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Posted by Les Lazaruk on Friday, September 12, 2008 at 06:53:00 PM.
I start to write this post about 7 1/2 minutes before the puck drops in W-H-L pre-season action between the Blades and the Pats in Regina.
I will attempt to update this as the evening goes on. The Blades' line-up is a little different than what I posted Tuesday...as follows:
Goal - Matthew Krahn starts and plays the first half, Adam Morrison plays the second half. Braden Holtby left today for Washington Capitals' training camp.
Defence - Tanner Sohn, Sam Klassen (wearing an "A"), Mitch Berg, Stefan Elliott, Ryan Funk (wearing the "C") and Brendon Wall. Jyri Niemi leaves for Islanders' camp Sunday. Teigan Zahn leaves Thursday for Chicago camp. Colin Joe is suspended for tonight.
Forwards - Curtis Hamilton (wearing an "A"), Brent Benson (Notre Dame is just a half-hour away), Mike Reich, Matt Sokol (first pre-season game), Josh Nicholls, Walker Wintoneak, Darian Dziurzynski, Braeden Johnson, Jamie Crooks, Gaelan Patterson, Travis Toomey (wearing an "A"), Cody Chikie. Chris Langkow is still out with an ankle injury...will be ready for next Friday's start of the regular season. Derek Hulak gets a rest. Milan Kytnar is playing for the Oilers in an N-H-L rookie tournament. Brody Sutter gets a rest/has a virus. Burke Gallimore has a concussion, but will be ready for the start of the regular season. Charles Inglis is suspended for tonight. Andrew Johnston is out with a concussion.
The Blades' average age of their line-up tonight is 17.45 years old...the Pats at 17.8. Both teams dressed 11 players each who were regulars in the W-H-L last season.
First period: 39 seconds in, Wintoneak slams Garrett Mitchell into the end boards in the Regina zone. A boarding penalty was being called when Alex Pym jumps in and wrestles with Wintoneak.
First good scoring chance goes to the Blades. On a power play, with Pym getting an instigator penalty, Elliott's slapper gets through Jeff Bosch's pad...but just wide.
Pats score on their first good chance when Wall gets caught on a pinch at the Regina blue-line. Good hustle by Justin Slobozian to create a 2-on-1 with Rudolf Cerveny carrying the puck. The left-hand shot moves in on his off wing and rips a wrister high on the short, glove side on Krahn. 1-0 Regina at 4:39. Unassisted goal.
Referees Brett Montsion and Ryan Bonnett are keeping a tight hold on the game. Eight minor penalties are called in the first eight minutes and change...six of them to Regina. The Pats give the Blades a 1:33 two-man advantage and the Bridge City Bunch tie it up. Benson fans on a slapper from the top of the right circle...but the puck gets to Dziurzynski cruising in front. He moves around a fallen Bosch and banks a back-hander in off the left post. Benson and Klassen get assists at 8:45. 1-1 tie.
Regina 16-year-old rookie Jordan Weal is shifty and tough to handle on the rush...just ask Stefan Elliott. The thing is, Weal is able to change directions with above-average skating speed!
Crowd roars with 6:00 left when Sohn is stapled into the left corner boards in the Blades' end by Cody Hanson. Dziurzynski responds a few seconds later with a solid shoulder-to-shoulder bump on Mitchell to separate the Pats' forward from the puck.
Crooks makes nifty feed to spring Benson in 2-on-1 with Wintoneak, but the 15-year-olds pass is behind the 19-year-old going to the net. The play eventually draws a penalty against Regina with under 30 seconds to go in the period. But, it's nullified when the Blades' Sohn takes a minor at the end of the frame.
Shots: Saskatoon 10, Regina 9. Blades are 1-for-6 on the power play, Regina 0-1.
Score: 1-1.
Second Period:
In the 3rd minute of the period, after Sohn's penalty expires, the Pats put on some pressure with Krahn making a couple of big stops on Mitch Czibere, just acquired from Vancouver, and Weal.
Pats re-take the lead at 6-44 when Clarke Breitkreuz feeds 18-year-old Slovak Tomas Hricina. He goes wide right, looks like he's heading behind the net when he feeds a pass in front intended for Breitkreuz that glances off a Blades' defenders skate and into the net. 2-1 Regina. Hricina from Breitkreuz.
Wintoneak takes a holding penalty 15 seconds after the goal. On the ensuing power play, failure to clear the zone allows Cerveny to spot an open Scott Doucet across the ice in the left-hand circle. His one-time slapper beats Krahn through the 5-hole coming across. Doucet from Cerveny and Jeff Dort at 8-56. 3-1 Regina.
At 9-53, Adam Morrison replaces Matthew Krahn in goal. Krahn stops 16 of 19 shots.
On Blades' 8th power play of the game...just past the mid-point of the period, Bosch makes a fine point-blank stop on Crooks. Then, follows up off the next face-off by beating Reich from just off the lip of the crease.
Shortly thereafter, on a 9th power play chance, Bosch flashes his glove hand on a wired shot from Dziurzynski.
Again, Bosch comes up big with just over 5:00 left in the period, stacking the pads on Benson after he was set up right in front by Wintoneak who had caught a Pats' defender pinching at the Saskatoon blue-line.
With Wall off for tripping, Toomey runs Matt Delahey into the boards in front of the penalty box. Delahey takes exception and the gloves and sticks fly...but not many fists. Delahey wrestles Toomey to the ice and gets tabbed for the instigator at 17:11.
Shots: Saskatoon 13/23; Regina 10/19. Blades are 1-10 on P.P., Pats are 1-4 plus a shorty.
Score: Regina 3, Blades 1;
Third period:
The Blades make it a one-goal game when Wintoneak re-directs Crooks' hard pass on the doorstep of Bosch under the goalie and in...although the red light never went on! The Pats protested mildly. Wintoneak's first of the pre-season from Crooks and Funk...who sent Crooks flying in on the left wing with some room to make his pass. Goal came at 4:17. 3-2 Pats.
A couple of minutes later, Morrison makes his second save since entering the game a big one off Garrett Mitchell from close range. Mitchell bursts between Sohn and Berg and gets to a puck behind the defence with Morrison's left pad keeping the puck out.
On the Pats' 5th power play, with Patterson off for tripping, Morrison glides over to his right to make a pad save off Weal's one-time slapper out of the left circle. Then, the goalie makes a save off Matt Strueby's wrap-around after he separates Benson from the opuck behind the Saskatoon net.
With 5 1/2 minutes left, Morrison comes across to stop a one-timer from between the hash marks in the slot by Doucet...with Elliott off for interference. When Stefan comes onto the ice, he takes a good back-hand shot that Bosch has to make a solid glove save on.
Then, with Graham Hood off for holding, Bosch makes a game-saving stop off Elliott...stacking the pads to stop the defenceman who had snuck in to a back-door position to the goalie's right for a scoring opportunity.
Some late penalty troubles allowed Regina to get an insurance goal on a power play at 18-25. Doucet banged in a rebound of a deflected point shot that Morrison couldn't find. It was the 20-year-olds second goal of the night. 4-2 Regina.
That would be it.Regina 4, Saskatoon 2. Third period shots were Saskatoon 9/32, Regina 11/30. Pats were 2-9 on the P.P. with a short-handed goal. The Blades were 2-12 on the power play.
My 3-stars were 1. Jeff Bosch, 2. Scott Doucet, 3. Darian Dziurzynski. Strong outings for Stefan Elliott, Walker Wintoneak and Adam Morrison.
Because I'll be on a bus to Edmonton tomorrow to do the Hilltops-Huskies' football game Sunday, I welcome all comments about Saturday's return match between the Blades and Pats!
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