against the Blades 4-1.

The Warriors now wait to see who they will play in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Back in the days when the Warriors skated in their old long time the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was also known as “The Crushed Can,” a Friday night series win would have had the locals in Moose Jaw scurrying off to the Rocking Royal bar located in the Royal Hotel to celebrate the victory well into the early hours of the next morning.

Both the Civic Centre and the Royal Hotel have long been demolished, but locals can still enjoy Friday’s victory moment in pubs that are in walking distance of the Warriors current downtown rink home.

While the Warriors took the series-clinching contest against the Blades by a comfortable margin on the scoreboard, the Game 5 clash between the two sides was an intense one that had a bit of a rivalry feel to it.

The Warriors came flying out of the gate to start Friday’s game. At the 5:55 mark of the opening frame, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager centred the puck from behind the Saskatoon goal to star right-winger Jagger Firkus, and Firkus blasted home the game’s first goal to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

Denton Mateychuk had the Warriors second goal in Game 5.

At the 9:08 mark, Firkus, who was celebrating his 18^th birthday on Friday, teamed with Warriors star right-winger Ryder Korczak to set up offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk for a power-play goal that gave Moose Jaw a 2-0 advantage. Mateychuk wired home his first of the post-season from just above the left faceoff circle in the Saskatoon zone.

Before the opening frame drew to a close, the Blades got a traction moment to get back into the game. While working on the power play, Blades standout left-winger Brandon Lisowsky fired a shot that was deflected by star centre Josh Pillar and then was accidently knocked into the Moose Jaw net by the hand of Warriors left-winger Calder Anderson.

Pillar ultimately got credit for the goal that cut the Warriors lead to 2-1 with 5:58 remaining in the first.

The Warriors restored their two-goal advantage at the 8:52 mark of the second. Mateychuk fired a shot from the point that rebounded out to Firkus at the left side of the Saskatoon goal. Firkus slipped in his second marker to increase the Warriors edge to 3-1.

The rivalry showed up 40 seconds after Firkus’s second tally of the contest as Blades left-winger Josh Paulhus engaged Warriors import left-winger Robert Baco in a fight.

With seven minutes remaining in the second, the Blades were buzzing in the Warriors zone. Blades import left-winger Egor Sidorov made a backhanded pass to Pillar, who was positioned for a midrange shot straight out from the left post of the Moose Jaw goal.

Tristen Robins had an assist for the Blades on Friday.

Pillar blasted a shot through a screen for his second marker of the contest that cut the Warriors lead to 3-2.

At the start of the third, the Blades found themselves on the penalty kill. During that kill, they had a huge chance to score the equalizer as centre Trevor Wong found himself on a short-handed breakaway, but he was stoned trying to shoot the puck between the legs of Warriors overage star netminder Carl Tetachuk.

Moose Jaw then got a goal from rookie right-winger Thomas Tien, who was skating in his first WHL playoff game. Tien corralled a long flip pass to get sprung into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway.

He snapped home his first career WHL post-season goal at the 5:26 mark of the third to restore the Warriors two-goal edge at 4-2.

Again, the Blades wouldn’t back down. With 7:13 remaining in the third, Blades right-winger Noah Boyko had the puck in the left corner of the Moose Jaw zone. He centred the puck to Wong, who blasted home his first of the post-season to cut the Warriors lead to 4-3.

With 3:38 remaining in the third, the Warriors finally got the dagger goal that put the game away, when centre Atley Calvert knocked home his second of the playoffs from the front of the Saskatoon goal after collecting the rebound from a point shot taken by Mateychuk.

Baco rounded out the 6-3 final scoring a long range empty-net goal for the Warriors from his own blue-line with 1:51 remaining in the third.

Robert Baco scored a long range empty-net goal for the Warriors.

Tempers proceeded to flare up with the issue decided on the scoreboard as a scrum broke out with a minute remaining in the third. Out of that scrum, Wiens and Tien engaged in a fight.

Inside of the final seven seconds of the third, the officials gave Blades overage defenceman Rhett Rhinehart a 10-minute misconduct, when he started to get a little testy on the ice.

Tetachuk made 26 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors. Blades star overage netminder Nolan Maier turned away 35-of-40 shots to take the setback in net for Saskatoon.

The loss brought an end to the WHL careers of Maier, Rhinehart and Blades overage captain Tristen Robins, who all age out of the major junior ranks. Robins picked up an assist in the Game 5 loss on Friday.

During the regular season, the Warriors collected 81 standings points to finish fourth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-24-4-3 mark. They just edged out the Blades, who finished fifth in the Eastern Conference with 80 standings points coming from a 38-26-3-1 record.

Saskatoon had won six of the eight head-to-head meetings in the regular season with Moose Jaw, but that type of result didn’t materialize in the playoffs.

The Warriors seemed to want the post-season series just a touch more than the Blades did, and it was noticeable on the ice. 

Nolan Maier made 35 saves for the Blades on Friday.

That little extra jump has the Warriors advancing onward on the WHL playoff trail.

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No goal by Raiders’ Fonstad a tough hockey call

A bump by Max Martin (#10) into goalie Brody Willms created debate.

    It was one of those plays that could create great debate in a referees teaching seminar let alone among fans.

    With the dust settled, referees Jeff Ingram and Colin Watt along with linesmen Tarrington Wyonzek and Ethan Cronkhite should receive high marks for how they handled the no goal situation involving a disallowed tally by Prince Albert Raiders right-winger Cole Fonstad on Wednesday night.

    For a quick review, the Raiders were hosting the Moose Jaw Warriors in Game 4 of a best-of-seven WHL first round series before 2,827 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. With the Warriors holding a 1-0 lead, Raiders captain Curtis Miske broke down the right wing and fired a shot on Warriors netminder Brody Willms.

    The shot rebounded long off Willms to the left side of the Moose Jaw goal. Fonstad pounced on the loose puck and fired home what appeared to be the equalizer to tie things up a 1-1 at the 10:24 mark of the frame. The official behind the net immediately waved the goal off.

Cole Fonstad saw his Game 4 be disallowed.

    After a long conference at the penalty box area, Fonstad’s goal was disallowed as it was ruled Raiders defenceman Max Martin made incidental contact with Willms.

    The Warriors later scored into an empty net with 15.6 seconds remaining in the third to seal a 2-0 victory and take a 3-1 lead in the series. They will try to close out the set tonight at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

    In the aftermath of Game 4, the big controversy surrounded the fact that Fonstad’s third period goal was disallowed.

    The officials handled the situation properly. The referee behind the net emphatically made a signal that the goal was no good.

    With the play brought to a stop, the officials had a conference to go over what happened. As the call to take away the goal was an incidental contact call on Martin, the officials by rule weren’t able to use the assistance of replay in that situation, so unless another official on the ice can definitively say the call should be overturned, the original call has to stand.

    In viewing the replay, Martin’s contact with Willms happened outside the crease, but Willms still had his right foot just barely in the blue paint of the crease. In WHL games I have seen this season, the trend has been for officials to call no goal due to incidental contact in those situations, so the officials stayed consistent with how that situation had been called all season.

    On the replays, it looked like Warriors Russian import defenceman Dmitri Zaitsev was trying to force Martin away from the Moose Jaw goal and ended up guided the Raiders rearguard into Willms. Under that situation, Fonstad’s goal should count.

Goalie Brody Willms was bumped in Game 4.

    In seeing the play develop once at full speed, it is uncertain how much of Zaitsev’s actions the officials saw, and if they did see them, it is possible they could rule there was enough time for Martin to recover and avoid the goalie.

    It should be noted Martin tapped into Willms, so the contact wasn’t malicious by any means.

    Having seen the play live and checked out available replays, that call could have gone either way by being ruled no goal or a goal. I am fine with whatever way the officials called it.

    It was a tough hockey call.

    Unfortunately for the Raiders and their supporters, the tough call went against their team.

    To the Raiders credit, they didn’t allow that call to deflate them. Over the final 9:36 of the third, they played hard and created good scoring chances but couldn’t find the equalizer.

    The hard pill to swallow on the Raiders side was that they likely deserved a better result in that game and likely deserve better than to be down 3-1 in that series.

    The Raiders handled the post-game scrums well. Head coach Marc Habscheid and Martin said they disagreed with the officials’ judgment on the no goal. Habscheid express concerns about critical breaks with calls that didn’t go his club’s way in each of the previous two games.

    The comments were made in a respectable fashion and were honest.

Defenceman Max Martin was on the unfortunate wrong end of a tough call.

    The Warriors had to be credited with how well they handled the post-game media scrums as well. Moose Jaw head coach Tim Hunter said it was a disallowed goal, and with how fast the officials made their initial call, that was all Hunter really needed to say.

    Willms said the contact impeded him from getting across the crease, and he gave an honest answer.

    Overall, Moose Jaw has to be credited with finding a way to get a 3-1 edge in the series.

    The media present at that contest handled the whole situation surrounding Fonstad’s disallowed goal well.

    The Raiders fans that disagreed with the call showed their disagreement in a respectable fashion on social media after the game. They unleashed loud boos when the call was made in the third period, but no one did anything over the line crazy. The Raiders fans handled things well.

The Warriors are in position to win their playoff series with the Raiders.

    At the NHL level, there has been talk of dissatisfaction with how the whole concept of goalie interference has been dealt with this season.

    It is highly likely the whole rule will be revisited and debated at various league meetings in the NHL and WHL in the off-season.

    For now, the call to disallow Fonstad’s goal was just a tough call.

    It was nice to see all parties including the officials, the Raiders, the Warriors, the media and the fans treat that situation respectfully.

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

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Pats/Warriors rivalry evolves

Punch ups of the past replaced by speed and skill

Altercations like these are no longer frequent at Pats vs. Warriors games.

    REGINA – Welcome to the new era feud between the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors, and if you are an ardent fan from the past, you might not recognize it.

    Separated by about a 71-kilometre stretch on the Trans-Canada Highway, the Pats and Warriors have engaged in arguably the greatest rivalry in the Canadian Hockey League dating back to 1984, when the Warriors moved from Winnipeg to the friendly small Saskatchewan city of Moose Jaw.

    For a majority of the history of this rivalry, the clashes between the Pats and Warriors were punctuated by three-hour games that includes multiple fights and line brawls. Fans on both sides got into various over-the-line antics in the stands to create wild atmospheres any time these two clubs met.

    Over the past 10 years, the image of the rivalry has changed much like hockey has changed thanks to a sharp decrease in fighting. On Saturday in Regina, these two arch-rivals met in a sold out Brandt Centre skating in as two of the elite teams in major junior hockey. The contest was played at a fast pace that featured momentum changes, skill, great goaltending and a total of six minor penalties.

Jake Leschyshyn (#19) and Noah Gregor (#22) battle for a draw.

    The Warriors skated away with a 4-1 victory that included an empty net goal thanks to a spectacular 39 save performance by star netminder Zach Sawchenko. Pats goalie Tyler Brown was stellar too turning away 34 of 37 shots he faced.

    The closest thing to an altercation came just over four minutes into the third period, when Pats star captain Adam Brooks had a lengthy wrestling match with Warriors defenceman Josh Brook. Each received a minor penalty for roughing.

    At the end of the game, there was a minor scrum in the left corner of the Moose Jaw zone. In the old days with a three-goal difference on the scoreboard, a line brawl would have definitely broken out.

Warriors goalie Zach Sawchenko stops Pats captain Adam Brooks (#77).

    When the scrum neared Sawchenko, he kind of glided away from it in a whatever type fashion. In a different time, another goalie in that same instance might have taken liberty to throw a few shots.

    The officials calmly separated the scrum and no penalties were called.  

    The gathering of 6,484 spectators, which did include a healthy contingent from Moose Jaw, seemed pretty engaged with the action. There no punch ups or incidents in the stands, and it seemed like the spectators preferred to engage more in firing off some good-natured jabs at each other.

    No mascots had to be healthy scratched like in the final game of the 1999-2000 campaign in Regina. In that clash, the Pats gave dog mascot, K9, and polar bear mascot, Pat, the night off due to fears of retaliation because some Pats fans punched Warriors mascot, Puckhead, in the head the night before in Moose Jaw.

Warriors fans cheer their team on in the Brandt Centre.

    On Saturday, the fans were still cheering hard for their teams, and that was one fact that didn’t change. When the Warriors carried play during the first 10 minutes of the first period and through the second stanza, their fans tried to make the Brandt Centre sound like the rowdy old Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was best known as “The Crushed Can.” The Civic Centre has been demolished and replaced by the comfortable and modern confines of Mosaic Place in recent times.

    When the Pats carried play during the final 10 minutes of the first period and through the third frame, their fans got into the contest to back their side. One had to also chuckle from the fact the Pats fans made the loudest “boos” of the night, when it was announced in the third period a patron from Moose Jaw won the night’s 50/50 draw.

Pats centre Jake Leschyshyn (#19) wins a battle along the boards.

    During the post-game interviews with each side, it felt like a professionalism was there. Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock, Pats defenceman Connor Hobbs and Warriors head coach Tim Hunter went through the ins and outs of various aspects of the game. There was a focus from each side about what improvements had to be made going forward.

    While the thoughts of the rivalry were there, the Warriors, who improved to 25-9-6-1, weren’t that much over excited about the win, and the Pats, who fell to 27-4-6-1, weren’t noticeably more disappointed than normal about the loss.

Tyler Brown holds the fort in the Pats goal.

    Back in what seems like a forgotten era now, each side would be accusing the other of doing something underhanded during the game. Also, the victor would celebrate like the Memorial Cup was won, and at times, some members of the losing side would fire their helmets down the hallway in disgust followed by an assortment of curse words.

    Sawchenko, who has played his whole career in Moose Jaw, did give a nod to the rivalry.

    “Obviously, it is the best rivalry in the CHL,” said the 19-year-old puck stopper. “Being a part of it for four years now I truly believe that.

    “It is something pretty special. It is obviously not too hard to get up for a game against Regina. It is something pretty cool to hear our fan buses quiet the whole building tonight.”

Warriors captain Brett Howden looks to get past Pats centre Sam Steel.

    In the past, each side cheered against a villain from the other side. Warriors fans despised former Pats captain Barret Jackman, and Pats fans wished former Warriors captain Sean O’Connor would just disappear.

    And who could forget in the late 1980s when the song “Pop Goes the Weasel” played in Regina when Theo Fleury took the ice for the Warriors.

    The modern version of the rivalry is still intense. The hatred definitely isn’t there like it once was.

    Now, you get two top quality teams going at it putting on a great display of the game, and you have two fan bases that are just the right amount into the game. You add it all up, and it is still an enjoyable night out at the rink.

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