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Saskatoon Blades face Spokane in first home game since Nov. 27.
The Saskatoon Blades tried to claw their way back, but the hole was just too deep.
The Spokane Chiefs scored twice Wednesday night before the Blades even recorded their first shot on net more than 11 minutes in.
Despite a better effort the rest of the way, the Blades couldn’t overcome their dreadful start as they lost 4-1 to the Chiefs.
“It was clear we weren’t ready to play here tonight,” said Blades head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken. “That’s two games in a row that we’ve come out with a subpar effort.”
The Blades (13-14-0-1) fell to 3-7 on home ice. And, almost from puck drop, it never appeared that any other outcome was coming.
The Chiefs took a 1-0 lead 4: 04 when Todd Fiddler tipped in a point shot from Michael Aviani.
The goal was Fiddler’s team-leading 23rd and just one of several glorious chances for the 19-year-old in the opening frame.
“We had some opportunities early in the first period that could have blown the game wide open,” said Chiefs head coach Don Nachbaur.
Connor Chartier then set up Liam Stewart on a 2-on-1 after a Blades’ neutral-zone giveaway to hand the Chiefs a 2-0 advantage.
“Two unforced turnovers in the first period resulted in goals,” Molleken said.
“That’s not acceptable. We’re in a battle for a playoff position.”
Another 2-on-1 chance off the stick of Dylan Walchuk was stopped by Andrey Makarov midway through the period. It was the 12th shot by the Chiefs before the Blades registered their first — a bouncer from their own end.
The Blades left the ice to a few boos from the 5,007 in attendance at Credit Union Centre as the first period came to an end. They were outshot 13-4.
“Spokane is a team that works extremely hard,” Molleken said. “They put a lot of pressure on you and we didn’t handle it very well tonight.”
Although the second period started much the same way — Blake Gal scored 2:08 in as he grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and beat Makarov — the Blades began to buckle down.
Winger Matej Stransky stuffed in a rebound three minutes later off a scramble in the Chiefs’ crease.
The Blades peppered goaltender Eric Williams as they outshot the Chiefs 27-9 the rest of the way. However, not many of those shots were quality ones.
“We didn’t generate any traffic around their goal all night,” Molleken said. “We played from the outside and you’re not going to score on a good goalie from the outside.”
“Look at the goal we scored,” he added. “It was
because people were in the blue paint.”
Mitch Holmberg rounded out the scoring 10:39 into the third.
With the win, the Chiefs (21-7-1-0) improved to 4-0 on their East Division road trip, which concludes Friday in Brandon.
BLADE BITS: Members of the Saskatoon Hilltops were honoured before the game for their Nov. 10 Canadian Bowl championship. Team manager Craig Cupid and graduates Lane Bannerman, Tom Shockey and Dylan Kemp dropped the ceremonial puck ... Stransky was named Blades’ player of the month for November after leading the team in scoring with seven goals and 15 points in 11 games ... D Matthew Pufahl played in his 100th career WHL game ... The Chiefs were the last U.S. Division team to visit Credit Union Centre this season. The Blades went 1-4 in those games. The remainder of Saskatoon’s schedule is comprised of Eastern Conference opponents ... D Dalton Thrower (concussion), D Kyle Schmidt (upper body) and LW Jessey Astles (wrist) sat out for the Blades. The Chiefs played without D Tanner Mort (upper body), D Adam Power (Upper Body) and healthy scratches RW Marek Kalus, RW Riley Whittingham and Tyson Predinchuk.