For two periods Friday night, it looked like the Saskatoon Blades were headed for a seventh straight game without a win. Coming off a 12-day Christmas break, the Bridge City Bunch trailed the last place Moose Jaw Warriors 2-0 and were on pace to only post 17 shots on goal.

Then the light came on – the red goal light, that is, and it came on five times in the third period as the Blue and Gold rallied for a 5-2 victory over Moose Jaw before a Teddy Bear Toss crowd of 7,638 fans at SaskTel Centre. Veteran left winger Brandon Lisowsky touched off the Teddy Bear Toss, scoring a power play goal at 6:18 of the third period. Following a 12-minute delay to clear the ice of stuffed animals, Lisowsky scored 18 seconds later to tie the score, defenceman Morgan Tastad tallied shortly thereafter for the first time in over a calendar year to give the Blades their first lead, Moose Jaw product Rowan Calvert connected on another power play after that and former Warrior Ben Riche scored into an empty net for a little extra insurance as the Bridge City Bunch regained first place in the Eastern Conference with their 18-10-4 record. Lisowsky added an assist for a three-point game, Riche and Calvert chipped in a helper each for two point outings while Tyler Parr and Grayden Siepmann had two assists each. Evan Gardner stopped 28 shots as the 8-20-4 Warriors out-shot the Blue and Gold 30-27. Friday’s win was the first of six games in nine nights coming out of the Christmas break for the Blades with Game 2 coming up Saturday in Regina. CJWW’s broadcast starts at 5:45 with the play-by-play at 6 o’clock. Earlier in the dayFollowing are the audio highlights from CJWW’s broadcast, Post-Game Show interviews with head coach Dan Da Silva, Lisowsky and Tastad plus the official game summary courtesy the W-H-L…..

MOOSE JAW Goals MOOSE JAW PLAYERS (plus) SASKATOON PLAYERS (minus) Per. Time  G-As1-As2 1st 8:10 PP  14-21-39 2nd 17:53  17-39 4 16 17 39 55 4 9 11 17 21

SASKATOON Goals SASKATOON PLAYERS (plus) MOOSE JAW PLAYERS (minus) Per. Time  G-As1-As2 3rd 6:18 PP  8-20-21 3rd 6:34  8-20 2 3 8 19 20 2 14 17 21 39 3rd 8:57  52-21-9 9 21 23 25 52 4 6 14 17 39 3rd 11:15 PP  23-19-8 3rd 16:37 EN  19-23-2 2 16 19 21 23 14 17 20 21 37 39

Blades nab Alberta U18 AAA scoring leader from the Hitmen

Saskatoon, SK The Saskatoon Blades are happy to announce the acquisition of 2009-born forward Adam Halat from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for veteran forward Lukas Hansen.

A Chestermere, AB native, Halat was drafted by the Hitmen in the fourth round (72nd overall) of the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.

“Adam is having the same kind of year in Alberta U18 AAA as a 15-year-old that Cooper Williams did last season,” said Blades general manager, Colin Priestner, “With us not having a first or second round pick in the 2024 draft in May, this adds another high-skill player to the forward group alongside Jaggar John, Mason Moreland, and Cohen Lewko.”

Halat is the leading scorer in the Alberta Elite Hockey U18 AAA League (AEHL) as a member of the Okotoks Oilers. The left-handed shot is averaging just under a goal-per-game as a 15-year-old rookie, owning 20 goals and 40 points in 23 games.

“Adam is a dynamically skilled and highly intelligent forward that can change the game with his ability to create offence,” said Blades director of scouting, Dan Tencer, “He’s having an exceptional season in Okotoks and demonstrating in a very good AEHL U18 league that he can produce at an elite level. We scouted him aggressively in the last month or so and were consistently impressed.”

The Blades are now home to the top two point-per-game players in U18 AAA with Halat and 2008-born winger Kohen Lodge, who is currently up with the Blades roster.

“Adam has an elite hockey IQ and his passing ability is second to none,” said Priestner, “He’s not going to be the biggest guy on the ice, but he’s proven that his compete and skill level are best in class. We think his upside is extremely high.”

Hansen leaves the Bridge City with 168 games wearing a Blue and Gold sweater. The Blades want to thank Lukas for his contributions to the organization and community of Saskatoon for the past three years.

“Lukas has been an exemplary Blade over his four years with the team,” said Priestner, “He has battled through injuries and adversity and come through night after night for us when we needed a shot block or penalty killed off. We’re excited for him to get a fresh stare in Calgary on a great team where he can bring his playoff experience and leadership.”

The Blades want to welcome the Halat family to the organization and city of Saskatoon, and look forward to working with Adam on the next chapter in his hockey career.