Friday,October 6th, 2017 @ 7:00PM SASKTEL CENTRE, SASKATOON, SK
Saskatoon Blades (1-2-0-0 – 2pts)
6th – East Division 12th – Eastern Conference
PP – 0/10 = 0% (22nd in WHL)
PK–5/8 = 62.5% (20th in WHL)
Swift Current Broncos (3-0-0-0 – 6pts)
2nd–East Division2nd – EasternConference
PP – 5/12 = 41.7% (1st in WHL)
PK – 9/11 = 81.8% (9th in WHL)
Tonight…The Saskatoon Bladeswill look avenge their 5-2 loss to the Swift Current Broncos on home opening night back on September 22nd, while handing their division rivals their first loss of the season. The Blades are riding the momentum of their first win of the season last Saturday which saw the return of Cam Hebig who chipped in with a goal, and last season’s leading scorer Braylon Shmyr breakthrough with 3 points. Meanwhile, the Broncos have worked their way into the conversation as a top contender in the league starting the season 3-0, all of which have been played on the road. Logan Flodell sat on the bench for the home opener just days after being traded from Saskatoon to Swift Current, but is expected to start against his former club tonight.
The last game…The Blades scored 5 goals, all at even strength en route to a 5-4 win over the Calgary Hitmen. Hebig, Dach, Fantillo, and Shmyr (2) did the scoring while Ryan Kubic earned his first win between the pipes. For the Broncos, they too haven’t played since last Saturday when they walloped the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-2. Steenbergen and Heponiemi each had 5 points.
He’s baaaack… Cameron Hebigreturned to action on Saturday, his first game since March 2016, scoring a goal in his highly anticipated season debut.
Trading places…Ryan Kubichas taken the reigns as the starting goalie in Saskatoon. Kubic was acquired from the Vancouver Giants after overage goaltender Logan Flodell was shipped to Swift Current in a separate deal on the same day, prior to the season opener.
Unfinished Grizz-ness…Joel Grzybowski came in relief of Ryan Kubic last Friday and stopped 15/16 shots faced in just under 30 minutes of work in his WHL debut. Tonight, Grzybowski is expected to make his firstcareer WHL start.
Draft Watch… 2000 born forwards Chase Wouters, Michael Farren, Matt Mosher, Brandon Machado, and late ’99 birthday Arjun Atwal, along with 2000 born defenseman Seth Bafaroare all entering their first year of NHL draft eligibility.
This day in Blades history:October 6, 2009…One day after the block-buster deal with Prince Albert to acquire Steven Stanford, “Trader Lorne” Molleken was at it again. This time, he went for size and muscle up front, acquiring tough guy right winger Randy McNaught from the Chilliwack Bruins for 17-year-old winger Jamie Crooks. McNaught proved to be a fan favourite in his one season with Saskatoon as an enforcer, piling up 131 penalty minutes in 59 games…along with six goals and six assists.
Injury report…
F Tyler Lees – upper body, 3 weeks
G Ryan Kubic – day-to-day
F LukusMacKenzie – lower body, day-to-day
Milestone Tracker
200 WHL games – Cameron Hebig (199) and
Evan Fiala (198)
100 WHL games – Jake Kustra (91)
50 WHL points – Logan Christensen (43)
Roster breakdown:
16Forwards
7Defenseman
3Goalies
Age Breakdown:
1997 – 3 2000 - 6
1998 – 6 2001 - 2
1999 – 9
How they were built
Round / # / Player (Overall - Year)1st / 2 / Wouters(19th - 2015), Dach(2nd – 2016)
2nd / 4 / Kustra (34th - 2014), Christensen(30th - 2014), Paterson(25th - 2014), Maier (25th – 2016)
3rd / 3 / Hebig(56th – 2012), MacKenzie(60th – 2014), Mosher(45th – 2015)
5th / 1 / Machado(101st – 2015)
11th / 1 / Grzybowski(223rd – 2014)
Euro / 2 / Hájek (2nd - 2015), Rubinchik (7th - 2016)
List / 2 / Farren, Michaud
Trade / 10 / Leslie, Ramsay, Shmyr, Fantillo, Fiala, Atwal, Kubic, Bafaro, Caller, Goethals
Team Leaders:
Goals: Shmyr, Fantillo (2)
Assists: Rubinchik (3)
Penalty Minutes: MacKenzie (8)
+/-: 3 tied (+2)
PPG:
SOG: Ramsay, Shmyr, Dach (8)
GWG:
SV%: Grzybowski (.938)
GAA: Grzybowski (2.01)
Rookie Points:Dach (2)
Faceoff %: Machado (66.7%)
2017-18 TEAM RECORDS
1-goal games / 1-0-0-02-goal games / 0-0-0-0
3-plus-goal games / 0-2-0-0
Scoring first / 1-1-0-0
Opp. scoring first / 0-1-0-0
Leading after 2 per. / 0-1-0-0
Trailing after 2 per. / 0-1-0-0
Tied after 2 per. / 1-0-0-0
Overtime Record / 0-0
Shootout Record / 0-0
Out-shooting opp. / 1-0-0-0
Out-shot by opp. / 0-2-0-0
Shots are even / 0-0-0-0
vs. BC / 0-0-0-0
vs. US / 0-0-0-0
vs. Central / 1-1-0-0
vs. East / 0-1-0-0
Month / Games / Record / Home / Road
September / 3 / 1-2-0-0 / 1-2-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
October / 10 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
November / 13 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
December / 12 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
January / 14 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
February / 11 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
March / 9 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
Totals / 72 / 1-2-0-0 / 1-2-0-0 / 0-0-0-0