By Trevor Redden

Raiders host Pats tonight in pre-season finale

Sep 16, 2017 | 1:00 PM

Prince Albert Raiders (2-2) vs. Regina Pats (2-2-0-1)

WHERE: Art Hauser Centre, Prince Albert
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.
BROADCAST: 900 CKBI

RAIDERS LEADERS
C Sean Montgomery leads the team with four goals this pre-season, while RW Nikita Krivokrasov is second on the team with two. C D-Jay Jerome has one goal and three assists in four pre-season games. G Curtis Meger (0.907, 2.54) has now appeared in two contests, while Ian Scott (0.857, 4.01), Brett Balas (0.884, 5.00), and Nicholas Sanders (1.000, 0.00) have played in one game each.

PATS LEADERS
C Jeff de Wit has seven goals and nine points through four pre-season games, leading all Pats players. D Egor Zamula, the 60th pick in this summer’s import draft, has one goal and three assists in four games, and C Koby Morriseau has four points in three games. G Tyler Brown (1-1-0-1, .906, 2.30) and G Max Paddock (0-0, .957, 2.62) have been sharing the work for the Pats in the net. Kurtis Chapman also played in three games before being moved to Kootenay earlier this week.

FIGHT NIGHT
Three players from each team were ejected from Friday night’s contest at the Brandt Centre for fighting majors. Cody Paivarinta squared off with Matt Bradley in one stoppage, and a pair off fights involving Tyler Lowe and Wyatt Sloboshan and Drew Warkentine and Bryce Platt occurred later in the second period. Early in the third, Raider LW Justin Nachbaur was issued a five minute major for charging and a game misconduct. De Wit left the game with injury after the play, and didn’t return.

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SPECIAL TEAMS
Prince Albert allowed a power play goal against in the second period, but tightened up on the penalty kill early in the third last night, successfully killing the major penalty that included a two minute 5-on-3 window when Brayden Pachal went off for slashing. In four games, the Raiders PK is 19/24 (79.2%) while the PP is 1/16 (6.2%). The Pats power play is 7/29 (24.1%), while the penalty kill unit is 19/23 (82.6%).

HAPPY RETURNS

Three veteran players made their pre-season debut for the Raiders last night, with RW Devon Skoleski, G Nicholas Sanders, and D Max Martin all getting into the lineup for the first time. Ahead of the game, Head Coach Marc Habscheid commented he was pleased to get them all in the lineup for a couple pre-season games before the regular season starts. Skoleski netted the shootout winner, Sanders was perfect on 14 shots in approximately 30 minutes of action, and Martin looked to be his old self with some offensive push from the blue line.

GONE CAMPING

The Raiders are currently missing four players (Parker Kelly, Jordy Stallard, Vojtech Budik, and Ian Scott) who are away at NHL training camp, while the Pats have six players (Jake Leschyshyn, Nick Henry, Sam Steel, Austin Wagner, Josh Mahura, Connor Hobbs) away eligible to return. Neither Wagner nor Hobbs are currently listed on the Pats roster. Both are overage players who are eligible to play in the AHL this season.

Most notable amongst the bunch is reigning WHL player of the year Sam Steel, a first round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks. With Ducks C Ryan Kesler out indefinitely after offseason surgery, questions abound whether the Pats prolific centre will step into the role.

“I don’t think anybody has any idea. We’re not expecting him to be back soon…by that I mean when he was last year, like two or three weeks,” said Pats Head Coach and General Manager John Paddock. “Obviously his play will have something to do with it, and he’s the kind of guy who is perfectly prepared and ready to go, so he’s going to be ready for the challenge, and you’ll just have to see. I believe we’re going to have him at some point, I just don’t know when that is.”

Tonight’s game will mark the end of the pre-season for the Raiders, as the regular season kicks off Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre against Moose Jaw.

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nedderrovert