Three goals in the first period by the Saskatoon Blades had the Kootenay Ice trailing all game on Saturday night.
There were five different goal scorers for the Blades to help them to an 8-3 win over the Ice at Western Financial Place on Feb. 15.
“I didn’t tell them anything after tonight’s game. There is nothing to say. I talked enough before the game and between periods,” head coach James Patrick said post game.
“We will regroup. The message will be the same we are going to try and get better. Whether you are a 20-year-old or a 16-year-old, you have something to prove.”
For the over-agers who want to play hockey after this year, Patrick said they will have a month to prove themselves, as well as the 16-year-olds that are trying to earn a spot on the roster for next year.
“We have a month to try and get better as players. This was a humbling game for everyone,” said Patrick.
The Blades had goals by Max Gerlach, Eric Florchuk and Kyle Crnkovic in the first frame, while the Ice couldn’t seem to get the puck past goaltender Dorrin Luding.
In the second period, Peyton Krebs tallied his 19th goal of the season on a power play goal with helpers from Jaeger White and Chase Hartje, but the Blades offence was relentless.
Florchuk scored his second of the night while Chase Wouters and Ryan Hughes both tallied a goal to have the Ice down 6-1 at the end of the second period.
The Blades kept on coming with Crnkovic and Hughes both getting their second goals of the night in the third period.
While Martin Bodak and Jaeger White would both get on the board for the Ice to make it 8-3.
“A loss like that is a humbling experience for the team. It’s a character check to see which guys will keep going, and which guys will back off the pedal. So, I think a loss like that we can learn a lot from,” said Jakin Smallwood, who finished the night with four shots on net.
“The energy on the bench wasn’t there today, so if we learn from those things for next game we will be better.”
Kootenay’s penalty kill had a tough night, with the Blades going three for five with the man advantage, while the Ice were one for four on the power play.
Goaltender Jesse Makaj faced 46 shots throughout the night, while Dorrin had 31 thrown at his net.
Smallwood said the team is going to have to move past the loss ahead of their next game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Feb. 18.
“We are going to have to put it in the back of our heads and think about the next game. We can’t keep a game like that in our heads for too long, so we just have to move past it and get better every day from now on,” he said.
Competing the whole 60 minutes is going to be key for the Ice if they want to bounce back in their game against the Hurricanes.
“It shows when you don’t play the whole game it’s going to backfire, and that’s what happened tonight,” said defenceman Brenden Kwiatkowski.
“We just need to drive lines and get pucks to the net and get the rebounds.”
The ICE Family Day Game at Western Financial Place will see kids under 12 get free admission. As well a skating with the Ice event will take place following the game for all season seat holders and those with a ticket to Monday’s game. Puck drop against the Hurricanes is 2 p.m.
