Brett Leason and Sean Montgomery provided four of the Raiders' six goals on Friday night. They'll look for a 2-0 series lead over Saskatoon this evening. (Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Trevor Redden

Game Two

Raiders expecting push back in game two

Apr 7, 2019 | 2:00 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders are looking to pick up where they left off Friday night as they welcome the Saskatoon Blades to the Art Hauser for game two of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal this evening.

Reflecting on the series opener, head coach Marc Habscheid said it was a complete effort by the home team.

“I liked a lot about our game really. I liked the energy and the execution was good. You could tell we had some nerves early, some guys especially had some nerves but that’s to be expected. Getting that under the belt in game one was good,” Habscheid said.

In front of a capacity crowd of 3,289, the Raiders took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission and never looked back.

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Defenceman Jeremy Masella, who played a key role in creating Brett Leason’s second period goal, said the energy in the building reached new levels on Friday night.

“You definitely get goosebumps. I’ve never felt anything like that before, there’s no feeling like it,” Masella said.

“There were no seats open, tons of people standing at the top, and a few horns out there too.”

While game one ended in a lopsided manner, the Raiders aren’t taking anything for granted as they expect the Blades to come in desperate to earn a split in Prince Albert before the series shifts back to Saskatoon on Tuesday.

Forward Parker Kelly said the Raiders need to be ready when the puck drops.

“Obviously we’re expecting a push, any team would. That’s going to be something we’ll have to watch out for and hopefully we’ll be able to contain it and get in the win column again tonight,” Kelly said.

In game one, the Raiders were led offensively by the dynamic duo of Sean Montgomery and Brett Leason, who combined for four goals and three assists in the game. In his fifth season as a Raider, Montgomery netted his first career hat trick against the Blades on Friday.

Habscheid said the two forwards, along with line mate Aliaksei Protas, help provide the team with some valuable flexibility.

“Monty and Leas have been a pair all year, and it just seemed halfway through the year sometimes you get stale or whatever. Then Leas left [to the World Juniors], and then got injured, and they weren’t really getting their mojo back. So we put them back together now and they obviously clicked,” Habscheid said.

“It gives us some different looks if we’re able to switch some guys around, and they don’t mind switching. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to win and that’s what we need.”

Game two begins at 6 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre, and can be heard on CKBI with comprehensive coverage beginning at 5.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden