Blades start 5-0-1 in bubble

Kyle Crnkovic and the Blades are rocking the Regina bubble.

The bubble life seems to suit the Saskatoon Blades just fine.

Playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Blades have jumped out to a 5-0-1 start to begin their abbreviated 24-game regular season. They lead the WHL’s East Division that contains the circuit’s five Saskatchewan clubs and two Manitoba squads.

A bubble is being utilized for regular season play in the East Division due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

The 2020-21 campaign is basically a developmental season, and the Blades are maximizing their opportunity to get back in the ice.

In their latest outing on Monday, the Blades downed the Brandon Wheat Kings in a high scoring 6-4 affair.

The Saskatoon side was paced by left-winger Kyle Crnkovic had two goals and an assist, while left-winger Colton Dach had one goal and two assists.

Crnkovic experience a milestone as he picked up his 100^th career regular season point in the win. In 124 career regular season games with the Blades, Crnkovic has 35 goals and 66 assists for 101 points.

Wyatt McLeod, Blake Stevenson and Caiden Daley rounded out the scoring for the Blades.

Right-winger Lynden McCallum led the way for Brandon offensively with two goals and an assist, while Ben McCartney and Nolan Ritchie had singles.

Koen MacInnes stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ethan Kruger turned away 22-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (3-2-1).

Chase Wouters is playing in his final season with the Blades.

The Blades scored their final goal into an empty net.

During their 5-0-1 start, the Blades have benefitted from timely offence and strong play from their defencemen and goaltending. The Blades have allowed two or fewer goals in four out of their six outings.

Offensively, the scoring has been fairly spread out through the Blades lineup. Stevenson, Crnkovic, Tristan Robins and Evan Patrician are tied for the team lead in goals at three.

Stevenson tops the Blades in scoring with three goals and four assists for seven points to go with a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

Crnkovic, Robins and Dach have six points each. Daley and captain Chase Wouters each have five points, while 16-year-old rookie left-winger Brandon Lisowsky, Alex Morozoff and Rhett Rhinehart each have four points. Rhinehart is the leading scorer among all Blades defencemen.

Veteran netminder Nolan Maier, who turned 20-years-old in January, has continued his star play. The Yorkton, Sask., product has won all four of his starts posting a 1.74 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

MacInnes, who is in his second season with the Blades, has a win and an overtime setback in his two starts posting a 2.98 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Blades head coach Mitch Love and his staff have to be enjoying how things have come together in the team game for their hockey club. Of course, the Blades coaches are always looking for ways to allow their players to improve.

For the players individually, they have to be happy that they are creating good video footage for scouts.

Wouters and Daley, who are both centres, and McLeod, who is a defenceman, are playing through their overage campaigns. They are looking to leave a final good impression on professional scouts or potentially create an opportunity with a Canadian university team at the U Sports level.

Colton Dach has six points in six games for the Blades.

Robins is a 19-year-old centre who has a signed NHL Entry Level contract with the San Jose Sharks, and he trying to show the Sharks they were wise to select him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and sign him.

Veterans like Crnkovic, Maier and Rhinehart are trying to show professional teams they have been overlooked.

Dach is trying to make a good impression for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft and Lisowsky is showing he has the potential to obtain star status in the WHL sooner than later.

Last season, the Blades had locked up a playoff berth with a 34-24-2-3 record before the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Blades so far are showing they were ready to take that next step. They return to action today taking on the Swift Current Broncos (8 p.m., 98.3 Cool FM).

Overall, it is great the Blades have been able to hit the ice in 2020-21 to show what they’ve got.

SJHL cancels rest of 2020-21 season, other observations

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League cancelled the rest of its 2020-21 campaign on Tuesday.

The junior A hockey circuit had hoped to complete its 2020-21 season playing in a bubble format in Weyburn. A total of seven of the circuit’s 12 teams were committed to completing the season including the Estevan Bruins, Flin Flon Bombers, Kindersley Klippers, Humboldt Broncos, Melfort Mustangs, Nipawin Hawks and Weyburn Red Wings.

The Government of Saskatchewan has denied the circuit’s return to play plan and had asked the SJHL to wait another two to three weeks before revisiting the plan. Concerns were raised about the rise of COVID-19 variant cases in Regina including the B.1.1.7 variant that was first found in the United Kingdom.

Weyburn is about 100 kilometres southeast of Regina. The Government of Saskatchewan announced a number of tighter restrictions for Regina and area on Tuesday in an attempt to curve the spread of variant cases.

The rise of variant cases and the fact the COVID-19 vaccination program in Saskatchewan is still in the more beginning stages was enough to bring an end to the SJHL’s plans. There were also concerns that one of the two hotels that was going to house teams in Weyburn was still going to be open to the public.

The SJHL last hit the ice for regular season play on Nov. 23, 2020.

Red Wings head coach and general manager Rich Pilon told 650 CKOM on Tuesday that a COVID-19 testing program that included weekly tests was planned for the proposed bubble environment in Weyburn.

The SJHL has said it now plans to focus on conducting a complete 2021-22 campaign.

Of course, the obvious disappointment from players and personnel from the SJHL surfaced regarding Tuesday’s announcement.

Some cried foul that the WHL is playing and the SJHL won’t play.

By the looks of things, the SJHL didn’t have timing on its side. COVID-19 variants weren’t a concern when the WHL’s East Division began playing in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

At the moment, COVID-19 variants are a concern, and that affected the plans for the SJHL.

While the development sucks for the SJHL, this shows an example of how quickly things can still change in these COVID-19 pandemic times.

• Last Friday, Saskatoon Blades long time volunteer dressing room attendant Bobby Kirkness made it to Regina to see the Blades down the Prince Albert Raiders 3-1 in a WHL regular season game played in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre. Kirkness, who is battling stage 4 liver and pancreatic cancer, watched the game from the stands. Following the game, both teams skated towards the location Kirkness was sitting, gathered together inside the Blades end and raised their sticks as one in salute. It was one of the most heartwarming and classiest moments in the rivalry between the Blades and Raiders. The Blades posted a story of that moment on their website, and it can be found by clicking right here.
• On Monday, the Swift Current Broncos downed the Prince Albert Raiders 5-2 in a WHL regular season game played in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina. The win allowed the Broncos to stop a 23 game losing streak that dated back to last season. The Broncos, who are 1-5 this season, are still going through a massive rebuild after loading up with a skilled veteran roster in 2017-18 to win the WHL championship and appear in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. Even during their losses this season, the Broncos have put forth a good effort on the ice.
• Regina Pats 15-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard has points in each of his first six WHL regular season games with the world’s oldest major junior franchise. On Tuesday, Bedard picked up an assist in the Pats 8-3 loss to the Winnipeg Ice playing in the East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina to keep his consecutive games point streak alive. Bedard has five goals and five assists over the Pats first six games. The North Vancouver, B.C., product was the first player to be granted exceptional player status to play in the WHL on a full-time basis as a 15-year-old.
• On Monday, Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nolan Ritchie was named the WHL player of the week for the week ending March 21, 2021. Ritchie posted three goals and four assists in three games in the WHL East Division bubble at the Brandt Centre in Regina for the week of the award. The Wheat Kings posted a 2-1 record in those games.
• On Monday, Everett Silvertips goaltender Dustin Wolf was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week ending March 21, 2021. For the week of the award, Wolf won both his starts via shutout turning away all 40 shots he faced.
• On Monday, the CFL announced the list of players who have been invited to take part in the league’s virtual combine. The invitees include three members of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team in defensive backs Nelson Lokombo and Josh Hagerty and centre Connor Berglof. Along with the three Huskies, two members of the University of Regina Rams football team have also been invited to take part in the virtual combine including running back Kyle Borsa and linebacker Robbie Lowes.
• Tickets are on sale for the March jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Wednesday, March 31, April 30 and May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Monday, the NHL regular season contest between the Montreal Canadiens and the visiting Edmonton Oilers had been postponed after Montreal forwards Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were added to the NHL’s COVID protocol list. On Tuesday, the NHL announced the Canadiens have had their games through Sunday postponed. The league said it is expected the Canadiens will be able to reopen their facilities for practice this coming Monday pending COVID-19 test results over the next few days.
• In the world of sports entertainment, All Elite Wrestling has emerged as a true competitor to the WWE. AEW was founded on Jan. 1, 2019 and has a great two-hour show that airs on TNT in the United States and TSN in Canada called AEW Dynamite. The episode on March 17, 2021 closed with what was known in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a hardcore match between Dr. Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa. AEW called it an unsanctioned lights out match. It also marked the first time a women’s match was the main event on an AEW broadcast show. The match has gathered rave reviews from those the follow the sports entertainment world since it aired, and it might go down as the match of the year. The full match can be found on Youtube by clicking right here.
• With the emergence of AEW, it appears the WWE is beginning to push its boundaries once again. After the WWE bought out WCW in 2001, it pretty uncontested when to came to sports entertainment wrestling shows. Most independent promotions didn’t have the resources WWE had. As a result, WWE started to move back towards more PG programming that families could watch. That has noticeably changed over the last few months involving the storyline feud with Bray Wyatt, who is also known as The Fiend, and Alexa Bliss going against Randy Orton. In a pay per view held on Dec. 20, 2020, Orton burned The Fiend alive after a match. On the Jan. 25 episode of RAW, Orton interfered in Bliss’s match against Asuka for the WWE RAW Women’s title. Orton took out Bliss with his RKO finishing move costing her the title. The video of that moment on the WWE Youtube account nearly had five-million views in a week and currently has over seven-million views. The WWE usually tries to avoid moments where a male performer takes out a female performer. Bliss, who has supernatural powers in the storyline, tormented Orton for months resulting in an intergender match at the WWE Fastlane pay per view this past Sunday. Bliss won the match by raising The Fiend from the dead, and The Fiend took out Orton. Bliss proceeded to get the win the suggestive “straddle mount pin seen round the world.” The WWE used to do things like this on a regular basis during its Attitude Era that ran from 1997 to 2002, which included a period of intense competition against WCW from 1997 to 2000. Of course, Bliss’s straddle pin was done for the shock value. Orton’s wife, Kim, didn’t take to kindly to “the Moment of Bliss” involving her husband. On Sunday night, Kim put out a post on Twitter tagging Bliss which said, “You might have just F*&%ed up little girl.” The tweet reaction got a lot of play on the more tabloid media sites that cover the sports entertainment wrestling industry.
• Another reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still here happened to come from the WWE. On Monday, Charlotte Flair, who is viewed as the WWE’s greatest female performer, announced she hadn’t been on any of the company’s shows lately as she is at home battling COVID-19. Last Friday, WWE pulled Flair’s image off graphic advertisements for Wrestlemania 37 coming up on April 10 and 11.

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

-------                                     

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.

Leason, Gregor get Raiders even with Oil Kings

Noah Gregor, left, celebrates his winning goal for the Raiders.

    EDMONTON, Alta. – Brett Leason and Noah Gregor came up as big gamers when the Prince Albert Raiders needed them the most.

    Playing before 7,077 spectators on Wednesday at Rogers Place, Leason and Gregor each came up with singles as the Raiders downed the host Edmonton Oil Kings 2-1 in a gritty road playoff victory.

    With the win, the Raiders even the best-of-seven series up at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert with a 7 p.m. local start time.

    Wednesday’s game was a big bounce back effort for the Raiders, who had lost two straight games in the series. One of those setbacks included getting drubbed 5-1 by the Oil Kings in Game 3 on Tuesday night in Edmonton.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said all the team’s coaches needed to do was have their players watch a little video to get a more inspired effort in Game 4.

Brett Leason scored for the Raiders in the second period.

    “They (the Raiders players) are smart,” said Habscheid. “We trust them.

    “Coaches and players, we get each other. We just let them watch last night’s game this morning after breakfast and just asked them after at the pre-game meal what they thought. They’re smart.

    “They just had enough, and the Raiders are back. We’re happy with our game.”

    After the two sides played through a scoreless first period, Leason gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead when he sniped home a shot from the right slot to the left corner of the Edmonton goal.

    The tally was Leason’s first point of the series with the Oil Kings.

    His goal was caused as the Raiders went into the Edmonton zone on the forecheck. Raiders overage centre Dante Hannoun was working on the right side boards against a couple of Oil Kings players, and he cause the puck to squirt out to Leason in the open.

    From there, Leason finished the play to put the Raiders ahead. He was pleased to finally net a goal again.

Noah Gregor scored for the Raiders in the third period.

    “It meant a lot,” said Leason. “I was always getting the chances, but a hot goalie and I just couldn’t get the bounces.

    “Today, I was finally able to get one, and it happened to be a big goal. It gets us as a team the momentum and kept going from there.”

    Just 2:13 into the third, Gregor gave the Raiders a 2-0 edge again with hard work on the forecheck. After getting a turnover in the Edmonton zone, Raiders rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt backhanded a pass from behind the icing line at the right side of the Edmonton goal to Gregor in front of the net, and he promptly one-timed home the insurance marker.

    Ultimately, Gregor’s goal would hold up as the game winner.

    “This is a huge game for us,” said Gregor. “We didn’t really like our performance last night.

    “We thought we could play a lot better. I thought for most of the game we did a really good job of that. I thought everyone was working hard.

Raiders fans at Rogers Place cheer one of their team’s goals.

    “We were playing with more pace tonight I thought, and it was huge to get the win.”

    On his goal, Gregor was impressed with the setup pass he received from Wiesblatt.

    “It was a great play,” said Gregor. “Ozzy (Wiesblatt) is able to make plays for a younger guy, and he made a good one there.”

    With 6:06 remaining in the third, Oil Kings third-year defenceman Wyatt McLeod received a pass from left-winger Quinn Benjafield at the point. McLeod fired a shot through a screen into the Prince Albert goal to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1.

    The Oil Kings mounted pressure in the Prince Albert zone over the final two minutes of the third but couldn’t find the equalizer.

Wyatt McLeod scored for the Oil Kings in the third period.

    Ian Scott made25 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Dylan Myskiw turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

    “Obviously, I don’t think we played our best game tonight, but again, I think they brought their best game of the series so far,” said Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer. “They had a little bit more urgency in their than we did

    “In that sense, that is the outcome of the game. I didn’t think we executed. We didn’t skate like we did, but also, some of that is what they did.

    “We didn’t do a good enough job of getting away from them.”

    Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. As a result, the Raiders are pegged as favourites in the Eastern Conference final against Edmonton.

    Looking back on the first three games of the series against the Oil Kings, Habscheid thought his team was missing a step, but his Raiders looked like themselves on Wednesday. He said that was the best game Prince Albert played in the series.

Ozzy Wiesblatt had a beauty assist on the Raiders winning goal.

    “We were worried about the quality of our game more than anything,” said Habscheid. “Sometimes, you don’t get the bounces.

    “Sometime, whatever happens and you don’t get the win. In playoffs, wins matter, but we needed to get our swagger, I think our speed and our determination back. We got that back tonight.

    “The win is a bonus. It is 2-2. Even if we would have let this slip, we would have felt good about our game heading back, because we played the right way tonight.”

    The Oil Kings topped the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark, and they were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Lauer said his team just needs to reset going into Game 5.

The Raiders celebrate their win on Wednesday night.

    “My message to them is we weren’t very good tonight, but were still right there at the end,” said Lauer. “If we bring our best game, we will be fine.

    “It is just a matter of the will and the want, and I thought they had a little bit better than we did tonight.”

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

-------

    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.

Crazy bounce goal gives Raiders conference final opener

Ozzy Wiesblatt (#19) received some good luck for the Raiders.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - It was the classic story of the positive bounce goal delivering elation for one team and dejection for the other side.

    In Game 1 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the host Prince Albert Raiders were the beneficiary of the positive bounce. 
    The visiting Edmonton Oil Kings were on the other end of the coin that ultimately felt dejection.

    At the 1:48 mark of the second period, Raiders rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt swooped down the left wing of the Edmonton zone on rush.

    He ripped a backhanded centring pass to the front of the Edmonton net. The pass bounced off the stick of Oil Kings defenceman Wyatt McLeod and found a home in the open right side of the Edmonton goal.

Wyatt McLeod, right, was victim of bad luck for the Oil Kings.

    That tally by Wiesblatt was the only marker in the Raiders 1-0 victory over the Oil Kings before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat building.

    Wiesblatt, who had been held pointless in his five previous post-season outings, gladly took any luck that came his way.

    “It is a big confidence boost for sure, especially after last series not playing my best,” said Wiesblatt referring to his team’s six game victory over the Saskatoon Blades in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. “I think good teams find a way, so it was nice to get that bounce.

The Raiders celebrate Ozzy Wiesblatt’s goal.

    “We’ve been working on that in practice just getting as many pucks on net as we can. Luckily, it went in.”

    McLeod was dumbfounded by what occurred in that part of the contest noting he wasn’t trying to shoot or pass the puck in that moment.

    “It was a two-on-two,” said McLeod. “(Oil Kings defenceman) Conner (McDonald) did a good job playing his guy.

    “The puck came to the centre, and I just lost track of it and in off my stick so a tough bounce on that one.”

    While Wiesblatt’s goal gave his side a victory in Game 1, the Calgary, Alta., product said his team wasn’t overly happy with their performance coming off an emotional series win over their archrivals in the Blades. He was already looking forward to Game 2 of the series set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    “I think it wasn’t our best performance for sure,” said Wiesblatt. “I think we’re just going to come back tomorrow and do a lot better.”

Ian Scott made 26 saves to pick up the shutout win for the Raiders.

    McLeod thought his side played better as the night went on. The Oil Kings were playing their first game after eight off days following their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series sweep of the Calgary Hitmen.

    “I think we did a fairly good job of weathering their (the Raiders) push early,” said McLeod. “I think about after the 10-minute mark of the first we finally got really skating to what we think is capable.

    “In saying that, I think we still have another gear to give. We’ll bring it tomorrow.”

    Ian Scott turned away 26 shots to pick up his second shutout of the post-season in goal for the Raiders.

    The only time he looked shaky was on the Oil Kings first shot of the game, which went to a video review to ensure the puck didn’t go across the goal-line of the Prince Albert net. The review showed Scott kept the puck out.

Dylan Myskiw turned away 23 shots in goal for the Oil Kings.

    From that point onward, Scott was solid. He had to be particularly sharp in the third period, when the Oil Kings carried an 11-3 edge in shots on goal.

    Inside of the final 30 seconds of the third, Scott kept the puck out of his net during a couple of fire drill scrambles. One scramble came after Scott denied Oil Kings captain Trey Fix-Wolansky on a drive from the left side wall.

    The rebound from Fix-Wolansky’s shot went in front of the Prince Albert net, and Scott stopped two more chances before covering the puck.

    Overall, Scott felt his defensive unit had a solid game in front of him.

    “I thought they were pretty good,” said Scott. “(There were) lots of key (shot) blocks at really important times.

    “When you get that it is a big thing in playoffs.”

The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheer on the Raiders.

    In order to stay focused in goal, Scott tried to stay feeling a little loose as opposed to be uptight.

    “You just have to keep having fun,” said Scott. “It is playoffs.

    “It is not hard to get up for those games. As long as you keep it even keel it will be good.”

    At the other end of the rink, Dylan Myskiw stopped 23 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

    Overall, Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer liked how his team played on Friday. He felt good about how his team responded to the raucous atmosphere in the Raiders home rink.

    Lauer said the Edmonton coaches tell their players to throw the puck on net, because you never know what can happen. He added the Raiders also followed that philosophy on Wiesblatt’s goal.

    “It was one of those things where we just couldn’t find that one shot,” said Lauer. “I think we learned an awful lot.

Cole Fonstad gets set to fire a shot on goal for the Raiders.

    “We will be better tomorrow.”

    Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Oil Kings topped the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark, and they were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said he expects the Eastern Conference final to be a competitive series. When the dust settled on Friday, the veteran bench boss said the big thing was his side picked up the positive result.

    “It is a win,” said Habscheid. “That is what matters in playoffs.

    “They are a good team. We knew that, but they proved it tonight they are a good team. I think we can be much better.

    “We didn’t really have what seemed like our legs tonight, but they played well. Our guys did what they had to do.”

    NOTES – The Raiders had star left-winger Cole Fonstad back in their lineup after he missed two games with an undisclosed injury.

Ian Scott, left, and Zack Hayes celebrate the Raiders win.

    Raiders physical forward Justin Nachbaur sat out the second of a two-game league imposed suspension for receiving an interference major penalty and a game misconduct in his club’s Game 5 win over the Blades. Nachbaur is expected to dress for the Raiders in Game 2 of their series with the Oil Kings on Saturday.

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

-------

    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.