Blades, Warriors to clash for WHL’s Eastern Conference crown

The Saskatoon Blades are facing the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL’s Eastern Conference final. Game 1 is Friday at SaskTel Centre, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.

Neither the Blades nor the Warriors have ever won the WHL title.

It’s the first time two Saskatchewan teams have met in the conference final since the 1992-93 season, when the Swift Current Broncos met the Regina Pats.

“It’s very exciting. It has been an exciting week with lots of emotions coming up to it. It’s an exciting time of the year,” said Warriors captain defenceman Denton Mateychuk. “They are just down the road so it’s going to be a fun series. We will have some fans in their rink and they will have some in ours so that’s always good to see.

“It’s always very intense when we play them, especially this year knowing we were the two top teams coming out of our conference. I think that’s something that builds to moments like these when you are playing intense games in the regular season against a team like Saskatoon.”

The regular season series between the two was as close as it could be with the teams splitting it 3-3.

Moose Jaw was the highest-scoring team in the WHL this season, lighting the lamp 297 times. Meanwhile, Saskatoon was stingy on defence, allowing a league-low 163 goals.

Blades captain Trevor Wong said everything is amplified when it comes to this round of the playoffs.

“To have a playoff banner is pretty cool,” Wong said. “There’s only two teams left in your conference and two on the other side so you win this one and you get a ticket to the dance.”

The Blades were the top team in the WHL standings in the regular season, finishing with 105 points. Wong led the team with 101 points.

The Warriors finished with 91 points, second-most in the conference. Forward Jagger Firkus led the way offensively for Moose Jaw with 126 points to lead the league in scoring.

The Western Conference final also features the top two teams from the regular season, with the first-place Prince George Cougars up against the Portland Winterhawks.

“We are both really good teams and have high-end talent,” said Blades forward Rowan Calvert, whose older brother Atley plays for the Warriors. “We play different ways with different structures and they do what they do well and we do what we do well. We’re just going to try to play our game and try to counteract them that way.”

The teams have been able to finish their previous series in quick order to reach this point. Saskatoon beat the Prince Albert Raiders 4-1 in a seven-game quarterfinal before sweeping the Red Deer Rebels.

Meanwhile, Moose Jaw swept the Brandon Wheat Kings before beating the Broncos 4-1 in the other semifinal.

While the Warriors haven’t been to the Eastern Conference final since 2012, Saskatoon was in it last season.

However, after back-to-back seven-game series in the first two rounds, the Blades were swept by the Winnipeg Ice.

“It’s a different feeling and a different vibe,” said Saskatoon head coach Brennan Sonne. “I think last year we just used up our emotion. It was just so intense … just all of our emotional bandwidth was used up and I just thought we were done physically and emotionally and we had spent everything we had.

“This year, with having the rest and the breaks and the time off and the practice time, there are reserves in the tank emotionally and physically.”

One Warrior who is familiar with seeing the Blades in the Eastern Conference final is forward Matt Savoie.

Savoie played on the Winnipeg team that beat Saskatoon last season. He was traded to the Warriors on Jan. 4.

“It takes a full team effort every single game. I think the conference finals are such a step up from the second round of playoffs,” Savoie said.

“I think when you get to the final four teams, the stakes are so high and every team wants to win so bad that you are so deep in your season that every game matters so much that everyone needs to dial in and play together and be on the same page. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Savoie joined a core of Warriors – including Mateychuk, Firkus and Brayden Yager – who have played together since they were rookies and were part of the Moose Jaw team that beat Saskatoon in the playoffs in 2022.

Mateychuk currently leads all skaters in playoff scoring with 19 points through nine games. Firkus is second with 18 points.

“This has been built over the years and not just this year. We had a vision in mind when these guys were young,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary.

“It’s a group that grew up together and they want it as bad as anybody. They have been through some hard times together, they have had some successes together and they are just looking to take it to the next level.”

The Blades are led offensively by Egor Sidorov, who has 10 goals in the playoffs – the most in the WHL.

“Every game is important and we will do everything to win every single game,” Sidorov said. “(It’s) just all about work – if you work hard, you deserve to win.”

Saskatoon has made a number of moves this season to make a push for the Memorial Cup, adding players like Easton Armstrong, Fraser Minten and Alexander Suzdalev. Armstrong is missing the first two games of the series as he serves a four-game suspension for charging the Red Deer goaltender.

With Game 1 taking place in Saskatoon, Mateychuk anticipates a great atmosphere at SaskTel Centre.

“I’ve seen that they have had pretty good crowds in the first couple of rounds,” Mateychuk said. “It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be loud. It’s fun and we love those games.”