Blades aim to ice out Winnipeg in third round of WHL playoffs

The Saskatoon Blades are looking to carve up the Ice.

After falling behind 0-2 and 0-3 in their first two series of the WHL playoffs, the Blades will try to avoid that trend as they open the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final Friday night against the Winnipeg Ice.

The matchup features the teams that earned the most points in the Eastern Conference during the regular season — Winnipeg had 115, while Saskatoon had 101.

The Blades know it won’t be an easy series as Winnipeg is loaded with skill.

“They’re a really good hockey team. They pose their own challenges (and) they have elite talent. They’re elite everywhere,” Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said.

Sonne also knows the Blades can’t repeat what they’ve done in the first two series.

“You can’t go down 0-4 because then it’s over. So we’ve got to make sure we avoid 0-4,” Sonne said tongue-in-cheek after Saskatoon beat the Red Deer Rebels 5-2 in Game 7 of a conference semifinal.

The Blades opened that series with three straight losses.

Throughout the regular season, the Ice had the edge in the six matchups between the teams, with four wins. But Saskatoon won the last meeting against the Ice, posting a 3-2 victory on Feb. 4.

“Obviously they’re a good hockey team. We haven’t seen them in a while. But we know to expect they’re a fast team and excellent talent on that team as well,” Blades captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere said.

Games 1 and 2 will take place in Winnipeg and it will be the first time during the playoffs that Saskatoon won’t have home-ice advantage in a series.

The Blades will host Games 3 and 4 at SaskTel Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Puck drop for Friday night’s Game 1 is set for 6 p.m.