SASKATOON – Saskatoon Blades head coach Bob Woods is running out of ways to explain his team’s continued struggles on home ice.
“I feel bad for our fans that they haven’t got to see us play our best hockey, and that’s the frustrating part about it,” he said after the Blades dropped a 5-0 decision to the Regina Pats on Wednesday.
“We know what we’re capable of.”
READ MORE: Regina Pats blank the Saskatoon Blades 5-0
The loss left Saskatoon’s home record at a league-worst 3-9-2. To put that mark in perspective, this season the Blades have won the same number of games in Swift Current as they have in their own building.
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“It’s just frustration within the locker room,” said forward Ryan Graham. “We know we can do better, we’ve proved we can do better, we’ve beat some of the best teams in this league so it’s just on us to go out there and really put a solid effort in.”
Unfortunately for the Blades, home woes aren’t their only issue at present. The team has lost six of its last seven overall, falling out of a playoff position in the process.
“We’re just a team right now that’s a little bit fragile and when things don’t go our way early it seems to snowball and we’ve just got to find a way to work together and get out of this,” Woods said.
Whatever the solution, the Blades are hoping to find it soon. All seven of their remaining games prior to the Christmas break come against teams currently occupying a playoff spot.
“We’ve got enough skill, we’ve got enough hard work to do it and I believe in the team that we can,” Graham said.
Maybe a weekend road trip will be the cure. The Blades travel to Moose Jaw and Brandon for games on Friday and Saturday.
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