ROUND 1 GAME 1 RECAP | Blades late push falls short in Game 1
Saskatoon, SK – NHL drafted forwards Egor Sidorov and Alexander Suzdalev combined for three goals, but it wasn’t enough as the Saskatoon Blades dropped Game 1 to the Prince Albert Raiders 4-3 at SaskTel Centre on Thursday.
Sidorov scored the opening goal of the game in the final 20 seconds of the first period, and brought the Blades within one goal late in the third. The Anaheim Ducks draft pick finished the evening with two goals after leading the team with 50 during the regular season.
Suzdalev potted Saskatoon’s second goal of the night 59 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0 Blades. The Raiders went on to score four unanswered goals and upset the Bridge City Bunch in Game 1 of the Round 1 series presented by Nutrien.
19-year-old netminder Austin Elliott stopped 16-of-20 shots in the WHL’s opening playoff game, dropping his career playoff record to 3-7.
A high-paced opening 20 minutes trended towards being scoreless heading into first intermission. Sidorov got the opening goal of the WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien with a powerpay tally in the final 20 seconds of the first period. The 6-foot sniper scored 50 goals and 88 points during the regular season for Saskatoon, and was a key contributor in last year’s trip to the Eastern Conference Final with nine goals and 19 points. After outshooting the Raiders 15-5, Saskatoon headed to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead.
The first goal of the #WHLPlayoffs goes to none other than Egor Sidorov!#FeedingtheFuture | #SASvsPA | @AnaheimDucks pic.twitter.com/ouKQT22EYW
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 29, 2024
Suzdalev didn’t want to keep the fans waiting for another late period goal, scoring his first of the postseason 59 seconds into the middle frame. The 20-year-old sniper made a beautiful individual effort to put the Blades up 2-0. Suzdalev was a huge acquisition for the Blades prior to the trade deadline, and played a well-rounded game all night.
Suzkatoon refused to go down 😤#WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingtheFuture | #SASvsPA | #ALLCAPS | @Capitals pic.twitter.com/qwZlERQct6
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) March 29, 2024
After that, things went downhill for the Blades.
The Raiders scored three unanswered goals in the second to take a 3-2 lead. Forward Aiden Oiring kicked off the comeback 8:41 into the frame, followed by defenceman Easton kovacs, and forward Ryder Ritchie. The Blades found themselves in a hole with 20 minutes left.
Prince Albert forward Niall Crocker made it 4-2 8:13 into the third.
Sidorov brought the energy back inside SaskTel Centre with his second of the night late in the third. The Belarusian machine left 3:15 on the clock for the Blades to tie the game, but nothing came of the Blades efforts as Prince Albert goalie Max Hildebrand shut the door to cap off his 41-save performance.
What’s Next?
Game 2 is Friday night at SaskTel Centre as the Blades hope to tie the series before heading to the Art Hauser Centre next week.
Doors open at 6:00pm, with puck slated for 7:00pm.