WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades To Debut New Lineup Against Broncos

Published on January 12, 2010 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The Saskatoon Blades will have a few new faces in the lineup on home ice tonight against the Swift Current Broncos following a host of moves made in advance of this past Sunday's WHL Trade Deadline. Game time is 7:05 pm.

Head-to-Head

This is the fourth time this season that the Blades and Broncos have taken to the ice.

The Broncos took the first game of the season between the two clubs on October 23rd at home with a 6-2 victory. The Blades responded with a 3-1 win in Swift Current on November 1st. The two teams met for the first time on Credit Union Centre ice on November 4th with the Blades skating away with a 2-1 victory.

Charles Inglis (Saskatoon, SK), with two goals and an assist, and Jeremy Boyer (Saskatoon, SK), with three assists, share the Blades' lead in scoring against the Broncos this season. In goal, Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) has a 2-0 record against the Broncos after turning aside 47 of 49 shots. Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) has a 0-1 record versus the Broncos after making 34 saves on 40 shots in his lone appearance.

Cody Eakin has led the Broncos' offensive charge against the Blades so far this season. The veteran forward has four goals, spurred on by a hat trick in the opening game between the clubs. Morgan Clark has started all three games against the Blades this season and has made 90 saves on 97 shots.

Saskatoon Blades

The Blades (29-9-1-3, 62 points, 1st in East Division, 1st in Eastern Conference) come into the game on a two-game losing streak. The team was last in action on Saturday evening against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, falling 3-1. Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) scored the Blades' only goal of the game while Morrison stopped 6 of 8 shots before getting pulled in favour of Stanford, who made 13 saves on 14 shots.

Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) sits atop the Blades' scoring list with 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points so far this season. Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) is second on the team with 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points. Elliott, a defenseman, is third with 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points, good enough for a tie for 4th amongst WHL defensemen.

With 18 goals on the season, Hulak and Wintoneak share the lead in that category.

Recently acquired Curt Gogol (Calgary, AB) comes into the Blades' lineup with the team lead in penalty minutes with 120, putting him third overall in the WHL. Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) is second on the team and tied for fourth overall in the league with 119 penalty minutes. Darian Dziurzynski (Lloydminster, AB) is third on the Blades and sixth in the WHL with 118 penalty minutes.

Three Blades are in the top 10 in the league for plus/minus. Elliott is 3rd in the league at +30, Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) is 4th in the WHL with a +28 rating, and Hulak is tied for 9th at +23.

In goal, Morrison has made 25 appearances this season and has a 14-7-0-3 record with a 3.02 goals against average and a.903 save percentage. Stanford, meanwhile, has made 22 appearances and is 15-4-1-0 on the season to go along with a 2.51 goals against average (3rd in the WHL) and a.907 save percentage (9th in the WHL).

The Blades are 18th in the WHL in power play efficiency, having converted on 18.0% of opportunities with the man power advantage. While shorthanded this season the team is ranked 6th in the WHL, having killed off 82.6% of shorthanded chances.

Swift Current Broncos

The Broncos (23-18-0-2, 48 points, T-3rd in East Division, T-6th in Eastern Conference) are playing the fourth game tonight of a four-game stretch away from the Credit Union i-Plex. The club has 2-1-0-0 through the first three games. On Saturday, the Broncos won for the second straight game in a shootout 2-1 in Edmonton against the Oil Kings.

Eakin leads the Broncos in scoring this season with 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points and is tied for 9th in the WHL. Justin Dowling is second on the team with 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points. Brad Hoban is third in team scoring with 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points. Derek Claffey (5-12-17) and Travis Bobbee (4-13-17) share the team lead for scoring amongst defensemen.

Eakin leads the team and is tied for 3rd overall in the league with 29 goals this season.

Michael Stickland leads the Broncos with 61 penalty minutes.

Rookie Adam Lowry has a +10 rating to lead the team in the plus/minus category.

In between the pipes, Mark Friesen has made 33 appearances this season in time split the Broncos and Chilliwack Bruins, whom he was acquired from earlier this season. The veteran has a 13-13-0-4 record with a 3.07 goals against average and a.900 save percentage. Meanwhile, Clark has played in 28 games this season and has a 14-9-0-1 record to go along with a 3.28 goals against average and a.894 save percentage.

The Broncos are converting on the power play at a rate of 19.3% this season, ranking them 14th in the WHL. The team's penalty kill unit is working at an 83.6% clip this year, putting them 3rd in the league.

Blades vs Broncos

Tickets for tonight's game are available online at ticketmaster.ca, by calling 938-7800, or by stopping by any Ticketmaster outlet.

For just $2, fans can participate in the Canadian Tire Chuck-a-Puck during the second intermission. Purchase your pucks on the concourse behind Section F.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2010


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