Rearguard throws in the odd goal here and
there
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| Jeremy Masella has been a solid defensive defenceman for the Raiders. |
In Game 1 of the WHL Championship series last Friday, the Prince Albert Raiders defensive defenceman turned into Bobby Orr for one shift against the Vancouver Giants.
Early in
the third period, Masella, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 216 pounds, got the
puck at the left point of the offensive zone.
He skated
along the blue-line, zipped down the right wing, cut to the front of the
Vancouver net and tucked home a shot between the legs of Giants goaltender
David Tendeck. The sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art
Hauser Centre erupted as the Raiders cut the Giants lead to 5-4.
That score
held up as the final, but Masella came out of that contest with a fancy video
highlight.
“We like to do the top switches,” said Masella. “I saw a
little opportunity to get across the blue-line there.
“I just kept her going down the wall and cut to the net.
Good things happen when you go to the net I guess.”
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| Jeremy Masella celebrates his goal in Game 1 of the WHL final. |
In 18 post-season games, the Phoenix, Arizona, product has a
goal, two assists and a plus-three rating to go with eight penalty minutes.
While scoring a finesse goal for his team was nice, Masella wished
it would have come in a win. He knows his role when it comes to helping the
Raiders win games, and that means playing physical and being tough in his own
zone.
Masella is aware that includes taking a hit in his own zone
to make a play to clear the zone or transition the puck up ice, especially
against the Giants.
“We know that they are going to come at us physically,” said
Masella. “Obviously as a defenceman, they are going to come in and hit us
pretty hard.
“We just have to make sure we keep our gaps good when they are coming out and try to hit them as much as we can as well and keep the physical game going.”
“We just have to make sure we keep our gaps good when they are coming out and try to hit them as much as we can as well and keep the physical game going.”
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| Jeremy Masella protects the defensive zone for the Raiders. |
The best-of-seven WHL Championship series, which is tied
1-1, switches to the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., for the next three
games. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time.
Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was happy Masella came
through with a goal in Game 1, and the bench boss is all for seeing his players
get creative when an opportunity presents itself.
““The big diesel” was roaming around the offensive zone,”
said Habscheid with a chuckle regarding Masella’s goal. “He got that, and it
was good.
“He does all the work that sometimes doesn’t get glorified,
and for him to pitch in and get a goal, it is exciting for him.”
The Raiders acquired Masella on Jan. 4, 2018 in a trade with the Victoria Royals sending forward D-Jay Jerome to the British Columbia capital.
The Raiders acquired Masella on Jan. 4, 2018 in a trade with the Victoria Royals sending forward D-Jay Jerome to the British Columbia capital.
 |
| Jeremy Masella keeps the peace in a possible rough moment. |
“I think the best thing I can say about him is he is just a
great teammate,” said Habscheid. “He knows his job. He is a puck mover. He is a
defender.
“He is a proud Raider. He is very intelligent. He has a real
good stick defensively.
“He breaks up a lot of plays. He just does all the work a
lot of times that doesn’t get glorified like blocking the shots or taking a hit
or making a hit. He has been real good for us.”
Born in Montreal, Que., Masella grew up in Arizona but still
knew about major junior hockey in Canada. He had more knowledge about the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League but joining the WHL was always on his mind.
When he had the chance to become part of the Royals, he jumped at the opportunity.
When he had the chance to become part of the Royals, he jumped at the opportunity.
 |
| Jeremy Masella has had a blast playing in Prince Albert. |
“It took me a couple of games to really get used to it. It
is a fast league and there is a lot of skill, but also a lot of physical play.
It is kind of an all-around league.”
He has had a blast in Prince Albert, since he joined the
Raiders. The fact the Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a
54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings was a
sweet bonus too.
“I think we have an unreal group of guys with lots of skill
and lots of grit,” said Masella. “It has been pretty fun to be a part of this
year.”
Masella loves the physical aspect of hockey and said battles
for the puck in the corners help get him into games. His game has a controlled
physicality to it as well where he can flick the switch to be more or less
intense on the ice depending on the situation that kind of evolves.
With the Raiders having a tradition of having players on
their roster like Dave Manson and Ken Baumgartner in the 1980s, Masella is
aware of what toughness used to mean in hockey, where someone had to go out and
fight every night.
He knows times have changed drastically and toughness is
measured in other ways.
“You kind of have to have your head screwed on,” said
Masella. “You can’t be running around always.
 |
| Jeremy Masella enjoys a Game 2 win with goalie Ian Scott. |
“Then, you can always resort to physical play as well.”
In the WHL final, the Raiders are up against a tough
challenge in the Giants. Vancouver finished second overall in the WHL with a
48-15-3-2 mark and was rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
With the Raiders making their first appearance in the WHL
final since they last won the league title and advanced on to capture the
Memorial Cup in 1985, Masella said his squad is even more motivated to keep
their current run going.
“Obviously being this far, it doesn’t happen too often,”
said Masella. “It probably won’t ever happen to me again, so I am trying to
take advantage of the opportunity that we’re given.
“It is a lot of fun with all the guys. There is no one else
I’d rather do it with.”
Hannoun, Scott take weekly WHL awards
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| Dante Hannoun was named the WHL’s player of the week. |
On Monday,
Raiders standout overage centre Dante Hannoun was named the WHL’s player of the
week, and Ian Scott took honours as the WHL’s goaltender of the week. The
awards were given for the week starting on April 29 and wrapping up on Sunday.
Only two
games occurred over that time period, which were the opening two contests of
the WHL Championship series featuring the Raiders taking on the Vancouver
Giants.
Hannoun had
two goals, three assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in
those contests.
The Delta, B.C., product had a goal and an assist in the
Raiders 5-4 setback to the Giants in Game 1 of the WHL final held in Friday in
Prince Albert. One night later, Hannoun had a goal, two assists and a plus-two
rating as the Raiders blanked the Giants 4-0 in Game 2 in Prince Albert.
In the Raiders 18 playoff games, Hannoun has 11 goals, nine
assists and a plus-eight rating.
Acquired in
a trade with the Victoria Royals on Jan. 3, Hannoun posted 29 goals, 38 assists
and a plus-19 rating in 56 regular season games with both the Royals and
Raiders.
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| Ian Scott was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week. |
The Calgary, Alta., product stopped 21-of-26 shots in the
Raiders Game 1 loss to the Giants. Scott turned away all 15 shots sent his way
in the Raiders shutout win in Game 2.
In 18 playoff games, Scott has posted a 13-5 record, a 1.92
goals against average, a .925 save percentage and four shutouts.
He had a spectacular regular season posting a 38-8-3 record,
a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.
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