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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Game Preview: Blades at Raiders

April 22, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


Saskatoon Blades (14-3-2-1) @ Prince Albert Raiders (7-10-2-1)

Date | Time Thursday, April 22th | 4:00pm MT

Place Brandt Centre, Regina, SK

Video Stream WHL Live

Radio 98 COOL FM | Pre-Game Show w/ Les Lazaruk @ 4:45pm MT

Mobile App Apple | Android

What's Next Friday, April 23rd vs. Winnipeg ICE (4:00pm MT)

Social Media @BladesHockey| Facebook | Instagram

Tonight

The Saskatoon Blades (14-3-2-1) will try for a season-series sweep over their arch-rivals, the Prince Albert Raiders (7-10-2-1)SAS_GameNotes_April21.

Saskatoon is 3-0-0-0 against the 2019 WHL Champions, outscoring the Raiders 12-4 over the three games, however, they enter the contest dropping back-to-back games against the Swift Current Broncos (3-2 in SO) and Regina Pats (4-2).

Prince Albert is in a similar situation, looking to return to the win column after losses to the Pats (4-3) and Moose Jaw Warriors (5-2).

The Blades are also trying to maintain the pace for top spot in the East Division. The Brandon Wheat Kings knocked off the Broncos convincingly 6-1 last night to take a three-point lead atop the standings. A win for the Blades would draw them back to within one of the Wheaties.

Tale of the Tape

Saskatoon has handled the Raiders with ease this season with three convincing victories in three games.

Most recently, San Jose Sharks prospect Tristen Robins collected four points (1G-3A) to earn the game's 1st star in a 5-3 win on April 8th. Robins will not be available tonight as he nurses a lower-body injury.

Goaltender Nolan Maier has been a thorn for Prince Albert in those three games, boasting a 0.938 save percentage, 1.33 goals-against average and one shutout (4-0 on March 29th).

Dating further back, the Blades hold a sizable advantage over Prince Albert, boasting a 6-2-0-0 record against their rivals last year, and winning 17 of 27 over the last five years.

Who to Watch

Rookie Brandon Lisowsky netted his seventh goal of the season on a breakaway Tuesday night, tying their game against Regina 2-2 in the 2nd period. The 2003-born winger is up to 15 points (7G-8A) in 20 games, putting him 4th in team scoring and 5th among rookies in the WHL.

https://twitter.com/BladesHockey/status/1384680711848808449

Captain Chase Wouters has racked up five points (1G-4A) in three games against Prince Albert this season, along with a team-high 21 penalty minutes. This is the three-year captain's final game of his career against their heated rivals.

Alternate captain Caiden Daley is joining Wouters as a pending WHL graduate, and is coming off scoring his seventh of the season against the Pats.

Team-leading scorer Kyle Crnkovic has 13 points (4G-9A) in his last nine games, and picked up a goal and an assist in the Blades most recent meeting against the Raiders.

COMPLETE GAME DAY MEDIA KIT

On the Record

#29 | Caiden Daley

Head coach | Mitch Love

Higher for Maier

Veteran goaltender Nolan Maier continues to re-write the history books this season, not only setting a new record for most career wins (86) but also matching Andrey Makarov for most shutouts as a Blade (9).

The latter came last night, when the Yorkton, SK native stopped all 27 shots to lead the Blades to a 3-0 victory over the Swift Current Broncos.

Maier currently leads the East Division in wins (10), and is 26 starts away from catching Braden Holtby's record for most games played (177).

Ecologik Game Day 50/50...

24 games mean 24 chances to win a hefty cash prize through our Ecologik Game Day 50/50!

Purchase your tickets online beginning 1 hour prior to puck drop for every Blades game during the 2021 season. Participants must be of legal age to purchase and live in the Saskatoon area to purchase. Tickets are:

1 for $10

10 for $20

30 for $30

You know the drill: winner takes half the pot and the other half goes towards the Saskatoon Blades Player Education Fund.

Need to Know Love winning as much as we do? Download the Blades official mobile app, powered by SaskTel, and try your hand at some of our in-app games!

You have the chance to win a Hockey Gives Blood prize pack if you correctly predict the player who scores our first goal! Or put your puzzle-solving skills to the test with our photo scramble, featuring a new player and photo every game day.

The Blades official app has so much more to offer, giving our fans a new, interactive way to engage with their favourite team this season. It's available to download on Apple and Android devices!

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from April 22, 2021


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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