'What's next?' Riders' Armstead focused on showdown with Ottawa
17h ago
"I have a 'What's next?' mentality," said Ryquell Armstead, who faces his former team on Saturday.
The Saskatoon Blades entered the 40-win club in style with a 4-0 shutout victory over the Regina Pats Friday at Sasktel Centre.
Eric Florchuk scored on a shorthanded breakaway goal in the opening two minutes of the game to help goaltender Nolan Maier to his third shutout of the season.
Saskatoon would bookend its first period with Max Gerlach’s 38th goal of the season in the final minute of the period to give the Blades a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
Second period goals from Ryan Hughes and Kyle Crnkovic would pad the Blades’ lead before a scoreless third period that saw Saskatoon take its 10th win in its last 11 games.
Maier made 19 saves for the shutout. Regina’s Dean McNabb had 31 saves in the loss.
Saskatoon will play next on Sunday with a 40-14-8-0 record on the year. It’s the first time the Blades have hit the 40-win milestone since the 2012-13 season when they hosted the Memorial Cup.
There are six games remaining in the Blades’ schedule as they nurse a 12-point lead over the Moose Jaw Warriors for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Saskatoon and Moose Jaw are set to tangle on Tuesday for what could be a playoff-determining matchup.