Blades upset Oil Kings with Game 7 OT win
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on April 8, 2026.
PHOTO COURTESY ANDY DEVLIN/EDMONTON OIL KINGS
Saskatoon Blades goaltender Evan Gardner watches the puck after making a save Monday in Game 7 of the first-round series with the Edmonton Oil Kings. The No. 7 seed Blades won 3-2 in overtime to upset the No. 3 seed Oil Kings.
The Saskatoon Blades provided the lone upset in the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs.
The No. 6 seed Blades beat the No. 3 seed Edmonton Oil Kings with a 3-2, overtime win to take Game 7 Monday in Edmonton, winning the series 4-3. It’s the second straight season the Oil Kings have bowed out in a first-round Game 7. They were shut out 5-0 last year by the Prince Albert Raiders, who overcame Edmonton’s 3-1 series lead.
Edmonton never held a lead in the series with the Blades, Saskatoon opened the round with a win before the Oil Kings responded with a Game 2, overtime win. The two teams traded wins back and forth, Saskatoon grabbing a 3-2 series lead with a 4-2 Game 5 win on April 3 before Edmonton forced Game 7 with a 3-2, overtime win Sunday.
Saskatoon opened the scoring in the second period in Game 7, David Lewandowski scoring his third of the series. Edmonton responded exactly two minutes later, Aaron Obobaifo scoring his third of the playoffs.
With 5:41 left in the third period, Edmonton captain Gavin Hodnett scored for a 2-1 lead that did not last. Just 33 seconds later, Cooper Williams scored for Saskatoon to tie the game up and force overtime.
After Saskatoon killed off an Oil Kings power play, the Blades went on a man advantage of their own. On that power play, Rowan Calvert tipped in a shot from Lewandowski, beating Parker Snell, to take the series decider.
Both teams scored 21 goals in the series. Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Evan Gardner worked all seven games in the Saskatoon net, with a 2.53 goals against average and .916 save percentage. The Oil Kings used two goalies, Snell started four games with a 2.22 GAA and a .924 SV%. Ethan Simcoe, who started five games in last year’s playoffs, had three starts against Saskatoon with a 3.06 GAA and a .913 SV%.
The Blades will meet the Eastern Conference champion Prince Albert Raiders, who downed the Red Deer Rebels in five games, in a second-round clash between fierce East division rivals.
Prince Albert won the season series 6-1-1, forward Riley Boychuk and defenceman Daxon Rudolph led the Raiders in scoring with two goals and eight points each in eight games against Saskatoon.
Calvert led the Blades in offence against Prince Albert, with two goals and six points in seven games. Former Medicine Hat Tiger Hayden Harsanyi had two goals and five points in eight games.
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