Blades-Oil Kings Game Update
The Blades saw their losing streak slide to 7 games on Tuesday night as they dropped a 3-1 game on home ice to the Edmonton Oil Kings. Edmonton scored a pair of shorthanded goals in the game, with Henrik Samuelsson earning first star honours
The game had a bit of a tentative start, with the first set of good chances coming from the Blades as the pair of Brett Stovin and Cory Millette generated some nice traffic in front near the five minute mark. Shortly after that, the Oil Kings came close to opening the score as a point shot beat Blades starter Troy Trombley through traffic, but didn’t beat the post as it rang off the iron. Then on the powerplay, the Oil Kings got on the board for real. Curtis Lazar scored his 19th of the season at 8:14 when he tapped home a rebound off an Ashton Sautner point shot to make it 1-0. Saskatoon nearly answered back shortly after the goal when Matt Revel fed Cory Millette on a 2-1, with Millette just missing on his attempt on Oil Kings goalie Tristan Jarry. Saskatoon had two more great chances before the period was up with Cameron Hebig hitting a crossbar and Revel just missing wide on a nearly open cage. But, the Oil Kings took their 1-0 lead into the first intermission with the shots sitting at 13-8 in favour of the visitors.
The Blades started off the second period with some good pressure from the line of Cory Millette, Brett Stovin and Matt Revel. Jarry was forced to make three solid saves from in close. That pressure eventually paid off for Saskatoon as they tied the game at 3:07 of the frame. The goal came as Nathan Burns sent a feed to Nikita Scherbak, who kicked the puck to his skate and slid a backhand underneath Jarry to make it a 1-1 game with his 18th of the season. The Oil Kings nearly bounced back when Cole Benson was robbed seconds later after a point shot rebound went right to him at the side of the net, with Trombley having the answer for Saskatoon. The game then had it’s first fight as Chase Clayton dropped the mitts with Mitch Walter. Clayton earned the decision with a decisive right hand that buckled Walter. Edmonton then regained the lead as Cole Benson capitalized on a tough bounce while shorthanded. Aaron Irving dumped the puck down the ice on the PK, with the puck bouncing off Trombley and going right to Benson who was the first man down the ice. He grabbed the puck and beat Trombley to make it 2-1. After some good chances for Saskatoon late in the frame, the Oil Kings then extended the lead in the final minute, also shorthanded. The goal came as Henrik Samuelsson broke in all alone after a Saskatoon turnover and beat Trombley with a nice deke to make it 3-1 through 40 minutes. The Oil Kings also led on the shot clock by a count of 33-16 through 40 minutes.
Blades goalie Troy Trombley continued to answer the bell early in the third period. He made a sliding save through traffic after a point shot early in the frame to keep it 3-1. Saskatoon then had their chance to get closer to the lead when Nathan Burns’ long shot on a partial 3 on 2 rush was found by Jarry through traffic. Saskatoon then was off to the poweprlay with just over 10 minutes remaining when Brett Stovin was hit hard from behind in the Oil Kings zone. The best chance of the man advantage went to Matt Revel as his hard, high shot went off the mask of Jarry but stayed out to keep it 3-1. The two teams continued to trade chances throughout the remainder of the game, with both goaltenders playing solid. Saskatoon pulled the goalie with under 2 minutes to play, but failed to generate much in the way of a chance to get back within a goal. The buzzer sounded as Saskatoon fell by a count of 3-1. Final shots in the game were 49-20, with Edmonton going 1 for 3 on the PP with a pair of shorthanded goals.
The Blades next home game goes this Friday night against the Regina Pats as the Blades are proud to present Global TV Toque Toss Night! Go ahead and bring new or gently worn toques, mitts and scarves to be thrown onto the ice when the Blades score their first goal of the game!
You can get your tickets for Friday’s Global TV Toque Toss game by clicking here.