Expect Raiders, Giants to leave it all on the ice in WHL final

The Raiders aim to win their first WHL title since 1985.

    It is a first versus second WHL final many didn’t see coming at the start of the regular season.

    On Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Art Hauser Centre, the host Prince Albert Raiders will take on the visiting Vancouver Giants in Game 1 of the best-of-seven WHL Championship series.

    The Raiders finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings at 54-10-2-2 and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. Prince Albert advanced through the post-season capturing the WHL Eastern Conference title winning 12 out of their 16 playoff games.

    The Giants placed second overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-3-2 record and are rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. Vancouver moved through the playoffs capturing the WHL Western Conference title winning 12 out of their 15 post-season games.

    When the season started, both clubs has the potential to have successful campaigns. The fact their records were as good as they were and both made long playoff runs still comes as a bit of a surprise.

Brett Leason has been a star all season for the Raiders.

    Both had long separations from their storied pasts.

    The Raiders last won the WHL title and the Memorial Cup in 1985. Since that time, they advanced to the league semifinal round seven times without earning a berth in the league final.

    After falling in the WHL Eastern Conference final in seven games in 2005, the Raiders went through a stretch over the next 13 years where they missed the playoffs seven times and were eliminated in the first round six times.

    The Giants topped the B.C. Division for five consecutive seasons from 2005-06 to 2009-10. They won the WHL title in 2006.

    They lost in the WHL final in seven games in 2007 but rebounded to capture the Memorial Cup as the tournament’s host team. Vancouver made appearances in the WHL Western Conference final in 2009 and 2010 but wasn’t able to make the league final.

    From 2011 to 2018, the Giants missed the playoffs four times and were eliminated in the first round four times.

Dylan Plouffe is a solid defenceman for the Giants

    In the 2018 post-season, both the Raiders and Giants went the distance in their respective first round series. The Raiders fell 5-4 in a series deciding Game 7 to the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Giants fell 4-3 in a series deciding Game 7 to the Victoria Royals.

    By making it to this year’s WHL final, the 2018-19 campaign is an unequivocal success for both the Raiders and Giants. After getting this far, you can bet both sides don’t want to fall short of winning a league title and advancing to the Memorial Cup, which runs May 17 to 26 in Halifax, N.S.

    The Raiders are lead by general manager Curtis Hunt, who is the WHL’s executive of the year, and head coach Marc Habscheid, who is the WHL’s coach of the year. The two hockey veterans have worked together since the start of the 2015-16 campaign to bring the Raiders to this moment.

    They oversee a team that is loaded with star forwards in Brett Leason, Noah Gregor, Parker Kelly, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and Dante Hannoun.

Bowen Byram is the Giants biggest star.

    Prince Albert has arguably one of the best starting six defensive units in the CHL in captain Brayden Pachal, Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Sergei Sapego, Jeremy Masella and Kaiden Guhle.

    Veteran Ian Scott, who was named the WHL’s goaltender of the year, had a marvelous season and has been clutch in the playoffs.

    Before the start of the 2018-19 season, Barclay Parneta became the Giants new general manager and Michael Dyck became the team’s new head coach. Both are long time hockey veterans who were looking to get the Giants over the hump.

    Dyck has been the head coach of his hometown Lethbridge Hurricanes but parted ways with that club at the end of the 2008-09 campaign. He spent the majority of the time between WHL head coach positions guiding various minor hockey teams his son, Carson, played on.

    Together, Parneta and Dyck, who is the coach of the year in the WHL’s Western Conference, brought the Giants back to prominence.

    They oversaw a talented forward group in captain Jared Dmytriw, Davis Koch, Milos Roman, Lukas Svejkovsky, Tristen Nielsen and Justin Sourdif. Dmytriw was the humanitarian of the year for the Western Conference.

    The star on defence is 17-year-old Bowen Byram, and he is a hot prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft earning the number two rating among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

Raiders goalie Ian Scott will be out to stone the Giants.

    Vancouver’s sound regular six on defence is rounded out by Dylan Plouffe, Alex Kannok Leipert, Kaleb Bulych, Dallas Hines and Seth Bafaro.

    In goal, the Giants rest easy knowing they have two great options in David Tendeck and Trent Miner, who both had solid seasons.

    The Raiders and Giants met once in the regular season back on Jan. 24 , when the Giants pulled out a 3-1 victory at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.

    Due to the fact these teams played just once in the regular season and both has spectacular campaigns, it is hard to pick with any degree of confidence who will come out on top.

    The fact the Raiders are backed by a raucous home crowd should help give them an advantage.

    Still, this series appears it will be an exciting one for hockey fans, so may the best team win.

Raiders select Crocker in WHL Bantam Draft

    While they might be in the WHL final, the Prince Albert Raiders hockey operations department took a step to stock the team for the future making 12 selections in the WHL Bantam Draft held Thursday in Red Deer, Alta.

    With their first pick, the Raiders took forward Niall Crocker from Delta, B.C., in the first round and 22^nd overall. Crocker, who is 14-years-old, already stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 161 pounds.

    In 30 games with the Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep program, Crocker piled up 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points.

    The Raiders paid tribute to their late director of player personnel Ron Gunville, while making their first pick. Gunville passed away due to cancer last Dec. 11.

    Gunville’s son, Reed, and nephew, Keanan Tibbs, stepped up to the podium with current Raiders director of player personnel Curt Brownlee to make the selection. Brownlee allowed Reed to make the selection.

    The Raiders selected six forwards, four defencemen and two goaltenders in the Bantam Draft. The list of the Raiders selections can be found by clicking right here.

Blades trade Harsch, pick Lisowsky

The Blades traded Reece Harsch to the Winnipeg Ice.

    The Saskatoon Blades opened their time at the WHL Bantam Draft in Red Deer, Alta., on Thursday with a trade.

    The Blades traded overage defenceman Reece Harsch and first round and third overall pick in the Bantam Draft to the Winnipeg Ice. The Ice sent the Blades their first round and ninth overall selection and second and 24^th overall pick in this year’s Bantam Draft and a second round pick and a fifth round pick in the 2020 Bantam Draft.

    Last season, Harsch appeared in 57 regular season games split between the Seattle Thunderbirds and Blades posting four goals, 16 assists and a minus-10 rating in the plus-minus department.

    With the first round and ninth overall selection, the Blades selected forward Brandon Lisowsky, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 160 pounds, from Port Coquitlam, B.C.

    Lisowsky, who turned 15-years-old in April, collected 61 goals and 48 assists for 109 points in 53 regular season and tournament games with the Burnaby Winter Club Bantam Prep team last season.

    In the second round with the 24^th overall pick, the Blades selected 14-year-old forward Hayden Smith from Chetwynd, B.C.

    Smith, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 152 pounds, collected 24 goals and 23 assists in 30 games with the Yale Hockey Academy Bantam Prep team in Abbotsford, B.C.

    The Blades selected six forwards, five defencemen and two goaltenders in the Bantam Draft. Saskatoon’s selections 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.

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Blades post-season bound for first time since 2013

Saskatoon edges Ice 4-3 in shootout to clinch WHL playoff spot

The Blades celebrate locking up a WHL playoff berth.

    The drought is over.

    The Saskatoon Blades are finally back in the WHL playoffs.

    They made sure their post-season clinching game had lots of drama too.

    On Saturday night, the Blades downed the Kootenay Ice 4-3 after a tiebreaking shootout before 4,334 spectators at the SaskTel Centre to officially lock up a playoff berth for the first time since 2013. Saskatoon took the tiebreaking session 1-0 to win the regular season clash.

    The Blades clinched a playoff berth with their win combined with the fact the Prince Albert Raiders downed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 7-1 at the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday night.

    For Blades captain Chase Wouters, the clinching victory was a long time coming. 

Blades captain Chase Wouters is pumped to go to the WHL playoffs.

    The veteran centre, who turned 19-years-old earlier this month, was selected by the Blades in the first round and 18^th overall in the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.

    He is skating through his third full season with Saskatoon club and saw his squad just miss the post-season in each of the past two years thanks to some late season slumps.

    Following the Blades win on Saturday, Wouters had a bit of tingly feeling knowing a playoff berth has been secured.

    “It is kind of something I looked forward to ever since I got drafted to Saskatoon when I was 14,” said Wouters, whose team sits third overall in the WHL with a 38-14-8 mark. “I guess it is just a pretty surreal like feeling knowing that we are going to be able to play in them this year.

    “It is something we’ve been talking about all year. It has been a goal since the start. It is pretty important to our group here to be able to play in the playoffs.”

Kyle Crnkovic had the shootout winner for the Blades.

    Saskatoon built a 3-1 lead after two periods only to see the Ice rally to force overtime with two third period goals.

    After a scoreless overtime frame, Blades rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who turned 17-years-old earlier this month, was the only player to score in the shootout. He deked and slid a backhand shot between the legs of Ice netminder Jesse Makaj.

    Crnkovic was excited about the fact the Blades, who are rated 10th in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings, clinched a playoff berth.

    “It is an awesome group of guys,” said Crnkovic. “I think we’ve worked for it, and we’ve earned it.

    “It is going to be an awesome time. To bring the team to the playoffs and all the fans, they deserve it. It should be a fun time.”

    The Blades broke the Ice at the 6:57 mark of the opening frame when import right-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen banged home a gritty goal from the front of the Ice net.

    Saskatoon extended its edge to 2-0 with 5:40 remaining in the opening frame on a sweet play off an offensive zone faceoff. On the play, Wouters won the draw back to defenceman Brandon Schuldhaus.

Gary Haden (#14) celebrates scoring a goal with Chase Wouters.

    Schuldhaus quickly fed “Uncle” Gary Haden with a backdoor pass, and he buried his 28^th goal of the season.

    The Ice didn’t go away. With 1:39 remaining in the first period, Kootenay right-winger Jaeger White wired a midrange shot to the top left corner of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

    The Blades extended their lead to 3-1 at the 5:05 mark of the second, when veteran defenceman Reece Harsch wired home his fourth goal of the season.

    It seemed the Blades were going to cruise to victory holding a 3-1 edge after 40 minutes and a 31-17 advantage in shots on goal.

Dorrin Luding makes a glove save for the Blades.

    While Saskatoon was controlling play, Blades first year head coach Mitch Love didn’t think his players were at their best in those frames and being a bit off became more obvious in the third and overtime.

    “I didn’t think we played a great hockey game tonight,” said Love. “Guys are aware of that.

    “We have some things we have to tighten up. At the end of the day for the city and for the organization, it is a big day to get back in the playoffs and see what happens.”

    Before joining the Blades this season, Love spent the previous seven seasons on the staff of the Everett Silvertips. The Quesnel, B.C., product started with the Silvertips as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach. 

Jaeger White sniped home a goal for the Ice.

    He finished his time in Everett as an assistant coach and an assistant to the general manager.

    The Silvertips have never missed the playoffs since their inaugural campaign in 2003-04.

    During his post-game media scrum on Saturday, Love said he was focused on correcting what the Blades did wrong and looking to find ways to help the Saskatoon players continue to improve.

    When asked if he was just conditioned to always expecting to be in the post-season from his time in Everett, Love smiled and stepped out of the focused coach zone for a bit.

    “There are a few guys in the room who obviously haven’t played a playoff game in their career,” said Love. “It is awesome for them.

    “They are going to get that experience. We have a lot of guys that we have brought in here throughout the year that have had playoff experience.

    “This is my eighth consecutive season of playoff hockey, so I may look like I’m not that excited tonight, but I am. I’m a hockey coach, and I am always looking to be better the next day. I’m excited for our guys.”

Bradley Ginnell had a goal for the Ice.

    The Ice came with a huge push back in the third. Ice left-winger Bradley Ginnell scored with a spin around shot with 9:55 remaining in the third, and Kootenay rookie centre Jakin Smallwood potted the equalizer with 6:44 remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie and overtime.

    The Blades almost didn’t make it to the shootout had it not been for the play of netminder Dorrin Luding. He made a glove save on a dangerous shot from White and later stopped the overager on a breakaway.

    In the final seconds of overtime, Luding had to stone Ice defenceman Marco Creta on a dangerous chance to allow the contest to progress to a shootout.

    That set the stage for Crnkovic to come through with his heroics in the shootout.

    Luding made 34 saves over 65 minutes and stopped all three shooters he faced in the shootout to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Makaj turned away 38 shots over 65 minutes and turned away two of three shooters in the shootout to take the extra time setback in the Ice net. Kootenay saw its record move to 11-38-7-3.

Kyle Crnkovic (#16) celebrates scoring his shootout winner.

    Luding, who split last season between the Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds, said it was big for the Blades to return to the post-season.

    “It is a great accomplishment for us,” said Luding, who was traded by the Thunderbirds to the Blades last June. “I think we’ve made such large strides, and we can only make larger ones.

    “I think the sky is the limit for us.”

    The Ice return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors at 4 p.m. at Mosaic Place.

Blades mascot Poke Check enjoys a celebration moment with the fans.

    The Blades resume play on Tuesday, when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

    Going forward, Love said the Blades have to keep finding ways to get better and keep progressing.

    “We have to again just go back to work,” said Love. “It is nice we have an “x” across our name in the standings, but we have a tough opponent coming in here on Tuesday, and we have to be ready for that.”

    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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Rookie Crnkovic pushes Blades past Thunderbirds

Kyle Crnkovic had a big night for the Blades.

    It appears 16-year-old rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic is going to have an extended stay with the Saskatoon Blades top six forward unit.

    If the young Chestermere, Alta., product is dropped off the team’s top two lines, the Blades coaches will likely have a lot of doubts regarding if they are doing the right thing.

    Playing on a line with 17-year-old Tristen Robins at centre and 18-year-old Eric Florchuk at right wing, Crnkovic had a goal and two assists to push the Blades past the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-3 in a WHL regular season contest on Tuesday night before 3,037 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    The outburst was Crnkovic’s first multiple point night of his WHL career, and he now has three goals and six assists in his last nine games.

    “It felt really good,” said Crnkovic, who has four goals and nine assists in 27 games this season. 

    “Obviously, it is awesome to get the two points, and to contribute, it feels awesome.”

Kyle Crnkovic has three goals and six assists in his last nine games.

    Over the last stretch of games for the Blades, Crnkovic, who stands just under 5-foot-7 and weighs 153 pounds, has been very noticeable with the energy he brings on every shift. While he may be the smallest player on the ice in most of Saskatoon’s games, he doesn’t shy away from battles or going into the corners or in front of the net.

    During his last nine games with the Saskatoon squad, Crnkovic’s offensive talents are showing through, which saw the Blades select him in the first round and 10^th overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. He has seen extra playing time during the Blades last four games due to the fact star 17-year-old centre Kirby Dach has been out with a lower body injury.

The Blades celebrate a power-play goal from Josh Paterson (#61).

    Blades head coach Mitch Love has enjoyed seeing Crnkovic take off.

    “You could see the confidence growing,” said Love. “I think obviously that comes with added ice time.

    “As a hockey coach, you want to find that trust in those young kids. He is doing a good job away from the puck, which is earning him more ice time. Nobody has ever questioned his offensive capabilities here and his skill set, and I think that was very evident tonight.”

    So far this season, Crnkovic believes he has given a solid effort every night, but he has received some breaks offensively as of late.

    “I think I have been playing the same way,” said Crnkovic. “I think just some luck is coming my way.

    “I am just trying to keep playing hard the second half.”

Blades G Dorrin Luding (#31) stops Seattle LW Andrej Kukuca.

    After the Thunderbirds took a 1-0 lead early in the first, Crnkovic went to work. At the 15:24 mark of the opening frame, he slipped a backhand shot past Thunderbirds netminder Cole Schwebius on a breakaway to tie things up at 1-1.

    Just 2:06 after that tally with the Blades working on the power play, Crnkovic had the puck at the left side boards in the Seattle zone. He centred a smart pass to centre Josh Paterson, who knocked home his 14^th goal of the season to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

    Crnkovic was pleased he could make both plays

    “They were both good,” said Crnkovic. “They were both good to get.

    “It feels good to contribute and help the team win.”

Aiden De La Gorgendiere looks to make a pass for the Blades.

    The Thunderbirds scored late in the first and early in the second to go ahead 3-2.

    At the 13:49 mark of the second, the Blades tied things up at 3-3, when captain Chase Wouters tipped home a shot from linemate Max Gerlach.

    Before the second frame expired, Blades 16-year-old rookie defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere broke into the Seattle zone on a rush and slipped a pass to right-winger Eric Florchuk to spring him in alone on the Thunderbirds goal.

    Florchuk slipped a shot between the legs of Thunderbirds netminder Cole Schwebius to give the Blades a 4-3 lead with 2:40 remaining in the frame. Crnkovic picked up his second assist of the game on Florchuk’s tally.

    The rookie winger said he has enjoyed playing on a line with Florchuk and Robins and has enjoyed the fact he is starting to contribute offensively.

A young fan cheers on Blades LW Riley McKay.

    “At the start it was tough just getting used to the league,” said Crnkovic. “I think as it has gone on and getting comfortable with the players around me, it is getting a lot better.”

    Zach Ashton, captain Nolan Volcan and Matthew Wedman replied with singles for the Thunderbirds. Wedman had an assist and won a third period fight against Wouters to record the Gordie Howe hat trick for Seattle.

    Ashton’s tally was the first of his WHL career. The 17-year-old defenceman was acquire in a trade with the Blades last Wednesday, which saw veteran defenceman Reece Harsch, who is in his 19-year-old season, land in Saskatoon.

Eric Florchuk (#17) fires a shot on goal for the Blades.

    Harsch, who was playing his fourth game with the Blades, was happy to get the win against his former team.

    “It felt pretty good,” said Harsch. “I had a lot of memories with those guys and that team and that organization, so it definitely felt good to get the win tonight.”

    Dorrin Luding turned away 33 shots in goal for the Blades, who improved to 26-12-5 to sit third overall in the WHL. Schwebius stopped 28 shots in goal for the Thunderbirds, who fell to 12-21-4.

    Love was pleased his side controlled a scoreless third period, where the Blades held a 14-9 edge in shots on goal. 

Matthew Wedman had a Gordie Howe hat trick for the Thunderbirds.

    The Saskatoon bench boss thought his team spent too much time in its own zone in the second frame.

    “For our guys to regroup and outshoot them in the third period I thought we really did a good job of limiting their offensive opportunities,” said Love, whose club was playing their eighth game in 13 days. “There were a lot of shots from the outside.

    “I am real proud of the guys’ effort, especially in this stretch of hockey. This has been a grind for our guys. It was very noticeable tonight against a very heavy and competitive team in the Thunderbirds.

    “We stuck with it and found a way to win a hockey game.”

    The Thunderbirds return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when they host the Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Going forward into the rest of the season, Crnkovic said wants to keep playing as well as possible.

The Blades celebrate their victory over the Thunderbirds on Tuesday.

    “I am just going to try and play my game and work hard every day in practice and I think just try and contribute to the team any way I can,” he said.

    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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Harsch fitting in with Blades, nets goal in 5-2 win

Reece Harsch was recently acquired by the Blades via a trade with Seattle.

    Saskatoon Blades newcomer Reece Harsch showed how important it was to play to the whistle.

    On Sunday before 3,627 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Harsch was skating in just his third game with the Blades as they took on the Brandon Wheat Kings. Harsch, who is a 19-year-old defenceman, was acquired in a trade last Wednesday with the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Zach Ashton and a fifth round selection in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft.

    With the Blades locked in a 1-1 tie in the first period with the Wheat Kings, Harsch found an opportune time to score his first goal with his new club.

    Left-winger Riley McKay, who is the Blades agitator, took a cross check behind the Wheat Kings goal from Brandon defenceman Vinny Iorio, and the officials were set to blow the whistle on a delayed penalty call as soon as a Brandon player touched the puck.

Reece Harsch scored his first goal with the Blades on Sunday.

    The Wheat Kings players on the ice seemingly stopped, when Iorio’s cross check occurred. Blades centre Josh Paterson had the puck at the left side of the Brandon goal, and he slipped a pass across the front of the net to Harsch, who pinched down from the point.

    Harsch skated to the Brandon net untouched and slipped a shot past Wheat Kings netminder Jiri Patera to give the Blades a 2-1 lead. Saskatoon ultimately skated to a 5-2 victory in the WHL regular season clash.

    “It was pretty special,” said Harsch, who has three goals and eight assists in 31 games played between the Thunderbirds and Blades this season. “It was a nice pass by Patty (Josh Paterson).

    “It was great vision by him. I was just able to slip it through the arms of him (Patera). What do you know, it went in.”

    Following his goal, Harsch realized something else must have happened on the play. Since McKay wasn’t hurt, Harsch’s goal was celebrated and the focus returned to the game.

The Blades celebrate Reece Harsch’s first period goal.

    “I didn’t really notice it until after I was just looking at the net to see if the puck actually went in,” said Harsch, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 198 pounds. “Then, I looked up and I just saw McKay laying on the ground.

    “I’m not really too sure what happened actually.”

    Harsch played three-and-a-half seasons with the Thunderbirds before arriving in Saskatoon. During his time in Seattle, he helped the Thunderbirds win a WHL title in the 2016-17 campaign and qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament, which was held that season in Windsor, Ont.

Goalie Jiri Patera (#33) makes one of his 32 saves on Sunday.

    With Saskatoon having finished a stretch of playing three games in three days on Sunday, Blades head coach Mitch Love said Harsch brought everything that was expected from a veteran presence. Saskatoon lost 19-year-old defenceman Nolan Kneen to a lower body injury in Friday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Regina Pats, which added extra significance to Harsch’s arrival.

    “He (Harsch) is a very calming influence back there,” said Love. “He doesn’t seem to be rattled by too much.

    “He is an experience guy who has been to a Memorial Cup and won a league championship here. I am sure there is not a lot that gets to him. That is the way he plays the game.

Nolan Maier makes one of his 27 saves in goal for the Blades.

    “He has definitely helped our back end, especially this weekend.”

    Harsch’s play has also impressed Blades captain Chase Wouters.

    “I thought he (Harsch) has played really well,” said Wouters. “He is a really good addition to the back end.

    “He is a right-handed shot that like to get pucks up early, and he is a big body out there. He helps us a lot.”

    “He won the championship there (in Seattle). He adds a piece to our group that we don’t have.”

    Harsch said he has been accepted really quickly into the group the Blades have.

    “It is awesome,” Harsch. “It is a little different coming to a (new) team. I only knew a couple of guys.

Max Gerlach scored the Blades first goal on Sunday.

    “Guys were so nice. They’ve been really helpful for me.”

    In Sunday’s contest, the Wheat Kings got a quick jump on the host side with left-winger Ben McCartney scoring 53 seconds into the contest to take a 1-0 lead.

    The Brandon lead didn’t last. Just under three minutes later, Blades overage right-winger Max Gerlach potted his 24^th goal of the season to tie things up at 1-1.

    Harsch then potted his tally to give the Blades a 2-1 edge. With 43.3 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Wheat Kings star right-winger Luka Burzan scored on a two-man advantage to even things up at 2-2.

    From there, the Blades slowly took control of the game.

    At the 3:27 mark of the second period, the Blades jumped ahead 3-2, when Paterson slid home a goal underneath Patera.

Luka Burzan had the Wheat Kings second goal on Sunday.

    Saskatoon extended its advantage to 4-2 at the 7:45 mark of the third period, when right-winger Zach Huber knocked home a loose puck in the crease of the Brandon goal.

    Blades star netminder Nolan Maier made a sensational kick save on a breakaway by McCartney. Saskatoon import defenceman Emil Malysjev rounded out the scoring with an empty-net goal with 33.8 seconds remaining in the third.

    After going ahead in the second period, Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Majid Kaddoura left the game for a short time, when he was hit by Wheat Kings right-winger Baron Thompson. Thompson received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct, and that play will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

    Kaddoura actually got cut on the play by his own stick. He finished the game after getting stitched up.

Zach Huber (#19) scores to put the Blades up 4-2 in the third period.

    Maier made 27 stops in goal for the Blades, who sit third overall in the WHL at 25-12-5. Patera turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (16-15-3-3).

    “I really liked how our guys battled tonight,” said Love, whose team has played seven games in 11 days since returning from the WHL Christmas break. “I think it was evident.

    “We had a few guys leave the hockey game in stretches just because they put themselves in the battle. That was the big message going into today’s hockey game of just playing the game the right way the way we want to play with structure and what not.

    “At the same time, we just needed to be more competitive and have a little bit more fight, especially against a team that was sitting here waiting for us. I was very proud of our guys and our effort, and we are going to try and build off of that.”

The Blades celebrate their 5-2 win on Sunday.

    The Wheat Kings return home to host the Portland Winterhawks at 7 p.m. local time at Westoba Place.

    The Blades return to action on Tuesday when they host the Seattle Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. local time at the SaskTel Centre.

    Harsch said he has lots of good memories from his time in Seattle, and it will be strange for himself to face the Thunderbirds so soon after being traded to Saskatoon.

    “It is going to be different,” said Harsch. “I’ve been wearing that jersey for three-and-a-half years.

    “Now coming in and seeing all these familiar faces, it is going to be different, but it is going to be pretty special.”

    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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