Six-goal second half from Zach Manns leads Sask. Rush to comeback victory
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Rush turned an 8-3 fourth quarter deficit into a 9-8 victory in its home opener.
The Saskatoon Blades continue to feel right at home inside the WHL’s East Division hub.
The Blades won their fifth straight game and have yet to lose in regulation as they defeated the Regina Pats 7-3 Friday at the Brandt Centre.
The Blades (7-0-1-0) are at the top of the division and needed no time to get comfortable in the Queen City.
Captain Chase Wouters says the players buying into the team’s values this year has translated into the hot start.
“Our preparation has been really good going into the games so far and we’ve been able to put our best foot forward and our work ethic drives us forward every day,” Wouters said. “It’s been a good start but a lot of work ahead.”
The Pats, now 2-4-2-0 in the hub, couldn’t build off of a 5-3 win over the Prince Albert Raiders on Thursday.
“They came out strong and we were a little flat,” Pats captain Logan Nijhoff said following the loss. “A couple breakdowns really cost us tonight.”
The Blades jumped out to an early lead as forward Blake Stevenson corralled a bounce off the boards in Regina’s end and fired the puck past Regina goaltender Spencer Welke just 1:32 into the contest.
Forward Brandon Lisowsky put the Blades up by two at the 6:11 mark and then just over five minutes after that, Colton Dach scored on the power play 11:31 into the game as Saskatoon poured it on early in the first period.
Wouters assisted on the goal, recording his 100th helper as a Blade.
“I thought it was coming up but I wasn’t too sure when it actually was,” he said. “Just props to all the teammates I’ve played with in Saskatoon. I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good teammates and coaching staffs to push me every day.”
Regina rookie Connor Bedard split two defenders and fired a shot on Saskatoon goaltender Koen MacInnes, who made the initial save. But the puck wound up on Bedard’s stick on the rebound and he fired it in for the Pats’ first goal 15:03 into the contest.
Bedard has lived up to the exceptional status given to him by Hockey Canada. Bedard has a point in every game he’s played with the Pats this season, recording six goals and seven assists in eight contests.
Former Pat Caiden Daley put Saskatoon up by three again at the 18:36 mark after he shot a puck that bounced off a few bodies before ending up in the back of the net.
The Pats battled back in the second period with Nijhoff finding a puck in the slot and ripping it past MacInnes just 59 seconds into the frame.
Then at the 6:30 mark, Pats forward Carter Chorney pulled Regina within one.
But then at the 11:15 point of the second stanza, Dach scored his second goal of the game.
Wouters put the game out of reach in the third period with a pair of goals, one coming a 6:34 and the second coming at 14:05.
“I know that (Welke) would like to have a couple of (goals) back, a couple of momentum shifts like that. We did have a lot of energy to come back and put ourselves in a position to climb in and get even and maybe pull ahead,” Pats head coach Dave Struch said.
Blades head coach Mitch Love says that despite getting off to one of the best starts in franchise history, he’s not focused on the history associated with that.
“We’ll take the start and it is unique. It is something that regardless of the start and what we have, everyone who is a part of this hub is going to remember this year for a long, long time,” Love said. “There’s still lots of hockey left.”
The Blades are to play the Raiders on Monday at 4 p.m. The Pats are to face the Swift Current Monday at 8 p.m.