WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Look To Wrangle Broncos

Published on January 15, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The Saskatoon Blades travel to Swift Current tonight to take on the Broncos. Game time at the Credit Union i-Plex is 7:30 pm.

Head-to-Head

The Blades and Broncos have already met four times this season. The Blades hold the edge in the season series at 3 games to 1. The series opened on October 23rd with the Broncos winning 6-2 at home. The Blades returned the favour on November 1st with a 3-1 victory. On November 4th, the Blades edged the Broncos 2-1. And finally, this past Tuesday the Blades earned a 3-2 win.

Four Blades lead the team with three points versus the Broncos this season. Gaelan Patterson (Saskatoon, SK) has three goals, Charles Inglis (Saskatoon, SK) has two goals and an assist, and Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) and Jeremy Boyer (Saskatoon, SK) each have three assists.

Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) has a 3-0 record against the Broncos this season after making 76 saves on 80 shots. Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) is 0-1 following a 34-save effort in the first contest.

Cody Eakin leads the Broncos' attack against the Blades this year with five goals in the four previous contests. Derek Claffey, meanwhile, has four assists.

Morgan Clark has made three appearances against the Blades and is 1-2 and has made 90 saves on 97 shots. Mark Friesen took the loss in the most recent game in a 24-save performance.

Saskatoon Blades

The Blades (31-9-1-3, 66 points, 1st in East Division, 1st in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's game on a two-game winning streak. On Wednesday night, Wintoneak, Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK), Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB), and Sena Acolatse (Edmonton, AB) each scored and Stanford made 37 saves as the Blades defeated the Calgary Hitmen 4-1 at home.

Hulak leads the Blades in scoring and is 10th in the WHL scoring race with 20 goals and 35 assists for 55 points on the season. Wintoneak is second with 19 goals and 29 assists for 48 points. Stefan Elliott, tied for 4th among WHL defensemen, is third in team scoring with 15 goals and 26 assists for 41 points.

Hulak, following his goal on Wednesday night, now has 20 markers on the season to lead the team.

Curt Gogol (Calgary, AB) is now atop the WHL penalty minutes list with 133 penalty minutes this season. Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) is second on both the team and the overall list with 128 minutes on the season. Dziurzynski is sixth in the league with 118 penalty minutes.

Elliott is back atop the WHL plus/minus list with a +31 rating. Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) is tied for second at +30. Hulak also remains on the list in a tie for sixth at +28.

Morrison, with 25 games played this season, has put together a 14-7-0-3 record with a 3.02 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. Stanford, meanwhile, has seen action in 24 games this season and sports a 17-4-1-0 record to go along with a 2.42 goals against average (2nd in the WHL) and a .912 save percentage (T-8th in the WHL).

The Blades feature the WHL's 19th-ranked power play, working at a 16.7% efficiency rating. On the flip side, the team features the #5-ranked shorthanded unit in the league, killing off 83.2% of chances.

Swift Current Broncos

The Broncos (23-20-0-2, 48 points, 5th in East Division, 9th in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's action themselves on a two-game losing streak. On Wednesday, the Broncos dropped a 2-1 decision to the Lethbridge Hurricanes at home.

Eakin leads the team in scoring with 31 goals and 25 assists for 56 points, good enough for a tie for eighth in the Western Hockey League scoring race. Justin Dowling sits second on the team with 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points. Brad Hoban is third in team scoring with 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points on the campaign. Claffey leads the team's rearguards with 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points.

Eakin is second overall in the WHL and tops on the team with 31 goals.

The Broncos are led in penalty minutes by overager Michael Stickland, who has 73 minutes this season.

Rookie Adam Lowry has the team lead in plus/minus with a +9 rating this year.

In between the pipes, the Broncos feature the goaltending tandem of Friesen and Clark. Friesen, a midseason acquisition from the Chilliwack Bruins, has appeared in 34 games and sports an 13-14-0-4 record with a 3.06 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. Snider is 14-10-0-1 on the season with a 3.23 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.

The Broncos have the #17-ranked power play in the WHL, currently working at an 18.6% clip on the season. While shorthanded, the Broncos are ranked 3rd in the league after killing off 84.0% of situations while a man down.

Blades vs Broncos

Tonight's East Division battle can be heard live with the always entertaining Les Lazaruk on 92.9 The Bull. The game is also available for online purchase on WHL WebTV.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2010


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