Blades’ playoff hopes fading after weekend loss
Their playoff hopes are precariously hanging by a mere skate lace.
Yet, where there’s still a thread, the Saskatoon Blades are not yet mathematically dead.
“We’re not out until we’re mathematically out,” said Blades defenceman Dawson Davidson following a heartbreaking 4-2 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday night before 5,826 fans at SaskTel Centre.
“We have a day off to regroup and then have a good day of practice (Monday) and just reset.”
It was a thumb’s up for the effort Saturday on what was Don Cherry Night but two thumbs down for the result.
“We definitely deserved a better fate,” said Blades head coach Dean Brockman, whose team has four games remaining in the Western Hockey League’s regular season but trails the Prince Albert Raiders by seven points for the final Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spot.
“We had lots of chances and, really, in-tight chances. I thought guys battled hard and gave it all they had but just couldn’t find a way to get a win.”
With the loss, Saskatoon slips to 32-32-3-1. Prince Albert picked up their ninth straight win Saturday to improve to 32-25-9-2.
“We still have lots to play for,” stressed Brockman. “There’s lots of character in that room. They’re hurting right now but, you know what, the season’s not over. We’ll finish strong. You can bet that group is going to give it their all.”
On Saturday, Saskatoon peppered Brandon goalie Dylan Myskiw with 31 shots, many of them excellent scoring chances.
The Blades outshot the Wheaties 31-16, but the score-clock told a different tale.
“Obviously, the hockey gods were not on our side,” offered Brockman. “It’s kind of lessons, though, on goals we gave up. We didn’t stop on a puck or we didn’t communicate. At this time of the year, it gets magnified even that much more. When that happens, it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Myskiw made 29 saves for the victory as Brandon officially clinched a WHL Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 37-26-3-2 record and 79 points.
Rookie goalie Nolan Maier stopped 12 of 15 shots for the Blades.
“There’s a lot of stuff we could have done — we could have had the intensity right from the start,” said Maier. “Just capitalizing on our opportunities is a big one. You’ve got to give their goalie credit. He played really well for his team, but we need to find a way to get one in the net and we just couldn’t.
“We’re all frustrated. It’s kind of a loss for words. We all know we can and should be right there … We’ve got to try not to think about it, play hockey and try and have as much fun as we can. We’ll try our best and see what happens.”
Michael Farren and Josh Paterson scored for the Blades, who were 1-for-5 on the power play. That included two power play chances in the final 10 minutes on delay-of-game penalties by the Wheat Kings for clearing the puck over the glass.
Stelion Mattheos, Linden McCorrister, Luke Burzan and Cole Reinhardt had goals for Brandon, which went 0-for-4 with the manadvantage.
“First of all, I’m really proud of how our guys played,” stressed Davidson. “I thought we played really hard and desperate. That’s the game of hockey, though. Sometimes you get bounces and sometimes you don’t. We worked hard for our bounces but we just couldn’t finish.
“We were the better team but didn’t win. That’s the way it goes sometimes. If we can just put ourselves in situations every single night to win, that’s all we can do.”