The Saskatoon Blades are finally starting to get healthy and not a moment too soon.
Forwards Braylon Shmyr and Caleb Fantillo are back at practice and will be game-time decisions when the Regina Pats visit SaskTel Centre on Wednesday.
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That means head coach Dean Brockman may actually have to scratch an able body or two from his lineup, a scenario he hasn’t faced very much at all this season.
“It’s hard when you get bodies back. Guys seem to think it’s going be easier because we’ve got more guys. Well it doesn’t happen that way and that’ll be a reminder to those guys,” Brockman said.
Shmyr, who has 27 goals, 22 assists this season, is looking to get back in the lineup.
“It’s always tough knowing that your team is out there battling as hard as you can and you always want to go out there and help them out and get these last wins,” Shmyr said.
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The Blades have lost four games in a row after a fruitless road trip last weekend.
They are now facing a stretch of four games in five nights for the second straight week.
With just 13 games left on the schedule, the team knows they can’t afford a repeat of last week’s struggles.
“You can’t afford to feel sorry for yourself and no one’s going to feel sorry for us,” Blades forward Jesse Shynkaruk said.
“Calgary, Red Deer, whoever’s chasing us and we’re chasing them, you know we just got to come out here and feel energized and play hard. What do you have to lose by giving it all you got?”
The Blades are currently tied with the Calgary Hitmen for the final wild card playoff spot in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, but the Hitmen have a game in hand.
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