It was a couple of firsts that worked against the Saskatoon Blades Saturday in a 3-1 loss to the Raiders in Prince Albert.
The Raiders scored three unanswered goals in the third period for their first win in six head-to-head meetings this season with the Bridge City Bunch. The P-A rally was the first time this season that the Blue and Gold had lost in regulation time after leading through two periods. Keaton Sorenson, Niall Crocker and Eric Johnston scored the goals, Sorenson and Crocker connecting on the power play, as the Raiders improved their overall record to 16-25-3. Brandon Lisowsky’s first period power play goal stood up through 40 minutes as the Blades kept Prince Albert in check, out-shooting them 20-7. However, Tikhon Chaika in goal for the Raiders frustrated Saskatoon and wouldn’t allow a second goal, keeping P-A in reasonable comeback range. Chaika ended up stopping 24 of 25 shots while Austin Elliott blocked 12 of 15 Raiders shots. The Bridge City Bunch dropped to 28-10-4 for the season and are 0-4-2 on the road since coming back from the Christmas break. The Blue and Gold play their next four games away from Saskatoon, starting with a Friday visit to Red Deer. Following is the official game summary courtesy the W-H-L, audio highlights from CJWW’s broadcast and Les Lazaruk’s Post-Game Show interview with Blades’ head coach Brennan Sonne…..
Saskatoon Blades 1 at Prince Albert Raiders 3 – Status: Final
Saturday, January 21, 2023 – Art Hauser Centre – Prince Albert, SK
Saskatoon 1 0 0 – 1
Prince Albert 0 0 3 – 3
1st Period-1, Saskatoon, Lisowsky 23 (Chiasson, Wong), 7:58 (PP). Penalties-Herman Pa (roughing), 6:48; Stanick Pa (tripping), 17:14.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Calvert Sas (slashing), 6:48; Boucher Pa (roughing), 6:48.
3rd Period-2, Prince Albert, Sorensen 16 (Kosior, Ritchie), 1:37 (PP). 3, Prince Albert, Crocker 7 (Kosior, Sorensen), 12:18 (PP). 4, Prince Albert, Johnston 1 (Pakkala), 12:33. Penalties-Wright Sas (hooking), 0:18; Lies Sas (high sticking), 12:08; Kovacs Pa (interference), 12:54.
Shots on Goal-Saskatoon 8-12-5-25. Prince Albert 4-3-8-15.
Power Play Opportunities-Saskatoon 1 / 3; Prince Albert 2 / 2.
Goalies-Saskatoon, Elliott 15-5-2-0 (15 shots-12 saves). Prince Albert, Chaika 11-17-0-0 (25 shots-24 saves).
A-2,529
Referees-Bob Millette (61), Bryce Sebastian (64).
Linesmen-Jordan Carriere (108), Troy Semenchuk (65).
