GAME 62 RECAP | Blades reclaim top spot in the East Division with win over Pats
Regina, SK – The Saskatoon Blades find themselves atop the East Division standings after defeating the Regina Pats 6-3 Tuesday on the road at the Brandt Centre.
The Blades, who sat five points back of first place in the division on Friday, have won three straight games to jump back to second place in the Eastern Conference. Saskatoon picked up two regulation wins on the weekend against the Prince Albert Raiders, who held the top spot at 74 points. After Tuesday’s win against Regina, the Blue and Gold own 75 points with a 34-21-3-4 record.
With six games left in the regular season, Saskatoon control their own destiny. The Bridge City Bunch have the same number of games as the Raiders who sit one point back, and the same number of games as the Brandon Wheat Kings who trail by two points.
Five different Blades recorded mutli-point games Tuesday against Regina. Alternate captain Tyler Parr recorded a goal and two assists, while Calgary Flames draft pick Hunter Laing dished two helpers. Rookie centre Cooper Williams, 20-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann, and fellow alternate captain Rowan Calvert each recorded a goal and an assist.
Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick Evan Gardner improved to 20-12-3-1 after he stopped 25 of 28 Pats shots. The 2006-born netminder is 2-0 between the pipes since returning from a month-long lower-body injury on Wednesday against the Swift Current Broncos.
The Blades were outshot 8-4 at the second media timeout of the first period. Whatever was said at the bench during that break led to an offensive surge for the Blue and Gold to conclude the opening 20 minutes. Williams opened the scoring for Saskatoon with 5:15 left in the frame with his second goal in as many games. The Calgary, AB native is on a three-game point streak with two goals and four assists. Williams cracked the 50-point plateau with his two-point performance, the first Blade to do so since Brandon Lisowsky’s 58 point rookie season in 2021-22.
Cooper Williams just keeps on scoring 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RJEaS8eua7
— x – Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 12, 2025
Rookie defenceman Brayden Klimpke snapped a 49-game goalless drought less than 30 seconds later to make it 2-0 Saskatoon. The 5-foot-11 defenceman one-timed a puck at the blueline that had eyes for the net and beat Pats goalie Ewan Huet clean. Klimpke extended his point streak to six games, owning a goal and six assists in that stretch. It’s a bittersweet goal for Klimpke, who suffered an upper-body injury the last time these two clubs faced off.
Don't mess with Klim Shady 💥 pic.twitter.com/poqAK3IVCD
— x – Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 12, 2025
Calvert made it 3-0 Blades 3:03 later, snapping an eight-game goalless drought. The Moose Jaw, SK product moved back tied for first-place on the team in goals with 23 alongside Laing. Calvert’s goal also helped the 19-year-old winger reach the 50-point plateau for the first time in his four-year WHL career, giving him 23 goals and 28 assists in 58 games.
Rowan Calvert picked the right angle 📐 pic.twitter.com/nvxC5Z6YNl
— x – Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 12, 2025
The Pats outshot the Blades 5-1 early in the second, resulting in Blades head coach Dan DaSilva calling a timeout. It was another jolt for the Blue and Gold as Parr cracked the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career 11:06 into the frame. The right-handed shot’s performance also lifted him to 60 points (20G, 40A) in as many games this season, the first time reaching that milestone in his career. Parr leads the team in points and has two goals and three assists in his last two outings.
Parr swung 🔽
Puck went 🔼
Lamp went 🚨 pic.twitter.com/6FpjfMtsKg— x – Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 12, 2025
Regina went to their second powerplay of the game less than two minutes later and the team’s point leader Julien Maze beat Gardner to notch the Pats’ first goal of the night. The 2007-born forward has 12 goals and 30 assists in 60 games.
Blades rookie forward David Lewandowski made it 5-1 Blades with less than three minutes left to go in the second. The Dusseldorf, GER product is second in team rookie scoring with 11 goals and 20 assists in 46 games.
Lewandowski was not going to be denied that wrap-around#NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/x1SDkzggs7
— x – Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 12, 2025
Pats forward Caden Brown brought the Pats within three one minute later with his 17th goal of the season.
Siepmann potted his tenth goal of the season 6:18 into the final frame, setting a new career-high in goals. The Langley, BC native had previously reached nine goals in two separate seasons with the Calgary Hitmen. The veteran blueliner leads the Blades backend with 45 points (10G, 35A).
Pats forward Zachary Lansard deflected one more goal past Gardner before the end of the game for his seventh of the season. Saskatoon outshot their big city Saskatchewan rival 31-28 by game’s end.
What’s Next?
The Blades venture to Westoba Place tomorrow night for a tilt against the Wheat Kings.
Puck drop is 5:00pm CST.
