SASKATOON — With an 8-3 victory over Swift Current at home on Saturday, the Saskatoon Blades improved to 3-0 on the season.
The win came with a different lineup than the one that netted the team two wins on opening weekend. The Blades had six different players on the ice. This was in part due to Josh Pillar and Conner Roulette returning from the NHL camps of the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars, respectively. Last week the Blades acquired 20-year-old defenceman Blake Gustafson from the Rebels. They sent a fourth-round pick in the 2023 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft the other way. The 6-foot-4, 203-pound Gustafson had 15 points and three goals in 66 games for Red Deer last season.
Last Saturday the Blades gave the 3,119 fans in attendance a lot to cheer about as they scored three times in the first period and four in the second en route to an 8-3 win. Displaying their depth, eight different Blades scored: Aidan De La Gorgendiere, Jayden Wiens, Egor Sidorov, Rowan Calvert, Trevor Wong, Justin Lies, Marek Schneider, and Pillar. Fourteen of the team’s 18 skaters had at least a point on the night.
Hometown product Ethan Chadwick made 24 saves on 27 shots for the Blades. The team forced the Broncos to use two netminders. Reid Dyck started and had 13 saves on 18 shots before being replaced by Gage Alexander, who stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced.
The Blades conclude a three-game homestand with a Tuesday game against Lethbridge. The next night the team is in Moose Jaw. The Blades play Friday in Brandon and host the Moose Jaw Warriors on Sunday
