Blades, Rebels face off in unique Game 7 encounter

Saskatoon aims for series win after trailing set 3-0

Trevor Wong leads the Blades with 19 points in the playoffs.

The Saskatoon Blades are one win away from being remembered forever.

The Red Deer Rebels will do whatever they can to derail a potential history making moment.

On Tuesday, the two sides will collide in a winner take all Game 7 of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The winner moves on to face the Winnipeg Ice in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference Championship series.

The Ice topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-10-1 mark and were rated third in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. They advanced to the Eastern Conference title series having downed the Warriors in Moose Jaw 8-2 on Monday to claim Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series taking the set 4-2.

As for the series between the Blades and Rebels, it was expected to be a tight one. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Many thought the series would go to six or seven games, but no one could have predicted it going to a Game 7 in the way it did. The Rebels took the first three games of the series to lead the set 3-0, but the Blades rebounded with three straight win to tie the set at 3-3.

The Blades are trying to become just the third team in WHL history to come back and win a best-of-seven series 4-3 after losing the first three games of the set.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

Jayden Grubbe leads the Rebels with 15 points in the playoffs.

Gregg Drinnan, who is the dean when it comes to covering the WHL, added on his Taking Note blog that Game 7 of those two series both ended in overtime. In the 1996 Game 7 between the Chiefs and Winterhawks, forward Darren Sinclair scored 58 seconds in overtime to deliver the Chiefs to a 4-3 victory. In the 2013 Game 7 between the Rockets and Thunderbirds, forward Tyson Baillie scored at the 5:10 mark of overtime to give the Rockets a 3-2 victory.

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

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

Back in 1990, Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in that year’s WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes. Of course, the current edition of the Blades will try to one up their club from the 1990 post-season by getting a Game 7 win.

Going back to their first round seven game series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have won four straight contests in this WHL post-season where they have faced elimination.

Star centre Trevor Wong leads the Blades in post-season scoring with 19 points coming off five goals and 19 assists. He has points in his last five consecutive games posting two goals and seven assists over that stretch of time.

Egor Sidorov has 18 points in the playoffs.

Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov sits second in Blades post-season scoring with 18 points coming off nine goals and nine assists. Captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere leads the Blades in defencemen scoring in the playoffs with 13 points coming off two goals and 11 assists.

Captain Jayden Grubbe tops the Rebels in post-season scoring with 15 points coming off two goals and 13 assists. Star centre Kai Uchacz is second in Rebels scoring in the playoffs with 13 points coming off nine goals and four assists. Mats Lindgren leads all Rebels defencemen in post-season scoring with nine points coming off two goals and seven assists.

The starting goaltenders for each side might not be known until game time. In their three straight wins to tie the series, the Blades have used both Ethan Chadwick and Austin Elliott. Chadwick picked up the wins in Games 4 and 5, while Elliott was in net for the series tying victory in Game 6.

Kyle Kelsey has been the Rebels starter for the entire post-season until he was pulled during his club’s 6-3 loss in Game 5 on Friday at the SaskTel Centre. Chase Coward started Game 6 on Sunday for the Rebels, where they dropped 5-3 decision on home ice.

During the series, the Blades and Rebels have developed a legitimate rivalry. The players on the two teams have shown a real dislike for each other resulting in the series having a snarl to it.

The Blades will be without gritty right-winger Justin Lies for Game 7 as he will be sitting out the third game of a three-game WHL imposed suspension for a head shot he threw on Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind in the Blades 4-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday. Lind has been out with a head injury since that hit.

The Rebels faced league discipline on Monday for shenanigans that occurred in the final minute of the Blades 5-3 victory in Game 6 in Red Deer on Sunday. Rebels right-winger Jhett Larson was suspended for one game for receiving a fight instigator penalty in the final five minutes of that contest. The Rebels as a team were fined $500 due to one of their players receiving an instigator penalty inside the final five minutes of that Game 6 setback.

Kai Uchacz has nine goals and 13 points in the playoffs.

The Blades are attempting to reach the Eastern Conference Championships series for the first time since 1994. The Rebels are trying to get back to the Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time since 2016, when they hosted the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

Over the past three games, the Blades are 5-for-14 on the power play, and they’ve allowed the Rebels to score on 1-of-10 chances with the man advantage. The Blades have successfully killed off their last nine consecutive penalty killing situations.

As of Monday night, the Blades had sold over 8,000 tickets for the Game 7 clash with the Rebels. Those in attendance might ultimately see one of the Blades most memorable days in franchise history, but don’t expect the Rebels to go away quietly.

T-Birds, Blazers battle for Western Conference title, other notes

The Thunderbirds have had a stellar 2022-23 campaign.

The Seattle Thunderbirds and Kamloops Blazers were the class of the WHL’s Western Conference, and it came as no surprise that both clubs advanced to the Western Conference Championship series.

The Thunderbirds topped the Western Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-11-1-2 record. The U.S. Division champions were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. Seattle’s 54 wins and standings points total of 111 points are new regular season club records.

The Blazers, who are hosting this year’s Memorial Cup tournament, finished second overall in the Western Conference and third overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-13-4-3 mark. The B.C. Division champions were rated ninth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

Seattle swept away the Kelowna Rockets 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series and the Prince George Cougars 4-0 in a best-of-seven WHL Western Conference semifinal series. Kamloops swept the Vancouver Giants 4-0 in the first round and the Portland Winterhawks 4-0 in the other Western Conference semifinal series.

The two clubs open their best-of-seven Western Conference title series on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.

The Thunderbirds and Blazers met in last year’s Western Conference Championship series. That series went to a deciding Game 7, and it was claimed 3-2 by the Thunderbirds at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. The Blazers led the series 3-2, before the Thunderbirds closed the set out with two straight wins.

Seattle went on to fall in the WHL Championship Series in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings.

• For those who purchased a $99 playoff pass to guarantee their seat for all Saskatoon Blades home games for the WHL Playoffs, they are feeling really good about their purchase. When the Blades host the Red Deer Rebels in Game 7 of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the SaskTel Centre, it will be the Blades eighth home post-season game. If you attended all eight of those post-season home games on a playoff pass, you have spent about $12.50 getting into each contest.
• So far in the WHL Playoffs, the Seattle Thunderbirds have the top power play going 11-for-25 for a 44 per cent success rate. The Moose Jaw Warriors have the second best power play going 10-for 23 for a 43.5 per cent success rate. The Kamloops Blazers sit third going 16-of-39 on the power play for a 41 per cent success rate.
• Star centre Logan Stankoven and star defenceman Olen Zellweger have been on fire for the Kamloops Blazers recording 21 points each in their team’s eight post-season games. Stankoven has recorded his 21 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. Zellweger has his 21 points coming off seven goals and 14 assists.

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 win away from history, force Game 7 on Tuesday

Rivalry with Rebels cemented as real, series tied 3-3

The Blades erased a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7 with the Rebels.

No one could have ever imagined how fitting it would be when the Saskatoon Blades chose Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” as their victory song.

While they weren’t on home ice to hear it on Sunday, the Blades have the chance to potentially make the playing of that tune the most meaningful it has ever been.

On Sunday afternoon, the Blades were in Red Deer and were facing elimination from their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series for the third straight outing. Playing before 5,067 spectators at the Peavey Mart Centrium, Blades import right-winger Egor Sidorov made the first big play that set the tone for a post-season contest that seemingly had everything.

Just 34 seconds into Game 6 of the series, Sidorov stole the puck at the left side boards in the Red Deer zone from Rebels star 20-year-old right-winger Ben King. Sidorov wheeled behind the Red Deer goal with King in pursuit and scored on a one-handed wraparound to give the visitors a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game.

The Blades pushed their lead out to 2-0 by the end of the first and built a 4-1 advantage in the second before the Rebels closed to within 4-2 going into the second intermission. Red Deer further cut the Saskatoon lead to 4-3 in the third, but Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens sealed a 5-3 victory with an empty-net goal with 1:52 remaining in the third.

With the Game 6 victory, the Blades have won three straight in the series to tie the set up at 3-3. In the process, they force a series deciding Game 7 to be played on Tuesday at 7 p.m. back on their home stomping grounds in the SaskTel Centre.

Egor Sidorov scored 34 seconds into Game 6 on Sunday.

The Blades are trying to become just the third team in WHL history to come back and win a best-of-seven series 4-3 after losing the first three games of the set.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

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

Back in 1990, Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in that year’s WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes. Of course, the current edition of the Blades will try to one up their club from the 1990 post-season by getting a Game 7 win.

Actually, the Blades were actually 20 minutes away from being eliminated in their series with the Rebels as they trailed Red Deer 2-1 after two periods in Game 4 at the Peavey Mart Centrium before rallying for a 4-2 victory in that contest to start the three game winning streak.

Going back to their first round seven game series win over Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats, the Blades have won four straight contests in this WHL post-season where they have faced elimination.

Austin Elliott made 35 saves in goal for the Blades on Sunday.

Sunday’s Game 6 win in Red Deer did not come easy. Over the course of the series, the Blades and Rebels have developed a real rivalry where the players on the two teams have shown a real dislike for each other resulting in the series having a snarl to it.

After Sidorov opened the Game’s scoring, the Rebels came with a huge push back and held a 12-2 edge in shots on goal at one point in the opening frame. The Rebels had the Blades pinned in their own zone and the outstanding play of Saskatoon netminder Austin Elliott kept the host side off the scoreboard during that wave of momentum.

Just when it seemed the Rebels were rolling, the Blades broke through for their second tally of the contest. With 3:36 remaining in the first, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky got in close to the left side of the Red Deer goal and fired a shot off the left post.

The puck rebounded to the right side of the Red Deer net to Blades star centre Trevor Wong, who put a backhand shot into an open cage to give the Blades their 2-0 advantage. Wong’s goal came on the Blades third shot on goal of the contest.

The opening frame came to a close with the Blades holding a 2-0 lead and the Rebels holding a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.

Red Deer kept pushing at the start of the second and the hosts were finally rewarded for their efforts with a goal. At the 5:09 mark of the second, Rebels left-winger Jace Isley banged home a puck from the front of the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades lead to 2-1.

Jace Isley scored twice for the Rebels on Sunday.

A short time later, the Blades restored their two-goal edge scoring on the power play thanks to a Red Deer gaff. Rebels captain Jayden Grubbe had the puck in his own zone and tried to make a pass up the centre of the ice though the Red Deer blue-line.

Wong picked off the pass just inside the Red Deer zone to create a three on the goalie break for the Blades. The skilled centre and Lisowsky got the puck over to Sidorov on the right side of the Red Deer net on a tick-tack-toe passing play, and high-scoring winger popped home his second of the contest to give the Blades a 3-1 lead.

Rebels netminder Chase Coward, who was making his first start in the post-season, had absolutely no chance to make a stop on the play.

With 2:23 remaining in the second, the Blades would score off another Rebels turnover. Rebels defenceman Mats Lindgren had the puck in the deep left corner of his own zone and tried to clear it high to centre ice.

Blades utility player Spencer Shugrue knocked down the clearing attempt and took the puck over to the right side of the Rebels net. He passed the puck across the front of the net to Blades star left-winger Jake Chiasson, who buried his fourth of the post-season to give the Blades a 4-1 advantage.

Before the second ended, the Rebels got some traction. Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz drove into the Saskatoon zone on a rush, made a toe drag move and fired home a laser shot from mid range from the front of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades lead to 4-2.

Kai Uchacz had a goal for the Rebels on Sunday.

With 7:47 remaining in the third, the determination of Isley paid off again for the Rebels. Isley got a loose puck low in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone and snapped home a shot from the lower part of the right faceoff circle for his second tally of the contest to cut the Blades lead to 4-3.

Red Deer’s rally would be cut short by another turnover. Shortly after pulling Coward for an extra attacker, Grubbe was rushing through the centre ice zone with the puck and he gave it away to Wiens on an attempted short pass.

Wiens popped home an empty-net goal just before the Red Deer blue-line with 1:52 remaining in the third to round out the 5-3 victory.

Any thought of a comeback was further erased when King was given a goaltender interference minor with 74 seconds remaining in the third to put the Blades on the power play.

Frustrations and the personal rivalries boiled over as there were two scrums in the final minute of the third and a third stoppage for an undisciplined Rebels penalty.

The first scrum with 47.7 seconds remaining in the third was the main event of the extra-curricular activities of the final minute of the frame. Out of that scrum, a fight broke out between Isley and Blades right-winger Lukas Hansen. Both players were giving cross-checking minors and fighting majors.

Jayden Grubbe had a tough outing for the Rebels on Sunday.

Out of that scrum, Rebels left-winger Rhett Larson was locked up with Blades centre Jordan Keller. Larson was given a minor for instigating, a fighting major, a game second fight misconduct and a game misconduct.

Keller stayed in the game and took a slashing minor as part of the second scrum with 23.8 seconds remaining in the third.

Ultimately, it took about 12 minutes of real time to complete the final minute of the third. The WHL office will likely look at the shenanigans of the final minute for further possible discipline.

Elliott stopped 35 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Coward turned away 18-of-22 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

The WHL discipline department had been busy with activities from the previous two games in this series.

On Sunday, the Blades were without gritty right-winger Justin Lies, who was sitting out the second of a three-game WHL imposed suspension for a head hit he threw on Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind in the Blades 4-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday. Lind has been out with a head injury since that hit.

The Rebels were without import right-winger Frantisek Formanek due to a one-game suspension under supplemental discipline by the WHL. In Game 5, Formanek was giving a boarding minor penalty at the 7:21 mark of the first period in the Blades 6-3 victory in that contest.

Trevor Wong had a goal and an assist for the Blades on Sunday.

Formanek hit Blades 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson from behind, and Gustafson was able to prevent himself from making a hard crash into the boards. The Blades sent in video to the WHL office asking for supplemental discipline as this was a dangerous play.

Gustafson missed Game 6 with an upper body injury. Blades right-winger Misha Volotovsky was also out with an upper body injury and hasn’t played since Game 1 of this series.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. 

The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

When the two sides meet in Game 7 on Tuesday in Saskatoon, the Blades will be trying to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time since 1994, and the Rebels are looking to get back to the Eastern Conference title set for the first time since 2016.

Jayden Wiens and the Blades host Game 7 on Tuesday.

The Blades will do everything they can to allow their home ice music man to play “I’m Still Standing” at game’s end, while the Rebels will try to negate that tradition playing the role of spoiler.

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 power play and penalty kill heat up

Rebels need to reset and get back on task

The Blades celebrate a power-play goal from Egor Sidorov (#19).

The Saskatoon Blades power play and penalty kill is catching fire, and it could aid them in their quest to try and achieve the greatest playoff series comeback in team history.

The Red Deer Rebels are looking to reset and get back on task playing with a sound structure that has them to within one win of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championships Series.

The two clubs go at it on Sunday at 2 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer for Game 6 of their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Rebels hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set.

Red Deer opened by winning the first three games against the Blades to get one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Championship Series. Saskatoon won the last two contests to get two wins away from being just the third team in WHL history to come back and win a best-of-seven series 4-3 after losing the first three games of the set.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

The Blades have been able to change the complexion of the series thanks to the play of their power play and penalty killing units over the past two games. Saskatoon has scored on 4-of-8 power play chances and allowed the Rebels to score on 1-of-6 chances on the man advantage. The Blades have successfully killed off the Rebels last five consecutive power-play opportunities.

The Rebels celebrate a goal from Kai Uchacz (#19).

In Game 4 on Wednesday in Red Deer, the Blades only allowed one power-play goal coming off the stick of Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz at the 6:27 mark of the first period. Red Deer was working on at five-minute power play after Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies was given a major penalty and a game misconduct for delivering a head shot to Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January.

While Uchacz was able to score, the Blades were still pretty strong on that kill.

The Rebels were able to exit the first period with a 2-0 advantage after Uchacz scored at even strength. Red Deer had a huge opportunity to put Saskatoon away when Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky was given a double minor for high-sticking at the 6:14 mark of the second.

The Blades gained some traction successfully killing off that double minor. A short time after that kill, the Blades got more traction going on the power play themselves, and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who is a star offensive-defenceman, scored his first goal off the post-season on the man advantage to cut the Rebels lead to 2-1.

That set the stage for the Blades to roll off three straight goals in a span of four minutes and three second in the third to pull out a 4-2 victory.

Egor Sidorov is finding success on the power play for the Blades.

In Game 5 of the series on Friday in Saskatoon, the Blades took advantage of the Rebels taking some undisciplined penalties going 3-for-6 on the power play and killing off all three Red Deer power-play chances to pull out a 6-3 victory. Star import right-winger Egor Sidorov scored twice on the power play and De La Gorgendiere scored the winner on a chance with the man advantage.

During the regular season, the Blades power play and penalty killing units were among the best in the WHL. The Blades had the fourth best power play in the league converting on 73-of-265 chances for a 27.5 per cent success rate, and they had the third best penalty killing unit on the circuit killing off 202-of-245 opposition power-play opportunities for an 82.4 per cent success rate.

If the Blades special teams units stay hot, it will greatly help their chances of winning Game 6 and forcing a series deciding Game 7, which is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre if needed.

The Rebels, on the other hand, need to get back to what they were doing well when they took a 3-0 lead in the series. During those first three games, the Rebels were sound in their structural play along with being poised, businesslike and hard working.

Kai Uchacz is piling up goals for the Rebels.

Red Deer clogged up the centre ice zone taking away the Blades tendency to go for stretch passes. In the defensive zone, the Rebels played with poise and had good spacing. The Blades players were often kept to the outside and seemed to second guess what they wanted to do when it came time to pass the puck.

In the offensive zone, the Rebels set up a strong forecheck that kept the Blades pinned for numerous stretches in their own zone. When the Rebels had the puck in the offensive zone, they moved it around with confidence and shot it with purpose once it was in a prime scoring area.

Red Deer was sound with systems play taking a 2-0 lead in the first period in Game 4. While the Blades had some push back in second period to cut the Rebels lead to 2-1, the Red Deer side was just 20 minutes from closing out the series going into the second intermission.

The Rebels seemed to unravel after the Blades surged ahead to take the contest 4-2 in the third and visibly showed frustration at times after going down by two goals. In Game 5, the Rebels were too occupied with trying to be physical, and that resulted in undisciplined penalties that allowed the Blades to take the game.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere has two post-season power-play goals.

It seemed like the Rebels got off track after Lind went down to injury. Lind is very popular amongst his teammates and is a fan favourite of the community of Red Deer.

The Rebels appeared to want to show their romantic “all heart” characteristic to try and pull out a win for their fallen teammate. Emotion can be a thing that speeds a team up and allows club to achieve new levels of greatness.

Emotion can also be a thing that causes a team to try too hard and lose composure. At that point, emotion can be a determent to a team, and that seems to be the case the Rebels find themselves in.

The Rebels also have to be concerned about their situation in goal too. 

In their first nine games in the WHL Playoffs, Kyle Kelsey posted stellar numbers with a 7-2 record, a 1.93 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout.

In the third period of Game 4, he allowed three goals on seven shots as the Blades surged to victory. Kelsey started Game 5 and was pulled with 1:57 remaining in the opening frame after allowing three goals on seven shots. Chase Coward played the rest of the way in relief and ultimate took the loss in net.

Ben King is one of the Rebels top offensive players.

The Blades were without Lies for Game 5, because he was suspended by the WHL for his head shot on Lind. On Saturday, the WHL finalized Lies’ suspension at three games. If the Blades are able to make the Eastern Conference Championship Series, Lies would be eligible to return for Game 1 of that set.

The Lies suspension marked only the second time in the 2022-23 campaign in the regular season and playoffs that the Blades have had a player get suspended.

Also on Saturday, the Rebels learned that they will be without import right-winger Frantisek Formanek due to a one-game suspension under supplemental discipline. In Game 5, Formanek was giving a boarding minor penalty at the 7:21 mark of the first period.

Formanek hit Blades 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson from behind, and Gustafson was able to prevent himself from making a hard crash into the boards. The Blades sent in video to the WHL office asking for supplemental discipline as this was a dangerous play.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

The Blades and Rebels engage in activity after the whistle.

Taking an unconventional route, it has become a tight series. The next chapter and potentially closing chapter of this drama will play out on Sunday.

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 living shades of 1990 against Rebels

Saskatoon trims Red Deer’s series lead to 3-2

The Blades celebrate Tanner Molendyk’s first goal on Friday.

The Saskatoon Blades are reliving the spirit of 1990.

When the dust ultimately settles in their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Red Deer Rebels, “The Bridge City Bunch” hopes to do one win better in the best-of-seven set.

On Friday night before an appreciative crowd of 5,908 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades downed the Rebels 6-3 holding a 31-17 edge in shots on goal in a spirited effort to take Game 5 of the series. Saskatoon’s victory cut the Rebels lead in the set to 3-2 with a second straight victory. Friday’s contest was by far the most physical out of the five games the two sides played to date.

Saskatoon’s win forces a Game 6 of the series set for Sunday back at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer for a 2 p.m. local start time. If the Blades win that contest in Red Deer, they will force a series deciding Game 7 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Aidan De La Gorgendiere had the winning goal for the Blades.

The Blades are one win away from erasing a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series for the second time in team history.

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

This year, the Blades are trying to become the third team in the history of the WHL to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to win it 4-3.

Egor Sidorov scored twice on the power play for the Blades.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

In Friday’s clash between Red Deer and Saskatoon, the Rebels visibly came out with a game plan to be more physical. The Blades matched the physicality of their Alberta foes. This contest had much more of a feisty edge to it compared to the first four games of the series.

The Rebels got a little too undisciplined with their physical effort and the Blades special teams were back playing to their stellar regular season form took advantage. Saskatoon converted 3-of-6 power-play chances and killed off all three power-play opportunities the Rebels had.

Kai Uchacz had a pair of goals for the Rebels on Friday.

During the regular season, the Blades had the fourth best power play in the WHL converting on 73-of-265 chances for a 27.5 per cent success rate, and they had the third best penalty killing unit on the circuit killing off 202-of-245 opposition power-play opportunities for an 82.4 per cent success rate.

The Blades scored the winning goal on a power play that came on an undisciplined Rebels penalty. Late in the second period with the teams locked in a 3-3 tie, Rebels defenceman Nicholas Andrusiak hit Blades star winger Jake Chiasson from behind on open ice by the boards at the Saskatoon blue-line.

Andrusiak was given a minor penalty for interference with 2:23 remaining in the second period. On the ensuing power play, Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere scored with 24.8 seconds remaining in the second to give the host side a 4-3 lead. De La Gorgendiere was trying to make a pass from the right side of the Red Deer goal to a teammate on the other side of the net.

Ollie Josephson had the Rebels third goal on Friday.

The puck hit a stick and deflected back to De La Gorgendiere, who quickly buried a shot for his second goal of the post-season and second tally in his second straight contest.

In the third, Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens knocked home the rebound of his own backhand shot to give his squad a 5-3 advantage at the 5:41 mark of the frame.

With 7:26 remaining in the third, the Blades were working the puck down low in the Red Deer zone. Blades right-winger Vaughn Watterodt flipped a high pass across the face of the Red Deer net that offensive-defenceman Tanner Molendyk knocked home in mid air for his second goal of the contest to round out the 6-3 final.

Tanner Molendyk had a pair of goals for the Blades on Friday.

The play went to a video review to see of Molendyk knocked the puck home with a high stick, but the officials confirmed the goal was good.

While Molendyk closed the game’s scoring, he also opened the scoring in the contest at the 5:39 mark of the first period. On a rush into the offensive zone, Molendyk wheeled to the left faceoff dot and ripped home a shot to the top right corner of the Red Deer net to give the Blades a 1-0 edge.

The opening 20 minutes of Friday’s contest was straight out of the 1980s with lots of goals and banging in the physicality department.

Friday’s contest featured a few scrums between the Blades and Rebels.

Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz evened the score at 1-1 at the 11:08 mark of the first slipping a shot between the legs of Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick.

Just 61 seconds later, Blades star import right-winger Egor Sidorov slid a shot through screen from the right wing boards for the Blades first power-play goal to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage.

Just under five minutes later, Uchacz banged home a rebound at the right side of the Saskatoon net for his second tally of the contest to even the score at 2-2.

With 1:57 remaining in the first, Sidorov scored his second power-play goal to give the Blades a 3-2 lead. Sidorov faked a Rebels defenceman down the ground and wired home a shot to give the hosts their one-goal edge.

The SaskTel Centre faithful cheer on the Blades.

Following Sidorov’s second marker, the Rebels pulled starting netminder Kyle Kelsey. Kelsey stopped 4-of-7 shots sent his way.

Heading into Friday’s game, Kelsey was the only goalie the Rebels used in their previous nine contests in this year’s WHL Playoffs. In those nine games, Kelsey had posted a 7-2 record, a 1.93 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and one shutout.

Veteran Chase Coward, who turned 20-years-old in January, played the remainder of Friday’s game in relief in goal for the Rebels. He turned away 21-of-24 shots fired his way and was the netminder of record who took the loss in goal for the Rebels.

Just 88 seconds into the second, Rebels centre Ollie Josephson tapped home a loose puck in the crease of the Saskatoon goal to once again even the score at 3-3.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Jayden Wiens (#9).

That set the stage for De La Gorgendiere to score his winner and the Blades to seal the win in the third. De La Gorgendiere had a pair of assists to go with his goal.

Sidorov had an assist to go with his goal. Blades star centre Trevor Wong had three assists in the victory.

Chadwick stopped 14 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades.

Friday’s game ended with a big scrum occurring in the right corner of the Saskatoon zone as time expired. The officials dished out two minor penalties from that scrum including an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction to Rebels right-winger Craig Armstrong and a cross-checking infraction to Blades right-winger Lukas Hansen.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. 

The Blades celebrate their win on Friday.

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

The series has played out to be a tight one but not in a way that was expected with the Rebels winning the first three games and the Blades now claiming the last two contests. In the process, the players on the two teams have developed a dislike for each other creating a little snarl in the series.

Now all attention turns to Game 6 on Sunday in Red Deer. Will the Blades take another step in their pursuit of history or will the Rebels finally slam the door on the series for good?

This series has become a must-watch spectacle.

WHL suspends Blades’ Lies for hit on Lind

Justin Lies in action for the Blades on Wednesday.

The WHL’s department of discipline has Saskatoon Blades hard-working and rugged right-winger Justin Lies watching games from the stands for the foreseeable future.

On Friday, the WHL announced Lies has been suspended for the head check major and game misconduct he received for his hit on Red Deer Rebels star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January. The length of the suspension is still to be determined.

Lies’ head check major and game misconduct penalties were assessed at the 3:24 mark of the first period in Game 4 of the WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series between the two clubs on Wednesday. The game was scoreless at the time. The Rebels led 2-0 after the first, 2-1 after the second and fell by a 4-2 final at game’s end.

Lind was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital on Wednesday and released later that same night. He did not make the trip to Saskatoon, but the Rebels posted a message on Twitter from Lind on Thursday wishing his teammates well from his billet home.

The Blades acquired Lies in a trade with the Vancouver Giants before the current season began back on August 31, 2022. With the Blades, Lies has been the model teammate and a gritty hard working player that plays tough but within the rules.

In 56 regular season games with the Blades, Lies posted career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and the plus-minus department (plus-six). Lies had appeared in the Blades first 11 games of their current post-season run posting one goal, one assist and a minus-one rating.

In his previous three seasons with the Giants, Lies was suspended twice for a total of six games, and that could play a part in the WHL’s final decision on his suspension length.

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 chase history, Rebels aim to close out series and advance

The Blades celebrate a goal in Game 4 against the Rebels.

The Saskatoon Blades are trying to do something that has only been done twice in the WHL.

The Red Deer Rebels are trying to close out a series to return to the WHL’s final four for the first time since they hosted the CHL championship tournament - the Memorial Cup - in 2016.

On Friday, the two squads resume their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series when they hit the ice for Game 5 at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. The Rebels lead the series 3-1, and the Blades will be trying to stave off elimination on home ice.

The Rebels won the first three games of the series, and the Blades claimed a 4-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday in Red Deer. With that win, the Blades took a step in trying to become just the third team in the history of the WHL to come back and win a best-of-seven series after being down 3-0.

Dating back to the WHL’s start in 1966-67, only two teams have rallied back to win a best-of-seven series having trailed the set 3-0. The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3.

In 1990, the Blades almost made history on that front. Saskatoon trailed the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-0 in a second round series in the 1990 WHL Playoffs before rallying back to tie the set at 3-3. In a series deciding Game 7 in Lethbridge, the Blades fell 4-3 in overtime with defenceman Neil Hawryluk netting the winning goal for the Hurricanes.

The Rebels will be looking to make good on a second chance to eliminate the Blades on Friday. In Wednesday’s Game 4 encounter in Red Deer, the Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the first period and held a 2-1 edge after 40 minutes. The Blades scored three straight goals in the third to pull out the 4-2 victory.

The Rebels celebrate a goal in Game 4 on Wednesday.

The Rebels will be without star left-winger Kalan Lind, who turned 18-years-old in January, for Friday’s contest. At the 3:24 mark of the first period of Game 4, Lind went down after being on the receiving end of a head shot from Blades gritty right-winger Justin Lies.

Lind was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital on Wednesday and released later that same night. He did not make the trip to Saskatoon, but the Rebels posted a message on Twitter from Lind wishing his teammates well from his billet home.

Lies received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct for his hit on Lind. His hit will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension. As of late Thursday night, the WHL hadn’t posted if there will be a suspension for Lies.

The Blades acquired Lies in a trade with the Vancouver Giants before the current season began back on August 31, 2022. With the Blades, Lies has been the model teammate and a gritty hard working player that plays tough but within the rules.

In 56 regular season games with the Blades, Lies posted career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and the plus-minus department (plus-six). In his previous three seasons with the Giants, Lies was suspended twice for a total of six games, and that could play a part in the WHL’s disciplinary ruling for his hit on Lind.

Also in Game 4, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky received a double minor for high-sticking after a clip high stick on Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz. The nature of Lisowsky’s infraction will also be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension, but it would be surprising in this instance if there was a suspension.

Trevor Wong leads the Blades with 15 points in the playoffs.

Star centre Trevor Wong tops the Blades in post-season scoring with 15 points coming off four goals and 11 assists, which includes one goal and four assists against the Rebels. Wong led the Blades in regular season scoring with 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists.

Egor Sidorov, who is the Blades star import right-winger, sits second in team scoring in the post-season with 12 points coming off five goals and seven assists. Captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere leads all Blades defenceman in scoring with 10 points coming off one goal and nine assists.

Captain Jayden Grubbe tops the Rebels in post-season scoring with 15 points coming off two goals and 13 assists. Left-winger Ben King sits second in Rebels team scoring in the playoffs with 11 points coming off four goals and seven assists.

Uchacz had been held pointless in the first three games of the series against the Blades before scoring both Rebels goals in their Game 4 loss. He has nine points in the playoffs coming off six goals and three assists.

During the regular season, Uchacz topped the Rebels in scoring with 85 points coming off 50 goals and 35 assists.

Originally, it was expected that this would be a tight series going in between the Blades and Rebels. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Jayden Grubbe leads the Rebels with 15 points in the playoffs.

While Red Deer won the first three games of the set, every one of the first four contests has been tight. Now, we will see if the Blades can create more twists and turns in the series or the Rebels bring things to a conclusion to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship series.

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 become bad guys in Red Deer to stay alive

Rebels’ Lind released from hospital after taking cheap head hit

Brandon Lisowsky celebrates his winning goal for the Blades.

RED DEER, Alta. - The Saskatoon Blades had to dawn the black cowboy hats in the eyes of the Red Deer Rebels fans in order to stay alive in the WHL Playoffs.

On Wednesday, the Blades went into Game 4 facing elimination in their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series against the host Red Deer Rebels. The visitors fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 4-2 victory.

With the win, the Blades cut the Rebels lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-1. They will get to host a Game 5 on Friday at 7 p.m. back at the SaskTel Centre.

Normally, this would be a contest that would be remembered for a heroic comeback script. Instead the contest will be remembered for an early incident that cast a pall over the night’s proceedings for the 4,702 spectators in attendance at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

Justin Lies is public enemy #1 in Red Deer.

With the game still scoreless at the 3:24 mark of the opening frame, Rebels left-winger Kalan Lind, who is pegged as big prospect for the coming NHL Entry Draft, was skating through centre ice and knocked a puck that came off the glass down to his stick.

As Lind started to continue up ice, he was felled by a vicious blindside elbow to the head from Blades 19-year-old right-winger Justin Lies. The impact of the hit set Lind’s helmet flying though the air. Immediately, Rebels star centre Kai Uchacz came out to challenge Lies, but the officials jumped in quickly to ensure nothing else escalated.

Lind was laid out on the ice for seven minutes being attended to by the medical staffs of both clubs. He was stretchered off to an ambulance and taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital. At night’s end after Wednesday’s game was complete, the Rebels announced that Lind had been released from hospital.

Rebels C Kai Uchacz (#19) challenges Blades RW Justin Lies.

Lies received a major penalty for checking to the head and a game misconduct. His hit will be automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

At first, it appeared the Rebels were going to rally around their fallen teammate. Uchacz, who hadn’t record any points for the first three games of the series, looked like he was going to play the role of hero for the host side.

On the ensuring five-minute power play after Lind went down, Uchacz, who was the Rebels leading scorer in the regular season, gave the Rebels a 1-0 lead scoring with the man advantage at the 6:27 mark of the frame. The De Winton, Alta., product popped home a loose puck during a net scramble around the Saskatoon goal.

Kai Uchacz scored twice in the first to put the Rebels up 2-0.

At the 13:05 mark of the opening frame, Uchacz got his second of the night to put the Rebels up 2-0. Uchacz won a race for a loose puck in the left faceoff circle in the Saskatoon zone and snapped a shot past Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick to give the hosts a two-goal edge.

When the first period came to a close, the Rebels looked like they were going to live up to their romantic image of honour that has been a part of the team since Brent Sutter bought the franchise before the start of the 1999-2000 campaign. The romantic image sees the Rebels as gritty, skilled hardworking, well mannered and well dressed team that never quits, and if one of their players goes down to a cheap hit, they never lose that game.

In the second, it appeared they were going to have ample opportunity to bury the Blades.

Kai Uchacz celebrates his second goal for the Rebels.

At the 6:14 mark of the frame, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky clipped Uchacz with a high stick that drew blood. Lisowsky received a double minor for high-sticking which will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Despite having the four minute power play, the Rebels weren’t able to add to their lead. After that kill, it seemed the momentum of the contest was starting to turn.

At the 12:09 of the second, the Blades got further traction when captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere fired home a power-play goal from the point through a screen to cut the Red Deer lead to 2-1. While the Rebels had a 15-9 edge in shots on goal in the second, it felt like the Blades had the better period.

Jace Isley brings the puck up ice for the Rebels.

The Blades proceeded to stun the Rebels faithful scoring on their first two shots of the third to take a 3-2 lead. At the 4:12 mark of the third, Blades hard-working centre Jayden Wiens fired a shot through a screen from the point on his squad’s first shot of the frame to even the score at 2-2.

Just 43 seconds later, the Blades were able to get the jump on the Rebels by finally getting a stretch pass to work. From deep in his own zone, Blades 18-year-old defenceman Ben Saunderson sprung Lisowsky on a breakaway connecting with him on a stretch pass at the Red Deer blue-line.

Lisowsky snapped a shot to the top left corner of the Red Deer goal to give the Blades a 3-2 lead.

Ethan Chadwick made 34 saves to allow the Blades to rally.

The Blades surge wasn’t done there. At the 8:15 mark of the third, offensive defenceman Tanner Molendyk took a pass from De La Gorgendiere, skated into the left shot and snapped a shot passed Rebels netminder Kyle Kelsey to give the visitors a 4-2 advantage.

At that point, Chadwick slammed the door on the Rebels. With 5:16 remaining in the third, Chadwick made a key stop on a close in backhand shot on Rebels 19-year-old left-winger Jace Isley.

That was the Rebels second shot on goal in the frame. They would pepper the Saskatoon net with 10 more shots before the third came to an end, which included the Rebels having pulled Kelsey for an extra attacker for most of the final 2:39 of the stanza.

The Blades celebrate an Aidan De La Gorgendiere traction goal.

Despite the shot volume, the Rebels weren’t able to beat Chadwick. One of his best saves was a glove stop on Rebels right-winger Jhett Larson.

Chadwich ultimately made 34 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades in his first start of the series. Kelsey turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

It was expected that this would be a tight series going in. The Blades finished fourth in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 48-15-4-1 record and were rated 10^th in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Rebels finished fifth in the overall WHL standings and topped the Central Division with a 43-19-3-3 mark.

Jayden Wiens (#9) scored the equalizer for the Blades.

Frustration did show from the Rebels at times with some scrum action once the Blades had taken a two-goal lead. At one point before the Rebels pulled Kelsey, it looked like Red Deer captain Jayden Grubbe was going to nail Wiens with a hard hit, but it seemed the Rebels skilled centre thought better of it creating a near miss situation at the last moment.

When the contest ended, the Rebels fans excited the Peavey Mart Centrium with the sober tonne of seeing the bad guy wrestler win a title belt in a WWE live event.

Still both teams showed great composure for the rest of the game. Had something like the Lies hit on Lind happened 20 years ago in WHL, the contest would have likely been a fight filled one the rest of the way. Instead, both teams moved on and got focused on the task at hand.

Tanner Molendyk scored a key insurance goal for the Blades.

The Blades acquired Lies in a trade with the Vancouver Giants before the current season began back on August 31, 2022. With the Blades, Lies has been the model teammate and a gritty hard working player that plays tough but within the rules.

In 56 regular season games with the Blades, Lies posted career highs in goals (nine), assists (14), points (23) and the plus-minus department (plus-six). In his previous three seasons with the Giants, Lies was suspended twice for a total of six games, and that could play a part in the WHL’s disciplinary ruling for his hit on Lind.

There could potentially ill will between the two clubs as the series carries on. Still, both teams moved on to focusing on the game at hand on Wednesday when play resumed after Lind’s hit.

Blades D Blake Gustafson (#3) skates the puck out of trouble.

In the current era of the game of hockey, usually nothing lingers on and things blow over pretty quick. Plus, the likelihood is high one of the WHL top executives will be on hand in Saskatoon for Game 5 on Friday to make sure everything goes smoothly. That often means WHL vice-president of hockey Richard Doerksen will be on hand to make sure everyone plays nice.

Coming under the ownership of the Priestner family before the start of the 2013-14 campaign, the Blades have pretty much always carried the image of being the good guys like Bret “the Hitman” Hart.

The Blades celebrate their win on Wednesday night.

In a weird twist, they were the bad guys like Roman Reigns for a one-night aberration, and it resulted in them getting a win to keep their season alive.

When the dust settled, it felt like everything that happened on Wednesday night was hollow until news came out that Lind was released from hospital. That was the true victory on the night.

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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