Blades take Game 2 overtime classic 3-2 over Warriors

WHL’s Eastern Conference final all even at 1-1

The celebration is on after Fraser Minten scores the OT winner.

Two nights, two overtime classics.

The WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors is pure fire.

In Game 1 on Friday at the SaskTel Centre, star centre Brayden Yager scored at the 12:34 mark of overtime to deliver his Warriors to a 4-3 victory to open the best-of-seven series between the two sides.

In Game 2 played before 9,328 spectators at the SaskTel Centre on Saturday, star centre Fraser Minten played the role of overtime hero for the Blades. With the two sides locked in a 2-2 tie in the extra session, Minten broke into the Warriors zone on a two-on-one break with Lukas Hansen, who was in possession of the puck.

The Blades faithful cheers their team’s overtime winner.

Hansen entered the zone jetting down the right wing and made a backhand pass across the face the Moose Jaw goal to Minten, who was open for a backdoor feed at the left of the net. Minten made no mistake firing home his first game winning and overtime winning goal of the post-season to deliver the Blades to a 3-2 victory to the loudest cheers heard at the SaskTel Centre in the current WHL campaign. The tally came with 6:54 remaining in the extra session.

With the Blades win on Saturday, the Eastern Conference Championship Series is now tied 1-1.

The series now switches back to Moose Jaw for Games 3 and 4 set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at 7 p.m. on both nights at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. For the few tickets that remain for those contests, purchasers would be wise to pick them up as quickly as possible and get popcorn at the ready.

The Blades pile on top of Fraser Minten after he scored in OT.

With the way Games 1 and 2 played out in Saskatoon, it is highly likely the people attending Games 3 and 4 in Moose Jaw are in for a show. The skill on both sides has shown through, and the speed of how both teams get up and down the ice has been incredible.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne and Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary were constantly juggling their forward lines through the contest trying to find the final push that would give their respective side the edge.

The unsung heroes of the first two games might be Blades breakout netminder Evan Gardner and Warriors star netminder Jackson Unger. Both have come through with some big time saves to date in this series.

Fraser Minten’s OT goal was his first extra time tally of the playoffs.

As for Saturday’s game, the Blades came out with some jump. On an early power play in the first period, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was stopped in close by Unger.

After that big stop by Unger, the Warriors ensured they knocked the Blades fans into silence and gave reason for their fans to cheer like they were back in their team’s raucous old home rink the Moose Jaw Civic Centre, which was best known as “The Crushed Can.”

At the 12:33 mark of the opening frame, the Warriors broke into the Saskatoon zone on a two-on-one with two of their high-end skilled players. Centre Matthew Savoie came down the left wing and made a pass over to star 20-year-old right-winger Atley Calvert. Calvert blew home his fifth of the post-season to put the Warriors up 1-0.

Atley Calvert had the Warriors first goal on Saturday.

Just under five minutes later, Warriors offensive-defenceman Kalem Parker put home a smart midrange shot from the front of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. Parker’s goal was one that would have made his older sister Mackenna, who starred for the Saskatoon Stars female under-18 AAA team from 2014 to 2018, proud.

When first period came to a close, the Warriors held a 2-0 lead with the Blades holding an 8-6 edge in shots on goal.

The Blades rallied in the second. At the 11-minute mark of the frame, Blades star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk slid home a power-play goal from the top of the right faceoff circle in the Moose Jaw zone to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1. Molendyk’s tally came off the rare four versus three power-play opportunity.

Kalem Parker scored to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

With 2:31 remaining in the second, Lisowsky potted a rebound at the front of the Moose Jaw net from a shot taken by Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov to even the score at 2-2. Sidorov finished the contest with a pair of assists, and he has points in his last four consecutive games piling up eight goals and four assists over that time.

In the final seconds of the second, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager tried to bury a shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net, but he was denied by a right pad kick save Gardner.

The Warriors came out flying in the third holding a 5-1 edge in shots on goal over the first eight minutes of the frame. After that surge, Gardener made a big stop on Warriors captain and star offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk at the left side of the Saskatoon net.

Tanner Molendyk scored the Blades first goal on Saturday.

The Blades responded with a push back in the second half of the third. Unger stoned Sidorov on a one-time shot from the right wing and later followed up with a big glove save on Lisowsky. That set the stage for overtime.

Early in the extra session, Gardner stoned Yager on a shot from the left side of the Saskatoon net. One of the most challenging moments Gardner had to deal with was collecting a high in the air weird bounce shot at the right side of the Saskatoon net. The netminder has to secure the puck while Warriors left-winger Martin Rysavy was right in his face.

Those stops allowed the Blades to ultimately win the contest on Minten’s winning goal, which actually came about by veteran savvy hard work from Blades gritty right-winger Vaughn Watterodt. Watterodt is skilled at agitating players on the opposition.

Blades fans celebrate a goal from Tanner Molendyk.

Before Minten scored, the Warriors were pressing for the winning tally in the Saskatoon zone. Mateychuk attempted to fire a shot on goal from the point, but his drive was blocked by Watterodt.

The Warriors defenceman followed his shot and attempted to get the puck back from Watterodt. Watterodt used his right stick hand to make a backhanded pass to the right wing that sprung Hansen on the two-on-one with Minten that resulted in the overtime winner.

While making the backhanded pass to Hansen, Watterodt made a quick and slick sleight of hand tug with his left hand on Mateychuk’s stick. That tug caused Mateychuk to tumble on the ice and prevented him from getting back to defend the Blades offensive rush the other way.

Brandon Lisowsky celebrates scoring the equalizer for the Blades.

That sequence happened so fast that depending on what angle you watched it from, you might have thought Mateychuk lost his balance and fell while battling Watterodt for the puck.

Savoie talked to officials on the ice about that whole sequence following Minten’s goal, but his arguments didn’t have any effect on changing the game’s outcome.

Gardner stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Unger turned away 34 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors.

Before the Eastern Conference final between the Blades and Warriors started, the series was expected to be a barnburner.

Brandon Lisowsky fires a shot on goal for the Blades.

During the regular season, the Blades 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 Warriors finished fifth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 44-21-0-3 mark.

The two sides split their six head-to-head encounters in the regular season without having to go to extra time.

After two games, the Eastern Conference final so far has managed to actually exceeded expectations of how good it could be.

Egor Sidorov had a pair of assists for the Blades.

Going into Game 3 on Tuesday in Moose Jaw, the Blades roster will get a boost as star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong returns after serving a four-game league imposed suspension. 

Armstrong was suspended for receiving a charging major and a game misconduct in the Blades 2-1 overtime win over the Red Deer Rebels at home on April 14.

Armstrong was given his infractions in Game 2 of that series with the Rebels after he bowled over Red Deer netminder Chase Wutzke.

In 62 regular season game split between the Wenatchee Wild and the Blades in 2023-24, Armstrong recorded 34 goals and 22 assists to go with a plus-24 rating in the plus-minus department. 

Vaughn Watterodt (#18) blocks a shot for the Blades.

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

His return will give the Blades offence a boost.

Adding another good player is going to further increase the entertainment value of this series. Anyone involved with this series whether you are with the competing teams, game staffers or spectators should soak in the moment, because something special is going down.

Fraser Minten gives a stick to a young fan.

When the dust ultimately settles in this battle between the Blades and Warriors, it will likely be one of those things where you have to smile because it happened.

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

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Minten muscles Blades to 4-1 win in Game 1 over Rebels

Star centre gets three points, wins 18-of-24 faceoffs

The Blades celebrate a first period goal by Fraser Minten (#16) on Friday.

Fraser Minten is doing his best to ensure no one will ever forget about him playing in the WHL.

The Saskatoon Blades star 19-year-old centre did his best to lay claim to being the circuit’s most complete player on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre. Minten had a pair of goals, an assist and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department in powering the Blades to a 4-1 victory over the Red Deer Rebels in the opening game of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two sides.

Along with his offensive production, Minten won 18-of-24 faceoffs and had a big shot block in the third period when Rebels were trying to press to get even on the scoreboard. When the game finished, Minten received a big salute from the 8,355 spectators in attendance.

Fraser Minten had two goals and an assist on Friday.

Minten said he went into Friday’s game feeling refreshed as the Blades had six days off since eliminating their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders in the opening round of the post-season.

“Having a week off, you have lots of energy in the legs,” said Minten. “Starting at home is always nice, so we’re just feeding off the energy of the crowd and the boys.

“It was lots of fun right from the start tonight. There were just results tonight. I try to do that every night.

“There were lots of times in the first round where I would have six or seven shots on net, and they just hit a post or hit the blocker and just miss. It was just an inch or two on the results tonight.”

Fraser Minten won 18-of-24 faceoffs for the Blades on Friday.

Blades head coach Brennan Sonne thought Minten had a great outing in Game 1 on Friday.

“I really liked his game,” said Sonne. “I thought he was a driver.

“I think he is always a driver, but there are times he just takes it to this level that is really difficult for anyone to play against honestly. Probably Swift Current at home (in a 3-2 overtime win on January 28) would be another example, but I just thought he was very man like and pro like tonight.”

Minten opened the scoring for the Blades at the 8:32 mark of the first, when he deflected home a point shot from 19-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann. Minten’s deflection slipped past Rebels breakout rookie netminder Chase Wutzke and slowly entering the Red Deer net.

Grayden Siepmann had a pair of assists for the Blades on Friday.

After that tally, Blades rookie defenceman Morgan Tastad proceeded to make the highlight reels leveling Rebels star right-winger Kalan Lind with a big open ice hit with 6:53 remaining in the frame.

A short time after that hit, the Rebels had a huge chance to pull even on the scoreboard. Rebels 19-year-old offensive-defenceman Mats Lindgren pinched down to the doorstep on the left side of the Saskatoon net.

Lindgren received a perfect setup pass for a backdoor tap, but he was robbed by a sprawling Blades breakout rookie netminder in Evan Gardner.

“His (Gardner’s) lateral movements tonight I thought were very crisp and sharp,” said Sonne. “He was very steady for us.

Carson Birnie scored for the Rebels in the second period.

“I think we can help him out in a few areas. We gave up some chances on our faceoffs in our defensive zone that we need to clean up so we can help him there too. When he had to, I just thought he worked really hard laterally.”

With 5:13 left in the first, the Blades thought they went up 2-0, when a shot from 18-year-old centre Rowan Calvert floated past Wutzke. The officials disallowed the goal ruling correctly the Blades were offside on the play and that ruling held up after a video review.

The opening 20 minutes was more of a feeling out frame for both teams where the Blades held a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.

The Rebels proceeded to even the score at 1-1 on a goal from left-winger Carson Birnie at the 5:29 mark of the second. On the play, Rebels overage winger Carson Latimer tipped a point shot from Lindgren on to the Saskatoon net, and the tip chance was stopped by Gardner. The puck rebounded to the left of the Saskatoon net to Birnie, who popped home the equalizer.

Vaughn Watterodt scored the winning goal for the Blades on Friday.

The Blades would jump back in front 2-1 just 3:30 later. Minten circled down the right side of the Red Deer zone and centred the puck loose in front of the Red Deer net. Hard-working veteran Blades left-winger Vaughn Watterodt jammed home the loose puck to give the host side a one-goal edge.

With 6:58 remaining in the second, the Blade struck on the power play to push their edge out to 3-1. Blades 20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright was working with the puck at the left point and sent a pass to the right faceoff circle to Minten. Minten one-timed home his second of the contest to give the Blades their two-goal edge.

Evan Gardner stopped 16-of-17 shots in goal for the Blades.

Minten said it was key for his side to respond scoring twice after the Rebels tied the game to start the second.

“That was a big part of the game,” said Minten. “They came out pretty aggressive and with some energy at the start of the second.

“We were a little bit flat to start. After that goal, you could sense that they were pushing. They were getting some momentum.

“Those were big goals for us.”

Early in the third, the Rebels appeared to have a huge chance to get back into the contest. Just two minutes into the frame, Blades offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk was given a double minor for high sticking. That infraction will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Mats Lindgren works the puck in the offensive zone for the Rebels.

The Rebels weren’t able to score on the four minutes of power play time.

Shortly after the power play ended for the visitors, the Rebels continued to press in the Saskatoon zone. During a long string of pressure, Minten came up with a big shot block, and Gardner turned away the visitors twice on a frantic net scramble situation.

Blades star 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky sealed the win scoring into an empty net with 48.9 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 4-1 final in favour of the host side.

Gardner made 16 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Wutzke turned away 20-of-23 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

Brandon Lisowsky scored an empty-net goal for the Blades.

Lisowsky had an assist to go with his goal. Siepmann finished with a pair of helpers for the Blades.

Rebels interim head coach Dave Struch thought Friday’s contest was a bit of a bland game.

“I’m not sure it was a top end playoff game by either team,” said Struch. “They played their game for sure.

“I think that we got off to a bit of a slow start. I was hoping that we’d finish a little bit more checks along the way. You could tell by the shots we got premier shots, but we didn’t get any secondaries to give ourselves an opportunity.

HC Brennan Sonne gives directions from the Blades bench.

“I think for the most part it was just a vanilla game. I don’t think there was any type of rivalry there at all. It was more like a start of a season.”

On the injury front, the Blades were without utility winger Tyler Parr with a leg injury and star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong with an undisclosed injury.

The Rebels were without overage defenceman Elias Carmichael with a lower body injury. Carmichael has yet to appear in the 2024 WHL post-season. Red Deer was also without second-year netminder Rhett Stoesser due to an undisclosed ailment. Taylor Tabashniuk, who played this season for the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team, dressed as Red Deer’s backup goalie as an associate player call up.

Interim HC Dave Struch checks out play from the Rebels bench.

Friday’s win also marked the first time the Blades claimed a Game 1 of a WHL post-season series since downing the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-2 in overtime on March 22, 2019 in a first round series. The Blades ultimately swept that best-of-seven set 4-0.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Blades and Rebels is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Sonne said the Blades have their plan already in motion to prepare for that contest.

“I’m going to talk to the players actually and get their feedback,” said Sonne. “We do have ice tomorrow, but based on some of the feedback, we’ll adjust the plan for tomorrow.

The Blades enjoy their win on Friday night.

“They have a half hour. They know whether it is a win or a loss that is us. We have our emotions for a half hour, and then we turn the page and get ready for the next one.”

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 bash Pats 9-1

Sidorov scores 100^th goal of WHL career in win

Egor Sidorov scored his 100th career WHL regular season goal.

Winning Wednesday was a check the box night for the Saskatoon Blades.

Score a season high nine goals – check.

Have goals come from eight different players – check.

Have at least 16 out of 18 skaters register one point – check.

Have no players end up with a negative rating in the plus-minus department – check.

Have your goalie post a save percentage over .950 – check.

Score on over 25 percent of your power play chances – check.

Hudson Kibblewhite scored twice for the Blades on Wednesday.

Go perfect on the penalty kill – check.

Continue to lead the overall WHL standings – check.

And for a bonus, help star import right-winger Egor Sidorov achieve a milestone scoring his 100^th career WHL goal in regular season play – check.

It was pretty safe to say almost all the 3,625 spectators at the SaskTel Centre went home happy on Wednesday night aside from the supporters that came out to back the opposition. The host Blades, who are rated first in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, rocked their traditional rivals the Regina Pats 9-1 in a WHL regular season clash.

Misha Volotovskii scored the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s game marked the last head-to-head encounter between the two sides in the current regular season. The Blades won six of the eight head-to-head meetings with the Pats.

It was about as great of a night as you could have gotten for the host side. The Blades, who improved their WHL leading record to 34-9-2-3, outshot the Pats 37-31, converted on 2-of-6 power plays and successfully killed off all three penalty killing situations they faced.

Even a league leading club hopes to have a few nights during a regular season like this. It is pretty safe to say everyone on the Blades roster came away with something positive to talk about from this game.

Egor Sidorov (#19) celebrates his 100th career regular season goal.

The Blades opened the game’s scoring just 2:22 into the opening frame on a goal from 16-year-old rookie centre Hudson Kibblewhite. Kibblewhite tipped home a point shot from star offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk for his fourth goal of the campaign to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

The officials went to a video review to determine if Kibblewhite deflected home his tally with a high stick, but they determined the goal was good.

A little over six minutes later, the Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 after 18-year-old centre Misha Volotovskii scored with a spin around backhand shot for his sixth goal of the season.

Vaughn Watterodt scored early in the second period for the Blades.

Moments later, the Blades almost added another goal to their tally, but a drive from 18-year-old right-winger Rowan Calvert was denied by the glove hand of Pats netminder Ewan Huet.

After Huet stopped Calvert, the Pats gained momentum and fired a barrage of shots at Blades rookie netminder Evan Gardner. Gardner was up to the challenged and kept the visitors off the scoreboard.

The momentum then swung back to the host side before the opening frame came to an end. With 24.1 seconds remaining in the first, Sidorov drove down the right wing and snapped a host shot past Hue to give the host side a 3-0 advantage.

It was one of those tough nights for Kelton Pyne and the Pats.

Sidorov’s tally was his 37^th of the season and his 100^th of his regular season career in the WHL. At night’s end, Sidorov had recorded 100 goals, 74 assists and a plus-35 rating in 157 career regular season games in the WHL all played with the Blades. He had a pair of assists to go with his milestone goal on Wednesday.

The Pats pulled Huet after the first period. He turned away 7-of-10 shots to take the loss in net for the Pats, who fell to 17-24-4-2. Kelton Pyne played the final two periods for the Pats in relief turning away 21-of-27 shots he faced.

The onslaught continued in the second. Blades 19-year-old glue guy right-winger Vaughn Watterodt scored at the 4:19 mark of the second and star 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Lisowsky tallied on the power play to put the hosts up 5-0.

Brandon Lisowsky scored a power-play goal for the Blades.

Lisowsky scored his 29^th goal of the season from the left side of the Regina net after receiving spin-o-rama backhand pass from 21-year-old linemate Easton Armstrong.

With 1:56 remaining in the second, Armstrong scored his 26^th goal of the season to push the Blades advantage out to 6-0.

The Pats got a highlight at the 7:38 mark of the third period when 16-year-old rookie left-winger Corban Almen scored on a breakaway off a nice deke to cut the Blades lead to 6-1. Almen is from Saskatoon, so his tally helped perk up the family and friends he had in attendance on Wednesday.

The Blades goal barrage resumed after Almen’s tally.

Corban Almen had the Pats lone goal on Wednesday.

Just 83 seconds later, Kibblewhite scored his second of the night popping home a rebound from a shot taken by Calvert to give the Blades a 7-1 advantage. With 4:44 remaining in the third, 19-year-old defenceman Ben Saunderson netted his fifth goal of the season, and star 19-year-old centre Fraser Minten popped a power-play goal with 60 seconds left in the frame to round out the 9-1 final score in Saskatoon’s favour.

Gardner stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. In 20 appearances with the Blades this season, Gardner, who turned 18-years-old on January 25, has posted a 12-5-2 record, a 2.07 goals against average, a .923 save percentage and two shutouts in his debut campaign in the WHL.

Tyler Parr had a pair of assists for the Blades on Wednesday.

Molendyk and left-winger Tyler Parr each had a pair of assists for the Blades. Saunderson, who had an assist to go with his goal, finished the contest with a plus-five rating.

The Pats return to action on Friday when they host the 23-18-3-2 Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Blades also get back at it on Friday when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre). The Tigers lead the Central Division with a 29-14-3-1 record.

The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday.

The Blades, who have won three in a row, know most nights aren’t going to materialize like Wednesday’s win over the Pats did. Still, it is always good to have outings where seemingly everything goes right, because it feels like all the hard work put in up to that point in the campaign is paying off.

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 complete epic and historical series comeback

Saskatoon posts 5-2 Game 7 win, eliminates Rebels

The Blades celebrate their Game 7 win over the Rebels on Tuesday.

The Saskatoon Blades were indeed still standing.

On Tuesday night before 9,489 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades downed the Red Deer Rebels 5-2 in Game 7 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The win allows the Blades to take the best-of-seven set 4-3 and advance to the Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time since 1994, when they made the WHL Championship Series and fell in seven games to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Kamloops Blazers.

The Blades will face the Winnipeg Ice in this year’s Eastern Conference Championships series. The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg at 6 p.m. local time.

Egor Sidorov (#19) hugs Blades mascot Poke Check.

In the series against the Rebels, the Blades lost the first three games before rallying back to win four straight contests. The Blades became just the third team in the history of the WHL dating back to the circuit’s start in 1966-67 to rally back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0.

“I’m just incredibly proud of the guys,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “You have to have a tight-knit group and a tonne of belief.

“You have to put your arms around each other instead of pointing fingers when you go down 3-0, and that is what we did. They put their arms around each other as opposed to pointing fingers. They were full of belief, and my God am I proud of them.”

The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

The Rebels react to their Game 7 loss.

Both of those series deciding Game 7s ended in overtime. In the 1996 Game 7 between the Chiefs and Winterhawks, forward Darren Sinclair scored 58 seconds in overtime to deliver the Chiefs to a 4-3 victory. In the 2013 Game 7 between the Rockets and Thunderbirds, forward Tyson Baillie scored at the 5:10 mark of overtime to give the Rockets a 3-2 victory.

Current Rebels head coach Steve Konowalchuk was the head coach of the Thunderbirds in 2013 when they lost their 3-0 series lead to the Rockets. Konowalchuk would guide the Thunderbirds to a WHL championship in 2016-17 before departing to the NHL to become an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks.

The Blades and Rebels work their way through the handshake line.

The Blades actually rallied back from being down 3-0 in a best-of-seven series to tie it up at 3-3 for the second time in team history.

Back in 1990, Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in that year’s WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes. Of course, the current Blades were able to one up what the club did in 1990.

Part of the 9,489 fans in attendance cheer on the Blades. 

Going back to their first round seven game series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have won five straight contests in this WHL post-season where they have faced elimination. Konowalchuk said the Game 7 loss to the Blades was a tough one for his Rebels to take.

“It is a hard one,” said Konowalchuk. “I thought our guys played a pretty hard game.

“I thought we played with a lot of time in their end. I thought we had some chances. They’re opportunistic, and they have some skill that doesn’t need a lot of chances.

Spencer Shugrue had a pair of goals for the Blades.

“I think that was the difference in the hockey game tonight.”

In Tuesday’s Game 7 clash, both teams had early scoring chances. Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere wired a shot off the post for the hosts, and Rebels import left-winger Frantisek Formanek hit iron for the visitors.

With 7:50 remaining in the first, the Rebels broke through on the scoreboard. Star left-winger Kalan Lind got the puck to 18-year-old defenceman Hunter Mayo at the right point. Mayo skated the puck into the right faceoff circle and blew home a shot to the top left corner of the Saskatoon goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Lind was playing his first contest since being carried off on a stretcher with a head injury early in the Blades 4-2 victory in Game 4 last Wednesday in Red Deer. Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies was given a three-game WHL imposed suspension for throwing the head hit hat injured Lind. Tuesday’s Game 7 was the final game of that suspension for Lies.

Conner Roulette had two goals and an assist for the Blades.

Shortly after Mayo’s goal, the Blades pulled even at 1-1 with 5:15 remaining in the first. Blades star left-winger Conner Roulette got the puck to the left of Red Deer’s net, cut across the front of the Red Deer goal and put home a backhand shot for the equalizer.

At the 5:41 mark of the second, the Blades jumped ahead 2-1 when utility player Spencer Shugrue potted home the rebound of a shot taken by Roulette. Roulette’s midrange blast came off the boards being the Red Deer net to Shugrue at the right side of the goal, and he put in the go-ahead tally into an empty cage.

Just 1:54 later, the Rebels evened things up at 2-2 on a goal from left-winger Ryker Singer. Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz dumped the puck it to the left corner of the Saskatoon zone to give Singer a chance to get the equalizer. Singer beat the Blades defence to the puck and wire a shot close in to the left side of the Saskatoon net to the top corner right corner of the goal.

Kalan Lind had an assist returning to the Rebels’ lineup.

With 8:53 remaining in the second, Rebels captain Jayden Grubbe appeared to score on a power-play to put the visitors up 3-2, but the officials waved the goal off ruling Rebels 20-year-old right-winger Jace Isley made incidental contact with Blades netminder Austin Elliott. The ruling was upheld after a video review.

In the third, Shugrue continued to build his case for being the Blades’ “Mr. Game 7.”

At the 4:29 mark of the third, Shugrue won a puck battle against Rebels right-winger Ollie Josephson just inside the Red Deer blue-line. Shugrue pass the puck to centre Jayden Wiens. Wiens rushed down the left wing, and Shugrue skated to the Red Deer goal close to the right goalpost.

Hunter Mayo scored the Rebels first goal on Tuesday.

Wiens passed the puck across the face of the Red Deer net to Shugrue. Shugrue knocked home the puck with a backhanded tap for his second tally of the contest to put the Blades up 3-2.

In the post-season, Shugrue has scored three goals, and all those markers have come in Game 7s. The Vancouver product’s first goal came in the Blades 4-1 victory in Game 7 of a first round series against the Pats back on April 10, and he had an assist on the winning tally in that contest.

“It is obviously a great feeling,” said Shugrue about being reward with some goals for his hard work. “In Game 7, we knew we just had to stick to our systems there, and that is what we had drawn up.

“I’m happy it turned out that way.”

Ryker Singer had the Rebels second goal on Tuesday.

Just 40 seconds later, Roulette worked a give and go with Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov on a three-on-two rush. Roulette received a return pass from Sidorov at the lower part of the right faceoff circle in the Red Deer zone and blew home his second tally of the contest to push the Blades lead out to 4-2.

Roulette’s three-point night on Tuesday matched his production from the Blades first 13 post-season games. The Winnipeg product was pleased to contribute some offence again.

“I think just throughout the playoffs I just wanted to find my rhythm,” said Roulette. “I think I started off a little slow.

The Blades apply pressure around the Rebels net.

“Such a great team and such a great coaching staff were there to help me and push me to play my best. They are telling me every night, ‘This is your game. This is your game.’ Obviously for a night like tonight for me to finally find that rhythm and help the team out, it is a great feeling.

“I’m really honoured to be able to have a night like that. To have slow start to the playoffs as an individual, I’m looking forward to hopefully keeping this up to help the team more. I couldn’t have done it without the support from the teammates.”

Blades hard working right-winger Vaughn Watterodt rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 27.2 seconds remaining in the third.

The Blades celebrate a winning goal from Spencer Shugrue (#26).

Elliott stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Kyle Kelsey turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The Blades closed the series killing off Red Deer’s last 11 consecutive power-play chances.

The Rebels were without right-winger Jhett Larson, who turned 19-years-old in early February, due to one game league imposed suspension for receiving a fight instigator penalty in the final five minutes of a 5-3 loss to the Blades in Game 6 this past Sunday in Red Deer.

The Blades didn’t have the services of 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson and 17-year-old left-winger Mikhail Volotovskii due to upper body injuries.

The series between the Blades and Rebels was expected to be a tight one, and it ultimately was. 

Jayden Wiens had an assist on the Blades winning goal.

The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Still, the Blades prevailed in a way that they will always be remembered. Any time a team falls behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven series in the WHL Playoffs, the current Blades will be brought up with the 1996 Chiefs and the 2013 Rockets as the clubs that rallied back to win the series 4-3.

“It is pretty cool,” said De La Gorgendiere. “I don’t think it has honestly set in yet.

The Blades salute the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

“It is obviously going to be really special. Like Sonne said to us in the room there, we’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives until we can’t remember anything anymore. It is just awesome.”

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Bedard era almost certainly ends for Pats, WHL

It seems certain Connor Bedard will be in the NHL next season.

For Connor Bedard, part of his heart will always be in Regina.

On Wednesday, the Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre met the media for a season ending availability as the players cleared out of the locker room. The atmosphere for the scrum for Bedard had the vibe of a farewell.

In his three seasons with the Pats, the North Vancouver, B.C., product appeared in 134 career regular season games posting 134 goals and 137 assists for 271 points to go with a plus-48 rating in the plus-minus department. That included recording 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points to go with a plus-39 rating for this past regular season. His goal and point totals were tops in the WHL and his assist total equaled Prince George Cougars star centre and Saskatoon area product Riley Heidt for the league lead.

Bedard proceeded to have a monster post-season series posting 10 goals, 10 assists and a plus-eight rating in the WHL Playoffs as the Pats fell in seven games in a best-of-seven first round series to the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades claimed a 4-1 victory in a series deciding Game 7 on Monday at the SaskTel Centre before a sellout crowd of 14,768 spectators.

Connor Bedard topped the WHL with 143 points this season.

Bedard, who was skating through his only appearance in the WHL Playoffs, picked up an assists on the Pats lone goal in Game 7 and was in on 20 of the 26 goals the Pats scored in the series. 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, and he will be skating in the NHL next season as an 18-year-old.

“I’ve had so much fun these last three years here whether there’s more or not,” said Bedard. “The people are so nice and for me, I love it here.

“I’m super grateful that I got to play here.”

With Bedard in their lineup, the Pats finished sixth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and 11^th overall in the league with a 34-30-3-1 record. He was asked if he had second thoughts about not asking for a trade to one of the league’s top five teams, and Bedard said he had always intended to stay in Regina.

Connor Bedard led the WHL with 71 goals this season.

“I don’t have any regrets staying here,” said Bedard, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 185 pounds. “I just love being here and love playing here and I never want to leave.

“I just got so much support from the whole city and everything. To see kids are looking up to me and everything, that is pretty special.”

When it came to dealing with the fact the 2022-23 campaign was over, Bedard said it was still tough to take.

“It is sad no matter what,” said Bedard, who was the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play full time in the WHL at age 15. “Obviously, I’m not sure of the future or anything.

“I’m just kind of saying my thank yous to everyone whether I will be back next year or not. It is always tough to leave a group of guys you were with all year.”

Connor Bedard had 20 points in the Pats seven post-season games.

Due to Bedard’s outstanding season, it came as no surprise on Wednesday when he was named the player of the year for the East Division. He will find out on May 10 if he takes home the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the player of the year for the entire WHL.

At this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., Bedard set numerous Canadian team records helping Canada take the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in Halifax.

Bedard was named the most valuable player at world juniors along with picking up accolades being named the event’s best forward and a tournament all-star.

His tallies for assists (14) and points (23) were new Canadian records for a single world juniors along with setting a new record for points in a tournament by any player aged 18 or younger. In 16 career games played at world juniors, Bedard set new Canadian career records at the event for goals (16) and points (36).

Connor Bedard has 271 career regular season points in 134 games.

“What he has done all year is outrageous,” said Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock. “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. 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.”

Bedard has the respect of his foes from the WHL Playoffs in the Blades.

Connor Bedard enjoys playing in Regina.

“I’m such a massive fan of Connor Bedard,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne. “He is a winner. He is a worker.”

Sonne had a short friendly chat with Bedard in the handshake line following Game 7. The Blades bench boss told the ultra-talented centre he will be cheering for him.

“We’re both from the lower mainland in B.C.,” said Sonne, who is from Maple Ridge, B.C. “We’ve heard about him since he was 12 and 13.

“He’s done a lot of people proud in the province of British Columbia, and I’ll be continuing to cheer for him the rest of his career. Unless, we are playing against him, and then I will try and shut him down. Huge fan, incredible talent, he is the real deal.”

Blades star left-winger Jake Chiasson, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers, said Bedard deserves the praise that comes his way.

Connor Bedard (#98) celebrates one of his 10 post-season goals.

“I have a lot of respect for Connor (Bedard),” said Chiasson, who is from Abbotsford, B.C. “Being from the geographical area, you kind of tend to lean towards those guys a little more than other province guys just with similarities.

“What Connor (Bedard) did for this league is great. It made it exciting.”

Chiasson said a lot of people were looking forward to the series between the Blades and the Pats. The attendance figures backed that observation up as the Pats sold out each of their three home games with 6,499 spectators packing into the Brandt Centre for each of those contests. The Blades drew 47,729 spectators total for their four home dates of the set.

Chiasson said it was a good experience for his Blades to play Bedard and the Pats in the post-season.

“You’ve seen for a while he has been selling out buildings, and I can only imagine how much that does for the league,” said Chiasson. “I’m just really grateful to be able to play against him, to go head-to-head with him.

Connor Bedard is slated to go first in the NHL Entry Draft.

“I’m sure he is going to have a long good career coming up here. It was definitely a moment to look back on playing him in a series of a playoff round.”

Blades hard working right-winger Vaughn Watterodt said he marvels at what Bedard can do on the ice.

“He (Bedard) is amazing,” said Watterodt. “He is a special player.

“He is going to do special things. It was fun to play against him.”

Bedard’s humility once again showed through during his final presser when he was asked about the NHL Draft Lottery, which is set for May 8. That lottery will determine which NHL club will select first overall in the NHL Entry Draft.

“It is a long time until that,” said Bedard.  “For (NHL Draft) lottery day, I will watch it as a fan, and if I am fortunate enough to go one, that’s awesome, but there are so many great players in the draft.”

It was brought up that it seemed inevitable that Bedard will go first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. Bedard tried to play it off that wasn’t a for sure thing.

Connor Bedard skates off the ice after a Game 7 loss on Monday.

“If I get that honour, it would be unreal,” said Bedard. “I’d be super grateful to kind of the people that have helped me with that, but it is a long time away.

“For me, it is just kind of focusing on what I can do now to improve myself as a player and everything. That would be unbelievable, but we will see what happens obviously.”

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