WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Bounce Back into Win Column Friday Night

Published on November 3, 2018 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


Moose Jaw, Sask. - Head coach Mitch Love wanted his team to respond on Friday night after suffering a loss on Thursday night at home, and that's just what he got. The Blades skated to their 10th win of the season at Mosaic Place thanks to a 5-2 final over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Saskatoon will now travel to Regina with a 10-6-2-0 record for their final game of the weekend and first against the Pats of the season on Saturday night.

The game started out with a typical feel of apprehension as both teams assessed one another for the first meeting of the season. Slowly the pace picked up with both sides exchanging chances off the rush throughout the period. Jackson Caller broke the scoreless tie just over thirteen minutes into the first period. A missed pass ended up at the right point where Zach Ashton used a head fake towards the net while dishing off to his defence partner, Jackson Caller, who then stepped into a slapshot. The assist was Ashton's first career point in the Western Hockey League while the goal was Caller's 2nd of the season.

Moose Jaw answered back before the period was up; a point shot from Jett Woo was redirected by Keenan Taphorn to tie the game at 1-1. The Warriors took a slight advantage on the shot clock into the break at 14-12 with both sides killing off one minor penalty each.

Kirby Dach regained the lead in the second period with his 11th goal of the season. The 17-year-old centre burst down the left wing and fired a shot at Brodan Salmond that ricocheted off the Moose Jaw netminder and one of his defensemen before finding the back of the net. Gary Haden and Max Gerlach picked up the assists on the play.

Less than three minutes later the Blades power play went to work. This time Chase Wouters worked the puck back to the right-side point for Emil Malysjev who then fed Max Gerlach who was awaiting at his usual post on the left side. Gerlach ripped a shot through a crowd and past Salmond for his 9th of the season to put Saskatoon up 3-1 after two periods.

Looking to close things out with an early power play again in the third period, the Blades turned over the puck inside their zone and veteran forward Tristan Langan made good use of his opportunity. Langan went in on Dorrin Luding and scored his 11th of the season to get the home team back within one.

The short-handed goal gave the Warriors some momentum but it was cut short thanks to a fight at centre ice. Riley McKay got Matthew Sanders to drop the gloves for a brief tilt. Despite being smaller in stature, the veteran McKay ended up on top as the two combatants fell to the ice. Both were assessed five minute majors.

Feeling energized after the fight, the Blades kept pressing to increase their lead. Saskatoon outshot Moose Jaw 10-5 in the third period. Finally with less than three minutes remaining, Kirby Dach entered the offensive zone and displayed impressive hands and patience to set up Max Gerlach for his second goal of the night making it 4-2 Blades. Josh Paterson would add an empty netter to seal the victory; his 5th goal of the season.

Dorrin Luding turned aside 24/26 shots to pick up his 2nd win of the season, while Brodan Salmond made 31 saves at the other end for Moose Jaw. The Blades went 1/4 on the man advantage and improved their penalty kill percentage by denying the Warriors on their only two power plays in the game.

Saskatoon will play their third game in as many nights on Saturday as they head to the Queen City to open up an eight game season series with the Pats. Game time is 7:00pm and will be broadcast on the radio at 98 COOL FM. The official viewing party for Blades' road games will also be live at Shoeless Joes Sports Grill in Saskatoon.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Western Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2018


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.

OurSports Central