Couple of Firsts Allow Blades to Buck the Broncos

Tyrone Sobry’s first goal as a Saskatoon Blade broke a 2-2 tie just before the mid-point of the third period and made a winner of Ryley Budd in his W-H-L goaltending debut as the Bridge City Bunch edged the visiting Swift Current Broncos 3-2 Friday night.

Saskatoon product Sobry had been goal-less in 53 games, dating back to October 30, 2024,  going into his 15th game with the Blue and Gold since being acquired from Prince Albert in mid-October. Budd, meanwhile, stopped 13 of 15 shots after driving from Bonnyville, Alberta, where he has been playing for the Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, as the Blades’ goaltending duo of Evan Gardner and Ethan McCallum were stricken with illness this week. Add in that Bridge City Bunch property Taye Timmerman, with the S-J-H-L’s Warman Wolverines, was also laid up due to illness and Budd’s presence was desperately required as Saskatoon recorded their fourth straight win – the last three all by one goal. Cooper Williams opened the scoring and Dominik Petr also tallied for the Blue and Gold, who out-shot Swift Current, now 8-12-1 for the season, by a 35-15 count. Rookie Broncos’ goaltender Aiden Eskit was sensational and almost stole points in the standings before 3,624 fans at SaskTel Centre. Blades’ captain Tyler Parr chipped in two assists. Saskatoon brings their 14-8-2 record into another home game Saturday against the vastly improved Brandon Wheat Kings. Game time is 7 o’clock with CJWW’s broadcast starting at 6:45 p.m. Following are the audio highlights from CJWW’s broadcast, the Post-Game Show conversations with head coach Dan Da Silva, Budd and Sobry plus the official game summary courtesy the W-H-L website…..

SWIFT CURRENT Goals SWIFT CURRENT PLAYERS (plus) SASKATOON PLAYERS (minus) Per. Time  G-As1-As2 1st 10:31  39-4-17 4 17 19 28 39 8 19 47 71 88 2nd 15:46  42-32 4 12 28 32 42 4 20 23 37 77

SASKATOON Goals SASKATOON PLAYERS (plus) SWIFT CURRENT PLAYERS (minus) Per. Time  G-As1-As2 1st 1:35 PP  16-47-27 1st 13:42  82-4-20 3 4 17 20 82 4 5 13 33 34 3rd 9:17  55-20-23 20 23 37 55 77 3 4 17 19 39