T-birds upset Golden Bears

UBC to face Huskies in Canada West final in Saskatoon

Thunderbirds G Rylan Toth stoned the Golden Bears. 

    A veteran from two Memorial Cup tournaments did in the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
    On Sunday before 1,408 spectators at the Clare Drake Arena in Edmonton, Alta., third-year netminder Rylan Toth made 40 saves to back his University of British Columbia Thunderbirds to a 2-1 victory over the host Golden Bears in a deciding Game 3 of a Canada West semifinal series.

    With the win, the Thunderbirds take the best-of-three set 2-1 in a monumental upset.

    The Golden Bears finished first in the Canada West Conference in the regular season with a 23-5 record and were rated fourth in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. They had won the last three straight Canada West titles and the David Johnston University Cup as U Sports national champions in 2018.

    The Thunderbirds were fifth in Canada West with a 9-14-4-1 record. They upset the Mount Royal University Cougars 2-1 in a best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series to set up the semifinal series with the Golden Bears.

    Mount Royal was fourth in Canada West with an 18-8-0-2 record.

    On Friday, UBC posted a 3-2 overtime victory over U of A in Game 1 of that Canada West semifinal. Toth made 51 saves in that surprising outcome.

    The Golden Bears rebounded on Saturday taking Game 2 of the series by a convincing 6-1 final.

    That set the stage for Sunday’s series deciding Game 3. In that encounter, Golden Bears forward Steven Owre scored in the opening frame to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    With 5:17 remaining in the second period, Thunderbirds third-year forward Austin Glover scored to put his squad on even terms at 1-1.

    Just 2:18 into the third period, third-year forward Tyler Sandhu tallied to put the Thunderbirds up 2-1. The visitors held tough to ensure that score would be the final outcome.

    The Golden Bears outshot the Thunderbirds 21-6 in the third and 41-19 over the entirety of the contest.

    Matt Berlin turned away 17 shots to take the setback in goal for the Golden Bears.

Tyler Sandhu scored the upset series winner for the Thunderbirds.

    Toth has started all six of UBC’s games in the post-season posting a 4-2 record, a 2.83 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

    Before joining UBC, the 23-year-old Saskatoon product played three seasons in the WHL from 2015 to 2017 with the Red Deer Rebels and Seattle Thunderbirds.

    Toth was the Rebels starting goaltender when they hosted the 2016 CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. He backed the Rebels into that year’s WHL Eastern Conference Championship series, where they fell to the eventual WHL champion Brandon Wheat Kings.

    In the Memorial Cup, Toth backstopped the Rebels into the semifinal contest, where they fell 3-1 to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

    Following that season, Toth was traded to Seattle for his overage campaign. He helped Seattle win the WHL title in the 2016-17 campaign on a roster that contained star centre Mathew Barzal, who is now a member of the NHL’s New York Islanders, and defenceman Ethan Bear, who is a member of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

    Toth played in the 2017 Memorial Cup in Windsor, Ont., where Seattle bowed out with an 0-3 record.

    Having shocked the Golden Bears, the UBC Thunderbirds advance to the best-of-three Canada West Championship series to face the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

    The Huskies finished second in Canada West with a 22-4-2 record and are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings. U of S won all four head-to-head regular season encounters with UBC.

    The Huskies will host all three games of the Canada West title series. Game 1 is slated for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place. 
    Game 2 follows this coming Saturday at 7 p.m. at Merlis, and if necessary, a series-deciding Game 3 is set for this coming Sunday at 7 p.m. at Merlis.

    U of S last won the Canada West title in 2016. UBC has never won the Canada West crown in men’s hockey.

    Both teams are guaranteed berths to the David Johnston University Cup, which is the U Sports men’s hockey national championship tournament. The U Sports national championship tournament is played in an elite-eight format. It runs from March 12 to 15 in Halifax, N.S.

Focht on verge of becoming Rebels all-time leading scorer

Lauren Focht is on the cusp of the Rebels all-time scoring record.

    Regina Rebels co-captain Lauren Focht captured a major team record and is on the cusp of getting another.

    On Saturday at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, Focht collected a goal and an assist as her Rebels blanked the visiting Saskatoon Stars 4-0 in a Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League regular season game. With her tally, the skilled forward, who turned 18-years-old in January, became the Rebels all-time leader in career regular season goals.

    Focht had 64 career regular season goals at the end of that contest to put herself one clear of the total of 63 posted by former Regina career goals leader Kennedy Bobyck, who played for the Rebels from 2014 to 2017.

    Allee Gerrard, Emma DeCorby and Tavia Terry all had singles for the Rebels on Saturday. Terry tallied into an empty net.

    Payton Schlamp made 26 saves to earn her fourth shutout of the campaign for the Rebels.

    Kaitlyn Cadrain turned away 34-of-37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Stars (12-13-3).

    On Sunday at the Co-operators Centre, Focht had a goal and an assist as the Rebels blanked the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats 5-0 in another SFMAAAHL regular season clash.

    The win allowed the Rebels to lock up first place in the SFMAAAHL with a 24-1-1 record. The Wildcats fell to 19-6-1 and are guaranteed to finish second.

    Alexis Petford had a goal and three assists for the Rebels. Neena Brick had a pair of goals and an assist for Regina. Shaelyn Myers had a single for the host side.

Lauren Focht is the Rebels all-time leader in career goals.

    Chantel Weller made 23 saves to pick up her fifth shutout win of the season for the Rebels.
    Cheyenne Jamieson turned away 27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wildcats.

    With her performance over the Rebels last two games, Focht has 65 goals and 55 assists for 120 points in 101 career regular season games. She is tied for second on the Rebels all-time regular season scoring list with Bobyck.

    Bobyck had 63 goals and 57 assists for 120 points in 80 career games with the Rebels.

    Focht needs one more point to equal Emma Waldenberger as the Rebels all-time leading scorer in regular season play and two points to sit alone as the Rebels all-time leading scorer.

    Waldenberger piled up 60 goals and 61 assists for 121 points playing in 109 career regular season games with the Rebels from 2010 to 2014.

    Focht, who is a Regina product, has committed to play for the University of Regina Cougars women’s hockey team in the fall. Waldenberger played five seasons for the Cougars from 2014 to 2019.

    On Tuesday, Focht will have her first chance to become the Rebels all-time leading scorer, when they travel to Weyburn to face the 5-21-2 Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings at 7:30 p.m. at Crescent Point Place.

    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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Huskies withstand Golden Bears trash, win rivalry clash in OT

The Huskies and Golden Bears players engaged in numerous battles Friday.

    Logan McVeigh delivered a sweet and satisfying end to a bitter rivalry game for his University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey team.

    On Friday night at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies built a 3-1 lead on their “forever rivals” the University of Alberta Golden Bears only to see the visitors rally back to force overtime in a U Sports regular season contest. Golden Bears right-winger Grayson Pawlenchuk banged home the equalizer at the left side of the Huskies net with 2.4 seconds to play in the third period forcing a 3-3 tie.

    Just 72 seconds into overtime, McVeigh roofed home the winner for the Huskies from the left slot in the U of A zone to send the 2,089 spectators at the new U of S home rink into a joyful celebration over the 4-3 final score in favour of the home side.

Logan McVeigh scored the OT winner for the Huskies.

    McVeigh’s winner allowed the Huskies, who are rated third in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, to improve their winning streak to an impressive 13 games and continue to sit first in the Canada West Conference with a 14-1 record.
    The Golden Bears, who are rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, saw their seven game winning streak come to an end as their record moved to 11-3-1 to remain second in Canada West.

    The Huskies battle with the Golden Bears, who are the defending U Sports national champions, was a testy one.
    The two sides often talk about respect for one another in the week leading up to their games, but that talk is unable to hide the visible dislike on the ice.

    On the opening faceoff, Golden Bears ultra-pest left-winger Trevor Cox was chirping Huskies right-winger Levi Cable in an attempt to get Cable off his game.

    From that point, Cox and a few other U of A players did their best to antagonize Huskies fifth-year captain Jesse Forsberg with trash talk and numerous little shots after the whistle.

Golden Bears LW Trevor Cox hits Huskies RW Carson Stadnyk.

    Opponents of the Huskies have often tried to rekindle an over aggressive mean streak Forsberg once had, but as has been the case over the last three seasons, the Huskies star offensive-defenceman didn’t let the shenanigans get the best of him.

    In one of the stranger exchanges Forsberg had with the Golden Bears players, he was given an unsportsmanlike penalty for a dive after taking a cheap shot crosscheck long after the whistle from U of A defenceman Ryan Rehill late in the second period.

    Another battle on the ice saw Golden Bears defenceman Ben Carroll often mix it up with Huskies hard-working right-winger Parker Thomas. Carroll got away with drilling Thomas from behind early in the third period.

    The Huskies were dishing out their share of shots too.

    With just over seven minutes remaining in the second period, Huskies right-winger Carson Stadnyk bowled over Golden Bears netminder Zack Sawchenko on a rush into the offensive zone.

Golden Bears D Ryan Rehill drops Huskies captain Jesse Forsberg.

    Stadnyk received a high cross check from Cox in retaliation that was not penalized.
    Late in the third period, Huskies rugged first-year defenceman Evan Fiala nailed Golden Bears fifth-year left-winger Stephane Legault from behind in the offensive zone.

    The extra-curricular activities added spice to the game.

    Still, the first 15 minutes of Friday’s encounter kind of started slow as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out.
    The Huskies got on the board at the 10:09 mark of the opening frame, when McVeigh stole the puck just inside the U of A blue-line from a Golden Bears player and  fed a pass to linemate Jaimen Yakubowski, who put a backhand shot past Sawchenko for a 1-0 lead.

Huskies LW Collin Shirley stares down Golden Bears LW Stephane Legault.

    The Golden Bears drew even at 1-1 just 77 seconds into the second, when Cox converted a backdoor feed from linemate Luke Philp, while working on the power play.

    Just over two minutes later, the Huskies went ahead 2-1, when left-winger Alex Forsberg connected on a backdoor feed from Stadnyk on a U of S power-play chance.

    Only 69 seconds after Forsberg’s goal, Cable sniped home a bad angle shot past Sawchenko to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead.

    The Golden Bears actually worked on five more power-play chances in the second period after Cox scored with the man advantage, but Huskies netminder Taran Kozun made a number of key saves to keep the visitors at bay.

Alex Forsberg had a goal for the Huskies on Friday night.

    U of A cut the Huskies lead to 3-2 with a short-handed marker from sophomore centre Steven Owre at the 8:55 mark of the third. That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the third and in overtime.
    Centre Kohl Bauml had assists on three of the Huskies goals.

    Kozun made 28 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies.   
    Sawchenko turned away 19 shots to take the overtime setback in the Golden Bears net.

    While Friday’s game had its rivalry sparks, the Huskies did a decent job of keep their composure against the Golden Bears agitators.
    When the dust settled, that likely made the biggest difference in U of S coming out with a win. The Dogs have won two out of three head-to-head encounters with U of A this season.

The Huskies celebrate their OT win over the Golden Bears.

    The Huskies will try to duplicate and better their effort on Saturday, when they host the Golden Bears again at 7 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    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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Sanford deserves NHL shot

Lack of size stigma only obstacle in path of Tigers captain

Tigers captain Cole Sanford gets set for a faceoff.

    MEDICINE HAT - Cole Sanford chuckled at the notion that it might take an old Medicine Hat Tigers link to get a break at the professional level.

    The Vernon, B.C., product and current Tigers captain knows the fact that he stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 165 pounds is the biggest obstacle he faces when it comes to trying to get an NHL entry-level contract offer. Playing in Medicine Hat, the thought does get booted around that maybe Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins might take an interest in Sanford and create a chance for the skilled right-winger, who is small in stature.

    Desjardins was with the Tigers as head coach from 2002 to 2010 and also held the general manager’s role for the last five of those campaigns. He had a string of success utilizing smaller, skilled players, so naturally one would think there would be fit for Sanford.

    “Obviously, connections are nice,” said Sanford, who did attend Edmonton Oilers training camp in September. “If that happened, obviously, that would be exciting for me.

    “I am sure whatever came up or if there is any kind of opportunity, I’d be excited. It doesn’t matter where it is.”

    For his part, Sanford has already done more than enough to earn an NHL deal. After potting two goals and nine assists in 53 games as a 17-year-old rookie in 2012-13, Sanford had a break-out year as a sophomore netting 33 goals, 40 assists and a plus-47 rating in the plus-minus department.

    As an established star last season, he became one of the few players in recent WHL campaigns to crack the 50-goal barrier recording 50 goals, 45 assists and a plus-24 rating. Sanford missed some time this season with a shoulder injury, but he has still recorded 17 goals and 15 assists in 30 games on a Tigers team that has seen its lineup shuffle due to a number of key injuries.

    Those challenges have contributed to the fact the Tigers, who have made the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, sit an uncharacteristic 10^th overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 12-20-3-1 mark.

    Sanford is hopeful a professional shot will come.

Tigers captain Cole Sanford gets set to wire a shot on goal.

    “It is my goal,” said Sanford. “Right now I have basically half a year to find something and find an opportunity up there.

    “Obviously, that is everyone’s goal is to move on. We will see what happens.”

    As far as Sanford’s time in Medicine Hat goes, Tigers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said the veteran forward’s value cannot be overstated.

    “He has had a great career here,” said Clouston, who is second on the Tigers career regular season coaching wins list. “He has been a player that other guys can look up to.

    “He has gotten better, because he has committed to improvement. He has found ways to elevate his game at important times. He has been a great Tiger.”

    Clouston added that the uphill battle for smaller players to make the NHL seems to never go away, but he said Sanford keeps consistently doing his best to turn heads.

    “I think it is always a challenge,” said Clouston. “I think any time that a player is not 6-feet tall there is a bit of a label.

    “They have to fight through that. They have to prove themselves more so than a lot of the other players. He is a guy that continues to prove himself year in and year out.”

    The veteran bench boss added that Sanford’s game is still getting better.

    “He is a guy that has really committed especially late in games to doing the right thing, whether it is protecting the lead, finishing checks and getting clears,” said Clouston, whose team won four of five games heading into the WHL Christmas break. “He has been a real go to guy during this stretch where we have had more success.”

Cole Sanford (#26) celebrates a Tigers goal with his teammates.

    Sanford has put together a standout WHL career playing with a few different linemates as well. When he broke out offensively in 2013-14, Sanford was the triggerman on a high octane unit that contained Curtis Valk at centre and Trevor Cox at left wing. That trio formed one of the most exciting lines the Tigers had ever seen.

    Last season, Steven Owre stepped in at centre between Sanford and Cox after Valk was lost to graduation. Due to injuries and trades this season, Sanford has played with a variety of linemates.

    “It is definitely a lot different than the last two years, but I think it is good for me,” said Sanford. “It is good for me to play with different guys and adjust to that.”

    Sanford said he is a player that has a tendency to shoot more than pass in the offensive zone. With that said, he had a couple of nice assists in his club’s 5-4 overtime home ice loss on Sunday to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The best helper came on the Tigers third goal, when Sanford slipped a feed that had eyes across the face the Lethbridge goal to Mark Rassell, who capitalized on the chance.

Tigers captain Cole Sanford follows through on a shot on goal.

    Since joining the team, Sanford said he has been fortunate to play on lines that contained smart playmakers, who had great vision, which has resulted in him being the finisher around the goal. During his time in Medicine Hat, Sanford has made a number of good memories, which included helping the club advance to the WHL’s Eastern Conference championship series in 2014.

    He also had the chance to play in the Tigers first home rink, The Arena, and the team’s new home, the Canalta Centre, which opened this season. No matter what happens on the professional front, the Tigers will always have a place in Sanford’s heart.

    “I’ve come a long ways with this team starting off as a 17-year-old and not playing too much and kind of earning my ice there as an 18-year-old and then getting the opportunity to play,” said Sanford. “Obviously, last season was a career year for myself. Everyone here has helped me lots.

    “When I was 15 looking at this organization, I was real excited to see all the videos and the rich history here. To be a part of that now with the new rink and obviously the old rink it is pretty cool.”

Canalta Centre looks sweet

A look over Tigers goalie Nick Schneider into the Canalta Centre.

    On first impressions, I think the Medicine Hat Tigers time in the Canalta Centre is going to be alright.

    When the moment came for the storied WHL franchise to play in a new home rink, there was a bit of a fear that something might be lost due to the fact the team was no longer playing in The Arena, which was the only home rink the franchise had known until the current campaign got underway.

    The nostalgia and the lively boards are two things The Arena will always have. The Tigers and their fans shared countless memorable experiences in that old rink including Brennan Bosch’s double overtime goal that won the seventh and deciding game of the 2007 WHL championship series. That building rocked in the post-season as sellout crowds of 4,006 packed the place in its final seating configuration.

    With those memories in mind, it was cool to see the Tigers playing in a modern home facility that seats 6,016 spectators in the Canalta Centre. There are no bad sightlines, and even though the building is bigger, you don’t feel far from the action.

    The view from the “Bob Ridley Broadcast Centre” press box and the box seating have to the envy of the league. You think the view from those areas would be far, but when you are in them you feel on top of the action.

    When the Tigers fell 5-4 in overtime to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Sunday, you could still sense a good atmosphere as 5,032 spectators filled most of the seats. The rival Hurricanes also brought a healthy contingent of a few hundred supporters, whose cheering helped engage the host side’s fans.

Tigers centre Chad Butcher gets set up in the offensive zone.

    The game was widely entertaining, and you could set the highlight video to the old Tom Cochrane song, “Big League.” Basically, that night was the Western Hockey League at its best.

    There was also a familiarity factor to the place, even though it is new. The majority of the game day staff from The Arena came over to the Canalta Centre, and all the Tigers ardent supporters came too. Anyone that was at the old facility would recognize most of the people at the new facility on a game night.

    There are still obvious signs that the move in isn’t complete. The Tigers are suiting up in what is supposed to be the visitors’ dressing room due to the fact the home one isn’t finished. The Tabbies still don’t have a merchandise store set up and none of the team’s banners are hanging in the rafters.

    All of those items will be looked after over time. There is only so much that can be done, when you undertake a major move, which also included issues with getting a framework down for a lease.

    There is also a bit of a sense that everyone is still getting used to the new building, but you do have a gut feeling the Canalta Centre will be the place to be during a long Tigers playoff run. The Tigers new home is sweet, and it will be interesting to see what a game experience will be like when the club has a full off-season to prepare for the Canalta Centre’s sophomore campaign without worrying about a move.

    Still, the Hat’s new rink even right now is a place you have to see.

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

Football Huskies salvage respect

Kyle Siemens calls out signals for the Huskies.

  It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team was expected to content for a championship. Instead, the Dogs found themselves battling to finish their 2015 Canadian Interuniversity Sport campaign in a respectable fashion.

    Coming off posting a 6-2 mark during the 2014 regular season, the Huskies entered the 2015 campaign returning a large number of players and hopes were high the Green and White would make the Canada West championship game, the Hardy Cup, and advance to the CIS title game, the Vanier Cup.

    The 2015 campaign came to a close for the Huskies on Saturday, when they traveled to Calgary and fell 37-29 to the University of Calgary Dinos in a hard fought Canada West semifinal playoff battle. The Dinos, who were 8-0 in the regular season, ensured their quest for perfection continued. The Huskies, who were 3-5 in the regular season, saw their post-season losing skid grow to seven games.

    To the Huskies credit, they managed to finish on a high. During the final week of the regular season, they were on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

    On Oct. 30, the Huskies traveled to Regina to play the winless University of Regina Rams in the final regular season contest for both teams. The Huskies had lost three straight to fall to 2-5 entering that match and would be eliminated from the post-season picture with another setback.

    The Rams held a 34-11 lead late in the third quarter of that tilt at Mosaic Stadium, and it looked like the party was over for the Dogs. Miraculously, the Huskies rallied for a 38-37 victory, when running back Jarvis James ran in from a yard out with about 20 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.

    In the playoffs, the Huskies looked for the longest time that they could pull off a huge upset against the Dinos. The Dogs held a 16-8 lead at halftime and a 22-19 edge early in the fourth quarter before the Dinos offence hit high gear and took the game away.

Donovan Dale gets a sack for the Huskies.

    U of S showed heart at the end. That likely dampened some of the critics that watch Saskatoon’s most followed sports team.

    The critics in the stands became vocal last year at Griffiths Stadium, when the Huskies held a 37-18 lead over the University of Manitoba Bisons in a Canada West semifinal match only to fall 47-39.
    Some of the spectators started heaping jabs at the Huskies in a style similar to the jabs some of the fans of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders fire at that club when things are not going well.

    The Huskies started 2015 by stumbling out of the gates dropping their first two regular season games. The first setback was a 34-28 decision at Griffiths to the Bisons, and the second was a 38-26 loss in Edmonton to the University of Alberta Golden Bears. In the home opening loss, the critics in the crowd could be heard again and a couple of voices said that legendary Huskies head coach Brian Towriss, who is the all-time leader in CIS victories, should retire.

    U of S rebounded to even its mark at 2-2, but fell to 2-4 after being bombed twice by the Dinos.

    At that point, the 59-year-old Towriss and his staff showed they still have the ability to right the ship. Veteran fourth-year quarterback Drew Burko lost his starting position to sophomore Kyle Siemens. Burko had thrown nine interceptions over his six starts and a number of those were not of the good variety.

    Siemens completed 44 of 67 passes in his first start for 520 yards, three touchdown passes, while being intercepted once in a 41-36 loss to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at Griffiths. That defeat before the campaign’s smallest home crowd of 3,179 spectators, dropped the Huskies to 2-5 but hope started to be restored.

Huskies receiver Mitch Hillis tries to burst past a tackler.

    In the rally over the Rams, Siemens completed 23-of-41 passes for 422 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions. Against the Dinos in the playoffs, Siemens continued his solid play completing 29 of 46 passes for 356 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

    With Siemens at the controls, the Huskies offence appeared less likely to self-destruct. Actually, Siemens was throwing at the level of a franchise quarterback, and his rise might help restore high aspirations for the team in the future. In the off-season, the Huskies need to find some recruits to strengthen a defence that was extremely leaky throughout the campaign.

    Things are not all bad for the Huskies, but they are also not all good.

    Some big work needs to be done in the off-season, but on the bright side, wholesale changes are not needed.

The rewarding life of a Blades billet family

Blades captain Brett Stovin battles Medicine Hat's Steven Owre for a faceoff.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week, with a cool behind the scenes feature.

I caught up with recently graduated Saskatoon Blades captain Brett Stovin, and he talked about what it was like to live in the home of Scott and Mel Frey during his years with the WHL franchise. The Freys just became a Blades billet family, when they welcomed Stovin, who now players for the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team, into their home shortly before his 17^th birthday. 

    He played four full seasons with the Blades, which included being part of the squad that hosted the 2013 Memorial Cup.

    The experience was rewarding for both Stovin and Freys. You can check out that story 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.

Owre redemption equals Tigers victory

The Medicine Hat Tigers celebrate Steven Owre's overtime winner.

    Steven Owre went from goat to hero in a matter of minutes for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

    The 19-year Rocklin, California, product had what appeared to be a costly interference penalty in the final seconds of third period, with his club locked in a 2-2 draw in a WHL clash with the host Saskatoon Blades on Friday night. The infraction also wiped out the final seconds of a Medicine Hat power play.

    As the two clubs went into overtime, Owre had to wait for 97 seconds in the sin bin, as his team killed off a Blades four-on-three man advantage.

    Right after his penalty expired, the Tigers gained possession of the puck in their own zone. On a breakout, Ty Stanton and Cole Sandford teamed up to spring Owre into the Blades zone, and he slipped home a backhand shot to give the Tabbies a 3-2 victory before 3,550 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    Owre’s first goal of the season put a damper on a spectacular outing by Blades goaltender Brock Hamm, who made 35 saves in the setback. Hamm’s play was extremely key in getting the Blades to overtime, as he turned away 13-of-14 shots in the third period as the hosts found themselves pinned in their own zone for lengthy stretches.

Brock Hamm made 35 saves for the Blades.

    Saskatoon jumped out to a 2-0 in the first. Russian left-winger Nikita Soshnin netted his first of the season potting a power-play goal off a rebound from a Libor Hajek shot to give the Blades a 1-0 edge. With 1:33 to play in the opening frame, the Blades centre Cameron Hebig forced a turnover in the centre ice zone creating a two on nothing break into the Medicine Hat end. He fed a pass overtime linemate Ryan Graham, who put the host side up 2-0.

    The Tigers, who have made the WHL playoffs for 13 straight years and have advanced to at least the second round in 12 of those campaigns, began the rally in the second. They got on the scoreboard just past the midway point of the frame, when centre Matt Bradley slipped a pass across the front of the Saskatoon goal to linemate Chad Butcher, who fired the puck into an empty cage to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

    After a fairly even first 40 minutes, the Tigers took over territorial play in the third outshooting the Blades 14-3 in the third. Just 2:32 into the third, 17-year-old centre Mason Shaw potted the equalizer for the Tigers deflecting home a pass from Max Gerlach to lock the contest into a 2-2 draw.

    Medicine Hat continued to press for the go-ahead goal, but couldn’t get the winner past Hamm until overtime.

Blades winger Ryan Graham tries to screen Tigers goalie Nick Schneider.

    During a four-on-three penalty kill in overtime, the Tigers did a strong job collapsing around their net preventing the Blades from getting a decent shot on goal.

    Nick Schneider made 20 saves to earn the win for the Tigers, who improved to 2-1. The Blades record moved to 1-0-2.

    The Tigers return to action Saturday, when they travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). The Blades host the Vancouver Giants on Sunday (2 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

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