SASKATOON, Sask. – The Saskatoon Blades felt they scored a moral victory on Friday, but now they will look for an actual win against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Halifax Mooseheads on Sunday.
The host Blades took many positives from the way they played in a tournament-opening 3-2 loss against London on Friday. They know they will need to be better against the Mooseheads, who are playing on back-to-back nights after a 7-4 win over Portland on Saturday.
“We didn’t play a game for (52) days,” Blades defenceman Dalton Thrower said. “To do as well as we did (on Friday), that’s definitely a confidence booster. But now we know what we’re getting into and what this tournament’s all about and it’s going to be a war every game.”
The Mooseheads rallied from a 3-1 second period deficit against Portland on Saturday to score five unanswered goals in the middle frame.
In spite of the victory, Halifax head coach Dominique Ducharme felt his team still had areas it could improve.
“We’re happy with the win, but at the same time, we know we can be better on 60 minutes,” he said.
The Blades are happy to get back on the ice with just one day rest after finding their game legs as Friday’s game progressed.
CAN THE BLADES’ PHYSICAL PLAY WEAR DOWN THE MOOSEHEADS?
The Blades built their team with toughness in mind. They were aggressive in their approach on Friday, throwing the body around and finishing every check. They should have the same plan on Sunday.
“You could see in the second period (the Knights) were getting scared coming into our end so they just kind of chipped pucks in and changed and gave us the easy way out,” Thrower said. “We have to keep that going against Halifax. They’re going to be expecting us to come out hard on the body. If we keep playing our game, we’re going to be successful.”
“We need to be hard on (Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin) to make sure we’re not giving them room to get going,” Blades head coach Lorne Molleken said. “They are tremendous players, there’s no question. Being the aggressor is going to be important.”
The Mooseheads got a similar test in the QMJHL final against a gritty Baie-Comeau Drakkar squad, which should prepare them for what the Blades will bring.
“It’s pretty hard right now to compare them to Baie-Comeau or other teams in the league, but they’re big physically, they play a patient game and we’ll need to be sharp,” Ducharme said.
HOW WILL THE MOOSEHEADS RESPOND ON CONSECUTIVE NIGHTS?
The Mooseheads haven’t had much difficulty moving on and looking forward after enjoying success throughout the season. Ducharme continually said his team was never satisfied in its run to the President’s Cup. He’s not concerned about his team turning the page and refocusing on the task at hand.
“I don’t have much worries about that because we’ve been doing that all year,” he said. “And even after the game (on Saturday) in the locker room, nobody was over-excited. Everybody was happy with the win, but we’ve been working and having that philosophy that it’s one day at a time since day one in August.”
Halifax is playing with a chip on its shoulder. They’ve heard questions about whether they could refocus after winning the franchise’s first championship prior to the tournament, and they’re using it as motivation now.
“We don’t get the same amount of respect as the other teams,” forward Stefan Fournier said. “When we were reading articles and whatever it was when it was first coming out, saying we might not have emotion coming into the tournament, it sparked a lot of emotion in us.
“We come here, we have a great season after the team having been at the bottom of the standings for two years and people would think we’re not hungry for more?”
CAN THE BLADES GET MORE FROM THEIR SUPPORTING CAST?
Both goals were scored by Josh Nicholls in the team’s opener on Friday. The Blades are aware more will be needed from the remaining group of players to get a win on Sunday.
“Sometimes we try to do too much, we skate right into where they want us,” Molleken said. “We have to take advantage of what teams are giving us. If that’s getting the puck in behind the defence and forechecking, creating opportunities off that or creating penalties against us, those are things we have to do. We all understand that it takes that second and third effort and that total commitment to make those things happen.”
“Everyone needs to contribute,” forward Shane McColgan added. “The type of game we want to play is fast, up-pace game and we just need to get some shots on net. For myself, just shoot the puck and follow the puck up for second and third opportunities. I think if we do that, we’ll create chances for ourselves.”
WHICH GOALIE WILL STAND OUT MOST?
Halifax’s Zachary Fucale is proving a quick study. The projected top goaltender for the upcoming draft has been the backbone behind the Mooseheads’ success all season and proved he could hold down the fort when the Winterhawks were trying to climb back in Saturday’s game.
“Sometimes your team doesn’t start the right way and your goaltender can give you time to come back,” Ducharme said. “That’s a little bit what he did (on Saturday) and he did that in Baie-Comeau, especially Game 4. He’s been solid, he’s been really good since Christmas and in the playoffs.”
The Blades received timely goaltending from Russian netminder Andrey Makarov in the opener. He made several dazzling stops to keep his team in it early on and can’t be faulted for the goals he allowed. Makarov, who played one season in the QMJHL two years ago, won’t need much of a scouting report.
“I know what kind of hockey (they play in the QMJHL) and lots of skill guys in there, lots of speed,” he said. “We’re supposed to shut down one line, I think.”
