Raiders live up to being more than a team in opener

PA bests Pats 7-4 in banner raising night at home

Connor Howe first of two goals on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders were living up to their legacy of being more than just a hockey team to the folks in “Hockey Town North.”

On Friday before a standing room crowd of 2,916 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders downed the visiting Regina Pats 7-4 in the WHL regular season opener for both clubs. It was a night where the Raiders raised banners for finishing first in the WHL’s East Division and capturing the Eastern Conference Championship last season.

On their opening day roster on Friday night, the Raiders took the ice with 12 returning plays from last season’s squad that finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 52-10-5-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in five games to the Everett Silvertips. The Raiders are still without two more potential returning skaters from last year’s squad as 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Gorzynski is still taking part in NHL training camp activities with the Dallas Stars and 18-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson is in camp with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Benett Kelly skates on to the ice during pre-game introductions.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said it was important to see the East Division and Eastern Conference championship banners to up into the Hauser’s rafter, because it further cements the history that was made last season.

“It was a real special night in a number of ways,” said McDonald. “Watching the banner go up and the trophies sitting there, the guys who were here with us last year it is an amazing accomplishment and something that you should be very proud of.

“You watch those banners go to the rafters, and you’re a part of this history and this culture forever when those are up there.”

The Raiders raise two championship banners to the rafters.

The Raiders also ran a stirring video tribute for club mainstay in the late Mark Odnokon. Odnokon passed away this past May 24 due to cancer, and he was still a Raiders assistant coach at the time of his passing.

In living to age 63, Odnokon is viewed as a Raiders lifer. In the early 1970s growing up in Prince Albert, he went to Raiders games as a ticket buyer and used to camp out for tickets in the team’s early playoff runs when they were in junior A as part of the SJHL.

He was a stick boy for the Raiders first Centennial Cup winner in 1976-77, was a late season call up for their second Centennial Cup championship team in 1978-79 and was a full-time player for their final two Centennial Cup triumphs in 1980-81 and 1981-82.

After serving as head coach and general manager of the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs from 1988 to 1990, Odnokon returned to the Raiders as an assistant coach in the 1990-91 season. He was pretty much a part of the Raiders staff for most of the years he lived from that moment until his passing, when he served as a skills coach and the team’s Respect Champion. It was really only broken up for a long stretch from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s when he was a scout for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

The Raiders paid tribute to the late Mark Odnokon.

McDonald, who was born and raised in Prince Albert and played for the under-18 AAA Prince Albert Mintos and the Raiders, said Odnokon has been present in his hockey journey, and he still feels the physical void of the forever hockey coach not being there. Odnokon’s celebration of life took place fittingly at the Hauser this past May 31.

““Ozzy” was a huge part of those banners and the fabric of the culture that we have here in Prince Albert with the Raiders,” said McDonald. “He is a man who has been at this rink since I’ve been a kid.

Ben Harvey had one goal and three assists for the Raiders.

“He has been a part of it every single way with me whether it was working NorSask Hockey School, coming to the rink as a player playing for the Prince Albert Raiders to assistant and to head coach. It is hard to come and him not be here with his laughter, his humour, his work ethic and everything that he brings. He was the ultimate glue guy of a teammate.

“You heard all the stories at his funeral. Also as a coach too, he kept that coaching office extremely light, extremely close, and he is sadly missed.”

Raiders sophomore 17-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey said he still feels Odnokon’s physical absence. Following all the pre-game ceremonies, Harvey went out and had a huge night recording a short-handed empty-net goal, three assists and posting a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Maddix McCagherty (#17).

“Obviously, heavy hearts out to “Oz” and his family,” said Harvey, who has 14 goals, 13 assists and a plus-21 rating in 45 regular season games in 2025-26 as a 16-year-old rookie with the Raiders. “You never want to see that.

“He is a big part of our organization and was out with us every day.”

Harvey said Odnokon will always stand for all the good values and characteristics of what the Raiders are and mean to the community of Prince Albert.

“He means a lot to this organization itself,” said Harvey. “It was nice to do a little tribute video there.

“We’re playing for him this year, and he is definitely in our hearts.”

Following the pre-game festivities, the Raiders exploded out to 3-0 a lead. Just 70 seconds into the contest, Raiders 18-year-old defenceman Benett Kelly slipped a see-eye point shot through a screen to put the hosts up 1-0.

Carsyn Dyck sets up to score a breakaway goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to show their skill with 17-year-old left-winger and local product Connor Howe finishing off a couple of nice setup passes with goals to give Prince Albert a 3-0 lead at the 14:14 mark of the first. Howe would finish the contest with a plus-four rating.

With any opening game of a regular season, there were moments when the sailing wasn’t entirely smooth. Just 45 seconds after Howe’s second tally, Pats 20-year-old right-winger Keets Fawcett scored on the power play to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

At the 5:29 mark of the second, the Raiders pushed their edge out to 4-1 with a grittier goal, when 20-year-old centre Maddix McCagherty backhanded home a rebound in close that came from a long range shot taken by 18-year-old rookie defenceman Darius Hordal. McCagherty also had two assists and a plus-three rating on Friday.

PIMS the Parrot meets the Raiders young fans.

Veteran right-winger Jace Egland popped a single home for the Pats just over four minutes later to trim the Raiders lead to 4-1. Carsyn Dyck, who is a 20-year-old veteran centre, proceeded to slip home a shot on a breakaway just over two-and-a-half minutes later for the Raiders to put the hosts up 5-2. Dyck previously played in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks until being released this past off-season allowing him to be added to the Raiders roster.

Before the second frame closed out, Fawcett netted his second of the contest and centre Ellis Mieyette, who will turn 20-years-old in October, tallied with 51.2 seconds remaining in the frame to cut the Raiders lead to 5-4.

Riley Boychuk jets into the offensive zone on a rush.

The Raiders ensured the Pats wouldn’t spoil the opening game party in the third. With 4:07 remaining in the frame, Raiders star 18-year-old centre Ben Harvey burst into the offensive zone on a rush with his team working on the power play.

Harvey got in close to the Regina net and put a backhanded pass to import right-winger Alisher Sarkenov at the right post of the Pats goal. Sarkenov potted the puck into the open side of the cage to push the Raiders lead out to 6-4. Harvey would add his short-handed empty-net goal with 2:15 remaining on the clock to round out the scoring in the contest.

Maddix McCagherty had two assists to go with his goal.

Star 19-year-old import netminder Michal Orsulak made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 10-of-13 shots starting in goal for the Pats and was pulled after the first period. Drake Mooney turned away 12-of-15 shots playing the rest of the way in relief and took the loss in goal for Regina. 

The Pats were without 16-year-old star centre Maddox Schultz and veteran defenceman Kolten Bridgeman with undisclosed injuries.

The only other downer for the Raiders was that 18-year-old rookie left-winger Cash Lanigan was given a major penalty for kneeing, which also saw him get kicked out of the contest. The major penalty will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (6 p.m., InnovationPlex). The Pats get back at it on Friday, September 25, when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Assiniboine Credit Union Place).

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

As the Raiders go forward in the season, Howe would like to see the 2026-27 Raiders create another banner raising ceremony for September of next year. He admitted it was pretty sweet to see the banners from last season get raised on Friday night.

“I think it means a lot to us all that hard work from last year,” said Howe. “I think we’re trying to do that again this year, so I think it should be a good year.”

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Tigers rebound in Regina

Medicine Hat praises youthful Pats in playoff battle

Keets Fawcett, left, of the Pats chases Noah Davidson of the Tigers.

REGINA, Sask. – It was a great night to be a fan of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Tuesday playing before 3,603 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Tigers downed the host Regina Pats by a convincing margin of 8-2 in Game 3 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the set with Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

The victory was a big one for the Tigers, who dropped a 4-2 decision to the Pats in Game 2 on Saturday at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Before that Game 2 encounter, the Tigers had beaten the Pats 12 straight times, where Regina’s previous victory was a 5-4 overtime win on home ice back on January 20, 2024.

Zach Moore was snake bitten with a disallowed goal.

While Medicine Hat won by a convincing final score on Tuesday, Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins saluted his team’s youthful foes in the Pats.

“I thought Regina played well,” said Desjardins. “They were right there early.

“I thought our goaltending played well early. They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team.

“They’re playing way better than they did in the regular season. It is a different team. We’re going to have to play good.”

Medicine Hat came into the first round series as heavy favourites to beat Regina. The Tigers finished second overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and third in the league’s overall standings at 50-10-5-3. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Yaroslav Bryzgalov scored the Tigers first goal on Tuesday.

The Pats finished seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 25-34-7-2 mark. The Regina side is a more youthful side that is starting to see positive results from a rebuild. The Pats strength is in their younger age groups seen in forwards Maddox Schultz and Liam Pue, who are playing half-time with the squad as 15-year-old underage players.

Tigers captain Bryce Pickford has been impressed with the young Pats. He was happy his club came up with the rebound win on Tuesday night, but he said he is aware of what the Pats are capable of doing.

“They’re a really good team,” said Pickford. “They came into our barn for the second game, and they stole it from us.

Kade Stengrim scored the Tigers second goal on Tuesday.

“We can’t underestimate them. We knew they were going to be good tonight. We had all the energy.

“We knew what we had to do, and we did it.”

Just 1:48 into the contest, the Pats were snake bitten by some bad luck. Zack Moore, who is a 19-year-old centre, appeared to score on a backhand shot, but the goal was waved off as he scored it using a broken stick. He also received a delay of game penalty on the play for using the broken stick, but the Regina side was able to kill off the infraction.

Bryce Pickford posted one goal, one assist and a plus-three rating.

The Tigers weren’t deterred without being able to score on that power play. At the 7:47 mark of the first, import left-winger Yaroslav Bryzgalov sniped home a shot from low down in close to the left side of the Regina net to put the visitors up 1-0.

With seven minutes remaining in the opening frame, Pats left-winger Keets Fawcett drew a penalty shot on a rush to the Medicine Hat net. On his penalty shot attempt, he was stoned by Tigers starting netminder Jordan Switzer.

After that missed chance by the host side, Tigers left-winger Kade Stengrim scored with 6:06 remaining in the third and Pickford tallied with 34.7 seconds remaining in the frame to push the visitor’s advantage out to 3-0. 

Andrew Basha (#34) celebrates his first of two goals on Tuesday.

The Tigers exited the opening frame holding that 3-0 lead, while having a 13-12 edge in shots on goal.

Pickford said his squad caught a couple of breakings in the opening 20 minutes, especially with Moore’s disallowed goal early in the frame.

“I think that luck was definitely on our side there with that no goal,” said Pickford. “We got lucky.

“We’re lucky the stick broke there. We got a bounce, and then we bounced back and we scored. They’re a really good team.

“They started off hot. They played better than us in the first I thought, and we just found a way to win the game.”

Just 43 seconds into the second, import left-winger Ruslan Karimov scored for the Pats to cut the Tigers lead to 3-1. 

Liam Pue scored his first WHL post-season goal on Tuesday.

Tigers star 20-year-old left-winger Andrew Basha responded with a pair of goals coming at the 9:53 and 12:25 marks respectively to push Medicine Hat’s lead out to 5-1.

Following Basha’s second goal, the Pats pulled starting goalie Marek Schlenker, who turned away 14-of-19 shots taking the setback in net for Regina. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 17-of-20 shots playing the rest of the way in relief in the Pats net.

Regina responded quickly to the netminder change. 

Just 29 seconds after Basha’s second tally, Pue netted his first career WHL post-season goal for the Pats to trim the Tigers lead to 5-2.

Maddox Schultz brings the puck up ice for the Pats.

The Tigers proceeded to stall any momentum the Pats gained. With 30.2 seconds remaining in the second, Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham wired home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Regina net to give the visitors a 6-2 advantage heading into the second intermission.

Noah Davidson and Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll added singles for the Tigers in the third to round out the 8-2 final score in favour of Medicine Hat.

Switzer stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

Pickford said his squad has to continue to be aware of what the Pats are capable of.

Markus Ruck congratulations Jordan Switzer on a good game.

“They’re a young team, but they played really good,” said Pickford, who had an assist to go with his goal and was a plus-three in the plus-minus department for the Tigers. “Their forwards are fast.

“Their “D” are good. We just have to keep it going. After the first game, we kind of let off and then they took the second game. I think the biggest thing that we’ve got to learn from this game is that we’ve got to keep it going more than just one game.

“They are a really good team over there. We’re going to get their best next game, so we’ve got to be ready.”

Desjardins said Tuesday’s game was a lot closer than the final score said it was. He has been impressed with the Pats’ battle, and he expects the Regina side to continue to play hard for the rest of the series.

“They’re giving us everything we can possibly handle,” said Desjardins. “We were worried coming in tonight for sure.

A group of Tigers players close the night with their prayer circle.

“We were taking nothing for granted. They played well at home and in our building. They’ll be playing hard tomorrow.

“We know that.”

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Raiders survive major scare by Pats’ Tabashniuk

Prince Albert claims 2-1 (SO) victory over Regina

An extremely hot goaltender almost threw a wrench into the Prince Albert Raiders chances for finishing first in the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

On Saturday night, the Raiders traveled to Regina to face the Pats, and were almost stonewalled by Regina’s 18-year-old rookie netminder Taylor Tabashniuk. Tabashniuk was turning away everything including the kitchen sink and looked like he was going to steal a victory to the delight of the 5,558 spectators at the Brandt Centre.

Pats 17-year-old centre Zachary Lansard scored his 23^rd goal of the campaign with 2:13 remaining in the third to give the host side a 1-0 lead. With 50.3 seconds remaining in the frame and the Raiders having pulled star import netminder Michal Orsulak for an extra skater, Raiders star centre Max Heise popped home his 28^th goal of the season to even the score at 1-1 and force overtime.

After playing through a scoreless three-versus-three overtime session, the contest went to a tiebreaking shootout. Ben Harvey and Braeden Cootes scored for the Raiders in the shootout as the visitors took the tiebreaking session 2-0 and the overall WHL regular season contest 2-1.

The victory was a third straight for the Raiders, who improved to 49-10-5-1. They have the identical amount of standings points as the Medicine Hat Tigers at 104 in the race for top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Tigers won their third straight downing the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-5 in overtime on Saturday night at Co-op Place to improve to 48-10-5-3.

Prince Albert holds the standings tiebreaker over Medicine Hat due to having more wins. The Raiders, who are fourth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, have three games remaining on their regular season schedule, while the Tigers, who are fifth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, have two games left on their regular season slate. If the Raiders win two of their final three games, they will lock up top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Pats saw their record move to 25-30-7-2 picking up one standings point with the extra time setback to remain seventh in the Eastern Conference. They need to earn one more standings point over their last three games to lock up a berth in the WHL Playoffs.

Along with Tabashniuk’s play and the late rally by the Raiders, Saturday’s clash included a spirited fight near the end of the second period between Raiders 19-year-old import rookie defenceman Matyas Man and Pats 17-year-old rookie right-winger Shea Rollason.

After the Raiders were denied on countless scoring chances, Lansard received a cross-ice pass from linemate Mathis Paul at the right side of the Prince Albert net and popped home the go-ahead goal to give the hosts their 1-0 lead. Lansard’s marker came on the Pats second shot of the period and 14^th shot on goal in the contest.

With 50.3 seconds remaining in the third, Heise received a pass in front of the Regina net from the right corner of the Pats zone from linemate Brayden Dube. Heise fired a shot to the top right corner of the Regina goal to even the score at 1-1 and force overtime. Heise’s tally came on the Raiders 22^nd shot of the period and 51^st shot on goal in the contest.

In overtime, Orsulak allowed the Raiders to stay in the big game making three big saves coming off the sticks of Pats forwards Cohen Klassen, Ellis Mieyette and Ruslan Karimov. Karimov was denied during a power-play chance late in the stanza.

In the shootout, Harvey, who is a 16-year-old rookie right-winger, was the Raiders second shooter, and he scored a highlight reel goal that was absolutely sick. Cootes sealed the win as the Raiders third shooter snapping home a mid-height shot glove side on Tabashniuk.

Tabashniuk turned back 52 shots over 65 minutes and one of three shooters in the shootout. Orsulak stopped 16 shots over 65 minutes and both shooters he faced in the shootout.

The Pats return to action on Sunday when they travel to Moose Jaw to face the 23-35-5-2 Warriors (2 p.m., Temple Gardens Centre).

The Raiders get back at it on Tuesday when they return home to host the Pats (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Tigers rally for 6-5 (OT) win over Hurricanes

The Medicine Hat Tigers nearly didn’t go 8-0 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

On Saturday playing at home before 5,209 spectators at Co-op Place, the Tigers found themselves trailing the rival Hurricanes for most of the final WHL regular season clash between the two sides in the 2025-26 campaign. The Hurricanes were holding a 5-3 lead with 11:31 to play in the third after 17-year-old right-winger Kai Anderson scored his second goal of the contest.

With 10:06 remaining in the third, Tigers star centre Markus Ruck deflected home his 20^th goal of the season in front of the Lethbridge net to cut the Hurricanes edge to 5-4. Ruck got a smart stick on a point shot from import defenceman Veeti Vaisanen.

With 4:30 remaining in the third, Tigers 18-year-old left-winger Kade Stengrim potted his hat trick tally of the contest and 23^rd marker of the campaign to even the score at 5-5 and force overtime.

Tigers star right-winger Liam Ruck ended things scoring his second goal of the contest at the 1:56 mark of overtime to give the host side a 6-5 comeback victory.

Tomas Malinek, Oli Chenier and Kayden Longley all had singles for the Hurricanes.

Jordan Switzer stopped 12 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers, who did indeed win all eight head-to-head meetings with the Hurricanes in 2025-26. Leif Oaten turned away 38 shots to take the setback in net for the Hurricanes.

The win was a third straight for the Tigers as they improved to 48-10-5-3 for 104 standings points. They have the same amount of standings points as the Prince Albert Raiders (49-10-5-1) in a battle for top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Raiders downed the host Pats in Regina 2-1 after a tiebreaking shootout on Saturday night.

Prince Albert holds the standings tiebreaker over Medicine Hat due to having more wins. The Raiders, who are fourth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, have three games remaining on their regular season schedule, while the Tigers, who are fifth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings, have two games left on their regular season slate. If the Raiders win two of their final three games, they will lock up top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Markus Ruck finished Saturday’s game with one goal and two assists for the Tigers. He leads the WHL scoring race with 102 points coming off 20 goals and 82 assists. Liam Ruck, who is Markus’s twin brother, sits second in the WHL scoring race with 99 points coming off 43 goals and 56 assists.

The Tigers have also eclipsed their wins and standings points total from last season when they topped the Eastern Conference with a 47-17-3-1 mark for 98 points. They have also scored more goals this season at 331 than they did last season at 300.

Last season, the Tigers had superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna on their roster, and he took home honours as the WHL player of the year and the CHL player of the year. McKenna is currently playing in the NCAA ranks with the Penn State University Nittany Lions.

The Hurricanes record moved to 17-44-3-1 to sit second last in the overall WHL standings.

They return to action on Wednesday returning home to host the 25-34-4-2 Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m. local time, VisitLethbridge.com Arena).

The Tigers get back at it on Friday when they travel to Red Deer to take on the Rebels (7 p.m. local time, Marchant Crane Centrium).

Silvertips work over time to clinch first overall in WHL

The Everett Silvertips worked overtime to lock up first place overall in the WHL.

On Saturday, star import centre Julius Miettinen, who turned 20-years-old in January, scored his 32^nd goal of the campaign at the three-minute mark of overtime to deliver the host Silvertips to a 4-3 victory over the Penticton Vees to a raucous gathering of 8,249 spectators at the Angel of the Winds Arena. The victory allowed the Silvertips to increase their winning streak to nine games and improve to 54-7-2-1 to capture the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy for finishing first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings for a second straight year.

The Silvertips 54 wins and 111 standings points equaled team records that were set in the 2006-07 campaign. In 2006-07, the Silvertips posted a 54-15-1-2 mark to finish first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings.

Currently, the Silvertips are rated first in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings.

In Saturday’s win over the Vees, Tarin Smith scored twice for the Silvertips, while Zackary Shantz had a single. Ryden Evers replied with a pair of goals for the Vees, while Matteo Danis had a single.

Anders Miller stopped 40 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips. Andrew Reyelts turned away 34 shots to take the setback in net for the Vees.

With the extra time setback, the Vees record moved to 41-14-6-4 to remain second overall in the Western Conference and fourth overall in the WHL. The Vees are rated eighth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Silvertips return to action on Sunday when they travel to Portland to take on the 29-29-6-1 Winterhawks (4 p.m. local time, Veterans Memorial Coliseum).

The Vees return to action on Tuesday when they host the 26-34-4-1 Tri-City Americans (6:30 p.m. local time, South Okanagan Events Centre).

The previous two times the Silvertips finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings in 2006-07 and 2024-25, they were eliminated in a Western Conference semifinal series both times in the WHL Playoffs.

Blades rebound with win over Broncos

One day after suffering a disappointment, the Saskatoon Blades rebounded against the foe that caused the disappointment.

On Friday at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades held a 3-1 lead early in the third period over the visiting Swift Current Broncos only for the Broncos to rally for three straight goals to pull out a 4-3 victory in overtime in a WHL regular season clash. On Saturday playing before 2,488 spectators at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current, those two squads met again, and the visiting Blades pulled out a 4-2 victory scoring twice inside the final two minutes of the third period.

Just 38 seconds into the first, rookie left-winger Carter Moen, who turned 17-years-old in late February, scored his 10^th of the season to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. The Blades would score twice before the nine-minute mark of the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead with goals coming off the sticks of defenceman Jordan Martin and star centre Cooper Williams.

With 2:42 remaining in the second, Broncos 19-year-old right-winger Hudson Darby scored on a breakaway to even the score at 2-2.

The second period had an increase of feisty play with a couple of fights breaking out in the frame. With 7:01 remaining in the frame, Blades defenceman Jack Kachkowski took on Broncos centre Brock Burch. With less than a minute remaining in the third, Blades offensive-defenceman Brayden Klimpke took on Moen in a spirited bout.

In the third, Blades 17-year-old rookie left-winger Ben Bowtell scored the winner for the visitors with 6:44 remaining in the frame. Blades captain Tyler Parr scored an empty-net goal with less than 35 seconds remaining in the stanza to round out the 4-2 final score in favour of the visitors.

Associate player call up Taye Timmerman, who turned 19-years-old in late February, made his first WHL start and stopped 11 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Timmerman had been playing in the junior A ranks with the Warman Wolverines of the SJHL.

Archer Cooke turned away 34-of-37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

Rowan Calvert, Hunter Laing and Klimpke each picked up two assists for the Blades in the win.

The Blades improved to 33-25-5-2 with the victory to remain sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. As the WHL Playoffs near, the Blades can’t finish any lower than sixth in the conference and the highest they can finish is fifth in the conference before opening up play in the post-season.

In order for the Blades to finish fifth in the conference, they need to win their remaining three games and would need the Brandon Wheat Kings (38-25-2) to lose all of their remaining three contests in regulation time.

The Broncos fell to 14-43-4-5 to sit last in the WHL.

The Blades return to action on Wednesday when they host the Wheat Kings (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Broncos get back at it on Friday when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

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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Sweep away - Blades turn out the lights on Rebels

Saskatoon advances to WHL Eastern Conference final

Alexander Suzdalev (#91) chases down a puck. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Like a young Mike Tyson, the Saskatoon Blades landed the knockout blow early.

“The Bridge City Bunch” pounced on a host Red Deer Rebels side that was compromised entering Game 4 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two sides. For the second straight night, the Rebels played a game without both of their regular goaltenders.

Second-year netminder Rhett Stoesser was out due to an undisclosed ailment. Stoesser has yet to dress for a game in the series against the Blades.

Breakout rookie puck stopper Chase Wutzke was out with an undisclosed injury. In the Blades 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2 on Sunday in Saskatoon, Wutzke was bowled over by Blades overage star left-winger Easton Armstrong on an offensive rush at the 5:59 mark of the third when the contest was tied 1-1.

Armstrong was given a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. On Monday, he was suspended by the WHL, and the league finalized that suspension at four games on Wednesday. Wutzke finished Game 2 playing heroically making 47 saves in the extra time setback.

With Stoesser and Wutzke out, the Rebels started associate player call up Taylor Tabashniuk, who turned 17-years-old in March, in net for a second straight night. He played this season with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team before joining the Rebels.

Peyton Shore suited up as the Rebels backup goalie as an associated player call up. Shore, who is 15-years-old, played this season for the Rink Hockey Academy’s Under-17 team in his hometown of Winnipeg, Man.

On top of the netminders who were out, the Rebels were without overage defenceman Elias Carmichael with a lower body injury. Carmichael did not appear at all in the 2024 WHL post-season.

Ben Saunderson (#2) makes a poke check. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Also, Rebels import right-winger Frantisek Formanek was out serving a one-game league imposed suspension for being assessed a spearing major and a game misconduct in the third period of the Blades 8-5 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday. Associate player call up Steven Steranka, who is 16-years-old, suited up for his first WHL game be it the regular season or playoffs after playing all of this past season with the Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team before joining the Rebels.

In Game 4 on Wednesday, the Blades stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and cruised to a 7-0 victory before 4,415 spectators. The win allowed the Blades to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0.

For a second straight year, the Blades advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series. They will play the winner of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Swift Current Broncos.

The Warriors downed the Broncos 5-2 in Game 4 of that series on Wednesday at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current to take a 3-1 lead in that set. The Warriors will try and close out that series Friday when they host the Broncos at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre, which is also known as “The Hangar.”

Saskatoon’s series win over Red Deer means the Eastern Conference Championship series will be an all-Saskatchewan battle for the first time since 1993. Back in 1993, the Broncos swept the Regina Pats 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championships Series. Swift Current advanced to the WHL Championship Series where they got past the Portland Winterhawks in seven games.

As for Wednesday’s encounter between the Blades and Rebels, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov played the role of Tyson in Wednesday’s romp recording a hat trick, two assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department. He got things started wiring home his first of the contest from the top of the left faceoff circle just 3:12 into the opening frame to put the visitors up 1-0.

With Sidorov’s first goal, the Blades have now opened the scoring in all nine of their games in the 2024 post-season.

The Blades and Rebels scrum it up. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Just under three minutes later, the Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 on a short-handed goal by centre Rowan Calvert. Left-winger Misha Volotovskii sprung Calvert on a breakaway, and he went forehand to backhand putting his second of the post-season by Tabashniuk to give the Blades their two-goal edge.

With 3:12 remaining in the opening frame, Sidorov netted his second of the contest to give the Blades a 3-0 advantage. The 19-year-old, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, came in on the right side of the Red Deer net and put home a spinorama backhand shot.

Sidorov proceeded to pick up his first assist of the night on the Blades fourth goal. With 72 seconds remaining in the first, Sidorov got the puck to star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky. Lisowsky broke into the Red Deer zone and slipped a backhand shot five-hole on Tabashniuk to put the Blades up 4-0 heading into the first intermission.

The Blades built their 4-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal.

Just 2:15 into the second, Sidorov completed his hat trick. He jetted in the Red Deer zone chasing a dump in or a missed stretch pass from offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk.

The puck hit the back boards in the Red Deer zone and bounced right out to an approaching Sidorov. Sidorov potted home a shot where he put his stick between his legs for his 10^th goal of the post-season to give the Blades a 5-0 edge.

At the 13:03 mark of the third, Sidorov had a sweet helper on the tally that put the Blades in front 6-0 on the scoreboard. Holding the puck inside the icing line in the Red Deer end off to the right of the Rebels goal, Sidorov made a smart pass to Blades star centre Fraser Minten. Minten slid home his fifth of the post-season to give the Blades their six-goal edge.

Nicholas Andrusiak (#53) sets defensively. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

The Rebels ran into more tough luck as offensive-defenceman Hunter Mayo was given a double minor for high-sticking at the 3:33 mark of the third. That infraction will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

On the first half of the four-minute power-play, Blades import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev rounded out the game’s scoring potting home a shot from a sharp angle at the left side of the Red Deer net at the 4:52 mark of the third.

Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner had a solid night stopping all 26 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Blades. He made a huge stop on a Rebels power-play opportunity late in the third period to preserve his shutout bid.

Rebels offensive-defenceman Mats Lindgren sprung Rebels overage winger Carson Latimer on a contested breakaway. Latimer fired a shot on goal that was denied by a blocker stop from Gardner.

Lisowsky had a pair of assists to go with his goal. Blades defencemen Ben Saunderson and Nicholas Andrusiak each had two assists. Saskatoon was without utility forward Tyler Parr who has missed the team’s last five games with an undisclosed injury.

Tabashniuk turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels. His post-season starts in Games 3 and 4 were his first two career WHL games played in either the regular season or post-season.

Coming into the series between the Blades and Rebels, the Blades were tabbed as the favourites. They topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Rebels had an up and down regular season finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and eighth overall on the circuit with a 33-26-3-6 mark.

Last year when the Blades and Rebels met in an Eastern Conference semifinal, the Rebels claimed the first three games of the set, and the Blades rallied back to take the next four games to take the series 4-3. The Blades became just the third team in this history of the WHL to face an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series to rally back to take the set 4-3.

The Blades and Rebels shake hands. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

This year, the Blades didn’t need any comeback dramatics to eliminate the Rebels from the post-season. Outside of chaotic win in Game 3, the Blades played strong hockey and were full marks in sweeping the Rebels out of the WHL Playoffs.

The Blades were also opportunistic. When the Rebels encountered some rotten luck due to injuries and ailments on the goaltending front, an injury to an overage defensive-defenceman in Carmichael and a suspension to key winger in Formanek, the Blades showed no mercy when it came to piling up the goals.

When the moment came to eliminate a foe with short-handed roster, the Blades cashed in. Now, they move on to play a post-season series where the winner gets a trophy and a banner.

Huge thanks to Lachance for photo help

A big thank you goes out to Red Deer Rebels team photographer Taylor Lachance for the photos that appear in this post.

He did a tremendous job with these photos. The WHL has a tonne of talented team photographers, and they do an outstanding job of capturing memorable moments on the major junior circuit.

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 outgun Rebels 8-5

Saskatoon takes commanding 3-0 series lead on Red Deer

Ben Saunderson (#2) battles on the boards. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

It hadn’t been this easy to score since the original Woodstock in 1969.

On Tuesday night at the Peavey Mart Centrium, the goals came in bunches as the Saskatoon Blades faced the host Red Deer Rebels in Game 3 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The game was an entertaining one for the 4,411 spectators in attendance, but it was also likely a nightmare for the coaching staffs of both teams.

When the dust settled, the Blades skated away with an 8-5 victory and a seventh straight win in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Blades take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Saskatoon will attempt to close out the series in Game 4 set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

Game 3 began with a surprise as associate player call up Taylor Tabashniuk, who turned 17-years-old in March, started the contest in goal for Red Deer. Tabashniuk was playing his first career WHL game in either the regular season or post-season. He played this season with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team before joining the Rebels.

Peyton Shore suited up as the Rebels backup goalie as an associated player call up. Shore, who is 15-years-old, played this season for the Rink Hockey Academy’s Under-17 team in his hometown of Winnipeg, Man.

The Rebels had to dress the associated player call ups as both of their regular netminders were out of the lineup. Second-year netminder Rhett Stoesser was out due to an undisclosed ailment. Stoesser has yet to dress for a game in the series against the Blades.

Breakout rookie puck stopper Chase Wutzke was out with an undisclosed injury. In the Blades 2-1 overtime victory in Game 2 on Sunday in Saskatoon, Wutzke was bowled over by Blades overage star left-winger Easton Armstrong on an offensive rush at the 5:59 mark of the third when the contest was tied 1-1.

Armstrong was given a major penalty for charging and a game misconduct. On Monday, he was suspended by the WHL with the length of the suspension to be determined.

Tanner Molendyk (#24) controls the puck. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Wutzke finished Game 2 playing heroically making 47 saves in the extra time setback.

In Game 3, the Rebels were thwarted on the first scoring chance of the contest just 13 seconds into the game. Rebels gritty left-winger Carson Birnie backhanded centred a pass from the right wing of the Saskatoon zone to the front of the Blades net to Rebels star centre and captain Kai Uchacz.

The puck deflected off Uchacz’s skate towards the Saskatoon net, but Blades breakout star rookie netiminder Evan Gardner made a sharp stop to keep the game scoreless. No one could have suspected the goal gusher that was to come at that time.

Shortly after that stop, the flood of goals started. Just 2:36 into the opening frame, Blades 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright fired home a shot from the left faceoff dot to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

The Rebels responded 14 seconds later when overage winger Carson Latimer, who was a one-time member of the Prince Albert Raiders, slid home a low shot to the right side of the Saskatoon net to even the score at 1-1. The officials video reviewed the tally and confirmed the goal did indeed count.

At the 7:31 mark of the first, Blades centre Rowan Calvert fired home a shot from the left faceoff circle to put the visitors back in front 2-1. 

Just 20 seconds later, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov blew down the right wing and got in alone on the Red Deer net. He snapped home a shot to the low left side of the Red Deer goal to give the Blades a 3-1 advantage.

With 8:24 remaining in the first, Birnie scored a short-handed goal off a midrange shot from the right wing boards to cut the Blades lead to 3-2.

The offensive surge continued in the second. Just 2:16 into the frame, Rebels second-year defenceman Quentin Bourne, who was playing right wing, fired home his first career WHL goal in either the WHL regular season or post-season to even the score at 3-3.

Kai Uchacz (#19) gets tied up. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

The Blades jumped back out in front 4-3 just 41 seconds later on the smart play by captain Trevor Wong. Rebels offensive-defenceman Mats Lindgren was slow to get possession of a loose puck in his own zone, and Wong stole the puck right out from under the rearguard. Wong quickly snapped a shot past Tabashniuk to give the visitors a one-goal edge once again.

With the teams playing four-versus-four hockey due to off-setting penalties, Sidorov scored his second of the contest to push the Blades lead out to 5-3.

As is a traditional Rebels trait, they didn’t quit. With 4:58 remaining in the second, Rebels star winger Kalan Lind scored on a wraparound to cut the Blades lead to 5-4.

After Lind’s goal, the Blades elected to pull Gardner. He stopped 16-of-20 shots sent his way. Austin Elliott turned away 16-of-17 shots playing the rest of the way in relief and would end up picking up the win in goal for the visitors.

Following the goaltender change, Sidorov proceeded to complete his hat trick tallying with 1:25 remaining in the second to give the Blades a 6-4 advantage heading into the second intermission.

The Blades pushed their edge out to 7-4 at the 6:27 mark of the third. Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky received a smart pass in the left slot from Wong and fired home his third of the post-season to give the visitors their three-goal edge.

At that point, the Rebels appeared to be sinking in quicksand. With 10:42 remaining in the third, Rebels import right-winger Frantisek Formanek pitch forked Blades defensive centre Lukas Hansen in the gut.

Formanek was given a major penalty for spearing and a game misconduct. His infraction will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Rebels proceeded to show more resilience as gritty left-winger Talon Brigley elected to make the highlight reels. While working the kill for Formanek’s major, Brigley took the puck away from Sidorov in the Red Deer zone.

Talon Brigley had a sweet goal. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

Brigley jetting down the ice into the Saskatoon zone down the left wing, put a spinorama move on Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk and roofed home a shot to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net for a short-handed goal to trim the visitor’s lead to 7-5. The Blades finished 1-for-4 on the power play in the contest, while giving up two short-handed goals.

A short time after Brigley’s goal, Uchacz had a dangerous chance to score, but he was stopped by Elliott, who was able to freeze the puck. Blades head coach Brennan Sonne called a timeout after that chance to settle his players down and get them to refocus for the rest of the frame.

With 3:13 remaining in the third, the Rebels pulled Tabashniuk for an extra attacker. Hansen scored his first of the post-season into an empty net with 1:20 remaining in the third to round out the 8-5 final in favour of the Blades.

Tabashniuk turned away 31-of-38 shots to take the setback in goal for the Rebels.

Wong collected three assists to go with his goal for a four-point night. Lisowsky had a pair of assists to go with his goal for a three-point night.

If the Blades are able to wrap up the series in Game 4 on Wednesday, they will ensure the Eastern Conference Championship Series will be an all-Saskatchewan battle for the first time since 1993. The winner of the series between the Blades and Rebels will face the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Swift Current Broncos.

On Tuesday, the Warriors downed the Broncos 5-3 in Swift Current in Game 3 of that series to take a 2-1 lead in that set.

Back in 1993, the Broncos swept the Regina Pats 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Championships Series. Swift Current advanced to the WHL Championship Series where they got past the Portland Winterhawks in seven games.

Coming into the series between the Blades and Rebels, the Blades were tabbed as the favourites. They topped the WHL’s overall standings with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They took down their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a first round series.

The Blades celebrate their win. (Photo: Taylor Lachance)

The Rebels had an up and down regular season finishing fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and eighth overall on the circuit with a 33-26-3-6 mark. They took out one of their biggest rivals in the Medicine Hat Tigers 4-1 in a first round series.

Last year when the Blades and Rebels met in an Eastern Conference semifinal, the Rebels claimed the first three games of the set, and the Blades rallied back to take the next four games to take the series 4-3. The Blades became just the third team in this history of the WHL to face an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series to rally back to take the set 4-3.

The Rebels face a bigger challenge to rally back to win this year’s series than the Blades did a year ago. Red Deer will try to make a series comeback, but it appears the Blades have way too much in their favour to let this one slip away.

Huge thanks to Lachance for photo help

A big thank you goes out to Red Deer Rebels team photographer Taylor Lachance for the first five photos that appear in this post.

He did a tremendous job with these photos. The WHL has a tonne of talented team photographers, and they do an outstanding job of capturing memorable moments on the major junior circuit.

Armstrong’s suspension could linger for Blades, other notes

Easton Armstrong in action on Sunday for the Blades.

Everyone on the Saskatoon Blades might be holding their collective breath with regards to how long Easton Armstrong’s latest suspension could run.

On Monday, the WHL suspended Armstrong for a length still to be determined for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct in the Blades 2-1 overtime victory over the Red Deer Rebels in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Armstrong, who is the Blades star overage left-winger, was suspended for bowling over Rebels breakout rookie netminder Chase Wutzke at the 5:59 mark of the third period, when the contest was tied 1-1.

Wutzke finished that contest making 47 saves in a heroic performance. He missed the Rebels 8-5 setback in Game 3 on Tuesday in Red Deer against the Blades with an undisclosed injury.

Armstrong’s suspension on Monday marks the third time in the last two seasons where he has been suspended by the WHL. In the Blades 3-2 regular season victory over the Broncos in Swift Current on February 10, Armstrong was given a major penalty for goaltender interference and a game misconduct resulting in a two game suspension.

In February of 2023, Armstrong served a two-game suspension for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct as a member of the Winnipeg Ice.

The WHL is likely evaluating Armstrong’s status as a repeat offender before offering an official ruling on his latest suspension.

Armstrong was acquired by the Blades in a trade very early in the 2023-24 campaign with the Wenatchee Wild. In 62 regular season games played between the Wild and Blades, Armstrong had career highs in goals (34), assists (22), points (56) and plus-minus rating (plus-24).

In six post-season games with the Blades, Armstrong has posted five goals, three assists and a plus-four rating.

• Offensive-defenceman and captain Denton Mateychuk had a pair of goals including the winner and an assist to power the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 5-3 victory over the Broncos in Swift Current in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday. The Warriors took a 2-1 lead in the set. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current.
• Left-winger Matteo Danis score 82 seconds into overtime to deliver the Prince George Cougars to a 4-3 victory over the Rockets in Kelowna in Game 3 of a Western Conference semifinal series. With the win, the Cougars lead the series 3-0. Prince George will try to close out the set in Game 4 on Wednesday set for 7 p.m. local time at Prospera Place in Kelowna.
• The Portland Winterhawks are leading their Western Conference semifinal 3-0 over the Everett Silvertips. They will try to close out the set in Game 4 on Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. The Winterhawks took Game 3 of the series 4-3 in overtime in Game 3 on Monday. Offensive-defenceman Carter Sotheran had the overtime winner for the Winterhawks. The series between the Winterhawks and Silvertips has faced the challenge of having to schedule around events at Everett’s rink.

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.