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Saskatoon Blades

Maier Backstops Blades to 5-2 Win in Regina

October 23, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


REGINA, SK - It was a night to remember for two young defenders in blue and gold.

Spencer Shugrue and Pavel Bocharov notched their first career goals, Nolan Maier made 37 saves, and the Saskatoon Blades hammered the Regina Pats 5-2 at the Brandt Centre on Friday night.

Brendan Lee, Egor Sidorov, and Trevor Wong also notched goals for the Blades, while Tristen Robins and Moritz Elias added a pair of assists to push the Blades record to 5-1-1-0. Saskatoon sits comfortably in second place in the East Division, winning five of the last six.

Cole Dubinsky and Connor Bedard scored for the Pats, who've now lost six straight and fall to 2-6-0-0. Matthew Kieper stopped 25 shots in defeat.

Maier took the game's first star with his star-studded performance. The Yorkton, SK netminder has now won a franchise-record 95 career games. Elias's impressive performance earned the German forward the game's second star, rounded out with Dubinsky taking the third.

Saskatoon and Regina will battle it out again Sunday afternoon (4:00pm) when the home-and-home showdown concludes at SaskTel Centre.

Playing in his 24th career game, defenceman Spencer Shugrue notched his first career goal at the 12:25 mark of the first. The Vancouver, BC product took a pass from Brendan Lee to the high slot and wired a wrist shot past Kieper to give Saskatoon a 1-0 lead.

Shugrue's marker extended the streak to five games in which a Blade has recorded his first career goal, following fellow defenceman Tanner Molendyk, imports Egor Sidorov and Moritz Elias, and forward Tyler Parr.

Maier stood his ground in goal, stopping all 15 fired by Regina in the opening 20.

A busy second period saw both teams throw four goals on the board. It began with Lee finishing off a nice break-out passing play involving Tristen Robins and Kyle Crnkovic to record his second of the campaign. The former Everett Silvertip cut into the slot and fired it low blocker on Kieper to make it 2-0.

Less than three minutes later, Cole Dubinsky got the Pats on the board when he slid past the right pad of Maier and poked it home.

Belarusian forward Egor Sidorov regained the Blades two-goal lead with his third in as many games. On the man-advantage, Robins won the face-off back to captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere, who threw it toward the goal. Sidorov deflected the shot over the blocker of the Pats netminder, making it 3-1.

But Connor Bedard answered right back. The NHL top prospect was gifted a breakaway on Maier and snapped a quick shot under the glove, cutting the Blades lead to one.

Bedard's fourth of the season was the fourth marker in a span of fewer than six minutes. It remained 3-2 heading into the third period, with Saskatoon capitalizing on their lone powerplay opportunity of the game.

Nolan Maier stood his ground early and often in the third period. Less than a minute in, the veteran tender made a series of scintillating stops on Dubinsky in tight before the puck wound up to the side of the goal and smothered.

Pasha Bocharov joined the scoring party 12:19 into the third period, making it 4-2. The draft-eligible defender was sent in by Brandon Lisowsky and made no mistake, snapping his first career goal under the blocker of Kieper.

With just over three minutes to go, Trevor Wong put the game out of reach with his third of the campaign.

These two squads will battle again on Sunday, with Connor Bedard's first trip to the Bridge City to finish the home-and-home series at SaskTel Centre (4:00pm).

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