Raiders rally comes up just short in Wenatchee in 4-3 OT loss

Prince Albert wraps up roadie with 5-1-1 record

The Prince Albert Raiders could have adopted “Iron Man” as their theme song for being road warriors.

On Saturday, the Raiders wrapped up a seven-game road jaunt that included visits to every rink in the WHL’s U.S. Division with a 4-3 overtime setback to the host Wild at the Town Toyota Centre in Wenatchee, Washington. During the trip, the Raiders posted a 5-1-1 record. The Black Sabbath song “Iron Man” was used as the theme song of the professional wrestling tag team The Road Warriors made up of partners Animal and Hawk during their days in the now defunct AWA.

In the clash with the Wild played before 3,021 spectators, the Raiders entered the third period trailing 3-1. They received a single from 19-year-old centre Evan Smith with 10:15 remaining in the third and the equalizer from 19-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett with 3:25 remaining in the frame to force a 3-3 tie and overtime.

At the 1:54 mark of overtime, the Wild broke into the Raiders zone on a two-on-one break. Wild centre Caelan Joudrey wired a shot on goal that Raiders rookie import netminder Michal Orsulak got a big piece of, but the puck was able to get out from under the goalie and enter the Prince Albert net to give Wenatchee a 4-3 win.

In the first period, Blake Vanek and Luka Shcherbyna netted singles to put the Wild up 2-0. Late in the first, Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Brock Cripps scored his first career WHL regular season goal to trim the Wild lead to 2-1.

Wild centre Maddix McCagherty had the lone goal in the second period to give the host side a 3-1 lead. That set the stage for the dramatics in the third period and overtime.

Orsulak turned away 25 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Raiders (15-1-4). Import rookie netminder Tobias Tyrznik stopped 39 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Wild (6-10-1-1).

The Raiders return to action on Friday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Wild get back at it on Sunday when they travel to Portland to take on the Winterhawks (4 p.m. local time, Veterans Memorial Coliseum).

Wild head coach Don Nachbaur coached in his 1,413^th career WHL regular season contest on Saturday as he continues to build on his league record in that department. He has an all-time coaching record of 721-568-124 in regular season play.

Nachbaur set a new league record for career regular season games coached last Friday, when his squad fell 6-3 to the Winterhawks in Portland. That moved him one game ahead of the old mark of 1,411 games coached by WHL legend with the Winterhawks franchise in Ken Hodge.

Nachbaur, 66, had previously been the head coach of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs in his coaching career.

Blades outgun Rebels 6-5

The Saskatoon Blades won their third straight on Saturday night when they outlasted the host Red Deer Rebels in a wild 1980s offensive type night.

Blades 17-year-old star centre Cooper Williams had two goals and one assist to power the Blades to a 6-5 victory before 4,736 spectators at the Marchant Crane Centrium. Rebels sophomore 19-year-old left-winger Jaxon Fuder had a hat trick and an assist in the setback.

The teams exited the first period locked in a 2-2 tie, and the Blades held a 3-2 edge going into the second intermission. The two squads found themselves locked in a 4-4 tie in the third before the Blades shot out to hold a 6-4 lead. The Rebels trimmed the Blades advantage to 6-5 with four minutes to play in the third, but Saskatoon hung on to ensure that was the game’s final outcome.

Rowan Calvert, Dominik Petr, Hunter Laing and Kazden Mathies all had singles for the Blades. Samuel Drancak and Beckett Hamilton picked up singles for the Rebels.

Evan Gardner stopped 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades (13-8-2). Matthew Kondro turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels (7-11-1-2).

The Blades return to action on Friday when they host the Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Rebels get back at it on Friday when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers (7 p.m. local time, Marchant Crane Centrium).

Broncos fined $10,000, DeSilva resigns

A WHL dropped the hammer on the Swift Current Broncos that also saw the resignation of Broncos head coach Dean DeSilva over breaches the WHL Standards of Conduct.

On Friday, the WHL fined the Broncos organization $10,000 after an investigation of DeSilva over breaches of the WHL Standards of Conduct. The investigation found that DeSilva, in the process of administering player discipline, breached the Standards of Conduct during two separate on-ice incidents. One occurred during the Broncos 4-0 regular season road loss to the Raiders in Prince Albert on October 24, and the other occurred during a Broncos practice on October 27.

The WHL had previously suspended DeSilva on November 5. On Friday, the WHL finalized DeSilva’s suspension at five games, which finished up on Tuesday when the Broncos lost at home 4-1 to the visiting Saskatoon Blades.

After the disciplinary action was announced, the Broncos announced they had accepted the resignation of DeSilva effective immediately.

“Following careful consideration, it was mutually determined that in the best interest of both Dean and the organization, this is the right path forward,” said Broncos general manager Chad Leslie in a release. “The Swift Current Broncos are committed to providing a positive environment for all players.”

Broncos assistant coach Regan Darby had assumed the head coach role, when DeSilva was initially suspended. On Friday, Darby was officially named the team’s interim head coach.

This situation was brought to the WHL’s attention through its anonymous 1-800 WHL Respect line, which provides players, staff and others associated with the WHL with a confidential avenue to report concerns or incidents that may violate WHL standards.

In this situation, the WHL has imposed remedial measures that include supplementary education and support, enhanced monitoring and preventative steps to ensure there is no recurrence of similar conduct.

DeSilva, 57, was hired before the start of the current campaign. The Broncos parted ways with their previous head coach Taras McEwen on May 15 after the squad posted a 35-30-1-2 record and was eliminated in the first round of the WHL Playoffs by the eventual WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

McEwen is currently the head coach of the Prairie Hockey Academy’s U18 Prep team. During his time with the Broncos, he moved from assistant coach to interim head coach on November 29, 2023 before becoming head coach without the interim tag.

McEwen took over the head coach role from Devan Praught. Praught had been suspended five games for violating the WHL Standards of Conduct. He parted ways with the Broncos the day McEwen was named the team’s interim head coach.

Praught is currently an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Hurricanes fined $10,000, GM suspended

The WHL dropped the hammer on the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the team’s general manager Peter Anholt.

On Friday, the WHL announced that Anholt has been suspended from his duties effective immediately and continuing through to Tuesday, November 25 and has issued a $10,000 fine to the Hurricanes organization. The sanctions come following a WHL investigation that found Anholt breached the WHL Standards of Conduct through the use of intimidating behavior and language during a post-game address to players in the dressing room following the team’s 8-6 home ice loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings on October 29.

Anholt will be eligible to return to his Hurricanes duties on Wednesday, November 26. The Hurricanes will have played five games during Anholt’s suspension.

Barclay Parneta, who is a senior advisor for the Hurricanes, will handle Anholt’s responsibilities in the interim.

“My behavior and language in addressing our team did not meet expectations,” said Anholt in a release. “The Lethbridge Hurricanes have always believed in providing a positive environment for our players.

“I accept the discipline issued by the WHL and will be committed to a higher standard moving forward.”

This situation was brought to the WHL’s attention through its anonymous 1-800 WHL Respect line, which provides players, staff and others associated with the WHL with a confidential avenue to report concerns or incidents that may violate WHL standards.

In this situation, the WHL has imposed remedial measures that include supplementary education and support, enhanced monitoring and preventative steps to ensure there is no recurrence of similar conduct.

Anholt, 65, has been part of the Hurricanes organization since the start of the 2014-15 campaign. He took over the general manager’s role part way through that campaign and saved a Hurricanes franchise that was so in trouble at that time its existence in Lethbridge was questioned.

During his many decades in hockey or when he held management positions outside the game, Anholt has often been viewed as one of the best guys to work for or play for. For myself personally, he will always be someone I will go to bat for. Anholt and his family are all great people.

Over his career in hockey, Anholt has always brought a great passion to the game. With how the world is in the current day, I suspect his passion is what got him in trouble in that post-game address on October 29.

Anholt, who is a former Raiders player and head coach, is always accountable, and I believe he will come out of this situation in a great form. If I owned a WHL team, I would take Anholt as a general manager, coach or any role he would like. Any hockey team is a better hockey team, if Anholt is a part of the club.

Stevens named top grad at Hilltops awards

Hilltops DT Johnathon Stevens with HC Tom Sargeant.

Johnathon Stevens will go down as one of the all-time greats in the history of the Saskatoon Hilltops, so it was no surprise he claimed one last big honour with the team.

On Friday, the Hilltops hosted the Saskatoon Hilltops Football Club Honours at the Roxy Theatre. For the third straight year, the Hilltops held an awards show similar in nature to awards shows hosted by the NFL and NHL. The storied and historic club was also celebrating the end of a campaign that saw the venerable squad with a 24^th CJFL title.

Last Sunday, the Hilltops edged the Okanagan Sun 21-18 at Saskatoon Minor Football Field in the CJFL Championship Game – the Canadian Bowl.

Stevens, who is the team’s star 22-year-old defensive tackle, was named the winner of the Drs. Landa-Doig Award as the team’s most outstanding graduate. In 2025, Stevens also claimed honours as a CJFL first team all-Canadian all-star, a PFC all-star and the PFC’s most outstanding defensive lineman.

During the regular season, Stevens recorded 11 solo defensive tackles, 18 defensive tackle assists, three quarterback sacks, one pass knockdown, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Steven also attended training camp for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and was on the Roughriders practice roster until he rejoined the Hilltops for his fifth and final CJFL campaign.

The Past President’s Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year went to centre Matt Elash. Elash became the Hilltops starting centre in their third regular season game. He was named a PFC all-star and to the PFC’s all-rookie team.

Graduating defensive tackle Nahom Menghestab claimed the Ray Syrnyk Trophy as the team’s top lineman. He did a tonne of grunt work occupying two blocks to allow his teammates to make plays.

The Don and Jim Seaman Memorial Award for the top linebacker went to fourth year outside linebacker Rudolph Osborne. During the regular season Osborne recorded 26 solo defensive tackles, 11 defensive tackle assists, one special team solo tackle and two pass knockdowns.

Graduating right tackle Victoire Bikulo claimed the Ron Atchison True Grit Award. Bikulo became one of the most beloved players on the Hilltops to go with the stellar performances he put up on the offensive line.

The Jim Courtice Inspiration Award was taken by graduating middle linebacker Isaac Michayluk. Michayluk was a CJFL second team all-Canadian all-star and a PFC all-star. During the regular season, Michayluk finished second in the PFC with 116 defensive points having recorded 32 solo defensive tackles, 22 defensive tackle assists, one special teams solo tackle, four special teams tackle assists, three pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three interceptions.

Jace Mowles, who is a graduating cornerback, claimed The Blue and Gold Award for dedication and commitment. Mowles had 13 solo defensive tackles, one defensive tackle assist, three special teams solo tackles, three special teams tackle assists, four pass knockdowns and three interceptions in the regular season.

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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Raiders power play comes alive at timely time

Prince Albert surges to 5-2 win over Wild

A young player’s mistake was all that was needed to ignite the power play of the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Saturday night, the Raiders found themselves trailing the visiting Wenatchee Wild 2-1 in the third period of a tightly contested WHL regular season game to that point at the Art Hauser Centre. At the 5:36 mark of the third, Wild defenceman Boston Tait, who is a 15-year-old associate player call up, cleared the puck over the glass from his own zone to draw a delay of game penalty.

On the ensuing power play, the Raiders got buzzing hard in the Wenatchee zone. A short time after Raiders star offensive-defenceman Lukas Dragicevic hit the goalpost, the puck during a scramble got to the stick of Raiders 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube.

Dube potted a power-play goal for his 23^rd tally on the season to force a 2-2 tie. That goal started the Raiders on a four-goal surge to allow them to post a 5-2 victory to an appreciative crowd of 2,526 spectators.

The win was a third straight for the Raiders, and during their past nine outings, the Raiders have posted eight wins and one shootout loss. Thanks to this hot stretch, the Raiders sit first in the East Division with a 27-15-3-1 mark.

The Raiders sit four standings points ahead of both the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades, who have identical 24-16-3-3 records. The Wheat Kings hold the standings tiebreaker against the Blades collecting two wins and an overtime setback in the four head-to-head meetings between those two sides. Brandon collected a 5-2 victory over the Pats in Regina on Saturday.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Wild in Prince Albert, the visitors got out to a good start taking a 2-0 lead in the first period. Wild 18-year-old right-winger Luka Shcherbyna scored at the 3:16 mark, and 19-year-old right-winger Shaun Rios tallied with 2:02 remaining in the frame.

Tait picked up his first career WHL point in his second career WHL regular season game with an assist on Rios’s goal. The young rearguard was selected in the first round and 12^th overall by the Wild in last year’s WHL Prospects Draft and has been playing solid minutes with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA squad. In 35 games with the Pats Canadians this season, Tait has two goals and 18 assists.

He actually had a really good outing on Saturday posting a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to go with his helper outside of his third period gaff that resulted in a delay of game penalty that the Raiders scored on.

Just 16 seconds after Rios scored to put the Wild ahead 2-0, Raiders captain Justice Christensen one-timed home a shot from the point for his 16^th goal of the season that cut the visitor’s lead to 2-1. Raiders rising 16-year-old star defenceman Daxon Rudolph fed Christensen a nice pass that he could drive to the back of the goal.

The Wild proceeded to carry play in the second outshooting the Raiders 15-7 in the frame, but Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand held the visitors at bay.

Just past the 10-minute mark of the second, a fight broke out between Wenatchee left-winger Deagan McMillan, who turned 20-years-old last month, and Raiders right-winger Oli Chenier, who recently turned 18-years-old. Chenier likely surprised a few people with how well he could throw punches and got the better of McMillan in the bout.

That set the stage for a strong Raiders finish in the third period that started with Tait taking a delay of game penalty that resulted in Dube’s power-play goal. With 7:53 remaining in the third, Raiders star 18-year-old left-winger Tomas Mrsic blew home his 29^th goal of the season from the front of the Wenatchee net to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead.

Shortly after Mrsic’s tally, the Raiders found themselves on the power play once again. With 5:56 remaining in the third, Raiders standout 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker scored with the man advantage with one his textbook goals banging home the rebound of one of his own shots from the front of the Wenatchee net. That tally pushed the Raiders advantage out to 4-2.

With 5:23 remaining in the third, the Wild pulled 19-year-old netminder Brendan Gee for an extra attacker. That opened the door for Raiders star 19-year-old centre Aiden Oiring to score into an empty net to give the Raiders a 5-2 lead.

After Gee returned to Wenatchee crease after Oiring scored, Wild 18-year-old left-winger Zane Saab thought he scored with 2:35 remaining in the third to trim the Raiders edge to 5-3. The officials went to a video review and disallowed Saab’s goal ruling it was knocked in with a high stick.

The 5-2 final outcome in the Raiders favour held up the rest of the way. Crocker and Oiring each finished the contest recording one goal and two helpers for the Raiders.

The Raiders went 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Wild failed to score on four opportunities with the man advantage.

Hildebrand stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Gee turned away 26-of-30 shots to take the setback in net for the Wild, who fell to 17-26-3-1.

The Wild sit one standings point back of the Kamloops Blazers (18-26-3) and the Seattle Thunderbirds (18-27-2-1) from forcing a three-way tie for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

Wenatchee returns to action on Tuesday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the 11-31-4-2 Warriors (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre).

The Raiders get back at it on Wednesday when they hit the road to face the Hitmen in Calgary (7 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

Thunderbirds end Tigers winning streak at 12, other notes

The Medicine Hat Tigers didn’t go down easy, when it came to protecting their winning streak.

The scrappy Seattle Thunderbirds went the distance to earn a much needed win as they continue to fight for a post-season berth.

On Saturday at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., the Tigers and Thunderbirds went through regulation and overtime locked in a 3-3 tie in a WHL regular season clash. They then ventured through a marathon tiebreaking shootout that lasted 11 rounds.

Ultimately, the Thunderbirds claimed the tiebreaking shootout 4-3 to also post a 4-3 victory in the overall contest.

The result brought an end to the Tigers 12 game winning streak. The extra time setback also closed the Tigers six-game road trip through the U.S. Division, where they won the first five games of that jaunt.

With the win, the Thunderbirds improved to 18-27-2-1 to equal the Kamloops Blazers (18-26-3) at 39 standings points for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Blazers have one game in hand on the Thunderbirds.

If there is a tie between two teams for the final conference playoff berth in the WHL, the two squads that are in the deadlock would play a tiebreaking game.

Saturday’s clash between the Tigers and Thunderbirds got off to a spirited start with Tigers 18-year-old defenceman Bryce Pickford and Thunderbirds 17-year-old defenceman Jaxson Pawlenchuk engaging in a fight at the 2:52 mark of the opening frame.

The two squads then played through a scoreless opening 20 minutes with the Tigers holding a 14-10 edge in shots on goal.

In the second, Coster Dunn and Matej Pekar netting singles to give the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead. With 2:54 remaining in the second, Tigers star 19-year-old left-winger Hunter St. Martin scored his 31^st goal of the season to cut the Thunderbirds lead to 2-1.

St. Martin proceeded to add his 32^nd goal of the campaign and second tally of the night at the 9:48 mark of the third to even the score at 2-2.

With 7:07 remaining in the third, Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna potted his 27^th goal of the season to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

That advantage didn’t hold. With 5:37 remaining in the third, Thunderbirds overage centre Hayden Pakkala netted the equalizer during a net scramble to force a 3-3 tie.

During the tiebreaking shootout, Oasiz Wiesblatt, Liam Ruck and Marcus Pacheco scored for the Tigers. Braeden Cootes, Nathan Pilling, Colton Gerrior and Radim Mrtka scored for the Thunderbirds, with Mrtka’s tally holding up as the shootout winner.

Jordan Switzer started in goal for the Tigers and played the first two periods turning away 22-of-24 shots he faced. He was pulled for a suspected leg injury.

Harrison Meneghin played the rest of the way for the Tigers taking the extra time setback. He turned away 14-of-15 shots in the third period and overtime and 7-of-11 shooters in the shootout.

Scott Ratzlaff stopped 31 shots over 65 minutes and turned away 8-of-11 shooters in the shootout.

Medicine Hat was without star defenceman Tanner Molendyk due to an undisclosed ailment.

The Tigers are off until Friday when they host the Swift Current Broncos (7 p.m., Co-op Place).

The Thunderbirds also get back at it on Friday when they host the Spokane Chiefs (7 p.m. local time, Accesso ShoWare Center).

• On Saturday, Andrew Cristall recorded one goal, five assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department as his Spokane Chiefs hammered the WHL leading Silvertips in Everett 10-3. The Silvertips have gone 1-2 over their last three games being outscored 20-13 over that stretch. They dropped a 7-3 decision to the Tigers on Wednesday.
• On Saturday, Cameron Schmidt recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-two rating as his Vancouver Giants thumped the visiting Kamloops Blazers 9-2. The Giants went 3-for-4 on the power play in the contest.
• On Saturday, Marek Rocak record one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating as his Swift Current Broncos doubled up the Rockets in Kelowna 6-3. Jackson Gillespie recorded two goals, one assist and a plus-three rating for the Rockets in the loss.
• On Saturday, netminder Ethan Simcoe made 35 saves to pick up a shutout victory as his Edmonton Oil Kings blanked the Hurricanes in Lethbridge 2-0. Marshall Finnie had a goal and an assist for the Oil Kings.
• On Saturday, the Red Deer Rebels blanked the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-0; the Victoria Royals slipped past the Portland Winterhawks 2-1; the Prince George Cougars downed the Tri-City Americans 5-2; and the Brandon Wheat Kings dumped the Regina Pats 5-2.

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 get much needed win, down visiting Wild 4-2

The Blades celebrate a goal from Rowan Calvert (#23).

The Saskatoon Blades got something that had escaped their grasp for a frustrating stretch – a solid win.

On Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades scored first and led the visiting Wenatchee Wild 2-1 after 20 minutes. The hosts proceeded to push their edge out to 4-1 at the second intermission, and they then closed out a 4-2 victory to the delight of the 3,905 spectators in attendance.

That marked the Blades first regulation time win since downing the Warriors in Moose Jaw 4-2 back on January 4. In the eight games between that victory over the Warriors and Friday’s triumph over the Wild, the Blades posted two overtime wins, an overtime loss, a setback after a tiebreaking shootout and four regulations defeats.

In the six games they lost, the Blades had moments in each of those contests where carried momentum for enough of a stretch that they could have realized victory. Friday’s win was a much needed outing where the Blades posted a textbook victory.

Hunter Laing scored the Blades first goal on Friday.

While they dealt away a number of key veterans for younger players and draft capital leading to the WHL trade deadline on January 9, the Blades still on paper have a solid squad. They needed a solid win to get a little confidence going as the clubs’ relatively new lineup works to find chemistry.

The Wild came out of the gates getting the first three shots on goal in the contest, but the Blades would break onto the scoreboard first. 

At the 4:52 mark of first, Blades 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing blew home a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle to give the host side a 1-0 edge. Laing’s goal came on his club’s second shot on goal of the contest.

Cooper Williams reacts to scoring the Blades second goal.

Wenatchee pulled even at 1-1 at the 7:34 mark of the opening frame when 20-year-old centre Tye Spencer deflected a puck past Blades netminder Ethan McCallum from the front of the Saskatoon net. Spencer converted a smart setup pass from linemate Luka Shcherbyna.

The Blades proceeded to answer back.

With 2:01 remaining in the first, Blades 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams stole the puck from Wild 19-year-old right-winger Shaun Rios from just inside the Wenatchee blue-line. Williams drove in alone to the left side of Wenatchee net, cut across the front of the goal and put a backhand shot between the legs of Wild netminder Brendan Gee to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

Tye Spencer scored the first goal for the Wild.

Saskatoon exited the first period with that 2-1 edge holding a 14-9 edge in shots on goal.

In the second, a couple of the Blades steady veterans found the back of the net. At the 13:21 mark of the frame, Blades right-winger Tyler Parr, who turned 20-years-old on Thursday, converted a backdoor feed at the right side of the Wenatchee net to push the host side’s edge out to 3-1. Sophomore 17-year-old centre Hudson Kibblewhite made a beauty pass from the left side of the Wenatchee net across the face of the goal to set up Parr for his marker.

Just under five minutes later, Blade 19-year-old left-winger Rowan Calvert collected a rebound from one of his own shots in front of the Wenatchee net and put home a backhand shot to give the Blades a 4-1 advantage.

Tyler Parr had one goal and one assist for the Blades.

Slovakian 19-year-old centre Frantisek Dej, who was playing his sixth game for the Blades, picked up an assist on Calvert’s goal for his first point in the WHL. Dej spent last season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL.

With less than 30 seconds to play in the second, Dej was cross checked from behind in the lower back by Wild 20-year-old captain Evan Friesen away from the puck and behind the play. The officials stopped play with 15.7 seconds remaining in the frame for the Blades trainers to attend to Dej.

Dej was helped off the ice and returned to finish the game in the third period. No penalty was assessed to Friesen, and nothing else came from that moment in a contest that was fairly tame when it came to the rough stuff.

Ethan McCallum made 25 saves in goal for the Blades.

Saskatoon held that three-goal lead going into the second intermission as well as 23-18 edge in shots on goal.

The Wild, who are in a big battle for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference, came with a push back in the third period. At the 3:28 mark of the frame, Wild 19-year-old right-winger Dawson Seitz blew past the Blades defenders to get a breakaway and tucked home a power-play goal to trim Saskatoon’s lead to 4-2.

That was as close as the Wild got as the Blades shut things down defensively the rest of the way.

McCallum stopped 25 shots in goal for the Blades. Gee turned away 23 shots to take the setback in net for the Wild.

Williams and Parr each finished with one goal and one assist on the night for the Blades.

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

The Wild fell to 17-25-3-1 with the loss to sit one point behind the Kamloops Blazers (18-25-3) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Wenatchee side returns to action on Saturday, when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 26-25-3-1 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades improved to 24-16-3-3 to sit two points back of the Raiders for first place in the East Division. “The Bridge City Bunch” gets back at it on Sunday when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Going forward, Saskatoon still has the potential to be a team that turns head before the current WHL campaign comes to a close. Friday’s win provides a good step to start moving in that direction.

Lazaruk honoured with bobblehead doll

A Les Lazaruk bobblehead doll.

“Hi ho, let’s go!”

The Saskatoon Blades home game on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre was bobblehead night for Les Lazaruk, who is the team’s iconic play-by-play voice. Lazaruk, who will turn 66-years-old in late February, became the Blades play-by-play voice at the start of the 1994-95 campaign.

Friday’s 4-2 victory over the visiting Wenatchee Wild was the 2,250^th game Lazaruk has called as the Blades play-by-play voice. He was also the play-by-play voice for a time of the CJFL’s storied Saskatoon Hilltops.

During his 31 years as play-by-play voice of the Blades, Lazaruk is best known for developing a list of catch phrase calls including “winner, winner, chicken dinner” for overtime winners scored by the Saskatoon side.

Les Lazaruk, centre, performs the ceremonial faceoff on Friday.

Before Friday’s clash with the Wild, the Blades gave out 1,000 Lazaruk bobblehead dolls to those in attendance. He dropped the puck for the pre-game ceremonial faceoff and sung national anthems of both the United States and Canada before the start of the contest.

The Blades played catch phase goal calls from Lazaruk before giving the official announcements for the club’s goals. A song also played during the first intermission that was written about Lazaruk.

Before coming to Saskatoon, Lazaruk, who is from Winnipeg, spent 15 years working in the media in Manitoba. That included working just over 10-and-a-half years hosting the hour-long pre-game and post-game shows for NHL games of the original Winnipeg Jets that aired on CJOB radio.

Lazaruk was part of the play-by-play team for the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team during their inaugural season in the Northern League in the spring and summer of 1994 before coming to Saskatoon to be the play-by-play voice of the Blades. Last summer, Lazaruk served as the play-by-play voice of the Saskatoon Berries baseball team for their inaugural WCBL campaign.

Parents Weekend for Blades

Blades players meet their parents and billet parents pre-game.

This weekend is also Parents Weekend for the Saskatoon Blades.

Before their 4-2 home ice victory over the Wenatchee Wild on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades honoured the parents and billet parents of the Blades players. During pre-game festivities, the parents and billet parents of the Blades players came out on to the ice.

The players met up with their respective parents and billet parents and stood by them for a video presentation and the singing of the national anthems of the United States and Canada. The video presentation showed the Blades players saying good things about their parents and billet parents.

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, Raiders focused on the right now in WHL post-season

Saskatoon tries eliminate rival Prince Albert in Game 5

Blades HC Brennan Sonne wants his team to focus on the present.

For Brennan Sonne, it is all about right now for his Saskatoon Blades.

On Friday, the Blades have a chance to close out their best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs against their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders. The two sides will do battle in Game 5 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

The Raiders claimed victory in the first game of the series, and the Blades have won three straight since then to lead the set 3-1. Sonne, who is the Blades head coach, said his team has to have their total focus on winning Game 5.

“It is just every game is its own beast,” said Sonne. “We just have to reset and refocus, not live in the past, not live in the future and just live in the present and be ready for the start of the first period in Game 5.”

Raiders HC Jeff Truitt passes on instruction to his players.

Entering the first round series between Saskatoon and Prince Albert, the Blades came into the set as heavy favourites. They finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Raiders entered the WHL Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 31-32-2-3 mark.

Prince Albert claimed Game 1 of the series 4-3 back on March 28 to give belief that an upset is possible. The Raiders dropped a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker in Game 3 of the series at home on Tuesday. If the Raiders would have won that contest, the complexion heading into the series for Game 5 would have been different.

Max Hildebrand has a .903 save percentage in the playoffs.

Facing elimination, the Raiders lone goal is to force a Game 6 back at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert on Saturday. They are well aware their backs are against the wall.

“She is one day at a time, and one period at a time,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt. “Now, it has to be at our best.

“We’ve won in that building before. We’ll see where it goes.”

Raiders star netminder Max Hildebrand has done his best to give his team a chance to win on a nightly basis. He has stopped 130-of-144 shots in the series for a .903 save percentage.

The Blades have gotten great goaltending from breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner. Since entering the series at the start of Game 2, Gardner, who turned 18-years-old in January, has stopped 64-of-69 shots for a .928 save percentage.

Evan Gardner has a .928 save percentage in the playoffs

Raiders star 17-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie has been stellar in the series leading his club in scoring with six points coming on three goals and three assists. Truitt said Ritchie has found another level.

“I see a little bit of expansion to his game,” said Truitt. “He is in tight quarters.

“He is being very elusive with the puck. He is putting himself in opportunities to shoot the puck and get goals. He is also doing a good job of distributing the pucks and staying in motion.

“He is just not standing still. He is distributing and giving himself some space and putting himself in good situations to get perhaps a second opportunity. He has been great.”

Ryder Ritchie has six points in four post-season games.

Blades star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong was a member of the Winnipeg Ice last season when they advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling to the Seattle Thunderbirds in five games. When the Ice franchise moved to Wenatchee to become the Wenatchee Wild, Armstrong followed the club to the state of Washington.

He played four regular season games with the Wild at the start of the 2023-24 campaign before the Blades acquired him in a trade on October 10, 2023. The Blades gave up a third round selection in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft and a conditional sixth round pick in the 2027 Prospects Draft to get Armstrong.

The Los Angeles, Calif., product said he has enjoyed his time with both franchises, and he believes the Blades have an intangible special feeling going on.

Easton Armstrong has seven points in four post-season games.

“Both teams have been unbelievable,” said Armstrong. “It has been such a good experience.

“I think this is one of the best cultures I’ve ever been a part of. That has been unbelievable. I don’t think I can really compare the two teams, because it is two complete different teams.

“I think the culture here is unbelievable.”

When the Blades took both Games 3 and 4 in Prince Albert, Armstrong was so strong in both those contest he became the target of boos from the Raiders faithful. In Game 3, Armstrong had a hat trick including the winner in the 4-3 overtime triumph. He was later credited with an assist on the Blades third goal.

The Raiders tackle Blades LW Easton Armstrong.

In Game 4 on Wednesday, Armstrong scored with 1.7 seconds to play in the first period to start the Blades on their way to a 4-1 victory.

Armstrong said it would be big for the Blades to eliminate the Raiders on Friday. At the moment, it appears the first round of the WHL’s post-season could be a quick one.

Out of the eight first round series, four of them have already ended in sweeps. In the Eastern Conference bracket, the Central Division champion Swift Current Broncos swept away the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Blades and Raiders players get tangles up.

On Thursday in Brandon, the Moose Jaw Warriors dumped the host Wheat Kings 6-2 to take Game 4 of that series and close out a sweep. The Warriors jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first period and cruised to victory from there.

The other four series in the first round all have the potential to conclude in Game 5.

Armstrong said it is big his squad is in a position to close things out at home.

“It is huge,” said Armstrong, who leads the Blades with seven points in the post-season coming on five goals and two assists. “If we get an opportunity to win on Friday night, then we get a little bit of a break towards the next series.

The Blades and Raiders engage in some rough stuff.

“That would be pretty huge going into round two if we were able to finish it.”

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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Wild focus on reload as WHL trade deadline draws near

Conor Geekie in action for the Winnipeg Ice in 2023.

So who would have had Kenta Isogai being the face of the Wenatchee Wild a year ago on their bingo card as being a thing in the WHL?

The 19-year-old left-winger Nagano, Japan, is playing through his first year in the WHL leading the Wild in scoring with 56 points coming off 20 goals and 36 assists to go with a plus-23 rating in the plus-minus department. Entering play on Tuesday, he sat ninth in the overall scoring race for the circuit.

Isogai is not a rookie junior. He played the last nine seasons with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League helping the Phantoms win the USHL title last season.

The Wild claimed Isogai’s CHL rights by selecting him in the first round and 60^th overall in the CHL Import Draft held on July 5, 2023. The Phantoms proceeded to allow Isogai to be released to the Wild.

Of course, the Wild franchise in the WHL was formerly the Winnipeg Ice, who fell in last year’s WHL Championship Series to the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Ice were sold to David and Lisa White of the Shoot the Puck Foundation, who owned the junior A Wenatchee Wild franchise that has played in the British Columbia Hockey League since 2015.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.

Wenatchee biggest winner in Ice off-ice saga in WHL

The Ice celebrate a goal in Game 1 of the WHL final on May 12.

The Winnipeg Ice are no more and the Wenatchee Wild era has begun.

On Friday, the WHL announced that the Winnipeg Ice franchise was sold to David and Lisa White of the Shoot the Puck Foundation. The Shoot the Puck Foundation is a non-profit organization based in California. The franchise has relocated to Wenatchee, which is located in the state of Washington in the United States.

The Whites through the Shoot the Puck Foundation own the junior A Wenatchee Wild franchise that had played in the British Columbia Hockey League since 2015. The Wild won the Fred Page Cup as BCHL champions in the 2017-18 campaign and the Doyle Cup as the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Pacific region champion.

The Wild appeared in the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament in 2018 known at the time as the Royal Bank Cup, which was held at Prospera Centre in Chilliwack, B.C. Wenatchee posted a 2-2 record in round robin play and fell in a tournament semifinal 2-1 to the Wellington Dukes from Ontario.

Wenatchee was the only U.S. centre to have a team playing in the BCHL.

With the purchase of the Ice WHL franchise, the Whites own what was once Winnipeg’s membership in the major junior circuit. A relocation of a franchise was executed without the use of any moving trucks.

Zach Benson in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 13.

The Wild as an entity will be promoted up from junior A to major junior. As part of the WHL, they will play in the U.S. Division that will now have six teams.

The division will provide the Wild instantly with four in-state rivals in the Everett Silvertips, the Seattle Thunderbirds, the Spokane Chiefs and the Tri-City Americans. The Portland Winterhawks, who have been one of the circuit’s elite clubs for the past 14 seasons, round out the U.S. Division.

The Wild hockey operations and business staff that is already in place will now operate the club in the WHL. The hockey operations staff is under the direction of general manager Bliss Littler, and Chris Clark is the club’s head coach and assistant general manager. After the announcement that Wenatchee was in the WHL was made, the Wild on Friday put up job postings for a full-time athletic trainer and a full-time equipment manager.

Wenatchee will play out of the Town Toyota Centre that has a seating capacity of 4,300.

The Ice roster and protected list is transferred to the Wild. The fate of the Wild’s BCHL franchise is still to be determined outside of the fact the BCHL said it won’t operate in 2023-24.

As for the players that were part of the Wild’s junior A roster, BCHL commissioner Steve Cocker told Castanet on Friday there won’t be a dispersal draft and the players are now free agents.

Matthew Savoie in action for the Ice in the WHL final in May 12.

As of June 1, the BCHL began governing its teams outside of Hockey Canada’s system. With the departure of Wenatchee, the BCHL has 17 teams all operating in British Columbia. It hasn’t been addressed if the BCHL’s decision to leave Hockey Canada’s system played a part in the Wild owners electing to leave that circuit for the WHL.

While the community of Wenatchee was the biggest winner in this development, it wasn’t a positive development on a tonne of other fronts. If you check out social media on Friday and Saturday, you can find a boatload of disappointment and hurt feelings over the sale of the Ice franchise.

In the 2010s, the WHL pursued a vision of having a team in each capital city in Western Canada. That vision was realized when the Ice franchise under the ownership of 50 Below Sports + Entertainment Incorporated headed up by Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell began playing at the 1,600 seat Wayne Fleming Arena on the University of Manitoba campus at the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

Fettes served as the Ice’s governor, and Cockell was the club’s president, general manager and alternate governor.

The Ice franchise had been relocated from Cranbrook, B.C., where the club was known as the Kootenay Ice. The Ice franchise was sold to Fettes and Cockell on April 27, 2017 by the Chynoweth family.

Carson Lambos in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 12.

Fettes and Cockell moved the Ice to Winnipeg with the promise they would be able to build a new arena for the team to play in that was up to WHL standards.

The Ice put out a statement by Fettes on Friday and part of that statement regarding building a new arena said, “Unfortunately, we were just never able to get the project on solid footing due to the changing landscape (during and post-pandemic). Simply put, we ran out of time.”

While there has been criticism Fettes and Cockell took the WHL for a ride, it is possible to say it was true the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that gripped the world causing massive shutdowns in March of 2020 caused any efforts to build a WHL sized arena that would seat 4,500 to 5,000 spectators to go up in flames.

If anyone has seen the news cycle, stories on economic inflation dominate it, so anyone who lives in reality knows the chances of getting the funding together to build a new WHL size rink in Winnipeg were remote. It is safe to say Fettes and Cockell don’t have those types of assets in the bank to build a rink on their own.

Still, how the WHL’s situation played out in Winnipeg will invite heaps of criticism, and the criticism is deserved. The WHL does come out of this saga sporting a look that it got suckered.

Gregg Drinnan, who is still the all-time dean of WHL sportswriters, took a deep dive on his Taking Note blog of the many levels of how ugly the Ice saga is, and that piece can be found by clicking right here. He could probably wrote a longer piece than he did, and that is crazy to think about.

HC James Patrick mans the Ice bench in the WHL final on May 12.

While the Ice were a mess off-ice with their arena situation, the Ice’s on ice product was far from a mess. In fact, the Ice were one of the WHL’s best teams on ice in the four seasons they played in Winnipeg posting a 166-49-6-2 mark in regular season play.

In 2021-22, the Ice topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 mark and advanced to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series falling in five games to the eventual league champion Edmonton Oil Kings. This past season, the Ice again topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in five games to the Thunderbirds.

If you were able to travel to Winnipeg, you would have found out the Ice developed a following. On the coverage priority of the local sports media, the Ice were buried well behind the NHL’s Jets, the CFL’s Blue Bombers and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

While the majority of the attention was on those three professional teams, it is a disservice to say the Ice had no fans in Winnipeg. They had a fan following, and that fan following got burned.

Ice head coach James Patrick is one of top first class hockey guys you will find in hockey. He is now living in his hometown without a team to coach. If the Jets do decide to go in the direction of a total rebuild, Patrick would be a perfect candidate for a potential future new head coach in a start over scenario.

Fans watch the Ice play in Winnipeg in the WHL final on May 12.

The Ice had good people on their hockey operations and business staff, and now they will all be out of work.

The Ice players will still have a chance to play in the WHL, but now they have to adjust to a new community.

The community of Cranbrook, which was home to the Ice from 1998 to 2019, still feels burned by the WHL. The Ice were successful for most of their years in Cranbrook having won WHL championships in 2000, 2002 and 2011 and the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 2002.

During the Ice’s final season in Cranbrook in 2018-19, they finished last in average attendance in the WHL averaging 2,214 spectators per game for their 34 regular season home dates, but there were people there who still felt the team could turn around and experience brighter days again in that community.

In October and November of 2015, there was a local based group in Cranbrook that talked to Chynoweth family about possibly purchasing the Ice, but nothing came out of those talks. It is likely failure of that attempt to purchase the team and keep it in Cranbrook hurt some in the community there.

Jeff Chynoweth, who oversaw the Ice’s operations, and his family began trying to sell the Ice in 2011 and the team stayed for sale until the deal was reached with Fettes and Cockell in April of 2017. It should be noted that Cranbrook is a tourist industry town and the Chynoweth family was faced with the constant task of reintroducing the game to new fans during the Ice’s time in that centre.

Daniel Hauser in action for the Ice in the WHL final on May 12.

Life also changed for the Chynoweth family with the passing of patriarch Ed Chynoweth in April of 2008. Ed played an instrumental role as a builder in the history of the WHL. Ed’s passing and the unique challenges to marketing the team in Cranbrook had Jeff and his family looking to get out of the WHL ownership game.

Still, there were a lot of Ice supporters in Cranbrook who hold ill will toward Jeff Chynoweth over when his family sold the Ice.

Along with that, the City of Cranbrook has a lawsuit against the Winnipeg Ice and the WHL that is still before the courts regarding the arena deal the Ice had with the B.C. centre that was to run through to June of 2023.

On a sentimental front, other group that lost out in this saga are the alums of the Ice franchise. The alums especially the ones that played for the Ice during their days in Cranbrook often have great memories of the B.C. centre.

It is common for alums of other WHL clubs to return to their former teams when they are older and have families for visits. Those visits often include alums getting pictures taken with their families in their old dressing room stalls during the summer months. There are Ice alums that lament they can’t partake in doing something like that.

On top of that, the Ice franchise identity will now cease to exist on the WHL landscape. While the Wenatchee owns the Ice WHL franchise, the Wild team identity will continue to be used, and it will go on as continuation from that club’s junior A days in the BCHL.

In the end, the WHL’s experiment with the Ice in Winnipeg failed. Had True North Sports and Entertainment the parent company that owns the Jets and Moose had interest in owning a WHL franchise, the major junior circuit might still be in the Manitoba capital.

The Ice salute their fans after Game 1 of the WHL final on May 12.

Overall, at least the franchise transfer was done at this early juncture of the off-season, so all parties that have a stake in what is going on know where they stand. From an “it is what it is” perspective, the ugly is there.

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.