Saturday’s game was pretty much the same as Friday’s contest, except the roles were reversed when Ben Riche scored at 3:38 of overtime to give the Saskatoon Blades a 4-3 victory over the Prince Albert Raiders in Warman.
On Friday, the Bridge City Bunch never trailed, but lost 5-4 in a shootout when P-A tied the score in the final minute and their goaltender on the bench for an extra attacker. On Saturday, before a sold-out crowd at the Warman Events Centre, the Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period and appeared to be sending the Blue and Gold to a winless exhibition campaign when Luke Moroz scored with 2:07 left in the third period. However, the Blades forced extra time, with goaltender Austin Elliott on the bench for an extra attacker, as sophomore 17-year-old forward Hudson Kibblewhite tallied off a goal-mouth scramble with 17.8 seconds left – setting the stage for Riche’s overtime heroics. That came on a 4-on-3 power play as Saskatoon was 2-for-5 with the man advantage and killed off all five Raiders’ power play chances. Defencemen Brayden Klimpke and Ben Saunderson also scored for the Bridge City Bunch, who finish the pre-season with a 1-3-1 record and open the regular-season this coming Friday and Saturday with a home-and-home in Swift Current and at SaskTel Centre against the Broncos, respectively. P-A winds up 3-1-1 in the pre-season and will open the real campaign at home on Friday against the Pats before visiting Regina Saturday. Following are Les Lazaruk’s post-game interviews with head coach Dan Da Silva, Riche and Saunderson plus Raiders’ head coach Jeff Truitt, as well as the official game summary courtesy the W-H-L website…..
Prince Albert Raiders 3 at Saskatoon Blades 4 (OT) – Status: Final OT
Saturday, September 14, 2024 – The Legends Centre – Warman, SK
Prince Albert 2 0 1 0 – 3
Saskatoon 0 2 1 1 – 4
1st Period-1, Prince Albert, Meunier 2 (Derkatch), 13:12. 2, Prince Albert, Sivertson 5 (Peardon, Moroz), 13:37. Penalties-Olsen Sas (kneeing), 5:30; Worthington Sas (interference), 14:33; Riche Sas (slashing), 16:45.
2nd Period-3, Saskatoon, Klimpke 1 (Parr, Riche), 7:36 (PP). 4, Saskatoon, Saunderson 1 (Riche), 19:59. Penalties-Martin Sas (holding), 1:32; Pederson Pa (holding), 6:33.
3rd Period-5, Prince Albert, Moroz 1 (Peardon), 17:53. 6, Saskatoon, Kibblewhite 1 (Riche), 19:42. Penalties-Klimpke Sas (roughing), 1:30; Sobry Pa (high sticking), 4:08; Gower Pa (roughing), 6:00; Christensen Pa (interference), 12:40.
OT Period-7, Saskatoon, Riche 2 (Saunderson, Parr), 3:38 (PP). Penalties-Rudolph Pa (interference), 3:23.
Shots on Goal-Prince Albert 11-12-9-1-33. Saskatoon 5-11-15-2-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince Albert 0 / 5; Saskatoon 2 / 5.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Hildebrand 1-0-1-0 (33 shots-29 saves). Saskatoon, Budd 0-1-0-0 (16 shots-14 saves); Elliott 1-0-0-1 (17 shots-16 saves).
A-1,000
Referees-Troy Murray (34), Ridge Brooks (161).
Linesmen-Justin Primeau (112), Tanner McGregor (55).
