Rookie Crnkovic pushes Blades past Thunderbirds

Kyle Crnkovic had a big night for the Blades.

    It appears 16-year-old rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic is going to have an extended stay with the Saskatoon Blades top six forward unit.

    If the young Chestermere, Alta., product is dropped off the team’s top two lines, the Blades coaches will likely have a lot of doubts regarding if they are doing the right thing.

    Playing on a line with 17-year-old Tristen Robins at centre and 18-year-old Eric Florchuk at right wing, Crnkovic had a goal and two assists to push the Blades past the Seattle Thunderbirds 4-3 in a WHL regular season contest on Tuesday night before 3,037 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

    The outburst was Crnkovic’s first multiple point night of his WHL career, and he now has three goals and six assists in his last nine games.

    “It felt really good,” said Crnkovic, who has four goals and nine assists in 27 games this season. 

    “Obviously, it is awesome to get the two points, and to contribute, it feels awesome.”

Kyle Crnkovic has three goals and six assists in his last nine games.

    Over the last stretch of games for the Blades, Crnkovic, who stands just under 5-foot-7 and weighs 153 pounds, has been very noticeable with the energy he brings on every shift. While he may be the smallest player on the ice in most of Saskatoon’s games, he doesn’t shy away from battles or going into the corners or in front of the net.

    During his last nine games with the Saskatoon squad, Crnkovic’s offensive talents are showing through, which saw the Blades select him in the first round and 10^th overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. He has seen extra playing time during the Blades last four games due to the fact star 17-year-old centre Kirby Dach has been out with a lower body injury.

The Blades celebrate a power-play goal from Josh Paterson (#61).

    Blades head coach Mitch Love has enjoyed seeing Crnkovic take off.

    “You could see the confidence growing,” said Love. “I think obviously that comes with added ice time.

    “As a hockey coach, you want to find that trust in those young kids. He is doing a good job away from the puck, which is earning him more ice time. Nobody has ever questioned his offensive capabilities here and his skill set, and I think that was very evident tonight.”

    So far this season, Crnkovic believes he has given a solid effort every night, but he has received some breaks offensively as of late.

    “I think I have been playing the same way,” said Crnkovic. “I think just some luck is coming my way.

    “I am just trying to keep playing hard the second half.”

Blades G Dorrin Luding (#31) stops Seattle LW Andrej Kukuca.

    After the Thunderbirds took a 1-0 lead early in the first, Crnkovic went to work. At the 15:24 mark of the opening frame, he slipped a backhand shot past Thunderbirds netminder Cole Schwebius on a breakaway to tie things up at 1-1.

    Just 2:06 after that tally with the Blades working on the power play, Crnkovic had the puck at the left side boards in the Seattle zone. He centred a smart pass to centre Josh Paterson, who knocked home his 14^th goal of the season to give the Blades a 2-1 lead.

    Crnkovic was pleased he could make both plays

    “They were both good,” said Crnkovic. “They were both good to get.

    “It feels good to contribute and help the team win.”

Aiden De La Gorgendiere looks to make a pass for the Blades.

    The Thunderbirds scored late in the first and early in the second to go ahead 3-2.

    At the 13:49 mark of the second, the Blades tied things up at 3-3, when captain Chase Wouters tipped home a shot from linemate Max Gerlach.

    Before the second frame expired, Blades 16-year-old rookie defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere broke into the Seattle zone on a rush and slipped a pass to right-winger Eric Florchuk to spring him in alone on the Thunderbirds goal.

    Florchuk slipped a shot between the legs of Thunderbirds netminder Cole Schwebius to give the Blades a 4-3 lead with 2:40 remaining in the frame. Crnkovic picked up his second assist of the game on Florchuk’s tally.

    The rookie winger said he has enjoyed playing on a line with Florchuk and Robins and has enjoyed the fact he is starting to contribute offensively.

A young fan cheers on Blades LW Riley McKay.

    “At the start it was tough just getting used to the league,” said Crnkovic. “I think as it has gone on and getting comfortable with the players around me, it is getting a lot better.”

    Zach Ashton, captain Nolan Volcan and Matthew Wedman replied with singles for the Thunderbirds. Wedman had an assist and won a third period fight against Wouters to record the Gordie Howe hat trick for Seattle.

    Ashton’s tally was the first of his WHL career. The 17-year-old defenceman was acquire in a trade with the Blades last Wednesday, which saw veteran defenceman Reece Harsch, who is in his 19-year-old season, land in Saskatoon.

Eric Florchuk (#17) fires a shot on goal for the Blades.

    Harsch, who was playing his fourth game with the Blades, was happy to get the win against his former team.

    “It felt pretty good,” said Harsch. “I had a lot of memories with those guys and that team and that organization, so it definitely felt good to get the win tonight.”

    Dorrin Luding turned away 33 shots in goal for the Blades, who improved to 26-12-5 to sit third overall in the WHL. Schwebius stopped 28 shots in goal for the Thunderbirds, who fell to 12-21-4.

    Love was pleased his side controlled a scoreless third period, where the Blades held a 14-9 edge in shots on goal. 

Matthew Wedman had a Gordie Howe hat trick for the Thunderbirds.

    The Saskatoon bench boss thought his team spent too much time in its own zone in the second frame.

    “For our guys to regroup and outshoot them in the third period I thought we really did a good job of limiting their offensive opportunities,” said Love, whose club was playing their eighth game in 13 days. “There were a lot of shots from the outside.

    “I am real proud of the guys’ effort, especially in this stretch of hockey. This has been a grind for our guys. It was very noticeable tonight against a very heavy and competitive team in the Thunderbirds.

    “We stuck with it and found a way to win a hockey game.”

    The Thunderbirds return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

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

Going forward into the rest of the season, Crnkovic said wants to keep playing as well as possible.

The Blades celebrate their victory over the Thunderbirds on Tuesday.

    “I am just going to try and play my game and work hard every day in practice and I think just try and contribute to the team any way I can,” he said.

    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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Harsch fitting in with Blades, nets goal in 5-2 win

Reece Harsch was recently acquired by the Blades via a trade with Seattle.

    Saskatoon Blades newcomer Reece Harsch showed how important it was to play to the whistle.

    On Sunday before 3,627 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Harsch was skating in just his third game with the Blades as they took on the Brandon Wheat Kings. Harsch, who is a 19-year-old defenceman, was acquired in a trade last Wednesday with the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for 17-year-old defenceman Zach Ashton and a fifth round selection in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft.

    With the Blades locked in a 1-1 tie in the first period with the Wheat Kings, Harsch found an opportune time to score his first goal with his new club.

    Left-winger Riley McKay, who is the Blades agitator, took a cross check behind the Wheat Kings goal from Brandon defenceman Vinny Iorio, and the officials were set to blow the whistle on a delayed penalty call as soon as a Brandon player touched the puck.

Reece Harsch scored his first goal with the Blades on Sunday.

    The Wheat Kings players on the ice seemingly stopped, when Iorio’s cross check occurred. Blades centre Josh Paterson had the puck at the left side of the Brandon goal, and he slipped a pass across the front of the net to Harsch, who pinched down from the point.

    Harsch skated to the Brandon net untouched and slipped a shot past Wheat Kings netminder Jiri Patera to give the Blades a 2-1 lead. Saskatoon ultimately skated to a 5-2 victory in the WHL regular season clash.

    “It was pretty special,” said Harsch, who has three goals and eight assists in 31 games played between the Thunderbirds and Blades this season. “It was a nice pass by Patty (Josh Paterson).

    “It was great vision by him. I was just able to slip it through the arms of him (Patera). What do you know, it went in.”

    Following his goal, Harsch realized something else must have happened on the play. Since McKay wasn’t hurt, Harsch’s goal was celebrated and the focus returned to the game.

The Blades celebrate Reece Harsch’s first period goal.

    “I didn’t really notice it until after I was just looking at the net to see if the puck actually went in,” said Harsch, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 198 pounds. “Then, I looked up and I just saw McKay laying on the ground.

    “I’m not really too sure what happened actually.”

    Harsch played three-and-a-half seasons with the Thunderbirds before arriving in Saskatoon. During his time in Seattle, he helped the Thunderbirds win a WHL title in the 2016-17 campaign and qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament, which was held that season in Windsor, Ont.

Goalie Jiri Patera (#33) makes one of his 32 saves on Sunday.

    With Saskatoon having finished a stretch of playing three games in three days on Sunday, Blades head coach Mitch Love said Harsch brought everything that was expected from a veteran presence. Saskatoon lost 19-year-old defenceman Nolan Kneen to a lower body injury in Friday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Regina Pats, which added extra significance to Harsch’s arrival.

    “He (Harsch) is a very calming influence back there,” said Love. “He doesn’t seem to be rattled by too much.

    “He is an experience guy who has been to a Memorial Cup and won a league championship here. I am sure there is not a lot that gets to him. That is the way he plays the game.

Nolan Maier makes one of his 27 saves in goal for the Blades.

    “He has definitely helped our back end, especially this weekend.”

    Harsch’s play has also impressed Blades captain Chase Wouters.

    “I thought he (Harsch) has played really well,” said Wouters. “He is a really good addition to the back end.

    “He is a right-handed shot that like to get pucks up early, and he is a big body out there. He helps us a lot.”

    “He won the championship there (in Seattle). He adds a piece to our group that we don’t have.”

    Harsch said he has been accepted really quickly into the group the Blades have.

    “It is awesome,” Harsch. “It is a little different coming to a (new) team. I only knew a couple of guys.

Max Gerlach scored the Blades first goal on Sunday.

    “Guys were so nice. They’ve been really helpful for me.”

    In Sunday’s contest, the Wheat Kings got a quick jump on the host side with left-winger Ben McCartney scoring 53 seconds into the contest to take a 1-0 lead.

    The Brandon lead didn’t last. Just under three minutes later, Blades overage right-winger Max Gerlach potted his 24^th goal of the season to tie things up at 1-1.

    Harsch then potted his tally to give the Blades a 2-1 edge. With 43.3 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Wheat Kings star right-winger Luka Burzan scored on a two-man advantage to even things up at 2-2.

    From there, the Blades slowly took control of the game.

    At the 3:27 mark of the second period, the Blades jumped ahead 3-2, when Paterson slid home a goal underneath Patera.

Luka Burzan had the Wheat Kings second goal on Sunday.

    Saskatoon extended its advantage to 4-2 at the 7:45 mark of the third period, when right-winger Zach Huber knocked home a loose puck in the crease of the Brandon goal.

    Blades star netminder Nolan Maier made a sensational kick save on a breakaway by McCartney. Saskatoon import defenceman Emil Malysjev rounded out the scoring with an empty-net goal with 33.8 seconds remaining in the third.

    After going ahead in the second period, Blades 17-year-old rookie defenceman Majid Kaddoura left the game for a short time, when he was hit by Wheat Kings right-winger Baron Thompson. Thompson received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct, and that play will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

    Kaddoura actually got cut on the play by his own stick. He finished the game after getting stitched up.

Zach Huber (#19) scores to put the Blades up 4-2 in the third period.

    Maier made 27 stops in goal for the Blades, who sit third overall in the WHL at 25-12-5. Patera turned away 32-of-36 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (16-15-3-3).

    “I really liked how our guys battled tonight,” said Love, whose team has played seven games in 11 days since returning from the WHL Christmas break. “I think it was evident.

    “We had a few guys leave the hockey game in stretches just because they put themselves in the battle. That was the big message going into today’s hockey game of just playing the game the right way the way we want to play with structure and what not.

    “At the same time, we just needed to be more competitive and have a little bit more fight, especially against a team that was sitting here waiting for us. I was very proud of our guys and our effort, and we are going to try and build off of that.”

The Blades celebrate their 5-2 win on Sunday.

    The Wheat Kings return home to host the Portland Winterhawks at 7 p.m. local time at Westoba Place.

    The Blades return to action on Tuesday when they host the Seattle Thunderbirds at 7 p.m. local time at the SaskTel Centre.

    Harsch said he has lots of good memories from his time in Seattle, and it will be strange for himself to face the Thunderbirds so soon after being traded to Saskatoon.

    “It is going to be different,” said Harsch. “I’ve been wearing that jersey for three-and-a-half years.

    “Now coming in and seeing all these familiar faces, it is going to be different, but it is going to be pretty special.”

    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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