Rare SaskTel Centre Pre-Season Game Nets Blades Win
By Les Lazaruk
As you might expect, it’s okay to “throw shade” when you’re winning.
(The kids today still say, “throw shade,” right?!)
Brandon Machado deflected Jackson Caller’s point shot past Carter Woodside for the winning goal on a third period power play goal as the Saskatoon Blades edged the Regina Pats 3-2 in WHL preseason action Thursday at SaskTel Centre.
“Oh yeah, I definitely did touch it,” explained Machado, an 18-year-old forward from Airdrie, Ab., bidding to play a second season with the Bridge City Bunch. “A couple of guys are giving me some grief about the celebration in (the locker room), joking about it. But, it went off my stick, so it’s good to get that one.”
The man-advantage tally, the second one of the game for the Blue and Gold, extended the Blades’ record to 6-0-0-0 – tops in the WHL in the preseason.
It wasn’t a masterpiece of an effort, however, as the 3-2-0 Pats out-shot Saskatoon 47-31 and battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game going in to the final six minutes. However, a checking-to-the-head major penalty and accompanying game misconduct to Regina defenceman Parker Gavlas, with 5:26 left in the third period, gave the Bridge City Bunch the power play chance that Machado capitalized on just nine seconds later.
Making his first start and appearance of the preseason, Blue and Gold sophomore goaltender Nolan Maier shone with 45 saves.
“I don’t think we were overly happy with our game as a whole,” said Blades’ Associate Coach Ryan Marsh. “There’s lots of things we’ve got to clean up still. We did give up too many shots, discipline was a little bit questionable. But, on the bright side, it was good to have Maier (back) between the pipes and he played well for us tonight. It was good to see.”
Kirby Dach, on the power play, and Zachary Ashton staked Saskatoon to the 2-0 lead. But, Garrett Wright scored in the final minute of the second period and set up Robbie Holmes’ third period man-advantage marker to set the stage for Machado’s heroics.
The Bridge City Bunch can complete a perfect 7-0-0-0 preseason with a victory Saturday in Prince Albert. Game time is 7 p.m. with the broadcast on 98-COOL beginning at 6.
Pacman Points – For the third straight game, and fourth time out of six contests, the Blue and Gold scored two-or-more power play goals, going 2-for-4 while the Pats were 1-for-6.
Regina split the goaltending between a pair of 17-year-old prospects. Both Matthew Pesenti and Carter Woodside stopped 14 shots with Pesenti allowing two goals and Woodside surrendering the game-winner.
With three forwards away at NHL main training camps, another forward not yet returned from an NHL rookie camp and two forwards sitting out due to injury, the Blades used defencemen Ashton and Randen Schmidt up front. Kyle Crnkovic and Logan Christensen (both with upper body injuries), Max Gerlach (returning from Arizona), Chase Wouters (Tampa Bay), Eric Florchuk and Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen (both at Washington’s main camp) were the forwards out of the line-up. Koen MacInnes was the extra goaltender and defenceman Aidan De La Gorgendiere was scratched.
The Pats have four players away attending NHL main training camps…forwards Jake Leschyshyn (Vegas), Nick Henry (Colorado), defenceman Cale Fleury (Montreal) and goaltender Max Paddock (San Jose). Regina also scratched forward Cole Dubinsky, defencemen Jonas Harkins, Nikita Sedov and Brady Pouteau plus goaltender Kyle Dumba.
Regina forward Austin Pratt led all players in the game with eight shots on goal while Dach paced Saskatoon with six shots.
In the faceoff circle, the Bridge City Bunch won 38 of 62 draws, led by 16-year-old rookie hopeful Braden Plaschewsky, who captured possession for the Blue and Gold on 10 of 13 faceoffs. Overage forward Bryce Platt topped the Pats winning six of 1 trips to the dot.
