A preview of the second-round playoff series between the Saskatoon Blades and the Red Deer Rebels.

The Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels are set to face off in the second round. Last season, the Blades pulled off the reverse sweep, defeating the Rebels in seven games. Saskatoon will once again be the home team as these two teams kick off their series on Friday night. 

After falling in Game 1 in their first-round series to the Prince Albert Raiders, the Blades won four straight to advance to the second round. Led by Easton Armstrong and Trevor Wong, Saskatoon will be the favourites as they look to advance to the East Final for the second consecutive season. If the Blades can stay out of the box and break through against Red Deer's 95% penalty kill, they should have no issues getting past the Rebels in this matchup. 

While on paper, this may seem like an uneven series, Red Deer should not be counted out. They made life difficult for Saskatoon during their four regular season matchups and already showed they can contain a high-profile offence, allowing just 14 goals in five games versus the Medicine Hat Tigers in round one. If Chase Wutzke can stand on his head, the Rebels have a chance to make this series an interesting one. 

Prediction: Saskatoon Blades in 5

Playoff Schedule:

Game 1: Friday, Apr 12 @ Saskatoon, 7:00 pm ST
Game 2: Sunday, Apr 14 @ Saskatoon, 4:00 pm ST 
Game 3: Tuesday, Apr 16 @ Red Deer, 7:00 pm MT 
Game 4: Wednesday, Apr 17 @ Red Deer, 7:00 pm MT 
Game 5: Friday, Apr 19 @ Saskatoon, 7:00 pm ST 
Game 6: Sunday, Apr 21 @ Red Deer, 2:00 pm MT 
Game 7: Tuesday, Apr 23 @ Saskatoon,  7:00 pm ST 

Season Series:

Saskatoon: 2-2-0-0
Red Deer: 2-2-0-0

Red Deer 5 @ Saskatoon 0 (Feb 27, 2024) Final
Saskatoon 4 @ Red Deer 5 (Jan 17, 2024) Final
Red Deer 2 @ Saskatoon 4 (Dec 8, 2023) Final
Saskatoon 2 @ Red Deer 1 (Oct 21, 2023) Final

Leading Scorers During Season Series

Saskatoon Blades

1) Egor Sidorov: 4 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 P
2) Trevor Wong: 4 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 P
3) Fraser Minten: 3 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P 
4) Tanner Molendyk: 4 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 P 
5) Rowan Calvert: 4 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 P

Red Deer Rebels

1) Kai Uchacz: 4 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 P
2) Hunter Mayo: 3 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 P
3) Talon Brigley: 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P
4) Frantisek Formanek: 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P
5) Ollie Josephson: 4 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P

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