By Troy Souster
SASKATOON – The pre-season formalities have wrapped up and preparation is now underway for the Saskatoon Blazers Home / Season Opener on Friday, October 2nd at Rod Hamm Arena.
The Blazers went 2-0 in a brief two-game exhibition season as they faced the Tisdale Trojans in a home and home series. The B’s defeated the Trojans in back-to-back games by scores of 6-3 on the road and 8-7 in overtime at home. The two teams have faced each other recently in the playoffs battling it out twice in the last three years and it didn’t take long for old acquaintances to renew the playoff intensity. The first game between old foes ramped it up a couple notches with all kinds of physicality, finishing up with 110 minutes in penalties and a 6-3 win on the road for the Blazers. First year Saskatoon goaltender Luke Ratzlaff (Carrot River, SK) picked up the win in net for the B’s stopping 32 of 35 shots he faced.
In the second of back-to-back nights, the Blazers skated away with an 8-7 extra-time victory at Rod Hamm Arena. The Blazers trailed by two goals early in the third period before rattling off three consecutive tallies and taking a 7-6 lead with just over 6 minutes remaining in regulation time. The Trojans tied it up with a late power play goal which would eventually send the game to 3-on-3 overtime. Carter Wiggins ended it with a tip-in off of a feed from Louis Judd with 1:55 remaining in the extra period. For Wiggins it was his second goal of the pre-season. The assist capped off a 4-point night for Judd as he also nabbed a hat trick on the evening. Blazers rookie net minder Cash Borowski picked up the victory in net for the B’s.
The two-game exhibition series between the Trojans and Blazers sets up what should be an interesting opening three-game home stand for the Blazers as they will face the Trojans twice at Rod Hamm Arena in the first seven days of their Regular Season. It’s a rivalry that has grown over the years and it’s one you certainly don’t want to miss.
Game one of the Regular Season, presented by The Briske Financial Group, goes Friday, October 2nd at 8:00pm at Rod Hamm Arena! Sandwiched in between the Blazers-Trojans matchups will see a game between the Blazers and the Warman Wildcats on Sunday, October 4th at 1:30pm to close out the B’s Opening Weekend in the SMU18AAAHL.
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Ice Chips
- Louis Judd lead the Blazers pre-season scoring with 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the two games played. Forward Jack Frisky (2 goals, 2 assists) and Defenseman Bennet Boehm (1 goal, 3 assists) each chipped in with 4 points.
- The Blazers were 6 for 26 (23.1%) on the pre-season Power Play. Jack Frisky lead the way with 2 PPG’s
- The Blazers had a Penalty Kill efficiency of 85.7%, killing off 18 of 21 opponent power plays
- Blazers AP Defenseman Zaid McDougall (Saskatoon Stallions U15AA) notched his first pre-season goal in Tisdale and it proved to be the GWG
- AP Defenseman Carson Jones (Saskatoon Riverkings) also notched a helper in his Blazers pre-season
Training Camp Season
- 17 of the Blazers 20 rostered players attended WHL Training Camps
- 7 Blazers players attended SJHL Training Camps
- Following his WHL camp, forward Caleb Mozell (3rd Round, 60th) signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Prince Albert Raiders
FloHockey Streaming
- ALL Blazers games (Home and Away) will be televised on FloHockey. If you can’t attend in person, make sure to follow us on our social media or here on the website for dates and broadcast times!
