Prince Albert’s season comes to an end after game five loss in Saskatoon
After a hard fought series between storied highway 11 rivals, the Saskatoon Blades got the last laugh on the Prince Albert Raiders, closing out their first round series with a 6-2 win in game five on Friday night at SaskTel Centre.
Saskatoon scored three goals in less than four minutes to take a 3-0 lead early in the first period. Brandon Lisowsky opened the scoring at the 3:24 mark, after Doogan Pederson made a defensive zone error in his first WHL playoff game. With the puck high in the air in the slot, Pederson attempted to kick the puck, but didn’t get all of it, and Lisowsky was able to pick it up. From the slot he ripped a shot that Max Hildebrand got most of, but the puck trickled over the line, giving the Blades a quick 1-0 lead.
Two and a half minutes later, Ben Saunderson doubled the lead. Taking a pass near the left circle from Trevor Wong, Saunderson sniped a shot top corner blocker side past Hildebrand from point blank. The Blades defenceman picked up his first goal of the postseason, putting Saskatoon up 2-0.
With 11:50 to go in the opening frame, the Blades made it 3-0, as Alexander Suzdalev scored on a deflection in front of the net. From the high slot, Lisowksy let a shot go, and with Suzdalev parked in front, he was able to get his stick on it and deflect the puck home. His second goal of the playoffs made it 3-0 Saskatoon, forcing the Raiders to use their timeout to regroup.
That lead became 4-0 with 7:24 left in the first, with Fraser Minten jumping in on the scoring for Saskatoon. Walking into the slot, Minten unloaded a shot that Hildebrand got his blocker on, but the puck bounced high in the air and in behind Hildebrand, finding its way over the goal line.
The Raiders got on the board with 5:47 left in the first, as they took advantage of a delayed penalty. With Hildebrand on the bench for the extra attacker, Easton Kovacs sent a hard pass down to the crease to Niall Crocker. Instead of trying to tip the pass, Crocker stopped it in front, pulled it to his forehand, and buried his third goal of the playoffs past Evan Gardner to make it a 4-1 game.
A total of 22 shots were put on goal between the two teams in the opening 20 minutes, with five of those shots going in. Saskatoon scored four of those, however, as they took their 4-1 lead into the second period, while holding a 13-9 edge in shots as well.
Skip ahead to the third period, where Harrison Lodewyk was able to cut into the deficit with a goal at the 15:06 mark of the third period. Lodewyk used his speed to pull away from a Blades defenceman and cut to his forehand to tuck a shot home past Gardner to make it a 4-2 game.
Saskatoon would close things out from there, as they scored two empty net goals to win by a 6-2 final.
That marks the end of the season for the Prince Albert Raiders. For all the fans that stuck with the team all season, thank you. The future is bright in Hockey Town North.