A late power play goal allowed the Prince Albert Raiders to nip the Saskatoon Blades 2-1 Saturday in front of 1,177 fans at The Legends Centre in Warman and capture a three-game, pre-season series from their arch-rivals.
Niall Crocker buried an Evan Herman rebound with 3-20 remaining in regulation time to give P-A wins in two out of three exhibitions with the Bridge City Bunch. Previously, Prince Albert doubled the Blades 6-3 on September 6 and Saskatoon prevailed 4-3 in overtime on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre. Twenty-year-old Herman opened the scoring, just 44 seconds into the game for the Raiders, who ended up 3-1-1 in the pre-season. Tanner Molendyk had the lone goal for the Blue and Gold on a highlight-reel, individual rush, but that was all Saskatoon could manage against Prince Albert goaltender Max Hildebrand, who stopped 20 of 21 shots. Blades’ goaltender Austin Elliott stopped 24 of 26 Raiders’ attempts on goal. Saskatoon finished the pre-season with a 3-2-0 record. The Central Saskatchewan rivals will open the regular-season against one another with a home-and-home series next weekend, starting Friday in Prince Albert and the return match on Saturday at SaskTel Centre. Both teams line-ups are expected to be different and augmented by players returning from N-H-L camps and/or injuries. The Blue and Gold have five N-H-L campers and three injured regulars while the Raiders have three key veterans away at N-H-L camps. Following is the CJWW post-game show interview with Bridge City Bunch head coach Brennan Sonne plus the official game summary, courtesy the W-H-L…..
Prince Albert Raiders 2 at Saskatoon Blades 1 – Status: Final
Saturday, September 17, 2022 – Warman, SK
Prince Albert 1 0 1 – 2
Saskatoon 1 0 0 – 1
1st Period-1, Prince Albert, Herman 1 (Sorensen), 0:44. 2, Saskatoon, Molendyk 1 (Rebman), 8:05. Penalties-Thurston Pa (tripping), 11:27; Peardon Pa (checking from behind), 13:59; Herman Pa (inter. on goaltender), 14:38.
2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Herman Pa (roughing), 0:49; Rebman Sas (roughing), 0:49; Peardon Pa (roughing), 8:34; Nolan Sas (slashing), 8:34; Schneider Sas (roughing), 8:34; Thurston Pa (boarding), 14:56; Moore Sas (roughing), 18:33.
3rd Period-3, Prince Albert, Crocker 1 (Herman, Stanick), 16:40 (PP). Penalties-Peekeekoot Pa (kneeing), 2:21; Molendyk Sas (cross checking), 6:48; Parr Sas (hooking), 15:24.
Shots on Goal-Prince Albert 6-12-8-26. Saskatoon 11-6-4-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Prince Albert 1 / 4; Saskatoon 0 / 5.
Goalies-Prince Albert, Hildebrand 1-1-0-0 (21 shots-20 saves). Saskatoon, Elliott 1-1-0-0 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-1,177
Referees-Adam Bloski (16), Adam Forbes (62).
Linesmen- .
