Blades Travel To Brandon
The Saskatoon Blades (23-17-0-1) hit the road to take on the Brandon Wheat Kings (22-17-1-1) tonight. The game marks the second time the Blades have visited Brandon.
The Blades have had three days off since their last game, a 4-3 win over the Regina Pats on Saturday night as those two teams finished off their double-header.
The Blades got a big performance from the line of Jake Trask, Jesse Paradis and Michael Burns as they combined for 8 points in the Blades 4-3 win over the Pats.
The Blades also got a short-lived boost from Andrey Makarov as the Russian goaltender started the game after his stint with Team Russia at the World Juniors. Unfortunately, his return to the lineup was short-lived.
Early in the first period Makarov was run over in his crease by Morgan Klimchuk of the Pats. Klimchuk was given a 5 minute major for charging and a game misconduct. Makarov finished the period, but was absent from the ice and the bench to start the second. He has since been diagnosed with a concussion.
Alex Moodie played goal the rest of the way for the Blades and made 16 saves to earn his third win of the season.
Tonight’s game marks the fourth meeting of the season between the Blades and the Wheat Kings. This also marks the second meeting of the season between the teams in Brandon.
Saskatoon has won two of the first three meetings this season, which have broken down as follows:
– 6-0 loss on October 1st, 2011
– 5-2 win on November 8th, 2011
– 8-2 win on January 1st, 2011
Last season the Blades and Wheat Kings met 8 times with Saskatoon posting a record of 4-3-1-0 in the 8 meetings. Despite the winning record, they were outscored 39-34 by Brandon. In the four games in Saskatoon, the Blades went 3-1 and outscored Brandon 22-18.
It was a busy day yesterday in the Western Hockey League as it was trade deadline day for the 2011-2012 season. But, the Saskatoon Blades saw the deadline come and go as they decided to stand pat and not make any roster changes. The WHL’s Eastern Conference was the busiest place as Brandon, Moose Jaw and Regina all made big splashes.
Blades Statistical Leaders
– Matej Stransky leads the team with 21 goals and 42 points.
– Dalton Thrower and Jesse Paradis lead the team with 23 assists.
– Michael Burns leads the team with a +18 rating.
– Lukas Sutter leads the team with 96 penalty minutes.
– Matej Stransky leads the team with 6 powerplay goals.
– Jesse Paradis and Josh Nicholls lead the team with 3 shorthanded goals.
– Matej Stransky leads the team with 5 game winning goals.
Milestones
– Darren Dietz is 1 point away from 50 in his career
– Jesse Paradis is 9 penalty minutes away from 200 in his career
– Michael Burns is 12 points away from 100 in his career
– Lukas Sutter is 17 penalty minutes away from 300 in his career
– Duncan Siemens is 17 points away from 100 in his career
The puck drops in Brandon at 7:00 PM Saskatchewan time. If you can’t catch the game on WHL live, make sure to tune in on the radio with Les Lazaruk on 92.9 The Bull. He’ll have the pre-game show starting at 6:30 PM.
Saskatoon Blades Hockey, It Starts Here!
