Well most of the province, including myself, were totally focused on a certain football game, there actually were a couple of SJHL games on Sunday night. MEMO to SJHL teams when doing your scheduling - don't book Sunday night games during the CFL playoffs.
Anyways to the action: In Nipawin, the Hawks scored three unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 4-1 victory over the Yorkton Terriers. Brent Ottmann and Torrie Dyck each had a goal and an assist to pace the Hawks. Steve Mason and Cody Wutzke also scored for the Hawks. Mike Rey added two assists for Nipawin. Rylan McDonell had the lone goal for the Terriers assisted by Greg Coburn and Evan Neibrandt. Derek Kleinsteuber had a great night as he made 36 saves in the Nipawin goal. Lynden Sammartino stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced. The Hawks improve to 9-11-0-1 while Yorkton is now 12-9-2-2.
In Humboldt, a tough week continued for the La Ronge Ice Wolves as they were dumped by the Broncos 10-2. Laurent Benjamin (2 goals, 2 assists) and Jordan Schindel (1 goal, three assists) led the way for Humboldt. Steven Schroeder and Mitchell Stretch each added a goal and three assists. Josh Garneau added two goals while Justin Stoski, Matthew Kirzinger and Bryce Walker also scored for Humboldt. Brayden Klimosko chipped in with three assists while Brady Wacker had two assists. Jarrid Dowhay and Everette Lerner scored for the Wolves. Taylor Nelson made 27 saves to pick up the win. Jonathan Jobin played the first 33:15 for the Ice Wolves but was pulled after giving up 5 goals on 27 shots. Brian Kaval went the rest of the way allowing 5 goals on 23 shots. The league leading Broncos are now 18-3-0-0 while the slumping Ice Wolves fall to 11-12-1-1.
Tonight's Three Stars:
* Laurent Benjamin - Humboldt Broncos (2 goals, 2 assists)
** Jordan Schindel - Humboldt Broncos (1 goal, 3 assists)
*** Derek Kleinsteuber - Nipawin Hawks (36 saves, 1 goal allowed in win over Yorkton)
The SJHL is idle on Monday night but will return tomorrow with three games: Notre Dame @ Estevan, Flin Flon @ Battlefords and Humboldt @ Nipawin.
- Brad M.
It was a first place showdown tonight at the "Vault" in Melville and it turned out that everyone got there money's worth as the Mils downed the Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. Kale Dolinski scored the overtime winner on a mixup in the Weyburn end just a 1:13 into the extra frame. Matt Kinnunen had a goal and an assist for the Millionaires while Curtis Beech and Brad Johnston added singles. Jordan Reeve also had an assist for Melville. Luke Johnson, Josh Bray and Scott Doody (who forced overtime with 3:25 to go in the third) replied for the Wings. Rhett Bly, Stephen Simms and Connor Krukowski all added assists. The Wings were playing without the services of captain Kyle Haines as he was a bit banged up and his status was not immediately known. Kyle Cantlon turned aside 34 Weyburn shots to pick up the win. AJ Whiffen was also busy at the other end as he made 36 saves. The Millionaires are now one point up on the Wings for first in the Sherwood. The Mils improve to 15-5-1-0 while the Wings are now 13-8-2-2.
In Estevan, the Kindersley Klippers scored with a 1:35 to go in regulation and skated out of Estevan with a 4-3 victory. Jayde Dunser and Ben Ritchie each had a goal and an assist to pace the Klippers. Brett Leedahl and Kendall Holmes also scored for Kindersley. Jeremy Beller added two assists. Brody Haygarth, Riley Tetreault and Kyle Stroh replied for the Bruins. Matt Weninger got a rare start for the Klippers and did not disappoint as he made 38 saves for the win. David Ritz got his second start in consecutive games since joining the Bruins and was forced to make 41 saves. This is twice as many shots as he was facing when with Melfort. The Klippers are tied with the Terriers for third in the Sherwood as they improve to 13-9-0-2. The Bruins drop to 11-10-2-0.
In Melfort, the Mustangs keep finding a way to win as they downed the Yorkton Terriers 3-2 in overtime. Kyle Fraser was the hero for Melfort as he scored an unassisted marker 3:23 into the extra frame. Donavon Chow and John Payne also scored for Melfort. Jock Sutter had a goal and an assist to lead the Terriers. Kyle Block had the other Yorkton goal. Ilia Ejov improved to 9-0-0-1 since joining the Mustangs as he made 16 saves. Lynden Sammartino made 37 saves in the Terriers net. The Mustangs have moved to within three points of first place Humboldt as they improve to 15-7-0-1. The Terriers pick up a single point and are now 12-8-2-2.
In the battle of the North, the Flin Flin Bombers won for the first time in La Ronge in a long time as they downed the host Ice Wolves 4-3. Pierre-Luc Boucher had three assists to lead the Bombers offensively. Dominic Martel, Dennis Kubat, Reid MacLeod and Cole Wilson scored for the Bombers. Myles Masse added two assists. Tyler Karst, Adam Moar and Bruno-Pier Gosselin scored for La Ronge. Jarrid Dowhay added two assists for the Wolves. Calvin Bartel made 26 saves to pick up the win. Jonathan Jobin got the start for the Ice Wolves and stopped 37 of 41 Flin Flon shots. The Bombers are now 13-8-0-1 while the Ice Wolves drop back to .500 with a record of 11-11-1-1.
Saturday's Three Stars:
* Pierre - Luc Boucher - Flin Flin Bombers (3 points to lead Bombers to win over La Ronge)
** Ben Ritchie - Kindersley Klippers (2 point night, scored game winner late in third)
*** Kyle Cantlon - Melville Millionaires (34 save performance in win over Weyburn)
Sunday in the SJHL:
La Ronge @ Humboldt
Yorkton @ Nipawin
All in all I must say it was a good week for the Wings. The guys played hard all week and were able to pick up five out of six points. It looks like things are going in the right direction. The Wings will now get a bit of a break before getting ready for a weekend home and home versus Estevan on Friday and Saturday. It should be an important couple of games with the Sherwood standings so tight right now.
As I sign off. Go RIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Brad M.
It was a big divisional match up in the Sherwood tonight as the Weyburn Red Wings welcomed the Kindersley Klippers to town. The Klippers got things started in the first period as they scored at the 11:19 mark with Jonathan Redlick receiving a beautiful pass from Brett Leedahl and burying the puck past a sprawling AJ Whiffen. Ryan Sawka also assisted on the goal. The score would remain 1-0 until late in the second period when Josh Bray shot a howitzer from the point on the power play that I don't think Klippers goaltender Ryan Nieszner even saw. Stephen Simms and Torrey Lindsay assisted on the goal. Bray's night was not done there as he scored a power play goal again at the 10:07 mark of the second period from Simms. Bray then scored the natural hat trick goal with a 1:36 to go in regulation. He and Brayden Nargang broke out on a 2 and 1. Nargang took the original shot and Bray was on the spot for the rebound as the hats hit the ice. Michael Seib added an empty netter with 30 seconds to go as he snuck in behind the Klippers defense and took the long feed from defenseman Connor Krukowski. Nick Needham also assisted on the empty netter. With just five seconds to go, Redlick managed to score his second of the game from Scott Linnell and Sawka. Matt Sawa of the Klippers took an uncharacteristic 5 minor penalties in the game as he was responsible for more than half of the Klippers shorthanded situations. AJ Whiffen continued his unbelievable play in the Red Wing goal as he made 30 saves on the night. Klippers goaltender Ryan Nieszner also played very well and had an identical 30 saves. The Wings grab a share of first place in the Sherwood for the time being but Melville does have four games in hand. The Wings and Mils will duke it out tomorrow night at the old barn in Melville. The Wings are now 13-8-1-2 while the Klippers drop to 12-9-0-2.
In Flin Flon, the Yorkton Terriers were looking to keep pace with the Wings and Millionaires and create a logjam for first, but were defeated by the hometown Bombers 4-1. Tommy Castonguay and Dennis Kubat each had a goal and an assist to lead Flin Flon. Cole Wilson and Barrett Penner also scored for the Bombers. Korey Gursky, Robert Beaudry, David Linsley, Reid MacLeod, Pierre-Luc Boucher and Michael Young all added assists for the Bombers. Kevin Stringfellow got the lone Terriers goal with assists going to Carter Smith and Scott Jackson. Carsen Chubak made the start for the Bombers and turned aside 25 of 26 shots. Joel Danyluk gave Lynden Sammartino a rare night off and he was busy as he turned aside 40 shots and was named the game's third star in Flin Flon. The Bombers move ahead of La Ronge for third in the Itech as they are now 12-8-0-1. The Terriers fall to 12-8-1-2.
Meanwhile no one can seem to knock off the Melfort Mustangs of late as they posted a 5-3 win over the Nipawin Hawks tonight on home ice. Kyle Fraser was named the game's first star as he picked up three assists. Riley Clark had a goal and an assist for the Mustangs. Donavon Chow, Brady Gordon, Bo Lenard and Clint Olson also scored for Melfort. Adam Schwark led the way for Nipawin with a goal and an assist. Cody Wutzke and Torrie Dyck also scored for Nipawin. Ilia Ejov was not overly busy as he stopped 15 of 18 shots in 60 minutes of action. Antoine Desrosiers got the start for the Hawks but was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots. Derek Kleinsteuber cleaned up and allowed one goal on nine shots. The Mustangs improve to 14-7-0-1 while the Hawks have fallen to 8-11-0-1.
Tonight's Three Stars:
* Josh Bray - Weyburn Red Wings (natural hat trick, game winner)
** Kyle Fraser - Melfort Mustangs ( three assists)
*** Tommy Castonguay - Flin Flon Bombers (goal and an assist, game winner)
- Brad M.
An SJHL rarity on a Thursday night, not only one, but two games on the schedule which saw one team beginning a three game road trip and another finishing one off.
We start in Wilcox where the Notre Dame Hounds welcomed the Kindersley Klippers to the southeast for there first of three game in three nights. The Klippers overcame any potential bus legs as they disposed of the Hounds 5-2. Brett Leedahl led the way for the Klippers with two goals while Jonathan Redlick added a goal and an assist. Jeremy Beller and Matt Sawa also scored for the Klippers. Ryan Sawka chipped in with two assists to continue his hot streak. Justin Perreaux, Ben Ritchie, Kirk Pearce and Steven Turner also had assists for Kindersley. Tanner Vandesype and Eddie Gale each had a goal and an assist for Notre Dame. Travis Janke and Rylan Schwartz also had assists for the Hounds. Ryan Nieszner picked up the win for Kindersley as he stopped 20 of 22 shots faced. Mark Currie made 30 stops in the Notre Dame goal. The Klippers move within one point of second place in the Sherwood with the victory. The Hounds fall to 7-16-1-0.
In Estevan, a tired looking bunch of Battlefords North Stars were probably just looking to head home after a rough trip to the Sherwood. The Stars were shutout in two of the three games to the south and outscored by a toal of 23-2 in the three games. Tonight things hit rock bottom as the Stars were hammered 13-0 by the Bruins. It will be quicker to tell you who on the Bruins did not hit the scoresheet. Defenseman Kealin Wong, who coinceidentally is the Bruins top offensive defenseman go figure, was the only Bruin skater held off the scoresheet. Gabriel Carle had a six point night as he had a goal and five assists. Kyle Stroh broke out of a slump as he had two goals and two assists. Brennan Wrigley had a goal and three assists. Kyle Ermel picked up a goal and two assists. Brody Haygarth and Niko Grose each had two goals. Payden Benning, playing his first game in a couple of weeks picked up the Gordie Howe hat trick as he had a goal, an assist and a fighting major. Other goal scorers for Estevan were Kyle Garagan, Trevor Mock and Trent Rumpel. Newcomer Riley Hughes had two assists in his first game for the Bruins after being acquired from the OCN Blizzard for Guillaume Perusse. Chad Filteau, Liam Brennan and Riley Tetreault all added two assists each. The Bruins jump to 11-9-2-0 well the Stars slide continues as they are now a pathetic 2-20-1-1. Rebuilding or not, how much longer does Gary Clark have in North Battleford? I think this team has quit on him. Lack of talent or not, you should never lose a game 13-0 unless your playing football. According to Stars123 the Stars are not that bad. I would hate to see his definition of bad. Lost in my little rant, David Ritz made his first start as a Bruin and made 23 saves for the shutout.
Tradewinds: The Estevan Bruins have shipped defenseman Mike Salter to the Portage Terriers of the MJHL for future considerations. Salter was injured for most of his time in Estevan.
SJHL Friday:
Kindersley @ Weyburn
Nipawin @ Melfort
Yorkton @ Flin Flon
Note: For those of you complaining about Selinger not being named a star the other night and Bly being named first star so be it. The three stars each night are picked by the penalty box crew for that night's game. The three of us that night put our heads together and all thought Bly was our best forward that night. Not to take anything away from Selinger, I thought he played a great game but I have no regrets with our decision.
To the guy who said we are pumping up the tires of certain players only - give your head a shake. Each game we evaluate the game based on the three best players that night and if they are all from the visiting team so be it.
For the record, the three stars on North Battleford radio that night were:
1 - AJ Whiffen, 2- Rhett Bly, 3- Ryan Kerpan.
Our picks don't look so bad now. If anyone out there is interested in picking the three stars at the games let me know. That includes any of you that left comments. I am open to anyone who wants to help out. If you don't want to leave your name on the comments section just send me a private e-mail to mcneilb@hotmail.com and I will accomodate you. Good night and see you all at the rink tomorrow night.
- Brad M.
It was a battle of cellar dwellars in Notre Dame tonight as the Hounds welcomed the Battlefords North Stars to town. The Hounds trailing 2-1 after two periods, fought back to score two goals in a 36 second span of the third period and managed to hold on and defeat the Stars 3-2. Travis Janke and Tanner Vandesype each had a goal and an assist while Thomas Williams scored the winner for the Hounds. Eddie Gale added a pair of assists for the Hounds while Steven Robinson and Chris Bratina also added helpers. Jason Walker and Nick Dvorak replied for Battlefords. Matt Restoule, Makstr Lacoursiere and Jesse Lebreton all added assists for the Stars. Both goaltenders had decent numbers as Andre-Michel Guay stopped 31 of 33 shots for the Hounds while counterpart Adrien Lemay made 33 stops in the Battlefords net. The Hounds move to within seven points of fifth place Estevan in the Sherwood as they go to 7-15-1-0. The Stars fall to 2-19-1-1 as the long season continues for the inexperienced club.
The La Ronge Ice Wolves erased a three goal deficit in the third period and forced overtime with 12 seconds to go in regulation before falling 5-4 in a shootout to the Melfort Mustangs. Matt Hill got the shootout winner for the Mustangs and added a goal and an assist. Clint Olson and Taylor Watt also had a goal and an assist each while Ryan Gareau scored the other Mustang goals. Kassidy Collins added two assists for Melfort. Jordie Johnston kept up his strong play for the Ice Wolves as he had a three point night (1 goal and 2 assists). Jarrid Dowhay, Bruno-Pier Gosselin and Calvin Fiddler also scored for La Ronge. Ilia Ejov was not real busy and maybe fought the puck a bit as he allowed 4 goals on only 17 shots but nevertheless picked up the win. Jonathan Jobin got his first start in a couple of weeks for the Ice Wolves and stopped 31 Melfort shots. The Mustangs improve to 13-7-0-1 while La Ronge is 11-10-1-1.
Tonight's Three Stars:
* Matt Hill - Melfort Mustangs (shootout winner, two points)
** Andre - Michel Guay - Notre Dame Hounds (31 save victory)
*** Jordie Johnston - Yorkton Terriers (3 point night)
Other SJHL Notes:
The Nipawin Hawks have dealt 20 year old goaltender Danny Gagne to the Winnipeg South Blues of the MJHL for future considerations.
There will be one SJHL game on Thursday night as the Battlefords North Stars complete a three game road trip in Estevan as they battle the slumping Bruins.
For those of you who have not heard yet (Ha Ha):
Historic night in Saskatchewan that deserves mention in this blog - the Saskatchewan Party under the leadership of Brad Wall has formed Government in the Province of Saskatchewan. In Weyburn Big-Muddy, Dustin Duncan maintains his seat which he won last year in a by-election. The NDP, under the leadership of Lorne Calvert become the official oppostion for the first time in over 16 years. Significance of this win of course - the Saskatchewan Roughriders did not win a Grey Cup during the entire 16 year period the NDP were in power. There you have it - had to end on a sports related note.
- Brad M.
We will start in Weyburn where AJ Whiffen picked up his second career shutout posting a 30 saves performance in a 5-0 win over the Battlefords North Stars. Rhett Bly was named the first star as he scored his 6th goal of the season and added his fifth point in three games, doubling his season point totals in only three games. Scott Doody put the Wings up 2-0 in the second period on a pretty tic tac toe play. The Wings then lit it up in the third period. Joel Langevin made it 3-0 at 6:06 of the third. Preston Shupe made it 4-0 just over two minutes later as he snuck a quick one by Stars goaltender Ryan Kerpan which led to a discussion amongst the officials to determine if the puck actually went in. Carter Selinger, with his first SJHL goal, completed the scoring for the Red Wings. Selinger stole the puck off a Stars defender and snapped a shot high glove side on Kerpan. I was impressed with the play of rookie defenseman Ethan Gardner tonight as he played a solid game to earn the game's third star. Josh Bray added two assists for the Wings, after missing two games due to an injury. Brayden Nargang, Michael Seib, Craig Cornelson, Kyle Haines and Torrey Lindsay all added assists. Kerpan stopped 28 of the 33 shots he faced. The Wings regain a share of second place with the Yorkton Terriers as they improve to 12-8-1-2. The Stars drop to 2-18-1-1.
In Humboldt, the Flin Flon Bombers were trying to prove that they can play with the elite teams in the league. The Bombers put up a good effort but fell 3-1 to the Broncos. Laurent Benjamin, Justin Stoski and Tory Allan, with an empty netter, scored for the Broncos. Brayden Klimosko, Josh Garneau and Steven Schroeder added assists for the Broncos. David Linsley scored the lone Flin Flon goal assisted by Barrett Penner and Tommy Castonguay. Taylor Nelson stopped 25 of 26 shots to pick up the win. Calvin Bartel made 27 saves for the Bombers, allowing only two goals. The Broncos climb to 17-3-0-0. The Bombers are now 11-8-0-1 on the season.
Finally, in Nipawin, the Hawks fought back with two quick third period goals to shade the La Ronge Ice Wolves 3-2. Torrie Dyck scored twice to lead the way for Nipawin. Cody Wutzke had the other Hawks goal. Kyle Cowan added an assist for Nipawin. Bruno-Pier Gosselin and Jordie Johnston replied for La Ronge with assists going to Jarrid Dowhay and Tyler Karst. The Hawks welcomed Keldon Sanderson to their lineup after acquiring him earlier in the day from the OCN Blizzard for Kent Sauter. Derek Kleinsteuber got back in track as he allowed only 2 goals on 37 shots for the Hawks. Brian Kaval, the reigning SJHL goaltender of the week, stopped 39 Nipawin shots. The Ice Wolves drop to 11-10-1-0 with the loss while Nipawin moves to 8-10-0-1.
Tonight's Three Stars:
* Torrie Dyck - Nipawin Hawks (2 goals including game winner)
** AJ Whiffen - Weyburn Red Wings (30 saves shutout performance)
*** Derek Kleinsteuber - Nipawin Hawks (35 saves performance against La Ronge as Hawks get back on track)
Wednesday Night in the SJHL:
The two basement dwellars meet in Notre Dame as the improved Hounds host the Battlefords North Stars. Meanwhile, La Ronge heads in to Melfort to battle the red-hot Mustangs.
The Red Wings return to action on Friday night when they host the Kindersley Klippers. Game time is 7:30.
- Brad M.
Please Note: This article is courtesy of Mike Stackhouse of sjhl.ca.
It has been a busy day for SJHL teams making trades with MJHL clubs.
In the biggest move of the day, the Estevan Bruins traded 1987 born Guillaume Perusse to the OCN Blizzard for 1987 born defenseman Riley Hughes and future considerations.
Perusse won 30-games for the Bruins last season and was the back-up goalie on the Canada West World Junior 'A' Challenge gold medal winning team. Following an inconsistent playoff performance, the Bruins opted to upgrade their goaltending depth and Head Coach Karry Biette made no bones about the fact Perusse was not happy with his current playing situation. "I had a 20-year-old that wasn't happy with playing time and he felt we owed it to him to play him more. Unfortunately, I didn't see it the same way and this was a must for our dressing room to move him."
This season, Perusse was 4-4-and-2 with a 3.50-GAA and an .891-SPCT while splitting time with Karsten Felske.
In Hughes, the Bruins get a stay-at-home type defenseman who makes a good first pass and should offer some stability on the back end. Hughes' rights were picked up by the Blizzard from Fort McMurray (AJHL) a couple of weeks ago to close off the Carter Chomyn trade from last season.
To fill the void left by the departure of Perusse, the Bruins acquired 1987 born David Ritz from the Melfort Mustangs (along with futures) for 1990 prospect forward Regan Nabseth of the Tisdale Trojans.
Ritz had lost his number one job when Ilia Ejov arrived. Ritz was 5-and-4, 3.74, .857 this season with Melfort. All Ejov has done is go 6-0-0-and-1, 2.26, .907.
In other SJHL-MJHL moves from Tuesday, the Nipawin Hawks have acquired 1988 born forward Keldon Sanderson from OCN for 1989 forward Kent Sauter and future considerations.
Sanderson had scored 4-goals and 1-assist in 9-games with OCN this season. He also had a cup of coffee in La Ronge prior to being moved to the Blizzard. It is expected Sanderson will play tonight (Tuesday) against the Ice Wolves.
Sauter had 2-goals and no assists in 15-games (40-penalty minutes) with the Hawks this year.
And, the Humboldt Broncos moved 1989 born rookie defenseman Thomas Frasz to the Dauphin Kings for 1988 born forward Joel Humphries.
Humphries began last year in Nipawin, but ended up in the PJHL with the Fort Knox to end the year. The resurfaced in Estevan during training camp and dressed in 4-games, compiling 28-penalty minutes (no points). He was dealt to Dauphin last month.
"We have some guys playing roles right now that shouldn't be playing in those roles. Hopefully, Joel can come in and give us a physical presence for us," said Humboldt Head Coach Dean Brockman.
Frasz had no points and 11-penalty minutes in 5-games this season with the Broncos. Frasz is a 6'0", 200 lbs native of Regina SK.
Troy Kramm: You have been skating real good out there lately and picking up points in bunches. You look more confident out there from a spectators point of view, but how do you feel you have been doing?
Rhett Bly: Well with Bray out someone has to step up and I took it as a challenge to do my best and chip in with some scoring lately.
TK: Is their any particular player/players you have been feeling comfortable with or enjoyed playing along side with?
Bly: Probably Johnson, he moves the puck well, is a fast skater and works hard along the boards. I like playing on his line when I can.
TK: You have had two tough losses that could have gone either way but you have suffered from a weak powerplay lately, what has the team been doing during practice in hopes of improving it?
Bly: We are trying to move the puck faster and break down their defensive box. We haven’t been getting any bounces and haven’t got guys in front of the goalie to pick up the loose pucks.
TK: Are you prepared to take on the Battlefords Northstars, a team that is real hungry for a win this week after going 0-3 last week and only have two wins on the season?
Bly: Oh yah, we can’t take them lightly. If we do, the same thing will happen to us like it did in Radville when we faced the Hounds. We have to come out like we are playing someone like Melville.
TK: Overall how has the year been going for you out here in city of Weyburn?
Bly: Good, I really like it and I am getting comfortable here. We also have the best trainers and equipment managers in the league!
- Troy Kramm
Click the photo to head on over to some game action photos and random pics of the Wings.