By Les Lazaruk
MEDICINE HAT – All the good that was done in Regina on Wednesday was undone Friday at the Canalta Centre for the Saskatoon Blades.
After killing off the only two power play chances they gave the Pats, the Bridge City Bunch reverted back to a form that doesn’t do them any favours as the Tigers connected on five of seven man advantage opportunities…skating away with a 5-2 victory.
“I think the frustrating part about that was they all saw those kind of goals in the pre-scout,” explained Blue and Gold assistant coach Ryan Keller. “We knew what they were going to do. They didn’t come out with, really, any surprises and yet we weren’t able to stop it.”
What might’ve been more frustrating to the Blades was that the referee tandem of Derek Zalaski and Brayden Arcand whistled the first four penalties of the game against Saskatoon with the Bridge City Bunch taking eight of 12 minors overall.
“A little of both (lack of executing the penalty kill or taking a lot of penalties),” replied Keller. “There were some penalties that maybe we weren’t overly crazy about and could kind of question. But still, once a team, as skilled as they are, and is hot on the power play, you’ve got to be smart and you’ve got to pick your spots and not find yourself in the (penalty) box that often.”
New York Islanders’ draft pick David Quenneville paced the Medicine Hat power play with a goal and three assists, Swedish blue-liner and Florida prospect Linus Nassen chipped in three helpers while captain Mark Rassell had a goal and two assists. The 5-3-0 Tigers had 12 shots on goal on their seven power play chances while out-shooting the Blue and Gold 37-28.
Add together this game with a 6-2 Tigers’ triumph on Sept. 29 in Saskatoon and Medicine Hat have scored seven of their 11 goals on the man advantage…on just 11 power play chances.
Sophomore defenceman Jackson Caller scored his first WHL goal in his 81st career game while Josh Paterson tallied on the power play for his first goal of the season for the 2-5-0 Bridge City Bunch, who will finish four consecutive road games Saturday night in Red Deer.
Pacman Points – Thanks to the tough night while short-handed, the Blades are 22nd and last in the WHL in penalty killing with a success rate of just 59.4%. They’ve allowed 13 opposition power play goals on 32 opportunities.
The point streaks for Saskatoon’s 20-year-old forward duo of Cam Hebig and Braylon Shmyr both came to an end at four games.
Quenneville led all players in the game with nine shots on goal. Third-year centre James Hamblin had six shots on goal and was 20-for-29 at the face-off dot. In total, the Tigers won 36 of 67 face-offs in the game. Rookie Brandon Machado led the way for the Bridge City Bunch, winning seven of 10 draws. Left winger Arjun Atwal paced the Blue and Gold with four shots on goal.
The Blades were without three players due to upper body injuries for a second straight game. Centres Logan Christensen and Kirby Dach last played Oct. 7 in Regina while left winger Tyler Lees has been sidelined since the pre-season. Defenceman Jantzen Leslie and right winger Matt Mosher were “coaches decisions.”
The Bengals were without right winger Max Gerlach because of an upper body injury. The same was true for centre Jaeger White and defenceman Joel Craven while centre Mason Shaw suffered a lower body injury during training camp with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and is listed as being indefinite as to when he will return. Defenceman Cole Clayton and goaltender Duncan McGovern were healthy scratches. Prior to the game, Medicine Hat G.M. and head coach Shaun Clouston said he wanted to make a move with McGovern soon…either by trade or re-assignment. The 17-year-old sits behind 18-year-old Jordan Hollett and 20-year-old Michael Bullion on the Tigers’ goaltending depth chart.
