Friday night, the London Knights downed Saskatoon, 3-2; and last night, the Mooseheads dumped Portland, 7-4.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Switzerland plays Sweden for the World Ice-Hockey Championship tonight in Stockholm.
Blades hang tough, but fall in Memorial Cup opener
By Daniel Nugent-Bowman, The StarPhoenixMay 18, 2013
A shot by Saskatoon Blades right winger Josh Nicholls is stopped by the fallen stick of London Knights goaltender Anthony Stolarz during first period Memorial Cup action in Saskatoon, Sask., on Friday, May 17, 2013.
Photograph by: Liam Richards , The Canadian Press
Knights 3, Blades 2
After being idle for 51 days, the biggest concern for the Saskatoon Blades was figuring out how to step on the gas pedal and keep up with the speedy London Knights in their MasterCard Memorial Cup opener.
The Blades weathered a sluggish start and tried to match the Knights’ lightning fast pace, hanging tough with the OHL champions for long stretches of the game.
It just wasn’t enough.
Towering Russian defenceman Nikita Zadorov cashed in a rebound at the side of the net on the power play at 5:45 of the third period.
The marker proved to be the decisive goal as the Blades fell 3-2.
“Going into the third period 2-2, London outchanced us – there’s no question about that,” said head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken. “But we had a chance to steal a hockey game.
“We came up short. We have to work through this and get ready for our next challenge on Sunday.”
Playing in front of an electric crowd of 10,203 fans at Credit Union Centre, the Blades showed plenty of nervous energy early.
They were hemmed in their own end during the first few shifts, forcing goaltender Andrey Makarov to make a sliding right pad save on Knights’ Chris Tierney.
Makarov faced 33 shots, including 25 in the first two periods, and kept the Blades in the game.
That allowed winger Josh Nicholls to score the first of two beautiful goals – one a tap in off a great feed from new linemate Michael Ferland.
The Knights responded with goals by Brett Welychka and Seth Griffith to carry a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
But Nicholls found the back of the net again, this time showing great determination to beat Knights captain Scott Harrington to a loose puck off his initial breakaway chance.
Both goals were assisted by Ferland, giving each player more points than he did in the WHL Eastern Conference quarter-final sweep to Medicine Hat.
Skating alongside 20-year-old captain Brenden Walker, the trio was easily the Blades’ most dangerous unit.
Nicholls was plenty motivated.
“We’re almost too old for this league,” said the 21-year-old. “We really wanted to push each other and carry this team on our backs.
“We want to prove to everyone that we belong to be here,” Nicholls added. “We’re sick and tired of people talking about (Portland’s Seth) Jones, (Halifax forwards Nathan) MacKinnon and (Jonathan) Drouin. We want the media to focus some attention on us.”
The Blades’ penalty killing was solid. They allowed just the Zadorov goal on six opportunities against and killed off a 54-second 5-on-3.
However, being forced to thwart that many chances ruin their offensive flow.
“We can’t spend 14 minutes in the penalty box,” said Siemens. “There were a couple of maybe borderline calls, but we have to really bear down and make sure that we’re playing 5-on-5. That’s where our strength is going to be.”
“The penalties that were called tonight were all penalties,” added Molleken. “We just have to be better.”
Despite the loss – and being outshot 33-29 – the Blades were holding their heads high, especially after the long layoff.
“I think we did a good job of wearing them down,” said Nicholls. “You could see defeat in their eyes at the end of the game and they felt like they escaped with one.
“There’s a lot for us to look forward to for the rest of the tournament.”
The Blades return to action Sunday against the MacKinnon, Drouin and the QMJHL-winning Halifax Mooseheads.
BLADE BITS: RW Shane McColgan was rocked by Knights LW Max Domi early in the third period. He went to the bench, but stayed in the game... With C Erik Benoit returning to the lineup – he missed the playoff series against Medicine Hat – LW Jessey Astles was scratched.
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SP’s 3 STARS
1. Saskatoon Blades RW Josh Nicholls – Scored twice and played an inspired game.
2. London Knights RW Seth Griffith – Nice goal on 2-on-1 and was tough to contain.
3. Saskatoon Blades G Andrey Makarov – Kept his team in the contest.
The turning point
Nikita Zadorov’s power-play goal 5:45 into the final period broke a tie and gave the Knights a victory in the tournament opener.
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