Thunderbirds on the clock to end WHL’s Memorial Cup woes

Colton Dach scored a key goal in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

Will the Seattle Thunderbirds end the WHL’s drought when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup?

That will be the burning question for WHL followers when the Thunderbirds take the ice in the title game of the CHL’s championship tournament. They will go up against the QMJHL champion Quebec Remparts on Sunday at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C., at 4 p.m. local time. The winner claims junior hockey’s most prestigious trophy in the Memorial Cup.

On paper, this has the makings to be a heavyweight tilt that produces a classic of a championship game. Both the Thunderbirds and Remparts have been two of the CHL’s top clubs throughout the 2022-23 campaign.

The Thunderbirds topped the WHL’s Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

In the WHL Playoffs, the Thunderbird proceeded to win the league title posting a 16-3 mark.

The Remparts finished first overall in the QMJHL regular season standings with a 53-12-1-2 record and were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the QMJHL Playoffs, the Remparts proceeded to win the league crown posting a 16-2 mark.

In the round robin game held this past Monday between the two sides at the Memorial Cup tournament, the Remparts slipped past the Thunderbirds 3-1, but Seattle held a 36-22 edge in shots on goal. Both teams posted identical 2-1 records in the round robin portion of the event, and the Remparts were given first place and a bye to the event’s championship game due to the head-to-head victory over the Thunderbirds.

Brad Lambert scored Seattle’s first goal in the Memorial Cup semifinal.

Seattle downed the OHL champion Peterborough Petes 4-1 in a semifinal contest on Friday to advance to the tournament’s championship game. With the win over the Petes, the Thunderbirds were officially put “on the clock” to try and end the WHL’s drought when it comes to winning the Memorial Cup.

The Edmonton Oil Kings were the last team from the WHL to win the Memorial Cup, and that victory came back 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.

The WHL is currently in its longest drought as a league of not being able to win the Memorial Cup spanning six seasons from 2015 to 2019 and 2022. The Memorial Cup tournament wasn’t contested in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Clubs from the WHL became eligible to play for the Memorial Cup on a regular basis in the 1970-71 campaign. If the Thunderbirds lose in the CHL’s title game on Sunday, the WHL’s drought will grow to seven seasons creating a new distinction for the drought.

Since the WHL first hit the ice as a circuit for the 1966-67 campaign, the longest it has gone without a Memorial Cup win is seven seasons. That drought included years the WHL wasn’t eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup as the circuit was originally viewed as an “outlaw league” by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association that governed the game in Canada at that time.

The WHL didn’t have any Memorial Cup victories in its first seven seasons of existence, and that winless run came to an end when the Regina Pats won storied trophy for the third time in team history to conclude the 1973-74 campaign.

Kyle Crnkovic scored Seattle’s third goal on Friday.

For a moment, the possibility existed that there wouldn’t be a WHL team in this year’s championship game at the Memorial Cup tournament. On Thursday, the Petes met the host Blazers in a standings tiebreaking game as both teams were 1-2 in round robin play.

Despite not winning the WHL title, the Blazers had a fairly stellar campaign in 2022-23. They finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Blazers won their first eight straight games in the WHL Playoffs to advance to the Western Conference Championship Series. They fell in six games in that set to the Thunderbirds.

The Petes were the Cinderella team of CHL’s post-season. They finish 10^th in the overall OHL regular season standings with a 35-29-2-2 record. Despite being an afterthought when the post-season began, the Petes proceeded to win the OHL title posting a 16-7 record in the OHL Playoffs.

In the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup tournament, the Blazers pummeled the Petes 10-2 on May 28. The Blazers held a 4-1 lead early in the second period of Thursday’s tiebreaking game and appeared to be set to cruise to victory.

The Petes caught fired and evened the score 4-4 by the end of the second period. The contest ultimately went to overtime and Petes 19-year-old left-winger J.R. Avon scored the winner at the 10:54 mark of extra time to give the Petes a 5-4 victory.

Going into Friday’s semifinal between the Petes and Thunderbirds, one had to wonder if the Petes were going to see their Cinderella run through to getting their hands on the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately for the Petes, the fact that they were playing their fifth game in seven days caught up with them on the fatigue front.

Thomas Milic made 27 saves in Seattle’s Memorial Cup semifinal win.

The Petes looked fatigued in that clash, but they stayed in the game thanks to a spectacular effort by their star netminder in Michael Simpson. Simpson kept the Thunderbirds off the scoreboard until being beaten by star Seattle centre Brad Lambert with 4:28 remaining in the second period. Lambert’s tally gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 edge.

Power forward Colton Dach scored 88 seconds into the third to push the Thunderbirds lead out to 2-0. The Petes responded 73 seconds later with a goal from left-winger Brennan Othmann to cut the Seattle lead to 2-1.

Seattle put the contest away with a goal by star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic just before the midway point of the frame and an empty-net tally from standout left-winger Nico Myatovic to round out the 4-1 win. 

Star netminder Thomas Milic made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds, while Simpson turned away 43-of-46 shots in the campaign ending setback for the Petes.

Unfortunately for the loaded up Thunderbirds, they could be running into a buzzsaw with the Remparts, whose level of play might be raised by their own emotional motivation. The Memorial Cup title game could be the last ride with the Remparts for “Saint Patrick.”

Hockey legend Patrick Roy, who is the Remparts head coach and general manager, is involved in speculation with regards to NHL head coaching vacancies. The Remparts players could be motivated to see the 57-year-old Roy departs on an ultimate high note.

The Remparts starting star netminder William Rousseau has been solid during the tournament stopping 87-of-95 shots for a .916 save percentage and a 2.93 goals against average.

Nico Myatovic scored an empty-net goal on Friday night.

You can expect the Thunderbirds will give their best to try and win their first Memorial Cup title in team history. If they fall in the CHL’s title game on Sunday, one has to wonder how far the WHL’s Memorial Cup drought will go.

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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Thunderbirds perch on WHL mountaintop as champs

Seattle captures second league title in team history

The Thunderbirds are WHL champs. (Photo courtesy Seattle Thunderbirds)

The unsung heroes sealed the WHL championship celebration for the Seattle Thunderbirds.

On Friday night, the Thunderbirds got goals from 19-year-old checking centre Sam Popowich and standout 18-year-old left-winger Nico Myatovic to skate away with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Ice in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series before a sellout crowd of 6,202 at the Accesso ShoWare Centre in Kent, Wash.

With the win, the Thunderbirds claimed the best-of-seven series with the Ice 4-1 and captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions for the second time in team history. The Thunderbirds won their first WHL title in 2017 in an era where Mathew Barzal and Ethan Bear starred for the team.

In 2017, Seattle captured the WHL title with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6 of the championship series in Regina against the host Pats courtesy of Alexander True’s winner to take that series 4-2. On Friday, the Thunderbirds won the league title in front of a raucous home crowd that stood and saluted the team as the final seconds of the third period ticked away.

While the Thunderbirds got key goals from Popowich and Myatovic in Game 5, one of their best known heroes in netminder Thomas Milic came through with another big performance. He made 30 saves in Friday’s victory. On top of making key stops, Milic seemed to have the Ice’s best player off balance as they started to look hesitant and seemed to be second guessing some of their shot choices.

On top of backstopping the Thunderbirds to a league championship, Milic was named the MVP of the WHL Playoffs. Milic was the only goalie the Thunderbirds used in their 19 post-season games, and he posted a 16-3 record, a 1.95 goals against average, a .933 save percentage and one shutout.

Lucas Ciona, left, gets the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

The Coquitlam, B.C., product had to assert himself early in Friday’s contest. Early in the first period, Ice right-winger Owen Pederson, who turned 21-years-old in March, was turned away on a close in opportunity thanks to a right pad save by Milic. Later in the first period, Milic stopped Ice star centre Matthew Savoie on a dangerous scoring opportunity from the right faceoff circle on a Winnipeg power-play chance.

The Thunderbirds got a boost on Friday returning standout centre Jordan Gustafson, who turned 19-years-old in January, to their lineup. During the Thunderbirds six-game Western Conference Championship Series win over the Kamloops Blazers, it is suspected Gustafson was injured as part of the celebration for offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel’s overtime winner in Game 2 of that set claimed by the Thunderbirds 4-3 on April 30.

The Thunderbirds healthy scratched 19-year-old forward Ashton McNelly to make room for Gustafson.

The Ice were without 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 on April 22 of the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Late in the first period, Gustafson had a big chance to open the game’s scoring when he found himself on a breakaway. He snapped a shot that got past Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser but rang it off the post of the Winnipeg net. The puck landed in front of the goal-line of the Winnipeg net before it was swept away by Hauser.

Thomas Milic, left, is named MVP of the WHL Playoffs.

At the conclusion of the first period, the contest was scoreless with the Ice holding an 11-9 edge in shots on goal. The contest remained scoreless until there was 6:45 remaining in the second period, when Popowich broke the ice for the Thunderbirds.

Standing in front of the Winnipeg net, Popowich gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead tipping home a shot taken from the right point by Hanzel. That tally was Popowich’s second post-season goal to go with five assists appearing in all of the Thunderbirds 19 games in the WHL Playoffs. Popowich, who is in his third full season with Seattle, appeared in all of the Thunderbirds 68 regular season contests recording nine goal, 14 assists and a plus-14 rating in the plus-minus department.

At the 2:27 mark of the third, Myatovic forced the Ice into an error he was ultimately able to cash in on. Myatovic had a breakaway on the Winnipeg net, but he was chopped down by diving Ice defenceman Graham Sward. The officials award Myatovic a penalty shot.

On the penalty shot, Myatovic put a deke on Hauser going forehand to backhand to forehand before snapping a shot into the Winnipeg net to give the host side a 2-0 advantage. Skating through his third season with the Thunderbirds, Myatovic had a breakout campaign appearing in all of his club’s 68 regular season contests recording career highs in goals (30), assists (30), points (60) and plus-minus (plus-43).

The Prince George, B.C., product’s production was a bit more quiet as he skated in all his squad’s 19 post-season games recording four goals, three assists, seven points and a plus-eight rating.

Thunderbirds fans cheer on their team.

The Ice didn’t go away. At the 5:02 mark of the third, hard working left-winger Evan Friesen snapped a midrange shot home through a screen to cut the Thunderbirds advantage to 2-1.

With 4:20 remaining in the third, the Ice had a huge chance to get the equalizer, when Thunderbirds captain Lucas Ciona was given a minor penalty for boarding. Due to good work by the Thunderbirds penalty killers and the Ice players second guessing shot opportunities, the Winnipeg side wasn’t able to manufacture any good scoring chances with that opportunity with the man advantage.

After that penalty was killed, the Ice pulled Hauser with 1:52 remaining in the third for an extra attacker. With 66 seconds remaining in the third, Thunderbirds star right-winger Dylan Guenther got a pass to star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic to send Crnkovic in alone on the empty Winnipeg net. Crnkovic put home the empty-net goal to seal the Thunderbirds 3-1 victory.

Hauser turned away 35-of-37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Ice.  

The WHL final between the Ice and Thunderbirds was expected to be a heavyweight tilt.

Winnipeg topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

Daniel Hauser contemplates the Ice’s loss in the WHL final.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams and seven players who participated in the last world juniors. Winnipeg’s roster contained eight players who have been drafted by NHL teams and one player who participated in the last world juniors.

Winnipeg won the opening game of the series, before Seattle roared back with four straight victories. Heading into the WHL Championship Series, the Ice hadn’t lost more than two in a row at any part of the 2022-23 campaign.

Last season, Seattle fell in six games in the WHL final to the Edmonton Oil Kings, while the Ice fell in five games to the Oil Kings in the Eastern Conference Championship Series.

Now, the Thunderbirds will head to the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup runs from May 26 to June 4 at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, B.C.

The Blazers, who are the tournament hosts, open the event hosting the QMJHL champion on Friday, May 26 at 6 p.m. local time. The Thunderbirds will take on the OHL champion on Saturday, May 27 at 3 p.m. local time.

The QMJHL and OHL championship series are still in progress. The Quebec Remparts lead the Halifax Mooseheads 3-2 in the QMJHL final, and the Peterborough Petes lead the London Knights 3-2 in the OHL final.

The Thunderbirds will undoubtedly get rest before turning their attention towards the Memorial Cup tournament.

Thomas Milic skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

No matter what happens there, they will never forget their WHL title clinching win and the celebration that followed with their home fans on what turned out to be magical night for the host side at the Accesso ShoWare Center.

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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Thunderbirds one win away from WHL title

Seattle downs Ice 4-2 for frantic Game 4 victory

The Thunderbirds are one win away from claiming the WHL title.

Dylan Guenther picked an opportune time to break the Ice.

On Wednesday night at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., the host Seattle Thunderbirds were locked in a 2-2 tie with the Winnipeg Ice in Game 4 of the WHL Championship Series going into the third period. During most of the first seven minutes of the third, the Ice had the Thunderbirds pinned in their own zone and at one point held a 6-1 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

It seemed like the Ice were in the groove to get the go-ahead goal to take the contest and even the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Guenther helped the Thunderbirds flip the script. At the 7:47 mark of the third, Thunderbirds standout left-winger Reid Schaefer got the puck in the right corner in the Winnipeg zone.

Schaefer centred the puck to Guenther, who one-timed a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle past Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser to put the Thunderbirds up 3-2. That tally, which was Guenther’s WHL leading 16^th of the post-season, energized the host side, and the Thunderbirds carried play for most of the rest of the frame.

Thunderbirds standout left-winger Nico Myatovic scored into an empty net with 7.4 seconds remaining in the third to seal a 4-2 victory to the delight of a raucous gathering of 4,104 spectators.

With the win, the Thunderbirds take a 3-1 lead in the series. They will try to close out the set and win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions when they host Game 5 on Friday at the Accesso ShoWare Centre for a 7 p.m. local start time.

The Thunderbirds only WHL title came back in the 2016-17 campaign when Mathew Barzal and Ethan Bear were starring for the team. Seattle captured the WHL title that season with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 6 of the championship series in Regina against the host Pats courtesy of Alexander True’s winner.

Thomas Milic made 31 saves for the Thunderbirds on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s Game 4 clash between the Thunderbirds and the Ice was an outstanding contest that showcased the WHL at its best. The game could have turned into a 1980s firewagon style shootout, but the star netminders on both sides were on fire.

Thomas Milic made 31 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds, who have won the last three straight games in the series. Hauser turned away 33-of-36 shots to take the setback in net for the Ice.

Winnipeg came out flying at the start of Wednesday’s game. Early in the first period, Ice right-winger Owen Pederson jetted into the Seattle zone on a breakaway, but he missed the net with his shot. A short time later, Ice star centre Matthew Savoie and import left-winger Vladislav Shilo were stopped on back-to-back close in chances by Milic.

The visitors finally broke through on the scoreboard with 3:35 remaining in the first period thanks to some great hustle by Ice standout right-winger Carson Latimer. Ice defenceman Graham Sward made a high clear into the Seattle zone and the puck sat loose halfway between the blue-line and goal-line.

Latimer beat Thunderbirds offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel in a race for the puck and popped a close in shot to the top right corner of the Seattle net to give the Ice a 1-0 lead.

The Thunderbirds evened the score at 1-1, when star offensive-defenceman Kevin Korchinski wired home a midrange shot through a screen with 16.3 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

At the 4:31 mark of the second, the Thunderbirds struck on the power play thanks to a friendly bounce off the boards. Hanzel fired a shot from the point that bounced off the boards behind the Winnipeg goal right to Thunderbirds standout rookie centre Gracyn Sawchyn at the doorstep on the left side of the Winnipeg net.

Carson Latimer scored for the Ice on Wednesday.

Sawchyn quickly popped the puck home to give the host side a 2-1 edge.

Just over four minutes later, Ice star offensive-defenceman Ben Zloty, who turned 21-years-old in February, directed a shot on goal from the point and the rebound came out to hard working Ice left-winger Evan Friesen, who was left alone in front of the Seattle net. Friesen slipped home the equalizer that evened the score at 2-2.

With 9:06 remaining in the second, Latimer thought he scored his second of the contest to put the Ice in front 3-2 knocking a mid-level high puck home past Milic. The officials went to a video review and concluded Latimer knocked the puck home with his right glove and disallowed the goal to cause the contest to remain even at 2-2.

That set the stage for the dramatics in the third period.

The WHL final between the Ice and Thunderbirds is expected to be a heavyweight tilt.

Winnipeg topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and was rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The 57 wins and 115 standings points are new franchise records for the Ice.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

Daniel Hauser made 33 saves for the Ice on Wednesday.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams and seven players who participated in the last world juniors. Winnipeg’s roster contained eight players who have been drafted by NHL teams and one player who participated in the last world juniors.

Each side has played the first four games of the WHL final with one notable absence each due to injury.

The Thunderbirds were without standout centre Jordan Gustafson, who turned 19-years-old in January. During the Thunderbirds six-game Western Conference Championship Series win over the Kamloops Blazers, it is suspected Gustafson was injured as part of the celebration for Hanzel’s overtime winner in Game 2 of that set claimed by the Thunderbirds 4-3.

The Ice were without 19-year-old defenceman Wyatt Wilson, who was injured in Game 5 of the team’s Eastern Conference semifinal series win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Due to the fact the Thunderbirds have never clinched a WHL Championship Series at home, it is expected the Accesso ShoWare Centre will be more raucous than normal with fans hoping to see a trophy presentation and enjoy the championship celebrations well into the night.

The Ice for their part should not be written off. If they can win Game 5, the final two games of the series will be played at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg. If needed, Game 6 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. local time start at the Canada Life Centre.

Gracyn Sawchyn scored for the Thunderbirds on Wednesday.

At the moment, the Ice are looking to just get one win to make the series shift back to Winnipeg. The Thunderbirds will be looking to get the party started on Friday night raising the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions for a second time.

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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Thunderbirds in command of Western Conference final

Blazers fall in OT heartbreaker in Game 2

Jeremy Hanzel had the OT winner for Seattle on Sunday.

When it comes to the WHL Playoffs, Seattle Thunderbirds fans can rightfully break into chants of “undefeated,” if they wanted to.

The Thunderbirds opened the WHL’s Western Conference Championships series against the Kamloops Blazers winning the first two contests at home to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. The Thunderbirds claimed a 5-1 victory in Game 1 on Saturday and rallied from being down 3-1 to pull out a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2 on Sunday.

With those wins, the Thunderbirds have a perfect 10-0 record in the WHL post-season outscoring their opposition 48-13. The Blazers, who will host the Memorial Cup tournament to determine a CHL champion, were 8-0 in the post-season before facing the Thunderbirds in the first two games of the Western Conference final held at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.

In Game 1 played before 6,023 spectators on Saturday, Thunderbirds star centre Jared Davidson opened the contest’s scoring with three minutes remaining in the first period, and standout Thunderbirds right-winger Nico Myatovic tallied at the 13:44 mark of the second to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage. With 3:49 remaining in the second, Blazers star offensive-defenceman Olen Zellweger netted his eighth of the post-season to cut the Thunderbirds lead to 2-1.

The 2-1 score held up until the Thunderbirds rolled off a three-goal surge starting at the 10:19 mark of the third to round out the game’s scoring. Star centre Dylan Guenther started the surge scoring at the 10:19 mark of the third, Davidson added his second of the contest just over four minutes later and standout rookie centre Gracyn Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in January, closed the surge with a single on the power play with 3:47 remaining in the third.

Davidson had an assist to go with his goal for a three-point night, while Guenther had an assist to go with his goal for a two-point night.

Logan Stankoven

Star netminder Thomas Milic made 24 saves to earn the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Star netminder Dylan Ernst turned away 30 shots to take the setback in net for the Blazers.

In Game 2 played before 4,677 spectators, the Blazers got a good jump out on the Thunderbirds. With 39.2 seconds remaining in the first, Blazers star left-winger Caedan Bankier gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Just 59 seconds into the second, Zellweger potted his ninth of the post-season scoring on the power play to push the Blazers lead out to 2-0. He potted home a loose puck sitting in front of the Seattle net after a rebound from a long shot taken by star centre Logan Stankoven.

At the 7:33 mark of the second, Thunderbirds star left-winger and captain Lucas Ciona tallied on the power play to cut the Blazers lead to 2-1.

Momentum proceeded to swing back in favour of the Blazers at the 12:30 mark of the second, when Thunderbirds star 21-year-old left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was given a double minor for high-sticking. The infraction will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Blazers pushed their advantage out to 3-1 when star right-winger Matthew Seminoff scored on the ensuing power play goal at the 12:53 mark of the second. Seattle managed to kill of the second part of Crnkovic’s double minor.

With 4:04 remaining in the second, the Thunderbirds got a key traction goal from power-forward Colton Dach to trim the Kamloops lead to 3-2.

Brad Lambert had the equalizer for Seattle on Sunday.

The Blazers would proceed to take an undisciplined penalty with 4.1 seconds remaining in the second that would prove to be costly. After the play was whistled down for an offside call, Bankier used his shoulder to deck an unsuspecting Dach dropping the Thunderbirds centre behind the ice away from the play. Bankier was given a minor penalty for roughing, and Dach stayed in the contest.

Just nine seconds after Bankier’s penalty expired in the third, the Thunderbirds were still buzzing with the puck in the Blazers zone. Thunderbirds offensive-defenceman Jeremy Hanzel cycled down the left side boards in the Kamloops zone and fed a pass across the face of the net to Thunderbirds star centre Brad Lambert. Lambert tapped home the puck backdoor at the right post of the Kamloops net to even the score at 3-3.

Milic and Ernst slammed the door on their respective goals for the rest of the way in the third to force overtime.

At the 6:21 mark of overtime, Lambert won a two-on-two battle for the puck in the left corner boards of the Kamloops zone. Lambert passed the puck to the left point to defenceman Sawyer Mynio. Mynio fed the puck to the right point to Hanzel who one-timed home the winner to give the Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory.

The only down part for Seattle on the winning goal was it appeared Thunderbirds standout centre Jordan Gustafson, who turned 19-years-old in January, injured himself during the winning goal celebration. He was the first Thunderbirds player to leave the ice seeking out the team’s trainer.

Olen Zellweger

Milic made 39 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds. Ernst turned away 35 shots to take the setback in net for the Blazers.

Hanzel, Lambert and Dach each finished the contest recording one goal and one assist. Crnkovic had a pair of assists for the host side. Stankoven had helpers on all three Blazers goals, while Zellweger finished with one goal and one assist.

The series between the Thunderbirds and Blazers was expected to be a heavyweight battle.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

The Blazers finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Seattle’s roster contains 10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams, while Kamloops has nine NHL drafted players on their roster. The Thunderbirds have seven players who participated in the last world juniors, and the Blazers have three players who took part in this past world juniors.

The series now shifts to the Sandman Centre in Kamloops for Games 3 and 4. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time, and Game 4 is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. local time.

Kyle Crnkovic had a pair of assists for Seattle on Sunday.

If Seattle can get to 11-0 in the post-season, the Thunderbirds might be bound for the WHL Championship Series. If the Blazers can get Game 3 at home on Tuesday, a marathon series may yet materialize.

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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Sidorov loves hockey, nets hat trick to push Blades past T-birds

Egor Sidorov celebrates his hat trick goal on Saturday.

The more fun Egor Sidorov has the better he plays.

Taking ice on Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds, who entered the night leading the WHL’s overall standings, at the SaskTel Centre, the 18-year-old Belarusian import right-winger, who is residing in Canada full time, set out to be the best version of himself suiting up for the Saskatoon Blades. That meant a smile was on his face that was a mile wide and he approached the game with the joy of a classic Saskatchewan farm kid skating outside on a frozen over slough just outside of a classic “wheat province” town like Borden.

Sidorov proceeded to post his third hat trick of the season to power the Blades to a 4-2 victory. With the two sides locked in a 1-1 tie, Sidorov proceeded to score once late in the second and twice in the third to give the Blades a 4-1 edge. The host side cruised to victory from there.

Egor Sidorov (#19) enjoys his hat trick goal with his teammates.

After each time he scored, Sidorov, who stands 6-feet and weighs 180 pounds, celebrated each of his goals with childlike enthusiasm. When he was named the game’s first star, Sidorov, who is a fan favourite, decided to have some fun with the fans.

For years, the Blades players give souvenir sticks out to the fans to acknowledge three star selections during home games. When Sidorov came out to hand out his souvenir stick, he started to skate across centre ice, but made a quick u-turn to toss his stick to a child aged supporter who was sitting just down the row from the Thunderbirds bench.

Since arriving in Saskatoon before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, Sidorov has gotten better at speaking English, but he kind of sticks to simple sentences. Still, he draws the biggest fan reaction to the live audience post-game interviews Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk does either in the concourse area on the west side of the building that has restaurant style seating or from the building’s main fan lounge.

Egor Sidorov controls the puck in the offensive zone.

Following Saturday’s win over the Thunderbirds, Sidorov was pulled over for an on ice interview next to the Blades bench by game host Clayton Kroeker. The first thing Sidorov did was thank the 4,605 spectators for coming out for that night’s game.

Most of the fans were still in the building to see Sidorov take his first star hours, and they gave the Blades star a nice round of applause. Sidorov was indeed the best version of himself, and the Blades seemed to have their “moxie” going for the whole contest.

Over the past eight games, the Blades, who improved to 27-8-2-1 with the win on Saturday to sit fifth overall in the WHL standings, faced their hardest stretch of quality opponents. On top of taking on the Thunderbirds, they faced the Eastern Conference leading Winnipeg Ice twice, the Red Deer Rebels, who equaled Seattle for most standings points at night’s end, once and the Portland Winterhawks, who sit fourth overall in the WHL standings, once.

Egor Sidorov (#19) goes by Seattle LW Kyle Crnkovic on a rush.

On top of that, the Blades took on the 22-12-3-1 Calgary Hitmen, encountered the 20-17-0-1 Swift Current Broncos on a hot streak and mixed it up with the 21-19-1-1 Regina Pats as they start to get hot with phenom centre Connor Bedard back in the lineup.

Saturday’s victory over the Thunderbirds marked the second time the Blades have posted a win over their challenging last eight game stretch. During that stretch, the Blades had outings where they played well and lost.

That included falling twice to the Ice in Winnipeg 2-0 on Dec. 30, 2022 and 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 31, 2022 along with taking a 3-1 setback against the Winterhawks at home on Wednesday. In those games, the Blades made one or two mistakes that were costly.

Austin Elliott made 30 saves in goal for the Blades on Saturday.

The Blades had other outings where their game went away from them over stretches of like 10 minutes. Along with those losses, the Blades downed the Rebels at home 6-2 on Jan. 7.

The Saskatoon side needed a traction win against a top tier club to get a groove going again. Saturday’s win over the Thunderbirds seemed to provide just that.

The Blades systematically took control of play in the first period and broke through on the scoreboard with 6:07 remaining in the frame. Blades star centre Trevor Wong received a pass in front of the Seattle net from linemate Jake Chiasson and wired home a midrange shot for his 15^th tally of the season to put the hosts up 1-0.

Trevor Wong had a goal and two assists for the Blades.

When the first period came to an end, the Blades were holding a 10-5 edge in shots on goal.

The Thunderbirds pushed back in the second. The visitors evened the score at 1-1 at the 11:12 mark of the frame, when 18-year-old right-winger Nico Myatovic swooped from behind the Saskatoon net into the right faceoff circle and wired home his 16^th goal of the season.

At that point, Sidorov, who is rated 86^th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings, went to work. With the Blades working on the power play, Sidorov received a pass from Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, set up to the left of the right faceoff dot in the Seattle zone and zipped home a shot short side on Thunderbirds netminder Scott Ratzlaff to put the hosts up 2-1 with 1:24 remaining in the second.

Nico Myatovic scored the Thunderbirds first goal on Saturday.

Sidorov netted his second tally of the contest at the 5:46 mark of the third off a two-on-one rush. 

On the play, Wong entered the Seattle zone with the puck on a rush down the left wing. He fed a pass across the front of the Seattle net to Sidorov who quickly snapped home a shot to give the Blades a 3-1 advantage.

At the 11:28 mark of the third, Sidorov completed the hat trick. He got the puck alone at the left side of the Seattle net, put a deke on Ratzlaff and lifted a shot over top the netminder’s blocker to give the Blades a 4-1 advantage.

In 27 games with the Blades this season, Sidorov now has 22 goals, 19 assists and a plus-17 rating in the plus-minus department.

Kevin Korchinski had a goal for the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds didn’t go away. With 3:01 remaining in the third, Thunderbirds offensive-defenceman Kevin Korchinski swooped down from the point to the left side of the Saskatoon net and covered a backdoor feed from Thunderbirds right-winger Brad Lambert to cut the Saskatoon lead to 4-2.

Saskatoon proceeded to close out the game defensively to make the 4-2 score hold up as the final outcome of the contest.

Austin Elliott stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ratzlaff turned away 18 shots to take the setback in net for the Thunderbirds, who fell to 30-7-1-1.

Wong finished the contest with three points picking up two assists to go with his goal.

The Blades celebrate their win on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds return home and are off until Friday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Blades return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the 26-14-0-2 Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

The Warriors should provide another stiff test for the Blades. With that said, Saturday’s win over the Thunderbirds should prove as a timely reminder for the Blades that they beat the WHL best teams, and Sidorov showed once again you can have fun doing it too.

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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