Raiders wipe out Wheaties 7-3

Sloan Stanick had a pair of goals and an assist for the Raiders.

The Prince Albert Raiders are heating up at home.

On Saturday, the Raiders thumped the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-3 in a WHL regular season clash to the delight of 2,428 spectators at the team’s storied home rink in the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders have now won six straight games at home.

With Saturday’s win, the Raiders improve to 24-25-1-3 and vault to seventh in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings. Prince Albert sits one standings point ahead of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (24-23-3) and the Calgary Hitmen (22-21-6-1) who are tied for the eighth and ninth positions in the conference standings. The Hurricanes and Hitmen both have three games in hand on the Raiders.

Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Wheat kings started out as a bit of a back-and-forth affair. Centre Nolan Flamand scored 10 seconds into the contest for the Wheat Kings to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

The lead didn’t last long as Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Sloan Stanick scored at the 3:57 mark of the first to even the score a 1-1. Wheat Kings star 20-year-old left-winger Brett Hyland tallied on the power play at the 6:35 mark of the opening frame to put the visitors back out in front 2-1.

Raiders import left-winger Krzysztof Macias scored to force a 2-2 tie at the 8:30 mark of the third. Following Macias’s tally, Raiders rookie right-winger Oli Chenier, who turned 17-years-old in late January, potted his 10^th goal of the campaign with his squad working on the power play to put the hosts up 3-2.

At the 8:29 mark of the second, Raiders 19-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker scored short-handed to push Prince Albert’s lead out to 4-2. With 69 seconds remaining in the second, Wheat Kings import centre Dominik Petr tallied to cut the Raiders lead to 4-3.

The Raiders proceeded to pull away from there in the third. Macias, Crocker and Stanick all netted their respective second goals of the contest to round out the 7-3 final score in the Raiders favour. Macias, Crocker and Stanick all finished with three point nights each collecting two goals and one assist.

Max Hildebrand stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Ethan Eskit turned away 38 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings, who fell to 26-20-5-1.

The Raiders were still without star 17-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Back on December 15, 2023, Ritchie was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee hit from Kelowna Rockets 19-year-old left-winger Max Graham in a 4-3 setback to the Rockets at the Art Hauser Centre. Ritchie is listed as being out week to week.

The Raiders were also without 16-year-old rookie centre Luke Moroz on Saturday. Moroz went down at the 8:21 mark of the third period of a 6-1 loss on Friday to the Blades in Saskatoon after being on the receiving end of a cross check from Blades captain Trevor Wong. Wong received a minor infraction on the play.

The Raiders are now off until this coming Friday when they travel to Medicine Hat to face the Tigers (7 p.m. local time, Co-op Place).

The Wheat Kings get back at it this coming Thursday when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

Hansen lifts Blades to eighth straight win

Egor Sidorov scored the Blades first goal on Saturday.

Defensive centre Lukas Hansen put on the hero’s cape to deliver the Saskatoon Blades to an eighth straight win.

On Saturday playing in front of 2,610 spectators at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current, the Blades found themselves locked in a 2-2 tie against the host Broncos going into the final 10 minutes of the third period. At the 11:28 mark of the third, Hansen scored his 11^th goal of the season that ultimately delivered the Blades to a 3-2 victory. The tally was Hansen’s fourth winner of the season.

In the final seconds of the third, Hansen came up with a big shot block to help preserve the win for the visitors.

The eighth straight win allowed the Blades to improve their WHL leading record to 39-9-2-3. They also officially locked up a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

Saskatoon took a 1-0 lead over Swift Current in Saturday’s clash with a first period power-play goal from star import right-winger Egor Sidorov.

At the 5:20 mark of the second, Blades star overage centre Easton Armstrong was given a major penalty for goaltender interference and a game misconduct. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension. The Broncos were unable to score on that five-minute power play.

The hosts would even the score at 1-1 in the second with a tally from 18-year-old left-winger Brady Birnie.

At the 3:26 mark of the third, Blades star 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky netted his 30^th goal of the season to put the Blades up 2-1. Lisowsky has now scored 30-or-more goals in three straight seasons for the Blades.

Broncos sophomore left-winger Clarke Caswell evened the score a short time later scoring at the 5:01 mark of the third to force a 2-2 tie.

That set the stage for Hansen to deliver his heroics to close out the contest.

Austin Elliott stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Joey Rocha turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos, who fell to 26-19-4-2.

Blades captain Trevor Wong finished the contest with a pair of assists.

The Blades return to action this coming Friday when they travel to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes (7 p.m. local time, Enmax Centre).

The Broncos get back at it on Wednesday when they host the Hurricanes (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

Clark, Shirley have sweet homecoming, other notes

An Emily Clark hockey card.

Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley got the hometown salutes they so rightly deserved.

On Wednesday, the two skilled forwards dressed for Canada’s National Women’s Hockey team in Game 5 of their Rivalry Series against the United States at the SaskTel Centre in their hometown of Saskatoon. A total of 7,576 spectators came out to see the local products wearing Team Canada colours on home ice for the first time.

Clark, who is 28-years-old, has been a veteran with Canada’s senior national team dating back to the 4 Nations Cup in 2014. Shirley, who is 24-years-old, was called up to Canada’s roster just before the start of Game 5.

While they weren’t able to hit the scoreboard in Canada’s 4-2 win on Wednesday, both players had their highlight moments. Clark had a really energetic game that included getting stopped on a first period breakaway. Shirley showed her still getting a good scoring chance off a half toe-drag snapshot.

The win allowed Canada to cut the United States lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

As the final seconds of the victory on Wednesday ticked away, Team Canada head coach Troy Ryan ensured both Clark and Shirley were on the ice at the same time to be saluted by their hometown crowd.

“It blew my expectations out of the water,” said Clark after Wednesday’s game. “I was feeling the love, our team was feeling the love, and I’m so proud of our group for getting that win for the crowd.

“We showed a lot of character, and this time last year, we had our backs against the wall. We’re just taking it one game at a time. I’m proud of our team and so happy the series is still going.”

“I had about 15 to 20 family in the crowd, and it was a super cool experience for me,” said Shirley on Wednesday. “I know I was called in late, but I just wanted to do my best every time I was out there.

“It was probably in my very first shift, as soon as I got out there, with the atmosphere and being at home with family made it even more exciting for me.”

Canada trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes on Wednesday before rallying for the 4-2 victory.

Brianne Jenner, Ashton Bell, Renata Fast and Laura Stacey netted singles for Canada. Hayley Scamurra and Gabbie Hughes replied with singles for the United States.

Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for Canada. Nicole Hensley turned away 24-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the United States.

The hometown treatment for Clark and Shirley turned into warm home province treatment for Game 6 of the series on Friday night at the Brandt Centre in Regina. After playing through a scoreless opening 40 minutes, Canada exploded for three goals in the third to post a 3-0 victory and even the series 3-3.

Clark had Canada’s second goal in the third-period surge. Natalie Spooner had Canada’s first goal, and Sarah Nurse has the third goal for the host country.

Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 27 shots to pick up the shutout win for Canada. Maschmeyer now has 11 career shutouts playing for Canada. Aerin Frankel turned away 19 shots to take the setback in goal for the United States.

Fast played in her 100 career international game for Canada on Friday.

At game’s end Clark and Shirley took a victory lap in front of the Regina crowd.

Canada was down 3-0 in the Rivalry Series before rallying back for three wins. Game 7 is set for Sunday in St. Paul, Minn., (1 p.m. Saskatchewan Time, TSN4).

Last season, Canada trailed the Rivalry Series 3-0 before rallying back with four straight wins to take the set.

• On Saturday in Medicine Hat, the host Tigers trailed the Red Deer Rebels 4-1 after 40 minutes in a WHL regular season encounter. The Tigers roared back with three straight goals in the third and 20-year-old import defenceman Bogdans Hodass scored with 19.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give the hosts a wild 5-4 victory.
• Medicine Hat News sports reporter James Tubb laid out a compelling case for why the City of Medicine Hat and the Medicine Hat Tigers should bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup, which is the CHL’s annual championship tournament. That piece can be found by clicking right here.
• On Saturday in Kelowna, centre Emmitt Finnie scored four times for the visiting Kamloops Blazers as they dumped the host Rockets 7-3. The Rockets led the contest 2-1 after the first period. The Blazers scored three goals in the second to go up 4-2 and roll from there.
• On Saturday in Prince George, 20-year-old right-winger Zac Funk scored a hat trick for the host Cougars as they outlasted the visiting Victoria Royals 9-6. Funk leads the WHL with 49 goals so far this season.
• On Friday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a story on the sport of cricket in Saskatoon and the growth that sport is seeing in “The Bridge City.” Officials with Cricket Saskatoon said new facilities are needed for cricket in Saskatoon to handle the surging interest in the sport. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that is highlighted by a visit from members of the Toronto Blue Jays to the Indoor Training Centre along with various winter happenings. That post 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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Minten rescues Blades in OT

The Blades celebrate an OT winner from Fraser Minten.

Fraser Minten skated into hero’s role for the Saskatoon Blades.

On Sunday night with his Blades locked in a 2-2 tie in a WHL regular season contest with the visiting Swift Current Broncos at the SaskTel Centre, Minten shot into the highlight reels. Taking the puck behind his own net from veteran defenceman Ben Saunderson, Minten went coast-to-coast with the puck.

After crossing into the Swift Current zone, Minten passed the puck to himself through Broncos winger Mathew Ward to get a break in alone on the visitor’s net. Minten proceeded to slip a nifty backhand shot between the legs of Broncos netminder Reid Dyck for his second tally of the night to lift the Blades to a 3-2 victory to the delight of the 3,919 spectators in attendance.

Fraser Minten scored two goals on Sunday for the Blades.

The win allowed the Blades, who are rated second in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings, to continue to top the WHL’s overall standings improving to 33-9-2-3.

The victory was a gutty one for the Blades due to a scheduling quark. The Blades, who wore special fan designed jerseys on Sunday, were playing their third game in three nights. The Broncos were playing their first contest in eight days have last skated on Saturday, January 20, when they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Warriors in Moose Jaw at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

The Broncos record moved to 22-18-3-2 with the extra time setback to remain sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.

Conor Geekie scored twice for the Broncos on Sunday.

In Sunday’s clash, the Broncos got the jump on the Blades scoring at the 8:12 mark of the first period. Broncos star centre Conor Geekie swept home a shot from the front of the Blades goal to give the visitors or a 1-0 edge.

After Geekie’s tally, the Blades started to find their legs. While working on the power play, Blades star left-winger Easton Armstrong, who is playing his final season of WHL eligibility, scored a gritty goal whacking home a backhand shot from the front of the Swift Current net to even the score at 1-1 with 1:32 remaining in the opening frame. The Blades outshot the Broncos 14-6 in the first period.

The Blades kept rolling in the second but were kept at bay by Dyck. With 2:55 remaining in the second, Minten wired home a low midrange snapshoot past from the front of the Broncos goal past Dyck to give the Blades a 2-1 lead. Saskatoon held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal in the second.

In the third period, it appeared fatigue was setting in for the Blades as the frame marched on, and the Broncos seemed to be able to free wheel a little bit more. 

The Blades celebrate their OT win on Sunday.

With 5:13 remaining in the third, Geekie drove down the left with of the Blades zone with the puck, cut across the front of the Saskatoon net and slipped a backhand shot home to even the score at 2-2 and ultimate force overtime.

That set the stage for Minten to come through with his third game-winning goal of the campaign.

Austin Elliott made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Dyck turned away 31 shots to take the extra setback in net for the Broncos.

Armstrong had an assist to go with his goal for a two-point night.

The Broncos return to action on Wednesday when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

The Blades also get back at it on Wednesday when they host the 17-23-4-2 Regina Pats (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Spencer allows Pats to escape Calgary with OT win

Tye Spencer had the OT winner for the Pats on Sunday.

Tye Spencer’s three-point night allowed the Regina Pats to steal an overtime victory in Calgary.

On Sunday playing before 7,851 spectators at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Spencer collected a pair of goals including the overtime winner as the Pats downed the host Calgary Hitmen 4-3 in a WHL regular season clash. At the 3:33 mark of overtime, Pats captain Tanner Howe sprung Spencer into the Calgary zone on a breakaway. The 19-year-old right-winger tucked home a backhand shot to deliver victory to the Regina side.

The Pats victory was aided by the fact netminder Ewan Huet had a huge night making 49 saves.

Regina jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals coming from left-winger Sam Oremba. Oremba netted his first goal at the 3:07 mark of the first period and his second tally 44 seconds into the second frame with the Pats working on the power play.

Just 53 seconds after Oremba’s second marker, Hitmen offensive-defenceman Carter Yakemchuk scored the host side’s first goal to cut the Regina lead to 2-1. The Pats would hold on to their 2-1 advantage heading into the second intermission despite the fact the Hitmen held a 33-20 edge in shots on goal after 40 minutes.

At the 4:29 mark of the third with the Pats working on the power play, Spencer scored his first goal of the contest to push the visitor’s advantage out to 3-1.

Just 2:11 after Spencer’s power-play goal, the Hitmen cut the Regina lead to 3-2, when Yakemchuk potted his second goal of the contest, which was his 20^th goal of the season.

With 3:41 remaining in the third, Hitmen 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ben Kindel scored on a wraparound to tie the contest up at 3-3 and force overtime.

That set the stage for Spencer, who is from Saskatoon, to come through with his overtime winner.

Alex Garrett turned away 30 shots to take the setback in goal for the Hitmen.

Howe finished the night recording three assists for the Pats. Kindel had an assist to go with his goal.

The Hitmen’s record moved to 19-18-6-1 with the setback and allowed them to move to sit alone in eighth place and hold the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with 45 standings points. Calgary sits one point ahead of the Prince Albert Raiders (20-23-1-3) with three games in hand.

The Pats improved to 17-23-4-2 with the win. They sit 10^th overall in the Eastern Conference and five points back of the Hitmen. The Hitmen have two games in hand on the Pats.

The Pats return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Saskatoon to face the 33-9-2-3 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Hitmen get back at it on Friday when they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oil Kings (7 p.m. local time, Rogers Place).

Rivalry Series match on for Feb. 7 in Saskatoon, other notes

An Emily Clark hockey card.

For the first time since 2018, the SaskTel Centre will get to play host one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.

On Wednesday, February 7 at 7 p.m., Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team will face the United States in Game 5 of the Rivalry Series. The U.S. leads the 2023-24 edition of the seven-game series 3-1 heading into Game 5 in Saskatoon.

Canada took Game 4 of the set 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout back on December 16, 2023 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia, Ont. Last season, the U.S. won the first three games of the series, but Canada rallied back taking the last four contests to capture the series win.

Canada’s roster will feature power forward and 28-year-old Saskatoon product Emily Clark. Clark has one goal over the first four games of the series. She is an assistant captain with Ottawa’s team in the PWHL and has played two games with the Ottawa side.

Clark is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars Female Under-18 AAA Hockey Team.

The last time Canada and the U.S. played against each other in Saskatoon was back on November 10, 2018 in the championship game of the 4 Nations Cup tournament held at the SaskTel Centre. The U.S. claimed a 5-2 victory in that encounter.

Clark wasn’t able to play at that 4 Nations Cup due to an injured left leg.

• Be prepared to be bombarded with everything Taylor Swift for the next two weeks as the NFL’s post-season nears a close. With the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the Ravens in Baltimore 17-10 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, that means you will hear all sorts of talk about Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce, who is the Chiefs star tight end. The Chiefs, who are the defending Super Bowl champions, will play the San Francisco 49ERS in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, February 11. It will be the most watched Super Bowl of all-time.
• Riding a four-game winning streak, the Portland Winterhawks sit alone in first place in the WHL’s U.S. Division with a 31-11-2-1 record. The Winterhawks are two standings points ahead of the 30-15-1-2 Everett Silvertips. Portland has three games in hand on Everett. The Winterhawks downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 4-1 on Sunday.
• I was back in the pages of the Prince Albert Daily Herald this past week. On Wednesday, I was in the Daily Herald with a column on how the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders started to fall in the standings when 17-year-old star right-winger Ryder Ritchie went down to injury due to a knee-on-knee hit. That piece can be found by clicking right here. On Friday, I was in the pages of the Daily Herald with a piece featuring Prince Albert Northern Bears alums Kate Ball and Jasper Desmarais, who now play for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Hockey Team. Ball and Desmarais reflected on a magical 2016-17 season with the Bears where they won the Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey Championship and appeared in the Esso Cup female national championship under-18 AAA championship tournament. The piece on Ball and Desmarais 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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Blades will be fun to watch for rest of 2023-24 campaign

The Blades celebrate a win over the Pats this past Sunday.

Brennan Sonne will get to be the hockey equivalent of the “mad scientist” offensive coordinator you would see in football for the next little bit.

The Saskatoon Blades head coach has a wonderful mix of skilled and good character players to work with for the rest of the current 2023-24 WHL campaign. The Blades sit first overall in the WHL with a 29-8-2-2 record, and they were rated first in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings that were released on Tuesday. That marks the first time the Blades have topped the CHL Top 10 Rankings this season.

Over a little past the first half of the regular season, Blades general manager Colin Priestner did a fantastic job of solidifying the team’s roster through the trade route. All trades came to a conclusion for the current campaign when the WHL’s trade deadline passed at 4 p.m. Saskatchewan time on January 10.

Priestner was able to add assistance around a solid core group of players in the likes of captain Trevor Wong, Brandon Lisowsky, Egor Sidorov, Vaughn Watterodt, Tyler Parr, Lukas Hansen, Tanner Molendyk, Charlie Wright, Ben Saunderson and Austin Elliott. The biggest additions via the trade route include forwards Fraser Minten, Easton Armstrong, Alexander Suzdalev and defenceman John Babcock.

Fraser Minten in action for the Blades this past Sunday.

Babcock was acquired on trade deadline day in a three-way deal with the Kelowna Rockets and Edmonton Oil Kings. The Blades sent a second round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft and a fourth round pick in the 2026 Prospects Draft to the Rockets and second round Prospects Draft pick in 2026 to the Oil Kings.

The Rockets sent Babcock, who is a sound 19-year-old defensive-defenceman, to the Blades and 17-year-old defenceman Ismail Abougouche to the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings sent 18-year-old defenceman Carter Kowalyk and a fourth round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft to the Rockets.

Saskatoon had to make some give ups to acquire Suzdalev from the Regina Pats on December 31, 2023 and Minten from the Kamloops Blazers on November 24, 2023. In those two deals, the Blades dealt away three roster players, one list player and six Prospects Draft selections. That included sending the Blazers first round picks in 2024 and 2025 Prospects Drafts and the Pats a first round selection in 2026 Prospects Draft.

Alexander Suzdalev in action for the Blades this past Sunday.

With those moves, the Blades were able to get Minten, Suzdalev and a sixth round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft.

The Blades didn’t have to give up near that much to get Armstrong from the Wenatchee Wild on October 10, 2023. Due to the fact Armstrong is a 20-year-old, the Blades set the Wild a third round selection in the 2025 Prospects Draft and a conditional sixth round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft.

Saskatoon acquired 19-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann in a significant trade with the Calgary Hitmen on October 10, 2023 and 19-year-old defenceman Nicholas Andrusiak in a deal with the Red Deer Rebels for a fifth round pick in the 2025 Prospects Draft on December 12, 2023. Siepmann and Andrusiak have been solid and consistent since joining the Blades, and their experience has shown through.

With world juniors having wrapped up on January 5, the trade deadline in the rearview mirror and Molendyk having returned from healing up a fractured wrist, this past weekend was the first time the Blades had pretty much everyone on their roster available to be used. They were without two defencemen due upper body injuries in 18-year-old veteran Carter Herman (week-to-week) and rookie Morgan Tastad (day-to-day), who turned 18-years-old on January 10.

Egor Sidorov in action for the Blades this past Saturday.

Both Herman and Tastad can be everyday players, so they will add greatly to the Blades back end depth when they return.

In a 5-4 overtime win over the Victoria Royals this past Saturday and a 6-1 triumph over the Pats this past Sunday both at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades coaches mixed up their forward lines, especially in the clash with the Royals. The line of 19-year-old left-winger Rhett Melnyk, 18-year-old centre Misha Volotovskii and 18-year-old right-winger Rowan Calvert was the one unit that stayed together.

For the victory over the Pats, the Blades coaches put imports Suzdalev and Sidorov together on a line. The two had a strong pre-existing friendship before Suzdalev came over to the Blades. Wong centred the line with Suzdalev playing left wing and Sidorov on right wing.

Still, the Blades coaches have a number of line combinations to tinker with in order to find which forward units have the best chemistry.

For the next week, the Blades should be well tested due to the fact the number one rating in the CHL Top 10 Rankings should see them be a target foes get up a little extra for. The Blades are back at it on Wednesday, when they travel to Red Deer to take on the 22-13-1-4 Rebels (7 p.m. local time, Peavey Mart Centrium).

John Babcock plays for the Blades this past Saturday.

To the credit of the Blades coaches and management, they aren’t getting ahead of themselves. They know having a strong roster doesn’t guarantee success or a long playoff run. They just focus on what they have to do that day to their best of their abilities, and so far good results have followed.

Going forward, this will be a fun Blades team to watch. So far this season, the Blades have done a good job drawing younger fans who are often players on minor hockey teams in Saskatoon and area as the team has averaged 4,972 spectators over 18 home dates. The ground work the Blades players put in for years with elementary school visits and making guest coach appearances with minor hockey teams is paying off.

The youngsters bring a good healthy enthusiasm that creates a great atmosphere to the games. It is evident those Blades players on the ice are their heroes.

If you follow the lead of the youngsters as a ticket buyer, the SaskTel Centre is going to be a great place to be.

Rivalry Series game set for Feb. 7 in Saskatoon, other notes

Emily Clark walks out to the SaskTel Centre in November of 2018.

For the first time since 2018, the SaskTel Centre will get to play host one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.

On Wednesday, February 7 at 7 p.m., Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team will face the United States in Game 5 of the Rivalry Series. The U.S. leads the 2023-24 edition of the seven-game series 3-1 heading into Game 5 in Saskatoon.

Canada took Game 4 of the set 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout back on December 16, 2023 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia, Ont. Last season, the U.S. won the first three games of the series, but Canada rallied back taking the last four contests to capture the series win.

Canada’s roster will feature power forward and 28-year-old Saskatoon product Emily Clark. Clark has one goal over the first four games of the series. She is an assistant captain with Ottawa’s team in the PWHL and has played two games with the Ottawa side.

Clark is an alumna of the Saskatoon Stars Female Under-18 AAA Hockey Team.

The last time Canada and the U.S. played against each other in Saskatoon was back on November 10, 2018 in the championship game of the 4 Nations Cup tournament held at the SaskTel Centre. The U.S. claimed a 5-2 victory in that encounter.

Clark wasn’t able to play at that 4 Nations Cup due to an injured left leg.

• Saskatoon product Berkly Catton is having a sensational sophomore WHL season playing centre for the Spokane Chiefs. Appearing in all the Chiefs 39 games this season, Catton has posted 64 points coming off 27 goals and 37 assists to go with a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department. Catton turned 18-years-old on Sunday. Entering play on Wednesday, he sits seventh in the WHL’s scoring race.
• Gavin McKenna is having an outstanding rookie season playing left wing for the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 36 games with the Tigers, McKenna has 52 points coming off 17 goals and 35 assists. McKenna turned 16-years-old on December 20, 2023. Due to his December birthday, McKenna will play two more full more seasons in the WHL before becoming eligible for the NHL Entry Draft in 2026.
• On January 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a feature on 16-year-old Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating Club skater Melissa Scutchings, who skated in the Canada Winter Games that ran February 18 to March 5, 2023 across Prince Edward Island. The piece on Scutchings can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that shows photos of some of the facilities at the Complex on January 3 when warm weather winter conditions still existed. The photo roundup also showed fun at the Indoor Training Centre. That post 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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.