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WHL Saskatoon Blades

Preview: Hitmen at Blades - November 25th

November 25, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


OFF THE TOP: The Blades return to action after having two days off following their three game in three night road trip which ended with a loss to the Calgary Hitmen. The Blades couldn't come away with a win on the road, dropping their record below .500 for the season. Brock Hamm started two games for the Blades on the trip, while Nik Amundrud started for Saskatoon in Lethbridge. The Blades currently sit 4th in the Eastern division with 21 points - two points behind Regina, and two points ahead of Edmonton for the 2nd wild card spot.

LAST TIME OUT: This is the third meeting of the season between the Hitmen and the Blades. The Hitmen came away with the victory on Sunday by a score of 5-2. Jake Bean tallied two goals and an assist in his 1st star performance while Radel Fazleev added three assists in the win. Libor Hajek scored his 3rd goal of the season in the loss, Connor Gay also scored his first goal in six games. Brock Hamm made 27 saves on the night. Saskatoon went 0/3 on the powerplay, Calgary went 1/5.

IT'S IN THE STATS: The formula is fairly simple when it comes to winning for the Saskatoon Blades. The team is 8-1-2-0 when scoring four or more goals, but only 1-9-1-0 when scoring three or less. Scoring the first goal has also been a key to winning for the Blades as they are 6-0-1-0 when scoring first, and 3-10-2-0 when surrendering the first marker.

FALTERING OUT OF THE GATE: The Blades have surrendered 3-0 first period leads in each of their last two games (Lethbridge & Calgary). The team has been able to fight their way back to within a goal each game but Saskatoon will look for better starts from their club going forward.

CRACKING THE LIST: The NHL's Central Scouting service released their updated "Players to Watch" List, Blades import defenceman Libor Hajek made the list with a 'B' rating. This ranking projects Hajek as a 2nd/3rd round draft candidate. The 2016 NHL draft eligible has 14 points (3g-11a) in 22 games this season for the Blades.

APPROACHING A MILESTONE: Blades captain Nick Zajac will play in his 273rd career game in the WHL tonight, all with the Blades. He currently sits at 16th on the Blades all-time games played list. If Zajac reaches the 300 game plateau (which he is on pace to hit in late January) he will be one of eight Blades to reach the milestone.

INJURY REPORT: 17-year old defenceman Anthony Bishop was medically cleared to play in this past weekend's road trip. The rookie defenceman had been out since injuring his hand in the last pre-season game vs. Swift Current.

UP NEXT: Saskatoon will have a day off before travelling to Swift Current on Friday. The team returns home for the much anticipated "Star Wars Night" on Saturday when they take on the Edmonton Oil Kings.

MILESTONES/STREAKS:

Nick Zajac is two assists away from 75 career WHL assists.

Cameron Hebig sits at 49 career assists.

Libor Hajek has 10 points (3g-7a) in his last 12 games.

Brycen Martin 10 points (1g-9a) in his past 7 games.

Brycen Martin is three assists away from 100 in his WHL career.

Connor Gay recorded his 50th career WHL goal on Sunday.

Connor Gay sits at 74 career assists.

Josh Uhrich passed the 300 (304) career PIMS mark on Sunday.

AGE BREAKDOWN:

3 - 1995, 3 - 1996, 7 - 1997, 5 - 1998, 5 - 1999.

GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN:

10 - SK, 7 - AB, 2 - MB, 2 - B.C., 1 - Alaska, 1 - Russia, 1 - Czech Republic

LEADING SCORERS:

Cameron Hebig: 22GP-10G-14A-24PTS

Brycen Martin: 22GP-3G-18A-21PTS

Connor Gay: 20GP-6G-12A-18PTS

Nick Zajac: 22GP-7G-8A-15PTS

Ryan Graham: 22GP-9G-6A-15PTS

Libor Hajek: 22GP-3G-11A-14PTS

DRAFTED PLAYERS: Brycen Martin (BUF - 3rd, 2014), Mitch Wheaton (DET - 5th, 2013)

SPECIAL TEAMS:

PP: 13/93 - 14.0% (20th)PK: 84/103 - 81.6% (9th)

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from November 25, 2015


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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