WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Defeat T-Birds in Shootout

Published on November 12, 2008 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


Saskatoon, SK, November 12, 2008 - The Seattle Thunderbirds and Saskatoon Blades went six rounds in a shootout Wednesday night to decide a winner in their game at Credit Union Centre.

The Blades won the shootout 4-3 to win the game 2-1. Saskatoon elected to shoot first in the shootout. Burke Gallimore was the first shooter and he was denied by Seattle goalie Calvin Pickard. Jim O'Brien was Seattle's first shooter and he beat Saskatoon goalie Braden Holtby through the legs.

The second Blades shooter was Derek Hulak and he beat Pickard to tie the shootout 1-1. Jeremy Boyer was the second Seattle shooter and he was stopped by Holtby.

Milan Kytnar scored in the third round of the shootout to put the pressure on Seattle. Greg Scott converted with a shot over Holtby's glove to send the shootout to sudden death.

Pickard stopped the Blades fourth shooter, Josh Nicholls. Holtby stopped Thomas Hickey to send the shootout to the fifth round.

Chris Langkow scored for the Blades to once again put the pressure on Seattle to score on their next shot or they would lose. Prab Rai was up to the task and beat Holtby over his left pad to tie the shootout 3-3.

Adam Chorneyko got the puck past Pickard for the fourth Saskatoon goal in the shootout. Holtby stopped Jonathan Parker at the left post to secure the win for the Blades.

The T-Birds took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Jim O'Brien at 9:52 of the first period. Prab Rai sent the puck behind the Saskatoon goal. Jonathan Parker fought for the puck and got it back to Rai at the bottom of the right circle. Rai passed the puck through the crease to O'Brien to the left of the goal at the bottom of the left circle. O'Brien beat Holtby high for his eighth goal of the year.

Saskatoon (15-6-1-0) outshot Seattle 7-5 in the first period.

Stefan Elliott scored at 7:33 of the second period to tie the game for Saskatoon. Sam Klassen and Milan Kytnar had the assists.

Both teams had 11 shots on goal in the second period.

The T-Birds outshot the Blades 16-7 in a scoreless third period and held a 32-25 advantage in total shots after 60 minutes.

Seattle (7-11-1-2) was awarded a penalty shot at 3:55 of overtime when Lindsay Nielsen was hauled down on a breakaway by the Blades Walter Wintoneak. Nielsen tried to beat Holtby through his legs with a backhand shot but the Saskatoon goalie made the save.

Both teams had three shots in the overtime and Seattle held a 35-29 lead in shots going into overtime.

Pickard made 27 saves on 29 shots and his record is now 5-6-1-2.

Holtby stopped 34 of 35 shots and his record is now 3- 5-0-0.

The T-Birds remain on the road for the third game of their six-game Eastern Division road trip. They face the Regina Pats on Friday, November 14, at 5 p.m.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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



Western Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2008


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