Goaltender Boston Bilous battles to keep the puck out of the net at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw Saturday night. [Marc Smith/CTV Regina]

By Trevor Redden

Raider rebound

Raiders edge Warriors for second pre-season win

Sep 7, 2019 | 10:29 PM

A three-point night from Justin Nachbaur helped the Prince Albert Raiders to their second win of the pre-season as they dropped the Moose Jaw Warriors 3-2 on Saturday night.

It was a night full of penalties on both sides of the battle, starting with three straight minor penalties against the Raiders in the opening seven minutes.

However, the penalty kill was up to the challenge with three straight kills including a shorthanded goal. Down 5-on-3, Nachbaur got to work as he sprung Ozzy Wiesblatt on a breakaway but he was stopped by Warriors goaltender Jackson Berry.

Just moments after the ensuing faceoff, Nachbaur was able to spring Wiesblatt once again who made no mistake this time in burying his third goal of the pre-season. The 17-year-old forward now has a goal in each exhibition game so far.

The Raiders lead disappeared with just over five minutes to play in the first when Warriors defenceman Drae Gardiner got Moose Jaw on the board with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Raider goaltender Boston Bilous. Peyton McKenzie and Bryden Kiesman picked up assists on the play.

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Prince Albert got back in front just two minutes later when Ilya Usau took a pass from Evan Herman, putting it away for his first goal in a Raider uniform. Nachbaur picked up his second point of the night with an assist on the goal.

The pace slowed down in the second period as both sides successfully killed off three penalties in the frame before Prince Albert struck again to extend the lead to two.

With 2:18 to play in the period, forward Evan Herman sped up the ice to create a two-on-one rush with Nachbaur, taking the pass and beating Berry for his third goal of the pre-season. Usau picked up the second assist on the play.

Connecting with Herman and Usau on two of the three goals, Nachbaur acknowledged some chemistry on the ice between the trio.

“Herm’s a good guy, easy to play with,” Nachbaur said. “I give him the puck, he gives me the puck, it makes it really easy.”

“[Usau] is a very skilled forward. He’s really easy to play with and I’m thankful for those two guys.”

In the third, Moose Jaw cut the Raider lead to one on a goal from Carson Denomie, but that’s as close as they would get as Prince Albert hung on for a 3-2 victory. Goaltender Boston Bilous finished with 24 saves for his second win of the pre-season, while Warriors netminder Jackson Berry stopped 29 of 32 shots in the loss.

“I think everyone chipped in tonight. The young guys helped out a lot and all the veterans stepped up, it was a really good game by everyone I thought,” Nachbaur said.

The two teams combined for an 0-for-14 effort on the man advantage, with Moose Jaw having eight power plays, and Prince Albert finishing the night with six opportunities.

Lineup notes

Prince Albert dressed the same lineup as Friday night in Warman, the lone difference being Bilous starting in goal ahead of Brett Balas. Out of the lineup were defencemen Nolan Allan [injury], Zack Hayes [Anaheim Ducks camp], Brayden Pachal [Vegas Golden Knights], and Max Martin [Boston Bruins], and forwards Jakob Brook [injury], Cohner Saleski [injury], Aliaksei Protas [Washington Capitals], and Cole Fonstad [Montreal Canadiens].

Out of the lineup for Moose Jaw were defencemen Cory King, Daemon Hunt, and Matthew Benson along with forwards Ryder Korczak, Cameron Sterling, Kjell Kjemhus, an Brayden Tracey [Anaheim Ducks].

The Raiders will wrap up their pre-season schedule next weekend with a home-and-home set against the Regina Pats starting Friday night in Regina before returning to Prince Albert on Saturday.

Scoring summary

First period

1-0, Raiders, Ozzy Wiesblatt [SHG] from Justin Nachbaur, 7:16

1-1, Warriors, Drae Gardiner from Peyton McKenzie and Bryden Kiesman, 14:53

2-1, Raiders, Ilya Usau from Evan Herman and Justin Nachbaur, 16:28

Second period

3-1, Raiders, Evan Herman from Justin Nachbaur and Ilya Usau, 17:42

Third period

3-2, Warriors, Carson Denomie from Eric Alarie, 5:23

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden