The chase begins: Blades ready to meet rival Raiders in WHL playoffs

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After a historic regular season, the Saskatoon Blades are about to embark on what they hope is an historic playoff run.

Game 1 of the Western Hockey League Eastern Conference quarter-final series between the Blades and arch-rival Prince Albert Raiders goes Thursday night. Game-time is 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre.

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The teams will battle again the next night on Good Friday. Same place. Same time.

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After 10 games between these two provincial rivals during the regular season, Blades head coach Brennan Sonne said he’s ready to settle any differences between foes on the ice.

“The war of words — the Conor McGregors, back-and-forth — that’s just not us,” said Sonne, whose team finished first overall in the WHL during the regular season and captured the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy with a 50-13-2-3 record and 105 points.

“We just want to go out between the whistles and chase them down. (That pledge) is on our wall. It’s part of our values. We view ourselves as a wolf pack. We’re just going to keep coming and coming and coming, and we’re going to run, and hunt, and chase, and run, and hunt and chase, and we’re just going to keep coming.

“We do that until the whistle goes. It has nothing to do with ego or war of words. There are no Conor McGregors in here; we’re just a wolf pack that’s going to run, and hunt, and chase, and bite, and keep going.”

Saskatoon won eight of 10 games between the two East Division teams this season, outscoring Prince Albert 44-20 overall. Three of the 10 games were decided in overtime shootouts.

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The two teams just happened to play their final two games of the season against one another, so that familiarity is bound to breed contempt.

“A little more physicality the last couple of games, but I’m sure things will continue to heat up,” said Blades forward and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten. “You get emotional and start to really not like the guys on the other team in those series. I’m sure it will continue to escalate.”

Blades captain Trevor Wong said he hopes to build off the season finale.

“It was huge for us to play them twice and kind of prepare for what’s coming in the series,” said Wong, who became the first Blade in nearly three decades to reach 100 points during the regular season.

“It felt good to get both wins, but it’s going to be different when Game 1 comes around.”

That recent familiarity will also help in other ways.

“As it played out, I think it helps with preparation,” said Sonne. “What we’ve covered, we’ve already covered. Now it’s reminders, I guess. It just saves you a little time in terms of (series) preparation.”

The Blades finished the season with a league-best 29-4-1 record on home ice and will now enjoy home-ice advantage throughout the upcoming WHL playoffs.

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“They bring all the energy for us,” Wong said of Blades fans. “We kind of feed off it. We love playing in front of big crowds and a bunch of us are used to it now. It gives us energy; it gives us momentum. When they get loud, it makes us feel good.”

The Raiders ended up eighth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 31-32-2-3 record and 67 points.

The series switches to Prince Albert after the Easter long weekend with games on Tuesday, April 2 and Wednesday, April 3 at the Art Hauser Centre.

Last season, the Blades were forced to claw their way back from series deficits against the Regina Pats and Red Deer Rebels. They also found themselves in the same situation against the Winnipeg Ice but couldn’t make a third straight series comeback.

“Different team, different year, different everything,” stressed Sonne. “It might be in the minds of some; it’s not in our minds, to be honest with you. A series is a series. We want to play Blades hockey. We believe that when we play Blades hockey, we’re pretty tough to beat.

“So, in saying that, sometimes bad luck happens, bad things happen, but if you go down in the series, it’s not over. You just keep fighting and clawing and running and hunting and chasing. It’s not a thing in our minds.

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“We just want to play Blades hockey the entire playoffs.”

dzary@postmedia.com

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