Saturday,February 4th, 2017 – 7:00pm at SaskTel Centre,Saskatoon, SK
Saskatoon Blades (20-25-5-1 – 46pts)
5th – East Division 9th – Eastern Conference
PP – 49/240 = 20.4% (12th in WHL)
PK - 163/214 = 76.2% (17thin WHL)
Red Deer Rebels (23-21-5-3 – 54pts)
3rd–CentralDivision6th – Eastern Conference
PP – 41/220= 18.6% (15thin WHL)
PK – 177/232 = 76.3% (16th in WHL)
Tonight…The Saskatoon Blades(20-26-5-1) try to end a 4 game slide tonight hosting the Red Deer Rebels(23-21-5-3). This is the 3rd meeting of the season between the Blades and Rebels with each team earning a win on home ice in the previous two meetings. The last time these teams met was on January 14th in Saskatoon; Michael Farren had a goal and an assist for the Blades and LukusMacKenzie scored the game winning goal on a short-handed breakaway. The Calgary Hitmen edged the Vancouver Giants last night in overtime to bump the Blades out of a playoff spot. The Hitmen now sit 1 point ahead of the Blades in the standings, still with 1 game in hand.
The Last Game… The Blades are coming off a 5-2 loss last night on home ice to the Regina Pats. Bryton Sayers and Braylon Shmyr scored for the Blades while Brock Hamm stopped 32/36 shots faced. The Rebels are coming off a 6-3 win last night over the Prince Albert Raiders. Red Deer has gone 4-4-1-1 in their last 10 outings… Saskatoon is 5-5 in their last 10.
Keys to the Game…1)Red Deer has shown their physicality is past meetings with the Blades, trying to intimidate early on. Saskatoon will need to use their speed and try to expose the Rebels early on. 2) Desperation – the Blades have slipped out of a playoff spot and can’t afford to take one shift lightly from here on out.
Head to Head…Rookie Michael Farrenhas 3 points in 2 games against the Rebels this season, and linemateGage Ramsay has a goal in each meeting against Red Deer. Logan Flodell earned the Blades win over the Rebels. Lasse Petersen has started both games against Saskatoon posting an .870SV% with a win and a loss. Adam Musil leads the way for Red Deer with 2 goals and 2 helpers over Saskatoon, Evan Polei has 3 goals vs the Blades.
Power Surge… Saskatoon went 2/6 on the man advantage last night against the Regina Pats. Not overly flattering, but it’s an improvement over a dry stretch that saw the Blades go 1/12 in 2 games prior to Friday. The Blades are 3/8 on the PP against the Rebels in 2 games this season.
Farren Finding A Way… 16 year old Michael Farren is quickly becoming a fan favourite in the Bridge City. The feisty winger now has 22 points (4G – 18A) in 43 games played this season, sitting in a 3 way tie for most points by 2000 born players in the WHL.
Home Sweet Home… This is game #4 in a 7 game stretch at home for Saskatoon – the longest ofthe season. The Blades are 11-11-3 at SaskTel Centre this season and went 5-3-1 in the month of January at home. The home stand continues next Friday against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Leading By Example… The leaders of the team have been consistently contributing offensively in January. ’96 D BrytonSayers has 9 points in his last 9 games and leads the Blades with 21 assists. ’97 F Braylon Shmyrleads Saskatoon with 47 points in 52 games, with 14pts coming in his last 9 outings.
Injury report…
97 F Cam Hebig– upper body – indefinitely
97 F Mason McCarty – lower body – 2 weeks
96 F MarksonBechtold – upper body – 2-3 weeks
Man games lost this season: 190
Roster breakdown:15 Forwards, 7 Defenseman, 2 Goalies
Age Breakdown:1996 – 3 | 1997 –6 | 1998 – 5 | 1999 – 8 | 2000 – 2
The way they became Blades…
Round / # / Player (Overall - Year)1st / 1 / Wouters(19th - 2015)
2nd / 3 / Kustra (34th - 2014), Christensen(30th - 2014), Paterson(25th - 2014)
3rd / 2 / Hebig(56th – 2012), MacKenzie(60th – 2014)
Euro / 2 / Hájek (2nd - 2015), Rubinchik (7th - 2016)
List / 4 / Shynkaruk,Farren, Hamm, Michaud
Trade / 12 / Leslie, Sayers, McCarty, Ramsay, Shmyr, Flodell, Fantillo, Caller, Johnson, Fiala, Bechtold, Atwal
Team Leaders:
Goals: Braylon Shmyr (26)
Assists: Braylon Shmyr/Bryton Sayers (21)
Penalty Minutes: Evan Fiala (89)
+/-: Evan Fiala (+1)
PPG: Braylon Shmyr (12)
GWG: Jesse Shynkaruk (6)
SV%: Logan Flodell (.910)
GAA: Logan Flodell (2.99)
Rookie Points: Michael Farren (22)
2016-17 TEAM RECORDS
Home: 11-11-3-0 Road: 9-15-2-1
1-goal games / 9-5-5-12-goal games / 9-6-0
3-plus-goal games / 2-14-0
Scoring first / 15-3-2-1
Opponent scoring first / 5-23-3
Leading after 2 periods / 11-1-1-1
Trailing after 2 periods / 4-21-1
Tied after 2 periods / 5-3-2-0
Overtime Record / 3-5
Shootout Record / 2-1
Out-shooting opponent / 8-3-1-1
Out-shot by opponent / 10-21-4-0
Shots are even / 2-2-0
vs. BC / 2-3-0
vs. US / 1-3-0
vs. Central / 6-7-3
vs. East / 11-13-2-1
2016-17 RECORD by MONTH
Month / Games / Record / Home / Road
September / 3 / 1-2-0-0 / 0-1-0-0 / 1-1-0-0
October / 12 / 6-5-1-0 / 2-1-1 / 4-4-0-0
November / 13 / 3-9-1-0 / 2-3-0 / 1-6-1
December / 11 / 4-5-1-1 / 2-2-1-0 / 2-2-1-1
January / 12 / 6-5-1-0 / 5-3-1-0 / 1-2-0-0
February / 12 / 0-1-0-0 / 0-1-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
March / 9 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0 / 0-0-0-0
Totals / 72 / 20-26-5-1 / 11-11-3-0 / 9-15-2-1