nivek_wahs
02-16-2007, 06:50 AM
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=1c9061cc-4439-4613-ac6e-f00a53174f09&k=91229
Rough road for Blades
Blades head to Medicine Hat tonight before a Saturday showdown in Swift Current
Cory Wolfe, The StarPhoenix
Published: Friday, February 16, 2007
Blades (21-30-2-2)
at Tigers (45-14-2-0),
8:30 p.m.
Medicine Hat Arena
Walker Wintoneak's hometown of Flin Flon has a reputation as one of the toughest hockey outposts on earth.
Tonight, Wintoneak and the Saskatoon Blades head to a similarly inhospitable venue: the Medicine Hat Arena. Not only will the Tigers play to a 172nd consecutive sellout, they're also riding a 15-game winning streak.
"We have the confidence to go in there and win," Wintoneak said Thursday after practice. "Last time we got a point (in a 5-4 overtime loss Jan. 31) and we're coming together now. Every line is contributing, so hopefully we get a good result this time."
Wintoneak, with new linemates Kenton Dulle and Dustin Cameron, had a standout performance during Wednesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings at Credit Union Centre. That trio combined for five points, including Cameron's game-tying goal with 4:34 left in regulation.
The Tigers have won 11 straight games at home. Their last loss at the Arena was Dec. 16 when the Everett Silvertips triumphed 3-1.
"Our guys know that it's a tremendous challenge going in there," said Blades coach-GM Lorne Molleken. "But, the way they played (Wednesday) and how they responded to our injury situation, you can't ask for anything more.
"They put it all on the line."
Forwards Colton Gillies and Gaelan Patterson will again be used as defencemen. They flesh out a defence corps that had dwindled to three: captain Brad Cole, Sam Klassen and Brett Ward.
After visiting Medicine Hat, the Blades trek to Swift Current for a Saturday showdown with the Broncos. Saskatoon (21-30-2-2) sits seven points behind Swift Current (25-30-1-2) for the East Division's final playoff spot.
"We had a great practice (Thursday)," said Blades winger Craig Cuthbert. "Guys had a lot of jump and there was a lot of energy.
"It's a big weekend for us and we still have some games in hand, so we're looking to make the most of them this weekend."
One of tonight's intriguing match-ups pits the Tigers' power play versus the Blades' penalty killers. Medicine Hat ranks first in the Western Hockey League with a success rate of 21.1 per cent on the power play. Meanwhile, the Blades have survived 32 of their last 33 shorthanded situations.
The Blades did not surrender a power-play goal for four straight games until Brandon went 1-for-6 Wednesday.
"Any time you're consistently killing 5-on-4s and even 5-on-3s, it's huge," said Cuthbert, who is one of Saskatoon's key penalty killers. "We take a lot of pride in our special teams and if we're going to be successful, our penalty kill is a big part of that."
Following back-to-back road games, the Blades return to action Tuesday against the Calgary Hitmen at Credit Union Centre.
BLADE BITS: Garrett Zemlak gets the start in goal for the Blades tonight . . . Andrew Clark, Brandon's second shooter, scored the decisive goal in Wednesday's 5-4 shootout victory over the Blades . . . The Blades have named alumnus Trent Coghill as their new director of business operations. Coghill, who played two seasons with the Blades from 1989-91, succeeds Mike Jenkins who held the position for six years.
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
Rough road for Blades
Blades head to Medicine Hat tonight before a Saturday showdown in Swift Current
Cory Wolfe, The StarPhoenix
Published: Friday, February 16, 2007
Blades (21-30-2-2)
at Tigers (45-14-2-0),
8:30 p.m.
Medicine Hat Arena
Walker Wintoneak's hometown of Flin Flon has a reputation as one of the toughest hockey outposts on earth.
Tonight, Wintoneak and the Saskatoon Blades head to a similarly inhospitable venue: the Medicine Hat Arena. Not only will the Tigers play to a 172nd consecutive sellout, they're also riding a 15-game winning streak.
"We have the confidence to go in there and win," Wintoneak said Thursday after practice. "Last time we got a point (in a 5-4 overtime loss Jan. 31) and we're coming together now. Every line is contributing, so hopefully we get a good result this time."
Wintoneak, with new linemates Kenton Dulle and Dustin Cameron, had a standout performance during Wednesday's 5-4 shootout loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings at Credit Union Centre. That trio combined for five points, including Cameron's game-tying goal with 4:34 left in regulation.
The Tigers have won 11 straight games at home. Their last loss at the Arena was Dec. 16 when the Everett Silvertips triumphed 3-1.
"Our guys know that it's a tremendous challenge going in there," said Blades coach-GM Lorne Molleken. "But, the way they played (Wednesday) and how they responded to our injury situation, you can't ask for anything more.
"They put it all on the line."
Forwards Colton Gillies and Gaelan Patterson will again be used as defencemen. They flesh out a defence corps that had dwindled to three: captain Brad Cole, Sam Klassen and Brett Ward.
After visiting Medicine Hat, the Blades trek to Swift Current for a Saturday showdown with the Broncos. Saskatoon (21-30-2-2) sits seven points behind Swift Current (25-30-1-2) for the East Division's final playoff spot.
"We had a great practice (Thursday)," said Blades winger Craig Cuthbert. "Guys had a lot of jump and there was a lot of energy.
"It's a big weekend for us and we still have some games in hand, so we're looking to make the most of them this weekend."
One of tonight's intriguing match-ups pits the Tigers' power play versus the Blades' penalty killers. Medicine Hat ranks first in the Western Hockey League with a success rate of 21.1 per cent on the power play. Meanwhile, the Blades have survived 32 of their last 33 shorthanded situations.
The Blades did not surrender a power-play goal for four straight games until Brandon went 1-for-6 Wednesday.
"Any time you're consistently killing 5-on-4s and even 5-on-3s, it's huge," said Cuthbert, who is one of Saskatoon's key penalty killers. "We take a lot of pride in our special teams and if we're going to be successful, our penalty kill is a big part of that."
Following back-to-back road games, the Blades return to action Tuesday against the Calgary Hitmen at Credit Union Centre.
BLADE BITS: Garrett Zemlak gets the start in goal for the Blades tonight . . . Andrew Clark, Brandon's second shooter, scored the decisive goal in Wednesday's 5-4 shootout victory over the Blades . . . The Blades have named alumnus Trent Coghill as their new director of business operations. Coghill, who played two seasons with the Blades from 1989-91, succeeds Mike Jenkins who held the position for six years.
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007