Gregor’s Big Night Lifts Raiders To Win
Prince Albert, SK – Noah Gregor had his fingerprints all over the Prince Albert Raiders’ 5-2 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings (14-9-3-3) on Saturday night at the Art Hauser Centre.
The San Jose Sharks prospect had a goal and three assists to pace the Raiders (28-1-0-1) to the win. Cole Fonstad had a pair of goals in the win to continue his point streak. Max Martin and Brett Leason also had multi-point efforts. Leason’s two assists ran his season-long point streak to 30 games.
The Raiders came out buzzing in the game, outshooting the Wheat Kings 7-1 in the early going. They had the game’s best scoring chance early on when Martin hit the cross bar with a shot from the point.
Brandon opened the scoring with 5:42 to play in the opening frame on the power play. After Brayden Pachal had his stick knocked out of his hand, Linden McCorrister buried a rebound from the side of the goal to give the Wheaties a 1-0 advantage.
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The lead held until there was 5:29 left in the second. Brayden Pachal kept the puck in the offensive zone at the blue line and found Gregor. The overager hit Fonstad with a pass, who snapped a shot past Jiri Patera to level the score at 1-1. The goal extended Fonstad’s point streak to six games.
Less than a minute later, the Raiders took the lead. Martin made a cross-ice pass to Gregor, who sent his shot wide. Kody McDonald picked up the puck at the side of the net and banked it off Patera and in for his sixth of the year.
Then with 4:00 to play in the second period, the Raiders converted on a power play. Leason fed Sean Montgomery in the slot. The overager from Calgary’s quick shot beat Patera for his 13th of the year, tying a career high in goals scored in a season.
Fifty seconds after Montgomery’s goal, the Wheat Kings cut into the lead. Luka Burzan’s second crack at a puck got past a sprawling Ian Scott to make it a 3-2 game after 40 minutes.
Fonstad put the game away 1:56 into the third. He and Gregor worked a give-and-go in the zone. Gregor’s shot was stopped, but Fonstad deposited the rebound for his second of the night and 10th of the year.
With 5:30 left in the contest, Gregor got his goal. On a two-on-one into the offensive zone, Leason passed it across to Gregor for a tap-in goal for his 14th of the year. It was also the 100th career goal in the WHL.
Scott was perfect in the third period to preserve the 5-2 lead, stopping all 17 shots fired by the Wheat Kings. The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect made 39 saves on the evening for his 23rd win of the year. Patera stopped 42 Raider attempts for his second consecutive loss.
The Raiders are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they head to Saskatoon to take on the Blades (18-10-3-0) at SaskTel Centre. Puck drop in Saskatoon is 4 p.m.
The next Raiders’ home game is on Wednesday night when Edmonton Oil Kings (16-11-3-2) make their first trip to Prince Albert this year on Santa Anonymous Night. Fans are asked to bring unwrapped toys for donation to the Salvation Army through the Optimist Club of Prince Albert. Head to raiderhockey.com and the Raider Office to pick up tickets.
Half-season tickets are now available for a limited time. Stop by the Raider Office for more information. The packages are only available until Sunday, December 30.
