WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Begin Tour Of U.S. Division Against T-Birds

Published on December 30, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The Saskatoon Blades start a six-game road trip, which includes games against all five U.S. Division teams, with a matchup against the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight. Game time at the ShoWare Center is 9:05 pm (Sask. time).

Head-to-Head

This is the lone meeting of the season between the hockey clubs. Last season, Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) scored the Blades' only goal in regulation in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Thunderbirds at Credit Union Centre.

Saskatoon Blades

The Blades (24-7-1-3, 52 points, T-1st in East Division, T-2nd in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's game following an 11-day layoff for the team's Christmas Break. In the final game before the break on December 19th, Hulak had two goals and two assists and Charles Inglis (Saskatoon, SK) had a goal and two assists as the Blades defeated the Prince Albert Raiders by a 5-2 score. Josh Nicholls (Tsawwassen, BC) and Brent Benson (Weyburn, SK) also scored for the Blades while Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) made 23 saves between the pipes to earn the victory.

Hulak is the Blades' scoring leader this season with 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 points on the campaign. Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) sits second with 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points. Stefan

Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) is third in team scoring and tops amongst the team's rearguards with 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points.

Wintoneak is the team leader for goals with 17 markers this season.

Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) leads the Blades and is second in the Western Hockey League for penalty minutes this season with 110. Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) is second on the team and tied for fourth in the WHL with 105 penalty minutes.

Elliott (T-4th - +24), Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) (T-4th - +24), and Hulak (T-7th - +22) are all featured in the WHL top 10 for plus/minus this season.

Between the pipes, Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) is 11-6-0-3 with a 2.81 goals against average (9th in the WHL), and a.910 save percentage (7th in the WHL) in 20 appearances this season. Stanford is 13-3-1-0 with a 2.27 goals against average (2nd in the WHL) and a.915 save percentage (5th in the WHL) in 18 appearances this season.

The Blades are tied for 18th in the WHL in power play efficiency, working at an 18.4% rate this season. While shorthanded, the Blades have killed off 84.5% of shorthanded situations, good for 2nd in the WHL.

Seattle Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds (13-19-2-4, 32 points, 5th in U.S. Division, 9th in Western Conference) come into tonight's game having earned points in three consecutive games. The team last played on Sunday evening, dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the Chilliwack Bruins.

Overage forward Prab Rai leads the Thunderbirds in scoring with 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points this season. Charles Wells is second on the team with 9 goals and 20 assists for 29 points. Defenseman Jeremy Schappert is third and tops amongst the team's rearguards with 8 goals and 20 assists for 28 points.

With 22 goals on the season, Rai is the T-Birds' leading goal scorer.

Rookie Colin Jacobs leads the team in penalty minutes with 68 on the season.

Defenseman Scott Ramsey is the team leader in plus/minus at +5 on the campaign.

Sophomore Calvin Pickard has seen the majority of the action in goal in making 32 appearances on the season while compiling an 11-15-2-4 record to go along with a 2.68 goals against average (7th in the WHL) and a.925 save percentage (T-1st in the WHL). Backup Kyle Jahraus, a product of Saskatoon, has played in 4 games this season and has a 2-1-0-0 record with a 5.17 goals against average and a.853 save percentage.

The Thunderbirds feature the 15th-ranked power play in the WHL, working at a 19.7% rate on the season. The team's penalty kill unit is working at an 84.1% clip this year, putting them 5th in the league.

Blades vs Thunderbirds

Follow all the action tonight on 92.9 The Bull with Les Lazaruk. The game can also be purchased on WHL WebTV.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2009


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