Massacre at Langley Events Centre – Raiders rip Giants 8-2

Brett Leason had two goals and two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    Well that one got ugly fast.

    If Game 3 of the WHL Championship series was a boxing match, the referee would have stop things very early.

    The visiting Prince Albert Raiders owned the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., on Tuesday night. Just 41 seconds into the festivities against the host Vancouver Giants, Raiders power forward Parker Kelly snapped home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Giants goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

    By the 8:20 mark of the opening frame, the Raiders were up 5-0, and they added two more goals to go ahead 7-0 heading into the first intermission to shock the 4,733 spectators in attendance.

    The Raiders ripped apart the Giants 8-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven set. Game 4 is set for 7 p.m. local time at the Langley Events Centre on Wednesday.

    After what took play in Game 3 on Tuesday, one wonders how the Giants were even able to get one win so far in this series.

Parker Kelly had two goals for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    The Giants took Game 1 in Prince Albert last Friday 5-4.

    The Raiders bounced back one night later with a convincing 4-0 victory in Game 2 in Prince Albert.

    The Giants, who finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 48-15-3-2 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings, never looked so ordinary.

    The Raiders looked every bit deserving of their WHL regular season leading record of 54-10-2-2 and being rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    You had to wonder if Raiders popular athletic therapist Duane “Puff” Bartley would be allowed to lace up the skates for a shift in Tuesday’s game.

    After Kelly opened the scoring, the Raiders kept the fun coming.
    At the 2:27 mark of the first, rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt one-timed a set up pass from import winger Aliaksei Protas for a power-play goal to put the Raiders up 2-0.

Cole Fonstad had a goal for the Raiders.

    The Giants pulled starting netminder David Tendeck for Trent Miner following the Raiders second goal.

    Star right-winger Brett Leason was sprung on a breakaway by Protas and lifted home a backhander to give the Raiders a 3-0 edge at the 4:15 mark of the first.

    With the Raiders working on a five-on-three power play that became a six-on-three advantage on a delayed penalty, star left-winger Cole Fonstad scored to bring an end to a personal slump of going 12 straight games without scoring a point.

    At the 8:20 mark, Leason netted his second of the game knocking home a power-play goal from the doorstep of the right side of the Vancouver net to put the Raiders up 5-0.

    Kelly, with his second of the night, and star overage centre Noah Gregor rounded out the scoring in the opening frame with breakaway goals to put the Raiders up 7-0. Gregor scored on a backhander with under 20 seconds to play in the frame.

    In the second, the Raiders attempted to call off the dogs a little bit as the Giants held a 13-3 advantage in shots on goal for the stanza. Tendeck re-entered the contest at the start of the second.

Sean Montgomery had two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

    With 3:49 remaining in the second, the Raiders lead expanded to 8-0 as standout overage centre Dante Hannoun tipped home a shot from Leason for the team’s fourth power-play goal of the contest.
    Inside of the final minute of the second, Vancouver got on the board, when Giants left-winger Brayden Watts snapped home a power-play goal from in close by the left side of the Prince Albert net. That tally trimmed the Prince Albert lead to 8-1.

    Giant import winger Yannik Valenti rounded out the game’s scoring netting a goal on a five-on-three power play with 5:16 remaining in the third.

    Leason had two assists to go along with his two goals to finish with four points in the contest. Hannoun had an assist to go with his goal for a two-point night, while Gregor had a two-point night too with a goal and an assist.

    Protas and overage career Raiders centre Sean Montgomery each had two assists on Tuesday for Prince Albert.

    Ian Scott made 27 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

    Tendeck turned away 10 of 13 shots during his time in goal for the Giants. Miner stopped nine-of-14 shots during his appearance in the Vancouver net. 

Dante Hannoun had a goal and one assists for the Raiders.

    The Raiders manufactured the blowout without the services of offensive defenceman Max Martin, who sat out with an undisclosed injury. Martin was injured in the second period of the Raiders win in Game 2, when he took an awkward fall into the boards.

    For the Giants, the biggest plus was the fact Tuesday’s game did eventually come to an end, and the Raiders can’t transfer any of their goals into Game 4.

    Right now, the Raiders have all the momentum in the series.

    If the Giants don’t come up with an answer or a way to rebound, the Raiders will in all likelihood be flying back to Prince Albert with the Ed Chynoweth Cup following Game 5 of the series on Friday in Langley.

Mooseheads even QMJHL title series 2-2 with Huskies

    The Halifax Mooseheads and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are playing for keeps in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Championship series.

    On Tuesday before 8,216 spectators at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, the host Mooseheads downed the Huskies 5-1 in Game 4 of the QMJHL final. With the win, Halifax evened the best-of-seven set 2-2.

    Game 5 is set for Thursday in Rouyn-Noranda.

    In Tuesday’s clash, the two sides were locked in a 1-1 draw after the first period. The Mooseheads pushed out to a 3-1 edge going into the second intermission before rounding the scoring out with two goals in the third.

    Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Samuel Asselin, Jocktan Chainey, Arnaud Durandeau and Maxim Trepanier had singles for the Mooseheads. Peter Abbandonato replied with a single for the Huskies.

    Alexis Gravel made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Mooseheads. Samuel Harvey turned away 32 shots to take the setback in goal for the Huskies.

    With the Mooseheads hosting the Memorial Cup from May 17 to 26, both participants in the QMJHL final have berths in the CHL championship tournament.

67’s lead OHL final 2-1 over Storm

    The Ottawa 67’s hold a 2-1 lead over the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League Championships series.

    Ottawa had won its first 14 straight games in this year’s OHL playoffs before falling to the Storm on Monday. Playing before 4,898 spectators at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, the host Storm jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period before romping to a 7-2 victory.

    Isaac Ratcliffe, Alexey Toropchenko and MacKenzie Entwistle each had two-goal nights for the Storm, while Nate Schnarr had a single.

    Sasha Chmelevski and Graeme Clarke had singles for the 67’s.

    Anthony Popovich made 18 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick Andree turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the 67’s.

    The 67’s were without star goaltender Michael DiPietro, who was injured in Ottawa’s 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2. DiPietro is reported to have a high ankle sprain.

    Game 4 of the best-of-seven OHL final is set for Wednesday in Guelph.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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