GAME DAY PREVIEW: Pacmen ready for the Rebels
Red Deer Rebels (13-25-9-3) at Saskatoon Blades (25-23-2-1) |
Date | Time | Place | Wednesday, Jan. 31st | 7:00 p.m | SaskTel Centre |
Tickets | Click here |
Video Stream | WHL Live |
Radio | 92.9 The Bull FM | Pre-Game Show w/ Les Lazaruk @6:30pm |
Mobile App | Apple | Android |
Live Stats | Click Here |
Next Home Game | Tuesday, February 6th, 7:00pm vs Kootenay ICE |
Social Media | @BladesHockey | Facebook | Instagram |
It’s the last Wing-It Wednesday of the regular season! Buy 1 ticket and get a second for only $2 and also enjoy $5 boneless wings from the concession.
Tonight – The Saskatoon Blades will try for their 3rd straight win as they welcome the Red Deer Rebels. It’s the 4th and final meeting on the season between the Blades and Rebels… Saskatoon will look for the sweet leading 3-0 and currently sitting just 3 points ahead of Prince Albert for the final wild-card spot in the East. Meanwhile, the Rebels have points in their last 4 games and are coming off a 4-3 OT win last night in Prince Albert. The Blades have went 6-2 at home in the month of January- their best monthly home record of the season- and will look to wrap things up on a winning note while keeping their distance from the gaining Raiders.
The opponent – Definitely not a good year for the Rebels who have just 13 wins after last night, but they’ve been playing their best hockey over the last two weeks including 3 wins and an OT loss over their past 4. Rookie netminder Ethan Anders is fresh off WHL Goalie Of The Week honours. Former Blade Mason McCarty leads Red Deer in scoring with 49 points in 48 games.
For Saskatoon – The Blades can’t afford to take the Rebels lightly. Having not played since the weekend, Saskatoon should have the edge in energy but that will be up to them. Shut down their top line and make the rookie goalie work early and often. The Rebels would love to play spoiler and go home with back-to-back wins, but they also don’t have much to lose so the Blades need to stay disciplined.
The lineup – With a mostly healthy roster the Blades will have three players to scratch… last game Randen Schmidt, Brandon Machado, and Alec Zawatsky were the odd men out. Despite the win, there is a chance of some changes. Between the pipes both Tyler Brown and Nolan Maier are coming off strong winning performances so either will be confident and ready to go. One thing unlikely to change is the line of Chase Wouters, Braylon Shmyr, and Josh Paterson, who have been carrying the bulk of the offense since their formation prior to Christmas.
Download & view the full game notes: game notes vs RD jan31