RECAP: Blades hit hot goalie in Brandon, fall 3-1 to Wheat Kings
The Saskatoon Blades brought the effort Saturday night in Brandon but couldn’t get anything by Wheat Kings netminder Logan Thompson who made 36 saves on 37 shots to lead his club to a 3-1 victory. The loss leaves the Blades with a 7-10-1-0 record on the season. Next up for the Blades is the season series opener with the Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday night at SaskTel Centre.
For the first time this season the Blades ended the opening period with zeros on the scoreboard. It was a solid start for Saskatoon outshooting the Wheat Kings 12-7 and going 2/2 on the penalty kill in the first 20 minutes.
In the middle frame the Blades continued to play with fire giving the Wheat Kings their 3rd power play of the night, and again they shut down the number two unit in the league. Finally on their fourth attempt Brandon got one by Ryan Kubic to open the scoring off a redirected point shot courtesy of Baron Thompson. The second period belonged to Brandon not only on the scoreboard but they also outshot the Blades 12-4.
The third period was all Saskatoon in terms of chances, but Logan Thompson was a brick wall stopping 20 shots in the final 20 minutes. He did allow one goal late in the game as Jake Kustra popped a bouncing puck short-side over the veteran backstop. Kustra’s first of the season came short-handed, but it was too little too late as Stelio Mattheos scored minutes earlier. The Wheat Kings would add an empty netter- which appeared to cross the line after the final buzzer so perhaps a freebie for 20-year-old Evan Weinger.
Libor Hájek and Cam Hebig saw their point streaks come to an end, but thanks to Chase Wouters’ assisting on the Blades lone goal he now has 4 points in his last two games. Ryan Kubic turned away 21/23 shots in the loss.
And despite a close game in which the Blades owned two of the three periods, all three game stars were awarded to the hometown Wheat Kings.
The Blades will have a chance at redemption as the Wheat Kings come to Saskatoon next Friday. Next action for Saskatoon is against the East Division leading Moose Jaw Warriors on Wednesday night at SaskTel Centre.
The next Blades home game is Wednesday, November 15th versus the Moose Jaw Warriors. Click here for tickets or call 306.975.8844 to book your group night or experience package!