WHL hockey night: Blades vs Tigers

I've got nothing to do tonight, so I've decided to sit back and watch some Dub hockey. Tonight's game is important for Oilers fans as it pits two of our top prospects against each other in Saskatoon's Curtis Hamilton and Medicine Hat's Tyler Bunz.

I'm going to try a bit of live-blogging, with updates at the end of each period. We'll see what comes of it.

First Period:

17:40 Hamilton good entry, two smart passes for two SC.

16:00 Bunz holds post, strong pass around boards.

15:30 Hamilton block in defensive zone leads to two-on-one SC

11:35 Bunz is a god. Great positioning allows him to make approximately 4 saves in 2.3 seconds

6:55 Hamilton late on the backcheck, leads to GA

5:35 Bunz quick reaction save on a smart Saskatoon tip. Reflexes appear to be a strength

4:20 Bunz with smart clear of the puck to center ice

Second Period:

18:20 Game’s first penalty goes to the Tigers. Time to see what Bunz’s got.

18:10 Bunz flashing the glove hand

17:25 Bunz’s angles are solid on the PK here, directs the rebound calmly into the corner

11:00 Bunz barely avoids an own-goal. Stupid play by the Tigers defender

10:30 Curtis Hamilton drives wide. Shot blocked, Hamilton blown up by Hat defender. Hamilton calmly gets back up and continues offensive pressure for another 30 seconds.

9:25 Bunz beaten by a hell of a wrister blocker-high. Hard to fault Bunz on that one.

7:36 The Blades’ ball begins to roll and you can just tell the pace of the game has turned. Bunz beaten again and like before it’s no fault of his. Down and out on a second rebound opportunity. Someone’s gotta clear that puck.

7:13 Okay, Bunz should have had that one. Hamilton scores on what can be described as an average shot. Announcers are saying it was tipped but it didn’t look like it to me. Hamilton’s 19th of the campaign

5:05 Bunz, trying to stop the bleeding by himself, stands tall on yet another Blades PP.

Intermission interview with Curtis Hamilton. I missed the first part so there may have been a bit on the Oilers that I didn’t catch. From what I did:
- Chemistry developing with Schenn
- This year’s club similar to last year if a little younger, hard-working successful team
- WJC awesome experience

Third Period:

17:55 Hamilton out as one of Saskatoon’s primary PKers. Breaks up a pass and charges down the ice to create a great chance on a two-on-one

17:40 Only to be the last man back into the play for a MH powerplay goal. One step forward, two back.

16:25 Bunz with another 5-bell save, this time off Marek Viedensky wide open in the slot. He’s a crafty player, too bad he’s a Sharks draft pick

13:17 If Hamilton gets an assist on the fourth Blades goal, then I’ll start to question his ability to produce offense at the professional level.

13:10 He did.

11:30 Hamilton with another nice stick on the PK to create an odd-man rush with Schenn. He’s very dangerous with his ability to create turnovers at the point

2:35 Tigers score to put the game at 4-3 while on a two-man advantage. Interesting that draft-eligible Duncan Siemens is one of the Blades PKers in that situation.

1:15 2010 first rounder Emerson Etem gets the tying goal. Tyler Bunz should get the secondary assist with a great clearing pass to Linden Vey. Shorthanded to boot.

0:05 Bunz with the money save to maintain at least a single point. Got some help from his defenseman, who was able to sky the loose puck before it fell into the net.

Overtime:

1:04 Terrible way for Bunz to lose this game. Complete clusterfuck between goalie and defenseman leads to the Hamilton/Schenn tandem pouncing. Hamilton with the initial chance, Schenn with the slam-dunk.

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I really wish I had the chance to see more junior hockey. That was a more entertaining game than half of the ones I've watched the Oilers slog through this year. Thinking on the Oilers prospects in this game, I found Curtis Hamilton to be around the puck all night long. A goal and two assists for the 2010 second rounder who has all the makings of a future NHLer. Tyler Bunz had an up and down kind of game. He was completely unflappable for the first half of the game, only to let in three goals in rather quick succession before getting back on his horse. I like his puck skills and his ability to be square to the shooter, but he'll need to see a lot more rubber before he's a finished product.

The announcers commented before the game started that Tyler Pitlick will be missing his third straight game, possibly due to injury. If the Tigers play this well without him in the line-up, they're surely to go far in the playoffs with a healthy #7 on the bench.