Raiders forward Evan Herman scored the first goal of the preseason for the Raiders, in the second period of Wednesday's tune-up against the Warriors. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Starting off the year

Herman lights the lamp, Clark makes his mark in Raiders’ preseason win over MJ

Sep 4, 2019 | 9:44 PM

Evan Herman’s offseason was better than yours.

He had an unorthodox but refreshing training method to get ready for the upcoming season, juggling pucks while riding on a surf board out on the lake.

“It was lots of fun. My auntie, auntie Jolene came up with the idea. I took her up on it, gave’er a try and it was a lot of fun and a big hit,” Herman said. “Maybe [next summer] we’ll try a new challenge. I’m always up for something new.”

That kind of preparation seems to be paying off early in the season as Herman scored the first goal of the preseason for the Prince Albert Raiders and added a late insurance marker in their 4-2 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors Wednesday night at the Art Hauser Centre.

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Herman cut in front of the net and tipped one on his backhand after a lovely feed from fellow Raider rookie Ilya Usau to put the Raiders up 1:52 into the second period.

“I was high on emotions, it’s always a good feeling to score. I just can’t thank Bob [Usau] enough for that pass there,” Herman said. “It was nice.”

That early marker kickstarted a three-goal outburst for the Raiders within a span of 2:22 to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead after two periods with goals from Braydon Clark and Ozzy Wiesblatt.

The Warriors made the game interesting in the third period, with goals just nine seconds apart. Warriors rookie Eric Alarie, a first round choice in 2018, scored his fourth goal of the preseason to get the Tribe back in the game. Tate Popple scored on a wrap around on the following shift.

But Herman was able to seal the game. As Warriors goaltender Jackson Berry was scurrying to the bench for the extra attacker, Herman came up with a loose puck skated near the centre circle and scored a 105-foot shot past the diving Berry who couldn’t get there.

Clark makes his mark

Not only did Braydon Clark score his first WHL goal in any competition, but he did it playing out of position.

Clark, the rugged defenceman from Langley, B.C., has been on the blueline for most of his life but was put up at forward—on his off-wing no less at left wing.

But he still was able to score, crashing the net and sliding home a rebound caused from a low Tyson Laventure wrist shot.

“I think the last time I played forward was probably back in atom—a long time ago,” Clark said. “I think that it just shows that I can change my game however they need me to and showing them what it takes to be on this team—to be a Raider.”

But regardless wherever Clark plays, he’s going to bring a whole bunch of grit with him. Clark threw the hit of the season so far, completing de-skating Warriors forward Ryder Korczak who was caught unaware in the neutral zone.

“I saw the guy cutting across the ice, head down so I thought I’d put the shoulder into him. But my first WHL goal was pretty surreal too.”

Scoring Summary

First Period

No scoring.

Second Period

1-0, Raiders, Evan Herman from Ilya Usau, 1:52

2-0, Raiders, Braydon Clark from Tyson Laventure and Niall Crocker, 3:13

3-0, Raiders, Ozzy Wiesblatt from Landon Kosior and Jeremy Masella, 4:14

Third Period

3-1, Warriors, Eric Alarie from Ryder Korczak and Carson Denomie, (power play), 13:13

3-2, Warriors, Tate Popple from Bryden Kiesman, 13:22

4-2, Raiders, Evan Herman (shorthanded, unassisted), 18:45

Happy campers

The Raiders sent five players to NHL camps on Tuesday night, as Cole Fonstad (Montreal Canadiens), Zack Hayes (Anaheim Ducks), Max Martin (Boston Bruins), Brayden Pachal (Vegas Golden Knights), Aliaksei Protas (Washington Capitals). Sergei Sapego (Toronto Maple Leafs) is eligible to return to the Raiders, but is no longer on the roster after attending camp with the Raiders.

Also attending NHL camps this year are Ian Scott (Toronto Maple Leafs), Brett Leason (Washington Capitals) and Parker Kelly (Ottawa Senators), who did not visit Prince Albert for training camp. Graduated players Noah Gregor (San Jose Sharks) and Dante Hannoun (Boston Bruins) are also up with big clubs.

Not playing yet

There’s a lot of excitement around Raider defenceman Nolan Allan to make the jump to the WHL full-time in his 16-year-old season, but Allan has yet to take the ice yet this season as a Raider. He’s battling an illness at the moment, and missed all of Raider camp and Wednesday’s game. Sophomore Jakob Brook also missed all of camp due to injury and was also sidelined on Wednesday.

Rest of the preseason

The Raiders will play two more games this weekend on the road, Friday in Warman against the Saskatoon Blades at Saturday against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

They’ll wrap up the preseason with a home-and-home series against the Regina Pats, playing in the Saskatchewan capital on Friday and at the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday.

The regular season will kick off at the Art Hauser Centre on Sept. 20, when the Raiders will hang up their 2019 WHL Championship banner in front of their biggest rivals, the Saskatoon Blades.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW