'What's next?' Riders' Armstead focused on showdown with Ottawa
23h ago
"I have a 'What's next?' mentality," said Ryquell Armstead, who faces his former team on Saturday.
Playoff hockey is back in Saskatoon for the first time in six years.
That has Blades fan Vivian Fraser pumped up.
“I am just absolutely ecstatic,” she said on Friday. “It’s just awesome to see what this team has done this year.”
Vivian has been a Blades fan since 1969 and a season-ticket holder for six years.
She said she had a hunch early on this team was something special.
“Right from the beginning of the season I had a good sense about this team,” she said. “General manager Colin Priestner has done such an awesome job collecting a good bunch of boys.”
Saskatoon opens its playoff run against Moose Jaw on Friday night at SaskTel Centre.
Fraser said it will not be easy for the Blades facing a tough Warriors team.
“Moose Jaw is going to give them a run for their money because they have a couple of good players,” she said. “But I think all around, Saskatoon is a better team.”
She also said she expects her favourite Blade to make a big impact.
“His name is Dawson Davidson and I call him my boy,” she said.
Fraser gave Davidson high praise when she compared him to an all-time hockey great.
“He plays like Bobby Orr,” she said. “Dawson is a good two-way player who is not afraid to score goals and get back to cover his own goalie.”
Saskatoon has been one of the best home teams in the Western Hockey League since the new year.
Fraser said she hopes to see that home-ice advantage continue.
“I hope all the Blades supporters will be there and fill in the seats and cheer on the team,” she said. “Most of all I hope we come away with a victory.”