Warriors top players even series with Ice 1-1

Brayden Yager had three points for the Warriors on Saturday.

The Moose Jaw Warriors top guns got their series with the Winnipeg Ice all even at 1-1.

On Saturday playing before 1,872 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg, the Warriors stormed out to a 4-0 lead and downed the host Ice 5-3 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. With the win, the Warriors even the series at 1-1.

Games 3 and 4 go Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. both nights at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Saturday’s Game 2 battle was a wild one that had an edge to it as well. By the 9:31 mark of the opening frame, the Warriors built a 4-0 off a pair of goals from Brayden Yager and singles from Ryder Korczak and Martin Rysavy.

The Ice pulled star starting goaltender Daniel Hauser after the first period with him having stopped 7-of-11 shots fired his way taking the setback in net for the host side. Mason Beaupit, who is a 19-year-old veteran backup, played the rest of the way in relief turning away all eight shots he faced.

The teams proceeded to play through a scoreless second. In third, the Ice struck for three straight goals to cut the Warriors lead to 4-3. Zack Ostapchuk netted a goal 67 seconds into the frame, Connor McClennon tallied at the 13:09 mark and Carson Latimer scored at the 16:10 mark. Latimer was playing in his first game since suffering an injury in the Ice’s 8-1 victory over the Oil Kings in Edmonton on February 26, 2023.

The Ice weren’t able to complete the comeback. With 2.4 seconds remaining in the third, Josh Hoekstra scored into an empty net to cement the 5-3 win for the Warriors.

Ryder Korczak had a goal and an assist for the Warriors.

Connor Ungar, who is the Warriors star overage netminder, stopped 33 shots to pick up the win in the Moose Jaw net.

Yager had an assist to go with his two goals. Korczak had an assist to go with his marker. Atley Calvert had a pair of assists for the Moose Jaw side.

Matthew Savoie had a pair of assists for the Ice.

Saturday’s contest had its share of rough stuff. Ice 18-year-old right-winger Evan Friesen was given a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct at the 7:45 mark of the opening frame. The infraction will trigger an automatic review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Warriors scored three goals on the power play resulting from Friesen’s infraction accounting for the final three tallies of the four-goal surge in the opening frame. The second power-play goal came on a five-on-three advantage due to Ice star centre Zach Benson being given a high-sticking minor.

At the 14:01 mark of the first, McClennon engaged in a fight with Warriors defenceman Marek Howell. The fight occurred after McClennon hit a Warriors player from behind. McClennon was given a checking from behind minor and a fighting major, while Howell received an unsportsmanlike conduct minor and a fighting major.

Calvert proceeded be given a double minor for slew-footing at the 15:07 mark of the first. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Warriors defenceman Matthew Gallant left Saturday’s game and didn’t return after being on the receiving end of Friesen’s head shot. Moose Jaw played the third period without defenceman Logan Dowhaniuk, who was hit from behind by Ice overage left-winger Owen Pederson in the second period. Pederson was given a minor for checking from behind on the play.

The two squads combined for 53 minutes in penalties on Saturday.

Atley Calvert had two assists for the Warriors on Saturday.

Last year, the Ice eliminated the Warriors in an Eastern Conference semifinal with a 4-1 series victory. That series ultimately set up the rivalry for this year’s series as both squads returned a large number of players from a season ago.

In the 2022-23 regular season, the Ice finished first overall with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Warriors finished seventh overall in the WHL with a 41-24-03 mark. The Ice and Warriors split their six regular season encounters with each side claiming three wins with one Winnipeg victory coming in overtime.

The Ice took Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal between the two sides 5-3 on Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

Odds are high there will be more twists and turns in this series as it goes along.

Adventures in officiating part one

A referee waves off a Regina goal in Game 3 of Blades versus Pats.

It seems like the officials have been challenged in these WHL Playoffs so far as much as the players and coaches of the teams have.

One of the first challenging situations that occurred in this post-season that I saw came in Game 3 of the first round series between the Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades playing at the Brandt Centre in Regina on April 4.

With 3:55 remaining in the first period, Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard drove home a midrange shot to give the Pats what appeared to be a 3-1 lead. The goal went to a video review, and it was disallowed due to the Saskatoon net being dislodged.

The Pats did go up on the Blade 3-1 in the third before the visitors rallied back to take the contest 4-3 in overtime.

A lot of people thought Bedard’s disallowed goal should have stood up, because officials should have had the discretion to estimate where the net was, if it was slightly ajar.

The video review showed the net had been ajar for a lengthy stretch before Bedard scored. Due to the net being off for an extended period, the goal had to be disallowed.

By league rules, the officials got this call right after video review. They did their job and showed what that situation can look like when it plays out on the ice.

It can be argued that rule can be changed. If a team in the offensive zone has puck advantage and the defending team’s goal is slightly off, it can be argued officials should have discretion to allow play to continue until the defending team touches the puck. That will allow the offensive squad to have a scoring chance until losing possession of the puck.

With that noted, that is an item for discussion in league meetings for off-season rule changes.

Adventures in officiating part two

Pats fans react to a goal review going in their team’s favour in Game 6.

The second big challenging situation I’ve seen for the officials in the current WHL Playoffs comes from the double review.

This one came in Game 6 of the first round series between the Saskatoon Blades and host Regina Pats at the Brandt Centre on April 8.

With 8:36 remaining in the third period, Pats centre Zackary Shantz scored to increase the host side’s lead to 5-3. The tally came when a pass from Pats left-winger Riley Ginnell deflected off Shantz’s skate into the Saskatoon net.

The officials went to a video review and waved off the goal saying it was kicked in. Access Communications, which is based in Regina, was showing the game to their provincial network on television on their own channel.

Tim Tisdale was the WHL supervisor for that contest, and he asked Access Communications if they had more angles than the WHL video review booth had of the play in question. After seeing the Access Communications video, the officials changed their ruling to saying Shantz’s goal was good.

Access Communications put their video of that goal on Twitter, and it was clear from the overhead shot Shantz didn’t kick the puck in and the goal was good. The 5-3 score in favour of the Pats held up as the game’s final outcome.

How the video review process went down here didn’t sit well with some Blades fans.

In this situation, credit has to be given to Tisdale for thinking outside the box to find a way to get that call right.

With that said, the WHL policy of using television network feed for video review is something that should be revisited in league meetings in the off-season. I myself have to admit I am not sure what the WHL’s exact policy is regarding using television network video for video reviews.

For a lengthy stretch, WHL games in the regular season and post-season were shown on Shaw on a regular basis. Shaw pulled out of its TV contract with the WHL following the end of the 2016-17 campaign. Since it has been so long since WHL games were shown on a regular basis on a television network, I’m not even sure what the rules are and assume some policy has to be in place from when WHL contests were shown on Shaw.

Thanks to Access Communications, the Pats are the only team that gets regular television exposure even with it being limited to the geographic region in Saskatchewan that Access Communications provides service for. Their volunteer camera crew did well to get the footage that showed definitively that Shantz’s goal was good.

With that noted, Pats have more of a replay advantage due to the fact a number of their games are shown by Access Communications due to more camera angles being available. The decision makers in the WHL will have to decide if video reviews for all games are limited to the same camera angles supplied by the league for video review or if television angles will be allowed for the minority of contests shown on television networks.

Again, that is another thing that has to be discussed in off-season league meetings. I should note this was the first time I saw a double video review happen in a game for the same aspect on one play in the 24 seasons I’ve covered the league.

Adventures in officiating part three

The third biggest challenging situation in officiating I’ve encounter in the WHL Playoffs is recent one.

This one came on Friday in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Red Deer Rebels and host Saskatoon Blades played at the SaskTel Centre.

With 9:21 remaining in the first period, the officials were trying to determine of the Rebels were guilty of a high-sticking infraction. When play was stopped in the Red Deer end, the officials had a conference in the corner with a lineman bringing up the observation of a high-sticking infraction, when Blades utility player Spencer Shugrue went down.

After a few seconds, one of the referees made the high-sticking penalty infraction call. The problem was they appeared to not know what Rebels player to call the penalty on.

Since the high-sticking penalty was linesman call, officials go to video review to determine if a high-sticking infraction did happen.

The stoppage to discuss the possible penalty lasted about 10 minutes and saw the officials place Rebels import right-winger Frantisek Formanek into the penalty box and then let him out of the box a couple of minutes later. Formanek looked visibly confused through the whole situation.

When play resumed with no penalty being called, an announcement went up in the building that there was no penalty for high sticking, because a Blades player high sticked himself. After the contest, the coaching staffs of both teams said they were given the same explanation by the officials.

On Saturday, a Blades fan Twitter account put up a still photo from the WHL stream video broadcast of the game of the play in question. It showed Rebels right-winger Jhett Larson had his stick high on Shugrue. It is possible Larson’s stick misses Shugrue and goes over top his head from what was shown on the still image.

When I was at this game, I missed part of the play and just saw Shugrue go down. I’d have to see the full replay of the play to make any determinations about it. The replay was shown quickly twice on the SaskTel Centre scoreboard, and I missed those looks keeping my eyes on the officials conference.

One issue on this play was that if a lineman saw a high stick he didn’t get the number of the offending player. You can kind of deduct that is what happened with the decision to put Formanek in the box and then let him out of the box.

In this situation, I suspect an error was made, and that is going to happen with officiating. This was the first time I’ve seen this sort of situation occur in the 24 seasons I’ve covered the league.

Outside of that instance, I thought the officials’ crew did a really good job in Game 1. I know there are ultra-passionate fans who will disagree and that opinion is fine to have too.

From this situation, the officials’ crew just review that play at game’s end to go over positioning to see what they can do better. Officials’ crews always do that after WHL games.

Svozil’s Pats days could be done, other notes

Stanislav Svozil’s time in the WHL appears to be done.

It appears Stanislav Svozil’s days with the Regina Pats have come to an end.

On Wednesday, it was announced Svozil would be joining the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets for their final two regular season games. The Blue Jackets added offensive-defenceman from Czechia to their roster after the Pats were eliminated from the WHL Playoffs with a 4-1 loss in Game 7 of their first round series against the host Saskatoon Blades on Monday.

Svozil, who has a signed NHL entry-level contact, made his Blue Jackets debut as they hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday at Nationwide Arena. Svozil picked up an assist on the Blue Jackets goal that created a 2-2 tie with 3:25 remaining in the third period and ultimately forced overtime. The Blue Jackets claimed a 3-2 victory in overtime on a goal by Johnny Gaudreau.

Svozil finished with that one helper and an even rating in the plus-minus department skating for 19 minutes and 13 seconds of total ice time.

On Friday, the Blue Jackets concluded their season dropping a 5-2 decision to the visiting Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena. Svozil wasn’t able to collect any points and posted a minus-three rating in 21 minutes and one second of total ice time.

Following that contest, the Blue Jackets assigned Svozil to their AHL affiliate in the Cleveland Monsters in time for their clash on Saturday with the host Rochester Americans. He recorded two assists in the Monsters 4-3 victory.

With the Pats in 2022-23, Svozil, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 182 pounds, had an outstanding season collecting 11 goals and 67 assists for 78 points to go with a plus-23 rating in 56 regular season games. In the Pats seven post-season contests, Svozil recorded four goals and nine assists for 13 points to go with a plus-seven rating.

Svozil, who turned 20-years-old on January 17, helped Czechia win silver at this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B. He had one goal and seven assists in seven games at that event.

Since Svozil will be 20-years-old in the 2023-24 campaign, the Blue Jackets can keep him on their roster or assign him to their minor league affiliates.

• Is it me or are the Saskatoon Blades attracting challenging officials’ calls in some weird and spooky supernatural way in the WHL Playoffs?
• Over the past 13 year, the mainstream media has all but eliminated full time WHL beat writing positions. Sometimes, that will cause some confusion regarding the interpretation of WHL rules. Back in the day, it was common for some of those writers to interview WHL vice-president of hockey Richard Doerksen about rule changes that were being brought in for an upcoming campaign right before a season starts. While pieces on rules are often dry and were housekeeping style pieces, people did read them.
• On Wednesday, the WHL fined both the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats $250 each for warmup violations before Game 7 of their first round playoff series on Monday at the SaskTel Centre. The Blades took that contest 4-1.
• On Saturday, Regina Pats forward and Prince Albert product Tanner Howe, Spokane Chiefs centre and Saskatoon product Berkly Catton and Kelowna Rockets defenceman and Saskatoon product Caden Price were named to Canada’s roster for the upcoming world under-18 men’s hockey championship. That event will be played from April 20 to 30 in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland.
• On Saturday, the Washington Capitals announced left-winger Alexander Suzdalev had been assigned to their AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears for the remainder of the season. Suzdalev, who turned 19-years-old on March 5, had 38 goals and 48 assists for 86 points to go with a minus-four rating in 66 regular season games with the Pats in 2022-23. He picked up three goals and seven assists to go with a plus-two rating in their seven post-season contests. Suzdalev has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Capitals.
• On Saturday, the Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers took 2-0 leads in their respective best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. The Thunderbirds defeated the visiting Prince George Cougars 5-1 in Game 2 of their series at the ShoWare Centre. The Blazers blanked the visiting Portland Winterhawks 5-0 in Game 2 of their series at the Sandman Centre.
• On April 9, I had new content appear on the Howe Happening blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on Donovan Dale, who is a popular Ignite Athletics coach and a former member of the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and U Sports’ University of Saskatchewan Huskies Football Team, taking up weightlifting to get back into competitive sports. That piece can be found by clicking right here. I also created a piece on the Western Canadian Baseball League returning to Saskatoon with a team to start playing at Cairns Field on the Complex grounds in May 2024. That piece 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 persevere 4-1 past Bedard, Pats in Game 7

Saskatoon claims series deciding contest in front of sellout

The Blades celebrate a third period goal from Vaughn Watterodt (#18).

The Saskatoon Blades finally got past a formidable foe in Connor Bedard and his gritty Regina Pats.

On Monday playing before a sellout and SaskTel Centre CHL post-season record crowd of 14,768 spectators, the Blades gutted their way through 39 scoreless minutes before downing the visiting Pats 4-1 in a series deciding Game 7 in their WHL first round playoff series. The win allowed the Blades to take the best-of-seven set 4-3.

“It was amazing,” said Blades gritty veteran right-winger Vaughn Watterodt, who had a goal and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department for the Blades on Monday. “We have a real special group of guys.

Vaughn Watterodt had a goal for the Blades on Monday.

“I’m really proud of the boys. This is only one step. It was fun.

“It was a great series. It was a big learning lesson for us. I’m just really proud of the boys and how we persevered.”

The Blades entered the series as favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark. Still, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said his squad believed they could take the series.

Drew Sim (#33) makes one of his 36 saves in goal for the Pats.

“We expected to win as anybody should and would,” said Paddock. “We came so close.

“I think it makes it harder right now, because you were right there.”

Saskatoon advances to face the Red Deer Rebels in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Rebels finished fifth overall in the WHL regular season standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 record. They eliminated the Calgary Hitmen in five games in a best-of-seven first round series.

Connor Bedard (#98) is pinned by Aidan De La Gorgendiere.

Following the first round of the playoffs, home ice advantage and seeding is determined just by standings points. As a result, the Blades, who were second in the East Division, will have home ice advantage against the Rebels. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Before focusing on Red Deer, Blades head coach Brennan Sonne marveled at all the twist and turns his squad experienced in the seven-game series victory over the Pats.

“It was a crazy series,” said Sonne. “That was the craziest series I had ever been a part of going down 2-0 at home, two overtime games after that, three total overtime games, right down to Game 7, one goal lead with two minutes left or whatever it was.

Part of the sellout crowd of 14,768 cheer on the Blades.

“That was as entertaining and as crazy as it gets.”

As for Monday’s Game 7 battle between the Blades and Pats, the two sides went through a feeling out process to start the contest as the shots on goal were tied 1-1 after the first 5:30 of the opening frame. After that point in time, the two clubs went back up and down the ice for the rest of the stanza.

The Pats best scoring chance came shortly after the midway point of the frame off a rush by Bedard, who is the Pats 17-year-old phenom centre. Bedard seemingly skated through three Blades players to get in alone on Saskatoon netminder Austin Elliott.

Egor Sidorov (#19) shields the puck in the offensive zone.

The Pats captain tried to shoot between the legs of Elliott, but Elliott stoned the North Vancouver, B.C., product to huge cheers from the SaskTel Centre faithful. Right after that chance, the Blades went back the other way, and Saskatoon star centre Trevor Wong was stoned in close by Pats netminder Drew Sim.

After the first period concluded, the game remained scoreless with the Blades holding a 15-9 edge in shots on goal thanks to the play of Elliott and Sim.

The Blades controlled play for most of the second. Early in the frame, Wong wired a shot on the Regina net but the puck hit the crossbar and post and stayed out.

Jake Chiasson scored the winning goal for the Blades.

The Pats proceeded to have a huge chance to go in front first. Bedard jetted down the right wing of the Saskatoon zone below the icing line. He centered a pass to linemate Tanner Howe, who was alone at the left side of the Blades goal.

Howe was stopped in close by Elliott, but a net scramble ensued. It seemed everyone on the ice converged on the crease and crashed into the Pats goal before the officials blew the play down. The officials went to a video review to confirm no goal was scored.

The Blades finally broke through on the scoreboard with 13.3 seconds left in the second on a goal from an unassuming source. Holding the puck by the right boards in the Regina zone, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky smartly drifted the puck towards the Pats net, and it was deflected home by Saskatoon utility player Spencer Shugrue to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The Pats were unable to score on this mad scramble in the second.

“It was a very important goal,” said Sonne. “It was a very import time, especially based on that period.

“It was really important that we got something out of all that work. That is how we’re build. That is who we are.”

At the 7:56 mark of the third, the Blades extended their lead to 2-0, when star left-winger Jake Chiasson got in close to the left side of the Regina net and snapped home a shot for his second tally of the post-season.

The Pats didn’t go away. With 6:10 remaining in the third, Bedard fired a point shot at the Saskatoon net creating a scramble. Pats star import offensive-defenceman Stanislav Svozil was able to bat home the puck during the scramble to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

Spencer Shugrue, left, celebrates scoring for the Blades.

Bedard picked up an assist on Svozil’s tally for his final point of the WHL post-season. In the seven game series, Bedard recorded 10 goals, 10 assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department. The North Vancouver, B.C., product was in on 20 of the Pats 26 goals in the series.

“He (Bedard)probably did more than I thought he would do,” said Paddock. “What he has done all year is outrageous.

“To have 19 points in six games in playoffs like who does that? In the last 10 days or so, I’ve had more people from the league just sort of side conversations they had never seen anything like it what he is able to do. I had an NHL scout say to me after the game on Saturday like he has so much determination to get it done.

Connor Bedard had an assist for the Pats.

“If you want to rate the determination on a scale of 10 like everything else, he is 11. It has been great to have a front row seat to see him for this season.”

With 2:10 remaining in the third, Watterodt rushed in to the left side of the Regina net and snapped home a key insurance goal to give the host side a 3-1. Wong added an empty-net goal just 21 seconds later to round out the 4-1 final.

During the final 30 seconds of the contest, Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere held the puck behind his own net passing it back and forth a couple of times to Chiasson. The Pats didn’t rush the Blades players allowing the remaining time to expire.

Trevor Wong had a goal for the Blades on Monday.

As the final 30 seconds ticked away, the crowd at the SaskTel Centre rose to their feet to salute the Blades on the series win.

“It was unreal to just be able to celebrate with the boys and just listen to how loud the building was,” said Watterodt. “It was amazing.”

Elliott stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Sim turned away 36-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

Looking back over the seven-game series with the Pats, Watterodt thinks his team’s overall depth allowed his squad to pull things out at the end and advance in the post-season.

The Blades celebrate their seven games series victory over the Pats.

“I think all our lines played great this series,” said Watterodt. “Everyone contributed.

“That just shows the type of team we are and how we need to play moving forward.”

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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Game 7 showdown to close epic Bedard and Pats/Blades series

Connor Bedard has an incredible 19 points in six post-season games.

Connor Bedard is having the time of his life in his first and only run through the WHL Playoffs.

The Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre and captain has seemingly tasted the best of what WHL post-season hockey can bring in his team’s best-of-seven first round playoff series with the Saskatoon Blades. The series is tied 3-3 and will be decided in Game 7 on Monday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

With the host Prince George Cougars posting a 5-4 overtime victory over the Tri-City Americans in Game 6 on Sunday to take that series 4-2, the only first round series that still hasn’t been decided in the WHL Playoffs is the one between the Pats and Blades.

The Blades entered the series as favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

Egor Sidorov has eight points in six post-season games.

The series has seen big swings including the Pats winning the first two contests and the Blades claiming three straight contests taking Games 3 to 5. The Pats posted a 5-3 victory in Game 6 before a sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre to force a series deciding Game 7. At one point in the series, three straight games were decided in overtime.

“It has been some of the most fun hockey I’ve ever been a part of just the intensity,” said Bedard. “Every play, every little mistake matters so much.

“I think for me finally getting that experience obviously last year with disappointment of not making it and getting here now it has been a lot of fun.”

During the regular season, Bedard topped the WHL in goals (71) and points (143) to go with a plus-39 rating in the plus-minus department. His 72 assists equaled Prince George Cougars star centre and Saskatoon area product Riley Heidt, who turned 18-years-old in March, for the league lead.

So far in the post-season, Bedard has been magical. The North Vancouver, B.C., product has been in on 19 of the Pats 25 goals recording 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points to go with a plus-10 rating. His goal and point totals in the post-season lead the WHL.

Stanislav Svozil has 12 points in six playoff games.

Barring something unforeseen, Bedard will be the first overall selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft set for June 28 to 29 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Even with that in his future, Bedard is looking forward to Game 7 against the Blades like child getting a much wanted gift on Christmas Day.

“It is my first ever Game 7, but I think I’ve been in a lot of those types of situations with world juniors and that stuff,” said Bedard. “It is definitely different.

“We’ve played them six times in nine days. It was definitely different. For me obviously, my first time will be on Monday.”

Bedard added it only seems right that the series between his Pats and Blades goes to a Game 7.

Trevor Wong has eight points in six post-season games.

“It has been such a back and forth series,” said Bedard. “It really does deserve to go to a Game 7.

“They are a great team. I think for us to be playing the way we are with them I think it should end in a Game 7 with just how tight everything has been. We’ll watch video and what not and see where we can do better and see where we did well.”

The Pats enter Game 7 with star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil sitting second in WHL post-season scoring with 12 points coming off three goals and nine assists to go with a plus-nine rating. Pats star import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev is third in WHL post-season scoring with 11 points coming off three goals and eight assists to go with a plus-five rating.

Star import right winger Egor Sidorov and star centre Trevor Wong lead the Blades in post-season scoring with eight points each. Sidorov has his eight points coming off five goals and three assists to go with a plus-four rating, while Wong has his eight points coming off two goals and six assists to go with a plus-one rating.

Alexander Suzdalev has 11 points in six post-season contests.

Star offensive-defenceman and 21-year-old captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere tops the Blades in blue-line scoring with seven assists to go with a minus-three rating. The Blades have been trying to match up De La Gorgendiere against Bedard.

Drew Sim has gone the distance in goal for the Pats in the series posting a 3-3 record, a 3.37 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. Ethan Chadwick has seen the bulk of work for the series in the Blades net posting a 3-2 record, a 3.23 goals against average and a .847 save percentage. Chadwick has remained between the pipes for the Blades since replacing Austin Elliott in the second period of Game 2.

Since March 5, the Pats and Blades have gone head-to-head nine times between the regular season and playoffs, and the Blades have won five of those encounters. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said there will be no secrets in Game 7.

“Our focus is us,” said Sonne. “We’ve now played this team nine times in the last however many weeks.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere has seven assists in the playoffs.

“We know each other well. We know what they’re bringing. They know what we’re bringing.

“It is all about the war. For only half the game (in the Game 6 loss on Saturday), we brought that. That is our main focus.”

In the Blades 4-2 victory in Game 5 at the SaskTel Centre, they got out to a fast start jumping out to a 2-0 lead by the 5:26 mark of the first period recording the contest’s first six shots on goal. Saskatoon never trailed in that encounter.

Sonne wants his squad to repeat that effort but with being a touch better.

“I want 60 minutes of Blades hockey, and we’re good,” said Sonne. “If we do that, then we’re fine.

“We did a really good job in Game 5. It was about 90 to 95 per cent. We need 100, because our season is on the line and family is on the line and I sure hope we get it.”

Drew Sim has been the workhorse in goal for the Pats.

Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said both clubs had played each other so well that the series deserved to go to a Game 7. After talking to some scouts, Paddock believes the Pats and Blades have delivered a treat of a series to the fans.

“From scouts’ scuttlebutt that have seen other games or who have seen all these games, I think it has been the best series that has gone on in the league,” said Paddock. “I think that in itself it signifies what is going on.”

The Pats last played in a Game 7 on April 2, 2018 when they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Broncos in Swift Current in a first round series. The Broncos advanced on to win the WHL championship. Regina as the host squad played in the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament that year falling 3-0 to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who claimed the CHL title.

The Blades last played a Game 7 on April 1, 2009 when they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the SaskTel Centre in a first round series. The Hurricanes were then swept by the Calgary Hitmen 4-0 in Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Ethan Chadwick has been the Blades main goalie in the playoffs.

If the Pats win on Monday, they will advance to play the Winnipeg Ice in an Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

The Ice finished first overall in the regular season with a 57-10-1 record and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

If the Blades win on Monday, they will advance to play the Red Deer Rebels in an Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

The Rebels topped the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 43-19-3-3 record.

Bedard expects Game 7 between the Pats and Blades to be a classic, because the players on both sides have a huge desire to keep playing.

“Both teams want it really bad,” said Bedard. “Both teams are going to be out there giving it their all playing as hard as they can.

The Pats and Blades are set for one last showdown on Monday.

“I think both teams are going to be desperate and really wanting that win.”

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’ Sidorov finds post-season groove

Saskatoon take 3-2 lead on Pats in thriller WHL series

The Blades celebrate Egor Sidorov’s second goal on Friday.

Egor Sidorov has found his post-season swagger and groove, and the rest of the Saskatoon Blades have too.

On Friday night, the star import right-winger buried a pair of goals to power his Blades past 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats 4-2 to the delight of most of the 12,098 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. The win allowed the Blades to claim Game 5 of the best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series between the two clubs and a 3-2 lead in the set.

The Blades will attempt to close out what has been a series full of thrills in Game 6 on for Saturday set for 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in Regina. If the Pats prevail in Game 6, the two clubs return to Saskatoon to play a series deciding Game 7 on Monday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The SaskTel Centre faithful cheer on the Blades.

After the Pats took the first two games in series in Saskatoon, the Blades have fought back with three straight wins to take the series lead. The set has also featured three straight overtime games.

At the moment, it appears the turning point of the series came in Game 3 this past Tuesday in Regina. When Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard scored at the 9:39 mark of the third period to give the Regina side a 3-1 lead in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre, it seemed like the Pats were destined to sweep the series.

Just 53 seconds later, Sidorov scored his first of the post-season to spark the Blades comeback. Star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky netted the equalizer on the power play with 27.2 seconds remaining in the third, and Sidorov potted the winner at the 5:19 mark of overtime to give Saskatoon a 4-3 victory.

Egor Sidorov has five goals in the Blades last three games.

In Game 4 one night later in Regina, Sidorov had a goal and an assist to help the Blades rally from an early 3-1 deficit in the third to pull out another 4-3 overtime victory. Star right-winger Jake Chiasson scored the winner at the 7:20 mark of the extra session.

During the first two games of the series, Sidorov had one assist as the Blades were outscored 12-6 in those two losses. Since the third period of Game 3, the Blades have shown the perseverance they have had for most of the regular season.

The Blades entered the series as favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

Vaughan Watterodt celebrates scoring the Blades first goal.

In Friday’s Game 5 clash, the Blades came storming out of the gate backed by a vocal crowd. Just 3:46 into the contest, Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt tucked home a rebound from a shot taken by linemate Lukas Hansen at the left side of the Regina net to open the game’s scoring.

Just 15 seconds later, Pats 20-year-old defenceman Luke Bateman was given a minor for boarding after he slammed Sidorov from behind into the boards. After a short rest, Sidorov took the second shift on the power play and one-timed home a shot from right slot to put the Blades up 2-0 at the 5:26 mark of the first.

Blades captain and star offensive-defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere gave Sidorov the beauty pass to one time. The Blades score their first two goals while recording the game’s first six shots on goal in the contest.

Tanner Molendyk had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Just when it seemed the momentum was going totally the Blades way, it shifted after the midway point of the first period, when the Pats went on the power play for the first time thanks to Bedard.

While working on the power play, Bedard one-timed a shot from the left slot that deflected off power forward Zack Stringer to cut the Blades lead to 2-1 at the 11:24 mark of the first. Pats star import offensive-defenceman Stanislav Svozil fed Bedard with a pass on the Pats power-play goal.

Before the first came to a close, the Blades had a glorious chance to restore their two-goal edge. Star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky had the puck near the right side of the Regina goal. While he was at a bad angle, Lisowsky wired a shot off the post.

Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist for the Pats.

At the 6:25 mark of the second, Blades star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk, who turned 18-years-old in February, thought he has scored for the Blades. The officials immediately waved off the tally ruling Lisowsky had inadvertent contact with Pats netminder Drew Sim causing the tally to be called off.

That development didn’t deter the Blades. With 4:08 remaining in the second, the Blades pushed their edge out to 3-1, when star right-winger Conner Roulette tipped home a midrange shot from Molendyk.

As the second period came to a close, Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick kept the Pats at bay. He stoned Stringer in close, robbed Svozil with a glove save and turned away Riley Ginnell during a net scramble.

Conner Roulette had the winning goal for the Blades on Friday.

Despite falling behind by two goals being unable to close ground at the end of the second period, the Pats didn’t go away. At the 3:09 mark of the third, Pats import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev came down the right wing and circled behind the Blades net and fed a pass to Bedard, who was positioned at the doorstep to the left of the Saskatoon goal. Bedard made no mistake burying the puck into the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades lead to 3-2.

The tally was Bedard’s ninth goal of the post season to go along with six assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department. Bedard has been in on 15 of the 20 goals the Pats have scored in the series.

Ethan Chadwick makes a glove save for the Blades.

Like Games 3 and 4, the Blades weren’t going to allow the heroics of Bedard to keep them from pulling out victory.

Just past the midway point of the third, the Blades got another insurance goal to push their lead to 4-2. 

Sidorov entered the Regina zone on a rush down the right wing, and he passed the puck to star Blades centre Trevor Wong. Wong passed the puck back to Sidorov who blew home his second of the contest to give the Blades a two-goal edge.

Wong finished the contest with two assists and a plus-three rating, while De La Gorgendiere and Molendyk each had two assists and a plus-one rating.

The Pats and Blades scrum it up at the end of the third period.

Chadwick stopped 20 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Sim turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

Friday’s contest ended with a big scrum after the third period clock expired with Bedard getting in on the extra-curricular activities. Watterodt showed he was all fired up and ready for a serious bout, but he was pulled away by a referee and then held away from trouble by Sidorov, who helped calm his teammate down.

While this series has had many twists and turns, the Blades have found their post-season stride, and they will be heading into Regina confident on Saturday that they can finish the series off.

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

With that said, it is still possible Bedard and the Pats will work more magic causing a climax to happen in Game 7.

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 create their own “Miracle at the Brandt Centre”

Saskatoon rallies for 4-3 OT victory over Pats in Game 3

The Blades begin to celebrate an OT winner from Egor Sidorov (#19).

REGINA, Sask. – The Saskatoon Blades looked dead and buried.

At the 9:39 mark of the third period in Game 3 of a best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series, the host Regina Pats appeared to be on the cusp of taking a 3-0 lead in the set. Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard poked the puck down the ice, split a pair of Blades defenceman and jetted off on a breakaway.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product snapped home a shot glove side on Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick to give the Pats a 3-1. Bedard assisted on the Pats first two goals to be sitting on a sensational three-point night.

Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists for the Pats on Tuesday.

The sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators nearly blew the roof off the Brandt Centre with their cheers after Bedard gave the Regina side a two-goal edge.

Just 53 seconds later, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov drove home a power-play goal to cut the Pats lead to 3-2. With 1:59 remaining in the third, Pats defenceman Parker Berge took a tripping penalty to put the Blades on the power play once again. With 27.2 seconds remaining in the third, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky jammed home a power-play goal from the front of the Regina net to even the score at 3-3 and force overtime.

Connor Bedard scores to put the Pats up 3-1.

At the 5:19 mark of overtime, Sidorov got the puck deep in the Regina zone, drove around Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil, cut across the front of the Pats goal and tucked home the winner to give the Blades a 4-3 victory. The Brand Centre that had once been rocking a short time ago had all the life sucked out of it, and you could hear a pin drop after Sidorov’s overtime tally.

The win allowed the Blades to get back into the series as they cut the Pats lead in the best-of-seven set to 2-1. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

The sellout Brandt Centre crowd celebrates Connor Bedard’s goal.

“It feels good to win,” said Sidorov, who two goals were his first two tallies of the series. “It doesn’t matter how many goals I score.

“It means we won. I will try and do my best for a win.”

Sidorov said he is actually already starting to get focused for Game 4 on Wednesday.

“It doesn’t matter where we win in overtime or the three periods,” said Sidorov. “It is fine.

Egor Sidorov’s first goal cut the Pats lead to 3-2.

“We won, and it is history already. Tomorrow is the next game, and we will play hard like today.”

The Blades entered the series as favourites having finished fourth overall in the WHL standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Pats finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

The Pats claimed the first two games of the series in Saskatoon including a 6-1 win in Game 1 on Friday and a 6-5 overtime triumph in Game 2 on Sunday. For the longest time, it looked like the Regina side was going to keep the good times rolling.

Brandon Lisowsky scored with 27.2 seconds in the third to force OT.

Just 2:32 into the opening frame, Svozil potted the rebound from his own shot to give the Pats a 1-0 edge.

At the 12:21 mark of the first, Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens scored on the power-play to even the score at 1-1.

Regina jumped back out in front 2-1 just 64 seconds later. Jetting down the left wing in the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one break, Bedard fed a pass across the front of the Blades net to import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev, who popped home his first of the post-season to the hosts their one-goal edge.

Trevor Wong had three assists for the Blades on Tuesday.

With 3:55 remaining in the first, Bedard appeared to give the Pats a 3-1 advantage after driving home a midrange shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon goal. The goal went to a video review and it was disallowed due to the Saskatoon net being dislodge on the right post after being knocked ajar by Chadwick.

The Pats had a 14-9 edge on shots on goal after 20 minutes and a 21-18 advantage in shots on goal after 40 minutes. As the game went on, the Blades started to carry the play more. In the third period and overtime, the visitors had a 19-3 edge in shots on goal.

The two squads played through a scoreless second period thanks to Chadwick making a huge glove save on a right slot shot from Bedard to set up the dramatics in the third period and overtime.

Egor Sidorov scored the OT winner for the Blades.

“I think we played good for two periods,” said Svozil. “The last period, we took stupid penalties.

“That overtime goal that was a little unlucky. We lost, so it is not good. We know it is 2-1, and tomorrow is the next day and the next game.

“We have to do it for tomorrow.”

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne thought Tuesday’s game when his players started to play with more belief.

“We weren’t playing with like confidence, swagger or mojo early,” said Sonne. “As the game got going more and more and more by the third period and especially in overtime that was just us.

Ethan Chadwick makes one of his 21 saves for the Blades.

“That was the confidence we needed to play with the mojo, the swagger and the enthusiasm. Guys were into it on the bench, especially in overtime. That is what we need to continue to do.”

Chadwick made 21 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades in his first career post-season start. Drew Sim turned away 33 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

Star centre Trevor Wong had three assists for the Blades on Tuesday after being held pointless in the first two games of the series. The Blades converted on 3-of-4 power-play chances on Tuesday after going 0-for-6 with the man advantage in the first two games of the series.

Blades HC Brennan Sonne chats to his players during a timeout.

During the regular season, the Blades had the fourth best power play in the WHL converting on 73-of-265 chances for a 27.5 per cent success rate.

The Pats failed to score on three power-play chances on Tuesday.

“They’ve got good players on power play,” said Svozil. “They are so smart.

“We have to be ready for everything. We tried Sidorov’s shot, and he fakes it. We have to be ready for everything.”

Sonne was pleased to see his team get back in the series. When asked if justice was served after the Blades won Game 3 after having a strong effort in Game 2 and coming up short on the scoreboard, Sonne chose not to over think things.

“It is hockey, and breaks happen and bounces happen and bad luck happens,” said Sonne. “That is what is so fun about sport.

The Blades celebrate their OT win on Tuesday.

“Would I use the words ‘justice served?’ Probably not. I would just say more it feels good to comeback in a game and play Blades hockey especially in the third and overtime.”

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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