SASKATOON – With October in the rearview mirror, the Saskatoon Blades are looking for a little more consistency in their game. The team has won back-to-back contests just once all season and with a chance to do it for a second time on Sunday the Blades came up short again, falling 5-1 to the visiting Victoria Royals.
Despite the result, head coach Bob Woods felt the scoreboard didn’t tell the whole story.
“The effort was there. Guys battled. We just didn’t score and gave up some pretty good opportunities to them,” Woods said.
The Blades outshot Victoria 27-25 but failed to generate many quality scoring chances. The Royals, on the other hand, made the most of theirs. Three of Victoria’s goals were generated from the point – a trend the Blades know can’t continue.
“We struggled to block shots. They would get the puck out to the point and they would get a clear-cut shot right through, so that’s something we’ve got to work on,” said captain Nick Zajac, who was minus-two on the night.
The loss drops the Blades to 2-4-2 at SaskTel Centre this season and the team knows if they want to make the playoffs, improving their performance at home is a top priority.
“It shouldn’t be a struggle. It’s home ice advantage for a reason so I just think that we gotta stick to the basics,” Zajac said.
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Perhaps a late-game spark will get the home fires burning. With just over three minutes left in the third period rookie forward Cameron Hausinger scrapped with the Royals’ Chaz Reddekopp, and though the fight had no impact on the outcome it’s the kind of passion Woods likes to see.
“He doesn’t like getting beat and I’d like to see that out of some more guys,” Woods said. “I’m not saying you need to go out and fight but just care a little bit more.”
Saskatoon’s next chance for a home win comes Tuesday night when they host the Calgary Hitmen.
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