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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Show Fight In Losing Effort

November 22, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


Close, but no cigar.

LETHBRIDGE, AB - The Blades came within a post from tying the game late in the 1st period, but in the end, the Hurricanes held the lead throughout the game and came away with a 5-2 victory.

The Blades didn't make it easy for themselves from the start as the Hurricanes jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with goals from Babenko, Folk, and Davis.

"We really have to focus on the first five minutes and break down the segments of the game into 5 minute periods instead of a 20 minute period." said Blades assistant coach Dean Brockman on how the Blades can fix the slow starts.

With under five minutes to play in the first period, the Blades would find the back of the net thanks to Terrell Draude who deflected a shot in the slot which just slid past Hurricanes goaltender, Stuart Skinner. Draude would add another just under three minutes later, taking the feed from Hebig behind the net, snapping it past Skinner to get the Blades right back into the game.

"I think we were happy after 20 minutes even though we were down 3-2," said Terrell Draude, who had the only goals for the Blades tonight. "Just some unfortunate bounces went their way."

A hard fought second period saw the teams settle down, resorting to a more reserved, defensive style of play. The Hurricanes would find the lone goal of the period as a scramble in front of Amundrud resulted ended with Riley Lindgren scooping up the loose puck and flipping over to blades goaltender to restore the 2-goal lead for Lethbridge.

"We just didn't seem to get the momentum we needed to get over the top." added Brockman.

The Blades would fight hard to get back within one but the Hurricanes tough defines paired with some stellar play by goaltender Skinner swatted any attempt at comeback for the Blades. As is last night's game versus the Rebels, the Hurricanes went into shutdown mode in the third, limiting the Blades shots to just 6 in the period.

A frustrated Blades team would lead to rough stuff late in the period with Hausinger dropping the mitts with Nick Watson. At the end of it all, the score clock would show a 5-2 victory for the Hurricanes, and back-to-back losses for the Blades.

Outside of the first 14 minutes of this game, it was a gritty effort by the bridge city bunch, nearly coming back from 3-0 down, if not for a post late in the 1st. There are many positives to take into tomorrow's matchup vs. the Calgary Hitmen, the biggest of which was the team's tenacity.

It will certainly be another tough test tomorrow as the Blades close out their 3 in 3 road trip against the 13-10-0-1 Hitmen but the team knows what they need to do to come away with the win.

"Us older guys gotta lead the way," said Zajac on closing out the road trip against the Calgary Hitmen. "In a lot of was they're like us, hard working team so it will be a grind."

Puck drop is at 6PM Saskatchewan time tomorrow from the Saddledome. Download the Blades app for live scoring updates and follow along on Twitter @bladeshockey. The team will be back home next Wednesday, November 25th as they will play host this time to the Calgary Hitmen.

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Western Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2015


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