Brandon Wheat Kings @ Saskatoon Blades - February 22nd, 2013 The Saskatoon Blades (36-21-0-3) search for a franchise-record 14th consecutive win as they play host to the Brandon Wheat Kings (21-35-3-2) tonight. The two teams are meeting for the second time this week in Saskatoon. Blades Last Game The Saskatoon Blades once again showed the ability to come from behind on Wednesday night. Saskatoon dumped the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-1, despite giving up the opening goal to Tanner Eberle. The Blades tied it later in the first period with Erik Benoit netting his 12th of the season. After a scoreless middle period, the Blades took control in the third. Saskatoon scored 4-straight times in the final stanza to take the game 5-1, with the goals coming from Matej Stransky (33rd), Josh Nicholls (39th) and Brenden Walker (22nd/23rd). Andrey Makarov took home 1st star honours with a 35 save performance. On special teams, the Blades were 1 for 6 on the PP and 6 for 6 on the PK. Previous Meetings Tonight's game between the Blades and Wheat Kings marks the 7th meeting of the season between the clubs. So far, the Blades have posted a 4-1-0-1 record against the Wheat Kings in 2012-13 while outscoring them by a count of 29-20. The season series is as follows: - Blades 6 Wheat Kings 9 - September 26th, 2012 - Josh Nicholls had 2 goals and an assist in the loss - Blades 7 Wheat Kings 5 - December 11th, 2012 - Matej Stransky had 1 goal and 2 assists in the win - Blades 2 Wheat Kings 3 (SO) - January 19th, 2013 - Lukas Sutter, Collin Valcourt had the goals in the SO loss - Blades 4 Wheat Kings 1 - January 22nd, 2013 - Matej Stransky had the GWG and was +3 in the win - Blades 5 Wheat Kings 1 - January 30th, 2013 - Michael Ferland had the GWG, Andrey Makarov had 38 saves - Blades 5 vs. Wheat Kings 1 - February 18th, 2013-4 players had two points each, Lukas Sutter had the GWG - Blades vs. Wheat Kings - Tonight - Blades vs. Wheat Kings - February March 1st, 2013 Looking For A Record The Saskatoon Blades are looking to set a franchise record tonight against the Brandon Wheat Kings as they enter the game with 13 straight wins. With a victory the Blades will surpass the franchise record of 13 consecutive wins, set in 1987-88. The current win streak for the Blades has featured wins over 10 East Division teams and 3 Central Division teams, while outscoring their opponents by a count of 63-20. Saskatoon has spent a large chunk of their winning streak on home ice, winning 9 times on home ice during the 13 game streak. Makarov Can't Be Beat; Hits 30 wins A big reason for the Saskatoon Blades red-hot play has been goalie Andrey Makarov. Makarov has been in goal for each of the Blades 13 wins over their current win streak. Going back even further, Makarov has only lost 3 games in regulation over his past 19 games since returning from the World Junior Hockey Championships. Over the Blades winning streak, the Buffalo Sabres prospect has put up 13 wins and 2 shutouts with a.954 save percentage and a 1.65 goals against average. On the season, Makarov reached the 30-win plateau for the first time in his career on Wednesday night. His current 2.46 GAA and.923 save percentage are also career-highs. The two-time World Junior medalist also recently surpassed Braden Holtby on the career franchise shutout list with 8. Injury Report - 115 man games lost to injury in 2012-13 - Jessey Astles - Upper Body - One Month
Burns Is Burning It Up Saskatoon Blades forward Nathan Burns brings a 9 game point streak into tonight's game against the Warriors. Burns has put up at least an assist in each of those games, tallying 2 goals and 10 assists in the 9 games. For the month, Burns has put up over a point per game as he's scored 4 goals and added 10 assists for 14 points in 11 games. It's been a career year for the forward from Edmonton, as he's put up 18 goals and 41 points in 58 games between the Blades and the Vancouver Giants. Next 5 Games vs. Brandon Wheat Kings - Feb. 22nd @ Moose Jaw Warriors - Feb. 23rd @ Red Deer Rebels - Feb. 26th @ Calgary Hitmen - Feb. 27th vs. Brandon Wheat Kings - Mar. 1st Saskatoon Blades And The NHL The Saskatoon Blades have a total of 8 players who are currently property of NHL teams. That list includes 7 players who were drafted by NHL clubs, with one player being signed as a free agent. - Duncan Siemens - Colorado Avalanche - Drafted 11th overall (1st RD) in 2011 - Lukas Sutter - Winnipeg Jets - Drafted 39th overall (2nd RD) in 2012 - Dalton Thrower - Montreal Canadiens - Drafted 51st overall (2nd RD) in 2012 - Michael Ferland - Calgary Flames - Drafted 133rd overall (5th RD) in 2010 - Shane McColgan - New York Rangers - Drafted 134th overall (5th RD) in 2011 - Darren Dietz - Montreal Canadiens - Drafted 138th overall (5th RD) in 2011 - Matej Stransky - Dallas Stars - Drafted 165th overall (6th RD) in 2011 Latest Roster News As it stands, the Blades roster currently sits at 24 players consisting of 2 goalies, 7 defenceman and 15 forwards. - Assigned D Kyle Schmidt to Battlefords of the SJHL (Jan. 23rd) - Acquired Michael Ferland, Collin Valcourt, Erik Benoit (Jan. 10th) - Acquired D Shayne Gwinner from the Prince Albert Raiders (Dec. 3rd) Approaching Milestones - Michael Ferland surpassed 300 career PIMs last game - Nick Zajac surpassed 100 career PIMs last game - Lukas Sutter is 1 point away from 100 in his career - Matthew Pufahl is 1 point away from 50 in his career - Duncan Siemens is 1 assist away from 100 in his career - Josh Nicholls is 3 points away from 300 in his career - Graeme Craig is 3 games away from 250 in his career - Nathan Burns is 4 goals away from 50 in his career - Duncan Siemens is 4 games away from 250 in his career - Matej Stransky is 5 PIMs away from 200 in his career - Lukas Sutter is 7 PIMs away from 400 in his career - Matej Stransky is 8 assists away from 100 in his career
2012-13 Saskatoon Blades Player Stats # Player Position GP G A P Plus-Minus PIM PPG SHG 14 Matej Stransky RW 60 33 38 71 25 67 7 1 20 Josh Nicholls RW 59 39 30 69 17 39 5 4 9 Shane McColgan C 57 16 43 59 11 44 4 1 19 Brenden Walker C 60 23 33 56 14 54 3 0 44 Darren Dietz D 60 17 27 44-1 81 12 1 18 Nathan Burns LW 58 18 23 41 0 49 8 0 2 Matthew Pufahl D 57 5 29 34 7 21 4 0 24 Collin Valcourt LW 61 19 12 31 7 89 3 1 11 Erik Benoit LW 53 12 17 29 5 19 0 0 27 Michael Ferland LW 24 8 18 26 20 22 1 0 5 Duncan Siemens D 58 2 21 23 28 91 0 0 47 Dalton Thrower D 45 4 17 21 15 77 1 0 23 Lukas Sutter C 60 12 8 20-13 141 2 0 17 Nick Zajac LW 49 5 11 16-3 35 0 0 16 Matt Revel C 51 5 10 15 8 16 0 0 38 Brett Stovin RW 43 7 8 15-1 19 0 0 6 Graeme Craig D 58 1 11 12 1 61 0 0 8 Shayne Gwinner D 26 5 4 9 4 13 4 0 39 Ryan Graham LW 32 0 6 6-2 4 0 0 21 Logan Harland LW 25 3 1 4-1 5 0 0 55 Nelson Nogier D 44 0 2 2 8 4 0 0 41 Jessey Astles LW 18 1 0 1 1 43 0 0 1 Andrey Makarov G 50 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 33 Alex Moodie G 12 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Departed Players 134 13 35 48 4 108 5 0 # Player Position GP Min GA SV% GAA W L OTL SOL SO 1 Andrey Makarov G 50 2878 118 0.923 2.46 30 16 0 3 6 33 Alex Moodie G 12 539 45 0.846 5.01 4 4 0 0 0 Departed Goalies 4 198 9 0.915 2.73 2 1 0 0 0
2012-13 Saskatoon Blades Team Stats GP W L OTL SOL PTS GF GA STK L-10 Home Road PIMs 60 36 21 0 3 75 221 177 13-0-0-0 10-0-0-0 18-11-0-2 18-10-0-1 974 PP League Rank GP PP's GF PP % Home % Road % SHGA 9th 60 261 54 20.7 19.1 (12th) 22.5 (4th) 5 PK League Rank GP PK's GA PK % Home % Road % SHGF T-3rd 60 279 43 84.6 83.7 (5th) 85.6 (5th) 7 Scoring By Period 1st 2nd 3rd OT/SO Total Per Game Blades 58 74 84 5 221 3.68 Opposition 61 57 56 3 177 2.95 Scoring By Building Home Road Shots On Goal Record Blades 119 102 Outshoot Opposition 26-10-0-2 Opposition 93 84 Outshot by Opposition 9-10-0-1 Shots On Goal Tied 1-1-0-0 Shots By Period 1st 2nd 3rd OT/SO Total Per Game Blades 696 749 696 25 2166 36.1 Opposition 652 670 588 20 1930 32.2 Home Record 18-11-0-2 In One Goal Games 11-5-0-3 Road Record 18-10-0-1 Overtime Record 3-0 When Scoring First 21-4-0-2 Shootout Record 2-3 When Scored On First 15-17-0-1 Vs. Eastern Division 22-8-0-1 Leading After Two 24-0-0-1 Vs. Central Division 10-7-0-2 Trailing After Two 4-18-0-1 Vs. BC Division 3-2-0-0 Tied After Two 8-3-0-1 Vs. US Division 1-4-0-0 Shootout Scoring Shootout Goaltending Penalty Shots PS Goaltending Shane McColgan 2/5 Matt Revel 0/1 Andrey Makarov 22/28 Josh Nicholls 0/2 N/A Matej Stransky 1/5 Nathan Burns 0/1 Josh Nicholls 2/3 Darren Dietz 0/1 Brenden Walker 0/3 Lukas Sutter 0/1 Michael Ferland 0/2 Shayne Gwinner 0/1 Erik Benoit 0/2 Collin Valcourt 0/1 Brett Stovin 0/1
2012-13 Saskatoon Blades Roster # Goaltenders (2) POS C HT WT HOMETOWN D.O.B 11-12 SEASON LEAGUE DRAFT 1 Makarov, Andrey G L 6'1 178 Kazan, Russia Apr 20/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL BUF (FA) 33 Moodie, Alex G L 6'1 172 Winnipeg, MB Mar 16/95 Winnipeg Wild M-AAA Eligible '13 # Defenceman (7) POS SH HT WT HOMETOWN D.O.B 11-12 SEASON LEAGUE DRAFT 2 Pufahl, Matthew D L 6'2 198 Saskatoon, SK Aug 18/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL Eligible '13 5 Siemens, Duncan D L 6'4 209 Sherwood Park, AB Sep 7/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL COL '11 (1st) 6 Craig, Graeme D L 6'5 215 Red Deer, AB May 3/93 Swift Current Broncos WHL Eligible '13 8 Gwinner, Shayne D L 6'1 182 Drumheller, AB May 20/94 Moose Jaw Warriors WHL Eligible '13 44 Dietz, Darren D R 6'1 205 Medicine Hat, AB July 17/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL MTL '11 (5th) 47 Thrower, Dalton D R 6'0 197 North Vancouver, BC Dec 20/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL MTL '12 (2nd) 55 Nogier, Nelson D R 6'2 182 Saskatoon, SK May 27/96 Saskatoon Contacts M-AAA Eligible '14 # Forwards (15) POS SH HT WT HOMETOWN D.O.B 11-12 SEASON LEAGUE DRAFT 9 McColgan, Shane C R 5'9 170 Manhattan Beach, CA Jan 1/93 Kelowna Rockets WHL NYR '11 (5th) 11 Benoit, Erik LW L 5'11 178 Calgary, AB Dec 30/93 Kootenay Ice WHL Eligible '13 14 Stransky, Matej RW R 6'3 215 Vitkovice, CZE Jul 11/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL DAL '11 (6th) 16 Revel, Matt C R 5'10 159 Abbotsford, BC Apr 26/96 Fraser Valley Bruins M-AAA Eligible '14 17 Zajac, Nick LW L 5'9 170 Headingly, MB Mar 27/95 Saskatoon Blades WHL Eligible '13 18 Harland, Logan LW L 5'9 170 Frenchman Butte, SK Apr 7/95 Bonnyville Pontiacs AJHL Eligible '13 19 Walker, Brenden C R 5'11 193 St. Anne, MB June 26/92 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL Free Agent 20 Nicholls, Josh RW R 6'2 196 Tsawwassen, BC Apr 27/92 Saskatoon Blades WHL Free Agent 21 Burns, Nathan LW L 6'2 175 Edmonton, AB July 15/93 Vancouver Giants WHL Eligible '13 23 Sutter, Lukas C L 6'1 214 Lethbridge, AB Oct 4/93 Saskatoon Blades WHL WPG '12 (2nd) 24 Valcourt, Collin LW L 6'2 205 Red Deer, AB Mar 18/93 Spokane Chiefs WHL Eligible '13 27 Ferland, Michael LW L 6'2 215 Brandon, MB Apr 20/92 Brandon Wheat Kings WHL CGY '10 (5th) 38 Stovin, Brett RW R 6'1 188 Stony Mountain, MB Oct 31/94 Saskatoon Blades WHL Eligible '13 39 Graham, Ryan LW L 6'1 195 Calgary, AB May 6/96 Calgary Royals M-AA Eligible '14 41 Astles, Jessey RW L 6'2 205 Coquitlam, BC June 4/93 Kelowna Rockets WHL Eligible '13 Management Owner/Governor: Jack Brodsky G.M./Head Coach: Lorne Molleken Associate Coach: Dave Struch Assistant Coach: Jerome Engele Assistant Coach: Curtis Leschyshyn Assistant GM: Jarrod Brodsky Head Scout: Doug Molleken Goalie Coach: Tim Cheveldae Athletic Trainer: Steve 'Hilty' Hildebrand Equipment Manager: Graham 'Spike' Watt
How They Were Built # Player Acquired Draft Info Trade Info 1 Andrey Makarov Import Draft 30th in '11 CHL Import 2 Matthew Pufahl Trade w RD 68th in '08 bantam draft Acq for Devan Fafard 5 Duncan Siemens Bantam Draft 3rd in '08 bantam draft 6 Graeme Craig Trade w SC 64th in '08 bantam draft Acq for Brent Benson 8 Shayne Gwinner Trade w PA 44th in '09 bantam draft Acq for draft pick 9 Shane McColgan Trade w Kel 13th in '08 bantam draft Acq for Ryan Olsen/Picks 11 Erik Benoit Trade w Koot Acq for draft pick 14 Matej Stransky Import Draft 61st in '10 Import 16 Matt Revel Listed in 2012 17 Nick Zajac Bantam Draft 174th in '10 bantam draft 18 Logan Harland Trade w Van Acq for conditional pick 19 Brenden Walker Trade w Brn 240th in '07 bantam draft Acq for 3 bantam picks 20 Josh Nicholls Bantam Draft 27th '07 bantam draft 21 Nathan Burns Trade w Van 152nd in '08 bantam draft Acq for Travis McEvoy/Picks 23 Lukas Sutter Bantam Draft 42nd in '08 bantam draft 24 Collin Valcourt Trade w Spo Acq for draft pick 27 Michael Ferland Trade w Brn Acq for draft pick 33 Alex Moodie Bantam Draft 108th in '10 bantam draft 38 Brett Stovin Bantam Draft 90th in '09 bantam draft 39 Ryan Graham Bantam Draft 91st in '11 bantam draft 41 Jessey Astles Trade w Kel 120th in '08 bantam draft Acq for Ryan Olsen/Picks 44 Darren Dietz Listed in 2009 47 Dalton Thrower Bantam Draft 30th in '08 bantam draft 55 Nelson Nogier Bantam Draft 71st in '11 bantam draft
PRONOUNCER GUIDE GOALIES P/S YOB Pronunciation Makarov, Andrey G/L 93 MACK-a-rov Moodie, Alex G/L 95 MOO-dee DEFENCEMEN P/S YOB Craig, Graeme D/L 93 KRAYG Dietz, Darren D/R 93 Deets Gwinner, Shayne D/L 94 GWIN-ur Nogier, Nelson D/R 96 NO-zhay Pufahl, Matthew D/L 93 POOH-fall Siemens, Duncan D/L 93 SEE-menz Thrower, Dalton D/R 93 THROW-ur FORWARDS P/S YOB Astles, Jessey LW/L 93 ASS-tuhls Benoit, Erik LW/L 93 BEN-wah Burns, Nathan LW/L 93 BERNZ Ferland, Michael LW/L 92 FUR-lind Graham, Ryan LW/L 96 GRAY-uhm Harland, Logan LW/L 95 HAR-lund McColgan, Shane RW/R 93 Muh-KOAL-gun Nicholls, Josh RW/R 92 NICK-uhls Revel, Matt C/L 96 Ruh-VELL Stovin, Brett RW/R 94 STOVE-in Stransky, Matej RW/R 93 Matthew STRAN-skee Sutter, Lukas C/L 93 SUTT-uhr Valcourt, Collin LW/L 93 VAL-kort Walker, Brenden C/R 92 WAW-kur Zajac, Nick LW/L 95 ZAY-jack
Notes