Raiders Complete Round One Sweep of Rebels
Red Deer, AB – The Prince Albert Raiders used three third-period goals to beat the Red Deer Rebels 4-1 in Game 4 of their Round 1 WHL Playoffs series at The Centrium on Tuesday night.
With the win, the Raiders completed the sweep of the Rebels to win the best-of-seven series four games to none. It is the first series victory in the WHL Playoffs since the 2005 post-season.
Brett Leason led the third period barrage with a pair of goals. Cole Fonstad finished the game with a goal and two assists.
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Midway through the opening period, Fonstad had two great chances to open the scoring on a power play. The better of the two was a one-timer from Aliaksei Protas that was caught by a sliding Ethan Anders.
Late in the first, the Rebels opened the scoring. Brandon Hagel found Jeff de Wit with a cross-ice pass. de Wit buried the one-timer past Ian Scott with 9.7 seconds to play in the period, giving the Rebels their first lead of the series.
The Raiders came out with jump in the second period. In a 30-second span, Fonstad hit the crossbar and Spencer Moe hit the outside of the post.
Ozzy Wiesblatt levelled the score at the 9:08 mark of the middle frame. Noah Gregor scrambled the draw in the offensive zone. Fonstad dug it out of the pile and found Wiesblatt at the front of the net. As he was getting knocked down by Dawson Barteaux, the rookie from Calgary was able to snap a shot past Anders for his third goal of the WHL Playoffs.
The @PARaidersHockey are ‘Flying High Again’ thanks to @ozzywiesblatt! #PAvsRD | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5bb3EZPJKr
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2019
Leason put the Raiders ahead with his first of the third period 58 seconds into the final frame. Sean Montgomery attempted a wrap-around that was stopped by Anders, but the Rebels goaltender was unable to control the rebound. Leason was at the side of the goal and banged home the rebound for his first of the series.
2-1 @PARaidersHockey to begin the third! #PAvsRD | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/pSex8qDGGz
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2019
Midway through the period, the Raiders struck again. With Hagel in the penalty box after running over Scott, Leason struck again. Parker Kelly found the 2019 NHL Draft prospect at the top of the crease. Leason got the puck and lifted a backhander past Anders for his second of the period with 8:33 to play.
Leason again! Make that 3-1 for the Raiders! #PAvsRD | #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/4SDA6CaDXg
— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 28, 2019
The Raiders put the game away with 3:34 remaining in the third. With the Rebels’ net empty, the puck bounced away from Barteaux behind the goal. The puck found its way to the front of the net where Fonstad deposited the puck into the empty net for his first of the playoffs.
Scott was in net for the win, making 21 saves in the process. Anders stopped 31 shots in the loss.
Raiders win! 4-1 is the final in Game 4 to complete the sweep of the Red Deer Rebels!
Shots finish 35-22 us.
Details and tickets for our Round 2 series will be announced at a later date.#PAvsRD #GoRaidersGo #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/e07O1BQjdE
— Prince Albert Raiders (@PARaidersHockey) March 28, 2019
The Raiders will clash with the Saskatoon Blades in Round 2 of the WHL Playoffs after the Blades beat the Moose Jaw Warriors in overtime on Wednesday night to complete a sweep of their own.
Dates and details for ticket sales for Round 2 will be announced at a later date.
