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| Kirby Dach had one of his best games Tuesday as a member of the Blades. |
The
Saskatoon Blades draft eligible stars were their team’s two best players on Tuesday
night, and they got their club back into their best-of-seven WHL Eastern
Conference semifinal series with their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders.
The Raiders topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2
record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
Playing
before a crowd of 7,641 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Dach scored the game’s
lone goal and Maier made 26 saves in goal to deliver the Blades to a 1-0 victory
in Game 3 of the series.
With the
win, the Blades cut the Raiders lead in the best-of-seven set to 2-1. Game 4 is
set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.
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| Nolan Maier made 26 saves to pick up the shutout Tuesday for the Blades. |
Blades head
coach Mitch Love was part of that Canadian team as an assistant coach.
Winning
gold gave Dach and Maier great experience on a big stage and set them both up
to have great campaigns in 2018-19. They played key parts in helping the Blades finish fourth
overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record and earn an honourable mention status in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
In Tuesday’s
win over the Raiders, Dach set the tone early for the night.
At the 4:21
mark of the first period, Blades defenceman Nolan Kneen fired a point shot on
the Raiders net and the puck rebounded to sit loose by the left side of the Prince
Albert goal.
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| The Blades celebrate Kirby Dach’s goal on Tuesday. |
Dach, who
is projected to be a first round selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, was
the best skater at both ends of the ice playing a strong two-way game.
Of course,
the Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., product drew obvious attention for his brilliant
play at the offensive end of the ice that could have resulted in even more
goals for Saskatoon.
In the
second period, Dach fed a beauty pass across the face of the Prince Albert goal
that feisty linemate Riley McKay just missed trying to tap into the net.
Later Dach
cut through the Raiders top defensive pair in Pachal and Zack Hayes only to
have a backhander turned away by Raiders star netminder Ian Scott.
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| The SaskTel Centre faithful cheer Kirby Dach’s goal. |
Near the
end of the second period, Dach had another huge chance to score on a
short-handed rush. He cut wide on Raiders import defenseman Sergei Sapego and
rang a forehand shot off the post of the Prince Albert goal.
In the
third, Dach was in perfect position for another scoring chance. He gathered the
rebound of a shot taken by McKay in front of the Prince Albert net, but the
point-blank chance was denied by Scott.
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| Kirby Dach was solid at both ends of the ice for the Blades. |
After
recording 25 goals, 48 assists and a plus-15 rating in 62 regular season games
for the Blades, Dach is finding another gear in the post-season. He has five
goals and two assists in the Blades seven playoff games to date including a
highlight reel tally in the Blades 3-2 setback in Game 2 to the Raiders in
Prince Albert on Sunday.
While Dach
loves playing in front of the home faithful, he enjoys being the villain on the
road in Prince Albert and hopes he continues to be the target of taunts in the
Raiders home rink, the Art Hauser Centre.
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| Ian Scott makes one of his 26 saves in goal for the Raiders. |
Maier
earned his first career shutout in the WHL post-season on Tuesday and blanked
the Blades for a second time in the 2018-19 campaign including action in the
regular season and playoffs.
Last Dec.
9, Maier had a sensational 32-save performance in a 1-0 victory over the
Raiders at the SaskTel Centre.
On Tuesday,
Maier made a key pad save on Raiders star overage centre Dante Hannoun in the
opening 20 minutes.
Later in
the first, Maier turned away Sapago on a chance after the rearguard received a
sweet drop setup pass from Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason.
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| A frenemies moment between a Blades fan and a Raiders fan. |
In the third,
Maier made eight key stops to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard and deliver
victory to the Blades.
“I think it
is really big,” said Maier. “I think for our crowd and our team it gets
everyone pumped up.
“It is a
big momentum change. Maybe we can turn that to our advantage and kind of go
shove it in their face. It will be huge.”
Maier had
an outstanding regular season for the Blades appearing in 53 games posting a
36-10-6 record, a 2.64 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four
shutouts.
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| Kirby Dach controls the puck at the point for the Blades on the power play. |
He
overshadowed a great game from Scott, who stopped 26 shots to take the setback
in the Raiders net.
The Raiders
came to the SaskTel Centre with a sizable contingent of supporters, but they
were drowned out by the Blades faithful, who saw their club win their first game in the second round of the playoffs since 2010.
Maier said
the support of the home faithful was something his team noticed.
“The fan
support we’ve been getting in this city is huge, and I think it has helped us
all the way,” said Maier. “We can’t thank them enough for everything they have
done.”
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| The Blades celebrate their win on Tuesday. |
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