Blades need to win Game 2 versus Bedard and Pats

The Blades try to corner Pats C Connor Bedard (#98).

It isn’t a must win, but it is a need to win game for the Saskatoon Blades.

After dropping Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series 6-1 to the Regina Pats on Friday at the SaskTel Centre, it would very much help the Blades cause to win Game 2, which is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday at the SaskTel Centre. If the Blades aren’t able to get Game 2, the series could snowball to a quick post-season exit for “The Bridge City Bunch.”

The Regina Pats are an institution in “The Queen City.” If Pats fans feel like the 2023 post-season can turn into something special for their team, they can make the Brandt Centre one of the toughest buildings to play in all of the WHL. The series switches to Regina for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Of course, the Pats have the best junior aged hockey player in the whole world on their roster in 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard. He is a generational talent that makes most superstars at the junior level look ordinary.

His brand took a big jump upward after he set numerous Canadian team records at this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., Canada won gold taking the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in Halifax. Since returning to the Pats, Bedard has been packing rinks across the WHL taking the regular season scoring title with 143 points coming off 71 goals and 72 assists to go with a plus-39 rating in the plus-minus department in 57 games.

While the presence of Bedard is enough for Pats fans to get excited about their team, you don’t have to look too far into the past to see how excited and passionate fans in Regina can get over the Pats.

Connor Bedard is the world’s best junior aged hockey player.

First, the Pats have a rich history. They were created in 1917 and named for the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

As the world’s oldest major junior hockey team, the Pats have appeared in the Memorial Cup championship series and later tournament 13 times and won the Memorial Cup on three occasions in 1925, 1930 and 1974.

They once had links to the NHL’s storied Montreal Canadiens as the big club’s junior hockey affiliate for a time in the 1950s and 1960s. This was in an era that pre-dated the current NHL Entry Draft. Since the Pats were born, around 163 of their grads have gone on to play in the NHL.

With that pre-existing history, you just need some sparks in Regina and the fans there will rally around that team in a big way, even if a long span of time had elapsed with the team’s last long playoff run. This sparks transformed into a passionate flame in the 2016-17 campaign.

That Pats team finished first overall in the WHL with a 52-17-7-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling to the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games. During that campaign, the Pats sold out the Brandt Centre 23 times between the regular season and playoffs with capacity capped at 6,484 spectators.

During that entire campaign, the Pats Regiment cheered for a group of players that seemed to be almost superhero like in WHL MVP Sam Steel, charismatic captain Adam Brooks, standout offensive-defenceman Connor Hobbs, clutch overager Dawson Leedahl, skilled rookie Nick Henry, speedy Austin Wagner, steady rearguard Josh Mahura and gutsy goalie Tyler Brown.

The 2016-17 Pats salute their fans at the Brandt Centre.

For the people in Regina, this group of players were “the Boys.”

The core of that group had been together for three seasons, and people in Regina saw them play with their hearts on the sleeves. Under the watchful eye of head coach and general manager John Paddock, who was named the WHL’s coach of the year and executive of the year in 2016-17, Regina fans watched that group grow into good young men.

On top of that, the fans could tell it meant a lot to the players to play for the city and the team, and they respected the Pats history. With the snap of the fingers, the fans were there in droves. They stayed there in droves when the Pats fell behind the Swift Current Broncos 3-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

After the Pats took Game 5 of that series in a 3-2 playoff classic at the Brandt Centre, Pats fans flooded into the Dewdney Avenue strip after that contest. When you walked on to the strip, one would have thought the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders won the West final to advance to the Grey Cup.

Instead, people were decked out in red, white and blue yelling “Go Pats!”

A few alcoholic beverages were being drunk in the streets and the parties at the nightclubs went well into the early hours of the morning. That Pats hadn’t even won that series yet.

Pats fans cheer their team in the 2017 WHL Playoffs.

They would three days later posting a 5-1 win in a series-deciding Game 7. That marked the first time the Pats had ever completed a 3-1 series comeback in team history.

If you happen to be on the ice right after that Game 7 win, you looked up and saw this incredible celebration in the stands and the first thought that comes to mind was, “Holy (explanative)!”

From that Game 7 series win onwards, Pats playoff tickets sold out within 10 minutes upon going on sale. Dealing with scalpers became an issue as tickets that were sold for $25 a seat were being sold second hand for $125 per seat.

The current Pats are nowhere near as deep as that 2016-17 squad. During the 2022-23 campaign, the Pats posted a 34-30-3-1 record to make the WHL Playoffs finishing sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.

While Bedard is a generational player, he has heart, and it is obvious he cares about his junior team. When there were speculators saying Pats management should convince Bedard he needed to be traded to get a windfall of draft selections and players, the North Vancouver, B.C., product said he wanted to be with the Pats.

Bedard has shown by his play on the ice those words weren’t just lip service. The Pats are a young team and they do have some skilled players that care about club Tanner Howe, Alexander Suzdalev and Stanislav Svozil to go along with a cast of grinders. They have enough character there that the people of Regina will rally around that team.

Adam Brooks was the Pats charismatic captain in 2016-17.

If those intangible elements start working against the Blades, they will have a mountain to scale, especially if they lose Game 2 of their series with the Pats.

Unlike the Pats in Regina, the Blades, who began play in 1964, aren’t an institution in Saskatoon. If the Blades win a playoff series, there won’t be any street parties on 8^th Street or in the pub district in downtown Saskatoon on 2^nd Avenue and 21^st Street.

If feels like there is an element of the fan base in Saskatoon that can’t get over some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder from the fact the Blades made it to the WHL Championship Series five times in their history and lost each of those series in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1992 and 1994.

In 1975, 1992 and 1994, the Blades were in position to claim the WHL title in a series deciding Game 7 with a win, but fell in each of those contests. For the fans that don’t get over those results, it feels like they don’t realize how hard it is or how impressive the journey is to get to that point.

The 1992 and 1994 losses came to the dynasty Kamloops Blazers, who advanced to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in both those years along with 1995.

Add in the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup tournament twice in 1989 and 2013 and didn’t capture major junior hockey’s biggest prize on either occasion to increase the heartbreak. They made it to the event’s title game in 1989 and lost 4-3 in overtime to the Broncos on Tim Tisdale’s winner.

The vocal critic fans have dubbed the Blades as traditionally, “The great regular season team that can’t get it done in the playoffs.”

There are a lot of times when that tag is an unfair one.

Sam Steel was the WHL MVP in 2016-17.

(*It should be noted the Pats have their share of vocal fan critics too, but they seem to get minimized when the Pats get rolling*).

With all that said, the Blades do have a loyal and core ultra-passionate fan base. 

When you go to games on a frequent basis during the regular season, you will see those fans in the building game after game, and they are as good as the best fans in the rest of the WHL. It would be nice if there were more of them in the building.

They respect the honest efforts that the team’s builders put in over the decades in the late Jim Piggott, the late Jackie McLeod, the Brodsky family, Daryl Lubiniecki and Lorne Molleken to capture the WHL title and the Memorial Cup. 

They respect the honest efforts put in by the Priestner family now, which includes seeing Colin Priestner grow into a fantastic general manager.

When the Blades honoured Molleken for his work as the team’s all-time great head coach and general manager, 5,609 spectators turned out at the SaskTel Centre on April 15, 2022 before the Blades downed the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1. 

Many of the Molleken’s former players turned out that night along with lifetime best friends in Lubiniecki and Jack Brodsky. Molleken very much deserved that night and to have his name added to the Blades Builders banner.

The Blades are the example of how unfair sports can be. They are the example that you can have all these great seasons, do everything right and in a classy manner but still don’t win the top championships you pursue. 

Aidan De La Gorgendiere has invested a tonne in the Blades.

The Blades have been worthy enough to win one WHL title or one Memorial Cup, but in a lesson on how unfair life can be, it hasn’t happened.

Still, the Blades in 2022-23 finished fourth overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. For just the fifth time in team history, they recorded 100-or-more points in the standings.

Under head coach Brennan Sonne, they have put together a talented group that is a tight one too. Over the course of the campaign, they have done various team building things which ultimately should great that special will and desperation that you need to win in the post-season. 

Teams do team building activities over the course of the season to create that family feeling and attachment which is the intangible that gives you the drive to get through the tough times in the post-season.

The current Blades including captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who has put a lot of emotional investment in the team, Trevor Wong, Egor Sidorov and the rest of the roster want to help this year’s team accomplish more special milestones.

The Pats and Blades will square off in Game 2 on Sunday.

If the Blades can win Game 2 on Sunday, the series with the Pats is truly on. If the Blades fall in that contest, the Pats story will become the tale that resonates.

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

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Pats had epic night in 2017 series comeback win

Sam Steel celebrates his game opening goal.

For Regina Pats fans, April 17, 2017 marked one of the most joyful nights in recent memory to be supporter of the world’s oldest major junior franchise.

Before a raucous sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Pats faced the visiting Swift Current Broncos in a series deciding Game 7 in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal set. The Pats scored twice before the game was five minutes old and rolled to a 5-1 victory.

The win allowed the Pats to return to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time in 24 years. The Pats - a franchise that was founded in 1917 - also erased a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in team history.

As the final minute of that Game 7 victory against the Broncos ticked away, the Brandt Centre faithful stood and roared the entire time. The cheers grew louder and louder and hit a peak when the time left on the third period clock elapsed.

Filip Ahl (#61) battles in the corner for the Pats.

At that moment, I was standing in the Zamboni tunnel behind the Pats net shooting pictures of the scene that was unfolding. A few of the old Brandt Centre staffers were still around from when I lived in Regina from 1995 to 2001.

Back in that time, the staff made the Brandt Centre feel like one of the most friendly rinks on the WHL circuit. That friendly feeling extended to that game day and even the present day with the new staffers.

During the 2016-17 WHL campaign, I felt I established a pretty good rapport with the staff at the Brandt Centre.

Connor Hobbs had three assists in the win.

After the third period clock hit zero in that Game 7 win over the Broncos, I remember one of the staffers opening the Zamboni door behind the Pats net and telling me in a fun tone to get out there on the ice.

From the ice, I remember looking up at the crowd and thinking, “Holy (explanative)!”

That was the loudest I’ve ever heard the crowd at the Brandt Centre. I took a moment to soak in that site of pure joy.

While Regina loves the Pats, the thought was imbedded in my mind that fate wouldn’t allow the Pats to have a moment like that. The Pats had won three Memorial Cup titles in their history, but the last came back in 1974.

They hadn’t been to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series since 1993 until beating the Broncos in Game 7 on that night at home in 2017. I was always convinced that something would happen to derail a good Pats season.

In 2016-17, the Pats were outstanding. They finished first in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 52-12-7-1 mark.

The Pats faithful cheer on their team at the Brandt Centre.

For much of the campaign, the Pats were rated first in the Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings and topped the final rankings that were released on March 22, 2017.

The Pats swept the Calgary Hitmen 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round playoff series.

All of a sudden, it seemed like Regina’s magical run would come to an end at the hands of the Broncos.

The Broncos took a 3-1 lead in the series, and Pats star overage captain Adam Brooks went down with a knee injury in Game 2 of the series.

Nick Henry was one of the Pats key players.

If the Pats rallied, they would have to win three games in four nights beginning Friday, April 14, 2017. In an outstanding major junior playoff encounter, the Pats stayed alive with a 3-2 victory.

If you went out on the Dewdney Avenue strip after that Pats victory, you would have thought the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders were going to the Grey Cup or had won the Grey Cup. That was how good parties were after that Pats second round Game 5 win.

The Pats were far from out of the woods. Game 6 would be played the next night at the Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, and the Broncos faithful were gitty about holding a Saturday night celebration likes of which that small Saskatchewan centre hadn’t seen in some time.

Just 2:27 into the second period of Game 6, the Broncos scored twice to go ahead 3-1. After those tallies, Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin broke in on Pats netminder Tyler Brown on a breakaway and the sellout crowd of 2,890 at the Credit Union i-Plex rose to their feet expecting another goal.

Tyler Brown keeps focused on the action up ice.

Brown stoned Gawdin to the disappointment of the onlookers. Had Gawdin scored at that moment, it likely would have been lights out for the Pats in the 2017 WHL playoffs.

The Pats scored twice late in the second to even things up and 3-3 and skated away with a 5-3 victory.

Two nights later, the Pats skated into a series deciding Game 7 with all sorts of momentum.

Just 2:19 into Game 7, Pats star centre Sam Steel popped home the rebound on a shot taken from linemate Nick Henry to give the Pats a 1-0 lead. Pats import winger Filip Ahl followed that up with a breakaway goal at the 4:57 mark of the opening frame and the “Pats’ Regiment” was in a frenzy after that tally.

Swift Current did have an opportunity to get back into the contest closing out the final nine minutes of the opening frame with three power-play chances.

The Pats mob Tyler Brown after their series win.

Brown stoned Broncos star winger Tyler Steenbergen on a golden opportunity in close and robbed Broncos import rearguard Artyom Minulin with a huge glove save on a rocket shot through a screen from the point.

The Pats proceeded to pull away with a convincing win from that point. Offensive defenceman Connor Hobbs had three assists and was a plus-four in the plus-minus department in the romp.

During that 2017 playoff run, that night was the only time the Pats clinched a series win at home.

Following that big victory, the Pats won the WHL Eastern Conference title downing the Lethbridge Hurricanes in six games with Brooks returning to game action. Regina proceeded to fall in the WHL Championship series in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Pats salute their fans at the Brandt Centre.

The Thunderbirds took Game 6 of the series with a 4-3 win in overtime in Regina after erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period.

The Broncos wrote a good epilogue after falling to the Pats in Game 7 in 2017. Swift Current finished second overall in the WHL standings in 2017-18 with a 48-17-5-2 record and went on to win the WHL title in that campaign.

Still, Pats fans will never forget that Game 7 victory over the Broncos in 2017. When that victory happened, the realization of a long Pats playoff run was better than the dream.

Could WWE provide clue for normal times, other notes

Welcome to The New Era. @RaquelWWE @BiancaBelairWWE + @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/sG7SwPMQkD

— WWE (@WWE) April 17, 2021

When the WWE tours again, is that a sign the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is over?

When the WWE does indeed start touring again, it will not be the sign the COVID-19 pandemic is either over or not. It will probably be a tangible sign that things are moving more to the direction of being normal.

The main driver of the sports entertainment company are the weekly televisions shows it produces like Monday Night RAW, NXT and SmackDown. A massive COVID-19 outbreak on the WWE roster would have a severe impact on the storylines that come out in weekly television programs, and those storylines build towards pay per view events.

WWE has made last minute adjustments at different moments during the past year due to positive COVID-19 tests.

For most of the last 13 months, RAW and SmackDown were filmed at an empty WWE Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida, or a virtual online video screen crowd venue set up the WWE calls the Thunderdome, which was held at Tropicana Field in Tampa.

NXT has been filmed at the Performance Centre since October in front of a virtual onscreen crowd and a small gather of fans. Before that, NXT was being filmed at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida without fans going back to March 2020.

Last weekend, the WWE had its first huge live crowds in over 13 months this past weekend hosting WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa this past Saturday and Sunday. The WWE maxed out the crowd they were allowed to have on each night at 25,675 spectators.

Before WrestleMania 37, the last major crowd WWE had for a weekly show was the episode of RAW that aired on March 9, 2020.

WWE wanted fans back at its showcase event in WrestleMania but hasn’t made public any plans to go back to touring full time or holding any other live shows.

WWE has moved its Thunderdome from Tropicana Field in Tampa to the Yuengling Center located at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The move was made due to the fact the Tampa Bay Rays, who are the main tenant at Tropicana Field, have begun their MLB season.

This past Monday’s RAW was filmed at the new Thunderdome location. The WWE plans to remain at the Yuengling Center while gauging when it would be prudent to return to a live weekly model.

In an interview with Joe Otterson of Variety for a story that went live on Wednesday, WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan did open the door for the possibility of having more live in person events.

Khan said plans have been made and to stay tuned for announcements.

“But just know that once we’re back on the road, we’re on the road full time,” said Khan. “We’re not looking to do other one offs.

“Again, this was WrestleMania, and we felt it needed to be done for the fans. So look for news coming soon.”

When the WWE does return to touring, it will be interesting to see how that looks. The company could tour first in states in the United States that have removed a significant amount of COVID-19 protocols regarding large gatherings.

For a company that is used to touring all over the world, would touring in a handful of states equate to touring full time?

Outside of Khan’s quote, the WWE doesn’t seem to be in too much of a rush to leave the safe filming confines of the Thunderdome.

On Thursday, the WWE released 10 wrestlers including Samoa Joe, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Chelsea Green, Mickie James, Tucker, Kalisto, Bo Dallas, Mojo Rawley and Wesley Blake. The released talent was severely underused by the WWE.

If the WWE was going to return to touring any time soon, it would be hard to see all these cuts getting made.

A year ago around this time, the WWE released just over 20 people in the talent department. Those releases were part of the company’s initial reaction to a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In current times, the WWE is still making major amounts of money and produces a massive profit.

• On Friday, organizers cancelled the Regina Folk Festival for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was slated to be held Aug. 6 to 8 in Victoria Park in the Saskatchewan capital city. Organizers do hope to hold some type of summer programming.
• On Friday, the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings announced Doug Gasper will be the club’s new general manager. Gasper has been an assistant general manager for the Wheat Kings since 2019. He will replace Darren Ritchie, who is leaving the Wheat Kings to become an amateur scout with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Ritchie became the Wheat Kings general manager in July of 2019. He will stay on with the Wheat Kings until they complete their current WHL regular season, which is being held for developmental purposes.
• On Friday, the NHL’s Ottawa Senators announced they signed 21-year-old winger Cole Reinhardt to a three-year entry-level contract that will start with the 2021-22 season. Reinhardt had been playing on an amateur tryout contract with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He has three goals and four assists in 21 games this season in Belleville. Reinhardt played four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings from 2016 to 2020 appearing in 252 career regular season games collecting 75 goals, 66 assists and a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department.
• On Saturday, the WHL announced the Tri-City Americans have suspended all activities due to a positive COVID-19 test to a player. The Americans have had three games so far postponed including a Saturday clash with the visiting Spokane Chiefs. In a release, the WHL said it was working in consultation with the Washington State Department of Health regarding the situation with the Americans. Being located in the United States, the Americans situation will likely be dealt with differently compared to positive tests involving clubs located in Canada. The Americans last played this past Tuesday, when they fell 4-2 to the Seattle Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
• Saskatoon products Emily Clark and Sophie Shirley are currently taking part in the selection camp for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team in Halifax, N.S. The camp runs through to Thursday. The camp is the final opportunity to evaluate players for the women’s worlds, which are scheduled for May 6 to 16 in Halifax and Truno, N.S.
• On Thursday, Danny Austin, a Postmedia sportswriter in Calgary, stirred the pot tweeting out a letter from Alberta Health dated from April 9, 2021 regarding the return of crowds for performance events. The letter targeted late July for the removal of capacity restrictions for performance events in Alberta. The letter said the targets were contingent on how the COVID-19 pandemic plays out including progress on vaccinations. There had been talk this sort of letter existed, and Austin posted it after he got a copy of it. The reactions in the replies went all over the place. The tweet is shown below.

Interesting pic.twitter.com/B8HowG7Y6N

— Danny Austin (@DannyAustin_9) April 16, 2021

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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Fun with photos

Garth Knittig (#59) dives in for a TD for the Hilltops.

    Defensive lineman touchdowns always make great photos.

    Anyway how saw big old Garth Knittig fly through the air like a bird in the 2017 PFC final for the Saskatoon Hilltops would know that was true. 
    The defensive tackle, who was dubbed “the Delisle Destroyer,” looked like a stout thick building standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 285 pounds getting some serious air time taking the ball on a short-yardage plunge and diving in over top of the Regina Thunder defence from a yard out.

    Knittig’s score came with 96 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and it put the Hilltops up 36-24 over the Thunder. The score would be cemented as the final outcome of the contest at Saskatoon Minor Football Field on Oct. 22, 2017.

    Before Knittig’s touchdown, the Hilltops were holding on to a 29-24 lead against their Regina rivals late in the fourth quarter and wanted to ensure the Thunder didn’t have a chance to pull out any last minute heroics.

    On Knittig’s goal-line short-yardage score, he actually wasn’t supposed to get the ball. He was in the Hilltops short-yardage offensive package to be a blocking fullback.

    Hilltops star quarterback Jordan Walls didn’t hear the play call correctly and was supposed to hand off to a regular ball carrier. He also didn’t question what he heard, because Knittig was a strong, tough and hard-working defensive tackle.

    Everyone in the Hilltops huddle would have been in favour of getting Knittig into the end zone. Little did anyone know, Knittig could run the one-yard dive play as well as Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen, who was an all-time NFL great with the Los Angeles version of the Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Garth Knittig gets set on defence in the 2017 PFC final.

    After that win, the Hilltops advanced on to win a fourth straight CJFL title.

    The image of Knittig’s score in that PFC final is one of the many photos I have captured over the years I enjoy looking at. Since I started this blog in late August of 2014, readers have constantly said they like the photos I have posted.

    Readers might not always like what I have to write, but I don’t think I have ever received a bad word regarding a picture I have posted. Most of those pictures have been from sports events that I have covered.

    Actually, I have usually received great feedback from my picture taking at sporting events. The first photos I ever took came from the second school year I worked at the University of Regina student news paper, The Carillon, in 1997-98.

    I shot a tonne of photos during my time at the Prince Albert Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004.

    I then went through a period of time where I didn’t shoot extensively. When I joined the Medicine Hat News in September of 2004, I was brought on to be a WHL beat writer that covered the Medicine Hat Tigers.

    While I did write about other sports, my main focus was on the Tigers and stories on the WHL league front.

    When I first got to the news, we had a deep editorial staff with three talented photographers. I wasn’t needed to fill that role.

The Hilltops celebrate winning the PFC title in 2017.

    During my time there, the News was sold to Glacier Media and the budget cut era began to take hold at that outlet. I took up shooting photos once again during the 2010-11 hockey season and have kept doing that craft since then.

    I actually like shooting photos more than I do writing.
    During these days that pass under the cloud of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it seems doom and gloom can overcome life.

    I figured I would share 10 more photos in no particular order I have taken over the years that look cool. I saw on my Instagram account I have posted at the moment 1,299 photos I have taken that I really like.

    That volume makes it hard to cut down to a handful of favourities. I figured this could be a fun post I could do on continuing basis even after the pandemic ends.

    With all that said, I hope you enjoy the first batch of photos I have collected for this post. 

Hannoun’s Game 7 OT winner gives WHL title to Raiders

    This will go down as the most iconic photo I have ever taken.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun (#17) reacts to scoring the overtime winner for the Prince Albert Raiders in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series played on May 13, 2019 at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    Hannoun’s goal gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants. It also gave the defining moment in the history of the Raiders legendary home rink in the Art Hauser Centre.

Rams’ Hughes the Huskies in the dust

    University of Regina Rams running back Neal Hughes was one of that program’s all-time top playmakers before going on to a 10-year CFL career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

    Before he won two Grey Cup rings with the Roughriders, Hughes blasts away from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies defence in this photo take on Sept. 15, 2001. He ran the ball 17 times for 141 yards and scored two touchdowns and caught six passes for 80 yards and a major score.

    The Rams won the Hall of Fame game 31-21 before 7,238 spectators on the frozen concrete of Taylor Field.

Smith’s joyful Ruthy moment with Huskies

    Chloe Smith only played two seasons for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, but that was enough time to carve out a memorable moment.

    In this photo taken on Feb. 24, 2018, Smith (centre) celebrates scoring the winning goal for the Huskies who downed the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 2-1 in Game 2 of a Canada West semifinal series. She was in her rookie season with the Huskies when she scored this goal.
    The win allowed the Huskies to sweep the best-of-three series 2-0.

    Smith’s tally goes down as the final U Sports women’s playoff series winner scored at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

Shirley so good at age 15 with Stars

    So good, so young.

    Sophie Shirley is pictured in action here for the Saskatoon Stars at age 15 during a Saskatchewan Female Under-18 AAA Hockey League semifinal series against the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats at the Agriplace Arena.
    At the time standing just 5-foot-4, Shirley weaved her magic piling up 12 goals and 12 assists helping the Stars win all nine of their league playoff games in 2015 and capture their first Fedoruk Cup as SFU18AAAHL champions.

    She finished second SFU18AAAHL regular season scoring with 22 goals and 17 assists in 27 games.

    Now standing 5-foot-9, Shirley is a star centre with the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team and a member of Canada national women’s development team. She helped the Badgers win an NCAA national title in 2019 and has a decorated list of accomplishments in hockey having just turned 21-years-old.

Huskies’ Machart follows Riley to the end zone

    Running back Adam Machart rocked and rolled for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in 2019.

    In this picture taken on Sept. 6, 2019, Marchart follows the block of left guard Mattland Riley in the Huskies homecoming game against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at Griffiths Stadium.

    Machart had a big night carrying the ball 15 times for 134 yards and scoring two touchdowns. He caught an additional five passes for 39 yards in a 40-7 Huskies victory before 6,278 spectators.

    That was the beginning of a huge campaign for Machart. He set a new Huskies team record for most rushing yards in a season piling up 1,334 yards on 156 carries, where he scored eight touchdowns.

    Machart also caught 20 passes for 204 yards and scored three majors through the air. His 1,538 all-purpose yards were a new Huskies team record for one regular season.

    Riley would be selected in the first round and seventh overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL Draft held this past April 30.

Cornwall blows roof of SaskTel Centre for Rush

    Jeff Cornwall gave the Saskatchewan Rush a dream finish to their first campaign playing out of the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

    On June 4, 2016, Cornwall, who is a Rush defender, scored a on a coast-to-coast rush with 12 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to break a 10-10 tie with the Buffalo Bandits and put the Rush ahead 11-10 sending 15,182 spectators into delirium. That 11-10 score held up as the final in Game 2 of the National Lacrosse League Championship Series.

    The Rush swept the best-of-three set 2-0 to capture their second NLL title in team history. Their first came the previous season in what was their final campaign based in Edmonton.

    This photo shows the Cornwall (centre in front) celebrating his winning goal in 2016. I like the zoomed out photos of this moment the best, because they show how crazy the SaskTel Centre crowd was.

Moskaluke performs on Canada in 2017

    Just to show I can take pictures of happenings outside of the sports world, I had to throw in this picture of Jess Moskaluke.

    In this picture, Moskaluke is performing at Diefenbaker Park in Saskatoon on Canada Day of 2017. I guess it wouldn’t be much of an admission to say I love taking pictures of Jess Moskaluke performing in concert.

    I’ve only done that twice in my life. I hope I will have another opportunity to take pictures of her in action in the future.

    She has quite the stage presence, and of course, a fantastic singing voice.

Steel’s all-heart goal celebration for the Pats

    Sam Steel represented everything that was good about the WHL’s Regina Pats.

    The star centre gave his heart and soul to the historic major junior team every time he stepped on the ice.

    This picture was taken on April 17, 2017, and it was of Steel’s celebration in scoring the Pats first goal in a series deciding Game 7 of a second round playoff series against the Swift Current Broncos.      This picture shows Steel was locked into performing heroics with the Pats.

    He finished the night with two goals in a 5-1 Pats victory. The Pats trailed in the series 3-1 before pulling out three straight wins to take the set.

    It still marks the only time in the post-season the Pats have rallied back to win a series in which they trailed 3-1.

Caller versus Loewen

    This at the moment goes down as my best photo from a hockey fight, but the fight actually wasn’t as good as the photo was.

    On Dec. 9, 2017, the Saskatoon Blades hosted the Kamloops Blazers in a WHL regular season game at the SaskTel Centre. At the 11:45 mark of the first period, Blades 18-year-old defenceman Jackson Caller fought Blazers powerhouse 19-year-old left-winger Jermaine Loewen.

    Moments before this fight, Loewen had driven Caller’s defensive partner, Evan Fiala, hard into the boards.

    Caller, who stood 6-foot-2 and weighed 189 pounds, hung in a little bit with Loewen, who stood 6-foot-4 and weighed 221 pounds. Loewen overpowered Caller and won the fight without dispute.

    The fight was one-sided, but an early still made the bout look more competitive than it was. The Blazers took the game 4-1.

Willoughby plays hero for Huskies

    Kaitlin Willoughby had a number of big moments for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, but one picture I took of her goes down as an all-time classic.

    This photo taken on Jan. 21, 2017 shows Willoughby celebrating her overtime winner that gave the Huskies a 5-4 victory over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in a U Sports regular season game at the ancient Rutherford Rink.

    Willoughby’s tally was a highlight reel one that saw her speed down the left wing in the Thunderbirds zone, cut to the net and snipe the winner top corner past diving Thunderbirds defender Kelly Murray and netminder Amelia Boughn.

    Willoughby, who was in her fourth season with the U of S at the time of this photo, finished as the Huskies second all-time leading scorer with 50 goals and 61 assists for 111 points in 132 regular season games.

    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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Reconnecting for training helps mental health for sports world

Huskies DT Evan Machibroda pressures and opposing quarterback.

    It is safe to say those in the sports community aren’t taking for granted the chance to get out and train in the current day.

    Of course, athletes all over North America had to go through a lengthy stretch of not being able to train together due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In North America, massive shutdowns took place from March 11 to 13.

    When those shutdowns took effect, athletes and those in the general public who wanted to stay in shape had to find ways to do workouts and exercise on their own.

    In most places in North America, reopening plans started taking shape throughout May.

    In Saskatchewan, athletes and those in the general public looking to stay in shape have been able to train together at gyms and fitness centres since Phase 3 of the provinces reopening plan took place on June 8.

    Since June 8, further restrictions have been lifted in Saskatchewan, but life hasn’t returned to what it was before the shutdowns occurred due to COVID-19.

    Still, some sports like golf have been able to once again hold competitive events in Saskatchewan.      The sports of softball and baseball are expecting to start playing games at the house and city league levels in a matter of days.
    While there hasn’t been a lot of mingling at training centres, those attending sessions at training centres are visibly happy when they get to see others they haven’t seen for sometime due to the lockdown.

David Solie (#15) boots a field goal for the Huskies.

    A number of the athletes have jobs in the working world. In these present days, these athletes go through long stretches where they just see people from their work environments.

    When gyms and fitness centres opened up, those athletes had an avenue to see people outside of their work worlds.

    I’ve seen that play out first hand, when I wear my hat working as the communications coordinator at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I’ve seen athletes from various sporting communities usually take part in workouts with Ignite Athletes with a little extra jump in their steps.

    The majority that I know come from the football world.

    From the U Sports world, one of the first persons I saw on the grounds was University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team kicker David Solie. When Solie saw me, he smiled.

    When we got talking, he said he was happy to get out of his house after being cooped up for so long.

    He works as one of the staffers at the complex too, but you could tell he had a new appreciation for being able to get out and about.

    I saw Brant Morrow, who is a defensive back for the six-time defending CJFL champion Saskatoon Hilltops, shortly after June 8 passed and had a catch up chat with him. He appeared really happy to see familiar faces again.

    One of the best visits I had was a chance encounter with Huskies offensive utility player Colton Klassen and now graduated Huskies defensive tackle Evan Machibroda at Saskatoon Minor Football Field.

Ryder Klisowsky (#61) locks up on a block for the Hilltops.

    Klassen was selected by the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL Draft held on April 30. Machibroda was selected by the Edmonton Eskimos in the 2019 CFL Draft and signed a contract with the club from the Alberta capital on Jan. 28.
    Both are training and staying ready for a CFL season they hope takes place in 2020. We hung out for about 20 minutes catching up and telling all sorts of old stories.

    I also crossed paths with now graduated Saskatoon Hilltops left guard Ryder Klisowsky. Klisowsky is training to join the University of Manitoba Bisons football team for the 2021 U Sports season since the 2020 U Sports football campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He admitted he was happy to see familiar faces, when he went out to train.

    While most sports are still trying to navigate a return to play, it can’t be understated how much of a breath of fresh air it is to go out and train.

    For athletes, a new appreciation appears to have been built for that aspect of their lives.

Andrews departs as Pats play-by-play voice, other notes

Thank you Regina! pic.twitter.com/d2pmLNmrxD

— Phil Andrews (@Phil_Andrews_) June 29, 2020

    Phil Andrews’ successor is going to have monster shoes to fill as the play-by-play voice of the WHL’s Regina Pats.

    On Monday, Andrews resigned his posts as the Pats play-by-play voice and director of media and communications effective July 31, 2020. Andrews has been the Pats play-by-play voice for the past nine seasons and added the role of director of media and communications in 2016.

    The 31-year-old had quite the run as the Pats play-by-play voice. Andrews called the rise of the great Pats teams that had the likes of Adam Brooks, Sam Steel, Austin Wagner, Connor Hobbs, Jake Leschyshyn, Nick Henry, Robbie Holmes, Chase Harrison, Josh Mahura and Tyler Brown.

Adam Brooks had lots of highlight moments called by Phil Andrews.

    That group came up under the guidance of head coach and general manager John Paddock, who shed the head coach role before the start of the 2018-19 campaign, and assistant coach and assistant general manager Dave Struch, who became the head coach and assistant general manager before the 2018-19 season.

    Andrews called games with professionalism, class and flair. He saw the Pats win first round playoff series in 2015 and 2016.

    The 2016 post-season saw the Pats fall 2-1 in a series deciding Game 7 to the Rebels in Red Deer in the second round. At the time, the Pats hadn’t played in a WHL final semifinal series since 1993 and were heartbreakingly close when they bowed out to the Rebels.

    That set the stage for the Pats to top the WHL in 2016-17 with a 52-12-7-1 record. In the 2017 playoffs, the Pats advanced all the way to the WHL final for the first time since 1984.

    They fell in the 2017 WHL final to the Seattle Thunderbirds, where the Thunderbirds closed out the series with a 4-3 win in overtime in Game 6 played at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

    In May of 2018, the Pats hosted the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The Pats made the final of the 100^th edition of the Memorial Cup falling 3-0 to Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who are based out of Bathurst, New Brunswick.

    Over all that time, Andrews became engrained as the Pats play-by-play voice making iconic calls of big plays made by Brooks, Steel, Hobbs, Brown and company.

Sam Steel seemed larger than life thanks to Phil Andrews’ calls.

    Anytime you saw the Pats stars making a highlight, you could hear Andrews’ voice.

    It was a cool development considering Andrews grew up in Saskatoon. A lot of fans of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades hate the Pats more than any other team in the league including the Blades archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders.

    Combining Andrews’ talent and his relative youth, I felt he would be the one guy out of all the current WHL play-by-play voices who would find his way into being the play-by-play voice of an NHL team.

    Andrews said the time has come to be more present with his wife, Megan, and their three children. Phil mentioned over Twitter they would be returning to Saskatoon.

    Andrews will be a winner in life no matter what he does. The impact he made calling plays for the world’s oldest major junior team in the Pats, whose history dates back to 1917, will not be forgotten in “The Queen City.”

• Last Saturday, the MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates signed right-handed pitcher and Muenster, Sask., product Logan Hofmann to a rookie contract. The Pirates selected Hofmann in the fifth round and 138^th overall in the MLB Draft held on June 11.
• In the CHL Import Draft held on Tuesday, the Prince Albert Raiders selected forward Uladzislau Shyla from Minsk, Belarus, in the first round and 45^th overall. The 17-year-old, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 147 pounds, had 10 goals and nine assists in 55 games for Belarus’s under-18 team this past season. With the selection of Shyla, the Raiders released 19-year-old Belarusian centre Daniil Stepanov on Tuesday. Stepanov had six goals and five assists in 49 games last season split between the Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors.
• In the CHL Import Draft held on Tuesday, the Saskatoon Blades picked centre Brad Lambert from Lahti, Finland, in the first round and 33^rd overall. Lambert, who will turn 17-years-old in December, picked up 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points in 42 games last season with the HIFK Helsinki-U20 team. Lambert, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 172 pounds, did spend some years growing up in Saskatoon before his family relocated to Finland for the start of the 2017-18 season.
• The North Bay Battalion of the OHL had the first overall selection in Tuesday’s CHL Import Draft. The Battalion used that pick to take winger Matvei Petrov from Moscow, Russia. The 17-year-old, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 163 pounds, had five goals and four assists in 21 games with MHK Krylia Sovetov from Russia’s top junior circuit.
• On Wednesday, Saskatchewan Rush defender Kyle Rubisch was named a first team National Lacrosse League all-star. In the Rush’s 10 games last season, Rubisch had two goals and six assists.
• The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame located in Regina is targeting to open on Sept. 1. The museum is undergoing renovations which were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Museums were allowed to reopen in Saskatchewan on Monday according to the province’s reopening plan.
• With how the number of cases of COVID-19 have spiked in the United States, people in Saskatoon and the province of Saskatchewan might feel better about the decision that the Merlis Belsher Place hockey rink facility on the University of Saskatchewan grounds is a field hospital in waiting. The Merlis Belsher Place field hospital in waiting might be termed a “Linus blanket” field hospital in waiting as everyone hopes it never needs to be used for that purpose.
• It was 10 years ago today the Saskatchewan Roughriders downed the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes 54-51 in double overtime as both teams opened their respective 2010 CFL regular season schedules. Roughriders star quarterback Darian Durant connected with star receiver Weston Dressler on a three-yard touchdown pass for the winning score on Saskatchewan’s second overtime possession. A sellout crowd of 30,048 spectators at Regina’s historic Taylor Field celebrated in raucous style after Dressler’s winning score. Seems weird to think it has been a decade since that all-time CFL classic contest was played.  

    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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Bears’ Soyko grows into one of the SFMAAAHL’s best

Star power forward a player to watch in 2018-19

Abby Soyko has developed into one of the Bears biggest stars.

    Abby Soyko has emerged as a difference maker.

    The Prince Albert product began playing for her hometown Northern Bears of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League shortly before her 13^th birthday in the 2014-15 campaign. After four full seasons with the Bears, she has evolved into one of the top players in the SFMAAAHL.

    The skilled winger has improved by leaps and bounds during every off-season. For the past two seasons, she has led the Bears in scoring and piled up an impressive 21 goals and 17 assists in 28 regular season games last season.

    Soyko keeps getting strong, faster and more explosive. You almost can’t wait until Bears regular season rolls around this year to see how much better she will be playing in her 17-year-old and final campaign in the midget AAA ranks.

Abby Soyko (#19) might capture all the Bears career scoring records.

    By the time she is finished her final midget AAA season, Soyko, who stands 5-foot-5, could potential own all the Bears career regular season scoring records. Currently, she has appeared in 108 regular season games piling up 48 goals and 46 assists for 94 points to sit as the Bears third all-time leading scorer.

    She is three points away from equaling Kaitlin Willoughby as the Bears second all-time leading scorer at 97 points. Willoughby, who just recently wrapped up her U Sports career as the star captain with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s hockey team, piled up 34 goals and 63 assists appearing in 96 career regular season games with the Bears from 2008 to 2013.

    Soyko is seven points shy of tying Kelly Regnier as the all-time leading scorer in Bears history with 101 points.

Abby Soyko (#19) has steadily improved during her SFMAAAHL career.

    Regnier, who moved on to play three seasons with the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team, collected 50 goals and 51 assists in 83 career regular season games played with the Bears from 2010 to 2013.

    Soyko needs three goals to eclipse Regnier’s record for career regular season goals with the Bears at 50. If Soyko can set a new career high for assists in a season at 18, she will pass Willoughby’s mark of 63 career regular season assists to set a new standard for the Bears.

    If Soyko has another standout campaign, she could potentially finish inside of the top ten in career SFMAAAHL regular season scoring.

Abby Soyko, centre, enjoys scoring a goal for the Bears.

    While she topped the Bears in scoring in the 2016-17 campaign when they won the SFMAAAHL title and advanced to the Esso Cup national championship tournament, Soyko looked way more power making plays last season.
    She led the Bears with five game-winning goals helping them post a 22-5-1 regular season record to finish second overall in the SFMAAAHL.

    Soyko’s play was key in aiding the Bears return to the SFMAAAHL championship series last season, but the Prince Albert squad was swept in the best-of-five set 3-0 by a power Saskatoon Stars side.

    She comes from a really athletic family including triplet sisters Alli and Alex.
    Alli is a gritty forward for the Bears, while Alex plays basketball and soccer and is a member of the Carlton Comprehensive High School senior girls’ basketball team.

    Older brother Steven was a goalie with the Prince Albert Midget AA Raiders, and he exhausted his midget eligibility this past season.

    Soyko has overcome some down times in her career as well.
    Last season, she tried out for Saskatchewan’s under-18 female provincial team and was cut.

Abby Soyko (#19 on right) always respects the opposition. 

    The power forward didn’t allow that development to affect her performance with the Bears.
    In coming back from that setback, Soyko showed a lot of character.

    While she is a highly competitive player on the ice, Soyko is fairly personable off the ice. She socializes easily with players and coaches from opposing teams.

    Soyko is quick to pass on complements publicly if someone from another team is doing well and encouragement if another club from the SFMAAAHL is having success at a major tournament like Esso Cup.
    She is one of the most well-liked players on the SFMAAAHL circuit.

    When the Bears hit the ice, you know you will always get a solid effort from Soyko.
    Similar to former Regina Pats captain Sam Steel in the WHL ranks, you know Soyko will do all the right steps to be ready for each and every game, and you never have to worry about her.

Abby Soyko might play for a while after her days with the Bears wrap up.

    With the way she has improved already, you have to wonder how good Soyko could actually end up being.
    You can likely expect to see her playing for a lengthy number of years after her days with the Bears wrap up.

    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.