The Saskatoon Blades picked up their first point of the BC road trip after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Victoria Royals at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Sunday.
The Blue and Gold held a 4-1 lead early in the third period but three unanswered goals from Royals forwards Cole Reschny and Markus Loponen forced overtime and the eventual shootout.
Sunday marked 19-year-old forward Ben Riche’s return to Victoria since the Blades acquired him from the Royals in May in exchange for overage winger Vaughn Watterodt. Riche picked up an assist on the opening goal of the game, keeping him the team’s scoring leader with 24 points (9G, 15A) in 15 games.
Nashville Predators prospect Tanner Molendyk recorded his 100th career WHL assist in the defeat. The Blades’ 2020 fifth-overall pick in the WHL Prospects Draft has picked up four of those helpers in his past three games, giving him nine in as many games this season. Molendyk is two games shy of 200 in his WHL career, boasting 25 goals, 100 assists, and 125 points all while in a Blades uniform.
It’s only the second time this season Saskatoon’s dropped two contests in a row and have managed at least a point on both occasions. The Blades came up short Friday night at the Langley Events Centre against the Vancouver Giants 7-6, making them 0-1-0-1 on their five-game swing out west. Despite back-to-back losses, the Blades still sit atop the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 10-3-1-1 record.
The Blades trek north to Prince George for a game Tuesday night against the Cougars.
Puck drop is 9:00 p.m. CT.
