WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Challenge Red-Hot Ice At Home

Published on January 22, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The Saskatoon Blades tonight welcome to Credit Union Centre the streaking Kootenay Ice, who comes in with points in 14 consecutive games. Game time is 7:05 pm.

Head-to-Head

The two clubs have met twice already this season with the home team taking each battle. The Blades took the first game of the season between the two by an 8-4 score on October 7th. In the rematch on January 6th in Cranbook, the Ice came away with an 8-1 win. The two teams will meet once more after tonight.

Curtis Hamilton (Kelowna, BC), Travis Toomey (Leduc, AB), and Jeremy Boyer (Saskatoon, SK) lead the Blades' charge against the Ice this season with three points each.

In goal, Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) has seen action in both games between the clubs and has a 1-0 record while turning aside 34 of 36 shots. Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB), meanwhile, took the loss in the latter of the two games and made 26 saves on 32 shots.

On the Kootenay side, Steele Boomer, Kevin King, and Brock Montgomery lead the way with four points each against the Blades.

Todd Mathews has been in net for both games and has a 1-1 record with 34 saves on 40 shots. Nathan Lieuwen came on in relief in the first contest and stopped 9 of 12 shots.

Saskatoon Blades

The Blades (32-9-2-3, 69 points, 1st in East Division, 1st in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's action with a streak of recording points in their last four games. The team was last in action on Saturday night against the Medicine Hat Tigers and fell in overtime by a 3-2 score. Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) and Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) scored the Blades' goals in the game while Stanford made 28 saves in goal.

Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) continues to lead the Blades in scoring this season with 20 goals and 35 assists for 55 points. Wintoneak is second in team scoring with 20 goals and 30 assists for 50 points. Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) is third on the team and tied for fourth amongst WHL defensemen with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points.

Hulak and Wintoneak share the team lead in goal scoring this season with 20 markers each.

Curt Gogol (Calgary, AB) is first overall in the WHL in penalty minutes with 133 this season. Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) is second on the team and fourth overall with 128 penalty minutes. Dziurzynski is third on the team and eighth overall with 120 penalty minutes.

Elliott is first overall in the league in the plus/minus category with a +34 rating. Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) is third overall in the WHL with a +32 rating. Hulak is tied for sixth at +26.

In between the pipes this season, Stanford has made 26 appearances and has compiled an 18-4-2-0 record with a 2.47 goals against average (3rd in the WHL) and a.911 save percentage (7th in the WHL). Morrison has made 25 appearances and sports a 14-7-0-3 record to go along with a 3.02 goals against average and a.903 save percentage.

The Blades have the 19th-ranked power play in the WHL, having converted at a rate of 16.3% this season. The team's penalty kill is ranked 5th in the WHL, having killed off 83.9% of shorthanded chances.

Kootenay Ice

The Ice (29-15-1-2, 61 points, 3rd in Central Division, 5th in Eastern Conference) enters tonight's game also on a 13-game winning streak. The team was last in action on Wednesday evening in Swift Current and beat the Broncos 8-6.

Overager Dustin Sylvester leads the Ice in scoring and is fifth overall in the WHL with 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points this season. Boomer is second with 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points. Brayden McNabb is third on the team and tied for fourth amongst WHL defensemen with 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points.

Sylvester also leads the team in goals scored with 25 this season.

Matt Fraser leads the Ice in penalty minutes with 83 on the season.

In the plus/minus category, rookie Joey Leach has the team lead with a +22 rating.

In goal, Mathews has a 21-7-1-2 record on the season with a 2.66 goals against average (5th in the WHL) and a.909 save percentage (8th in the WHL) in 33 appearances. Lieuwen has played in 20 games this season and has an 8-8-0-0 record with a 3.20 goals against average and a.895 save percentage.

The Ice is ranked 15th in the WHL in power play efficiency, working at an 18.7% rate on the season. The team is ranked 8th in the league on the penalty kill, preventing 81.7% of shorthanded chances.

Blades vs Ice

As with every game this season, fans can snag a free t-shirt in the Subway T-shirt Toss during the second intermission. Keep an eye out for the Blue Crew who will be throwing the t-shirts into the stands!

Also, purchase your puck for the Canadian Tire Chuck-A-Puck during the second intermission at the table located behind Section F for just $2. Get your pucks ready and try to put them closest to the middle of the Canadian Tire logo at center ice.

Tickets for tonight's big Eastern Conference battle can be purchased over the phone at 938-7800, by visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, or by going to Ticketmaster.com.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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



Western Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2010


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