Blades plastered by Pats

The Saskatoon Blades couldn’t topple their powerhouse visitors on Wednesday night at SaskTel Centre.

The Regina Pats, ranked second in the nation, went into the intermissions with 1-0 and 3-0 leads en route to a 4-1 victory.

The Blades entered the night with a 23-28-6-2 record, two points behind the Calgary Hitmen in the battle for the second wild card playoff berth.

They couldn’t muster much in the way of offence against the Pats, who are now 43-9-6-1. Regina outshot Saskatoon 45-16.

Nick Henry, Adam Brooks, Dawson Leedahl and Braydon Buziak scored for the Pats.

Michael Farren netted a thirdperiod marker for the Blades.

Wednesday’s outcome sets Saskatoon up for a busy weekend: They’ll stage a home-and-home set with the Prince Albert Raiders that starts Friday in Saskatoon and ends Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre, followed by a Sunday afternoon home game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.