By Les Lazaruk
PRINCE ALBERT – As Cameron Hebig goes, so go the Saskatoon Blades…until Thursday night!
On the day that the 20-year-old centre signed an entry level contract with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, Hebig was held pointless for just the 11th time in 35 games this season.
However, the forward line of Josh Paterson, Chase Wouters and Braylon Shmyr picked the Saskatoon product up, combining for 12 points as the Bridge City Bunch rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders. In that order, they were the three stars of the contest. Paterson collected his first WHL hat-trick in two-and-a-half seasons and added an assist for his first career four-point game for the 18-year-old right winger. Seventeen-year-old Wouters chipped in with a goal and three helpers for the first four-point game of his WHL career. As for 20-year-old Shmyr, scoring twice…including the winning goal…and adding two assists for a four-point game is nothing new. It was the left winger’s fourth four-point outing of this season!
“I’m a little bit speechless,” started Blades head coach Dean Brockman when asked about the effort from the line. But, he recovered to say, “That’s the best game Braylon has played in a Blades’ uniform. Josh Paterson looks like he got a lot of things for Christmas because he seems to be really happy. He was really good (Wednesday night, scoring a goal in Saskatoon’s 4-2 home victory over P.A.) and he was even better (Thursday). The play on the eventual game-winner…that’s just a pro play. And, Chase Wouters just gives you everything he has got every game. They were just on fire.”
Following Wednesday’s 4-2 loss at SaskTel Centre, Raiders’ head coach Marc Habscheid said Thursday his team would be better, and had to be, after a less than acceptable effort. They were better in the first period, out-shooting the Bridge City Bunch 21-12 and leading 3-1. However, the Paterson-Wouters-Shmyr line drove the comeback wagon for the Blue and Gold as they won their third straight contest and sixth in the last seven games. The Blades are at .500 (17-17-3) for the first time all season and have pulled four points ahead of Prince Albert in the chase for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, thanks to the home-and-home sweep coming out of the Christmas break.
Parker Kelly, Eric Pearce, Carson Miller and Brett Leason tallied for the Raiders, losers of three straight and sitting at 13-16-7 overall.
Pacman Points – The previous six home-and-home series on back-to-back nights had been split by Saskatoon and Prince Albert with the teams always winning in their friendly confines. The last time a team swept one of these sets was three years ago to the day…December 27 and 28, 2014…when the Bridge City Bunch doubled the Raiders 6-3 at the Art Hauser Centre, then came home for a 5-0 triumph at SaskTel Centre.
The victory ended a four-game winless skid in P.A. for the Blades. Their last win there at the Art Hauser Centre before Thursday was October 29, 2016…a 1-0 triumph.
When Hebig doesn’t register a point in a game, Saskatoon’s record is now 2-9-0. The other win was a 2-1 overtime decision in Lethbridge on November 1.
For the second straight night, a Bridge City Bunch player didn’t finish the game. Captain and defenceman Evan Fiala took a Jordy Stallard shot to the face late in the third period and didn’t return. Brockman felt Fiala will be okay to play Saturday in Swift Current after getting stitched up inside his mouth.
The injury suffered by Kirby Dach Wednesday kept him out of the Blades lineup Thursday. He has an “upper-body injury” and will be sidelined on a week-to-week basis. His spot in the lineup was taken by 19-year-old Dryden Michaud, who was coming back from an “upper-body injury” of his own.
Otherwise, the Saskatoon scratches were the same as Wednesday…defenceman Libor Hajek (Team Czech Republic, World Junior Championship) and right winger Caleb Fantillo (lower-body). In addition, affiliate call-ups, left winger Kyle Crnkovic and defenceman Majid Kaddoura were healthy scratches.
The Raiders made one lineup change from Wednesday. Forward Nikita Krivokrasov suited up while D-Jay Jerome watched from the stands. Otherwise, Prince Albert was without blueliners Vojtech Budik and Sergei Sapego playing for the Czech Republic and Belarus, respectively, at the World Juniors. Affiliate call-up defenceman Tyler Lowe was a healthy scratch again.
As was the case Wednesday, both teams scored a power play goal…the Raiders on four chances while the Blades connected on their only chance…albeit a five-minute opportunity after P.A. forward Justin Nachbaur received a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking Saskatoon defenceman Mark Rubinchik in the face after play had been whistled down before the mid-point of the first period.
Nolan Maier made 38 saves for his sixth consecutive win in goal for the Bridge City Bunch while Ian Scott stopped 33 shots for the Raiders in his eighth straight start in goal.
The Blades won 35 of 62 faceoffs with Hebig and Wouters each winning 14 faceoffs…Hebig on 22 draws, Wouters on 25 trips to the faceoff dot. Spencer Moe captured possession on five of eight draws for Prince Albert.
The busiest individual shooters were the line of Shmyr (6 shots), Wouters (6) and Paterson (5) for Saskatoon. Four different Raiders each had five shots on goal…defenceman Brayden Pachal plus forwards Leason, Miller and Kelly.
