The first of five meetings between the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats did not disappoint. It was a tightly contested affair and both teams were not shy about giving the other a little extra shove when the referee wasn’t looking. The Pats didn’t have nearly as much firepower heading into the game – only one player had three goals on the season. The Blades, on the other hand, had four players with three or more goals and two over 10 points. On paper, Saskatoon had this game in the bag.
Yet, Regina came out with a simple, defensive game that put the Blades on their heels and led to an early first-period goal. The Blades evened it on the power play with a beautiful goal from Rowan Calvert, and five minutes later, just as the penalty kill was ending, Ben Riche picked up the puck after leaving the box and easily put it by goalie Kelton Pyne.
But the Pats weren’t finished. Eight minutes into the second period, Cole Temple was given just enough space to pull off a sneaky move in front of the net to tie the game. The score remained tied at two until midway through the third period when former Blades prospect Dayton Deschamps made it 3-2 with his first goal in the Western Hockey League (WHL). But the Blades refused to give up, and with the goalie out, Tyler Parr evened up the game, allowing Brandon Lisowsky to end it in overtime with his first goal of the season.
It wasn’t a pretty win, but two points are two points, and the Blades now sit 7-1-1 to rank first in the Eastern Conference and second in the league. It’s a very surprising start for the young roster, who were expected to be competitive but not dominate like they did last season. Here are three takeaways from last night’s 4-3 victory.
Blades Need to be More Aggressive
One of the big reasons the Blades fell behind twice throughout the game was their lack of aggressiveness. “Was tonight our best game? No, it wasn’t even close to Blades hockey and what we’re capable of doing,” said head coach Dan DaSilva after the game. “But we’re going to take some lessons out of this one, and we know that we have better.”
“I thought our breakouts were really slow. I found us going east-west a lot, doing our controlled breakout a lot. We saw setting up behind the net and swinging and all that stuff. We didn’t play as fast as we wanted to. I also found on our rush we didn’t get pucks below the hash marks and really establish our forecheck and our offensive zone game.”
Related: Saskatoon Blades’ Lack of Experience Leads to Second Straight Loss
Regina didn’t allow the Blades to rely on their speed, which forced them to play a more defensive game. It worked well until the game opened up in overtime. All three of the Pats’ goals were off defensive lapses in the Blades’ end, which was a similar tactic employed by the Everett Silvertips last week, although they had more size and speed, leading to an overtime loss for the Blades.
There were a few players who thrived in their defensive deployments. Towering defender Morgan Tastad was a wall on the ice and wouldn’t let anyone around him. Rookie defenceman Jordan Martin also showed some snarl and forced Regina into the corners and away from the play, as did fellow rookie Zach Olsen, who wasn’t afraid to use his size. Misha Volotovskii was also unafraid to get in his opponent’s face, which led to a few turnovers. Even newcomer David Lewandowski threw his weight around and provided some solid backchecking. By the end of the game, those three were playing more, allowing the team’s stars to push the pace a bit more than they did earlier in the game.
“It’s a credit to our group,” added DaSilva. “We’ve said it all year. This is a resilient group. They’re never going to quit. They’re never going to roll over and die. That’s just not how they’re made, and you see it; it was ugly for long stretches of that game, but we gave ourselves a chance to win going into the third period and even when we fell behind one, we were able to stick around because we’re the pesky Blades. We’re never going to quit. That’s a credit to the leaders and the resilience of this entire group.”
Lisowsky and Molendyk are Difference Makers
It’s only been three games since Lisowsky and Tanner Molendyk returned from NHL camps, but the effect they’re having on the team has been noticeable. Molendyk was especially visible due to his elite skating. The ease with which he maneuvered around players made it look like the Pats weren’t even moving. Lisowsky was no slouch in the speed department, either, but he was most noticeable when he was firing pucks. Nearly every chance he got, he was trying to find the back of the net, and while it took until overtime to finally put one away, he put the Pats goalie through the gauntlet.
“They’re huge additions,” said leading scorer Ben Riche. “They’ve been in this organization for a long time, so they know the ropes and how we need to play, and they do it. They’re good leaders, and I think that’s a big part of our team now, is that we use them and follow them.” He added, “The big thing with Lisowsky is how he skates, and I like to use my wheels, too, so watching how he sees the ice and how he uses his feet is something I can try and emulate.”
DaSilva seconded his opinion, saying, “Both (Molendyk and Lisowsky) are special players. They were at NHL camps for a reason. They bring a lot to this team: experience, leadership, skill, speed. There are a lot of attributes that they bring to our lineup and to the group night in and night out. We’re fortunate to have them and really happy that they’re here with us and big parts of our team.”
Blades Continue to Find Different Ways to Win
Before the season, captain Ben Saunderson mentioned that the team would have to find different ways to win this season after losing a lot of veterans and highly skilled players from last season’s roster. Tonight was a perfect example of that. It wasn’t pretty, but the team dug deep and found that resiliency they’ve been preaching about all season.
Parr’s last goal to tie the game was a scrambling effort in front of the net, and he used his chest to knock the puck toward the net and then used his stick to bat it in. The play was briefly reviewed, but it was clear no infraction had been committed. It was just a desperate, white-knuckle goal that the team needed.
Entering the game, the Blades had one of the worst penalty kills in the WHL with a 66.7% success rate, while their power play was one of the best. However, last night, they didn’t allow a single power-play goal on three attempts, which was a nice change of pace. Lisowsky was especially proud of becoming a more well-rounded player after attending multiple NHL camps.
“Being on the PK this year, something that they obviously want is being a 200-foot player and rounding out your game,” he said. “Finishing checks, being part of the forecheck, just little things. From playing a preseason game with the Toronto Marlies, you can’t just score and be all offense. That’s not going to work out there. Taking care of your own end first will lead to good offense.”
Having that kind of player on the ice was important for the Blades, and even though he may have felt a bit snake-bitten after not scoring in his first two games, Lisowsky was leading by example, which spread to the rest of the team. He’s far short of the 43 goals he scored last season, but with one finally in his pocket, he should be able to relax a little bit and help the young players develop a more resilient, well-rounded game to keep their hot streak going.
The Blades are on the road tonight and will take on the Edmonton Oil Kings on Thursday, Oct 17. They then move on to the Red Deer Rebels on Oct. 19 before returning home to host the Seattle Thunderbirds on Wednesday, Oct. 23. It will be a challenge for them to remain at the top, but the team refuses to take anything lying down, which might be just enough to put them above their competition.
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