WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Meet Wheaties In Battle For First Place

Published on February 6, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


First place in the Eastern Conference is on the line tonight as the Saskatoon Blades play host to the Brandon Wheat Kings at Credit Union Centre. Game time is 7:05 pm.

Head-to-Head

The Blades and Wheat Kings are meeting tonight for the sixth time this season. The Wheat Kings lead the season series with a 4-1-0-0 record, while the Blades are 1-3-1-0 in the five previous games.

Defenseman Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) leads the Blades in scoring this season against the Wheaties with a goal and 4 assists for 5 points. Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) and Josh Nicholls (Tsawwassen, BC) are tied for second with 3 points.

Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) has seen action in four games this season against the Wheat Kings and has a 1-1-1-0 record with a 3.93 goals against average and a.889 save percentage. Adam Morrision (White Rock, BC) is 0-2-0-0 with a 5.10 goals against average and a.870 save percentage.

Matt Calvert (8 G, 1 A) and Brayden Schenn (1 G, 8 A) share the scoring lead for the Wheat Kings versus the Blades this year with 9 points each.

In goal for the Wheat Kings, Andrew Hayes is 2-1 with a 2.42 goals against average and a.916 save percentage in four appearances against Saskatoon. Jacob De Serres is 2-0 with a 2.31 goals against average and a.927 save percentage.

Saskatoon Blades

The Blades (35-12-3-3, 76 points, 2nd in East Division, 3rd in Eastern Conference) come into tonight's clash on the heels of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Regina Pats last night in the Queen City. Travis Toomey (Leduc, AB), Marek Viedensky (Handlova, Slovakia), Gaelan Patterson (Saskatoon, SK), and Nicholls scored for the Blades in regulation before Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) secured the win in the sixth round of the shootout. Stanford stopped 31 of 35 shots during the game and all six attempts in the shootout.

Hulak leads the Blades in scoring this season with 23 goals and 40 assists for 63 points. Wintoneak is second on the team with 21 goals and 35 assists for 56 points on the campaign. Elliott is third with 19 goals and 29 assists for 48 points and is sixth in scoring for WHL defensemen.

Hulak has the team lead in goals this year with 23 markers.

Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) is tops on the team and tied for fourth in the WHL with 144 penalty minutes this season. Curt Gogol (Calgary, AB), currently out of the lineup with an injured thumb, is second on the Blades and tied for eighth in the league with 133 penalty minutes.

In the plus/minus category, Elliott leads the Blades and is tied for third in the WHL at +33. Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) is second on the Blades and tied for sixth in the league at +32. Hulak is third on the Blades' list and eighth in the league at +31.

In goal, Stanford is 20-6-3-0 with a 2.76 goals against average (10th in the WHL) and a.905 save percentage in 31 appearances. Morrison has a 15-8-0-3 record with a 3.12 goals against average and.898 save percentage in 28 games played this year.

The Blades enter the game with the 19th-ranked power play in the Western Hockey League at 15.8%. The Bridge City Bunch is tied for 5th in the league on the penalty kill at 83.3%.

Brandon Wheat Kings

The Wheat Kings (37-16-0-3, 77 points, 1st in East Division, 1st in Eastern Conference), meanwhile, come into tonight's game on a seven-game winning streak. Last night, the Wheaties disposed of the Kootenay ice at home by a 4-0 score.

Brandon is led offensively by Calvert, who has 35 goals and 37 assists for 72 points and is tied for fifth in WHL scoring. Schenn, a Saskatoon product, is second in team scoring with 23 goals and 44 assists for 67 points and is tenth in league scoring. Aaron Lewadniuk is third on the team with 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points. Colby Robak leads the team from the back end with 11 goals and 39 assists for 50 points and is tied for third amongst WHL defensemen.

Calvert leads the Wheat Kings in goal scoring with 35 and is tied for fourth in the WHL.

Rookie defenseman Ryley Miller leads the team in penalty minutes with 115 this season.

The Wheat Kings feature a host of players in the WHL top 10 for plus/minus. Robak is tops in the entire league with an impressive +41 rating. Alexander Urbom is second on both the team and the league list at +34. Calvert and Brodie Melnychuk are tied for third on both lists at +33. Lewadniuk is tied for seventh in the league at +32. Finally, Schenn and Jay Fehr are tied for tenth in the league at +28.

In between the pipes, Hayes comes into tonight's game with a 20-12-0-2 record with a 2.82 goals against average and a.901 save percentage. De Serres, meanwhile, is 17-6-0-1 with a 3.10 goals against average and a.894 save percentage.

The Wheat Kings are tied for 9th in the WHL for power play efficiency at 21.2% this season. The team's penalty kill unit is 19th in the league at a 75.3% rate.

Blades vs Wheat Kings

Tonight marks the second College Night of the season. Students from any of the local Saskatoon area colleges or universities can purchase tickets for just $12 with a valid student identification card.

Upon entering the building make sure to secure your free Saskatoon Blades program. Check the Homer's Pizza advertisement in the program and if your page is signed by a Blades player you could win a free large pizza and doughnuts.

Purchase your tickets for tonight's important battle online at ticketmaster.ca, by calling 938-7800, or by visiting any Ticketmaster location.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 6, 2010


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