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 Saskatoon Blades

Preview: Blades at Rebels - November 20th

November 20, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


OFF THE TOP: The Blades return to action and kick off a three in three after a week break following their 4-3 overtime win over the Prince Albert Raiders last Friday Night. Ryan Graham scored the tying goal with 25 seconds remaining - his second of the night. He then completed the hat trick just 30 seconds into the extra frame to give the Blades the win.

LAST TIME OUT: This is the third meeting out of four this season between the Rebels and Blades. The Blades beat the Rebels 4-2 at home in their last matchup. Mason McCarty scored the game winning goal late in the second period. Terrell Draude added the insurance marker for the Blades while Brock Hamm made 33 saves in the victory. Overall, the teams have split the two games this year, with Red Deer outscoring the Blades by a score of 9-5.

MAKING HIS CASE: After being passed over in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Cameron Hebig has stormed out of the gate this season with 23 points in 19 games. Looking to prove NHL scouts wrong, Hebig leads the team in scoring and is in the top 30 for overall WHL scoring.

ROAD WARRIORS: Despite having just a 3-6-2-0 record at home this season, the Blades have found success on the road, posting a 6-1-1-0 record, earning 13 out of a possible 16 points in the process. The Blades have also won four straight road games.

SWEET 16: Cameron Hausinger (3g, 4a), Lukus MacKenzie (2g, 5a), and Logan Christensen (1g, 5a) are adapting well to life as a WHL player. Out of all 1999 born forwards in the league, the three Blades forwards are in the top 6 for scoring. Josh Paterson also has four points in 12 games, while playing a strong defensive role, often centering Hausinger and MacKenzie.

CRACKING THE LIST: The ISS released their November draft ranking earlier this month. Blades import defenceman, Libor Hajek, has made the list at 30th. This lists the WHL rookie as a 1st round selection. Hajek currently has 12 points (2g-10a) in 18 games so far for the Blades and eight in his last wight games. This puts him in 2nd in the league for rookie defenceman scoring. One point behind Caleb Jones of the Portland Winterhawks.

SHAKING OFF THE RUST: The Blades have hit a slow spot in the schedule with only one game in a two week stretch. The team has won their previous two games and are looking to sustain momentum through into this weekend's set of games. This is currently the longest break in between games for the Blades. Saskatoon has gone 1-1-0-0 in games after having a five day (or more) break in between contests.

INJURY REPORT: 17-year old defenceman Anthony Bishop has been cleared to play. The rookie defenceman has been out since injuring his hand in the last pre-season game vs. Swift Current.

UP NEXT: Saskatoon will now travel to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes on Saturday night, the second of their three games in three nights road trip.

MILESTONES/STREAKS:

Nick Zajac is two assists away from 75 career WHL assists.

Ryan Graham recorded his first career WHL hat trick last game vs. the Raiders.

Libor Hajek has nine points (2g-7a) in his last nine games. He is also on a five game assist streak (0g-5a).

Brycen Martin is on a four game point streak (1g-7a). He has recorded multiple points in all four games.

Brycen Martin is five assists away from 100 in his WHL career.

Cameron Hebig has four points in his last two games.

AGE BREAKDOWN:

3 - 1995, 3 - 1996, 7 - 1997, 5 - 1998, 5 - 1999.

GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN:

10 - SK, 7 - AB, 2 - MB, 2 - B.C., 1 - Alaska, 1 - Russia, 1 - Czech Republic

LEADING SCORERS:

Cameron Hebig: 19GP-10G-13-23PTS

Brycen Martin: 19GP-3G-16A-19PTS

Connor Gay: 17GP-5G-12A-17PTS

Nick Zajac: 19GP-7G-8A-15PTS

Ryan Graham: 19GP-9G-5A-14PTS

Libor Hajek: 19GP-2G-11A-13PTS

DRAFTED PLAYERS: Brycen Martin (BUF - 3rd, 2014)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

PP: 12/81 - 14.8% (20th)PK: 73/89 - 82.0% (7th)


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