Sports stats



WHL Saskatoon Blades

Robins, MacInnes Lead Blades to 4-2 Victory over Moose Jaw

April 11, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Saskatoon Blades News Release


REGINA, SK - The blue and gold are back on top of the East Division.

Tristen Robins picked up three points, Koen MacInnes stopped 28 shots, and the Saskatoon Blades doubled up the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-2 at the Subway WHL Hub Saturday night.

Saskatoon improves to 11-2-2-0 on the year, and sit tied with the Brandon Wheat Kings for first place in the East with 24 points. The two top-dogs will battle for sole possession of first tomorrow night (8:00pm MT) at the Brandt Centre.

Moose Jaw drops to 7-8-1-0 on the year, falling for the second time in three games to the Blades this season. The Warriors remain in a tie for fourth with Regina with 15 points.

Along with Robins' two goals, the Blades received markers from overage defender Wyatt McLeod and speedy forward Kyle Crnkovic. Captain Chase Wouters and draft-eligible winger Colton Dach collected assists.

MacInnes's record improves to 3-1-1-0, allowing two or fewer goals for the third time this season.

Robins has been nearly unstoppable lately, either scoring or setting up seven of the Blades' nine goals over the last two games.

Moose Jaw opened the scoring 9:01 into the contest, thanks to a Saskatoon connection. Former Saskatoon Contact Brayden Yager, Moose Jaw's first-round pick from the 2020 draft, collected his fourth goal of the season to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

It took Tristen Robins just 1:19 to provide the answer, taking advantage of a bad clearing attempt in front of Boston Bilous. The San Jose Sharks 2nd rounder intercepted a pass before deking around the Warriors netminder and collecting his 9th of the year.

Less than four minutes later, Robins struck again - this time walking in from the blue-line on the powerplay and snapping a low shot under the blocker of Bilous.

Saskatoon outshot the Warriors 14-6 in the first 20 minutes, and took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room.

1:25 into the second, Robins teed up Wyatt McLeod for a one-timer from just inside the blueline. The veteran blue-liner ripped a slapshot through a mess of bodies to make it 3-1.

Moose Jaw drew within one prior to the end of the second, thanks to Tate Popple's fifth of the year on the powerplay. On the heels of Popple's marker, the Blades killed off a two-minute minor prior to the end of the second, giving them a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

Saskatoon was called for too-many-men inside the first minute of the third, but it didn't stop the gang from extending their lead. Forward Kyle Crnkovic turned on the jets to setup a shorthanded breakaway, and beat Bilous through the wickets to make it 4-2. Crnkovic is now up to six goals on the year and has six points in the last four games.

Moose Jaw pulled Bilous with just under three minutes to play, and pressed for the final few minutes, but Saskatoon weathered any bit of pressure and held the Warriors off the scoreboard, cruising to a 4-2 victory.

The Blades will look for the weekend sweep along with the outright lead in the East Division Sunday night, when they battle the Brandon Wheat Kings at 8:00pm from the Subway WHL Hub.

Check out the Saskatoon Blades Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from April 11, 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.

OurSports Central