Saskatoon sits second in the East Division but now sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 23-16-3-3 record and 52 points, four points behind the P.A. Raiders, who are 26-15-3-1 and have 56 points.
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Newcomers are settling in.
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The work is being done.
Now the Saskatoon Blades await some positive results.
While still focused on the process, the Blades are also searching for wins to stay afloat in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference and East Division where just a few points can mean a world of difference.
“The standings are what they are — they’re tight,” acknowledged Blades head coach Dan DaSilva, whose team resumes play Friday night, at home, against the Wenatchee Wild on Les Lazaruk Bobblehead Night at SaskTel Centre.
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“And if you’re not first in our (East) division, you’re sixth in the (Eastern) conference with the teams in the Central Division being so strong right now. So we’re definitely paying attention to that, but again, we’re focused on the process and just trying to get this team more and more closer to being on that same page within a group and we’re right there. We’re a competitive team. We’re in it every single night, close games every single night. We’re just pushing to get over that hump.”
Saskatoon sits second in the East Division but now sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 23-16-3-3 record and 52 points, four points behind the P.A. Raiders, who are 26-15-3-1 and have 56 points.
“We know it’s really tight,” acknowledged Blades forward and alternate captain Tyler Parr. “We know every game is a big game. That’s kind of the message for these last 20-some games — it’s really tight and we’ve got to start getting some points. That’s what our focus is on.”
The Blades are coming off a couple of losses, one of them in overtime, to the rival Prince Albert Raiders.
“We were just disappointed with the results,“ said DaSilva. “The process is what it’s all about but, at the end of the day, we’re judged on wins and losses and we didn’t get the job done last weekend but we took a step.
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“Our mentality is to get better every day and I do feel we are doing that and we just have to push harder to get over that hump but I don’t think there’s anybody who’s going to feel sorry for us and let us get a win so we have to make sure we’re ready to go every single night and pushing harder and we’ve got to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off after last weekend and make sure we’re ready to go by Friday. We need a big effort and we need everyone pulling the rope.”
The Blades made some moves prior to the WHL trade deadline, bringing in five new forwards and one defenceman into the lineup.
“It’s been a couple of weeks now (since the trade deadline),” noted DaSilva.
“Our group, in terms of, like, bringing guys in and making them feel comfortable, as people and as players, is phenomenal that they bring guys in, put them under their wings right away, make them feel comfortable, make them feel part of the family and that’s really a credit to the players in that room, the leaders in that room. And then now, from my point of view, as far as systems go, we took a big step last week. We didn’t get the results we wanted but, structurally, it was closer to what we want to look like in terms of how we want to play on the ice, how we want to look system-wise.”
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Parr sees progress being made with all the newcomers.
“For sure, it’s been a couple of weeks now and I’ve seen huge growth from the new guys,” said Parr. “We’ve had some really good practices. We’ve had lots of growth in the games and it’s been exciting.
“We always try not to be results-focused but at a time like this, when results aren’t happening, we’ve got to try and bear down and get two points when we can get them. A day like Sunday, when we were right there, it’s pretty disappointing. We had a good effort for the most part but didn’t get the right result. At the end of the day, that’s kind of what we get judged on.
“We’ve got to bear down here.”
After Friday’s game, the Blades will host the Moose Jaw Warriors at SaskTel Centre on Sunday afternoon. Game-time is 4 p.m.
They’ll be looking to clean up some rare mistakes by some veteran players last weekend.
“Mistakes happen but it just seems like they are happening at the wrong time for us right now,” noted DaSilva. “I can’t expect these guys to go out and be perfect every single night — we strive to be but it just doesn’t work out that way. Things happen but mistakes are great learning moments. So as long as we are living and learning from those mistakes, we’re going to be just fine.
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“It was a disappointing weekend in the end, in terms of results, but as far as taking a step as a team, I felt we did that.”
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