Wong Nets a Pair, Maier Stellar in Blades 3-1 Win
November 27, 2021 - Western Hockey League (WHL) - Saskatoon Blades News Release
RED DEER, AB - Trevor Wong and Nolan Maier had nights to remember in Red Deer.
Wong scored twice, Maier stopped 40 of 41 shots, and the Saskatoon Blades took out the Rebels 3-1 at Peavey Mart Centrium to open a three-game road trip through Alberta on Friday.
The Blades snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, and Crnkovic scored his 24th and 25th points of the year. Captain Aiden De La Gorgondiere, alternate captain Tristen Robins and Brandon Lisowsky also found the score sheet, helping the blue and gold improve to 12-7-1-0 on the campaign.
Maier earned his 101st career victory with his second-star performance, along with his 10th win of the campaign.
Rebels netminder Connor Ungar stopped 19 of 21 shots as Red Deer falls to 14-8-1-0 on the season.
In a game that felt like the Blades had home-ice advantage at times, Wong was nearly unstoppable. The speedy centreman added an assist for three points in the win, and recorded a +3 rating to take the game's first star.
At times in the third period, as the Blades were battling away with a 2-1 lead, fans could hear chants of "let's go Blades" coming from a corner section.
The Blades will now direct their attention to an early afternoon clash in Calgary, taking on the Hitmen at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Rebels lone goal came just five minutes into the game. A no-look pass from Rebels Arshdeep Bains found Ben King who put it upstairs on Maier to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.
Saskatoon tied it up not too long into the second as a loose puck was picked up by De La Gorgondiere who fed it to Lisowsky and went cross-ice to Wong. The former Kelowna Rocket leading scorer sniped it over the shoulder of Ungar making it 1-1 after two.
Halfway through the third period, Wong struck again. Robins kicked a loose puck out to Crnkovic behind the Rebels net, who found Wong alone in front and netted his second of the game to put Saskatoon ahead 2-1.
The Rebels pulled Ungar with two minutes left, but it proved costly as Crnkovic netted his 11th of the campaign into the empty net.
Saskatoon's stretch of nine straight on the road continues with stop number six in Calgary on Saturday. From there, the Blades will revert north to Edmonton to battle the Oil Kings on Sunday.
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