Saskatoon Blades primed for second-round rematch with Red Deer Rebels

The Saskatoon Blades appear ready for their second-round playoff rematch against the Red Deer Rebels.

The Blades made history last year by overcoming a 3-0 series deficit in their second-round series against the Rebels, winning the best-of-seven series 4-3. It was only the third time in the history of the WHL the feat had been accomplished.

Blades captain Trevor Wong said his team learned some lessons from last year’s crazy series against Red Deer, including the obvious one.

“The first one is, don’t go down 3-0,” Wong chuckled.

“But I think (we learned about) managing the momentum swings. It’s the first to four, and last year we stuck with it. This year is going to be different. It’s a new team over there and a new team for us.

“I think we’ve done a good job of managing momentum so far. We’ve kind of learned from the first game against Prince Albert. (Our) group is good at learning lessons, so I think we’ll take that into the series.”

Wong said he expects the Rebels to be roaring and ready to go after they essentially threw away their spot in the Eastern Conference final last year.

“Probably for them, they hate us even more now, and for us it’s, ‘Let’s not get behind the 8-ball early,’ ” Wong stated.

“We’re just focused on one game at a time, and Game 1 for us is huge.”

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The Blades wouldn’t divulge much about their game plan, but they did acknowledge things could get chippy.

“They’re a scrappy team and like to push you around,” said defenceman Tanner Molendyk. “They’re going to try and get in your head. We just can’t let them get to us.”

“We’re two different teams and we don’t want to get into the muck and grind as much,” Wong said. “We’ve adjusted our game plan a bit for them and we’ve been practising it. We’ll be ready.”

Wong suggested the Blades just have to focus on themselves, but added that he feels the series against the Prince Albert Raiders prepared them well for the challenge that awaits.

Wong said Prince Albert tends to be a more physical team, and of course there’s a rivalry element as well.

“It did prepare us well, I think, for Red Deer here, because they’re kind of both meat-and-potatoes teams, and I think we’ve really learned from last year what they really are in the playoffs,” Wong said.

Head coach Brennan Sonne echoed the comments from Wong.

“They pose their challenges and we’ve prepared the guys for them,” Sonne said. “We’re excited to meet the challenges we’ll face on this playoff run.”

Heading into Game 1 on Friday, there’s one major question surrounding the Blades: Who will get the start in the net?

Austin Elliott was given the start in the Game 1 loss to Prince Albert, but didn’t start again until Game 5 after rookie goaltender Evan Gardner was able to pull off three consecutive wins. Gardner got the start in Game 5, but was replaced by Elliott after the first period when he left with an injury.

Sonne wouldn’t reveal which way he’s leaning or comment on Gardner’s status after the injury.

“I feel extremely uncomfortable talking about medical issues of other people – just the medical side in general I feel very strange talking about it,” he said.

“He’s a young man and it’s not my medical issues, and it’s the medical status of other players. I think the NHL has a rule where you have to give updates of upper and lower body (injuries), but that’s not one here. Since I’m very uncomfortable talking about other people’s medical status, I choose not to.”

Familiar face behind Red Deer bench

The Rebels will be looking to get some sweet redemption against the Blades after last year’s collapse, and also win what will be an important series for their interim head coach, David Struch.

In late March, the Rebels shocked the junior hockey world by firing head coach Derrick Walser less than a month before the start of the playoffs.

Struch was then hired as Walser’s replacement. He was coaching at Notre Dame in Wilcox when he got the call from general manager Brent Sutter.

Struch played four seasons with the Blades from 1988 to ’92. He spent over a decade playing professional hockey around the world before landing as an assistant coach with the Rebels in 2006.

He was their assistant coach from 2006 to 2013 and was given the head-coaching reins in 2014 before moving to the Regina Pats in 2015.

Speaking on The Green Zone on Thursday, Struch said it’s been a crazy six weeks since he took over in Red Deer.

“It’s been a whirlwind. It’s been an emotional time and I’ve been running on adrenaline,” he said.

Struch said it wasn’t easy making the transition, but he credited the leadership group for welcoming him in.

“The Rebels’ identity for years has been similar to the way I coach, so I think the players were looking for that type of leadership,” Struch said.

“I was nervous, but the players and ownership group here were very welcoming and supported me.”

Given his history with the Blades, Struch admitted it’s going to be a special series for him.

“It’s obviously close to my heart. My family still lives (in Saskatoon) and it’s very special to come there because of my connection, but more so to play against a really good team in the Blades,” he explained.

“They’ve built a really good strong team, and you can see it in the standings. We’re in one for sure, and hopefully we can give them a good challenge.”

After some of the tweaks he’s made, Struch thinks the Rebels have become a team that’s hard to play against and a team that can skate hard and play hard for the full game.

Game 1 between the Blades and Rebels is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday at SaskTel Centre.