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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Fatigue Sets In, Blades Drop Game 1 of Eastern Conference Championship vs ICE

April 28, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


Saskatoon Blades' Yegor Sidorov on game night
Saskatoon Blades' Yegor Sidorov on game night
(Saskatoon Blades)

Winnipeg, MB - Playing two consecutive series that went to Game 7, your tank isn't bound to be full.

The Saskatoon Blades were shutout 3-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Championship Friday at Wayne Fleming Arena vs the Winnipeg ICE.

Three different Winnipeg players beat Blades netminder Ethan Chadwick who stopped 23 of 26 shots. The 19-year-old Saskatoon, SK. product sees his record drop to 5-3 in the postseason.

The Bridge City Bunch wrapped up their last series vs the Red Deer Rebels Tuesday, quickly turned around by the clash vs Winnipeg a couple days later with a full travel day inviolved. No team has played more than Saskatoon this postseason, sitting at 15 games com pared to the ICE's 11.

No team ever wants to trail 2-0 after the first period like Saskatoon in this game, but they were the better team throughout the first 20-minutes. The NHL drafted line of forwards Josh Pillar, Jake Chiasson, and Conner Roulette were especially effective with several high-danger chances. Despite a solid start, Winnipeg broke the ice first.

The WHL's postseason assist leader Ben Zloty got his first of the playoffs with a backhand that got past Chadwick. Traffic flooded in front of Chadwick who was unable to see the shot. Zloty leads all WHL defenceman in point with 16 and gave the ICE a 1-0 lead with under six-minutes left in the first.

A powerplay opportunity shortly after immediately went south for the Blades as Ottawa Senators prospect Zac Ostapchuk drew a penalty shot getting in alone on a shorthanded breakaway. The former Vancouver Giant made no mistake on his attempt wiring a shot past the low blocker of Chadwick for his eighth goal and tenth point this postseason.

The Blades trailed 2-0 heading to the dressing room against the WHL's top regular season club but held the edge in shots and controlled play for a large portion of the opening frame.

ICE captain Carson Lambos extended his team's lead 3-0 7:45 into the middle frame. It's also the star defenceman's first goal of the postseason, giving him five points through 11 contests. The Minnesota Wild 2021 26th overall pick had a dynamite regular season for his hometown club putting up 12 goals and 48 points in 61 games.

Saskatoon never recovered, outshot 18-8 in the final 40. The Blades didn't allow an empty net goal even though they rolled six attackers for nearly the final three-minutes of the game.

What's Next?

The Blades will need to find a spark tomorrow afternoon for Game 2 at Wayne Fleming Arena, looking to avoid going down 2-0 for a third straight series.

Puck drop is 3:00pm CST.

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Images from this story

Saskatoon Blades' Yegor Sidorov on game night
Saskatoon Blades' Yegor Sidorov on game night
   



Western Hockey League Stories from April 28, 2023


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