The Saskatoon Blades won their 3rd game in a row on Friday night, kicking off parents weekend with a decisive 6-0 triumph over the Calgary Hitmen.
The Blades got two goals each from Nathan Burns and Brenden Walker, while goalie Andrey Makarov had the 42-save shutout for his 8th of his WHL career, surpassing Braden Holtby for first on the Blades all-time list.
The Blades got things rolling while shorthanded on Friday night as Josh Nicholls scored his 4th shorthanded goal of the season at 12:49 as he banked a shot off a defender and in to make it 1-0 in the first. The goal for Nicholls was his 33rd of the year and only goal of the opening period as the shots were 13-11 for Calgary through 20 minutes.
The Blades had a 5 on 3 kill penalty early in the second period and they got the job done. Shortly after, Saskatoon took control of the game as Nathan Burns and Brenden Walker scored back to back goals only 2:13 apart to make it 3-0. The goals were the 15th of the season for each of the players and finished off the scoring in the period Calgary held the shot edge 16-10 in the middle frame.
The Blades finished things off early in the third as Nathan Burns scored his 2nd of the night at 1:01 of the period to make it 4-0. It was a PP marker. Then, at 4:14 Matej Stransky tipped home a shot to make it 5-0. The offence was finished off by Brenden Walker at 10:32 on the PP as Saskatoon made it 6-0.
In the end, Shane McColgan, Erik Benoit, Walker, Burns, Michael Ferland and Darren Dietz all had 2 points each.
For Makarov, his 42 save shutout was a record-breaking one. It marked his 6th of the season, which tied a single-season Blades record. It also marked his 8th of his WHL career, breaking the Blades all-time record previously set by Braden Holtby.
Saskatoon was 2 for 6 on the PP while they went 5 for 5 on the PK.
Now, the attention shifts to tomorrow night. The Blades are proud to be presenting Fan Design Jersey Night against the Swift Current Broncos tomorrow night. Get your tickets for that game here.
The Blades also have a HUGE night coming up on February 9th to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Credit Union Centre. Included in the night will be a starting 50-50 pot of $25,000 and a quarter-million dollar shootout! Get all the info and tickets by clicking here.