The Blades have yet to lose in regulation time this season at SaskTel Centre with a record of 11-0-1-1, salvaging a point in a 5-4 overtime shootout loss Wednesday night against the Red Deer Rebels.
The Saskatoon Blades have been nearly perfect on home ice.
They have yet to lose in regulation time this season at SaskTel Centre, with a record of 11-0-1-1, salvaging a point in a 5-4 overtime shootout loss Wednesday night against the Red Deer Rebels.
The Blades blew a 3-1 lead as the Rebels scored three unanswered goals in the third period before a late power play goal by Tyler Parr sent the game to OT.
“Well, I felt we didn’t play our game,” offered Blades head coach Dan DaSilva, whose team sports a 17-6-1-2 record overall.
“That (Rebels) team outworked us in our own rink. Obviously we’re happy to salvage a point out of that but it never should have got there. We were distracted. We weren’t focused. We weren’t focused on what we needed to do in order to win the game. And, you know, we didn’t deserve to win that game. They outplayed us. They outworked us. That doesn’t sit well with us.”
Wednesday’s shootout loss is a rare blemish to that home record, but the Blades will be back at it Saturday night at SaskTel Centre with a game against the visiting Calgary Hitmen.
“Obviously not our best,” admitted Parr. “There was some good stuff, but losing the lead in the third like that is never something you want to do. We kind of pride ourselves in having the third period be our best. That wasn’t our best. We’ve got to regroup and get ready for Saturday.
“We come here and the fans are amazing. We get up for the game every night. They make it really easy on us to get excited. It gives us energy for the games and it’s kind of showed in our record at home so far.”
Blades forward Brandon Lisowsky said there were some positives, including a good start and a strong first period, but the team lost its edge after taking a 3-1 lead on a goal by Lukas Hansen.
“It was a big goal by Hanny and then we kind of lost the puck battle,” noted Lisowsky. “They’re a team that plays physical, they play fast and they play hard. We just kind of lost battles, didn’t get pucks deep and didn’t manage pucks. We didn’t get some blocks (on pucks) that went in our net.
“We didn’t play good for (Blades goalie Ethan McCallum). I feel bad for him. We’ve got to be better on Saturday.”
Game-time is 7 p.m. Saturday against Calgary.
“We’ve been probably one of the best teams at home, if not the best team at home,” added Lisowsky. “We definitely want to play well for our fans in our house. It was good to get a point (Wednesday) but blowing a two-goal lead in the third is not something we do often and we’ve got to be better again for that.”
You can count on that, stressed DaSilva.
“Straight up, we show it, we address it and we fix it, and then we move on from it. Did we do good things? Yes. Did we do bad things? Yes. Are there are things to learn? Yes. That’s how we always approach it. We’re going to take our lessons from it and move on. We’re going to be better for it for Saturday.”
LISOWSKY HITS 250 CAREER POINTS
On Wednesday, Lisowsky reached a 250-point milestone, surpassing all-time Blades great Bernie Federko.
“I’m very happy for Brandon to achieve that milestone,” said DaSilva. “It’s a big one, too — 250 points is a lot in any league. We’re so fortunate to have had him in our organization for this time and we’re very happy to see him accomplish that goal.”
Said Lisowsky: “It’s awesome. I like to score goals. It’s kind of addicting, you could say. It’s awesome to be up there with a hall of famer. He was a crazy player for the Blades and had an awesome NHL career. It’s awesome to do that; 250 is obviously a good achievement and you thank your teammates from the past and current teammates. It’s kind of a team award, as well. I’m happy about that.”
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