By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders’ Leverton scores twice in 3-2 SO win over MJ

Oct 3, 2014 | 10:25 PM

Neither of Craig Leverton’s two goals in regulation were particularly pretty, he saved that for the shootout.

That’s when Leverton reached back into his back of tricks, and with a beautiful backhand, forehand, five-hole deke he scored to help give the Raiders the 3-2 shootout win over the Moose Jaw Warriors Friday at the Art Hauser Centre.

The ‘Debden Dangler’ banged in two rebound goals on the power play in regulation, digging in front of the net to beat Warriors goalie Justin Paulic. Leverton capped off two goals after work was done by linemates Reid Gardiner and Jordan Tkatch.

“That’s part of my game, especially playing along with Reid and Jordan. They’re great players, great passers and they can both shoot the puck,” said Leverton. “If I can get myself in those (dirty) areas, I think that’s one of the spots I’m going to be, working the net.”

Thanks to the hard work in front by Leverton, the Raiders went 2-3 on the power play. They’re starting off the year on a tear by clicking at 30 per cent with their man-advantages, which is third best in the WHL.

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“The guys are doing a lot of the little things well, face-offs, puck retrievals, entries, net presence—all the little things,” said Raiders head coach Cory Clouston. “Most power plays are similar in terms of design, it’s the team that does the little things better probably than the other team, they’re going to have the success.

“Tonight, we were fortunate to come out on top in the special team department and it helped us get a win.”

The Raiders have also been great with the penalty kill as well. The Raiders successfully killed off their first 11 penalties of the season, until Brett Howden ended that streak in the third period by tying the game for the Warriors. The Raiders are now 11-12 on the year and have the fourth best power play at 91.7 per cent.

Summary

The Warriors drew first blood, as Jack Rodewald scored his second of the year 8:30 into the game.

That cued the Craig Leverton show. Leverton scored two almost identical goals on the power play, one in the first and one in the second, to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead heading into the third.

The Warriors tied the game with a power play goal of their own, with rookie Brett Howden getting the equalizer in the third period.

Raiders goaltender Nick McBride McBride has played in all the Raiders games so far, posting a 3-1 record. McBride made 28 saves on 30 shots and was 1-2 in the shootout. He now has a 2.46 goals against average and .910 save percentage.

Warriors goaltender Justin Paulic made 31 saves on 33 shots for the Raiders, but was 0-3 in the shootout. Gardiner, Leverton and Conroy all scored in the shootout for the win.

Big game for new assistant captain Gardiner

On Friday, Reid Gardiner played his first ever game as a Raider with an ‘A’ stitched on his jersey.

“It means a lot,” Gardiner said. “It means the guys and coaches alike have looked upon me for leadership and to be consistent every night.

“I take it as a huge responsibility wearing one of the three ‘A’s. I want to bring leadership to the young and old guys alike on and off the ice.”

Scoring Sawyer

Raiders overage defenceman and hometown hero Sawyer Lange had two assists Friday and now leads the Raiders with seven points in four games, one goal and a whopping six assists.

Point watch

Warriors captain Brayden Point absolutely demolished the Raiders last year, with eight goals and 16 points in eight games against P.A. He continued his two-point per game pace versus the Raiders this year, with two assists on Friday.

Led by the Point, the Warriors had a 6-1-1 record against the Raiders last year, despite only winning 21 games last year. Entering Friday’s game, the Warriors had a 22-9-1 record against the Raiders.

Looking ahead

The Raiders are headed to the Queen City to face the Regina Pats on Saturday. They will return for a home game Tuesday against the Tri-City Americans.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea