Blades pressure late, can’t find equalizer vs Raiders
Prince Albert, SK – Forward Tyler Parr’s two-point night wasn’t enough as the Saskatoon Blades dropped Saturday’s preseason game 4-3 at the Art Hauser Centre vs the Prince Albert Raiders.
Blades netminder Austin Elliott stopped 17 shots in defeat as he heads to Nashville next week for the Predators rookie and main camp. Veteran forward Trevor Wong dished two helpers while Blades fans got their first taste of the club’s 2023 CHL Import Draft pick Samuel Barcik.
Saskatoon no sits 0-2-0-0 in the preseason with their first game of the regular season set for Saturday, Sept. 23rd on the road vs the Regina Pats.
No shorthanded goals came for the Blue in Gold in the dying seconds of the first period like Wednesday’s game vs the Raiders at the Big River First Nation. Both sides headed to the dressing room with nothing on the board, although the Blades did outshoot the Raiders 15-5.
The Blades and Raiders traded goals throughout the middle frame. Prince Albert forward Niall Crocker struck first 19 seconds into the period. The 6-foot-3 winger scored 17 goals and 14 assists in 66 games last year with the Raiders.
Saskatoon went on the powerplay just under halfway through the second and Parr wasted no time evening the score. The La Salle, MB product jammed home a loose puck in front of the Raiders net for his first goal of the preseason. Parr recorded an assist on the Blades second goal of the night giving him two points in his first preseason game of the year.
Powerplay goes on, no time wasted 🚨 pic.twitter.com/R1SXwlenGf
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) September 10, 2023
2022-23 WHL Rookie of the Year Ryder Ritchie regained Prince Albert’s lead under four minutes later. The 5-foot-10 winger scored 20 goals and 55 points in 61 games last season.
Anaheim Ducks 2023 draft pick Egor Sidorov tied the game thanks to a beautiful turnaround pass by Parr. The Belarusian machine led the Blades in scoring last year with 40 goals and 76 points in 53 games.
The pass: 🤌
The finish: 🥵@AnaheimDucks pic.twitter.com/Wf9yX7roag
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) September 10, 2023
20-year-old defenceman Charlie Wright gave the Blades their first lead of the game in the final minute of the second period. The Olds, AB native scored a career-high 40 points (8G, 32A) last season, and is expected to be one of the Blades top defenders this season. Wright heads out to Carolina Hurricanes rookie camp next week. The goal sent Saskatoon up 3-2 with 20 minutes left to play.
Hey @Canes, keep an eye out for this guy at camp 😉 pic.twitter.com/FJLT68s89L
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) September 10, 2023
It was the hosts who took control in the third. Crocker scored his second of the night for the Raiders to tie the game at three-a-piece. Forward Harrison Lodewyk scored his second goal of the preseason and second point of the night with under four minutes remaining to put the Raiders up by one. Elliott headed to the bench to give the Blades their extra attacker and they came within inches of sending it to overtime. Sidorov’s one-timer ringed off the crossbar while forward Jayden Wiens missed by a hair on a put-in attempt near the crease.
What’s Next?
The Blades are back in action Wednesday in Regina for a preseason game against the Pats at the Brandt Centre.
Puck drop’s slated for 7:00pm.
The Saskatoon Blades home opener is on Sunday, Sept. 24th at 4:00pm vs the Prince Albert Raiders. Single game tickets are on sale NOW. Season ticket memberships are available HERE
