Raiders’ Guhle, Wiesblatt sure bets in NHL Entry Draft

Kaiden Guhle is a top rated NHL prospect.

When it comes to Kaiden Guhle and Ozzy Wiesblatt, they will likely be emblematic that sure bet is the best bet in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Guhle and Wiesblatt have been key members of the Prince Albert Raiders since suiting up in “Hockey Town North” on a full-time basis as 16-year-old rookies helping the Raiders win a WHL championship in the 2018-19 campaign.

They followed up that special season with great sophomore campaigns resulting in Guhle being rated eighth and Wiesblatt 19^th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.

Both could be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held Tuesday via video conference call from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. Rounds two through seven will be held on Wednesday by that same video conference call format.

Ozzy Wiesblatt is a highly touted NHL prospect.

If NHL clubs pass over Guhle and Wiesblatt in the first round, they might not be able to cash in on the gamble to pick either in the second round. In just two full seasons, they have had a career worth of experiences helping the Raiders finish first in the WHL’s East Division for the past two straight campaigns.

Of course, the 2019-20 season was cut short due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

Guhle came to the Raiders with high hopes after being selected by the team in the first round and first overall in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft. His family and the club were familiar with each other as older brother, Brendan, played defence for the Raiders from 2013 to 2016.

Brendan spent the 2019-20 season split between playing for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.

Kaiden Guhle came up through minor hockey in his hometown of Sherwood Park, Alta., and the Edmonton area as that special skilled offensive-defenceman. 

Kaiden Guhle has played big minutes for the Raiders.

During his two full seasons with the Raiders, Guhle, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 184 pounds, has turned into one of those special talents who is a sound physical presence in the defensive zone and is able to quarterback play from the blue-line in the offensive zone.

As a rookie in 2018-19, Guhle was on the Raiders starting six on defence as a 16-year-old. The other five members of the starting six were all in their 19-year-old seasons.

While Guhle was the youngest of that group, the Raiders did not rotate their five 19-year-olds, which some teams tried to do to cover for the inexperience of the youngest player.

Guhle played regular minutes with a set partner in Jeremy Masella. In total, Guhle played in 65 regular season games collecting three goals, 14 assists and a plus-17 rating in the plus-minus department.

He focused on playing more of a defensive role, while chipping in some points. Over the course of the campaign, Guhle was able to learn by watching the veteran defenceman who were on the Raiders roster.

Ozzy Wiesblatt had 70 points for the Raiders last season.

Last season as a 17-year-old sophomore, Guhle was one of three regulars that returned on the back end along with Masella and Zack Hayes. Guhle was thrust into a bigger role and was looked upon to provide more offence.

He became the quarterback on the Raiders power play and really showed his ability as an offensive defenceman during five-on-five action. Guhle has that instinct in knowing when he should get deep in the offensive zone with the puck or pinch down from the point to become a threat on a play close around the net.

He appeared in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games piling up 11 goals, 29 assists and a plus-23 rating.

Every time Guhle gets deep, he never seems to get caught or trapped out of position on the defensive end. When an offensive-defenceman can do that, they become extremely valuable to a team.

Like Guhle, Wiesblatt took on a fairly sizable role that you wouldn’t expect from a 16-year-old rookie in the Raiders WHL title season in 2018-19. The Raiders had veteran stars all over the place up front that season.

Kaiden Guhle can put up points from the blue-line.

Still, Wiesblatt played a regular roll as a right-winger and was often playing against older and more experienced players. By the end of the season, the Calgary, Alta., product often found himself on a line with star overage centre Noah Gregor and star left-winger Cole Fonstad.

Wiesblatt, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 182 pounds, appeared in 64 regular season games posting 15 goals, 24 assists and a plus-30 rating. In the run to the WHL title, Wiesblatt played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL playoffs posting five goals, five assists and a plus-six rating.

This past season as a 17-year-old sophomore, Wiesblatt skating in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games finishing second in team scoring with 25 goals, 45 assists and a plus-20 rating.

Away from the rink, Wiesblatt comes from a high-character family to say the least. His mom, Kim White, has been deaf since birth and speaks using American Sign Language.

She had to raise Ozzy, his three brothers and one sister as a single mom since 2014. 

Ozzy Wiesblatt comes from a high character family.

Ozzy’s brothers are all high level hockey players.

The oldest brother, Ocean, played in the junior A ranks with the Portage La Prairie Terriers last season. The second oldest brother, Orca, is a member of the Calgary Hitmen, and the youngest brother, Oasiz, is highly touted prospect with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

It is hard to come up with words about how amazing the Wiesblatt family story is.

Also cracking the final NHL Central Scouting rankings from the Raiders is defenceman Landon Kosior at the 98^th spot among North American skaters. The Regina, Sask., product made a sizable jump of the ratings after being ranked 126^th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings.

Kosior, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 190 pounds, appeared in all of the Raiders 64 regular season games as a 17-year-old rookie recording five goals, 18 assists and a plus-19 rating.

Landon Kosior turned heads in his Raiders rookie season.

Raiders centre Ilya Usau, who is from Minsk, Belarus, was rated 108^th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings. 

As an 18-year-old rookie, Usau appeared in 58 regular season games with the Raiders posting 22 goals, 30 assists and a plus-14 rating.

Usau, who stands 6-feet and weighs 182 pounds, is currently playing for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League until the WHL gets back into action after a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHL is hoping to start its regular season on December 4.

Joining the four Raiders in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings is Prince Albert product Braden Schneider, who plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings and is rated ninth among North American skaters. Due to his late birthday, this is the first year Schneider is eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Players need to be born on or before September 15 the year they turn 18-years-old to be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft.

Ilya Usau had 52 points as a Raiders rookie last season.

Last season as a third-year veteran at age 18, Schneider, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 202 pounds, had a breakout campaign posting seven goals, 35 assists and a plus-nine rating in 60 regular season games with the Wheat Kings.

While 2020 has been a crazy year beyond comprehension, the City of Prince Albert and the Raiders are set to have a memorable two days at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Leading the charge will be Guhle and Wiesblatt, who both have the skill and character make up to continue to do great things in the game.

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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Rockets, penalties do in Raiders

Habscheid disappointed with soft infraction calls

Nolan Foote reacts to scoring the winning goal for the Rockets.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Marc Habscheid cut right to the chase.
    During his post-game media scrum, the Prince Albert Raiders head coach said he didn’t like the series of penalty calls given to his team after his squad forced a 1-1 tie in the third period of a WHL regular season clash with the Kelowna Rockets.

    The Raiders, who are the defending WHL champions, evened Friday’s game at the Art Hauser Centre on a power-play goal from 17-year-old centre Ozzy Wiesblatt at the 6:19 mark of the third.

    Over the final 8:07 of the third, the Raiders received four straight penalties. The first two calls resulted in the Raiders being down two men for 1:20.

    On that two-man advantage, Rockets centre Matthew Wedman, who was playing his first game with Kelowna after being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Thursday, set up Rockets captain Nolan Foote with a backdoor chance.

    Foote drilled the opportunity into the Raiders goal. 

Nolan Foote scored the winning goal for the Rockets on Friday.

    That tally held up as the different in a Rockets 2-1 victory before a standing room crowd of 2,825 spectators at the Raiders 2,580 seat home facility.

    “I don’t blame referees or anything, but there were three soft calls and they talked to him (Rockets head coach Adam Foote) all night,” said Habscheid. “I don’t know if they wanted to get his autograph, because he was a Stanley Cup champion or what, but it didn’t look good.

    “They talked to him all night, (and Foote) ran line changes. He did whatever he wanted, and he slowed the game down, and they just let him do it. I don’t know if they wanted his autograph or what the deal was.

Ozzy Wiesblatt scored a highlight reel power-play goal for the Raiders.

    “That wasn’t good, because there were three soft calls there. You know our guys are accountable. Yeah, we lost, but that was not good.”

    Habscheid proceeded to add he was happy Kevin Muench, who is the WHL’s senior director of officiating, was in attendance for Friday’s contest.

    The first of the four straight penalties called against the Raiders in the final 8:07 of the third was a high-sticking infraction against rugged left-winger Justin Nachbaur. The Raiders went down two men 40 seconds later, when overage defenceman Jeremy Masella was given a cross-checking minor in a scrum along the boards.

    Foote, who won two Stanley Cup rings starring as a defenceman for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and 2001, hinted his team might have been fortunate on the call on Masella’s infraction. The bench boss added it was important his son, Nolan Foote, netted the winner on that opportunity.

Dallon Wilton scored the Rockets first goal on Friday.

    “I didn’t see the penalty,” said Adam Foote, whose team improved to 15-8-1-2 with a second straight win. “I guess it was from behind.

    “The refs were pretty good all night, so I can’t even tell you what it was, because I didn’t see it. We have to score there for sure. If it is not, it is a huge momentum swing for them.”

    The Raiders came out with good jump in Friday’s contest outshooting the Rockets 10-3 over the opening 20 minutes.

    The Rockets got on the board at the 3:31 mark of the second via an unintended move by Raiders netminder Boston Bilous. Bilous stopped a shot from the right boards from Rockets centre Alex Swetlikoff.

    The rebound landed to the side of the Prince Albert puck stopper. Bilous tried to clear the puck but put it on the stick of Rockets left-winger Dallon Wilton.

    Wilton promptly buried the puck in the back of the Prince Albert net to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

It looked like the Prince Albert side was going persevere past that misstep after evening the score at 1-1 on Wiesblatt’s highlight reel power-play goal in the third.

Spencer Moe jets into the offensive zone for the Raiders.

    During the four-on-three chance with the man advantage, Wiesblatt got the puck on the right wing, came in on Rockets netminder Roman Basran and deked the puck around the goalie into the Kelowna net.
    That set the stage for the drama in the final 8:07 of the third resulting in the Rockets going up 2-1. The Raiders pressed with the Bilous pulled with under two minutes to play, but they couldn’t final the equalizer.

    Habscheid liked how Wiesblatt played, but the veteran bench boss said he was hoping some of his older veterans would come through with a couple of clutch plays.

    “He (Wiesblatt) is a good skilled guy,” said Habscheid, whose team fell to 18-6-4-2. “He makes good plays, and the same with (Spencer) Moe.

Roman Basran deflects a shot out wide of the goal for the Rockets.

    “We need everybody contributing. He (Wiesblatt) is 17. We have guys that are 19-years-old that need to step up too.”

    Habscheid thought his side played fairly solid defensively.

    “We just played a good team game,” said Habscheid. “We played hard, and our structure was good defensively.

    “I thought our game was good. We had some lulls at key points. A couple of our older guys made a couple of mistakes.

    “That can’t happen.”

    The Raiders converted on 1-of-3 power-play chances on Friday, while the Rockets were 1-for-8 with the man advantage.

    Bilous made 13 stops to take the setback in goal for the Raiders. Basran turned away 26 shots to earn the win in net for the Rockets.

    Basran has won five out of his last six starts, and Foote has appreciated how the 18-year-old veteran goalie has come on.

The Rockets celebrate their win on Friday night.

    “He (Basran) has really picked it up lately,” said Foote, whose team will host the CHL championship tournament - the Memorial Cup - this coming May. “He is focusing on his game.

    “He is maturing. He gave us a chance tonight, especially early. We were trying to get our feet under us, get used to playing against that type of speed.”

    The Raiders return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Moose Jaw to take on the 9-15-1 Warriors (7 p.m., Mosaic Place). The Rockets travel to Saskatoon on Saturday to face the 14-13-1-1 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

    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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Leason, Scott put Raiders a win away from a party like 1985

Brett Leason scored the only goal of Game 4 of the WHL final.

    Brett Leason and Ian Scott took a big step towards cementing their respective statuses as Prince Albert Raiders legends.

    On Wednesday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., Leason scored the only goal in Game 4 of the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver Giants and Ian Scott made 36 saves to give the Raiders a 1-0 victory before 4,626 spectators.

    With the win, Raiders took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Raiders will try to close things out and win their first WHL title since 1985 in Game 5 on Friday at the Langley Events Centre with a 7:30 p.m. start local time.

    After winning the WHL crown in 1985, the Raiders moved on to capture the Memorial Cup.

    If the Raiders win on Friday, they will be flying home to Prince Albert with the Ed Chynoweth Cup in hand as WHL champions on Saturday.

    The Raiders and Giants entered the third period of Wednesday’s game locked in a 0-0 tie.

    The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:21 mark of the third, when defensive defenceman Jeremy Masella and import left-winger Aliaksei Protas combined to spring Leason into the Vancouver zone on a breakaway.

    Leason snapped a shot on net that Giants standout netminder David Tendeck got a piece of but couldn’t prevent from entering the Vancouver goal.  That tally stood up as the winner in a 1-0 Raiders victory.
    During the regular season, Leason broke out to achieve star status leading the Raiders in scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points appearing in 55 games. The Calgary, Alta., product, who played for Canada at the last world juniors, posted a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department.

Ian Scott made 36 saves to pick up a shutout in Game 4 of the WHL final.

    With his goal on Wednesday, Leason has recorded points in his last seven straight games posting seven goals and four assists over that time. In his 19 appearances with the Raiders in this post-season, Leason leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points, while posting a plus-nine rating.

    Scott stoned the Giants, when they played what was their best game of the WHL Championship series.

    The shutout was Scott’s second of the WHL final and fifth of the current post-season. The Calgary, Alta., product, who also played for Canada at the last world juniors, became just the fifth goalie in the history of the WHL to record five or more shutouts in one post-season.

    Scott, who has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has had a sensational regular season with the Raiders posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

    His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records.
    Scott has appeared in all of the Raiders 20 playoff games to date posting a 15-5 record, a 1.83 goals against average and a .931 save percentage to go with his five shutouts.

    With Wednesday’s win, the Raiders match their team record for most wins in one WHL post-season at 15 first set back in 1986. The Raiders played through a 10-game round robin under the format that was used in the 1986 WHL post-season.

    After the Raiders posted a convincing 8-2 victory in Game 3 on Tuesday night at the Langley Events Centre, the Giants came out with a lot of fire in the first period of Wednesday’s contest holding a 15-9 edge in shots on goal. The hosts’ biggest chance to go ahead came on a short-handed breakaway by star overage centre Davis Koch late in the frame.

Brett Leason has had a stellar season for the Raiders.

    Kock tried to pick a corner of the Prince Albert net, but he was turned away due to a shoulder save by Scott.

    The second period was fairly evenly played with the Raiders holding a 12-10 edge in shots on goal.

    Vancouver’s best chance to score in the frame came from import centre Milos Roman, who fired a shot just over top of the Prince Albert net on a breakaway opportunity.

    Raiders import defenceman Sergei Sapego had a breakaway late in the second, but his shot was smothered up by Tendeck.

    Early in the third, Scott made a sprawling pad save on Giants winger Jadon Joseph to keep the game scoreless.

    That set the stage for Leason to score the game’s only goal.

    Scott continued to shut the door after the Raiders took the lead. He lunged across the crease of the Prince Albert goal to rob Giants defenceman Alex Kannok Leipert with a glove save.

    The Giants held an 11-5 edge in shots on goal in the third period.

    Tendeck turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Giants in a valiant effort.

    The Raiders won Wednesday’s game without the services of offensive defenceman Max Martin, who sat out with an undisclosed injury for a second straight contest. Martin was injured in the second period of the Raiders 4-0 win in Game 2 last Saturday, when he took an awkward fall into the boards.

    Leason and Scott are a couple of the big cogs who have helped the Raiders have a magical campaign. 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.

    Entering the current post-season, the Raiders hadn’t won a playoff series since 2005.

Ian Scott is going to go down as an all-time great in Raiders history.

    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. Coming into the current post-season, the Giants hadn’t won a playoff series since 2010.

    With the Raiders having won three straight games in the WHL final, the Giants are facing elimination for the first time in this year’s post-season. They face the daunting task of needing to win three straight games to win the WHL title.

    If needed, Games 6 and 7 of the WHL final will be held Sunday and Monday respectively back at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    The Giants aren’t finished, but they face a major challenge just to win on Friday to extend the series to a Game 6.

    The Raiders and their faithful back in Prince Albert can almost taste and already envision their biggest victory celebration since 1985.

Storm holds off 67’s, evens OHL final 2-2

    The Guelph Storm built a big lead and then held off a furious comeback attempt by the Ottawa 67’s to even the Ontario Hockey League Championship series.

    On Wednesday at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, the Storm and 67’s kept 4,983 spectators on the edge of their seats. After defenceman Hudson Wilson gave the 67’s a 1-0 lead at the 4:48 mark of the first period, the Storm responded with four straight goals to take a 4-1 advantage at the 13:34 mark of the second period.

    The 67’s tried to mount a rally, but the Storm ultimately held on for a 5-4 victory. With the win, the Storm evens the best-of-seven OHL final 2-2.

Game 5 is set for Friday in Ottawa.

    After Wilson gave the 67’s the early lead, Nate Schnarr and Alexey Toropchenko replied for Guelph to give the host side a 2-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.

    Toropchenko potted his second of the contest at the 6:46 mark of the second period, and Nick Suzuki netted his 15^th goal of the post-season at the 13:34 mark of the second to put the Storm up 4-1.

    Lucas Chiodo scored for the 67’s with 1:38 remaining in the second to cut the Storm lead to 4-2.

    At the 2:28 mark of the third, Liam Hawel tallied for the Storm on the power play to increase the host side’s edge to 5-2.

    Tye Felhaber scored a power-play goal for the 67’s with 3:55 remaining in the third to trim Guelph’s lead to 5-3. With less than five seconds to play in the third, Kyle Maksimovich scored for the 67’s when they had their netminder pulled to round out the 5-4 final in favour of the Storm.

    Anthony Popovich stopped 30 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Storm. Cedrick Andree turned away 19 shots to take the setback in the 67’s goal.

    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.

    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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Masella modern day version of P.A. Raiders tough

Rearguard throws in the odd goal here and there

Jeremy Masella has been a solid defensive defenceman for the Raiders.

    Jeremy Masella is used to working in obscurity but won’t object to having five minutes of fame.
    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.”

Jeremy Masella celebrates his goal in Game 1 of the WHL final.

    With that said, scoring pretty goals is not Masella’s forte. Appearing in all 68 of the Raiders pre-season games, Masella posted two goals, 12 assists and a plus-30 rating in the plus-minus department to go with 93 penalty minutes.

    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.”

Jeremy Masella protects the defensive zone for the Raiders.

    Masella assumed his regular role to perfection in the Raiders 4-0 win in Game 2 of the WHL final last Saturday in Prince Albert.

    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.

Jeremy Masella keeps the peace in a possible rough moment.

    Make no mistake; Masella was brought in to make the Raiders stronger in the defensive zone. He has done that and become popular in the club’s dressing room too.

    “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.

Jeremy Masella has had a blast playing in Prince Albert.

    “It was pretty crazy,” said Masella. “I was just kind of wearing a Western League jersey.

    “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.

    “The game has changed a little bit. There are not too many guys running around looking for fights and stuff. It is a good puck moving game now, so you have to kind of have that aspect going first.

    “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

Dante Hannoun was named the WHL’s player of the week.

    It was a clean Prince Albert Raiders sweep, when it came to giving out the WHL’s weekly awards.

    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.

Ian Scott was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week.

    Scott started both of those games for the Raiders posting a 1-1 record, a 2.52 goals against average, an .878 save percentage and one shutout.

    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.

    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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Giants outlast Raiders 5-4 in WHL final opener

The Giants celebrate a goal from Dylan Plouffe.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – It was an old school WHL classic in an old school rink.

    Before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the visiting Vancouver Giants and the host Prince Albert Raiders engaged in an all over the place war in Game 1 of the WHL Championship series.

    The clash included a lot of big hits, momentum swings and goals by both sides. When the dust settled, the Giants escaped with a 5-4 victory allowing captain Jared Dmytriw and right-winger Dawson Holt to have a memorable Saskatchewan homecoming.

Dawson Holt had a pair of goals for the Giants.

    Dmytriw, who had a large contingent of supporters from Craven, Sask., had a goal and two assists for the Giants. Holt, who had a huge following of supporters from Saskatoon, Sask., had a pair of goals including the eventual game-winner before a large gathering of followers.

    “It is pretty exciting to be back here in Saskatchewan for me and Dawson (Holt),” said Dmytriw, whose club will face the Raiders in Game 2 of the WHL final on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at the Art Hauser Centre. “To be in the WHL final is special and to play anywhere, but to have friends and family in the stands is always nice.

    “It is awesome to get the win tonight is the biggest thing. It felt good out there tonight and we’re proud of the way the guys played to finish it off like that.”

Captain Jared Dmytriw celebrates scoring for the Giants.

    Holt was pumped to get a couple of big goals at key times. He scored at the 6:06 mark of the first to give his side a 2-0 lead, and he tallied with 16.5 seconds remaining in the second to give the Giants a 5-3 advantage going into the third period.

    “It is super cool,” said Holt. “Obviously, I had a lot of family and friends here.

    “To be able to get the win in front of them is obviously pretty special. Obviously, their crowd is loud. There is no secret about it.

    “To get some momentum and kind of quiet them down a little bit, it was big.”

    The Giants had all the momentum early in the first period and found themselves working on a two-man advantage. On that power play, Giants star defenceman Bowen Byram found his defensive partner Dylan Plouffe down in the right slot with a pass, and Plouffe one-timed home a goal to give the Giants a 1-0 at the 4:20 mark of the opening frame.

Giants fans cheer one of their team’s goals.

    A short time later, Dmytriw fired a shot that deflected off the boards behind the Prince Albert goal to Holt at the right side of the net. Holt popped home his first of the game to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

    Giants head coach Michael Dyck said early excitement helped his squad jump out to a good start.

    “Honestly, I think their crowd helped,” said Dyck. “We could hear a buzz before we got out.

    “We knew what we were coming in to. Anytime you get a chance to play in the finals, you have to take advantage of it. I know everybody was really excited about getting going.

Parker Kelly had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

    “It was great that we got off to a good start.”

    Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason fired home a power-play goal at the 3:20 mark of the second to cut the Giants lead to 2-1.

    At the 5:13 mark, Dmytriw scored off a rush for the Giants to extend Vancouver’s edge to 3-1.

    Just 64 seconds later, Raiders star centre Noah Gregor sniped home a beauty set up pass from linemate Parker Kelly from the front of the Vancouver goal to cut the Giants lead to 3-2.

    With 3:15 remaining in the second, Raiders speedy overage centre Dante Hannoun backhanded home the rebound of a shot taken by Kelly to pull the Raiders even at 3-3.

Dante Hannoun scored a second period equalizer for the Raiders.

    Hannoun said his team never panicked, when the Giants jumped in front.

    “I thought we just stayed calm, and we just worked hard,” said Hannoun. “Shifts after goals are pretty huge here in playoffs, so we focus on that and just a shift at a time here.”

    Before the second ended, the momentum swung back in favour of the Giants. With 30.9 seconds remaining in the second, Giants import right-winger Yannik Valenti drove home a power-play goal from the front of the Prince Albert net to give Vancouver a 4-3 lead.

    Holt followed by scoring his second of the contest with 16.5 seconds remaining in the second sneaking a bad angle shot by Raiders star netminder Ian Scott to give the visitors a 5-3 lead.

    “A little bit of the elephant in the room, I think Scotty (Scott) wants a few of those goals back there is no doubt,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. “We win as a team. We lose as a team.

The Raiders faithful cheers one of their team’s goals.

    “We could have done some things better. He (Scott) will be better tomorrow. We’ll be better tomorrow.”

    Still, the Raiders attempted to battle back in the third. At the 2:50 mark of the third, Raiders veteran defensive defenceman Jeremy Masella did his best imitation of hockey legend Bobby Orr.

    Masella got the puck at the left point of the Vancouver blue-line, zipped across the blue-line, drove down the right wing, cut to the front of the Vancouver net and slipped home a goal between the legs of Giants star netminder David Tendeck. Masella’s highlight reel goal cut the Vancouver lead to 5-4.

Bowen Byram had four assists for the Giants.

    Prince Albert was unable to find the equalizer after that beauty effort.

    Tendeck stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Giants. Byram picked up assists on four of the Giants goals.

    Scott turned away 21 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

    Habscheid said his club was a little too nervous in the first period, but he wasn’t disappointed in the effort put in by his side.

    “I liked a lot about our game,” said Habscheid. “We did a lot of real good things.

    “I liked our speed. I liked the way we moved the puck. They are a good team, but we’re confident in our game and in our team.”

    Raiders captain Brayden Pachal expected the intensity that came out of Friday’s clash.

    “It is the WHL final,” said Pachal. “We are in each others’ way here for a championship here.

    “Obviously, there is no love out there.”

    Despite the setback, Pachal came away optimistic about a lot of aspects of Friday’s encounter.

Zack Hayes controls the puck at the point for the Raiders.

    “When we were using our speed and the guys were into it, we were a force tonight,” said Pachal. “I think we can build off some things, and obviously, improve some things.

    “We just have to look forward to tomorrow.”

    Dyck thought Friday’s opener was fitting of a contest between the teams that topped the WHL’s regular season standings.

    The Raiders finished first overall in the regular season at 54-10-2-2 and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Giants finished second overall at 48-15-3-2 and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Dyck said his club has to keep playing their style of a play going forward with a touch more focus.

    “I don’t think that we’re going to tweak much,” said Dyck. “We have to do what we do more consistent and better in some spots.

The Giants celebrate their victory in Game 1 of the WHL final.

    “Again, you have to give them some credit too. I thought they came at us at times in the second period. That is why they are one of the top teams in the country.

    “They play on their toes, and they are a very good transition team.”

    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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Leason brings back the magic in Raiders victory

Brett Leason scored a creative winning goal for the Raiders.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Brett Leason pulled off a move that Mike Modano likely never tried with the Prince Albert Raiders.

    With the Raiders locked in a 1-1 draw with the visiting Red Deer Rebels at the Art Hauser Centre, Leason tried a calculated dump into the Red Deer zone. The talented right-winger dumped the puck into the corner of the Rebels zone on a rush and the dump in came right back to him, when he skated to the front of the Red Deer net.

    The 19-year-old product of Calgary, Alta., quickly blasted home his seventh goal of the season to put the host side up 2-1. That score held up as the final as the Raiders send home an appreciative standing room crowd of 2,706 at their 2,580 seat facility home happy.

    “I saw the D (defenceman) had a bad gap, so I figured that was the time to use it,” said Leason, who was a plus-two in the plus-minus department on the night. “It worked out well.

The Raiders celebrate Brett Leason’s winning goal.

    “I never practiced that. It was my first try, and it worked pretty well. It is all good.”

    Leason’s move impressed veteran Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid, who has seen his share of creativity during his time in the sport of hockey.

    “He (Leason) is a talented guy,” said Habscheid. “He is a skilled guy. He has the mojo going, and when that happens, you try things.

    “He is the type of player that can pull off things like that. He has had a good year. He is very intelligent.

    “He is gangly. He kind of moves all over. He is gifted with the puck. That was obviously a huge goal.”

    A gifted point producer coming up through the minor hockey ranks in Calgary, Leason was selected in the third round and 50^th overall in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri-City Americans. Buried among the Americans forward group, he was traded in the early stages of last season to the Raiders.

Brett Leason had a goal and an assist in the Raiders win on Saturday.

    Leason, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 199 pounds, has jumped out to a hot start this season leading the Raiders in scoring with seven goals and 12 assists helping them post a 9-1 record. The Raiders are also rated second in the CHL Top 10 rankings.

    In 54 regular season games with the Raiders last season, Leason recorded 15 goals and 17 assists. Habscheid said Leason’s game has steadily progressed upwards, since he joined the Raiders.

    “I think he has improved a lot,” said Habscheid. “He plays much faster, and that is what we wanted from him.

    “We knew he had the skill. People questioned his skating, but we want him to play fast. He was committed to that, and he worked on that.

    “Now, he plays as fast as anybody out there. With the size and strength and skill that he has, he is tough to handle.”

    Backed a huge contingent of family in the stands, Leason said he is in the best groove he has ever had during this time in the WHL.

Sean Montgomery scored the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

    “My confidence level is pretty high,” said Leason, who is playing in his third full season on the major junior circuit. “I’m playing good hockey.

    “With the team of course 9-1, it (his confidence) is up really high right now.”

    Leason said he wants to keep playing well to make his family proud. His father, Darryl, and uncle, Michael, were stars with the Regina Rams in both the Canadian Junior Football League and in U Sports in the 1990s and early 2000s. While Brett excels at a different sport, he wants to do as well in hockey as Darryl and Michael did in football.

    “They were definitely big names growing up, so I want to try and perform like they did,” said Brett Leason. “I’m working on that.”

    The Raiders struck 68 seconds into Saturday’s tilt. With the Rebels defence having collapsed down on their goal, Leason found centre Sean Montgomery with a pass at an open side of the Red Deer net, and Montgomery potted his second tally of the season for a 1-0 lead.

Ethan Anders makes one of his 25 saves in goal for the Rebels.

    The Rebels drew even at 1-1 at the 4:07 mark of the first, when captain Reese Johnson powered home a one-time feed from linemate Josh Tarzwell.

    From there, the goalies on both sides took over. Ian Scott turned away 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders included stoning Tarzwell at point-blank range late in the third period.

Ethan Anders stopped 25 shots taking the setback in goal for the Rebels (5-3-1).

    Scott received some great help from his defencemen, which included a couple of big shot blocks from Raiders 19-year-old rearguard Jeremy Masella late in the third period.

Ian Scott makes one of his 28 saves for the Raiders on Saturday.

    Leason said it was great to get a win in front of the big crowd that came out to the Art Hauser Centre after the Raiders posted a 3-1 record playing their previous four straight games on the road.

    “Playing in front of a crowd like that, it was good,” said Leason. “We were going the whole time. I’d like that to continue.

    “It definitely gets us going. When the crowd was chanting there, everyone was just feeling it.”

    The Rebels return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings.

    The Raiders return to action on Sunday, when they travel to Saskatoon to face the Blades (7-2) at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. There is a good chance the Raiders will bring a healthy contingent of fans down to “the Bridge City.”

The Raiders and Rebels scrum it up in the third period.

    Habscheid hopes the Raiders followers know that they do have a positive impact on the team. 
    In the third period, the cheer of the Raiders faithful help give the atmosphere more of a playoff feel. 
    The bench boss was happy to see the big crowd out at the team’s home rink on Saturday night.

    “We really appreciate it,” said Habscheid. “Especially in this day and age, you look at all the sports the entertainment dollar it is tough to get.

    “We appreciate the people coming to the rink and spending it with us. It certainly helps our players for sure. We’re a smaller franchise and to get that kind of support helps not only the franchise itself but more importantly our players.

The Raiders salute the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre.

    “They come home, and they’ve worked hard to get a decent record and we’re ranked whatever that is worth. It is nice to have the people come out and appreciate the kids the way they do and it certainly helps them on the 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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