GAME 42 PREVIEW | Blades look for back-to-back game sweep vs Raiders

Tonight

The Saskatoon Blades (28-9-3-1) travel up Highway 11 to take on their biggest rival, the Prince Albert Raiders (15-23-3-0) at the Art Hauser Centre.

It’s the second of back-to-back games between the two, and caps off a four games in five nights stretch for the Blades.

Tonight marks the sixth meeting of the season between the two clubs. Hating each other before game one began, seeing one another this often only amplifies that tension. The Blades have bettered the Raiders all five times so far, outscoring Prince Albert 25-5 in the season-series.

The Blades…er…Bananas earned a 6-1 victory last night at SaskTel Centre. Forward Misha Volotovskii’s first two-goal performance was crucial in the win, along with goals from four other Bananas.

The back-end pair of Tanner Molendyk and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere each had two points, the ladder’s two apples extending his point streak five games.

Forwards Conner Roulette and Vaughn Watterodt also dished a pair of helpers in the Bananas return. It was a massive win for the Banana City Bunch, who move back into second place in the Eastern Conference with 60 points over the Moose Jaw Warriors. Saskatoon still has three games in-hand.

Who to Watch

Vitebsk, Belarus’ own Egor Sidorov scored his seventh goal in five games last night against Prince Albert. The 6-foot sniper has nine tucks in his last seven outings and leads the club with 25 goals in 30 games. Sidorov also had an assist on the evening to give him 45 points on the year. The NHL draft-eligible winger’s 1.50 points-per-game is ninth out of the entire WHL, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Conner Roulette with the sweet drag and Sidorov gets the tasty finish 😋 pic.twitter.com/Gp9Pwx36z0

— Saskatoon Bananas (@BladesHockey) January 21, 2023

Deserved is an understatement for Volotovskii’s performance last night. The Calgary, AB. Native is always responsible in his own end of the ice and works his tail off in the opposing team’s. The 6-foot-2 center is also tasked with killing penalties. “Volo” has three goals and two assists in 38 games this year, as career game 100 is on the horizon.

Misha Volotovskii says Y-ELLO to the scoresheet! pic.twitter.com/xkTpUq748w

— Saskatoon Bananas (@BladesHockey) January 21, 2023

Voltovskii goes top banana for his second goal in a minute 🤯🍌 pic.twitter.com/CpPC7sOi3A

— Saskatoon Bananas (@BladesHockey) January 21, 2023

Captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere has seven assists on a current five-game point streak. The WHL senior has suited up in all 41 games this season, and has already tied his career-high of 45 points set last year in 13 more games played.

BANANA JERSEY AUCTION

Want to own one of these delicious game-worn threads?

Our game-worn jersey auction is live! Bid now until 12:00pm Sunday, Jan. 29th, with all proceeds going to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation!

Bidding starts at $200.

Bid on your favourite Banana by CLICKING HERE