WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Kick off Road Trip with a Bang

Published on January 13, 2016 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


CRANBROOK, BC - It was exactly the start the Blades needed as they headed out on their 9 day, 6 game western road trip. The Blade dominated the night, defeating the Kootenay Ice by a score of 5-1 score in Cranbrook.

"I liked how we came out," said Head Coach and GM Bob Woods. "Even when we gave up the goal in the 2nd, we fell of a little bit but we kept our composure."

The scoring started early for the Blades as Terrell Draude scored his 2nd goal in as many games at 2:18 mark of the 1st, a snipe from the left wing circle, past Ice goaltender Declan Hobbs.

Saskatoon would continue to push the pace throughout the period and were rewarded with another goal with just over 5 minutes left in the frame as newcomer Braylon Shmyr fed a slick pass to a streaking Nick Zajac who quickly went to his backhand to bury it past Hobbs to double the Blades lead.

After Bob Woods was critical of the leaders the past two games, Zajac was happy to step up in a big way.

"It was getting to us that we were having some tough nights but it feels good to get those two."

Zajac would add another goal before the period was out, this time on the man advantage. Parked in front of the net, the captain did the dirty work to dig out a Hajek point shot and flip it over the goaltender and in.

Once the period was out, the Blades posted a 3-0 lead on the board and outshot the Ice 15-4.

Recently acquired defenceman, Dustin Perillat made his Blades debut tonight and made the most of it in the 2nd period. With two Ice players in the box, Perillat hammered a one-time feed from Reid off the bar and in for his first goal as a Blade. Perillat was nothing but smiles after the game.

"It was awesome. Scoring that goal really boosted my confidence," said Perillat. "I came back and I knew I wasn't going to be playing at my best so I just tried to play it simple."

The 3rd period was simply a technicality to play as the Blades went into shut down mode and limited the Ice to 4 shots in the final frame. Braylon Shmyr did add his first career goal in the period to complete a strong game from the newcomer.

"Shmyrsey (Shmyr) has shown he's got some offense to him, he's got quick hands, a good little shot, and that was a nice goal he scored."

As mentioned, it was exactly the start the Blades needed to this trip as they'll cross the border tonight. Momentum is a fickle thing, and the Blades certainly are happy to be headed south of the 49th parallel with it.

"Anytime you have a long road trip like this, you want to start off with a win," added Woods. "We know we have a tough building to go into against a tough team. We'll make sure the guys are rested and ready to go and hopefully we'll have the same start as tonight.

"Hopefully it will turn into a little snowball effect," said Zajac. "Really looking forward to tomorrow night there."

Saskatoon will play in Spokane against the Chiefs tomorrow night at 9PM SK time. Stay tuned to saskatoonblades.com and on twitter @bladeshockey for all your updates from the road. As well, download the Blades app for live scoring updates and much more.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2016


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