GAME DAY PREVIEW: Blades open weekend in Brandon
Saskatoon Blades (26-25-2-1) at Brandon Wheat Kings (29-19-3-2) |
Date | Time | Friday, Feb. 2nd | 7:30 pm |
Place | Westoba Place, Brandon, MB |
Video Stream | WHL Live |
Radio | 92.9 The Bull FM | Pre-Game Show w/ Les Lazaruk @ 7:00pm |
Mobile App | Apple | Android |
Live Stats | Click Here |
Next Home Game | 7:00pm Saturday, February 10th vs Prince Albert Raiders |
Social Media | @BladesHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
Tonight – The Saskatoon Blades open up a 3-games in 3-nights weekend in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. It’s the 6th meeting between the Blades and Wheaties… Brandon leads the season series 3-2. However, they are a different looking team after hitting the “sell” button at the trade deadline and have gone 2-7-3 since then. Meanwhile, Saskatoon is in a dogfight for a playoff spot currently tied with Prince Albert at 55 points, but the Raiders- who are in Swift Current tonight- have 1 game in hand. The Blades host the Raiders tomorrow in Saskatoon.
The opponent – The Wheat Kings have just 1 win in their last 11 games, but it appears the dust from the shake up at the deadline is starting to settle and Brandon is regaining their form. Brandon is led by veteran netminder, Logan Thompson, who is coming off a busy night on Tuesday when he made 46 saves in a 5-2 loss to Regina.
For Saskatoon – The Blades returned to the win column and found some secondary scoring in the process on Tuesday with a 5-3 win over Kootenay. Michael Farren scored a power play goal and added another at even strength, Brad Goethals had a short-handed marker, and Chase Wouters also tallied for the Blades. A good sign from the special teams heading into tonight’s tilt. Tyler Brown has posted 4 wins against Brandon this season with Regina and seems to perform at his best in his home province so the Blades might look to the veteran to start tonight.
The lineup – The Blades went with 7 defensemen and 11 forwards on Tuesday and it worked, so they might not make any major changes. The forward lines were shuffled from the previous game but again due to the success, they may stay the same as last outing.
Download & view the full game notes: game notes at BDN feb9