By Jeff D'Andrea

Americans’ Comrie slams door in 4-1 Raiders defeat

Oct 7, 2014 | 10:10 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders dominated the shot clock, had more scoring chances and won the penalty count 4-0 against the Tri-City Americans Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre.

But they lost the most important matchup on the ice—the goaltending duel in the 4-1 loss.

Eric Comrie made 43 saves on 44 shots for the visiting Americans and was the game’s first star, while Raiders goaltender Nick McBride only lasted 29 minutes.

McBride surrendered three goals on 18 shots and was pulled from the game, the first time that’s happened this season.

The last straw for McBride was Parker Wotherspoon’s seemingly innocent wrist shot from the point, which got through McBride too easily for Clouston’s liking.

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“Nick struggled,” said Clouston. “Right off the opening start, I don’t know if he was ready to play. He wasn’t tracking the puck. All three goals were stoppable, I’m sure he’ll be the first to admit that.

“At the other end, the chances probably were 3-1 (in our favour) and Comrie showed why he’s arguably the best goalie in the league tonight.”

McBride has started all six games for the Raiders, and has a 3-3 record on the year. The loss dipped his save percentage to .898, the first time this year his save percentage has been below .900. Rylan Parenteau got his first action this season, making 12 saves on 13 shots.

The Americans got two goals from Russian import Vladislav Lukin, and singles from Wotherspoon and Brian Williams.

Captain’s Log

Tuesday’s game marked the first game back for Raiders captain Josh Morrissey, after he was reassigned by the Winnipeg Jets. That wasn’t announced until Sunday, so Morrissey had a lot to do before Tuesday’s game—which may have affected his play.

“I’ll be honest, at the beginning of the game I just felt slow—I didn’t have my legs,” said Morrissey. “There’s been a lot of different things going on the last few days with travelling and settling back in with my billets, getting back in with the guys, new equipment.

“It kind of takes a little out of you I think, and for whatever reason I didn’t have that jump in my legs. I tried to manage anyways.”

Familiar friend and foe

When Morrissey was trying to make the Winnipeg Jets this preseason, he saw a lot of a very familiar—Eric Comrie.

In the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, the Jets picked Morrissey 13^th overall in the first round, then selected Comrie in the second round, 59^th overall. The two also played together last year for the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the St. John’s Ice Caps. In both of Comrie’s appearances for the Ice Caps on April 4 and April 6, Morrissey suited up in front of him.

“I’ve had the chance to play with him or against him since I was twelve years old. I’ve had a lot of opportunity to shoot on him and he’s a goalie that’s seems to always have my number a little bit,” said Morrissey, who had a game-high seven shots. “Hopefully if we see him down the line, I can score on him but if we play together in the future, hopefully he has a performance like (Tuesday).”

Although the two were opponents on Tuesday, both Morrissey and Comrie embraced after the game and caught up a little bit. Comrie had only great things to say about Morrissey, and believes he’ll be a “superstar” in the NHL at some point.

“Anytime you play against him, it’s a tough game,” said Comrie. “He’s probably the best ’95 (born) defenceman in the world for his age I believe, and I’ve believed that since the first time I saw him—I thought he was the best defenceman I’ve ever seen.

“He’s just going to get better. He’s a hard working guy, good skill and he’s going to be better and better until you see him as a future NHL superstar.

Even-weakness

The Raiders went 191:08 without scoring an even-strength goal. Craig Leverton stopped the streak by scoring on a rebound 5:23 into the first period. The previous Raiders’ even-strength goal was scored by Reid Gardiner in the third period back on Sept. 20 in a 3-1 road win over the Saskatoon Blades.

Primary scoring from second line

The Raiders’ second forward unit of Craig Leverton, Reid Gardiner and Jordan Tkatch have combined scored nine of the Raiders 17 goals on the year.

Leverton had the lone goal for the Raiders in the first period, and has three goals and five points in his last three games. He also leads the Raiders with four goals.

The first line has struggled to score, as Dakota Conroy, Jayden Hart and Gage Quinney have combined for just two goals. Calder Brooks, who was the first line centre before being traded to the Spokane Chiefs, also had a goal while on that line.

Looking ahead

The Raiders don’t return to the Art Hauser Centre until Oct. 17, when they’ll face the Edmonton Oil Kings. Before then, they’ll road games in Saskatoon on Oct. 11 and in Moose Jaw on Oct. 15.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea