The Saskatoon Blades are 2-0-0 to start a W-H-L regular-season for the 17th time in franchise history following a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders before a raucous crowd of 6,302 fans at SaskTel Centre Saturday night.
Sophomore forward Tyler Parr buried a rebound of Brandon Lisowsky’s sharp-angle shot past P-A goaltender Max Hildebrand with one second remaining in the extra frame to give the Bridge City Bunch four-out-of-four points in the home-and-home set to start the new campaign. It was the first time the Blue and Gold had swept the Raiders to start a season since 2011. With both teams still missing key players either injured or attending N-H-L main training camps, the sharpness of play and flow of the contest was lacking. However, the competitiveness was there in spades as the teams combined for 48 minutes in penalties while there were more scrums along the boards and after whistles than in a rugby match. Lukas Hansen opened the scoring for Saskatoon in the first period with his first career W-H-L goal, but Hayden Pakkala responded with a power play tally for Prince Albert before the first period was over. After that, shots on goal and good scoring chances were limited with Austin Elliott for the Blades and Hildebrand for the Raiders solid in goal, stopping 24 and 14 shots respectively. The game appeared to be headed for a shootout when Charlie Wright sent away Lisowsky on a two-on-one rush with Parr with less than 10 seconds remaining in O-T. A Toronto draft pick, Lisowsky’s low shot worked as a pass when Hildebrand’s right pad save shot a rebound into the slot where Parr skated on to it and his shot didn’t miss a wide open net. The Bridge City Bunch will await possible supplemental discipline from the W-H-L because of major penalties and accompanying game misconducts to Blue and Gold defenceman Tanner Molendyk and right winger Justin Lies. Molendyk received a questionable penalty for “slew footing” P-A’s Evan Herman in the second period while Lies got a major late in the third period for charging and knocking down Vladislav Shilo of the Raiders. The Blades’ next action is Saturday, October 1 when they host the Swift Current Broncos. Following is the CJWW post-game show interview with Saskatoon head coach Brennan Sonne, plus audio highlights from the game and the official game summary, courtesy the W-H-L…..
Prince Albert Raiders 1 at Saskatoon Blades 2 (OT) – Status: Final OT
Saturday, September 24, 2022 – SaskTel Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Prince Albert 1 0 0 0 – 1
Saskatoon 1 0 0 1 – 2
1st Period-1, Saskatoon, Hansen 1 (Molendyk, De La Gorgendiere), 13:48. 2, Prince Albert, Pakkala 1 (Thurston, Ritchie), 18:04 (PP). Penalties-Lisowsky Sas (checking from behind), 2:22; Zizka Sas (hooking), 5:26; Thurston Pa (tripping), 6:42; Molendyk Sas (elbowing), 16:18.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Molendyk Sas (major – slewfoot, game misconduct), 6:40; Gislason Pa (roughing), 11:57; Lies Sas (roughing), 11:57; Shugrue Sas (holding), 12:27; Goldsmith Pa (boarding), 15:33; Christensen Pa (delay of game), 17:06.
3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Lies Sas (major-charging, game misconduct), 17:07.
OT Period-3, Saskatoon, Parr 1 (Lisowsky, Wright), 4:59. Penalties-No Penalties
Shots on Goal-Prince Albert 5-9-7-4-25. Saskatoon 8-5-1-2-16.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince Albert 1 / 6; Saskatoon 0 / 3.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Hildebrand 0-0-1-0 (16 shots-14 saves). Saskatoon, Elliott 1-0-0-0 (25 shots-24 saves).
A-6,302
Referees-Brian MacDonald (7), Brayden Arcand (71).
Linesmen-Tanner McGregor (55), Devan Thiessen (94).
