Postseason Begins this Weekend at SaskTel Centre
March 30, 2023 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release
The 2022-23 regular season is in the books and it's time for the best time of year to begin! Playoffs baby!
The Saskatoon Blades pick up where they left off the regular season welcoming WHL superstar Connor Bedard and the Regina Pats for Game 1 and 2 at SaskTel Centre this weekend.
Bitter provincial rivals kick the series off Friday, Mar. 31st at 7:00pm, while Game 2 is Sunday, April 2nd at 4:00pm.
Over 10,000 fans are expected to fills the stands for both contests this weekend and we've got information you need to know before you arrive:
ARRIVE EARLY
FRIDAY
DOORS OPEN: 5:30 PM
PUCK DROP: 7:00 PM
SUNDAY
DOORS OPEN: 2:30 PM
PUCK DROP: 4:00 PM
Guests are recommended to arrive early in order to proceed through security and get to their seats without delay.
OPTION 2 - CAR POOL - PARKING SPACES ARE LIMITED.
Travel with friends in one vehicle. Reduce the number of vehicles. Parking spaces are limited.
All vehicles traveling to SaskTel Centre must follow the directions of the Saskatoon Police and the parking attendants. This allows for a faster and safer entry and exit for everyone.
Club Seat Parking Pass Holders & Rock Star Parking Pass Holders MUST enter the parking lot via Bill Hunter Ave, NOT Thatcher Ave.
BE PREPARED FOR YOUR ARRIVAL
Download your tickets in advance of tomorrow's game.
Travel Light! All purses and bags are subject to a bag search.
SaskTel Centre accepts credit card, debit card and cash as methods of payment at all food and beverage locations.
No exit and re-entry is permitted.
***Currently we are monitoring attendance. If it gets to a point where a Free Park and Ride Shuttle Bus Service is necessary we will look at offering it again. Stay tuned!***
Preview
For the first time since 2006, the Saskatoon Blades (48-15-4-1) meet their provincial rival the Regina Pats (34-30-3-1) in the postseason. The Blades won that series in six games, led by former forward Devin Setoguchi who had seven goals and two assists. Current Blades assistant coach Wacey Rabbit was also on that team and tallied three goals and three assists. The two clubs met for back-to-back games at the end of the year at SaskTel Centre and split them.
Saskatoon's 101-point season is the fifth time in franchise history surpassing +100 points, earning home-ice advantage by finishing fourth in the WHL. History was made all throughout the year, including being the fastest team in 59-years of the franchise to reach 20 wins. It's also the third best winning-percentage in franchise history, and the most number of wins in a 68-game schedule. Depth fills the Blades lineup with five players scoring 20+ goals and nine with over double-digits.
Who to Watch
NHL draft eligible forward Egor Sidorov is coming off a breakout sophomore season. The Vitebsk, Belarus sniper fired home a career-high 40 goals and 76 points while only suiting up in 53 games. Sidorov scored three hat-tricks on the season and is always dangerous with the puck on his stick and the opposing team's net in his sight.
Captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere also had a career season scoring 65 points in as many games from the back end. The 6-foot-1 defenceman quarterbacked one of the top powerplay units all season long and finished fifth in the league for assists while on the man-advantage. De La Gorgendiere etched his name in Blades history on Mar. 24th, 2023 vs the Pats tying Wendel Clark for the tenth most points by a defenceman in Blades history. Not only that, he did it in front of 14,768 fans in the club's second straight sellout. Hungry is the perfect word to describe De La Gorgendiere as he plays to keep his WHL career alive.
Alternate captain Trevor Wong burst into one of the WHL's elite playmakers this campaign. The 5-foot-9 center led the team in assists and points with 59 and 86 respectively. Wong finished one ahead of De La Gorgendiere for assists on the man-advantage with 32. A Kelowna Rockets 2018 first-round pick, Wong laced up in the Blades first-round series last season against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Saskatoon fell in five games, but Wong came ready to play with four points overall.
After being drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, forward Brandon Lisowsky was determined to show them they didn't make a mistake. The Port Coquitlam, BC. Product put up a career-high 38 goals, five of which came in the final three games. Lisowsky laced up for 65 games this year and tallied 71 points beating last year's career-high of 58 in three less contests. The 18-year-old sniper also found success last year in the playoffs putting up three goals and five points.
You're not going to want to miss this series, and tickets for both games are going fast!
Western Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2023
- Know Your Foe: Portland Prepares for Round One Match-Up with Everett - Portland Winterhawks
- Postseason Begins this Weekend at SaskTel Centre - Saskatoon Blades
- Game Notes - Game #1: Winnipeg ICE vs Medicine Hat, Friday 7:00 at the Ice Cave Inside Wayne Fleming Arena - Winnipeg Ice
- Dudar Named Director of Player Development - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Winterhawks Add Hudson Darby and Aiden Sotas to Active Roster - Portland Winterhawks
- Josh Davies Signs Amateur Tryout Contract with AHL Charlotte - Swift Current Broncos
- Connor Hvidston Signs Amateur Tryout with AHL San Diego - Swift Current Broncos
- Mantei Nominated for Doc Seaman Memorial Trophy - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Fiddler-Schultz Named WHL Central Division Humanitarian of the Year - Calgary Hitmen
- Gudelj Named U.S. Division Scholastic Player of the Year, Finalist for WHL's Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy - Spokane Chiefs
- Carson Birnie Named WHL Central Division Scholastic Player of the Year - Red Deer Rebels
- Royals Defenceman Justin Kipkie Named B.C. Division Scholastic Player of the Year - Victoria Royals
- WHL Announces Division Nominees for Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Memorial Trophy - WHL
- Anderson Nominated for Doug Wickenheiser Trophy - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Owen Pickering Assigned to AHL Wilkes/Barre-Scranton - Swift Current Broncos
- Beau Courtney Named U.S. Division Humanitarian of the Year - Everett Silvertips
- WHL Announces Division Nominees for Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy - WHL
- Paint the Ice at the Spokane Arena - Spokane Chiefs
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