Blades win vital clash
There is plenty of hockey left to play, but the Saskatoon Blades took a big step forward in their run towards a playoff berth.
The Blades collected seven out of a possible eight points during the week, but most crucially left the Saddledome with a 6-2 win over the Calgary Hitmen to move three points ahead of the Hitmen in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Saskatoon (27-31-7-2) began their week with a 4-0 win over Kootenay as Logan Flodell made 20 saves to blank the Ice.
The Blades lost 5-4 to Lethbridge in overtime, but Jesse Shynkaruk’s 10th game-winning-goal of the season earned them a 2-1 overtime win Red Deer.
The Hitmen have a game in hand, but the Blades control their own destiny with five games remaining. They have a home-and-home with Swift Current before travelling to Regina and then concluding the regular season with a home-and-home with Prince Albert.
Pats win pair to break out of slump
The Regina Pats (46-12-7-1) posted a pair of 4-2 win to snap their four-game losing streak and all, but wrap-up first place in the East Division.
Regina beat Swift Current and Brandon on the road to get back on track. They opened the week with a 4-1 loss to a hot Lethbridge team at home and then lost 6-4 to Calgary at the Brandt Centre. All four of their consecutive losses came at home which started to raise some alarms, but the Pats have put together solid consecutive wins.
Pats goalie Tyler Brown was forced to make 36 saves in Brandon and 35 more in Swift Current.
Regina defenceman Sergey Zborovskiy left Wednesday’s win in Swift Current after suffering a knee-on-knee hit from Owen Blocker who received a major and was ejected.
If the Pats win one of their two games against Moose Jaw on the weekend they would claim the division title.
Warriors still streaking
It took a nine-game winning streak, but the Moose Jaw Warriors (41-17-7-1) finally landed in the CHL top-10 for the first time this season. The Warriors are ranked 10th after compiling their longest winning streak since they won 11 straight in 2005-06, the only season in which they advanced to the WHL final.
Moose Jaw grabbed a 2-0 lead, but needed three unanswered third period goals to beat Medicine Hat 5-3 in one of the best games Mosaic Place has seen this season.
Zach Sawchenko made 35 saves for the Warriors to win his eighth consecutive start, while Medicine Hat’s Michael Bullion made 41 saves.
The following afternoon, Brody Willms picked up his first win in a month as the Warriors romped to an 11-2 win over the Kootenay Ice. Dmitri Zaitsev and Brecon Wood both scored their first Western Hockey League goal. Brett Howden had four assists and defencemen Colin Paradis and Josh Thrower each had three assists and were both plus-five on the day.
The Warriors called up 2016 first round pick Brayden Tracey from the Calgary Northstars midget AAA for the remainder of the season.
Broncos hot down the stretch
The Swift Current Broncos (35-21-4-6) quietly put together a five-game winning streak of their own to lock down third place in the East Division and all, but assure a first round match-up against Moose Jaw.
The Broncos saw their streak snapped against Regina after winning three close road games. The Broncos beat Red Deer 2-1 in overtime, they edged Edmonton 4-3 and then doubled-up Prince Albert 4-2.
Tyler Steenbergen netted the game-winning-goal in Red Deer and Prince Albert and now leads the WHL with 11. Steenbergen has 47 goals on the season which has him tied for second in the league, two back of Lethbridge’s Tyler Wong.
Swift Current and Moose Jaw learned that they will host the first two games of the CIBC Canada-Russia Series on Nov. 6 and 7, 2017.
Wheat Kings end slide
The Brandon Wheat Kings (29-27-7-3) ended their six-game losing streak by blasting Calgary 6-1. The weren’t able to sustain their momentum as they lost 4-2 to the Pats.
Logan Thompson made 36 saves against Calgary and 50 against the Pats to keep the score respectable.
The Wheat Kings are five points ahead of the Saskatoon Blades with six games remaining.
The blizzard that hit the prairies over the early half of the week prevented the Wheat Kings from making the trip to Moose Jaw Wednesday. That game has been postponed a week and will be made up this coming Wednesday.
Raiders trounce Ice
Ian Scott made 28 saves as the Prince Albert Raiders (18-42-9-2) blanked Kootenay 8-0. The Raiders lost 5-2 to Lethbridge and also lost 4-2 to Swift Current. The Raiders will conclude their six-game home stand with a winning record when the meet Brandon Friday.
Kelly Parker had two goals and two assists against Kootenay and Cavin Leth also had a four-point night.
