SERIES PREVIEW: Saskatoon (1) vs. Red Deer (5)

By Cami Kepke April 10, 2024

The 2024 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien continue with Second-Round matchups beginning on Friday, April 12. WHL.ca is previewing each series ahead of puck drop, beginning with the top-ranked Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels.

Buckle in, folks.

It’s time for a rematch.

The top-ranked Saskatoon Blades will face the Red Deer Rebels in a repeat of their 2023 Second-Round series, which saw the Rebels take a 3-0 series lead before the Blades stormed back with four straight wins to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Both sides are well-rested after winning their Quarterfinal matchups in five games apiece, beating the Prince Albert Raiders and Medicine Hat Tigers, respectively.

The regular-season champion Blades will be a heavy favourite heading into the matchup, but Red Deer didn’t give them an easy time in the regular season.

No team that played Saskatoon more than once in the regular season (or 2024 postseason, for that matter) has a winning record against the Blades.

Red Deer came close, though, with the regular-season series tied 2-2-0-0.

The Blades edged out the Rebels in their first two meetings of the season with 2-1 and 4-2 regulation victories, but the Rebels would snap Saskatoon’s franchise-record 14-0-2-2 point streak with a 5-4 win on January 17 and become the only team to blank Saskatoon in the regular season with a 5-0 victory on February 27.

The Eastern Conference foes have also been two of the stingiest teams in the 2024 WHL Playoffs, with Saskatoon allowing the fifth-fewest goals (11) and Red Deer right behind them with 14. Saskatoon is third in team scoring with 21 lamp-lighters, while the Rebels are seventh with 18.

This series will see two of the league’s top rookie goaltenders in Evan Gardner (SAS) and Chase Wutzke (RD) going toe-to-toe, while snipers Egor Sidorov and Kai Uchacz look to continue filling the net.

The best-of-seven Second Round series begins Friday, April 12 in Saskatoon at 7:00 p.m. ST at the SaskTel Centre.

STAT PACK

	Saskatoon Blades	Red Deer Rebels
Record	50-13-2-3 (1st WHL)	33-26-3-6 (3rd Central)
Playoff Leaders	Easton Armstrong (5G, 3A, 8PTS) Trevor Wong (2G, 5A, 7PTS) Egor Sidorov (4G, 2A, 6PTS)	Kalan Lind (2G, 4A, 6TPS) Carson Latimer (4G, 1A, 5PTS) Kai Uchacz (2G, 3A, 5PTS)
Season Leaders	Trevor Wong (15G, 86A, 101 PTS)Egor Sidorov (50G, 38A, 88PTS) Brandon Lisowsky (42G, 38A, 80PTS)	Kai Uchacz (42G, 39A, 81PTS)Ollie Josephson (12G, 35A, 47PTS) Jhett Larson (16G, 29A, 45TS)
Leading Goaltender (Playoffs)	Evan Gardner (4-0-0-0, 1.80, .923)	Chase Wutzke (4-1-0-0, 2.59, .922)
Power Play (Playoffs)	25% (8th)	22.7% (10th)
Penalty Kill (Playoffs)	70.6% (12th)	95% (1st)
First Round	Def. Prince Albert (4-1)	Def. Medicine Hat (4-1)
Last WHL Championship	–	2001

2023-24 REGULAR SEASON SERIES

October 21, 2023- Saskatoon 2, Red Deer 1
December 8, 2023- Red Deer 2, Saskatoon 4
January 17, 2024- Saskatoon 4, Red Deer 5
February 27, 2024- Red Deer 5, Saskatoon 0

GAME BREAKERS

Saskatoon Blades: Anaheim Ducks prospect Egor Sidorov scored one of his five hat tricks of the regular season against the Rebels on December 8. Mix in regular season league assists leader Trevor Wong, and that makes for a dangerous combination at any time of year. The duo are still among the top scorers for Saskatoon after Round One after combining for six goals and seven assists for 13 points in five games.

Red Deer Rebels: Captain Kai Uchacz remains one of Red Deer’s most consistent scoring weapons in the postseason with a pair of goals and three assists. The 20-year-old also led Red Deer in scoring against the Blades in the regular season, highlighted by a two-goal, two-assist performance in a 5-0 win against Saskatoon on February 27.

GOALTENDING

Saskatoon Blades: This matchup sets the stage for two of the most consistently scene-stealing young goaltenders of the season. Evan Gardner, who is eligible for June’s NHL Draft, is 4-0-0-0 in his first WHL postseason, posting a 1.80 goals-against average (good for second among starting goaltenders) and a .923 save percentage. Gardner did not start a game against the Rebels in the regular season but made two relief appearances, stopping 20 of 24 shots he faced. The Fort St. John, B.C. product is a two-time Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week and recently was named WHL Goaltender of the Month for March after helping the Saskatoon Blades clinch the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as WHL regular season champions and steering aside 31 of 32 shots for a .969 save percentage in a 4-1 win over the Prince Albert Raiders to tie the First Round series at one in his WHL playoff debut.

Red Deer Rebels: 2024 NHL Draft-eligible Chase Wutzke backstopped Red Deer to both of its regular season wins against Saskatoon, including a 36-save shutout on February 27. Wutzke is 4-1-0-0 in the postseason with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. He’s made the third-most saves of any goaltender in the playoffs with 165. Wutzke played a key role in Red Deer’s penalty kill in Round One, holding the Tigers to just one powerplay goal in 20 opportunities (Medicine Hat had the third-strongest powerplay in the WHL through the regular season). The Debden, Sask. product is the reigning Kal Tire WHL Rookie of the Week, a three-time Giuseppe WHL Goaltender of the Week, and won back-to-back WHL Goaltender of the Month honours in December and January.

X-FACTOR

Saskatoon Blades: Towering right winger Easton Armstrong gave Saskatoon’s strongest performance in its opening-round effort against Prince Albert. After the Raiders stunned the Blades in Game 1, Armstrong found the scoresheet every night for the remaining four games. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound forward erupted for a hat trick- including the overtime winner- in Game 3 to give the regular-season champion Blades their first lead of the series.

Red Deer Rebels: Nashville Predators prospect Kalan Lind has come up big in Red Deer’s most critical moments in the 2024 WHL Playoffs. The 19-year-old scored in double overtime against Medicine Hat to give the Rebels a 1-0 series lead, netted a buzzer-beater in Game 4 to force the Tigers to the brink of elimination and assisted Frantisek Formanek’s series-clinching goal in Game 5.

SERIES SCHEDULE

Game	Date	Away	Home	Time
1	Friday, April 12	Red Deer	Saskatoon	7:00 p.m. ST
2	Sunday, April 14	Red Deer	Saskatoon	4:00 p.m. ST
3	Tuesday, April 16	Saskatoon	Red Deer	7:00 p.m. MST
4	Wednesday, April 17	Saskatoon	Red Deer	7:00 p.m. MST
5*	Friday, April 19	Red Deer	Saskatoon	7:00 p.m. ST
6*	Sunday, April 21	Saskatoon	Saskatoon	2:00 p.m. MST
7*	Tuesday, April 23	Red Deer	Saskatoon	7:00 p.m. ST

* – if necessary

WHL Live streaming packages are available for the 2024 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien. Catch all the action by watching WHL Live on CHL TV, with various subscription options available:

2024 CHL Playoffs All Access – $89.99
2024 WHL Playoffs All Access – $59.99
2024 WHL Playoffs, Second Round – $19.99
2024 WHL Playoffs, Daily – $9.99

* = all prices before tax and listed in CAD

WHL Live on CHL TV is available on iOS and Android mobile devices, traditional web browsers (Safari and Chrome), as well as smart TV devices such as Apple TV, Android OS, and Fire TV.

SERIES PREVIEW: Saskatoon (1) vs. Red Deer (5)

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