Dante Hannoun celebrates scoring the first goal of the 2019 WHL Playoffs for the Raiders Friday at the Art Hauser Centre. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders Playoff Hockey

Raiders roll Rebels to start the playoffs

Mar 22, 2019 | 10:35 PM

They may be coming off a memorable Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy winning season, but the playoffs are a bit unfamiliar to more than a handful of Prince Albert Raiders players.

That didn’t play a part at all on Friday as the Raiders stormed out to get a 3-0 win over the Red Deer Rebels to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

But that doesn’t mean the Raiders don’t have any postseason experience.

Dante Hannoun comes into the series with 32 playoff games under his belt, all with the Victoria Royals. He led his new Raider club by example, opening the scoring of the series with 31.6 seconds left in the first period.

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“Before the game, I’m sure most of us were pretty nervous for the first game,” said Hannoun, who returned to the lineup after missing the last two games of the regular season to injury. “But after the first couple shifts, we just soaked it in and we just battled hard. Us older guys helping [pave] the way, it helps the younger guys. I thought we did a good job.”

One of those younger guys was Ozzy Wiesblatt, who was one of five Raiders playing in his postseason debut. It was quite successful as Wiesblatt scored the important 2-0 goal in the second period, scoring on a rebound generated from a Brayden Pachal shot.

“Ozzy’s a special kid. He works his bag off every day,” Hannoun said. “You got to give it to him.”

Friday may just be the start of the playoffs, but it’s a game that Wiesblatt won’t soon forget.

“The crowd was unreal today, just everyone screaming,” Wiesblatt said. “It’s so nice to get that first win out of the way in the playoffs. So many emotions were going through me.”

But the turning point of the game wasn’t a goal, it was a blocked shot by Max Martin, leading to the 3-0 goal scored by Sean Montgomery.

“They had a push on us and a point-blank chance and Max Martin put his body in front of it,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “It’s a good shot, and if that goes in, it’s 2-1 instead of 3-0. That to me is the turning point. Max is known for his passing and offensive play, but he sacrificed himself for the team. We expect that and he did it. That was a big point in the game.”

Martin’s work led to this 3-0 goal.

Great Scott

Ian Scott got his first playoff shutout, making 21 saves in his ninth playoff appearance. He wasn’t overly tested, but was counted on to make a some timely saves. His best save of the night was in the third period, robbing top Rebels scorer in Brandon Hagel on a shorthanded breakaway.

Back in

The Raiders had two players on the injured list in forwards Hannoun and Justin Nachbaur, both dealing with upper body injuries. Both were in the lineup on Friday to begin the playoff series.

The Rebels scratched six players, the most notable being star defenceman Alexander Alexeyev. The Rebels are 5-13-0-1 without Alexeyev in the lineup.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Dante Hannoun from Aliaksei Protas, 19:28

Second Period

2-0, Raiders, Ozzy Wiesblatt from Brayden Pachal and Cole Fonstad, 8:49

3-0, Raiders, Sean Montgomery from Justin Nachbaur and Parker Kelly, 16:53

Third Period

No scoring.

Let’s do it again on Saturday

Game 2 between the Raiders and Rebels is slated for Saturday, 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. Games 3 and 4 will be at the Westerner Park Centrium in Red Deer on Tuesday and Wednesday.

If needed, Game 5 is scheduled for Friday at the Hauser, Game 6 is Sunday at the Centrium and Game 7 will be back at the Hauser on April 2. All games are scheduled for 7 p.m., except for Game 6 which will be at 2 p.m.

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW