After a two-week road trip which took them to all corners of British Columbia, the Saskatoon Blades have finally returned home to SaskTel Centre.
Even though they no longer hold the title of top dogs in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, belief in their own play has grown with star forward Brandon Lisowsky citing their most recent game which ended as a 4-3 loss to the Kamloops Blazers.
“The last game we were down 4-0,” said Lisowsky. “Most teams could quit, last game of the road trip and got a 15-hour bus trip back. We could have packed it in, but no we battled back and made it a close game.”
Of the five games on the B.C. road swing, the Blades tasted victory just once as they returned home on the bus with a 1-3-1 record.
All five contests however were decided by a single goal with a pair needing extra time, including Saskatoon’s lone victory against the Prince George Cougars on November 5.
Head coach Dan DaSilva said it stings knowing points were left on the board, however is satisfied with how the Blades competed and fought each game of the road swing.
“We’re in it every single night,” said DaSilva. “Whether we’re on the winning side or the losing side. As a coach if your team gives themselves a chance to win every single night, they’re competitive, they’re proud and they’re resilient… what else could you ask for?”
He added many of their lapses were self-inflicted, however, with more consistency needed over three full periods of play.
A lesson which Saskatoon’s rookies quickly found out in B.C. according to DaSilva.
“I think they learned that it’s a really difficult league to be consistent in and play hard every single night with back-to-backs, travel and all of that,” said DaSilva. “A great learning experience for our group, the young guys especially.”
With the Blades only securing three out of a possible 10 points out west, both the Swift Current Broncos and Lethbridge Hurricanes have leapfrogged Saskatoon into the top two spots in the Eastern Conference.
That’s something captain Ben Saunderson said isn’t going unnoticed ahead of their upcoming three-game home stand.
“We saw that change in the standings and it just brings fire to everyone in the room,” said Saunderson. “We’re using it as motivation and we want to be back on top.”
Choosing to take more positives than negatives out of their longest road trip of the season, Lisowsky said they’re determined to climb their way back to the top of the conference standings.
“Teams know we’ve been number one for the last couple of years,” said Lisowsky. “Teams are going to come for you every night and we got to be ready for every team coming in. I’m a little bit pissed off about that, so I think we’ll be ready for this weekend trying to get back to number one.”
The Blades will embark on a three-game home stand against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday night, with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop at SaskTel Centre.