Blades set for three games in last road swing of regular season
Max Gerlach has mixed emotions about embarking on what will be his last road swing in the Western Hockey League, where he’ll face multiple opponents in multiple cities.
While road trips could yet transpire for Gerlach and the Saskatoon Blades in the playoffs, this week marks the final road trip of the regular season.
The Blades will be in Medicine Hat on Wednesday to play the Tigers before moving on to Cranbrook to play the Kootenay Ice on Friday and then Lethbridge the next day to meet the Hurricanes on Saturday night.
“It’s a little bittersweet, you know,” admitted Gerlach, a graduating, over-age forward on the Blades. “Obviously it’s my last kind of run through Alberta, with Medicine Hat being where I played previously, but it will be nice after that. We can kind of hunker down here and get ready for the playoffs.”
Saskatoon currently sports a 34-13-8-0 record. Medicine Hat is 31-18-3-2. Kootenay is 11-35-7-1 but has played Saskatoon tough. Lethbridge is 27-16-5-5.
“Those teams are all playing pretty good hockey so we’ve got to go there and it’s important that we not take them lightly,” said Blades captain Chase Wouters. “They’re still fighting for position in the standings.”
The Tigers and Hurricanes are among the top three teams in the WHL’S Central Division. While Kootenay is out of playoff contention, the Ice has a win and a onegoal loss against the Blades. It’ll be the last game by the Blades in Cranbrook before the team moves to Winnipeg next season.
“That Central Division’s very tight,” said Blades head coach Mitch Love. “Medicine Hat’s playing really good hockey right now. Lethbridge is a dangerous hockey club. And Cranbrook (Kootenay Ice), they’ve given us fits all year. We’ve got to get our rest here, we’ve got to recharge ourselves a little bit, get a good practice in and hit the road on Tuesday and try and start off the right way and get this thing going.”
After playing their next four games on the road, the Blades will finish the regular season by playing seven of their last nine games on home ice at Sasktel Centre.
“This month is pretty busy,” added Love. “Our rest and recovery is important at this time of the year. Obviously we’ve got some guys out,” including star forward Kirby Dach. “Hopefully we’ll get them back (in Alberta this week) and put ourselves in a good spot, hopefully close out February the right way.”
While some players won’t miss these road trips, Love says bus rides are “fun” and he still enjoys “getting on the bus with the guys.”
“To hear the laughter and the buzz on the bus, that’s what junior hockey is all about,” Love said.
“For some of these guys, especially our 20-year-olds, it could be potentially their last long trip — hopefully not, because we will be in the playoffs — but these are special moments as a young man that you remember for the rest of your life.”