Hot Saskatoon Blaze Faces Test Against Visiting Winnipeg Ice

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Saskatoon Blaze has plenty of time to prepare for Winnipeg Ice, and as recent history shows, it will need it.

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The Blades will be hosting Ice at the SaskTel Center on Fridays and Saturdays.

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Game time is 7pm on both days.

Here are five things to know about this weekend’s series.

two top teams

It will be a battle between the two top teams of the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference and East Division.

Entering Wednesday’s game against the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes, Winnipeg leads the league with a 20-2-0-0 record and 40 points, ahead of the Eastern Conference’s second-placed Red Deer Rebels (16-4-0-0). 2) outperformed by 6 points. .

Saskatoon trail Winnipeg by 10 points as the Blaze posted a 15-4-0-0 record and a four-game winning streak.

special team special

Saskatoon looks pretty special with a special team.

Blades is #2 in the WHL with an 86.8 Penalty Kill Efficiency. The Ice has him right behind them at 86%, so his two-game set this weekend will be a good test of both teams’ power play units.

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Saskatoon is currently 4th in the league with 26.3% power play ability. Winnipeg entered Wednesday’s action in eighth place, with him having a 23.8% success rate.

recent history is not kind

This may be the first time the two clubs have met this season, but Winnipeg has had a lot of success against Saskatoon in recent years.

Last season, the Ice won 6 of 8 games against the Blaze, one of them in overtime as Saskatoon posted a 2-5-1 mark.

The Blaze went 1-1-2 during Regina’s shortened 2020-21 bubble season.

Saskatoon went 1-4-0 against Winnipeg in the 2019-20 season, but the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

many happy returns

The Blades have recently welcomed a number of players into their lineup to bolster their offense.

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Among them is forward Yegor Sidorov, who has nine goals, nine assists and 18 points in just eight games this season. Sidorov scored the extra-time winner against the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday.

Conor Roulette, Josh Piller and Charlie Wright also played in Friday’s game after missing time on the injured list.

pipe dreaming

The Blaze boast the top two goalkeepers in the league.

Austin Elliott leads with an average of 1.55 goals, an 8-1-0 record and a .941 save percentage.

Eliot, 18, is from Strathmore, Alta.

Ethan Chadwick, 18, from Saskatoon, was a childhood Blade fan, averaging 2.01 goals, 7-3-1, and a .920 save percentage.

Chadwick is a former Saskatoon Contact who played under-16 hockey for the Saskatoon Stallions and under-14 hockey for the Saskatoon Kodiax.

dzary@postmedia.com

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