It’s the way of the Saskatoon Blades under head coach Brennan Sonne – bounce back from a loss the night before with a victory – which is what they did in Sunday’s 4-2 triumph over the Prince Albert Raiders in the Bridge City Bunch’s home opener.
After falling 5-1 Saturday night in Regina to start the 2023-24 season, the Blue and Gold got a goal from Vaughan Watterodt 28 seconds into Sunday’s contest, in front of 6,493 fans at SaskTel Centre, and built a big enough lead to coast to the triumph. Ben Saunderson, Lukas Hansen and Trevor Wong also tallied for the Blades as they piled up a 4-0 lead with five minutes left in the second period. After that, despite allowing goals by Matej Kubiesa and Owen Boucher, rookie goaltender Evan Gardner (pictured) preserved the win for Saskatoon – his first in the W-H-L. The Bridge City Bunch also received two assist efforts from Tyler Parr and Charlie Wright, despite being out-shot 32-24. On nine different occasions last season, the Blue and Gold responded with a victory after losing the previous game – seven of those coming the day after a loss. The result left both teams with 1-1-0 records. The Blades are off until Saturday when they visit the Medicine Hat Tigers. Following are Post-Game Show interviews with head coach Brennan Sonne, Gardner and Wright – plus the audio highlights from CJWW’s broadcast and the official game summary courtesy the W-H-L…..
Prince Albert Raiders 2 at Saskatoon Blades 4 – Status: Final
Sunday, September 24, 2023 – SaskTel Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Prince Albert 0 1 1 – 2
Saskatoon 3 1 0 – 4
1st Period-1, Saskatoon, Watterodt 1 0:28. 2, Saskatoon, Saunderson 1 (Parr, Wright), 5:43. 3, Saskatoon, Hansen 1 (Parr), 14:01. Penalties-Lisowsky Sas (closing hand on puck), 3:17; Anderson Pa (high sticking), 9:42; Crocker Pa (interference), 11:17; Macias Pa (tripping), 15:36.
2nd Period-4, Saskatoon, Wong 1 (Lisowsky, Wright), 15:08 (PP). 5, Prince Albert, Kubiesa 1 (Chenier, Martin), 18:23. Penalties-Barcik Sas (checking from behind), 3:56; Kubiesa Pa (roughing), 5:54; Shugrue Sas (roughing), 5:54; Ritchie Pa (high sticking, high sticking), 12:37; Christensen Pa (boarding), 12:59; Crocker Pa (delay of game), 13:18.
3rd Period-6, Prince Albert, Boucher 1 9:01. Penalties-Watterodt Sas (hooking), 14:30; Oiring Pa (hooking), 18:47.
Shots on Goal-Prince Albert 3-13-16-32. Saskatoon 11-8-5-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince Albert 0 / 3; Saskatoon 1 / 8.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Coward 0-1-0-0 (24 shots-20 saves). Saskatoon, Gardner 1-1-0-0 (32 shots-30 saves).
A-6,493
Referees-Adam Bloski (16), Adam Forbes (62).
Linesmen-Brayden Glynn (96), Tanner McGregor (55).
