'Familiarity breeds contempt': Saskatoon Blades rivalry heats up
The Saskatoon Blades stumbled out of the gates as they were unable to sustain pressure on the Regina Pats in the WHL playoffs opener Friday night.
While the two teams met twice in the final week of the regular season, splitting a win each, the intensity has picked up for the postseason.
“I think because we played them so much recently, there’s a bit of added familiarity,” said Blades head coach Brennan Sonne after the game. “And that familiarity breeds contempt. I think that’s what you’re seeing and it’ll be amplified as we play them in a seven-game series.”
The Pats, who out-checked and blocked shots in the opening two periods, were happily taking a 2-0 lead to the second intermission.
That, despite being outshot 23-12 by the Blades.
“We’ve been better in that area,” said Pats coach and general manager, John Paddock. “We’ve been more responsible, and we just did a better job. That’s something that we’ve talked about, not just this past week, we’ve talked about it period.”
The WHL’s leading scorer in the regular season, Connor Bedard, was an impact player in game one.
He finished with two goals and an assist, one goal was a game-winner and the other was a highlight-reel play that’s making rounds on social media.
A single Blades goal by Lukas Hansen was all they could get past goaltender Drew Sim, who led his team to a 6-1 win and an early 1-0 series lead.
Sonne says his team needs to play more desperate hockey to have success in the postseason.
“The first 40 minutes, we were structurally sound and a little clinical,” he said. “But we’ve got to get out of the clinic and onto the streets in my opinion. I think we have another level of desperate, and while it’s great to be structured and follow the plan, there’s also got to be a little bit of desperate.”
While Bedard says the nastiness was missing in the regular season finale, facing the same opponent this many times can only lead to more bad blood as the series progresses.
“It’s playoffs,” he said. “It’s going to be more physical. It’s going to be faster. You’re going to hate each other more and more. And especially with us playing each other so much recently, I think it’s even added. So we don’t like them, they don’t like us. That’s playoffs.”
The Blades and Pats return to Sasktel Centre on Sunday for game two, before the series heads to Regina for games three and four.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
BREAKING Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.