The Saskatoon Blades, winners of seven straight, head to Regina tonight for a matchup with the Pats. Game time at the Brandt Centre is 7:00 pm.Head-to-Head
The Blades and Pats have faced off four times already this season with the Blades sporting a 3-0-0-1 record and the Pats a 1-3-0-0 record. Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK), a former Pat, leads the Blades with 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in the four contests. Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) is second with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points and Burke Gallimore (Edmonton, AB) is third with 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points. Brett Leffler leads the Pats' with 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in the four games. Matt Strueby is second with 3 goals against the Blades.
Saskatoon Blades
The Blades (15-3-0-2, 1st in East Division, 1st in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's hockey game on a seven game winning streak and winners of 13 of the last 14. On Wednesday evening, the Bridge City Bunch came away with a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos. Curtis Hamilton (Kelowna, BC) and Charles Inglis (Saskatoon, SK) bulged the twine in the Blades' win while Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) made 22 saves in goal.
Hulak continues to be the team leader in scoring this season with 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points putting him in a tie for fifth in Western Hockey League scoring. Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB), tied for ninth in WHL scoring, is second on the Blades with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points. Gaelan Patterson's (Saskatoon, SK) 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points put him third on the team. Elliott is leading scorer amongst Blades' rearguards with 8 goals and 10 assists for 18 points, which puts him fourth for WHL defensemen.
The Blades are led in goals by Wintoneak, who has 10 markers on the season.
Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) leads the Blades and the WHL with 77 penalty minutes this season while Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) is second on both lists with 69 penalty minutes.
Between the pipes, Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) has a 9-3-0-2 record this season to go along with a 2.39 goals against average (4th in the WHL), and a.918 save percentage (5th in the WHL). Stanford is 6-2-0-0 on the season with a 2.01 goals against average (1st in the WHL) and a.918 save percentage (6th in the WHL).
The Blades' power play, working at a 11.8% rate this season, is ranked 21st in the WHL. The penalty kill unit has killed off 88.0% of shorthanded situations, 2nd in the WHL.
Regina Pats
The Pats (7-9-2-0, 6th in East Division, T-9th in Eastern Conference) were also last in action on Wednesday, beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 7-4 at home.
Jordan Eberle leads the Pats in scoring and is tied for 5th in the WHL with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points. Jordan Weal is second on the team with 9 goals and 15 assists for 24 points. Veteran Colten Teubert leads the Pats' defensemen in points with 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points.
Eberle leads the Pats and is tied for 5th in the WHL with 15 goals on the campaign.
Brett Leffler has 50 penalty minutes on the season to lead the team in that category.
In goal, Damien Ketlo has seen action in 11 games this season, putting together a 4-5-1-0 record to go along with a 3.00 goals against average and a.911 save percentage (10th in the WHL). Dawson Guhle has a 3-4-1-0 record in 9 appearances this season with a 4.35 goals against average and a.862 save percentage.
The Pats feature the #4-ranked power play in the Western Hockey League, converting at a 28.0% rate on the season. While shorthanded, the Pats have killed off 78.3% of chances, putting them 15th in the WHL.
Tonight's game can be heard live on 92.9 The Bull with Les Lazaruk. Fans can also purchase the game on WHL WebTV.
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