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Fort St. John’s Gardner a stonewall for Blades, records consecutive shutouts

Evan Gardner stopped a combined 52 shots in the two wins, as the Saskatoon Blades won by scores of 3-0 and 4-0.

By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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News

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March 17, 2025

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Saskatoon Blades and Fort St. John product Evan Gardner stopped 52 shots in consecutive shutouts on March 14th and 16th (Saskatoon Blades, Facebook)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Western Hockey League (WHL) goaltender with local ties was a stonewall for his team as the league’s regular season winds down.

Fort St. John’s Evan Gardner recorded consecutive shutouts in games against the Swift Current Broncos and the Regina Pats on Friday, March 14th and Sunday, March 16th.

Gardner stopped a combined 52 shots in the two wins, as the Saskatoon Blades won by scores of 3-0 and 4-0.

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His stellar play has his team in a tie for the WHL’s East Division lead with the Brandon Wheat Kings at 79 points with three games left on their schedule.

The 19-year-old was drafted in the second round by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2024 NHL entry draft.

Gardner stands with a record of 22 wins, 12 losses, 3 overtime losses with 1 shootout loss and a goals against average (GAA) of 2.83 for the Blades, putting him in the top ten in both wins and GAA in the 2024-25 WHL season.

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More information about the Saskatoon Blades is available on the league’s website.

Authors

Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A guy who found his calling later in life, Edward Hitchins is a professional storyteller with a colourful and extensive history.

Beginning his journey into journalism in 2012 at Seneca College, Edward also graduated from Humber College with an Advanced Diploma in Print and Broadcast Journalism in 2018. After time off from his career and venturing into other vocations, he started his career proper in 2022 in Campbell River, B.C.

Edward was attracted to the position of Indigenous Voices reporter with Energeticcity as a challenge. Having not been around First Nations for the majority of his life, he hopes to learn about their culture through meaningful conversations while properly telling their stories.

In a way, he hopes this position will allow both himself and Energeticcity to grow as a collective unit as his career moves forward and evolves into the next step.

He looks forward to growing both as a reporter and as a human being while being posted in Fort St. John.

This reporting position has been funded by the Government of Canada and the Local Journalism Initiative.