Blades double up Raiders 6-3
The Prince Albert Raiders’ first game back from the Christmas break went a little different from how they would have liked, as they suffered a 6-3 setback to the Blades on Wednesday night in Saskatoon. The Raiders erased a 2-0 deficit and took a 3-2 lead in the third period, but the Blades answered back late in the third to take a 4-3 lead, and thanks to the help of two empty net goals in the final two minutes, the Bridge City Bunch were able to double up their highway 11 rivals.
Saskatoon opened the scoring with 2:42 left in the first period which brought the teddy bears onto the ice. From behind the net, Rowan Calvert sent a pass in front to Easton Armstrong. From there, Armstrong fired a high shot on goal that beat Max Hildebrand. Armstrong’s 18th goal of the season gave the Blades a 1-0 lead, which brought the game to its first intermission. After the break and the ice was flooded again, the teams came out to play the final 2:42 of the opening frame, before starting the second period right away.
When both teams came back onto the ice, the Blades extended their lead to 2-0 with 1:33 left in the remaining time of the first period. It was Egor Sidorov who pulled off a slick solo effort, dodging defenders and fighting through a hook to drive to the net. The Anaheim Ducks prospect lifted a backhand shot past Hildebrand for his 33rd goal of the season to give Saskatoon a 2-0 lead.
Sloan Stanick cut into Saskatoon’s lead just 1:01 into the second period to make it a 2-1 game. Harrison Lodewyk sent a cross crease pass to Stanick who put a shot on goal, but Evan Garnder made a great blocker save, and the puck came loose to the side of the goal. Stanick picked up his own rebound, and circled around the net, wrapping a shot around the far post before Gardner could get there. The puck just trickled over the goal line, as Stanick collected his 14th goal of the season to cut the Blades’ lead to one goal. 2-1 would be the score heading into the third period.
The Raiders got off to a hot start in the third period, scoring twice in the opening 10:42 to take a 3-2 lead. Stanick scored his second goal of the night, after a one timer from Lodewyk missed the net. His shot hit the end boards and bounced right in front to Stanick, who buried the rebound to make it a 2-2 game with 11:12 left in the third.
With 9:18 to go, the Raiders scored again, and this time it was a powerplay marker from Hayden Pakkala. Stanick teed Eric Johnston up at the point for a one time, and the captain blasted a shot on goal. In the slot, Pakkala tipped the shot high past Gardner and in, scoring his sixth goal of the season to give Prince Albert their first lead of the night at 3-2. Stanick picked up his third point of the night with a secondary assist on the goal.
The Blades stormed back in the late stages, however, as they scored four times in the final 6:43. Tyler Parr tied things up, scoring his fourth goal of the season to make it a 3-3 game. Charlie Wright scored on the powerplay for the Blades with 2:09 left on the clock to give Saskatoon the lead back at 4-3.
Parr would score again with 1:10 left on the clock into an empty net, while Lukas Hansen also added an empty net marker with 10 seconds left on the clock, as the Blades would go on to win by a 6-3 final.
The Raiders (17-16-0-2) are back in action at home on Saturday night against the Moose Jaw Warriors. Puck drop is at 7pm.
