The Saskatoon Blades have already pulled off one upset during the WHL playoffs, but they won’t be satisfied until they have another.
The Blades head into their second round series with the Prince Albert Raiders as underdogs, having finished 35 points back of the Eastern Conference leaders. The underdog status didn’t bother them in their first round match-up with the Edmonton Oil Kings, and it doesn’t bother them heading into Game 1 in Prince Albert on Friday night.
“We want to prove a lot of people wrong,” said defenceman Brayden Klimpke, who had four points in Saskatoon’s seven-game victory over the Oil Kings. “The vibes have been good….. They (Prince Albert) are obviously a really good team. They have a lot of talented players. We’re looking forward to it, and we’re just trying to keep proving people wrong.”
Saskatoon flew as close to the sun as any team could in the first round without crashing back to earth. They suffered overtime losses in Game 2 and Game 6, but came through in the clutch when it mattered most.
Rowan Calvert’s power play goal 7:23 into the extra frame gave Saskatoon their first overtime win of the playoffs, and a series-clinching victory in Game 7.
“Playing in a series like that was very exciting for the guys,” goaltender Evan Gardner said. “(It was) even more exciting to get the win and be an underdog story. The vibes have been really high. Obviously, we know how PA likes to play and we know they’re a hard-nosed team … but we’re prepared to go.”
In Prince Albert, the Blades meet a team coming off their own emotional overtime high. Brandon Gorzynski’s Game 5 tally propelled the Raiders past a young Red Deer Rebels squad and into the second round for the second straight year.
The Raiders dominated the regular season series with Saskatoon, winning six of eight games, but the Blades aren’t phased by that statistic.
“We played some of our best hockey against PA throughout the season,” said Gardner, whose 36-save shutout on Jan. 31 accounted for one of those two Saskatoon victories. “They’re just one of those teams that it’s really easy to get up for, being such a rivalry and being so close to one another…. It’s just such an exciting match-up.”
“(We have to) just keep playing hard and keep competing the same way we did against Edmonton,” added Klimpke, whose overtime goal in the second game of the regular season gave Saskatoon their other win over Prince Albert. “I think we kind of frustrated them (Edmonton) with our forecheck and physicality and that’s what we’ll have to do again.”
The crowd might be the biggest difference this series. Although the Oil Kings drew 4,857 fans to their Game 7 match-up, it looked like a much smaller crowd in the cavernous Rogers Place.
The Art Hauser Centre provides a much more intimate, but hostile, setting. As with the point differential, the possibility of a volatile rival crowd doesn’t worry Saskatoon.
“It will make for a pretty good atmosphere,” Gardner said. “It will be loud in both arenas for sure. It’s something to look forward to.”
The Raiders and Blades face-off at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday.
News and Notes:
- The Award nominations keep piling up for the Prince Albert Raiders. On Thursday, the WHL announced Daxon Rudolph was one of three finalists for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy given annually to the league’s top defenceman. Medicine Hat Tigers Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo are the other two Eastern Conference finalists. Prince Albert netminder Michal Orsulak is also up for league honours. The Tremosna, Czechia product was nominated for the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s top goaltender.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
