By Scott Fisher /

The scoring Funk is over.

Blades defenceman Ryan Funk snapped a 54-game goal-less drought as Saskatoon beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 5-2 in early October.

“We had a little motivation because the last couple of years, people have been down on us,” Funk told the Saskatoon 
StarPhoenix.

“But we just put that behind us and started playing for the guys in the room.

“We started playing for each other. Things just clicked on the weekend and we needed that to happen.”

Funk wasn’t the only Blades player to break out of an offensive tailspin.

Saskatoon also beat Tri-City 5-1, giving the club 10 goals in two outings. That matched the Blades’ offensive production over the first five games, when they struggled to a 1-4-0-0 record.

Winger Burke Gallimore, who had a team-high four goals, said his squad made the most of its chances.

“We scored on all of the opportunities that we had, or most of them at least, so it resulted in more goals,” the Edmonton product told the StarPhoenix.

“In prior games, we didn’t finish when we had those chances. We’d hit the post or the goalie would make a good save.

“We just weren’t bearing down.”

The Blades will need to carry that success on the road as they prepared for a six-game journey, which began in Brandon before moving on to Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Swift Current and Regina.

GM/head coach Lorne Molleken said the trip isn’t as bad as it might sound because his team will return home a few times to work out.

“We have lots of road games, but we’re able to come home and get some practice time, too,” Molleken told the StarPhoenix.

“It’s not like going on a West Coast trip or a U.S. trip, but the month of October is always difficult for us because our building is so busy with other events.

“You just deal with it and try to schedule the best you can. They’re games that have to be played and we’re heading on the road feeling good about ourselves.”

Goaltender Braden Holtby has been solid since returning from camp with the Washington Capitals.

The Marshall, Sask., product had a 2.62 GAA and .911 save percentage through his first five starts.

Rookie Adam Morrison is serving as the backup.

BLADES BRIEFS: Finnish D Jyri Niemi, 18, was set to return to the Blades lineup after missing three weeks with a small fracture in his back. The third-round pick of the New York Islanders was injured during an NHL rookie pre-season game against the Boston Bruins ... F Mike Reich was also eligible to return after serving his eight-game eye-gouging suspension ... Winger Colton Gillies, 19, won’t be back with the Blades. The club’s former captain cracked the Minnesota Wild’s lineup.