The Saskatoon Blades begin a home-and-home weekend set with the Swift Current Broncos tonight at Credit Union Centre. Game time is 7:05 pm.
Head-to-Head
This is the sixth of eight meetings between the Blades and Broncos this season. The Blades hold the season edge with a 4-1-0-0 record in the previous games despite being outscored 14-13 by the Broncos.
Steven Stanford (Calgary, AB) is 4-0 against the Broncos this year after turning aside 100 of 107 shots in goal. Adam Morrison (White Rock, BC) took the lone loss in goal for the Blades in the opening match after making 34 saves on 40 shots.
In goal for the Broncos, Morgan Clark is 1-2 and has made 90 saves on 97 shots. Mark Friesen has started the two most recent games and is 0-2 after making 58 saves on 65 shots.
Coming into tonight’s game, Derek Hulak (Saskatoon, SK) leads the Blades in scoring with 20 goals and 37 assists for 57 points this season. Wintoneak is second in team scoring with 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 points. Defenseman Stefan Elliott (North Vancouver, BC) is third with 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points and is tied for sixth for WHL defensemen in scoring.
Hulak and Wintoneak share the team lead in goals scored with 20 each.
Randy McNaught (Nanaimo, BC) leads the Blades in penalty minutes this season and is second overall in the WHL with 140. Curt Gogol (Calgary, AB) is second on the team and fifth in the league with 133 penalty minutes.
Elliott is second overall in the WHL in plus/minus at +34. Sam Klassen (Watrous, SK) is third overall in the league at +33. Derek Hulak is tied for ninth at +27.
The Blades’ power play is ranked 19th in the WHL at 15.7%. The penalty killing unit is 5th in the league at 83.6%.
Swift Current Broncos
The Broncos (25-23-0-3, 53 points, 5th in East Division, 9th in Eastern Conference) travel to Saskatoon on the heels of a 3-2 overtime victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday night.
Swift Current is led offensively by the 18-year-old Eakin, who has 35 goals and 31 assists for 66 points on the season. Justin Dowling is second in scoring with 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points. Brad Hoban comes in third on the Broncos with 14 goals and 29 assists for 43 points this season.
Eakin is tied for the league lead in goals this season with 35.
Michael Stickland is tops on the Broncos with 79 penalty minutes this season.
Rookie Adam Lowry continues to lead the Broncos in plus/minus this season at +12.
The Broncos are ranked 18th in the league in power play efficiency at 17.8%. The team’s penalty killing unit is 4th overall in the WHL at 83.8%.
Blades vs Broncos
Be sure to stay in your seats during the second intermission for a special appearance by a baby T-Rex that is 65 million years in the making! The special guest from the “Walking with Dinosaurs” series will be on the ice to promote the tour stop for the impressive show coming to Saskatoon on March 4-7.