Blades hold off late Ice rally

Right-winger Michael Farren (#27) scored twice for the Blades in their win on Tuesday.

    The Saskatoon Blades likely didn’t want things to get that dramatic on the ice.

    On Tuesday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades put together one of their better outings. They appeared poised to cruise to victory holding a 4-1 lead on the visiting Kootenay Ice with three minutes to play in the third.

    The Ice proceeded to score two goals in a span of 52 seconds to cut the Blades edge to 4-3 with 1:54 to play in the third.

Chase Wouters sealed the Blades win with an empty-net goal.

    The drama came to an end when Blades centre Chase Wouters scored into an empty net just inside of the final 55 seconds of the third to cement a 5-3 victory for the host side in the WHL regular season clash played before 2,861 spectators.

    “I saw them score the first goal, and I was a little bit upset about that,” said Blades right-winger Michael Farren. “Then they got the second, and we all kind of knew right there we kind of have to flip the switch.

    “The game is not over until the last buzzer. We did that, and we ended up holding on to the win.”

    Had the Ice completed the comeback, it would have dampened the fact that Farren had arguably his best outing of the campaign. The 17-year-old Surrey, B.C., product scored twice to account for his first multipoint night of the season.

    At the 2:47 mark of the second, Farren potted the rebound from a Max Gerlach shot for a power-play goal to give the Blades a 1-0 lead. 

Blades LW Eric Florchuk, left, battles Ice C Peyton Krebs for the puck.

    After Ice captain Colton Kroeker scored to tie things up a 1-1, Farren deflected home a shot from Blades Russian import defenceman Mark Rubinchik to put the host side up 2-1 at the 7:33 mark of the second.

    Farren, who is in his second WHL season, scored both of his goals by driving to the net. He said he wasn’t overly consumed with doing that, but with the way the game played out, he ended up going hard to the Ice goal.

    “I think I just tried to play my game,” said Farren. “Luckily, it (success) happened to me, so I am pretty grateful for it. I think I should start going there more.”

    Last season, Farren turned some heads appearing in 63 games with the Blades as a 16-year-old rookie netting eight goals and 22 assists. The offensive numbers haven’t come as frequently this season as Farren has six goals and five assists in 45 appearances.

Max Gerlach had a goal for the Blades.

    In hopes of helping Farren find some confidence, Blades head coach Dean Brockman put the sophomore forward on a line centred by Kirby Dach along with Eric Florchuk on left wing. Brockman was pleased to see Farren pick up two solid tallies with that move.

    “He (Farren) had such a good year last year,” said Brockman. “He was having a tough year.

    “We are just trying to gain him some confidence as we are going down the stretch. Obviously, we talked to him a lot. We can’t play for him, so it was great to see him get a couple.”

    Before the second period ended, centre Brad Goethals scored a short-handed goal for the Blades tucking home the rebound from a shot taken by Dach.

    At the 5:12 mark of the third, 19-year-old right-winger Max Gerlach found himself on a breakaway and laser beamed a shot home to the top right corner of the Kootenay goal to put the Blades up 4-1.

    The Blades had such good control of the contest that they actively tried to set Farren up for a hat trick goal while working on a power-play chance that came shortly after the halfway point of the third.

    When everything seemed secure, the Ice comeback attempt took off. Kootenay right-winger Colton Veloso scored with 2:46 remaining in the third to cut the Blades lead to 4-2. Veloso proceeded to set up standout rookie centre Peyton Krebs for another Ice tally just 52 seconds later to cut the Blades lead to 4-3.

Josh Paterson, right, drives a shot on goal for the Blades.

    That set the stage for Wouters to ice the game.

    Nolan Maier turned away 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for Saskatoon.
    The Blades improved to 26-25-2-1 to sit two points up on the Prince Albert Raiders (21-20-9-2) in holding the second wildcard spot in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Raiders have two games in hand on the Blades.

    Matt Berlin, who turned 20-year-old in January, turned away 29-of-33 shots to take the setback in goal for the Ice, who sit third in the Central Division with a 23-27-3 record.
    The Ice were without 17-year-old rookie goalie Duncan McGovern, who was sitting out a one-game league imposed suspension for taking a match penalty in the Ice’s 5-3 loss at home to the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday.

The Blades celebrate their win on Tuesday.

    The Blades ended a two-game losing skid with their win on Tuesday. Brockman said his club’s performance was much better than in their last outing, when they traveled to Prince Albert last Friday and fell to the Raiders 5-2.

    “Our effort level was I think up from the last game in P.A. for sure,” said Brockman. “Certainly, there is a long ways to go. A win is a win, and we need wins.

    “We are just going to try and consume ourselves with us. I think that is the most important thing right now.”

    The Blades return to action on Friday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings (29-19-3-2).

Back in the Express with Maier

Nolan Maier makes a glove stop for the Blades on Tuesday.

    I was back in the Saskatoon Express this week with a feature on Saskatoon Blades rookie sensation Nolan Maier.

    Maier, who turned 17-year-old on January 10, has had an outstanding first season playing goal for the Blades. In 29 regular season games, the Yorkton, Sask., product had posted a 17-10-1 record, a 3.24 goals against average, a .902 save percentage and two shutouts.

    He joined the Blades permanently on a full-time basis last Nov. 14 after playing for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge held jointly in Dawson Creek and Fort St.  John, B.C.
    The Express story on Maier can be found right here.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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