Blades top Oil Kings in OT to win Game 7, take WHL playoff series

The Saskatoon Blades eliminated the Edmonton Oil Kings from the Western Hockey League’s playoffs in a 3-2 victory Monday.

It came down to the final game of the series. In overtime.

In the end, Rowan Calvert’s goal past goalie Parker Snell at 7:23 of the extra frame lifted the visiting Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 Game 7 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings and a first-round Western Hockey League playoff series victory.

Saskatoon’s win Monday night at Rogers Place went back-and-forth, with teams trading goals and the lead before the Blades capitalized on an overtime power play.

“We had chances in overtime, but they got the goal and we didn’t,” Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith told media after the game, referencing his team’s own OT power-play opportunity a few minutes before the winning tally. “Our guys are disappointed and they’re happy ... We just didn’t play connected enough to get the game closed out.”

Monday’s result capped a strong regular-season performance by the Oil Kings, who finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 45-18-5 record. It came a year after they returned to the league’s playoff picture following two seasons rebuilding and at or near the bottom of the standings. Edmonton had won the WHL championship in 2022.

“It’s obviously disappointing for us as a group and a team and the Oil Kings organization, but there was lots of positive growth in the group throughout the year and a lot of younger guys got better,” said Smith, who completed his first season as Oil Kings’ bench boss. “That’s a part of junior hockey.”

The Blades move on to face their regional rivals, the Prince Albert Raiders, in Round 2 starting Friday.