Blades 1 Raiders 3. (3rd goal an empty net)

[Tidball]

Why Lorne didnt start Zemlak is beyond me. He had an awesome game VS Tri City and boasts a 6-4 record. Holtby let in 2 goals that i honestly woulda saved. Zemlak came in a got a partail shutout(48:00) and the Blades got 1 goal back. Hulak had 2 very good chances but missed one and Deckert bailed his team out on the 2nd. Blades were the better team tonight and deserved to win. Gauthier declined Klotz's offer.


PS: Zahn and Konecny skated in the warm-up tonight but did not play. Berg was called up and did a fine job.

[nivek_wahs]

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=0197279b-5210-4493-b31f-2f63b49bfaf1


Blades lose ground to Raiders, Broncos

Doug McConachie, The StarPhoenix
Published: Monday, February 26, 2007

RAIDERS 3, BLADES 1

If the Prince Albert Raiders make the Western Hockey League playoffs, they can thank the Saskatoon Blades for the helping hand. If the Blades fail to make the playoffs, they need look no further than the Raiders as to the reasons why.

For the seventh time in eight games so far this season, the Raiders beat the Blades. P.A.'s 3-1 win lifts the Raiders back into third spot in the WHL East Division, one point up on the idle Swift Current Broncos. The loss leaves the Blades languishing in fifth place, five points back of the Broncos and six behind P.A.

It was an important game for the Blades as they'd hammered Tri-City Americans 5-1 Saturday and, with a win, could have been closing in on both the Raiders and the Broncos. But shaky goaltending early staked the Raiders to a 2-0 lead and the Blades never recovered.

"We gave up two (terrible) goals in that first period. P.A. came out and put pucks to the net and played hard," dejected Blades coach-GM Lorne Molleken said afterwards. "We played extremely well in the second and third and had some chances, but for the last three games our power play scored for us, and tonight it didn't"

P.A., having picked up 14 of a possible 16 points thus far from the Blades, got on the scoreboard quickly when a long dump-in was mishandled by Blades' starting netminder Braden Holtby. P.A.'s Brent Ottman grabbed the loose puck and surprised Holtby from a bad angle for his eighth goal of the season just 11 seconds into the game. Just past the midway mark of the first period, P.A. defenceman Mike Gauthier, again from a difficult angle, put a weak shot between Holtby's pads.

Blades' backup goalie Garrett Zemlak came in on relief and stopped the bleeding by shutting P.A. down on all 14 shots he faced. Colton Gillies finally pumped some life into the Blades when he outraced two defenders and shot high on goalie Jesse Deckert with just 30 seconds left in the second period for the Blades' only goal.

P.A.'s Bryce Lamb got an empty netter in the final minute to complete the scoring.

BLADES 5, AMERICANS 1 (SAT.)

The Americans arrived in Saskatoon Saturday riding a five-game win streak and with the third best penalty killing unit in the league. But the Blades paid no attention to the stats

Saskatoon, with the man advantage, scored three times in a ninety-second span in the opening period before 5,641 fans at Credit Union Centre.

Defenceman Brad Cole scored with a long shot at 13:49 for his 14th of the year, Ryan Menei got his team-leading 35th goal half a minute later and Derek Hulak got another goal 36 seconds after that giving Saskatoon a 3-0 lead.

Wakaw native Shaun Vey picked a bouncing puck out of midair and banged it by Zemlak four minutes into the second period to break Zemlak's shutout bid.

But the Blades regained their three-goal cushion with Hulak's second goal of the night at 15:10 of the second period. Hulak took a long lead pass and -- with Tri City goalie Carey Price, who replaced starter Chet Pickard to begin the second period, on his knees -- Hulak went top shelf. Less than two minutes later, defenceman Brett Ward's point shot deflected in off Blair Macaulay on another power play, icing the win for the Blades.

Joe Logan, who returned after missing two weeks with a concussion, and Cole both had three points on the night. The Blades scored four times on their first five power-play chances and finished the night four-for-10. Tri-City was scoreless in six chances.

BLADE BITS: Saskatoon, now sitting five points back of Swift Current and with a game in hand, face the Broncos at Credit Union Centre Wednesday. They then host the Brandon Wheat Kings Friday and the Regina Pats Saturday, before heading back to Regina Sunday. The Broncos have lost five of their last six, including a 7-1 thumping by the Blades Feb. 17 in Swift Current. Saskatoon has won five of seven against Swift Current, including the last four. Swift Current, if they hold on to a playoff berth, can thank P.A. as the Broncos are a perfect 6-0 against the Raiders this year. The two teams tangle Tuesday in Swift Current and then have one more game remaining March 11 in P.A.

dmcconachie@sp.canwest.com

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

[howley]

time to start cheering for the raiders. They play swift and MJ two times each (I think). in their last 12 games.

[BladeRunner]

ya your right, raiders play swift and mj twice in the remainder of the season