The short-staffed Blades, who dropped a 4-2 decision at home to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday, are now winless (0-4-1-1) in their last six games.
Article content
The Christmas holiday break couldn’t come at a better time for the Saskatoon Blades.
Article content
Article content
The Blades, who dropped a 4-2 decision at home to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday, are winless (0-4-1-1) in their last six games.
They’re down a handful of players — with injuries to the likes of forwards Rowan Calvert and Willy James, while defenceman Tanner Molendyk (Team Canada) and David Lewandowski (Germany) are away for the IIHF world junior hockey championship.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“It comes at a good time,” said Blades captain Ben Saunderson. “Obviously the last couple of weeks haven’t been what we expected. It would have been nice to go in (the break) with a win, but I think there are two sides to look at. I’m pretty happy with our group. There was a lot of doubt about our team coming in from outside sources, so to come out the way we have in the first half has been good.”
Despite the recent slide, Saskatoon sits second in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference with a 17-10-2-2 record.
“(The holiday break) is a relief, for sure, but also this group has pride — so do we as coaches — that we’d want to go out there tomorrow and try and get out of the losing streak,” said Blades head coach Dan DaSilva.
“So that being said, it’s nice for these guys — young guys that are new in the Western Hockey League and have been playing a lot of hockey — to have a little bit of time to go home and reset, be with family and friends and enjoy that and come back to Saskatoon hungry to get back on a winning streak and show this league again what we’re capable of.”
On Sunday, the Blades battled back from a 2-0 first-period deficit to knot the score at 2-0 as Brandon Lisowsky’s one-timer proved to be a two-timer.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Brandon re-took the lead and then added an empty-netter for the win.
“There’s always things to work on,” said DaSilva. “I thought we played well in spurts. I thought the work was there. I think the guys gave everything they had. It’s been a gruelling schedule the last little bit with four games in six days, so it hasn’t been easy. We have a younger team too, so it’s a lot on their bodies.
“I thought the effort was there for the most part. I thought we got better as the game went on and I thought we deserved to win near the end. As always, we give ourselves a chance to win. It’s another, in my books, another one-goal game with an empty-netter there. We’ve had a lot of those. We were on the plus side of those earlier in the year and the last few games we’ve been on the losing side of those. It’s all learning lessons for us.
“The break’s coming at a good time. We can go home and reset and come back hungry to get back in the win column after the break.”
Lisowsky also welcomes the break.
“We still think we’re one of the best teams in this conference,” he said. “There’s no panic. I mean, us veteran guys, we’ve been around a lot of winning teams. I don’t think I’ve had a six-game (skid) in my career, so this is the first. I think it’s a learning experience, not just the young guys but the older guys too, how to get over this little hump.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“I think the break here is probably a good time to kind of have some guys get healthy and kind of reset and come back on the 27th, raring to go.”
Added Saunderson: “I thought the compete was there. It just comes to show that 20 guys for 60 minutes every night (is needed). It’s a tough league. But I’m pretty happy with the effort from our group.
“You have to give our group credit. We’re always battling back and giving ourselves a chance to win games. It’s just guys in the room being vocal and a belief in the group. It was not the start we wanted. If we come out in that first 20 minutes, it’s a different outcome. It just goes to show (you need) 60 minutes.”
Recommended from Editorial
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Article content
