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Rowan Calvert made sure Monday night’s Game 7 against the Edmonton Oil Kings would not be the final of his Western Hockey League career.
The Saskatoon Blades overage forward delivered the biggest goal of his junior career Monday, tipping a David Lewandowski point shot 7:23 into overtime to secure the series-winning 3-2 victory in Edmonton.
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Calvert’s goal marks the first Game 7 road victory in franchise history for Saskatoon, as the sixth-seeded Blades managed to pull off the series upset over the third-ranked Oil Kings and kept their season alive.
Saskatoon’s win on Monday now sets up a highly anticipated second round matchup against the rival Prince Albert Raiders, who defeated the Red Deer Rebels in five games.
Coming off a wild and controversial finish to Game 6 of the series on Sunday afternoon at SaskTel Centre, it was a bit more of a subdued start to Game 7 with no goals in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Just over six minutes into the second period, the Blades were gifted a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play with Edmonton’s Landon Hanson and Andrew O’Neill committing separate penalties.
On the ensuing man advantage, Cooper Williams threw a cross-ice pass which Lewandowski wired into the net on a one-timer for his third goal of the playoffs.
Saskatoon’s lead only lasted two minutes however, with Edmonton answering back on their own power play chance with Aaron Obobaifo tipping a point shot from Carter Sotheran to tie the game at 1-1.
Under a minute after his tying goal, Obobaifo needed assistance off the ice after receiving a cross-check from Blades forward Zach Olsen though he did return to the game later in the period.
Blades goaltender Evan Gardner stepped up midway through the third period, robbing O’Neill with his right pad to prevent the go-ahead goal.
Edmonton thought they had the potential series-clinching marker with 5:41 remaining in the third period, with Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett finding a lane and burying his first goal of the playoffs.
With their season on the line, the Blades needed just 33 seconds to respond with Rowan Calvert feeding Williams in the slot which the University of North Dakota commit made no mistake finishing off to force overtime.
It was nearly a repeat of Sunday’s Game 6 double overtime loss for the Blades, as Gavin Clark was booked for a hooking penalty just 3:18 into the extra frame Monday to give Edmonton a shot at the series win.
With Gardner down in his net, defender Brayden Klimpke came up with a key shot block in the crease for Saskatoon to help kill off the penalty and get back to even strength.
A breakaway a few minutes later by O’Neill was stopped by Gardner, who was run into by Edmonton’s Kanjyu Gojsic and called on a goaltender interference penalty himself.
On the ensuing power play, Saskatoon sealed the series win with Calvert deflecting Lewandowski’s shot past Oil Kings goaltender Parker Snell and diving towards centre ice to lead the Blades’ celebration.
Saskatoon’s Game 7 win also ended a three-game drought dating back to 2024 in which they had an opportunity to eliminate their opponents.
The Blades and Raiders will now meet in the WHL’s Eastern Conference semi-final, which will begin on Friday night with top-seeded Prince Albert hosting Game 1 at the Art Hauser Centre at 7 p.m.
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