
Blades Battle Western Conference Leader
January 3, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release
The Saskatoon Blades play the top team in the Western Conference, the Tri-City Americans, tonight. Game time at the Toyota Center is 7:00 pm (Sask. time).
Head-to-Head This is the only time this season the Blades and Americans will face off. The Blades defeated the Americans by a 5-1 score last season on October 4th at Credit Union Centre. Burke Gallimore (Edmonton, AB) had two goals in the contest to lead the Blades' charge.
Saskatoon Blades The Blades (27-7-1-3, 58 points, 1st in East Division, 1st in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's game following a 6-5 victory in overtime over the Portland Winterhawks last evening. Jeremy Boyer (Saskatoon, SK) had two goals to lead the Blades while Josh Nicholls (Tsawwassen, BC), Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC), Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK), and Charles Inglis (Saskatoon, SK) also scored as the team has now won four consecutive games. Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) made 27 saves in goal to earn the victory.
Hulak is the Blades' scoring leader this season with 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points. Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) sits second with 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points. Elliott is tops amongst the team's defensemen and third on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 24 assists for 37 points. The third-year blueliner is also tied for sixth amongst WHL defensemen in scoring.
Wintoneak is the team leader for goals with 18 markers this season.
Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) leads the Blades and is third in the Western Hockey League for penalty minutes this season with 112. Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) is second on the team and fifth in the WHL with 110 penalty minutes.
Elliott (4th - +26), Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) (T-5th - +25), and Hulak (T-9th - +22) are all featured in the WHL top 10 for plus/minus this season.
Between the pipes, Morrison is 13-6-0-3 with a 2.90 goals against average and a.907 save percentage in 22 appearances this season. Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB), meanwhile, is 14-3-1-0 with a 2.20 goals against average and a.916 save percentage in 19 appearances this season.
The Blades are tied for 15th in the WHL in power play efficiency, working at a 19.3% rate this season. While shorthanded, the Blades have killed off 83.4% of shorthanded situations, good for 4th in the WHL.
Tri-City Americans The Americans (29-9-0-1, 59 points, 1st in U.S. Division, 1st in Western Conference) come into tonight's game having earned points in eight consecutive contests. The host club also played last evening, falling 6-5 to the Everett Silvertips in a shootout.
Brendan Shinnimin leads the hockey club in scoring this season with 21 goals and 31 assists for 51 points and sits tied for seventh in the WHL scoring race. Brooks Macek is second on the team with 12 goals and 36 assists for 48 points. Johnny Lazo is third with 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points. Brett Plouffe leads the team's rearguards with 5 goals and 18 assists for 23 points.
With 23 goals on the season, Lazo is the Americans' leading goal scorer.
Defenseman Tyler Schmidt leads the team in penalty minutes with 54 on the season.
Jarrett Toll is the team leader in plus/minus at +22 on the campaign, which puts him tied for 9th in the WHL.
Sophomore Drew Owsley has seen the majority of the action in goal in making 36 appearances on the season while compiling an 27-8-0-0 record to go along with a 2.50 goals against average and a.918 save percentage. Recent addition Alexander Pechurskiy has played in 2 games this season and has a 1-0-0-1 record with a 2.40 goals against average and a.922 save percentage.
The Americans feature the 5th-ranked power play in the WHL, working at a 25.9% rate on the season. The team's penalty kill unit is working at an 80.7% clip this year, putting them 9th in the league.
Blades vs Americans Follow all the action tonight on 92.9 The Bull with Les Lazaruk. The game can also be purchased on WHL WebTV.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2010
- Patterson Lifts Blades Over Tri-City 6-4 In Battle Of Conference's Best - Tri-City Americans
- Everett Defeats Portland, 2-1 - Everett Silvertips
- Chiefs Rally To Defeat T-Birds - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Brad Ross Extends Goal Streak To Five Games In 2-1 Winterhawks Loss - Portland Winterhawks
- Blades Get Past Americans 6-4 - Saskatoon Blades
- Calgary Hitmen Drop 4-2 Decision To Lethbridge - Calgary Hitmen
- Oil Kings Fall To Red Hot Rebels - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Canada Will Go For Gold - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Wheat Kings To Host Torch, Amanda Stott - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Blades Battle Western Conference Leader - Saskatoon Blades
- Winterhawks Lose Overtime Heartbreaker 6-5 To Saskatoon - Portland Winterhawks
- Dailey Leads 'Tips Past Americans 6-5 In So - Tri-City Americans
- Blades Edge Winterhawks 6-5 In Overtime - Saskatoon Blades
- Rockets Beat Bruins - Kelowna Rockets
- Everett Tops Tri-City in Shootout Thriller, 6-5 - Everett Silvertips
- Oil Kings earn much deserved point in shootout loss to Red Deer - Edmonton Oil Kings
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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