Raiders goaltender Ian Scott is congratulated by teammate Zack Hayes after breaking the Raiders' shutout record. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Scott breaks Raiders record

Ian Scott breaks another Raiders record during his magical season

Mar 8, 2019 | 10:34 PM

It’s official now. Ian Scott is enjoying the best goaltending season that the Prince Albert Raiders have ever had.

Scott picked up the team’s single season record for shutouts by getting his seventh of the year on Friday, beating the Swift Current Broncos 8-0 at the Art Hauser Centre. He also shutout the Broncos on Tuesday, making 24 saves in their 5-0 victory.

That broke the previous record that was shared between Luke Siemens (2012-13) and Rejean Beauchemin (2003-04).

“It’s a pretty cool accomplishment,” Scott said, who’s the only Raiders netminder in history to score a goal. He also signed an NHL deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and made Team Canada’s World Junior team this year. “It wouldn’t have happened this season without the team in front of me. A lot of thanks goes toward them for shutting it down tonight and making it two in a row.”

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It’s become a superstitious tradition in hockey to avoid even saying the word ‘shutout’ and not jinx your goaltender. But the Raiders have the opposite approach.

In fact, they actually used it as a rally cry in the second intermission to make sure Scott got the record. The plan worked, as the Raiders surrendered just two shots in the third period.

“We talked about it during the second intermission, we wanted to get that for him,” Raiders captain Brayden Pachal said. “It seems like whenever we don’t talk about him getting a shutout, he doesn’t get it. It’s one of those things that might be a jinx for some guys, but not for him.”

Raiders forward Parker Kelly, who had two goals on Friday, apparently started that trend. After a few shutout bids fell short, Kelly blurted out the ‘S’ word during the Oct. 8 game in Scott’s hometown of Calgary. Scott got his first clean sheet of the season that day, making 23 saves in a 4-0 win over the Hitmen.

“There’s a few instances in the start of the season, it was close. I think it was in Calgary, I got Parker to say it and we just rolled with it ever since,” Scott said.

It’s also a matter of time before Scott also sets Raiders’ records for goals against average, as his current 1.86 is well ahead of the 2.32 record Beauchemin had in 2003-04. And Scott’s .932 save percentage is 20 points better than Siemens’ .912 record in 2012-13.

This is Scott’s fourth year with the Raiders. Like the other veterans on the team that have played their entire WHL careers on the team, Scott had his growing pains, but he and the rest of the Raiders have had only become stronger because of them. For Scott, this is the first year he’s had a save percentage above .900 and a goals against average below 3.00. And for the Raiders, they’re 52-9-2-2, which is their best season since the 1985-86 year. The last two years, the Raiders combined total in wins was 53.

That long journey to get to this point has certainly been worth it, and Scott has treasured it with the rest of his team—including two of his closest friends on the club.

“I share a lot of those moments with Parker. And [Zack] Hayes, I’ve been with him since midget,” Scott said. “It’s pretty special as a team.”

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Brayden Pachal from Eric Pearce and Jakob Brook, 3:33

2-0, Raiders, Brett Leason from Aliaksei Protas and Max Martin, 4:59

3-0, Raiders, Noah Gregor from Spencer Moe and Cole Fonstad, 12:57

4-0, Raiders, Brett Leason from Brayden Pachal and Zack Hayes, 19:49

Second Period

5-0, Raiders, Cole Fonstad from Max Martin, 2:01

6-0, Raiders, Parker Kelly from Justin Nachbaur and Sean Montgomery, 16:10

7-0, Raiders, Spencer Moe from Noah Gregor and Cole Fonstad, 16:44

Third Period

8-0, Raiders, Parker Kelly from Sergei Sapego, 8:07

Last three

The Raiders will close out their Broncos trifecta this week by heading over to Swift Current on Sunday at 4 p.m., to battle the Broncos one last time this year.

Then the Raiders will play their last two regular season games with a home-and-home series against the Saskatoon Blades March 15 at the SaskTe; Centre and March 16 at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders will then wait to play the team that finishes in the second wildcard spot.

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW