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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Game Preview: Merlin Ford Lincoln Blades Home Opener

September 22, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


Tonight's game is presented by Merlin Ford Lincoln and will be dedicated to the Humboldt Broncos. The Saskatoon Blades will be wearing specially designed Humboldt Broncos tribute jerseys featuring the names of all 29 Broncos that were on the bus on April 6th. The jerseys will be auctioned off through a silent auction during the game. Blades goaltender Nolan Maier will be wearing a custom painted Humboldt Strong mask. The mask will be up for raffle, tickets are $5 each. Proceeds from the jersey auction, the goalie mask raffle, the 50/50, and the chuck-a-puck will all go towards raising money for the Humboldt Hospital Foundation. Doors open at 6:00pm, with a pre-game ceremony beginning at 6:50pm.

Tonight... the Saskatoon Blades host their 2018 home opener against the 2018 WHL Champion Swift Current Broncos. It's the first regular season WHL game at SaskTel Centre since March 17th. The Blades will look to go 2-0 after opening the season with a 2-1 win over Swift Current last night.

The last game... The Blades opened the 2018-19 WHL season with a 2-1 win over the defending league champion Broncos last night in Swift Current. 20-year-old forward Max Gerlach scored twice, Kirby Dach had 2 assists, and Nolan Maier made 15 saves in the victory. Head Coach Mitch Love made his Blades' debut and earned his first career win as a head coach in the WHL.

Head to head... The Blades lead the 8-game season series 1-0. Saskatoon also took the only pre-season meeting between the Blades and Broncos back on Sept. 1st by a score of 3-1. Last season the Blades had a slight edge in the season series going 4-3-0-1 against the high-powered Broncos in 2017-18.

Who to watch...'00 F Michael Farren lead the Blades in scoring through the pre-season with 9pts in 6 outings. Sophomore superstar '01 F Kirby Dach was close behind with 6pts in 6 games, and had 2 assists last night. '98 F Max Gerlach scored his 100th and 101st career goals last night in Swift Current.

First Love...Mitch Love won his first WHL game as a head coach last night in Swift Current. Love spent the past 8 seasons as an assistant with the Everett Silvertips.

Injury report:

F Kyle Crnkovic - upper body, 3-5 weeks F Josh Paterson - upper body, day-to-day F Brandon Machado - upper body, 2 weeks

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Western Hockey League Stories from September 22, 2018


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