| Subject: Silos Starting to Roll? |
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Saskatoon Sun
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Date Posted: 21:05:10 02/12/03 Wed
For perhaps the first time this season, the Saskatoon Silos rode the stellar goaltending of Nik Khabibulin to a victory, defeating the Whitehorse Warriors 4-2. The win was the second in four games for the Silos, and stretched their unbeaten streak to four games (2-0-2).
Khabibulin's best work came in the 1st and 3rd periods, where he stopped all 25 of the shots he faced. The Silos' goalie did give up two goals in the 2nd period, but that isn't surprising considering some of the firepower that the Warriors possess.
Saskatoon coach Bob Hartley is now warming up to his goaltender's performances.
"Nik didn't play particularly well in the preseason, and that carried over to the regular season," said Hartley. "He showed signs of coming around in the last game, with tonight being like some of his performances from the 1st half of last season."
Another player showing some signs of life is Saskatoon's top center, Alexei Yashin. The big Russian was the game's first star, an honor received for tallying two goals and one assist on the night.
"'Lex hasn't played bad this season," said the Saskatoon coach, "but he hasn't been a factor in every game. We need him to be one of our best players more often than not."
Saskatoon will definitely be putting their modest streak on the line when they face the Eastern Conference's top team, the Ottawa Oaks, in a home-and-home set.
Silo Siftings: Khabibulin is expected to get the nod in Ottawa, but coach Hartley is said to be toying with the idea of putting backup Jocelyn Thibault in the nets. Thibault has been solid in his cameo appearances so far this year...Veteran defenseman Don Sweeney's absence has been felt these past couple of games, with the Silos giving up more shots on goal than they had with Sweeney in the lineup. Sweeney may return to action in Ottawa, but that will be a game-time decision...RW Mark Recchi is currently 3rd in scoring in the GWHL with 15 points, just one point behind the man the Silos traded to get Recchi, Quebec's Martin Straka...Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky received an early recall from Prince Albert due to his strong play with Saskatoon's farm club...Silos GM Ken McKenna is said to be pleased with some of the reports be's been getting on some prospects outside the organization. The GM is particularly excited about a couple of young defensemen, Barrett Jackman and Anton Volchenkov. "These are two guys that you can build your defense around," beamed the GM. "We hope to have them in Prince Albert, at least, next season." Center Mike Cammalleri is another player who could be ready for duty soon, as might big right wing Alexei Smirnov.
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