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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Blades Welcome Red-Hot Tigers

October 27, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


The Saskatoon Blades play host to the Medicine Hat Tigers tonight, a team that has won five of their last six contests. Game time at Credit Union Centre is 7:05 pm.

The Blades, who have won seven of their own last eight games, last played on Saturday night at home, beating the Kamloops Blazers 4-1. Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) had a goal and two assists, Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) had a goal and an assist, and Gaelan Patterson (Saskatoon, SK) had two assists, while Walker Wintoneak (Flin Flon, MB) and Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) had one goal each. Goaltender Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) gave up just one goal on 24 shots for the victory.

Hulak, sixth in Western Hockey League scoring, leads the Blades with 7 goals and 15 assists for 22 points. Wintoneak is second on the Blades with 7 goals and 11 assists for 18 points and Patterson is third with 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points.

Hulak and Wintoneak are also both tied for the team lead in goals with seven each.

Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC), who is currently serving a five game suspension and will be out of the Blades' lineup tonight, is the team and league leader in penalty minutes with 70.

Between the pipes, Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) sports a 6-3-0-2 record with a 2.50 goals against average (4th in the WHL), and a .913 save percentage (6th in the WHL). Stanford has a 3-2-0-0 with a 2.47 goals against average (3rd in the WHL) and a .897 save percentage in his time split between the Blades and Prince Albert.

Across the ice, the Tigers enter tonight's game after outscoring their opponents 16-3 over the last two games. The second place team in the WHL's Central Division, the Tigers were in Edmonton on Saturday night and came away with a 7-1 win.

Offensively, the Tigers have a pair of players in the top ten in Western Hockey League scoring in 20-year-old Bretton Cameron (12-11-23) and 18-year old Linden Vey (6-15-21). Overage rearguard Mark Isherwood is fourth among WHL defensemen with 6 goals and 10 assists for 16 points. 17-year-old Emerson Etem is fourth among rookie forwards in the league with 12 goals and 4 assists for 16 points.

Cameron and Etem share the team lead in goals with 12 markers each.

In goal, sophomore Tyler Bunz has seen the majority of the action, compiling a 7-3-2-1 record with a 3.36 goals against average and a .889 save percentage. Deven Dubyk has appeared in 2 games with a 0-0 record to go along with a 4.58 goals against average and a .857 save percentage.

Veteran defenseman Matthew Konan is the team leader in penalty minutes with 43 on the season.

The Tigers feature one former Blade in their lineup in defenseman Tanner Sohn, while General Manager and Head Coach Wil Desjardins is a former coach of the Blades. Desjardins will, of course, be behind the bench for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatoon later this year.

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

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Western Hockey League Stories from October 27, 2009


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