Maier on fire for Blades heading into critical Game 5 with Raiders

Netminder Nolan Maier has allowed the Blades to pull even with the Raiders.

    Nolan Maier has been on fire, and he wants to do his best to stay on fire.

    The sophomore netminder from Yorkton, Sask., stopped 69-of-70 shots to allow his Saskatoon Blades to win their last two games – which were both on home ice - to even their best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Prince Albert Raiders 2-2.

    Maier will be looking to continue his hot play on Friday, when the Blades and Raiders meet for Game 5 of their series at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    On Wednesday, Maier had a sensational outing stopped 43 shots to allow the Blades to pull out a 4-1 victory in Game 4 at the SaskTel Centre.

    Maier had to be particularly sharp in the first period of that contest, when he was under siege by the Raiders. Due to Blades penalty troubles resulting in four Prince Albert power plays, Maier made 21 saves to allow his Blades to escape the opening 20 minute only being down 1-0.

Nolan Maier has stopped 69-of-70 shots fired his way the last two games.

    The Raiders held a 22-12 edge in shots on goal to that point in the contest.

    “I think that is playoff hockey,” said Maier. “They get pucks everywhere right away.
    “They’ve been doing that since the regular season, so that is nothing new. That is kind of how they have been playing forever. It has been good to get used to.”

    In Game 3 on Tuesday at the SaskTel Centre, Maier made 26 saves in a 1-0 shutout victory over the Raiders.

    While he has found his groove, Maier always ensures to pass along credit to the Blades blue-liners. He is thankful for the work the regulars do in Dawson Davidson, Brandon Schuldhaus, Nolan Kneen, Reece Harsch, Emil Malysjev and Aidan De La Gorgendiere along with Majid Kaddoura when he is substituted in.

Nolan Maier tracks the puck from his goal.

    “We have a lot of guys that have been playing a lot of minutes back there, and I can’t thank them enough,” said Maier, who stands 6-feet and weighs 172 pounds. “They’ve been awesome, and they’ve been blocking shots for me and kind of getting it out.

    “When they are tired and we have those lulls in our zone, I have to be there.”
    Maier’s play hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates. Blades overage right-winger Max Gerlach said Maier has been instrumental to the success the Blades have had.

    “I think Nolan (Maier) has been playing his best hockey right now which is what we are going to need to win a championship,” said Gerlach. “Obviously, you can’t say enough about him.

    “He is an unbelievable goalie. He hasn’t been getting the credit that he should. He is probably one of the best goalies in the nation.

    “He’s our backbone, and we are definitely lucky to have him.”

Nolan Maier turns aside a shot in the Blades win on Wednesday.

    In his 53 regular season appearances, Maier posted a 36-10-6 record, a 2.64 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts.

    Thanks to Maier’s play, the Blades were able to finish fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record and earned honourable mention status in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    In the post-season, Maier has posted a 6-2 record, a 2.15 goals against average, a .927 save percentage and one shutout.
    He has kept the Raiders at bay, and the Raiders haven’t exactly been playing bad. They have put forward an effort that allowed them to finish first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and be rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    They have received solid goaltending from their star netminder in Ian Scott as well.

Nolan Maier focuses on action down the ice.

    “That is the way it is,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. “It is playoff hockey.

    “Their goalie played good. He probably stole two. We’re getting shots, we’re getting the chances, we’re playing the right way (and) we’re not giving up much.

    “We just have to find a way to score more goals.”

    Habscheid said his coaching staff has to ensure the confidence of their players stays up. He thought his squad did a number of things right in Game 4.
    The veteran bench noted some breaks went against his team too like early in the second period when a loose puck sat in front of the goal-line of the Saskatoon net.
    The puck was cleared away by Blades import right-winger Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen.

    “We went to the net a lot more,” said Habscheid. “We were more resilient.

    “I thought we were more determined. I’ve been around the game enough sometimes the puck will go to the goal-line and sit there. Instead of going in it goes out.

Nolan Maier, left, is hugged by backup goalie Dorrin Luding.

    “You get those. You can’t explain it. Hockey god even things out, so we will wait for Friday.”

    Blades head coach Mitch Love said Maier stole Wednesday’s game and has been a primetime performer.

    “I would say he did a real good job of that,” said Love. “He gave us a chance to win.

    “That is what goalies jobs are to do this time of year. Hopefully, he can continue to do that.”

    Maier and the Blades now face the daunting task of trying to win a game in Prince Albert. Between the regular season and playoffs, the Blades have won four out of the six encounters at the SaskTel Centre, but they have failed to post a victory in six games at the Art Hauser Centre.
    Maier said his team has taken note they held a 2-0 lead in Game 2 of the series in Prince Albert on Sunday before the Raiders scored once in the final 20 seconds of the second period and twice in the opening 2:11 of the third frame.
    “No matter what, we have to win in their barn,” said Maier. “I think that is just our goal is focusing on Friday and see what the outcome is.

Nolan Maier sends a stick to the fans after being named a game star.

    “I think we learned from Game 2. We can play in that rink. We know we can.

    “I think it is just kind of holding that lead for the full game and not kind of letting them have momentum, so their crowd can get into it and kind of just let them roll. I think if we just hold them back and kind of play good situational hockey like our coaches have been stressing all year then we will be fine.”

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