Stars/Bruins live chat

Western Canadian Junior A Championship?

According to both the Voice of the Nanaimo Clippers and the Official twitter feed for the team, it has been confirmed that the four western Canadian Junior A leagues (SJHL, MJHL, AJHL and BCHL) will indeed combine, plus a host team, for the first ever Western Junior A Championships, to be held at, at this time, an unknown place in B.C. from April 26 to May 5, 2013. The Clippers are looking at hosting this Championship.

More info to come.

UPDATE: Dan Marshall, voice of the Clippers, also mentioned that to fit into the RBC Cup still, two teams from the Championship will advance.

Extremely busy weekend.

Hockey fever strikes the SaskCan Community Centre this weekend, with several games slated for this weekend.

Friday night sees the Midget Outlaws play the Rosetown #2 team at 8pm.

Saturday sees the Senior team play the Meadow Lake Stampeders in an exhibition game. 8pm Game time start.

Sunday Afternoon kicks off early as the Bantam AA Girls team from Dodsland play a home game against Delisle at Noon, followed by the Midgets closing the curtain on the weekend with a 4pm game against Leader

Outlaws win over Red Wings.

Regular season hockey officially began at the SaskCan Community Centre, as the Midget Outlaws welcomed the Rosetown Red Wings into town for their Home Opener.

Things began early as just 29 seconds in, Bernard Charpentier was sin-binned for a double minor for checking to the head. The Outlaws were unable to capitalize on that, nor could they on a Boarding call on Tyson Walker. But the 0/3 start on the PP didn't deter Wilkie, as they broke thru at the 16:42 mark of the 1st. Jaymon took a nice feed from Colby Fulton (Anthony Delainey was credited with the second assist) and put the home team up by one after 1 period.

The second period started much the same, as the Wings' Dayton Deobald was penalized for Tripping, but again, the Midgets couldn't pot one on the PP, but once again, the even strength play shined on this night, as Sander potted his second of the night from Fulton. Rosetown received their first Power Play of the night when captain Zach Wangler was called for Hooking, but the Wings did nothing with the extra man. Exactly 30 seconds after Wangler was released, Sander was sent in all alone, and lit up Wings keeper Austin Sparks for his hattrick goal. The teams hit the dressing rooms with the scoreboard reading 3-0 for the home team.

The 3rd period had the tables turned slightly, with Wilkie taking the early penalty, Riley Thomas for Interference, and Rosetown finally taking advantage. Charpentier scored on the doorstep to cut the deficit to 2, but 33 seconds later, the Outlaws answered again, with Sean Fenrich scoring, and Sander assisting, giving the home team the 4-1 lead, and thats how this one would end.

Stay tuned for pictures.

Stars Win!

The Battlefords North Stars win tonight at the Civic Centre, grinding out a 1-0 win. Tim Rollins bangs it in on try #3. Assists were awards to Braeden Johnson and Zach MacLlennan. The Ice Wolves and Stars had a identical 0/3 PP rate, but the visitors were outshot 30-25.

Miners/Outlaws pictures

Kyle Wagner readies for a face-off

Barrett Penner weaves through traffic down low.

The Miners goalie looks on at play as Troy Watt mashes a guy behind the net.

The boys dust themselves off after a scrum ensues after the play.

Outlaws rob Miners.

Last night at the SaskCan Community Centre, the Wilkie Outlaws defeated the Unity Miners 7-2 on the strength of Brett Schell's hattrick and 4 points and Brett Gerein's 3 apples.

Other contributions came from Barrett Penner, Kyle Wagner, Gerein, and a Short-handed effort by Rick Cey. Assists were tallied by Wagner, Cey, Bruce Yockey, Troy Watt, and Will Rathje.

Unity had both goals by Andrew Gaiga. Assists were awarded to Sean Ulsifer and Brodie Gibbons.

Tonight, the Outlaws make the return trip to Unity to play the Miners to complete the pre-season home and home.

Local hockey is here!

Tomorrow night begins the hockey season at the SaskCan Community Centre, as the Senior Outlaws begin pre-season action against the Unity Miners. Game time is 8pm. Following that game, the next night, they make the trip to Unity to cap off the home and home.

Next Friday, at 7:30pm, the Midget Outlaws begin their Hi-Way 14 regular season.

Stars/Mustangs pictures

Robbie Newton scraps with his Melfort counterpart.

Shoot to win contestant Lonnie Alm takes aim.

Linesman Duane Weber readies the two face-off men.

Graham Hildebrand surveys the Melfort rush.

The Stars starting line-up.

Stars/Mustangs Game notes

SJHL Hall of Fame inductees annouced.

Statement released by the SJHL:

The city of Yorkton and the SJHL Terriers will play host to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Hall Of Fame induction ceremony on November 19th and there will be a distinct local flavor going in during the third annual dinner. Darrell Spelay, the SJHL's all-time scoring leader with 243-goals and 208-assists, will headline the class that also includes his former coach, Gerry James, as well as builder Gene Krepekevich, and retired broadcaster Terry Struthers. Spelay played for James during his career that spanded from 1979-1983 and scored at a clip of 1.83 points per game. He's a four time SJHL All-Star and was named the best Yorkton Terrier ever in a recent 35th Anniversary Team selection process. His jersey number six is retired in the rafters of the Farrell Agencies Arena and he was inducted into the Yorkton Sports Hall Of Fame in 2010. He currently runs his own business in Yorkton. James owned, managed, and coached the Terriers from 1979-1984. He also had coaching stints with Melville, Estevan, and Moose Jaw. A two-sport athlete, James signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at age 17 and played for them from 1952-1963. He was part of four Grey Cups and six Grey Cup appearances. James also won the Schenley Award for Top Canadian in 1954 and 1957. He also played with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1964. As far as hockey is concerned, James played with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1954-1960 and served as a player/coach with the Yorkton Senior Hockey Team from 1964-1977. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall Of Fame in 1981, the Manitoba Hall Of Fame in 1982, Blue Bomber Hall Of Fame in 1999, Saskatchewan Hall Of Fame, and Yorkton Hall Of Fame in 1998. Krepekevich coached minor hockey and volunteered with the Yorkton Sr Terriers from 1966-1971 and served as Vice President of the Jr Terriers from 1984 to 1986. He was instrumental, perhaps the key player, in saving the team from near bankruptcy during the mid 1980s. He was also an important figure in establishing the Terrier Scholarship Fund for post secondary education in 1986. He served as Terrier President from 1986-1993 and was Vice Chair of the SJHL from 1990-1994. He authored “History Of The Yorkton Terriers: 1972-1997 The Puck Stops Here” which was later placed in the NHL Sports Hall Of Fame. He also co-chaired Yorkton's RBC Cup event in 1999 and still actively volunteers and supports the Yorkton Terriers. Struthers was the Terrier radio broadcaster on GX94 from 1988-2007, and also served at CFSL in Weyburn from 1983-1988. He was the 2001 winner of the SJHL Media Of The Year, and received special recognition in 2008 from Hockey Canada for his dedication to amateur hockey. He was inducted into the Yorkton Sports Hall Of Fame in 2010. His highlights as a broadcaster included the Centennial Cup in Sudbury ON, RBC Cups in Melfort, Yorkton, and Streetsville, as well as the national Midget AAA championship in Sault Ste. Marie. The SJHL also announced November 18th will be the SJHL Hall Of Fame Game, when the Humboldt Broncos visit the Terriers.

Hawks/Stars Pictures

Play stops as Davis Jones snags the puck.

Stars Sam Prpich and Hawks Darius Cole watch their teammates fight for the puck

Graham Hildebrand watches a dump into the corner.

Boyd Wakelin and Mitch Doell ready for the opening face-off

Stars/Hawks Game notes

1st Period:

After a few great saves by Hawks tender Davis Jones, Nipawin takes the lead at 4:15 with a unfourtunate bounce off of a defencemens skate. Tad Kozun took the puck off said bounce and feathered it 5-hole through Graham Hildebrand.

7:18 - Hawks go on the PP with a Holding call to Stars number 4 Dillon Forbes.... Hawks 0/1 on the PP

11:52 - Hawks continue to buzz around Hildebrand. 7-5 Hawks in shots.

Stars also continue to treat the puck like a hot potatoe.

12:33 - Stars go on the PP. Trip on Hawks number 24 Mike Lambert.

12:55 - Stars score! the Stat sheet reads Miller from Luhning and Tatachell, but the eyes up in the booth say Luhning from Tatchell and Miller

13:04 - Stars take a Intereference call by Wakelin. Hawks PP.

14:19 - Hawks Score. Reichert (top chedder) from Szerlip and Doell.

18:20 - Meier of the Hawks streaks down the right side and finds woodwork.

19:00 - back and forth now. Stars have woken up.

19:39 - mucking around. No surprise if the mittens drop.

dying seconds - Stars squabble a golden chance to tie the game.

Shots: Stars - 11, Hawks - 9. PP: Stars 1/1, Hawks 1/2

2nd Period

Hildebrand takes a puck to the neck area, he goes down but is up and okay after attention.

0:53. Nipawin 3 on 1. A Pass and shot, saved, but leaves Hildy out of position for Doell to dump it in. Assists to Datoff and Peterson

5:00 - Stars goal, scored by Tatchell, assists to Miller and Johnson. It was a 2 on 1 and Tatch went top cheese.

5:16 Hawks respond with a goal by Waskewitch.

6:07 Stars climb to within one again with a goal by Rollins, assist to Johnson. Rollins was on a breakway and went top chedder.

8:51 - Hawks score on the PP. Newton took a Elbowing and Waskewitch buries his second on the night off the scramble. Williamson and Paslawski add the apples.

11:00 torrid pace to this game now. Hard to keep up with it.

12:53 - Szerlip takes a hooking penalty. Jones makes two ridiculous saves on the PK, and Cole making a dive to block a shot.

16:55 - Refs call Luhning on a questionable hooking. The advancing foreward had hold of his stick.

Shots: Stars - 25 Hawks - 26: PP: Stars - 1/2 Hawks: 2/5

3rd Period

Slow start to this period.

3:07 - Weak goal on Hildy by Zerr. Apples are awarded to Laird and Cole.

885 people in attendence for tonights game.

13:00 - Quiet period. Only two penalties, one for each side. Williamson - NIP, Jorgenson - NB.

15:11 Lambert off for tripping, Stars on the PP.

15:51 - Stars goal! PPG, scored on the tip by Miller, assisted by Luhning and Johnson. Braeden with 3 assists tonight.

18:21 - Stars with yet another PP. Paslawski off for Cross-checking. slight imploding by the Hawks, with with 2 goal lead, they are safe.

Final Stats:

Shots: Stars - 39. Hawks - 32. PP: Stars 2/5 Hawks: 2/6. Score: 6-4 Hawks

Stars/Klippers and Stars/Wolves pictures

Graham Hildebrand watches his pass up ice.

La Ronge and Battleford ready for a faceoff in Stars territory

The boys aren't playing very nice around the Klippers cage.

Two Stars try to contain two Klippers during a Kindersley powerplay

Ice Wolves/Stars Preview

La Ronge Ice Wolves

Big thanks to Ice Wolves PxP man, Daniel Fink, for writing this for me.

Forewards: Marc-Andre Carre hasn't had the scoring impact the Ice Wolves hoped he would. Even with Carre in the lineup, the Wolves have only manufactured seven goals in five games. He played very well against the North Stars last season and could be due for a breakout performance.

Johney Cormier was one of the better Ice Wolves in their loss to Kindersley last night. He created multiple opportunities for his line and almost cashed in on one or two himself. The 19-year old forward from Havre-St. Pierre, Quebec may be on the verge of providing some much needed offence.

Nathan Boyer was the only Ice Wolf to pot a goal against the Klippers and had a strong game. Boyer's speed and work ethic compliment each other very well. Put this with the fact he's playing on the only line that has any length of time together (Graham Smerek, Skyler Hladun) and Boyer can put up points for La Ronge.

Defense: Alex Vandenameele continues the progression he displayed last season as an 18-year old. A very confident defenceman who doesn't let himself get caught in bad situations and has the instincts to get the puck away from danger if the need arises. He also has some very good hand-eye coordination, making it a chore for forwards to get the puck past him.

Matt Weisensel was one of Bob Beatty's most important off season acquisitions. The 20-year old defender from Calgary has already proven to be solid on the back end and is getting better as he adjusts to the SJHL game. Though defensively minded, he's not opposed to taking the puck up on the rush and can create opportunities for the Wolves with his decent foot-speed.

Goalie: Tonight's netminder will likely be Myles Hovdebo after Alex Rajotte got the call in Kindersley. Both have let in seven goals in their previous starts, though the results can hardly be pinned on either netminder. Hovdebo made 31 stops in Humboldt while Rajotte turned away 34 in Kindersley. Bob Beatty is comfortable with his goaltending situation, though I'm sure he'd like to see them being hung out to dry a lot less.

The Wild Card: Jared Iron looks stronger every game after arriving from the Kootenay Ice. He, along with his linemates, Brett McNevin and Brodie Eisbrenner are starting to build some chemistry on a line that can provide momentum for La Ronge as well as some scoring touch.

Battlefords North Stars

Up front: The likes of Blake Tatchell and Braeden Johnson are the main forces for the Stars offence, with Tatchell being one of only four 91's on the roster (Wakelin, Prpich and Miller). They need to step up and lead the team if they want a chance at beating a Ice Wolves team coming off a big loss to the Klippers last night.

Defense: Captain Travis Sparrow is the leader of this group now, with Woody Klassen now gone. The pairing of Sparrow and newly sent down Brody Luhning should be a formiable shut down pair against the big guns of La Ronge.

Goalie: One would say Coach Hasselberg would start his vetern, Graham Hildebrand. He hasn't started a game since he was pulled three goals into a 5-1 opening night loss to the Klippers. Connor Creech has looked good in his one start, and youngster Jared Knott can definitely be a one hit wonder.

The Wild Card: Look for rookie Ryne Keller to try and throw a monkey wrench into LA's plans tonight. He has the ability to get his nose dirty, and pot a goal or two as well.

Game time is 7:30pm at the Civic Centre.

SJHL Media Hockey Pool - using SJHL players.

Mike Stackhouse (SJHL media relations)

My team: Rakochy (Mlv), Roach (Hum), WKlassen (Bfd), Clark (FF), Majkowski (Ykt), Penner (FF), Tagoona (Mlv), McNulty (Mlv)

Branden Crowe (voice of the Melfort Mustangs)

Team Crowe: FWD's :Marshall (HMB), Kozun (NIP), Neufeld (EST), DEF: Williamson (NIP), C.Berg (MEL), GOAL: Hrynkiw (HMB) BENCH: Boyer (LA), Ballas (HMB)

Daniel Fink (voice of the La Ronge Ice Wolves)

‎(coping Mike) My team: Rajotte (LAR), Greyeyes (LAR), Bird (MLV), Rodgers (KK), Carre (LAR), Mireau (MLV), King (KK), Christian (ND)

Jösh Lewis (Sports Reporter for the Estevan Mercury)

Team Lewis: Shymko (YOR), Newell (MVL), Backhouse (HUM), Grolla (ND), Ciolfi (HUM), Struble (YOR), Hall (BAT), Olson (EST)

Brenden Ullrich (voice of the Kindersley Klippers)

My team : FWDS - Tatchell, McGrath, Froese, Waskewitch - DMEN - Christensen - Roper - Haaf Goal - McDonald

Craig Stein (voice of the Yorkton Terriers)

G: Sirard (MVL)... D: Luhning (BAT), M. Berg (MFT), Coupal (WEY)... F: Johnston (HUM), Smith (EST), Young (FF), Sanderson (WEY)

Gino De Paoli (voice of the Whitecourt Wolverines)

Team Doug Johnson G: Davis Jones (NIP), Devon McMullen (YKT), Logan Sproule (HMT), Keegan Bruce (WEY), Taylor Duzan (KK), Tyler Paslawski (NIP), Adam Zbitniff (HMT) and Jared Iron (LA)

Phil Heilman

Team Son of a Gun consists of G: Mitch Kilgore (WEY). F: Jesse Ross (WEY), Skylar Hladun (LA), Braeden Johnson (NB) and Adam Reichert (NIP). D: Dominic Perrault (EST), Zach MacLellan (NB) and Troy Dumais (YKT)

Hockey Season is nearing.

For the record my faithful followers, I am still kicking, alive and well. Hockey season is vast approaching, with new faces everywhere. In the booth, former Fort St. John Husky PxP man Mike Feeney is the new PxP man for the Battlefords North Stars, while the new bench boss is Kevin Hasselberg. Former boss Ken Pearson resigned from the job to take the Winkler Flyers (MJHL) head coach position.

The 2011-2012 pre-season schedule looks like this for the Stars. And stay tuned for more information as they come available.

	Away		Home
Sept. 2	Battlefords North Stars	@	Lloydminster
Sept. 3	Lloydminster	@	Battlefords North Stars
Sept. 9	Dauphin	@	Battlefords North Stars
Sept. 10	TBD	@	Battlefords North Stars	@	5:00 PM
Sept. 11	La Ronge	@	Battlefords North Stars

The Music Heilman: Music Video review.

Let's go Canadian for installment #1.

Marianas Trench ft. Jessica Lee - Good To You.

The video begins with Jessica walking into a empty and messed up dining room at a local club, and looking around rather blankly, realizing the man trying to help her (Marianas Trench lead singer Josh Ramsay). This begins a flashback, and also begins the song.

The band are situated on the stage in the local club, with Ramsay playing the piano. The story begins with the night club full to capacity (people having a good time, and drinks being served/shared). Ramsay, portrayed as a bartender, overlooks the situation, with nothing special happening.

The main attraction then appears on stage, Jessica Lee. She begins to sing on stage without incident. Josh notices both Jessica for her singing abilites, and her lovely looks. Then, without warning, a posse of black-suited men appear in the club, out for Jessica for reasons unknown. Eventually, she is dragged offstage by what appears to be the ringleader of the group. Ramsay, realizing what is happening, attempts to stop the men from taking Jessica, only to be pushed around by them all.

The men return, now out to remove Ramsay, at all costs. A massive fight breaks out, with all items being used as weapons. Eventually, the ringleader pulls out a gun, fires it in the air, then points it at a bloodies Ramsay. The rest of the group pulls the ringleader away, which starts up a massive stampede of people running out of the night club.

At this point in time, Jessica joins the band onstage and video ends with Jessica and Josh smiling at each other.

What It Means: If you have the passionate love for someone, you are willing to do anything for that person. The lyrics suggest how good you should be treated by your loved one, no matter the situation.

My Crazy Trip, The Blades, and Beisball

So, it's been a while.. Hockey Withdrawl will do that to a guy.

The Kaiser Bun

In case you haven't heard, I made a somewhat questionable trip to Camrose, Alberta last Tuesday to catch AJHL play-off action between the Kodiaks and the Okotoks Oilers. This was Game 3 of the best of 7, and the two teams split Games one and two in Okotoks. This is the Conference final between the two rivals, and the fire came out in this game. Over 100 PIM's combined in the game, with good defence, and the standard heckling. Camrose is hosting the RBC Cup this year, and even if they lose this series, they are still into the Junior A equivilant to Lord Stanley's Mug, due to the fact that they are the host team. They lost 5-3, however, I had a blast, and would re-do the experience if I ever have the chance again.

Blade, I hardly knew her!

The Saskatoon Blades continue their ridiculous year tonight, thrashing the Prince Albert Raiders yet again, this time 5-2, following the 8-1 train wreck. Here is colour commentator Cody Nickolet's post-game summary of Game 2:

It wasn't the same dominating performance from Saturday, but the Saskatoon Blades showed tonight that they can win in a number of different ways.

The Raiders came out early in this game and looked much better than last night, carrying the play for the first ten minutes or more.

But it was the Blades who scored the only goal of the period as Brayden Schenn broke through the neutral zone and beat atleast 3 Raiders to the front of the goal and slid the puck past Eric Williams.

It was 1-0 after 1.

The Raiders scored in the 2nd period, but Saskatoon still remained in control as they matched that one tally by scoring three of their own. The Blades 2nd period goals came from Dziurzynski, Nicholls and Schenn. Shane Danyluk scored for the Raiders, his first career WHL playoff goal.

The teams traded goals in the third, Curtis Hamilton from the Blades and Antoine Corbin for Prince Albert.

The final was 5-2. The Blades now lead the series 2-0.

The game featured a pair of scraps. In the first period Curtis Hamilton was absolutely destroyed at centre ice by Harrison Ruopp. Brayden Schenn went to jump in and scrap Ruopp, but Siemens charged in and they squared off. Not much of a fight, but it was nice to see a pair of teammates come to the aid of Hamilton. He missed a few shifts, but came back a few minutes later.

Later in the game Dalton Thrower took on Austin Connor. Thrower gave up a ton of size to the 6'4 Connor, but he earned the take down after landing 2-3 solid rights to the big man's chips.

Steven Stanford was solid once again for the Blades, stopping 31 pucks. Eric Williams was decent for the Raiders, also making 31 saves in the loss.

The series now shifts to Prince Albert for games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday.

You can hear Cody and play by play man Les Lazaruk on 92.9 The Bull with all the Blades play-off action.

I Think He Mis-remembers

Yes, my friends. It is that time of year again. The real baseball season begins March 31st. The Blue Jays are interesting this year; having new faces such as Lind at 1B, Yunel Escobar starting at SS, Bautista wandering around 3B, and no Vernon patrolling CF. Speed has been added with former Oakland OF Rajai Davis... Opening day is coming up, all we can do is sit back and wait.

Chara Hit on Patches

For those of you who haven't seen it, click here

Starting conversation between an Unnamed Leafs Fan and Myself:

ULF: I don't wanna say it was not a dirty hit, but I mean Pacioretty has GOTTA protect himself around a turnbuckle. Both players didn't use their brains on that one. I agree though, it seemed pretty malicious.

ME: [Zdeno] Chara has to hold up and realize hes running a guy into said turnbuckle,
but Patches [Max Pacioretty] has to think that theres a moose [Chara] beside him and he should move. Chara should get 10 [games], but the league won't give him any more then 5 [games]

The conversation continued to the aftermath of the collision. The Leafs fan mentioned that "He looked dead" lying on the ice.

ME: The bruins feed of that game, the announcers were like "holy crap that was a crazy hit" [and]

even they were like "that was a late hit"

ULF: Absolutely dirty

Also to mention what another friend, Mike Stackhouse, said, "This stuff didn't happen 20 years ago. Why? Lots of theories. It just didn't."

One final note from the current colour commentator for the Saskatoon Blades on 92.9 The Bull, Cody Nickolet: "Ya looked pretty dangerous. I didn't think it was that bad. Interference but not much more."

Sound off people. All I ask is that bias is set aside on this. Was it dirty? Does Chara need to be suspened? You can comment on here, Facebook me, or e-mail heilzy18@gmail.com

Nordiques/Outlaws ramblings

This could be it.

The St. Brieux Nordiques take the 5 hour bus trip to Wilkie this afternoon to clash with the Outlaws in the SaskCan Community Centre.

Keys for the Nordiques:

• Run and Gun: Take a page out of the NHL Nordiques handbook; Adam Foote to Joe Sakic, goal light. Three extremely fast skaters tear a part the Outlaws defence.
• 2 Tickets to the show: 2 goals up coming into this game, so holding this lead will punch your ticket to the finals

Keys for Wilkie

• Lead the Pack: You never trailed until 4 minutes left in the game! St. Brieux never traveled 5 hours on a bus either, so we will see how they react to leaving at 10:30 am
• Solid Defence: The line of Forsberg, Nolan and Clark will be coming at you full-speed for the full 60 minutes.

Puck drops at 4:30pm.

Nordiques win over Jets

No wait, I forgot. It's Midget Provincial, not mid 90's NHL.

Anyways, the St. Brieux Nordiques, on the strength of some 'Home calls" and a strong 3rd period, beat the Midget Outlaws 6-4 last night in the St. Brieux Arena.

The Brieux-Crew, however, did not hold a lead until the 16:00 mark of the 3rd period. Until then, the Outlaws and Nordiques were either tied up or the Wilkie squad held a 1-goal cushion.

Stay tuned for a extended tee-up to the game plus pictures.

Famous, Run That Ish

Yeah, had to clean up that sentence. For those who listen to the Tim and Sid: Uncut podcast available through thescore.com, you'll know how it really runs.

The Wilkie Minor Hockey Association are holding their annual end of year Banquet on March 16th at 6pm. There will be games as well as presentations made by each Minor hockey team.

I am honoured to be invited to this event, and will definitely be there.

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Play-offs are finally beginning in the Bantam division of the Hiway 14 Hockey League. Game 1 begins tomorrow night at 6:30pm at the SaskCan Community Centre vs Kyle.

Midget Provincials vs St. Brieux are still up in the air, so I'm unsure when anything is getting done.

See you tomorrow night at the rink.

Don't Get Caught By The Rambler.

Tonight's the night. Provincial C play-offs invade the SaskCan Community Centre as the Eston Ramblers bring their 6-3 lead in to face the Wilkie Outlaws.

Keys for Wilkie:

• D-Fence: You have to tighten up on your zone defence and not allow scoring chances.
• Cool your Jets: Speeding by the the Rambler D simply won't do, making the smart pass and getting the feet moving will allow for a better success rate of gaining the blue line properly.

Keys for Eston:

• One Goal: You're up by 3 goals, potting one or two will drive the dagger in
• Volcanoe!: You have a few rough and tumble guys, use them to your advantage.

Puck drop is 8pm.

Onions... Baby Onions!

Ok, so its three days past when I should have posted about the Outlaws losing in Eston 6-3, but that gives me 3 extra days to Tee up Game 2 Saturday night.

Playoffs?!?

Bantams: Everyone's asking the question; when the heck is Hi-way 14 Bantam league play-offs going to start? My answer: They play Kyle. I don't know anything else.

Midgets: Out of league play-offs but they will kick off their Northern Finals series against St. Brieux. Unsure of dates yet, but they will be posted when I learn them

Seniors: Eston on Saturday. You win by 4 goals or you pack up your gear. Sounds like a tough task, but to put the 6-3 loss into perspective, the Outlaws only had 8 forewards dressed due to vaction and injuries. Eston had a full line-up plus 3 healthy scratches.

Provincial tee-up to follow soon

Respect in Hockey

The headline says it all.

No matter who you are in an organization; Star player, bench warmer, stick boy, fan/volunteer, music guy, It really truly doesn't matter. Respect is the most important thing in a hockey locker room. You dis-respect someone in the organization, you instantly have thrown stones at the organization.

It sounds rather cliche, but it rings true everytime; No one person is bigger then the organization. It doesn't work in any professional league, why should it work here? Give me a break! Whether you are a player, coach, manager or what have you inside a sports organization, you try and be bigger then it, you do not belong there. You represent the organization, and more importantly, Yourself. You make a ass out of you, you make an ass out of the organization you represent.

Simple logic.

Outlaws try to shoot down Stars.

Hey, you right my headlines then!

Anyways, the Outlaws start the Flyers comeback tonight against the Edam 3 Stars in NSRHL quarter final play-off action. Edam is up 2-0 in the best of 5 series. So shall we kick the tires on tonight's game?

Wilkie:

• More energy: The Outlaws have come out in the last 2 games with less eneergy then a sack of potatoes. A fast, hard-hitting start is required to beat the older Edam team.
• Gun is loaded: Finally, a full line-up tonight. They say a team is only as good as their star(s), and I think the best will show tonight.

Edam:

• Defense is key: Their defense is critcial is stopping the speed of the Outlaws.
• Roberto Luongo: Quinton Gauthier has been looking like the Canucks all-star netminder this series. he needs to keep his ridiculous streak going if the Stars want to have a chance.

In other news:

The Midgets are officially out of Hiway 14 league quarter final play-offs, Losing in Kerrobert the other night. This leaves them only in Midget B Provincials. They draw St. Brieux in the Northern Final, stay tuned for dates.

Still no word from the Bantams on when their league play-offs start. A few teams have gone over the somewhat soft deadline and the last couple of games only finished up this past monday.

Senior Outlaws play Eston in Senior C Northen Semi-Finals, with Eston insisting they allow Wilkie to have home-ice advantage in the 2 game, total goal series. Game 1 goes in Eston tomorrow night, 8pm start. There is a player/fan bus going, with a tentative leave time of 4pm.

Playoffs?!?

'Tis play-off season. All three major/minor hockey teams are officially in play-offs and provincials, so let's take a look.

Bantam Outlaws:

Unfortunately, they were eliminated from the Provincial C play-offs earlier in January, however, they are sitting 5th in the standings, and will play the North Battleford team, who sit in 4th, in the 1st round of their Hi-way 14 league play-offs.

Midget Outlaws:

They deked a massive bullet in Meadow Lake last night, losing 5-2. However, they won the first game of their Provincial B Northern Semi-Final 5-1, thus ensuring a 7-6 series win. They move onto the Northern Final, playing the winner of Tisdale and St. Brieux. As for Hi-way 14 league play-offs, A quirk in the rules state that the top 4 teams can choose any of the bottom 4 teams to play. Kerrobert chose Wilkie in the unofficial fantasy draft, therefore, these two teams play their 1st round against each other. According to the website, game one in Wilkie goes tonight, however, after talking to Head coach John S. Fenrich, he said the operator of the website can get trigger-happy with posting said games. So we sit and wait.

Senior Outlaws:

Celebrating their first Provincial series win since 1993 (I highly doubt I'm wrong), The road to the final four now runs through Eston. According to Head Coach Bruce Yockey, Game 1 is to be played Saturday night in Eston. The Ramblers originally had the home-ice advantage in the 2-game, total goal series, but were willing to give it up for reasons unknown. Play-offs: They drew Edam in the 2 vs 7 match-up, Game 1 was last night. The combination of playing like a sack of potatoes and officiating that the CNIB would be proud of, led to a 5-3 win in favour of the 3 Stars.

*Disclaimer: What is about to be typed in simply my opinion, and in way is the opinion of anyone else*

The referee, who shall remain nameless, called, by far, the worst game I've seen in 8 years of watching hockey. Yes, a referee does miss things. It's part of the game. Having said that, missing in upwards of 5 calls which developed right in front of him, and only calling the blatant penalties on the home team, is just acinine. Call me biased, but I'd be making the same rant had it been in the other direction. I expect the game to be called fairly in both directions.

Outlaws/3 Stars game 2 of the best of 5 series goes Wednesday Night in the Igloo in Edam.

Colts/Outlaws ramblings

Tomorrow night is Provincial night at the Saskcan Community Centre, as first, the Midget Outlaws take on the Meadow Lake Colts in Game 1 of the Northern Semi-Finals, followed by the Senior Outlaws taking on the Kerrobert Tigers in Game 2 of their 1st round. The Outlaws lead that series 3-0.

First, we'll kind of, sort of, Tee up the Midget action.

According to sources, the Colts are a hybrid team containing players from the S.T.E.P. (St. Walburg, Turtleford, Edam, Paradise Hill) league team and the Centre Four AA league. The Centre Four league team is sitting near the bottom of the league with a 5-13-1 record through 19 games. However, the STEP league team is sitting on top of the table through 20 games, with a 11-5-4 record. Again, according to sources, (because the SHA site is not updated!) Meadow Lake beat Warman 10-1 in game 1. Having said that, Warman is a sub-.500 team with hardly any goaltending, so we sit and wait.

Outlaw rambling to follow tomorrow sometime soon.

Outlaws tame the Tiger(s)

Last night at a very cold Kerrobert Memorial Arena, the Wilkie Outlaws cruised to a 3-0 win over the Kerrobert Tigers.

Outlaw goals were potted by: Mark Lorenz, Mike Sittler, and Ryan Schaefer. All three goals were pretty efforts, and the result of hard work.

In all honesty, the Tigers were a rough and tumble team, making you work for everything you get. However, there were a couple questionable hits on Outlaw players, to which there was no call on the play. IMO, I believe that these blindside hits are what the NHL, or for that matter, any league anywhere, is trying to get rid of. I realize that you need to keep your head up kid, but unfortuntaly, our heads can't swivel 360 degrees, so I think that the responsibility is not entirely on the guy who is hitting, however, he does have the majority of it.

Don't like what I said? Sound off.

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Pre-game ramblings for both the Midgets and Seniors coming soon.

Busy weekend is done

The weekend of hockey is finally complete at the SaskCan Community Centre, with the finale being the Battlefords Pee Wee Sharks playing a home vs the Dodsland Stars. The Stars have two Wilkie products on the roster, Rachel Cey and Rayne Delainey. The Stars boost a formiable line-up and they easily handled the Sharks 9-5. None of the Wilkie players had points however.

Saturday Night was the marquee match-up night for Farmers Days. The Wilkie Outlaws hosted the top team in the NSRHL, the Maidstone Jets. The Jets came short-handed, missing top scorer Ryan Johnston, and also getting his first start of the season was Scott Carsen for the Jets, while Dustin MacDonald was sitting on the pine. The Outlaws played a hard, physical game, and they were able to hold Roberts and Harrison to just 2 assists combined in a 5-1 win. Wilkie converted on 2/10 powerplays and also piled on a Short-handed goal.

The Outlaws now sit at 15-5 on the year, good for sole possession of 2nd place, trailing the Jets by 4 points, and lead the St. Walburg Eagles by 2 points.

In other news, The Wilkie Midgets are on their way to the 3rd Round of Provincials, and will likely play the Meadow Lake Colts, after they trounced Warman 10-1 in game 1. Stay tuned for more information.

Busy Weekend.

I am in the midst of a busy weekend of music and writing. Yesterday, the Midgets pulled together and gutted out a 7-2 win vs the Outlook Hawks. (The score says otherwise, but the score doesn't indicate how close the game actually was.) More of a re-cap to come on Monday.

Today, however, I'll be the "Rink Rat", starting at 5pm when the Novice Outlaws take on North Battleford in a game deemed the Challenge Cup. Following that, the Senior Outlaws take to the SaskCan ice against the Winnipeg..... er.. I mean, the Maidstone Jets. The broadcasting face of the North Stars, Dan O'Connor, will be on hand to broadcast the game. Puck drops at 8pm

Quick Keys to the game for both teams:

Maidstone:

• Stop the All-Stars: Wilkie has three stars including Barrett Penner. You can try and shut down the top line, however, your defense will need to be up to the task all night. Wilkie can run three legit lines, and they can score on a regular basis.
• Stop the "run": The best puck handling goalie in this league is Nick Pernitsky. Dump the puck in smartly so Pernitsky doesn't have time to play it. That way, you can set up your attack with less difficulty.

Wilkie:

• Rattle the Cage: Maidstone is 8-0 on the road this season. The Outlaw grinders need to get into MacDonald's grill early and often. He's started all the games this year as well, and he may be starting to wear down a bit.
• Defense Wins Championships: As I understand it, Wilkie be missing a D-man tonight, so Defense must come first against the high flying Jets top line. After Ryan Johnston (21 G), Jason Roberts (16 G), and Brett Harrison (26 G), the next top scorers only has 7 goals. You contain the top line, and chances are that you can pull the rug out off a possible Jets take-off.

Outlaws outdraw the Marauders

Last night, the crowd at the SaskCan Community Centre was treated to a real shoot-out. At the end of the day, it was Yosemite Sam out-shooting Black Jacque Shelaque to the tune of a 11-7 win.

Outlaw scorers were: Zach Wangler, Chris Pennell (2), Colby Fulton (2), Jaymon Sander, Rylan Petterson (3), Dustin Glackin, and Sheldon McKenzie. Assists were credited to: Sean Fenrich (3), Fulton (2), Petterson (2), Wangler, Keaton Nodwell (2), Cody Thomas (2), Glackin (2), and McKenzie.

Marauders goals were scored by: Matthew Day, Griffyn Dutka, Shayne Hayward, Breyden Cheyne, Morgan Upton, Riley Bloodworth, and another unnamed goal scorer. Assists were given to: Daegan Banga, Keenan Strelau, Cheyne, Mitchell Riley (2), Steven Nagy, Dutka, and Hayward.

The scoring started quickly, as Zach Wangler potted a weak forehand shot past Marauders starting goaltender Michael Schwebius just 9 seconds into the game. That would set the tone as Wilkie build a 3 goal lead only 8 minutes in, leading to the first goalie swap. Out was Schwebius and in was back up Tyler Peakman. He wouldn't fair any better, but the switch did spark the Clan of Thieves for a bit. The broke the goose-egg at the 14:05 mark with Day taking advantage of Outlaws keeper Keegan Bryan's 5-hole. The Outlaws would regain the 3 goal lead and then some, as they converted on the 3rd of 3 PP oppourtunities in the period, and a little over 2 minutes later, Pennell converted breakaway meant that after 20, Wilkie had a 5-1 lead.

The second frame was much quieter compared to the first, with only 3 goals combined. The Outlaws scored 30 some seconds a part roughly 2 minutes in, an only a minute after that, the Marauders answered back with the 2nd goal.

The third period resembled the first a lot, with both teams scoring 8 goals combined. Schwebius was seen skating to his net for the third, meaning he was the plywood of choice to attempt to stop the Outlaw shooting gallery Petterson finished off his hattrick with the Outlaws last goal with roughly 2 minutes remaining in the game. Martensville slimed a buzzer beating goal in to finally end the barrage of shots all three goaltenders faced.

Overall, It was a very fast paced game, with the Marauders not exactly living up to my expectations. Their defence could have been much better, as they allowed their Outlaw rushers too much open space, and that is that team's strong point.

Game 2 goes Saturday night in Martensville. Before that, they have a regular season date with Outlook on Friday, at 8pm.

Marauders/Outlaws pre-game ramblings

Tomorrow night, Provincials fever hits the SaskCan Community Centre once again, as the Outlaws welcome the Martensville Marauders for Game 1 of their 2nd Round, 2 game/total goal series.

The Marauders squad is actually a AA tier II team, which is on the same level as the Unity and North Battleford AA Midget teams. Martensville is a member of the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association's (SMHA) Midget AA Tier II league. In their 13 team league, consisting of 10 Saskatoon teams, Clavet, Delisle and themselves, they sit 7th with a 10-9-1 record through 20 games, good for 21 pts. No individual stats are supplied on the website. I spoke briefly with the Manager of the Marauders, Janine Hayward (who I would like to thank for pointing me in the right direction). I asked her to, in her words, sum up the Midget team's year. She mentioned that they attended both the annual Swift Current tournament, winning the "A" side, and the Prince Albert tournament, winning the "B" side. She said they had a great showing at both tournaments.

On the other side of the coin, you have the Outlaws. For those who don't know, they play in the Hi-Way 14 League's Midget Division. The 10 team league holds Dodsland/Luseland, Kerrobert, 2 Rosetown teams, Eatonia/Eston/Leader (EEL), Elrose, Kindersley, Outlook, Unity and themselves. Wilkie sits 5th with a 8-8-0 record, good for 16 pts, through 16 games. The highest scoring Outlaw is Chris Pennell, who, through 15 games played, has 13 goals and 7 assists, good for 20pts. Watching these kids play on a regular basis, you can see their strengths and weaknesses. The goaltending tandem can definitely steal you games, but I tend to compare them to the goaltending tandem in Philly and in SJ. Both have great goalies, however, both suffer simply because they aren't played every day, and confidence can be your best friend or it can be your biggest enemy. To whoever starts, you have my vote of confidence.

The game should be a fun one no matter what the score is. It's provincials!

Puck drops at 8pm, be sure to get there early, the seats fill up quick.

NSRHL All-Star line-ups.

The NSRHL staff has released the all-star teams for the 2010-2011 season.

1st Team:

G- Dustin MacDonald - Maidstone
D- Taylor Thiessen - St Walburg
D- Will Rathje - Wilkie
LW- Darren Delainey - St Walburg
C- Aaron Goldade - St Walburg
RW- Ryan Johnston - Maidstone


2nd Team:

G- Nick Pernitsky - Wilkie
D- Chris Hartman - Maidstone
D- Tyson Turgeon - Spiritwood
LW- Barrett Penner - Wilkie
C- Jason Roberts - Maidstone
RW- Jordan Fuder -St Walburg

Outlaws get the Ace(s) in the hole.

Saturday night at the SaskCan Community Centre, the Midget Outlaws defeated the Elrose Aces 6-1.

Outlaw goals were scored by Rylan Petterson (3), Zach Wangler, Seas Fenrich, and Sheldon McKenzie. Assists were credited to: McKenzie, Colby Fulton (2), Keaton Nodwell (2), Riley Thomas, Dustin Glackin, Chris Pennell, and Chris BeckettThe Aces lone contributor was originally credited to Brayden Connor, but was later changed to Clay Day. The lone assist was given to Jon Copeland

The scoring started early when Petterson potted his first of 3 at 4:23 of the 1st. Roughly 3 minutes, Wangler was sprung on a breakaway, and connected to make the score 2-0. It stayed that way until early in the 2nd, when Fenrich made it 3-0. The scoreboard stayed quiet until Day broke the goose-egg with 4 minutes left. The 3rd period, the Outlaws flexed their muscles, potting 2 powerplay goals on the Aces only 2 penalties on the period.

Stayed tuned for a Midget pre-game for their Provincial match-up against the Martensville Marauders.