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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Edged by Hitmen 4-2

December 11, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


SASKATOON, SK - Zac Funk scored twice to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 4-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades at SaskTel Centre on Friday night.

Saskatoon battled out of deficits on two occasions, but two late goals pushed the Hitmen to a second victory over the Blades in as many games this season.

Alternate captain Kyle Crnkovic scored a goal and added an assist for his fourth straight multi-goal performance. Forward Jaiden Wiens also scored for Saskatoon, who was playing at SaskTel Centre for the first time in 31 days. Trevor Wong also found the scoresheet with an assist.

Nolan Maier stopped 27 of 30 as Saskatoon falls to 13-11-1-0 on the campaign. Brayden Peters stopped 23 of 25 as the Hitmen improve to 11-9-2-0 on the year.

Adam Kydd found the back of the net early in the first period, putting the Hitmen up 1-0.

Six minutes later, the Blades got it back. Crnkovic stripped Jackson van de Leest of the puck in the offensive zone and scored his team-leading 16th of the year to tie the game at one.

But Calgary responded with just 16.5 seconds remaining in the period. Riley Fiddler-Schultz's shot was stopped, but Funk was there to put it away, regaining the Hitmen lead heading into the intermission.

It took nearly two periods for Saskatoon to find a way to tie it up, and it came on the team's third powerplay of the contest. A shot from the left circle by Trevor Wong careened off the skate of Peters and to the tape of Wiens, who made no mistake burying his sixth of the campaign.

The tie game wouldn't last long, however. Just over there minutes later, Funk struck with his second of the game, and eventual game-winner with 4:22 to play.

The Blades would pull Maier with two minutes left, and mounted several attempts to tie, but the Hitmen added one more to ice any hope of a comeback.

The Blades are back on the road on Tuesday, heading to Moose Jaw to face the Warriors at Mosaic Place.

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 11, 2021


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