The Saskatoon Blades picked up a point Wednesday at SaskTel Centre in a 4-3 shootout loss against the Portland Winterhawks.
Unlike most of the season for Saskatoon, the third period was their downfall. The Blades held a 3-1 lead with under five minutes remaining in regulation but couldn’t hold off the Winterhawks’ onslaught. The visitors outshot the Blades 14-2 in the third.
Rookie forward Cooper Williams, sophomore centre Hayden Harsanyi, and alternate captain Rowan Calvert were the goal scorers for Saskatoon. Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick Evan Gardner was stellar between the pipes in defeat, stopping 42 of 45 Portland shots. The Fort St. John, BC product’s record falls to 16-10-2-1.
The Blades remain atop the East Division with a 22-14-2-3 record, three points ahead of the second-place Prince Albert Raiders, who have 45 points.
Portland opened the scoring 43 seconds into the game thanks to forward Josh Zakreski’s 24th goal of the season. The 19-year-old’s 42nd point in 40 games gave the Winterhawks the 1-0 lead.
Williams reached double-digit goals on the season 58 seconds later to tie the game 1-1. The 16-year-old Blades rookie buried a loose puck around the Winterhawks’ crease to give him 27 points (10G, 17A) in 41 games this season. Calgary Flames draft pick Hunter Laing picked up his first points as a member of the Blades with the lone helper on the goal. The Blades acquired the 6-foot-6 forward on January 8 from the Prince George Cougars.
Harsanyi scored his third goal in as many games since joining the Blue and Gold less than five minutes later to make it 2-1 Blades. The former Tigers first-round pick collected his first powerplay goal of the season to give three goals and four assists on his five-game point streak.
Alternate captain Rowan Calvert gave the Blades their second power goal of the night at 4:06 into the second period to make it 3-1. The Moose Jaw, SK native, has a team-leading 12 powerplay goals on the season, nine more than second-place Tyler Parr. Calvert has 16 goals and 19 assists in 37 games this season. 20-year-old defenceman Grayden Siepmann picked up his second helper on the night, giving him a team-best 25 in 41 games and four goals. The Blades held firm for the remainder of the frame, bringing a two-goal lead into the final 20 minutes.
The Winterhawks scored back-to-back goals in the final five minutes of the third to force overtime at SaskTel Centre. Forwards Tyson Jugnauth and Ryan Miller picked up goals 11 and nine in their seasons, respectively. A shootout was needed as neither side finished the game in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Jugnauth and Portland captain Kyle Chyzowski scored the only tallies in the shootout, lifting Portland to the 4-3 victory.
What’s Next?
The Blades welcome the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, Jan. 17, for Country Night at SaskTel Centre.
Puck drop is 7:00 p.m.
