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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Clash With Strong Winterhawks Club

January 2, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The Saskatoon Blades visit the Portland Winterhawks tonight in the third game on their six-game road trip. Game time at the Memorial Coliseum is 9:00 pm (Sask. time).

Head-to-Head Tonight's game is the lone meeting of the season between the Blades and Winterhawks. The Winterhawks took the only game between the club with a 4-3 overtime victory at Credit Union Centre.

Saskatoon Blades The Blades (26-7-1-3, 56 points, 1st in East Division, T-1st in Eastern Conference) last played on Thursday night and won for the second time on this trip with a 2-1 victory over the Everett Silvertips. Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) had both goals for the Blades in the game and Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) stood tall in goal in a 19-save effort to earn the win.

Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) continues to lead the Blades in scoring this season with 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points. Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) is second in team scoring with 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points. Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) is third on the team and tops amongst the team's defensemen with 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points, putting him in a tie for ninth amongst WHL rearguards.

Wintoneak leads the team in goal scoring this season with 18 markers.

Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) and Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) share the team lead with 110 penalty minutes this season, which puts them tied for fourth in the WHL.

Three Blades remain in the WHL top 10 for plus/minus this season. Elliott and Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) are both tied for 3rd in the league with a +25 rating. Hulak is tied for 8th at +22.

In between the pipes, Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) has made 21 appearances on the season and has compiled an 12-6-0-3 record with a 2.82 goals against average (T-9th in the WHL) and a.910 save percentage (7th in the WHL). Stanford, meanwhile, has made 19 appearances and sports a 14-3-1-0 record to go along with a 2.20 goals against average (1st in the WHL) and a.916 save percentage (5th in the WHL).

The Blades enter tonight with the 15th-ranked power play in the WHL, having converted at a rate of 19.4% this season. The team's penalty kill is ranked 2nd in the WHL, having killed off 84.4% of shorthanded chances.

The Blades have also announced that defenseman Davis Vandane (Yorkton, SK) has been called up for the remainder of the road trip. The 6'4", 200-pound 17-year-old has played in 29 games this season with the Yorkton Harvest (SMAAAHL) and has 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points to go along with 30 penalty minutes.

Portland Winterhawks The Winterhawks (25-15-0-1, 51 points, 2nd in U.S. Division, T-2nd in Western Conference) enter tonight's game on a three-game winning streak. The team was also last in action on Thursday evening and blanked the Seattle Thunderbirds 6-0 at home.

Sophomore Brad Ross is on top of the Hawks' scoring list with 20 goals and 26 assists for 46 points this season. Overager Chris Francis is second on the team with 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 points on the campaign. Nino Niederreiter is tied for third with 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points with Ryan Johansen, who has 15 goals and 26 assists for 41. Niederreiter and Johansen are also tied for second in scoring amongst WHL rookies. Troy Rutkowski leads the team's defensemen with 7 goals and 20 assists for 27 points.

Niederreiter, currently away from the club at the World Junior Hockey Championship back in Saskatoon, leads the team and is tied for 10th in the WHL with 23 goals.

Ross leads the Winterhawks and is third in the WHL in penalty minutes with 111 on the season. Tayler Jordan is 10th in the league and second on the team with 100 penalty minutes.

In the plus/minus category, Ross has the team lead with a +18 rating.

In goal, Ian Curtis has a 15-5-0-1 record on the season with a 3.26 goals against average and a.904 save percentage in 24 appearances. Mac Carruth has played in 5 games this season and has a 1-4-0-0 record with a 5.13 goals against average and a.834 save percentage.

The Raiders are ranked 11th in the WHL in power play efficiency, working at a 20.5% rate on the season. The team is ranked 15th in the league on the penalty kill, preventing 77.4% of shorthanded chances.

Blades vs Winterhawks Tonight's game can be heard live with Les Lazaruk on 92.9 The Bull or can be purchased for viewing on WHL WebTV.

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