Blades down Pats to finalize first-round playoff matchup

The Saskatoon Blades got revenge over the Regina Pats in the final regular-season matchup between the two WHL teams.

The Blades posted a 3-2 victory Friday — five days after falling to the Pats 4-2 — in front of another soldout crowd of 14,768 at SaskTel Centre.

But the teams will face off against each other sooner rather than later. The Blades’ win solidifies a first-round playoff matchup against the Pats.

“Same players, same team, same place, added pressure. That’s the difference. It’s mostly mental. I mean, there will be adjustments here and there. They’ll make adjustments, we’ll make adjustments. It’s all that chess game,” Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said about the first-round series.

The best-of-seven affair is to begin next Friday in Saskatoon, where the second game is to be played April 2. The series is to shift to Regina for games April 4 and April 5.

If necessary, Game 5 is to be played April 7 in Saskatoon, Game 6 is scheduled for April 8 in Regina, and Game 7 is set for April 10 in Saskatoon.

The series is the teams’ first playoff meeting since 2006.

On Friday, both goaltenders were on their game in the first period, as Austin Elliott of the Blades and the Pats’ Drew Sim made big saves in order to keep the score locked at 0-0 until the 17:53 mark.

That’s when Blades forward Brandon Lisowsky took some notes from the soccer pitch as he kicked his 36th goal of the season into a wide-open net.

But being that the puck was directed in from outside of the crease, it was deemed to be a good goal even after a review by the officials.

The Blades carried some of that late first-period momentum into the second, when Lisowsky tipped in his second of the night on the power play. It was the only goal of the period.

“Personally, I’m feeling really good. I think the last couple of weeks I’m kind of playing my game. And with (Egor) Sidorov and (Trevor) Wong on a line, especially with Sidorov being back, I think those guys help me so much. We kind of accommodate each other,” Lisowsky said.

Regina got on the scoreboard early in the third when Saskatoon turned over the puck at its own blue line and Tanner Howe was left alone to put away a short-handed goal.

That tilted the ice back into Regina’s favour. Sam Oremba fired home a wrist shot as he entered the Saskatoon zone, tying the game 2-2 just before the halfway mark of the third.

But the Blades’ top line ended the Pats’ momentum, as Wong banked his 25th goal of the season — and team-leading 86th point of the season — in off the skate of Sim from behind the net.

That ended up being the difference as Saskatoon closed out its final regular-season home game with a win.

Pats superstar Connor Bedard was held off the scoresheet for the first time since March 11. He remains the WHL’s scoring leader with 70 goals and 142 points.

“I thought we had a lot of chances. Their goalie played really well. It was a good game, competitive. I think that’s who we’ll play in the playoffs. The last two games have been really close and tight, so we’re excited for that,” Bedard said.

While the win was something the Blades were happy to secure, captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere said the team has more in the tank than it showed.

“I don’t think we played our best tonight. I think we have another gear. But we’re always happy to get two points,” De La Gorgendiere said.

He’s one of three Blades players who are in their last year of eligibility in the WHL. De La Gorgendiere, defenceman Blake Gustafson and forward Josh Pillar were honoured after the game.

“Being here for my whole junior career, it’s pretty special and this place holds a pretty big place in my heart,” the Blades’ captain added after the three were named the game’s three stars.

But all eyes now are on the playoffs and Bedard said it should be an exciting series.

“We’ve played tough games (this season). We’ve won a few (and) they’ve won a few, so it should be fun,” the Pats’ captain added.