WHL Prince Albert Raiders

Raiders Enter Holiday Break With Win Over Blades

Published on December 18, 2021 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release


Prince Albert, Sask. - The Prince Albert Raiders (12-14-1-1) entered the holiday break on a winning note by picking up a 4-1 win over the Saskatoon Blades (15-13-1-0) at SaskTel Centre on Saturday night in Saskatoon.

Tayem Gislason, Evan Herman, Landon Kosior, and Ozzy Wiesblatt all found the back of the net for the Raiders in the win. Reece Vitelli notched his 100th career point with an assist in his 250th career contest.

The Raiders end their schedule before the break with wins in six of their past nine games, while earning a point in an overtime loss in another.

It was a scoreless first period as Tikhon Chaika turned aside all 10 shots faced in the opening frame. The Raiders had a pair of chances with the man advantage, but they weren't able to solve Nolan Maier. On those power-play chances, the Raiders had opportunities as they worked to get traffic in front for redirections, but one off a Nolan Allan point shot was sent just wide.

The Raiders upped the pressure in the second, spending the majority of the period in the Blades' end. One of the best chances came early in the period. Vitelli split the defence and deked to his forehand, but he was unable to stuff it past Maier's right pad.

Late in the period, Sloan Stanick put a shot on goal that was turned aside by Maier. Allan was waiting at the left side for the rebound, but his sharp-angle shot was stopped by the Blades' netminder.

The Blades' best chance of the frame came in the closing moments of the period. Brandon Lisowsky broke in on a two-on-one rush with Tanner Molendyk. Lisowsky sent a pass to Molendyk, but Chaika slid over to smother the attempt to keep the game scoreless after 40 minutes.

The Raiders broke the deadlock 3:57 into the third period on a power play. Stanick put a pass into Vitelli in the slot. He fanned on his shot, but it got to Landon Kosior who fired the rebound past Maier for his sixth of the season, making it a 1-0 game.

Two minutes later, the Blades tied things up with their Teddy Bear Toss goal. Hayden Smith left the puck for Misha Volotovskii who beat Chaika with a quick shot to level the score at 1-1.

The Raiders took the lead off a faceoff win in the offensive zone. Tyson Laventure set up Gislason with a one-timer at the point. His blast got through Maier and trickled over the line for the blueliner's first WHL goal, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead with 7:46 to play.

With the net empty for the extra attacker, the Blades thought they tied the game on a jam play at the goal line. After Chaika made the first save, the puck stayed in the blue paint. With sticks whacking at the puck, Chaika was able to keep the puck from crossing the line and cover it. The play was reviewed, but the call on the ice stood to keep the Raiders in the lead.

Shortly after, the Raiders broke out on an attack at the empty net. Vitelli made a pass over to Wiesblatt, who deposited the puck into the empty net for his seventh of the season with 1:35 remaining.

Herman added another empty-net goal, his 10th tally of the season, with 49 seconds to play to round out the scoring at 4-1.

Chaika picked up his sixth win of the season with a 26-save effort. Maier made 22 saves in the loss for the Blades.

The Raiders return from the holiday break on Monday, December 27 when they take on the Blades at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Raiders Office during working hours and at SaskTix.ca any time.

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Western Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2021


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