With time ticking down in the third period of a tight 3-2 game Tuesday night, Saskatoon Blazers rookie defenceman Jake Missura picked a heck of a time to score his first goal of the playoffs.
“I wasn’t actually going to shoot it and then I just saw I could beat him wide,” said Missura. “I just went in and shot one. It went in so I was pretty hyped after that.”
Missura’s goal with 2:50 remaining in regulation would stand up as the eventual game-winner for the Blazers, clinching a second straight Saskatchewan male U18 AAA championship at SaskTel Centre.
Saskatoon outlasted the visiting Regina Pat Canadians by a 5-3 final, taking Game 3 of their best-of-five series to sweep the championship final over Regina in three games.
Blazers captain and third-year veteran Raiden Zacharias sealed the game with a late empty net goal and said repeating as provincial champions is a special feeling for those seven players returning to the team this year.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Zacharias. “Back-to-back, that’s not something that happens every year. We’re going to regionals again, so that’s just another step in the road for us.”
Prince George Cougars prospect Lee Shurgot led the way with a pair of goals and three points in the series win, getting the chance to continue his Blazers career for at least one more week with the championship won on home ice.
“That’s been our goal from the start of the season,” said Shurgot. “As soon as we all got together as a group, we knew we had a special group. We wanted to come back and do it better this time around.”
With the win, the Blazers joined the Notre Dame Hounds, Saskatoon Contacts and Prince Albert Mintos as the only teams to defend their provincial U18 AAA titles over the last 20 years.
A far cry from their previous 31-year gap between Saskatchewan championships according to head coach Troy Walkington.
“I think it solidifies us as an elite team in Saskatchewan,” said Walkington. “I think that there are teams that can sort of go one-off at a time, but when this organization took over six or seven years ago their plan was to become an elite program. They’ve done an outstanding job doing that.”
In net second-year goaltender Grayson Malinoski made 34 saves in the Game 3 victory and was nearly unbeatable over the course of the series for Saskatoon.
Allowing just seven goals on 131 shots against, Malinoski recorded a sparkling .946 save percentage over the three games which followed a stint in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds before Christmas.
“Coming into this year has been crazy,” said Malinoski. “It’s been fun, great group, the ultimate goal is nationals and that’s what we’re going for.”
Goaltending has been a strong point for the Blazers all season as per Walkington, with Malinoski teaming up with Madex Kabrud from the start of the year.
The Blazers will now head east to Winnipeg for the Telus Cup West Regional tournament which will pit Saskatoon against the Thunder Bay AAA Kings, Brandon AAA Wheat Kings and Winnipeg AAA Wild, with the winner advancing to the 2024 Telus Cup national championship.
Winning bronze in Quebec last year at nationals, the Blazers committed to returning to the Telus Cup at the start of the year.
“We wanted the number one seed which we got,” said Walkington. “We wanted nine playoff wins, we certainly got that. We know that there’s another four wins available in Winnipeg and certainly we want that. Ultimately, we’re eyeing a trip to the national championship.”
For Zacharias and the returning crop of Blazers, upgrading their colour of medal is at the forefront of their preparation and are hungry to clinch that Telus Cup spot in Manitoba.
“We got two of the trophies we want so far this year,” said Zacharias. “Just got two more to go.”
The Telus Cup West Regional tournament will be held in Winnipeg from April 4 through 7, with the winner advancing to the 2024 Telus Cup in Membertou, Nova Scotia from April 22 to 28.