A strong start wasn’t enough for the Saskatoon Blades against the top team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) on Tuesday.
The Blades jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the Regina Pats after one period, but wound up losing 5-4. The loss pushes Saskatoon to the brink of elimination from the Eastern Conference wild card race, while the Pats clinch top spot overall and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
READ MORE: Swift Current Broncos top Saskatoon Blades 3-2
Caleb Fantillo opened the scoring for Saskatoon at the 3:04 mark of the first period, capitalizing on a Pats turnover to beat Tyler Brown for his fifth goal of the season.
After Nick Henry tied it on a Regina 5-on-3 power play, goals 28 seconds apart by Dryden Michaud and Josh Paterson gave the Blades a two-goal cushion after 20 minutes. Michaud’s goal was the first of his WHL career.
The second period was a much different story as the Pats got goals from Jeff De Wit, Sam Steel and Josh Mahura to take a 4-3 lead into the second intermission. Regina outshot Saskatoon 15-4 in the frame.
Connor Hobbs scored the eventual game winner with 4:38 to play in the third period. Michael Farren made it interesting with 1:17 left, scoring with the Pats down two men and Blades goaltender Logan Flodell on the bench for an extra attacker, but the Bridge City Bunch was unable to force overtime.
READ MORE: Saskatoon Blades fall 5-3 to Swift Current Broncos in first of home and home
With Saskatoon’s loss, the Calgary Hitmen need to win just one of their remaining three games to eliminate the Blades from postseason contention.
Should the Hitmen lose all three games and the Blades win their final two contests, Saskatoon will make the playoffs. A tiebreaker is also possible if the Blades win out and Calgary earns one point over its final three games. Should that happen, the two teams will play a tiebreaker game in Calgary for the final wild card berth.
The Hitmen visit the Red Deer Rebels on Wednesday before finishing with a home-and-home series against the basement-dwelling Kootenay Ice.
Saskatoon will close out its schedule with a home-and-home set against the Prince Albert Raiders.
Comments