Leavitt Machinery Preview – Round 2, Game 6 at Saskatoon
RAIDER REVIEW: The Raiders head to Saskatoon this afternoon with a chance to eliminate the Saskatoon Blades in Game 6 of their Round 2 series at SaskTel Centre. In Game 5 on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Noah Gregor and Dante Hannoun had two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win. Brett Leason chipped in with three assists on the evening. Aliaksei Protas and Sean Montgomery also scored for the Raiders in the win. Emil Malysjev scored the lone goal for the Blades. Ian Scott made 26 saves for the win, while Nolan Maier stopped 19 shots in the loss.
VS. SASKATOON: The Raiders lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. The Raiders won the season series against the Blades with a record of 6-2-0-0. Saskatoon has won both games at SaskTel Centre in the series.
2019 WHL PLAYOFFS SERIES AT A GLANCE
Game 1 | April 5/19 at PA | PA 6 SAS 1 | S. Montgomery (3g), B. Leason (1g-3a), P. Kelly (2g)
Game 2 | April 7/19 at PA | PA 3 SAS 2 | D. Hannoun (1g-1a), S. Montgomery (1g), K. Dach (1g)
Game 3 | April 9/19 at SAS | SAS 1 PA 0 | N. Maier (26 saves), I. Scott (26 saves), K. Dach (1g)
Game 4 | April 10/19 at SAS | SAS 4 PA 1 | M. Gerlach (1g-2a), N. Maier (43 saves), D. Hannoun (1g)
Game 5 | April 12/19 at PA | PA 6 SAS 1 | N. Gregor (2g-1a), D. Hannoun (2g-1a), B. Leason (3a)
Game 6 | April 14/19 at SAS
Game 7* | April 16/19 at PA
Power play: Prince Albert – 4/18; Saskatoon – 2/16
Leading scorer: Prince Albert – Brett Leason (1g-6a); Saskatoon – Dawson Davidson (5a)
DROUGHT ENDED: Noah Gregor ended a five-game goalless drought on Friday night with his two-goal performance in Game 5. The five-game drought matched the longest spell of the season, which was from Oct. 6 to 16. Much like Friday night, he also ended his drought with a two-goal game.
SHORTHANDED GOALS: After scoring five shorthanded goals during the regular season, Noah Gregor tallied his first of the WHL Playoffs. It gave the Raiders shorthanded goals in consecutive games for the fourth time between the regular season and the 2019 WHL Playoffs. On two of the previous three occasions, the Raiders extended the streak to three games. The Raiders led the WHL with 23 shorthanded goals during the regular season.
HELPING HAND: Brett Leason recorded his second three-assist performance of the series on Friday night. During the regular season, the 2019 NHL Draft prospect had three assists in a game three times. His previous three-assist game of this series was in Game 1, in which he also scored. Leason leads the series with seven points.
STRIKING FIRST: Dante Hannoun scored the first goal of the game for the third time in the WHL Playoffs on Friday night. The Raiders have won two of the three games during this playoff run in which Hannoun scores the game’s first goal.
NEXT UP: If necessary, Game 7 will be played at the Art Hauser Centre on Tuesday night. Game time is 7 p.m. Tickets for a potential Game 7 will go on sale at the Art Hauser Centre box office at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. A limit of six tickets per patron will be in effect. Online sales begin at 10 a.m.
