Worldfest Pics!!!!!! Blades @ Seattle.

I really enjoyed the Switzerland/Latvia game, Switzerland won 7-5 and it was the closest game I have seen so far.


Here are some pictures from worldfest:

EDIT:

The Blades kicked off their 6 game road trip with a game against the Seattle Thunderbirds, and they won the game 4-3. The Blades had a 4-0 and it slipped. The bridge city bunch are now 1-0 and will face the Everett Silvertips tomorrow night.

Canada has a day off. Blades Begin US Roadtrip.

Today team Canada does not have any games and sport a 3-0 thus far,but Switzerland plays Latvia today. I wonder who the crowd will be cheering for? Maybe the underdogs again: Latvia? Or will they cheer for Switzerland? We shall find out.

One little interesting fact that I found out: Is that both the Slovakia and Latvia goalies wear the #2 for some reason.

The Blades start their 6 game West/mainly US roadswing tonight against the Seattle Thunderbirds and Jeremy Boyer will face his former team. With that being said I will be wearing one of my new Blades RBK jerseys at the WJR game today and obviously when I go to Worldfest after the game.

The Blades will be without Jyri Niemi for this roadtrip,that is fine with me because they can not really change this situation BUT I HOPE HE STAYS HEALTHY.

Canada skates away with 3rd striaght win.

Team Canada played a slightly tougher opponent in Slovakia,whose lineup boasted Richard Panik and Tomas Tatar. Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen was given the start tonight.

Canada was pressuring the slovaks all night long and once again they played a good all around game,and of course the almost near capacity crowd was into the game as well. Taylor Hall who plays in the OHL recorded a hat trick and was awarded player of the game for Canada.

The final score was 8-2 for Canada. Team Canada's next game is a new years eve clash with the Americans on Thursday night. It should be a good game.

There is only one game tomorrow as well as the Mens Canadain Olympic team being offically announced.

Here are some pictures that I snapped from the 9th row in section G from my cell phone.

I attended the Latvia/U.S game earlier and yes Lativa did score. It was kinda fun watching but painful at the same time seeing Latvia struggle but the majority was cheering for Latvia.

Canada Earns 2nd win.

The CUC was packed for this game and before it all started when a Canadain flag was carried overtop of the crowd in the lower bowl and it was awesome to experience such a thing.

Canada started quickly by scoring about 3 minutes in.

The Swiss team was able to create some chances but Canada played a good game preventing any goals against Montreal Juniors goalie Jake Allen.

Canada defeated it's opponent Switzerland 6-0.

The 50/50 jackpot was close to 80,000 in total. Sadly I did not win. Canada's next game is tomorrow at 7pm against Slovakia. Who lost their opening game of the tournament against USA.

I am attending both hockey games, it is gonna be fun!!!!

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Canada gets set to take on Switzerland

Today at 3pm team Canada will take their 1-0 record and try to defeat Luca Sbisa and team Switzerland.

Here is some info from out of the official program that can be had for $10 or essentally free if you bought the package like me.

Switzerland only has 71 indoor hockey rinks but has 24,449 registered hockey players.

Meanwhile Canada has 2,451 indoor hockey rinks and 583,805 registered hockey players.

I am so excited to see my first Canada game!!!!!!

Canada BLASTS open the 2010 WJR's.

I was not able to attend the game but team Canada dominated Latvia defeating them by a score of 16-0. Most of you probably watched the game on tv.

Canada's next game is on monday against Switzerland. I will be at this game. FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!

I did take in the USA vs Slovakia game and it was a intense game and it became more chippy as the game progressed. One Player that caught my eye were Jordan Schroeder,a Vancouver Canuck Prospect.

I have a pretty good seat for the tournament too. It looks as if they are eventually going to replace the plastic seats with the semi comfortable seats. (do not quote me on this) I think that is what they are doing.

If you do go to a game you can not leave without buying a program, sure it is $10 but it has tons of facts and stuff.

Mike Meets Stanley!!!!!!

December 22nd,2009 was probably one of the best days of my life so far!!!!

I had my picture taken with the Stanley Cup!!!!!!!!!! I also bought a Luke Schenn framed picture.

Curtis Hamilton picked to play in the 2010 Top Prospects Game.

The currently injured Curtis Hamilton will showcase his skills in the 2010 CHL Top Prospects game in Windsor Ontario on January 20th,2010.

Both Jyri Niemi and Stefan Elliott participated in this event in previous years.

Blades earn a split with the Raiders.....

The Blades came back and played like the usual team that I saw play early in the season, they were hitting and making the Raiders cough up pucks, they were capitalizing on their chances.

The Blades scored first but the Raiders tied it up soon after.

The bridge city bunch only allowed the visiting Raiders to score 2 goals.

Steven Stanford of the Blades burned his former team.

The final score was 5-2 in favor of the Blades. Their next action is not until Dec 30th when the Blades start their U.S Division road trip in Seattle. The Blades will play 6 games against U.S based WHL teams before their next home game on Jan 9th against the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Blades Doubled by Raiders

No the Raiders are not front and centre (well in the game tonight they were) but only for tonight hopefully.

Not going into much detail but the Blades lost this game by a score of 4-2. They face the same PA Raiders at the Credit Union Centre tonight.

Home & Home with the Raiders this weekend.......

In the next 2 days the Blades will play their rivals from the north exactly 2 times. First tonight at the Art Hauser Centre in PA. Then the hockey scene shifts back to Saskatoon for Saturday night.

For the Raiders Brandon Herrod and Igor Revenko lead their team in scoring.


For the Blades Walker Wintoneak surpassed Derek Hulak in points but these two players continue to lead the Blades offencive attack.


The Raiders are 3rd in the division and the bridge city bunch continue to lead the east division.


So hockey fans get set for an exciting weekend of WHL hockey!!!!!!

Blades Spoil Kelowna's Roadtrip

I was only able to catch 2 periods because I had to go and play a soccer game..... Now to the game.

The bad blood between Randy Mcnaught of the Blades and Tyler Matheson spilled over again in the 1st period but not before Darain Dzuirzynski and Curt Gogol dropped the mits and DD had trouble in this fight he had to adjust in many ways..... descision Gogol.

The Blades took a 2 to nothing lead into the third period. Randy McNaught scored the first goal and allowed the winter gear to fly onto the ice.

McNaught,Wintoneak and Benson scored for the Blades while Mitchell Calahan of the Rockets potted the only goal for them.

I do not know what else to say about the game since I only saw 2 periods but the Blades did win 4-1

EDIT: A video of the game is now up on the Blades website and it shows that Patterson and Callahan fought as well as Thrower amd Bulmer.

The attendance was 5,531 thanks to raicheck night and $5 tickets for that.

The Blades winning streak is now at 2 games. Their next action before Christmas is Friday in Prince Albert and Saturday @ the CUC.

Blades VS Rockets Wednesday.

Again with my busy schedule of work,Blades games and soccer games,this preview is coming a day early.


Ok the Kelowna Rockets are 3-1 on this road trip so far...with a game against Prince Albert tonight. Regan Bartel is doing an AWESOME job with his blog posting pictures and videos throughout this trip!!!! I know it is a visiting team from BC,but reading any WHL blog with pictures and things is very cool. Just goes to show how much I love junior hockey.


The Blades are hoping to extend their 1 game winning streak into the Christmas break. Their last result was a shootout win against Red Deer back on Saturday night.

The bridge city bunch are still holding their ground in the standings but other teams are catching up for instance: Brandon is tied with the Blades....48 pts. Calgary has 52 pts,Tri City has 48pts and the Vancouver Giants have 47pts.

WHL On Shaw tonight Regina @ Red Deer. If the Pats dress their new acquisitions it will be a good game because that team has alot of talent on paper at least. I am excited that I am able to watch this game on the TV tonight.

The most recent edition of the WHL Plays of the Week features Blades goaltender Adam Morrison, the game against the Wheat Kings In Brandon. This play was #5 on the chart.

Blades Get Revenge On Rebels.

The Saskatoon Blades came into this game trying to erase the sour taste left in their mouths after Brayden Schenn potted the OT winner on Dec 9th.

The Blades scored less than a minute into the game when Charles Inglis (who now just sports a visor instead of a cage) snapped home the opening goal for the home side.

The game went back and forth as each team traded one goal leads and the Blades were forced to scramble (in the last 5 minutes of the game) and score to tie the game at 3.

There was not too many hits in this game and nobody REALLY seemed like they wanted to drop the gloves either but the game did see situations where players were looking for the opposing player to drop the gloves... speaking of dropping the gloves,Randy McNaught has not done this in a while, and there is no denying that when he does it energizes the team.

The game went into overtime and the Blades Captain Derek Hulak was called for goaltender interference. Luckily the Blades killed off the penalty. The game then went into a shootout,it went 4 rounds and the last shooter was successful and how fitting is that when it was the Captain Derek Hulak that scored in the shootout? I would think it was the icing on the Blades cake to end this game the way they did. Adam Morrison was perfect in the shootout and Darcy Kuemper stopped 3 out of 4 shots.

The hardest working player was New York Rangers Prospect Sam Klassen who was +2 and added 2 assists. The attendance was under 4,000.... 3,874 was the announced attendance. The weather was most likely a factor in this...but that did not stop me from going!!!!

Something funny was discovered by the couple who have season tickets next to me.... They were looking at the backup goalie (Kraymer Barnstable) and they thought that he looks like me. I took a look and kind of agree,then they started joking around. It was kinda cool actually.

The Blades next game and home game is Wednesday the 16th against the Kelowna Rockets and Regan Bartel. (I hope he will take pictures of when in Saskatoon and put them on his blog like he usually does) Former Blade Cody Chikie may be in the line-up for the Rockets on $5 game ticket and toque toss night.

Game Day Blades VS Rebels

Tonight in home game # 15 the bridge city bunch will take on Ryan Nugent Hopkins and the Red Deer Rebels. The last result (as I mentioned in my last post) was 5-1 Rebels.

That is all for tonight...Work early tomorrow..... Then straight to the Blades game!!!!!!!!!

WHAT A GAME!!!! Major Trades.

Wow what a game tonight at the CUC. The Wheat Kings almost completely controlled the 1st two periods going up 4-0.

The line of Schenn-Calvert-Glennie was ON FIRE tonight...That line was UNSTOPPABLE.

In the 3rd period HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!!! It almost seemed as if the Blades came out of nowhere to start stacking up the goals.... they did have some momentum that helped though. The Blades did manage to tie up the game 4-4 in the final period,and force overtime.

Matt Calvert had a hat trick for the Wheat Kings,Mark Schneider,and Brayden Schenn added singles but Schenn's goal was the crutial overtime winner.

Braeden Johnson,Tyler Kiziuk,Charles Inglis,Burke Gallimore all scored for the home team but they could not pull out a win.

The Blades 4th line of McNaught,Benson and Dzuirynski was solid again even though they did not produce any points they went out there and played physical and even had some decent scoring chances. Randy McNaught did drop the gloves.... here is how it happened: The play was in the Wheat Kings zone and McNaught went to hit a Wheat Kings player and he did but he stuck out his leg/knee and Mark Scheinder did not like that,so he challenged McNaught to a fight in defence of his team mate. The smaller Schnieder who gave up about 4 inches to the bigger McNaught did not do too well, although not being pounded into the ground Schnieder did receive what looked to be a cut under his eye.

The hit of the game was delivered by Darian Dzuirynski and the Hardest Working Player was Braden Johnson.

One little thing of interest that I thought I would add.... In Thursday's SP newspaper,in the sports section where it has a picture of Teigan Zahn and Brayden Schenn and the caption says: Brayden Schenn of the Wheat Kings and Colby Robak of the Blades collide wednesday in a WHL East Division matchup.

Coincedently the only Robak that may play for the Blades is Colby Robak's brother Colton.

I can not believe that something so simple can be messed up.....this is life after all and mistakes are bound to be made.

Despite the Blades applaudable comeback attempt they lost to the Wheat Kings 5-4.

The next Blades action is another home game on Saturday Dec 12th VS Red Deer. Now I hope we see a better effort than the 5-1 road loss last time in Red Deer.

Ok now to talk about a trade that happened today between the Regina Pats and Lethbridge Hurricanes... The Pats are probably considered buyers from this deal, acquring Carter Ashton,Craig Orfino and a 3rd round pick in 2010. In exchange for Graham Hood,15 year old Taylor Balog as well as 2nd round pick in 2010 and a 1st round pick in 2011.

The Pats and Giants hooked up in a deal a few days later,the Pats acquiring: Mitch Spooner,Cass Mappin and Mikael Jung in exchange for Derek Tendler,a 5th round pick in 2011 and the Pats 1st round pick in the 2010 CHL Import draft.

If this move does not signify that the Pats want to make a run than I do not know what does. I think it is pretty safe to say that Eberle and Teubert are staying in Regina.

These deals kind of scare me IF the Pats can change things and become a threat later in the season. As it stands now I just want the Blades to be able to hold their ground in the standings.

Blades VS Wheat Kings Wednesday.....

This post is coming 1 day early because I will have no time to write it up and post it before the game tomorrow because it means a trip straight from work to the Credit Union Centre for the game.

The Wheat Kings and Blades are still 1 & 2 in the division. Finally it will be the 1st time that Blades fans will be able to watch Brayden Schenn.

I am excited for this match-up because it will allow me to look at the Wheat Kings new players.....OK enough about the Wheat Kings. The Blades had a tough road trip against the Wheat Kings and Rebels,as they lost both games but they did muster up a win in Medicine Hat against the Tigers on Saturday night.

The Blades will be without 5 players for awhile after Christmas: Jyri Niemi (injured 1-week and may not even play in the World Junior's) Curtis Hamilton who is injured with a broken collarbone 3-5 weeks and will not be able to face his dad's team...the Kelowna Rockets on Dec 16th. Duncan Seimens,Dalton Trower and Brent Benson will all be playing in the U-17 Tournament.

Blades Lose to Rebels.

Tonight it looked as if the Blades took to many penalties and that is what may have cost them the game. Not much really to talk about from a Blades point of view because Walker Wintoneak was the team's only goal scorer in the 3rd period.


The Rebels nailed down a solid 5-0 lead and never looked back.


Randy McNaught did NOT have ANY penalty minutes according to the scoresheet on whl.ca


As a result of this loss the Calgary Hitmen take a 2 point lead on the Blades and push the Blades into 2nd spot in the WHL standings.


The Blades next game is also their next home game against the Brandon Wheat Kings on wednesday Dec 9th...This will be the first time that the Wheat Kings have played in Saskatoon this season.

Oh and one more thing this game will be televised on Shaw TV. The attendance will not get any better if they contue to show home games on tv...... HOW ABOUT SHOWING SOME ROAD GAMES ON TV!!!! I know that Joe's Sports bar downtown supposedly shows every road game in their bar, then I would have spend money on alcohol and then to bus it all the way downtown and back after the game.... Oh that is right we can not compete with the Vancouver's or the Calgary's of the WHL but the Blades are a good team this year.

Wow What A Relief!!!!!!! Blades Sneak Past Tigers.

I decided to work a full day at work tonight so I was not able to listen to any of the game so on one of my breaks I gave my house a call and so I asked my brother to look up the score on the computer and he did and wow was he wrong..... He told me that the Blades had lost.

So when I did arrive home I jumped on the computer and checked the score and it was 2-1 for the Blades in a Shoot-out.

There was no scoring until the 3rd period when Burke Gallimore saved the Blades by tying the game,and forced O.T which solved nothing.

The Blades scored the only goal in the shoot out and it was the Captain Derek Hulak who lifted the Blades to victory.

The Blades record improves to:21-5-0-3. Which ties the Blades with the Calgary Hitmen,with 45 Pts each

The Blades will play in Red Deer tonight.

Road Game Day.... Medicine Hat.

I hope that the Blades can pull a couple of tricks out of their own hats tonight against the Tigers. After a 7-2 loss to the Wheat Kings on Wednesday. I am pretty sure that the Blades coaching staff got their message across in practice/ the post game meeting and hopefully the team responds with a better effort tonight.


The Tigers are 2nd in the central division and Linden Vey and Wacey Hamilton lead the Tigers in points.


For the Blades Captain Derek Hulak and Walker Wintoneak continue to lead the Blades in points.


This game will be the 2nd meeting between the Tigers and Blades,in the last game the Blades defeated the Tigers 7-2.

The Arena in the gas city is a rather difficult facility to play in (I have watched 2 games there although they were playoff games) but I think IF the Blades can score on the Tigers and keep the lead that should take the home crowd out of the game...they will have to do it without two key players... Jyri Niemi and Curtis Hamilton who are both injured right now.

Blades Walloped by Wheat Kings. Blades Ranked #4 in the CHL.

For anyone who did not catch the Pre game show injury report Jyri Niemi is out....Curtis Hamilton is also injured with a broken Collarbone.... OUCH!!!!!!

Just by looking at the score sheet of the game. The Wheat Kings started GREAT going up 3-0 but the Blades battled back scoring 2 in the second period. Stefan Elliott and Walker Wintoneak scored those goals.


The Wheat Kings went on to score 4 more goals in the final period to put the game out of reach.


When all was said and done the Wheat Kings walked away with a 7-2 win.


Some good news to pass along,the team is still ranked in the CHL Top 10 @ #4 and through 12 weeks the Blades have been in the Top 10 for 8 of those weeks!!!


Keep up the good work. The bridge city bunch do not have a game on Thursday....but it probably will not be an off day either.

The Blades record is now 20-5-0-3 for 43 pts.

The Blades play in Medicine Hat on Friday night and conclude the mini Alberta swing Saturday in Red Deer against the Rebels.

2010 World Jr Selection Camp Roster .. The Drive For 6.

I will tell who and how many WHL players are trying to made the cut..... but for the full roster go to the Hockey Canada website.

No Blades made the list for team Canada, but I think the only guy that possibly had a chance was Stefan Elliott.

The lone pick for goaltender from the Dub was Martin Jones of the Calgary Hitmen.

Instead Travis Hamonic,Jared Cowen,and Colten Teubert will most likely be representing the WHL on the back end.

There are 6 WHL forwards who were selected: Jordan Eberle,Cody Eakin,Scott Glennie,Brayden Schenn,Brandon Kozun and Brandon McMillan.

In total 10 WHL players (1 goalie.3 defencemen,6 forwards) will try and win a roster spot and get the honour of wearing the Canadian jersey in Saskatoon starting on Boxing day!!!!

Now some of you are probably wondering why none of the Blades made the roster...well most if not all of the Blades success is by committee. Hopefully one year some Blades will make the team.

It will be exciting to see players from the other two CHL leagues: OHL and QMJHL. Nazem Kadri as well since he is the Toronto Maple Leafs 1st round pick in 2009.

Jyri Niemi most likely will be playing for team Finland in Pool B,So that is one player that the Blades will be without for possibly 6 games.

I bought the entire package for the Saskatoon games and hopefully I will be able to see all of team Canada's games.

Blades Road Game Day.....@ Brandon. 2 Blades games on Rogers Sportsnet.

Tonight the Blades will take on the Memorial Cup host Brandon Wheat Kings. In 2 previous games the season series between these two is tied at 1 game a piece.

Derek Hulak and Walker Wintoneak continue to lead the Blades in scoring. While Brayden Schenn and Matt Calvert lead their team in scoring.

These two teams are 1 and 2 in the East Division standings,it could be a close game but who knows because Brandon blew Saskatoon out of the water with a 3-0 win in one of their previous games.

I was thinking of heading downtown to Joe Dogs Sports Bar to watch the game...... but I have a soccer game at 7:30 so that puts a stop to those plans.

Another T.V related event to pass along: Rogers Sportsnet will be showing 2 Saskatoon Blades games. On January 27th Warriors at Blades will be televised, and on March 7th Blades @ Hitmen will be shown on the T.V.

Blades Battled But It Was Too Late.......

I was wrong Steven Stanford started in goal for the Blades and Martin Jones played net for the Hitmen.

50 goal man last season for the Hitmen last Joel Broda got things started for the visitors, 1-0 Hitmen just under the half way point in the opening period. The Blades and Charles Inglis tied things up at 1-1. I was hearing around the rink that it took 27 stitches to close up that cut on his face.

Not too much was going the Blades way after that.... the officiating crew was hit and miss with calling penalties all night long... I hate blaming the referees but in my opinion these past 2 games they have been off of their game. (to put it nicely)

The Hitmen scored in all situations tonight but the Blades went 2 for 3 on the power play and the Hitmen went 1 for 5 in their man advantage chances. The visitors built up a 5-1 lead and they protected it well until the later stages of the game.... The Hitmen must have really learned from their last match-up with the Blades. The visitors were really out working the Blades beating them to every loose puck and out hustling the Blades. Having stars like Brandon Kozun and Joel Broda among others really says it all when you look where this team is in the standings.

I was saying to myself as the game wore on that the Blades are not going to win when they put up 11 shots through 2 periods.

Their was 3 fights in this game Darian Dzuirizynski took on Michael Stone,I thought that this one was more wrestling but a few punches were thrown.

Speaking of Darian Dzuirzynski was on the receiving end of a Michael Stone hit in the 2nd period.

He was caught with his head down.....

Teigan Zahn and Ian Schultz decided to drop the gloves and another decent fight with both players landing punches.

The 3rd and final fight was an age mismatch for sure as Ian Schultz took on Duncan Siemens,this fight was over pretty quickly and the youngster was on the loosing end. Good for Duncan Siemens though for not backing down.

The Blades could have used Curtis Hamilton's 6'3 frame out there against a faster Hitmen team but the Blades played hard right until the very end.

The Hitmen scored 4 consecutive goals and the Blades could only muster up 3 goals.

The finial score was 5-4 in favor of the Hitmen. The Blades only lose their 4 game of the season and the Hitmen now tie the Blades with 20 wins.

The Blades should have a chance in the playoffs IF they can get past these same Calgary Hitmen.

The 3 stars of the game were: 1.Brandon "Killer" Kozun 2. Joel Broda 3.Derek Hulak

The hardest working player was Braeden Johnson and the hit of the game was was made by Brent Benson.

The Hitmen out shot the Blades 30-22.

The attendance was 4,332 (under 5,000 again) I am sure it has something to do with the Saskatchewan Roughriders playing in the Grey Cup game against Montreal tomorrow.

The Blades next game is Dec 2nd in Brandon,and the next home game is against those same Wheat Kings on Dec 9th.

Blades Game Day VS Hitmen.... Eastern Conference Battle.

Tonight the streaking Saskatoon Blades will try and take out another hot team in the Calgary Hitmen..... The Hitmen sit at the top of the Central division and 2nd in the Eastern Conference behind their opponent: the Blades.

The Calgary Hitmen are led but Brandon Kozun who leads the WHL in scoring. Michael Stone leads the Hitmen in goals. They also have two capable goalies in Martin Jones and Michael Snider.

I am positive that Adam Morrison will get the start in net for the Blades tonight.

I am also sure that the Hitmen will wear their jersey with the logo at the very top of the page....VERY SHARP LOOKING JERSEY.

If you are going to the game tonight enjoy yourself.... I know that I will be doing that. Oh and GO LEAFS GO haha.

Blades win a war of a game..... Rink Atmosphere Improving......

Steven Stanford and Brandon Anderson were the goalies for tonight's game.

There was a fight that broke out in the 1st period. Travis Toomey dropped the gloves with Derek Ryckman,it was a pretty entertaining fight as both players landed some punches.

The Blades started the game a bit slow allowing the visiting Hurricanes to go up 2-0. The first goal for the Hurricanes happened on a questionable power play.... Here is how I saw things.

There was a battle in front of the Blades net and it looked as if a Hurricane player knocked over the Blades goaltender.... but the referee called a penalty on the Blades!!!! That goal put the Hurricanes up 1-0.

The second goal believe it or not was scored while the Hurricanes were shorthanded in the second period

Charles Inglis took a hit or high stick in the face and he threw down his stick,gloves,helmet and skated to the bench...he was in obvious pain..... For us Saskatoon Blades facebook insiders (A.K.A Poke Check's friend) there is a picture of how bad Charles Inglis's face looked even after it was all stitched up..... THIS GUY IS A TANK!!!!!! It took him awhile to get stitched up but he did return with a full cage on his helmet and he will probably leave the cage on for a while longer I am thinking. It was a good thing that he did come back because he was utilized in the shootout.... uh oh semi spoiler haha.

Back to the game,it looked as if the Blades were not in focus and really did not look like the team that they can be..... BUT fear no longer as Jeremy Boyer and Walker Wintoneak aided in tying up the hockey game.

In the 2nd period Dustin Donaghy and Randy "Moustache Grower" McNaught decided that the time was right for a fight. This fight was a close one, each of them getting some shots in but it looked like near the end of the bout Dustin Donaghy connected with a few that would make him the winner in my view..... Wheather you think he won or not.... he sure did one thing "stand in there and gave McNaught a run for his money"

The Hurricanes had a 4 minute power play as well as a separate late game power play but the Blades shut down their special teams.

In the O.T each team had an equal number of chances I would have to say and the Blades probably could have put the game away in the extra period if they would have just shot the puck on net... I know that you want to set something more organized up but sometimes if you shoot the puck on goal you never now what might happen & it is a good thing if the goalie freezes the puck.

The shots were 34 for the Blades and 25 for the Hurricanes.

The hardest working player was Stefan Elliott (if he plays tomorrow night against the Calgary Hitmen it will be 3 games in as many nights for him.)

Either they did not have a Hit of the game or they announced it and I missed who it was.

THE SHOOT-OUT........

The Hurricanes choose: Mitch Maxwell,Cam Braes,Luca Sbisa,Carter Ashton,Carter Bancks... Only the 2nd shooter scored.

The Blades send out Gallimore,Boyer,Inglis,Niemi,Hulak....shooters 3 & 5 scored and as you read the Captain won the game.

3-2 Blades over the Hurricanes.

The 3 stars of the game were: #1. Stefan Elliott. #2. Brandon Anderson #3. Derek Hulak.

The new score clock with a MUCH CLEARER and bigger picture was a welcomed addition to Blades game nights!!!!! As well as the LED video screens at each end of the rink...... In the shoot out, as the Blades player was announced it showed the players eyes before their name and number.... VERY COOL!!!!!!!! A++ for the new additions to the CUC.

Tonight's victory gives the Blades 20 wins on the season.....Time for me to hit the hay and gear up for another game tomorrow night!!!!!!!!!

Blades Game Day...... Bad News!!!!!!

Tonight the struggling Lethbridge Hurricanes will try and solve the Saskatoon Blades who continue to stand atop of the WHL. Their streaks are pretty much opposite though. The Blades are 11-0. The Hurricanes meanwhile are on a loosing streak of 4 games.

For the Hurricanes Carter Bancks and Carter Ashton lead the team in scoring. For the hometown Blades Captain Derek Hulak and Walker Wintoneak continue to lead the way for the Blades.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes are 6th and last in the Central Division. So this could be a tough test for the Hurricanes even with the their success rate at Credit Union Centre last season and playoffs.

Tonight everyone will finally be able to witness the new score clock and LED video boards in

action!!!!

Now for some bad news.... Regan Bartel has mentioned on his blog(Which can be found in the Blog list on the right) that Curtis Hamilton left the Canada VS Russia game with a shoulder injury and actually went to the hospital as well..... Not good news for the Blades!!!!!!!!!!! Stefan Elliott however maybe be bruised but he should suit up for the Blades tonight.

Team WHL Sweeps Russians & Saskatoon's Brayden Schenn Makes NHL Debut...

They took the first game by a score of 2-1 in Victoria B.C on Wednesday night. Team WHL finished off their opponents by defeating them by a count of 4-2. Stefan Elloitt scored Team WHL's 1st goal and earlier in the game he did tumble face first into the boards but that did not appear to take him off of his game.

Curtis Hamilton played well in this game and his line mate was Wacey Hamilton of the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Both Calvin Pickard and Martin Jones played 1 game a piece.

Now the WHL players will go back to their respective WHL clubs... For the Blades Lorne Molleken has a descision to make..... Although he may have no choice but to scratch Elliott and Hamilton for Friday's game against the visiting Hurricanes from Lethbridge.

Saskatoon's Brayden Schenn (current Brandon Wheat King) made his NHL debut tonight for the L.A Kings against the Vancouver Canucks...he played a fair amount of minutes for his 1st NHL game. Too bad they were not playing the Toronto Maple Leafs... That day will come soon enough.

Blades Still In 3rd Spot..... Canada VS Russia

For the 7th week in a row the bridge city bunch are ranked the 3rd best team in the Canadian Hockey League with a record of 19-3-0-3.

Yesterday in Victoria team WHL defeated the Russian Selects by a score of 2-1. Tonight both Stefan Elliott and Curtis Hamilton will suit up for team WHL.

I may be able to catch some of the game because my soccer game does not start until 10 P.M.

Possible Line-up Changes This Weekend.......Mustache Movember..... U-17 World Challange.

The teams who have a player(s) participating in the Can/Rus Superseries may have to make due without those players...... for example the Regina Pats will be without the services of both Colton Tuebert and Jordan Eberle for 2 games. The Pats appealed but the league denied that. The Blades may have some line-up juggling to do of their own as Curtis Hamilton and Stefan Elloitt are playing in the game on the 26th in Kelowna. So it may be unlikely that they will play Friday in Saskatoon with the Blades,but I hope they play on Saturday.

The Blades will take part in their 1st set of back to back home games this weekend and as a fan "I love this"

Every player the team has been growing or attempting to grow a mustache in the month of November & there is a very good video on http://www.saskatoonblades.com/. Watch it to see who is voted to having best mustache and worst one!!!!!!!!

My vote for best mustache goes to Braeden Johnson and worst goes to Travis Toomey.


3 current Saskatoon Blades players and 1 of the Blades prospects have made their respective U 17 teams.

Representing the Blades on team Pacific are Duncan Siemens and Dalton Thrower who were 1st and 2nd round picks of the Blades in 2008.

Also representing the Blades except on team West are Brent Benson (1st round pick in 08) and goalie prospect Tyler Oswald (5th round pick in 2008 as well)

Good luck guys!!!!

Former Blade Overager Is On The Move Again......

That is right Ryan Funk was traded from Vancouver to Kamloops for an 18 year old forward. The two Bonner brothers sure like to swing trades back and forth. The Kamloops Blazer's (Funk's new team) have been making some trades lately..... Visit http://www.whl.ca/ for the details.


The bridge city bunch will have had a week off... once Friday arrives, they will then hit the ice at home against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Then the Calgary Hitmen make thier way into the CUC on Saturday night. I hope they are using the pratices to stay sharp and on their game because they have been playing pretty good currently riding a 4 game winning streak as well as a 12 game point streak.

Just a reminder that the LED Video boards and a new and improved scoreboard that were installed will be used for the first time this weekend.

Blades Whip Warriors/DANE COOK!!

The Blades continued their impressive play tonight & it does not really matter whether they play at home or on the road they usually find a way to win.



Stefan Elliott,Josh Nicholls,Brent Benson and Walker Wintoneak put the biscuit in the basket for the Blades. 4 goals for the Blades... The Warriors did manage to slip 1 past Steven Stanford.


The Warriors did send more rubber Steven Stanford's way 27 times to be exact. Jeff Bosch was forced to face 20 shots but 4 of those found the back of the net. Brandon Glover the Warriors back-up played 1 period (the 3rd) and was perfect making 3 saves on 3 shots.

The score was 4-1 for the Blades.

The Blades now are riding a 4 game winning streak.

Darian Dzuirzynski,Randy McNaught,and Jyri Niemi amassed double digits in penalty minutes.
The Blades record continues to improve to 19-3-0-3.

Captain Derek Hulak and Gaelan Patterson each played in thier 200th WHL game.

A week from tonight(when the Blades host the Lethbridge Hurricanes) the new score clock as well as the power ribbons will be in use. (They both look AMAZING!!!!)

Ok now for some non hockey talk but this event did take place at Credit Union Centre.

Comedian Dane Cook and his Isolated Incident Comedy tour hit centre stage.... There were two other openers before "The Main Event" hit the stage.... all 3 of them were funny but everyone was there to see Dane Cook. He did not disappoint!!!!!!! I had to buy some merchandise.... The t-shirts might have been the cheapest thing,but they were not cheap at all.... $40 was the price tag on an awesome looking shirt.

To sum the night up..... It was probably the BEST $155 I HAVE EVER SPENT... According to Dane Cook there are attractive "HOT" girls in Saskatoon,and I agree.

The good news is: "He will be Back"

Blades Road Gameday....Moose Jaw.

The Blades roll into Moose Jaw for another game against the Warriors who are nipping at the heels of the Blades in the east division standings only 8 points separate the Blades from the Warriors.

In the past 10 games the Warriors are 7-3 and the Blades are 9-1.

The leading scorers for the Blades are: Derek Hulak and Walker....(NOT WALTER) Wintoneak.
For the Warriors: Jason Bast and Brendan Rowinski lead the charge.


So far this season the bridge city bunch are undefeated against the Warriors with a head to head record of 2-0 in favor of the Blades.....

It should be an entertaining game...however I will most likely will not be listening to the game but rather watching and listening to Dane Cook....@ the Credit Union Centre & and no doubt he is going to put on a good show.


Enjoy your Friday everyone!!!!!

Credi Union Centre Arena Upgrades

Apparently they are going to be replacing the current jumbo tron with a new one,and they are installing power ribbons which are small visual bar type electronic screens between the nosebleeds and the concourse.

If you are one of Poke Check's friends on Facebook he has posted pictures of the power ribbons and the new scoreclock that only yours truly and the rest of his Facebook friends can see.

Since with these renovations the CUC is pretty much an NHL calibre arena... It is going to be exciting when all of the power ribbons are installed as well as the new score clock. Next weekend can not come soon enough!!!!! haha...first Dane Cook tomorrow night!!!!!!!!

Blades Remain in the CHL Top 10...

As the Blades maintain the top spot in both the east division and the WHL,they also climbed another hill... that being the CHL top 10 rankings. The Blades have moved up from 6th position last week to 3rd position this week. The Blades have been in the CHL rankings for 6 weeks and the season is only 10 weeks old (well 10th week in the CHL Top 10 rankings.)


Former Blade Jamie Crooks faced off against another former Blade in Milan Kytnar tonight... I was fortunate enough to catch the 3rd period on Shaw... after my soccer game. Crooks and his Bruin teamates defeated the Giants for the 1st time this season. Jamie Crooks pitched in with 1 goal. It is good to see that he has found success with his new team.


Could we say that Randy McNaught is having success here with the Blades? It depends on how you look at it....he does play on the 4th line and he does create room for Brent Benson and Darian Dzuirynski(but these guys throw thier own weight around to create space) There is also the INTIMIDATION factor (although one could argue that) because the much smaller Andrew Sullivan of the Swift Current Broncos fought Randy McNaught. I think that was alot of courage on Sullivan's part. Good trade for both teams but the Bruins have the advantage because Jamie Crooks is only 17 and McNaught is 19. That is probably what both teams asked for to fill some roles on each team.

2 Blades Crack Central Scouting Preliminary List For The 2010 NHL Draft

Curtis Hamilton (pictured above) is ranked 12th in these early rankings. Playing on a team that is doing well should help you get noticed BUT you must perform at your highest level possible.

Charles Inglis (pictured above) a 1st round selection of the Blades in the 2007 Bantam draft is ranked 16th amongst WHL skaters for the 2010 NHL Draft.

I really like his game,I feel that he plays a solid all around game.

These rankings will most likely change throughout the course of the season though.

The 2010 NHL Entry Draft is being held in Los Angeles on Friday June 25th, Saturday June 26th.

Josh Nicholls, Darian Dzuirzynski & Braeden Johnson are also elligible for the 2010 NHL draft.

Taking A Break from the Blades...... Broncos/Rockets Deal.

Since they do not play until friday in Moose Jaw. I am going to talk about former WHLer's and the NHL/AHL.



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Many hockey players choose the WHL for many reason..... The scholarship program is one of them...who would turn away from paid education?....Every season that you play in the WHL that earns you a year of paid education. Another reason that hockey players chose the WHL is that they may think that it is the shortest path to the NHL...an example of that is Evander Kane.....who made the Atlanta Thrashers at 18 years of age. Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs made the NHL as a 19 year old & the list goes on.... Another path is from the AHL to NHL depicted above. Former Regina Pat/Vancouver Giant Craig Schira is taking this path with the Ottawa Senators organization, He is playing with former Saskatoon Blades forward Ryan Keller in Binghamton with the baby Senators. There is an interesting story in today's issue of the hockey news about Ryan Keller's different and slightly longer path to the NHL.



There are many former players,some with junior eligibility left that are "next in line" for the NHL according to THN's depth chart.



I hope that the Blades are enjoying this break that they are having.....but not too much,don't want to be rusty.



One WHL deal to mention... Today the Swift Current Broncos traded 19 year old Geordie Wudrick to the Kelowna Rockets for 16 year old defencemen Tanner Clark and 19 year old European forward Stephan Novony.... The Broncos with this move are probably scaring some teams in the East Division....The Blades may be concerned but with the way they are playing I think that they are not too worried what other teams are doing.

Blades Skate Past Cougars

The Blades were looking to win for the 18th time this season and the Cougars were searching for their first victory on their tour of the east division.

Adam Morrison played goal for the Blades while Las Vegas product Hudson Stremmel played in net for the Cougars.

In the opening period the Blades controlled the play very well in the cougars zone. The shots at the end of the period were. 12-5 for the Blades. Brent Benson threw a big hit in this period,in fact the 4th line of Benson,McNaught and Dzuirzynski started the game and set the tone for the Blades.

The Blades drew first blood in the second period. The P.G Cougars tied up the game though.

Brent Benson is a human wrecking ball because he threw another good hit on the opposition.

The Blades scored all 3 of their goals in this period. Josh Nicholls's goal was probably the nicest one that the Blades scored.

The visiting P.G Cougars scored 2 consecutive goals to make the rest of the 3rd period an exciting period.

The Cougars pulled thier goalie but where unsuccessful in tying up the hockey game.

The ICR hit of the game went to rookie Brent Benson and the Wright Construction Hardest Working Player was Derek Hulak. The 3 stars were: #1: Derek Hulak. #2 Hudson Stremmel & #3 Brent Benson.

The final score was 3-2 for the Blades whose record improves to 18-3-0-3 on the season. The Blades do not play again until Nov.20th in Moose Jaw,and that is the same day that Dane Cook will put on a show at the CUC and I will be there. So 6 more days until the next Blades game and Dane Cook!!!!!!

The next Blades game at home is on Friday the 27th of November against the Lethbridge Hurricanes (the team that kicked the Blades out of the 08-09 1st round playoff series in 7 games) The next night the Blades will entertain the Calgary Hitmen at home.

That is all for now... time for me to catch up on sleep...........