Recapping round one

What an atmosphere in Prince Albert for games one and two. An average of 3,123 fans packed the building and created as good of a home ice advantage as you’ll find anywhere.

As a matter of fact, even the opposing side were impressed by the noise.

Defenceman Dawson Barteaux played a lot of minutes for the Rebels through the series, and the crowd in Prince Albert left an impression on him.

“It was insane. PA fans are pretty pumped with their team and it’s well deserved for sure. They’re right on top of you on the bench, so it’s exciting, but it was hard,” Barteaux said.

Assistant coach Brad Flynn felt that the games in Prince Albert were what junior hockey is all about.

“I thought it was great. When you think about Canadian major junior hockey, and the fabric of hockey in Canada, that’s what it’s all about. The fans were respectful, but they were extremely passionate,” Flynn said.

“You want to play in those atmospheres…boos or cheers when you’re on the road and when you’re getting boo’d you know your doing something right.”

A week ahead of round two, the building is already down to standing room only for games one and two against Saskatoon.

Point producers

A pair of over agers led the way for the Raiders in round one as Dante Hannoun and Noah Gregor each registered five points in the four-game sweep.

After being held off the scoresheet in game one, Gregor registered points in all remaining games, including two-point efforts in game two and three. The Beaumont, AB native peppered the Rebel goal with 16 shots in four games.

Hannoun’s biggest output came with a three-assist effort in game two, but he also scored a pair of key goals in the series. In game one, he got the Raiders on the board early on as he converted a feed from Aliaksei Protas, and in game three he delivered on an end-to-end shorthanded rush to put the visitors up by two in the first period. Hannoun had points in each of the first three games.

A pair of rookies were alright for the Raiders in round one as Protas had four points in his first four playoff games, punctuated by a three-point night in game two. Meanwhile Ozzy Wiesblatt led the team in scoring with three goals in his first four post-season appearances.

Brett Leason, who led the Raiders in points through the regular season, capped off the series with his finest game after serving a one-game suspension in game three for a checking from behind major assessed in game two.

Tied 1-1 heading into the third period, Leason put his team in front for good with a pair of goals to make it a 3-1 lead before Cole Fonstad salted away the series with an empty-net goal.

Shutting it down

Goaltender Ian Scott opened the series with his first ever playoff shutout, turning aside all 21 shots faced in a 3-0 victory.

Through four games, Scott stopped 75 of 82 shots in the series [0.915 save percentage] and allowed an average of 1.75 goals against per game, which includes a four-goal output from Red Deer in game two.

Scott has now started 11 playoff games in his career, with a record of 7-4.

Special teams

There was no real advantage when it came to special teams in round one, with the Raiders going 2-for-13 on the power play, and the Rebels going 3-for-14.

Prince Albert scored once in game two, and Leason had a key power play goal in game four.

All Red Deer’s power play goals came in a high-scoring game two. In games one, three, and four, the Raiders kept Red Deer off the board on eight opportunities.

In the lead

Perhaps the most impressive statistic from a Raider standpoint was uncovered by paNOW’s Jeff D’Andrea after game four. Altogether, the Raiders led the series for 169:03 out of the 240 total minutes played. Conversely, the Rebels lone lead was held in game four, and lasted just 9:18 from the end of the first period to the middle part of the second.

The week ahead

The Raiders will continue to prepare for the Blades this week, leading up to games one and two at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday and Saturday.

Elsewhere, the remaining six first-round series in the WHL are ongoing.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden

by Trevor Redden

Recapping round one

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