Raiders Drop Home Finale To Blades
March 17, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release
Prince Albert, SK - The Prince Albert Raiders (32-26-9-4) led for the majority of the game, but lost 2-1 to the Saskatoon Blades (34-33-3-1) on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre in the regular season home finale.
The regulation loss stopped the Raiders' 11-game point streak that catapulted them over the Blades for the final playoff spot.
The Raiders took the lead late in the first period. Parker Kelly fought off Kirby Dach on a shorthanded rush and snapped it past Tyler Brown to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead after the first period.
The two teams showed why they were such intense rivals in the second period. The hitting picked up leading to fights between Justin Nachbaur and Jake Kustra, and Kody McDonald and Mark Rubinchik.
The third period only upped the intensity. Kustra and McDonald squared off in the period, followed by offsetting penalties assessed to Brandon Machado and Regan Nagy for interference and roughing, respectively.
Late in the game, the Blades got their first puck past Ian Scott. Off of a faceoff in the Raiders' zone after Prince Albert was put down two men, Max Gerlach beat the Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick with 5:23 to play.
The Blades took the lead with 1:41 to play. With Carson Miller in the box for tripping, Chase Wouters went off the far post and in to put Saskatoon ahead for good.
Scott finished the game with 20 saves in a losing effort. Brown stopped 24 shots to pick up the win for Saskatoon.
The Raiders close out the regular season schedule on Saturday night in Saskatoon against the Blades. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
After the game, the Raiders will turn their attention to the Moose Jaw Warriors for their opening round series in the WHL Playoffs. The series begins on Friday night in Moose Jaw. Playoff packages are available now. Single game tickets go on sale on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.
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