At last! “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” returns to the Art Hauser Centre

Raiders down archrival Blades 5-1 to delight of home fans

Raiders D Nolan Allan, left, sets to shoot home his winning goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders ensured their fans got to enjoy their classic guilty pleasure on Friday night.

Taking on their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades, the 2,402 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre got to revel in the playing of the Guess Who’s “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” with their Raiders posting a 5-1 victory. The festivities got started inside of the final minute of the third period with the final outcome burned on the scoreboard.

It was a long wait for the Raiders faithful to renew that tradition. The last time they beat the Blades at the Art Hauser Centre was a 3-0 victory back on February 29, 2020.

The Raiders celebrate a power-play goal from Nolan Allan.

Previous to Friday’s encounter, that clash on February 29, 2020 was the last time the Raiders and Blades played a regular season game with fans in the stands and was the last contest the two sides played before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world.

The 2019-20 WHL season was ultimately stopped on March 12, 2020. The Raiders and Blades played an abbreviated 24-game regular season this past March and April in a bubble environment in Regina with the WHL’s Saskatchewan and Manitoba based clubs to account for a 2020-21 campaign.

While the Friday’s game was a great night for Raiders fans, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said a lot of players on his team are still learning what the rivalry is about.

Reece Vitelli had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

“You look at since we last played pre-COVID it has been a lot of players that have left and a lot of players that have come in,” said Habscheid, whose team will play the Blades 10 times this season. “I guess the rivalry isn’t at its peak right now.

“I’m sure after 10 games it will get there. It is still the two cities and the rivalry. A lot of players really don’t understand the intensity of it yet.”

Of course, the Raiders veteran players are well aware of what the rivalry is about. Standout 18-year-old defenceman Nolan Allan turned out to score the winning goal floating home a point shot for a power-play tally at the 8:53 mark of the second period.

He enjoyed the fact the Raiders faithful got soak in their special victory song tradition for encounters with the Blades.

Jayden Wiens had the Blades lone goal on Friday.

“It is awesome,” said Allan. “It is what we look forward to.

“We love playing those guys over there. It is an intense rivalry. They are the most fun games to play, so it was fun.”

The Blades looked like they were going to do their best to play spoiler early on. They drew first blood at the 4:40 mark of the opening frame when right-winger Brendan Lee got a smart pass to centre Jayden Wiens, who cut across the front of the Prince Albert net and slipped home a backhand shot between the legs for Raiders netminder Carter Serhyenko.

Just past the midway point of the frame, the Raiders evened things up a 1-1 on a beauty coast to coast break out into the offensive zone. Defenceman Tayem Gislason started the rush firing a pass up ice to right-winger Tyson Laventure.

The Blades celebrate a goal from Jayden Wiens (#9)

Laventure proceeded to spring overage centre Reece Vitelli on a breakaway, and Vitelli snapped the equalizer past Blades star overage netminder Nolan Maier.

The Raiders jumped in front 2-1 on Allan’s goal near the midway point of the second period. On that tally, Allan was trying to put a shot on goal that could potentially be deflected home by a forward.

“I was just trying to get pucks to the net,” said Allan. “That is a big thing that we want to do with our power play.

“I was just trying to get a puck on net.”

Landon Kosior scored a big insurance goal for the Raiders.

With 4:29 remaining in the second, it seemed the momentum was going all out in favour of the Raiders. They appeared to go up 3-1 when captain Kaiden Guhle scored on a point shot with his team on the power play.

The Blades challenged for a video review saying the Raiders were offside when they entered the offensive zone. After video review, the officials indeed ruled the play was offside and waved off the goal.

Shortly after that goal was waved off, the Blades went on the power play and had a couple of huge chances to head into the second intermission with a tie score in the game.

Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was set up and a perfect backdoor chance only to be robbed by a diving Serhyenko.

Ozzy Wiesblatt had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

Serhyenko proceeded to stone Blades right-winger Brendan Lee on another backdoor chance to keep the Raiders in front 2-1.

Raiders finally did go up 3-1 with teams playing four-versus-four hockey at the 7:20 mark of the third.

During that stint of four-versus-four play, the Raiders got on a two-on-one. Vitelli passed the puck across the front of the goal in defenceman Landon Kosior who ripped a shot bar down into the Saskatoon net.

Habscheid was pleased with Vitelli’s play along with the outing star 19-year-old right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt had. Wiesblatt also picked up an assist on Kosior’s goal.

Carter Serhyenko made 24 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“Your overage guys they have to be putting in quality time and be dominate players,” said Habscheid. “I think this was his best game.

“I think this was (Ozzy) Wiesblatt’s best game as well. (Blades star overage centre Tristen) Robins and him being drafted by the same team one round apart, so there is a little bit of I guess rivalry built in there. It was good.

“It was a good game.”

Wiesblatt scored an empty-net goal with 1:56 remaining in the third to put the Raiders up 4-1. Sophomore 16-year-old defenceman Terrell Goldsmith scored his second of the season blasting home a point shot 20 second later to round out the 5-1 victory.

Blades star LW Kyle Crnkovic was held pointless on Friday.

Serhyenko stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (4-7-0-1). Maier turned away 30-of-34 shots in net for the Blades (9-3-1), who are rated eighth in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings.

The Raiders went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Blades failed to score on seven chances with man advantage.

Robins and Crnkovic were held pointless in the setback. Crnkovic had points in all of the Blades previous 12 games before Friday.

Habscheid thought Friday’s game might have been the Raiders most complete outing of the current campaign.

“We’ve been getting better,” said Habscheid, who guided the Raiders to the WHL championship the last time it was contested in 2019. “It was a bit of I guess disorganized, and then everyday you try and get more organized and get guys to understand the Raider way.

The Raiders salute their fans after Friday’s win.

“These guys (the Blades) have been playing good. Obviously, they are eighth ranked in the country. The last time I checked we are still defending champions.

“We got a taste of it, and we don’t want to give it up.”

The Raiders and Blades go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Allan said his Raiders have to keep their intensity up in the second half of the home-and-home series.

“I think we are just going to have to stick to our game plan the same thing we did tonight,” said Allan. “We’re going to have to play a full 60 and play our hard, fast style of game.”

Raiders, Blades tabbed for Capital City Challenge

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) was selected for the Capital City Challenge.

The Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades with both have representation at the Capital City Challenge.

The Capital City Challenge is set to run Nov. 26 to Dec. 1 in Ottawa and will feature three men’s under-17 teams and Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team.

Hockey Canada announced on Friday a list of 66 players who will be split into three under-17 teams tabbed Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red and Team Canada White.

The Raiders will be represented by 16-year-old left-winger Harrison Lodewyk. He has appeared in all of the Raiders 12 games this season, and he is still searching for his first point.

He will be joined at that event by Raiders goaltending coach Kelly Guard, who will be the goaltending coach for Team Canada White.

The Blades will be represented by 16-year-old defenceman Tanner Molendyk. Molendyk has appeared in nine game for the Blades this season collecting a goal and three assists.

The McBride, B.C., product is currently out of the Blades lineup listed as being week-to-week with an upper body injury.

Also being named to the under-17 Canadian teams are Saskatoon area 16-year-old star forwards Brayden Yager and Riley Heidt, who play for the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince George Cougars respectively.

Yager has seven goals and six assists in 12 games so far this season with the Warriors. Heidt has four goals and eight assists to lead the Cougars in scoring with 12 points in 10 games.

Raiders honour moms and billet moms before game

The Raiders players give their moms and billet moms roses.

Before their 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the host Prince Albert Raiders resumed one of their long running traditions.

During a pre-game ceremony, the Raiders honour the moms and billet moms of the players. The moms and billet moms lined up on the ice, and the players brought out roses for them.

Raiders skills coach Mark Odnokon presented roses to long time Raiders billet mom Carole Ring, who sang O Canada before the opening faceoff. Ring was the billet mom for famous Raiders alums Mike Modano and Leon Draisaitl.

The Raiders weren’t able to do this tradition last season playing an abbreviated 24 game campaign in a bubble environment in Regina due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Raiders bend, finally break against Warriors

Third period surge powers Moose Jaw to 4-1 victory

Brayden Yager had a goal and assist for the Warriors on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders weren’t able to hold off the Moose Jaw Warriors constant pressure forever.

After netting the first goal of Friday’s WHL regular season clash at the Art Hauser Centre, the host Raiders saw the visiting Warriors take over the encounter. The Raiders 1-0 lead after the first period became a 1-1 tie after 40 minutes.

The Warriors surged for three goals in the third to cruise to a 4-1 victory before 2,202 spectators.

Following game, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid didn’t mince words with his assessment.

“It wasn’t a close game, not even close,” said Habscheid. “We got schooled.

Ozzy Wiesblatt scored to give the Raiders an early lead.

“I didn’t like our forward group one bit. We got four D (defencemen) who are as good as anybody in the league, and we couldn’t get out of our end and that wasn’t on them. Our forward group, we tried to play dangle and play slow and on their own page and no forecheck.

“We were one and done. It was not good.”

Friday’s contest was quite different compared to when these same two clubs met Wednesday in Moose Jaw. In that game, the Raiders scored three times in the second period to take a 3-0 lead and held off a late third period Warriors rally to pull out a 3-2 win.

Warriors standout 16-year-old centre Brayden Yager believed his team’s overall effort was better and way more consistent in Friday’s win compared to Wednesday’s loss.

Dallyn Peekeekoot (#26) throws a hit for the Raiders.

“I thought tonight we played a full 60 minutes,” said Yager, who had a goal and assist in Friday’s win. “I thought last game we didn’t really have a good start.

“Tonight we played a full 60 minutes, and we got the job done.”

The Raiders appeared to start on their heels after they found themselves killing a couple of penalties to start the first period. In an unexpected development, the second kill provided a big offensive chance for the host side.

On the second kill, Raiders star defenceman Nolan Allan cleared the puck out of his own zone, and a race ensued for the puck in the Moose Jaw zone between Raiders star right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt and Warriors captain Daemon Hunt.

Jagger Firkus scored a goal that got called back on video review.

Wiesblatt beat Hunt for the puck and put home a short-handed goal on a wraparound to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

 The Warriors appeared to get the equalizer at the 8:28 mark of the opening frame on a left slot shot from right-winger Jagger Firkus. The goal was disallowed after a video review as the officials ruled the net was dislodged on the play.

Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary put up a protest, because the Prince Albert net was dislodge when Raiders netminder Carter Serhyenko pushed off one post to slide across the crease attempting to make a save.

While the Raiders had a 1-0 lead exiting the first period, the Warriors had an 11-6 in shots on goal. The visitors kept up the intensity through the rest of the game.

Ryder Korczak had a goal and an assist for the Warriors.

The Warriors pulled even at the 7:37 mark of the second, when import left-winger Martin Rysavy netted his first career WHL goal and point.

Warriors centre Ryder Korczak had the puck at the left side of the Prince Albert net, and fed a pass across the face of the goal to Rysavy. Rysavy buried a shot to force a 1-1 tie.

The Raiders had a chance to go ahead a short time later, but overage left-winger Michael Horon missed the net on a breakaway opportunity.

Moose Jaw outshot Prince Albert 10-4 in the second and could have had a bigger edge going to the third.

The visitors had two big chances to go ahead late in the frame working on the power play, but Serhyenko made big respective glove saves on Yager and defenceman Denton Mateychuk.

“We played the right way in Moose Jaw (on Wednesday night),” said Habscheid. “Our forwards were not good tonight to a man.

The Warriors celebrate a goal from Martin Rysavy (#19).

“They were not good. They didn’t create anything, and tried to do everything on their own. They couldn’t make a pass and couldn’t catch a pass, and our D (defencemen) were under siege the whole night.”

The Warriors finally got out in front at the 7:42 mark of the third, when Yager knocked home a puck from point blank range in front of the Raiders net. The Saskatoon product said he drove to the net to be in the right place, when overage defenceman Majid Kaddoura shot the puck to the net.

“I was kind of just going to the net, and I poke it in,” said Yager. “It ended up going in.

“I wasn’t sure if I scored it, but I ended up poking it in.”

Nolan Allan had an assist for the Raiders.

That opened the flood gates. Just six seconds before the midway point of the frame, Korczak scored to put the Warriors up 3-1, and just 34 seconds after that tally, Mateychuk netted his second of the season to round out the 4-1 victory.

Carl Tetachuk made 13 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors (3-2). Serhyenko turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders (1-5).

After playing all 24 games with the Warriors last season in an abbreviated campaign in a bubble environment in Regina, Yager believes he got a jump going into his 16-year-old sophomore season.

Denton Mateychuk had the Warriors final goal on Friday.

“It was nice last year to play the 24 games that we got in,” said Yager. “It was real nice.

“I feel a lot more comfortable this year. We’re hoping to do big things these next couple of years.”

While Friday’s effort was disappointing for the Raiders, Wiesblatt believes he and his teammates can play way better than they did.

“We just have to be better in all areas,” said Wiesblatt. “It just comes down to our compete level.

“We weren’t competing at all today. It starts with guys like me. I have to be a lot better.

The Warriors celebrate their win on Friday.

“It is still early in the year. Guys are kind of getting their first touches with different linemates. We’re going to get better, and I believe in these guys.”

The Raiders return to action Saturday when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. The Warriors are back in action Saturday, when they return home to host the Saskatoon Blades at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.

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Opportunistic Bedard pushes Pats past Raiders

The Pats celebrate a third period goal from Connor Bedard.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said the most effective way to neutralize Regina Pats phenom centre Connor Bedard is to hide his sticks and skates.

Habscheid, who is one of the WHL’s all-time coaching greats, was making a joke of course with that statement in a post-game scrum after his Raiders fell to the Pats 3-1 on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. The contest opened the WHL regular season for both teams.

Bedard netted Regina’s first and third goals on the night.

Still, Habscheid, who got play with the Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers for a short time in the 1980s, had to give props and marvel at what Bedard could do.

Connor Bedard (#98) fires home his first period goal on Friday.

The bench boss thought his club did a good job in containing Bedard, but the 16-year-old North Vancouver, B.C., product cashed in on his limited chances when they came to disappoint most of the 2,578 spectators in attendance at the 2,580 seat rink.

“He (Bedard) is a good player, but I thought we did a good job,” said Habscheid, whose team still has four key players away attending NHL training camps. “He was opportunistic tonight.

“I thought we did a good job with him. He had the one chance, and it was a good shot on the first one. On the second one, it was in tight, and he just makes some good plays.

Carter Serhyenko made 36 saves Friday for the Raiders.

“Our penalty kill was good against him. Five on five for the most part I thought we did a good job. When he gets a chance, he can score.”

Bedard capitalized on his first good chance to score in the contest at the 5:37 mark of the first period. He took a zone entry pass from linemate Zack Smith, skated into the Prince Albert zone and wired a shot to the top left corner of the Raiders goal.

Bedard, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 181 pounds, thought that quick start set a good tone for his side as the Pats would outshoot the Raiders 39-22 in the contest.

“I thought we came our really hard,” said Bedard. “Obviously, we wanted that first one.

Raiders RW Zachary Wilson, left, and Pats C Drew Englot battle it out.

“That is a really good team, and I thought we were able to outplay them.”

The Pats extended their edge to 2-0 with 1:36 remaining in the opening frame when veteran centre Drew Englot, who turns 19-years-old later this month, slid home an on-ice shot past Raiders netminder Carter Serhyenko, who faced 13 shots in the first 20 minutes.

The Raiders came out with a lot more fire in the second. Just before midway point of the frame, the Raiders were awarded a penalty shot when left-winger Evan Herman had a clear break to the Regina goal and was hauled down by Pats defenceman Layton Feist from behind.

Raiders LW Evan Herman got stopped on a penalty shot chance.

On the penalty shot, Herman performed a few stickhandling moves before snapping a shot that was turned away by Pats netminder Matthew Kieper.

The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 11:33 mark of the second when right-winger Cale Sanders sprung left-winger Keaton Sorensen with a smart pass in alone on the Regina goal. Sorensen slid a backhander past Kieper to cut the Pats lead to 2-1.

The 19-year-old veteran forward was pumped to help turn the momentum in favour of the host side with his goal.

“We had a good shift there,” said Sorensen. “We took care of the defensive zone, and we got rewarded.

Keaton Sorensen sets to slide home a backhander for the Raiders.

“I got a nice pass by Sandy (Sanders) there, and I was lucky enough to finish her.”

Just moments after that tally, Raiders left-winger Ethan Ironside had a golden chance to even things up, but he rang a shot from the left wing boards off the post of the Regina goal.

Sorensen said it would have helped his squad to finished a couple of other chances in the second.

“You can’t really win games without shots, so I think we just had to get some more pucks to the net,” said Sorensen. “I would have been nice to pop a couple of more and finish some other chances.”

Ethan Ironside rang a shot off the post in the second period.

The Pats dominated the contest territorially in the third period.  With 8:44 remaining in the frame, Bedard fired home a key insurance goal through a screen midrange from the front of the Prince Albert goal to put the Pats up 3-1.

The Raiders got on the power play with the 2:04 remaining in the third and applied intense pressure during that time in the Regina zone. Prince Albert created a couple of net scramble scoring opportunities but wasn’t able to put the puck in the back of the Regina net.

Kieper stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Carter Serhyenko turned away36 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders.

Pats defenceman Ryker Evans picked up two assists in the win.

Ryker Evans had two assists for the Pats on Friday.

The Pats weren’t able to score on any of their four power-play chances, while the Raiders failed to score on their one opportunity with the man advantage.

Bedard was pleased his squad was able to start their regular season with a win.

“It is definitely nice,” said Bedard. “I think we just have to carry it over with such a short turnaround too.

“Obviously, you know there are 67 more games. We have lots of hockey left obviously, but it was definitely nice to get that first one.”

The two sides go at it again on Saturday at 1 p.m. Saskatchewan time at the Brandt Centre in Regina in a contest that will be shown live on CBC.

A mad scramble occurs around the Pats net late in the third period.

Bedard said the short turnaround will be challenging, but it both sides are going through that turnaround together.

“I think it is going to be not easy for everyone, but everyone is in the same boat,” said Bedard. “Obviously, we get home and get to bed and then obviously do what we can to prepare ourselves as well as we can.”

Looking to Saturday’s encounter, Habscheid doesn’t think his side will have a problem getting up for that clash noting it is on national TV.

“The bus leaves at 6:15 tomorrow morning, so it is an unusual game,” said Habscheid. “These kids get a chance to play on CBC.

The Pats celebrate their win on Friday night.

“For some of these guys, that is maybe a once in a lifetime thing, so I don’t think they will have a problem loading the bus or being on the bus at 6:15 to travel four hours to play on CBC from coast to coast.”

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Blades continue to hold hex over Raiders

Saskatoon claims 6-3 victory for fourth straight win versus P.A.

The Blades celebrate a empty-net goal from Kyle Crnkovic, centre.

    It might have looked pretty and then not looked pretty, but the Saskatoon Blades still found a way to keep a hex hanging over the Prince Albert Raiders.
    On Saturday at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades jumped out to a 5-0 lead at one point in the second period only to have the Raiders cut the gap to 5-3 going into the second intermission.

    While the defending WHL champion Raiders pressed in the third, they weren’t able to get any closer on the scoreboard.

    Blades 17-year-old sophomore left-winger Kyle Crnkovic tipped home a shot from linemate Tristen Robins into an empty net to seal a 6-3 victory for the host side before 3,868 spectators.

    In six head-to-head encounters between the two sides, the Blades have won five of those contests. 
    Saturday’s game finished a stretch where the two clubs played each other three straight times, and the Blades took every single one of those encounters. The Blades have won their last four straight games against the Raiders.

Scott Walford had two goals and an assist for the Blades.

    “I think it is just that we’ve come out and really embraced the rivalry,” said Blades overage defenceman Scott Walford, who had two goals and an assist in the win. “I think it is something we have to do maybe against other teams.

    “We just have to bring that intensity to every game. They are at the top of our division for a reason. They are a fast team.

    “They are a hard team to play against. They are well coached. I think it is big for us to really take that into the next games, and we can show what kind of team we have.”

    The game got off to a big start for the host side when Blades 18-year-old sophomore defenceman Matthew Sanders fired home a shot from the point at the 1:50 mark of the opening frame to give Saskatoon a 1-0 lead. Sanders’ tally was his first goal of his WHL career and came on the Blades’ first shot of the game.

Ilya Usau had two goals and an assist for the Raiders.

    Captain Chase Wouters scored at the six-minute mark and Walford potted his first of the night at the 7:13 mark of the opening frame to give the Blades a 3-0 edge.

    The tallies by Wouters and Walford came on the same power play after Raiders right-winger Jacob Brook was given a major penalty for hitting Blades overage defenceman Nolan Kneen from behind.

    The infraction against Brook will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

    After Walford gave the Blades a 3-0 edge, the Raiders pulled starting netminder Carter Serhyenko, who stopped one of four shots sent his way.

    Boston Bilous played the rest of the way for the Raiders turning away 14-of-16 shots fired in his direction.

Blades captain Chase Wouters (#44) screens Raiders goalie Carter Serhyenko.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said Serhyenko, who is from Saskatoon, had an off night.

    “This is his hometown,” said Habscheid. “(Serhyenko has been) really good and consistent for us.

    “Really, this is his first game where he had a tough night. He’s a young guy (and) whatever experience good or bad is good for him. I felt bad for him as he’s been consistent for us.

    “He just had a tough one.”

    At the start of the second, it appeared a route would be on. Walford netted his second of the contest just 35 seconds into the frame, and 16-year-old right-winger Colton Dach tallied at the 4:32 mark of the stanza to put the Blades up 5-0.

Matthew Sanders scored his first career WHL goal on Saturday.

    The Raiders called a timeout after the Blades fifth goal in order to regroup.

    “No matter what, to get goals scored on you that quickly puts you on your heels (and) that’s what happened to us,” said Habscheid. “I want guys to keep their composure, but it’s tough.

    “Young guys, once they gathered and collected themselves we were pretty good.”

    Raiders 18-year-old rookie left-winger Ilya Usau stopped the bleeding scoring at the 10:34 mark of the second to cut the Blades lead to 5-1.

    Usau potted his second of the contest with 1:23 remaining in the second, and Raiders Belarusian import centre Aliaksei Protas netted his 20^th goal of the campaign just 33 seconds later to trim the Blades lead to 5-3. Usau picked up an assist on Protas’s goal.

Nolan Maier made 35 saves in goal for the Blades on Saturday.

    Blades associate coach Ryan Marsh said his club focused on regrouping in the second intermission noting they still led the contest.

    “We just had to get back to our game,” said Marsh. “I thought that we were a little bit careless with our puck management a little bit.

    “A credit to them. They really stepped their game up and started to push hard and had some good extended O-zone play and put us into some bad spots. I thought our competitiveness in the D-zone was a little bit lackadaisical.

    “You get up, and you start to cheat a little bit on offence. Our details weren’t great there, and they stepped their game up. We were able to come in after the second and regroup, and I thought we had a pretty good third period.”

    The Raiders outshot the Blades 17-5 in the third, but couldn’t get anything past Blades star netminder Nolan Maier.

The Blades fans enjoy their team’s victory on Saturday.

    Maier made 35 saves to pick up the win. He has played in all of the Blades encounters with the Raiders this season and has stopped 170-of-180 shots fired his way in those games.

    The effort by the Yorkton, Sask., product allowed the Blades to lock away the game with Crnkovic’s empty-net goal.

    “Nolan (Maier) is a phenomenal goalie, and any time that he has a great game we normally win,” said Walford. “I think he had another stellar performance tonight.

    “I don’t think we were as god as we could have been in front of him at times. That is something that we are going to have to go back to the drawing board on.”

    Going forward, Walford would like to see his club explode offensively again like they did on Saturday. The Coquitlam, B.C., product said the key for his squad is to not over think things in the offensive zone.

The Blades celebrate their win on Saturday.

    “Every time that we have success offensively, normally, we keep it pretty simple,” said Walford. “It is when we are forcing things that we don’t get our offence.
    “A lot of plays start in our own end, and it is just simple chip out of the zone. Guys come through, pick it up and make another chip. Somehow, we get an offensive zone possession.

    “We work it around, and that is our team. If we can keep it simple and get it in and make plays when we have time that is how we score.”

    The Blades improved to 17-15-1-2 with the win, while the Raiders fell to 20-11-3-1.

    The Raiders return to action on Monday, when they host the Winnipeg Ice (21-13-1) at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. Prince Albert sits first in the WHL’s East Division one point ahead of Winnipeg, so Monday’s clash looms as a big one.

    The Blades are back at it on Wednesday, when they host the Ice on New Year’s Day on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Blades’ Huber issued two-game suspension for head hit

Blades RW Zach Huber was suspended by the WHL on Saturday.

    The Saskatoon Blades were without 19-year-old right-winger Zach Huber on Saturday due to a suspension imposed by the WHL office for supplemental discipline.

    Huber received a two game suspension for delivering a head hit to Prince Albert Raiders star left-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt with 2:19 remaining in the third period of a regular season game won 3-2 by the Blades on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre.

    Huber was given a minor penalty for checking to the head at the time of the infraction.

    On the play, Wiesblatt toe dragged around a Raiders defenceman and wired a shot on goal that was stopped by Blades star netminder Nolan Maier.

    After shooting the puck, Wiesblatt was drilled with a high hit from Huber. Wiesblatt went down on the play, but left the ice under his own power.

    He came out for the second shift of the ensuing Raiders power play and finished the game.

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid made his feelings noted about the hit following Friday’s game.

    “We’ll let the league deal with that, but that was a dangerous hit,” said Habscheid. “We’re trying to protect the players.

    “The head was targeted, and we will see what the league says about it.”

    The Raiders appealed to the league office following the contest for the play to be looked at.

    Huber will conclude his suspension missing the Blades upcoming game on Wednesday at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Day against the Winnipeg Ice.

    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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