Consistency elusive, but coach sees progress
Blades allowed only 38 shots on net in weekend games, gained three points
As the Saskatoon Blades continue to look for more consistency, head coach Mitch Love says he’s pleased with the overall progress this season.
The results and record may not always indicate it, but Love feels the Blades are generally moving in the right direction. Sure, he hates losing and he’d like to win more games, but Love, right from Day 1, has stressed the process.
“I sure hope the kids we coach don’t like to lose, as well,” Love said Wednesday as his team got set to hit the road for games Friday and Saturday in Edmonton and Calgary.
“Our record isn’t where we probably want it to be but, you know, the kids have done a pretty good job up until this point. We went through a really hard stretch of hockey there (in October) where we were travelling east, west, east again, and we found wins in tough spots. If you take away the Winnipeg series a few weeks ago, where we weren’t right, I liked our games through this past weekend.”
During the weekend, the Blades dumped the Winnipeg Ice 8-3 on Friday before losing 5-4 in overtime to the Moose Jaw Warriors. They allowed only 38 shots on net through two games, gaining three out of a possible four points.
“We would have liked to have had four, but you give yourselves a good chance when you score 12 goals in two games,” Love said. “I like your odds if you do that more often than not. Again, this weekend will present a different challenge of its own with those two tough teams from the Central (Division).
“We’re going to have to be at our best if we want to find wins.”
Saskatoon sits in second place in
the Western Hockey League’s East Division with an 8-6-1-1 record. The Blades have shown flashes, but they’ve also had a problem following up big wins with an encore.
“It just comes down to our compete level,” said team captain Chase Wouters. “That’s what we have to find consistency in. If we bring that compete level, we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“We showed up there (Friday) against Winnipeg with a purpose and we definitely came out (flying) and that’s definitely something we have to grow as a group and be able to take that into Edmonton and Calgary. If our team cleans up some areas, we’ll be able to have a good road trip.”
The Blades have yet to play the Edmonton Oil Kings this season. They dumped the host Calgary Hitmen 9-3 on Thanksgiving Day.
“I can tell you that Edmonton plays a quick game,” noted Love. “Their D are very active. In fact, we’re going to have to be very diligent in our defensive game. And Calgary’s probably looking for a bit of redemption after losing in their building on Thanksgiving. They’ll be rested and waiting for us. We’re going to have to be sharp and we’re going to need some individual guys to step up their game here from last weekend.”
Forward Kjell Kjemhus, one of the newest Blades, says his team can’t afford to ease off.
“I think it’s a maturity thing,” Kjemhus said. “Obviously, with some of our first-years coming into the league from midget, you feel like you probably can take some nights off, but you can’t in this league.”