It turned out the Prince Albert Raiders were the tonic for what ailed the Saskatoon Blades.
P-A gave the Bridge City Bunch all they could handle…and more…as expected from the arch-rivals, forcing the Blue and Gold to be fully engaged for 60 minutes before finally emerging with a 5-3 victory Thursday. That put the brakes to a three-game winless skid for the Blades and gave them three wins in as many meetings with the Raiders in the W-H-L’s East Division “Dubble.”
Tristen Robins (pictured) paced Saskatoon with a goal and three assists. His goal cancelled out Nolan Allan’s game-opener for the now 4-8-2 Raiders. Robins’s second assist was an athletic feat…jumping up to knock down an aerialed puck, glove it down to his stick, then pass cross-crease to a wide-open Brandon Lisowsky. The rookie’s fifth goal of the season at 12:50 of the third period snapped a 3-3 tie. Kyle Crnkovic, Colton Dach and Caiden Daley also tallied for the 10-2-2 Bridge City Bunch, moving them within one point of first place Brandon and two points clear of third place Winnipeg.
Reece Vitelli and rookie Dallyn Peekeekoot had the other goals for Prince Albert. Peekeekoot ended up with a “Gordie Howe hat trick” as the 16-year-old forward from the Ahtahkakoop First Nation added two assists to his goal and handled himself very well in a first period fight against Blue and Gold overage defenceman Wyatt McLeod.
The Blades out-shot the Raiders 38-23 with Saskatoon goaltender Nolan Maier preserving the win by making two back-to-back right pad saves in the final 80 seconds of regulation time off Peekeekoot and Vitelli from off the edge of the goal crease. The Blades’ next action is Saturday at 8 o’clock against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Before that game at the Brandt Centre, the Raiders meet the Winnipeg ICE at 4 p.m. Following is the official game summary from the W-H-L…
Prince Albert Raiders 3 at Saskatoon Blades 5 – Status: Final
Thursday, April 8, 2021 – Brandt Centre – Regina, SK
Prince Albert 1 2 0 – 3
Saskatoon 1 2 2 – 5
1st Period-1, Prince Albert, Allan 1 (Wiesblatt, Peekeekoot), 8:02. 2, Saskatoon, Robins 8 (Lisowsky, Crnkovic), 19:00. Penalties-McNutt Pa (major-fighting), 4:16; Patrician Sas (major-fighting), 4:16; Peekeekoot Pa (major-fighting), 17:58; Wyatt McLeod Sas (major-fighting), 17:58.
2nd Period-3, Saskatoon, Dach 8 (Wouters, Robins), 3:32 (PP). 4, Saskatoon, Crnkovic 5 11:27. 5, Prince Albert, Vitelli 4 (Peekeekoot, Wiesblatt), 14:23 (PP). 6, Prince Albert, Peekeekoot 2 (Nachbaur, Culling), 16:01 (PP). Penalties-McNutt Pa (kneeing), 2:11; Aquilon Pa (holding), 2:46; Paulhus Sas (delay of game), 8:08; Lisowsky Sas (interference), 12:46; Robins Sas (delay of game), 13:52; Crnkovic Sas (hooking), 15:47.
3rd Period-7, Saskatoon, Lisowsky 5 (Robins, Daley), 12:50. 8, Saskatoon, Daley 6 (Robins), 19:07 (EN). Penalties-Schneider Sas (checking from behind), 5:36; Laventure Pa (checking from behind), 6:58; Kosior Pa (holding), 8:01.
Shots on Goal-Prince Albert 8-11-4-23. Saskatoon 13-11-14-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince Albert 2 / 5; Saskatoon 1 / 4.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Paddock 3-5-0-0 (37 shots-33 saves). Saskatoon, Maier 8-1-1-0 (23 shots-20 saves).
A-
Referees-Adam Bloski (16), Adam Forbes.
Linesmen-Sean Dufour (50), Ty Skene.
