Raiders rookie Evan Herman scored his first WHL career goal, just like fellow rookie Cole Nagy did, on Friday in Regina. Lucas Chudleigh/Apollo Multimedia.

By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders rookies rockin' in Regina

Raiders rookies and newcomers shine over Regina

Sep 27, 2019 | 10:06 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders’ rookies and newcomers stole the show in Regina, as they were able to come back from a 2-0 deficit and skate away with a 5-2 victory over the Regina Pats (1-2). The Raiders now move up to 2-0-1 on the season.

After Pats veteran Riley Krane scored a pair in the first period, Raiders rookies Cole Nagy and Evan Herman both scored their first WHL career goals to erase a Pats’ lead and tie it up in heading into the third.

Nagy’s goal came on the power play to kickstart the Raiders offence.

Herman scored just 26 seconds later to tie the game.

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“Great for those two guys. Everybody’s got to prove they can put the puck in the net when they can—younger guys are included. They’re a part of this offence and we want them to obviously score,” Raiders assistant coach Jeff Truitt said. “They did today, and that’s great to see those guys get involved and not just rely on one or two guys here. We’re seeing some growth in these younger guys, for sure.”

Then overager Brayden Watts completely took over the third period in his Raider debut. He scored two goals and an assist game—all in the final frame—to help secure the victory of the Raiders.

The eventual game-winner came off Watts’ stick 4:23 into the third period, after a feed from Protas set him up perfectly in front of the net.

Watts returned the favour to Protas, giving him a lovely drop pass for the 4-2 insurance marker halfway through the frame.

Then late, Watts filled the empty net to seal the game for the Raiders.

Watts started the game on the second forward unit with Ilya Usau and Spencer Moe, but was pushed up to the top line with Aliaksei Protas and Ozzy Wiesblatt and that seemed to give the Raiders a big boost up front.

“I thought there was a lot of chemistry there, for whatever reason. Sometimes you have to do that when things aren’t working, you have to change your lines,” Truitt said. “With Brayden Watts, he’s a veteran player, he knows how to play the game. He’s got good awareness, he knows how to move the puck. It was great to see him get a couple tonight.”

Viper’s bite

Aliaksei Protas has had a very productive start to the Raiders’ season. He’s the only Raider to register a point in each of the three games of the season so far. His one-goal, three-point night on Friday against the Pats now gives him two goals and five points on the year, leading the Raiders in both categories. Ozzy Wiesblatt has four assists, leading the Raiders in that category.

Jakob Brook played in his first game of the season, after missing all of training camp and the pre-season with a lower body injury. Brook got an assist on Evan Herman’s goal.

In Boston we trust

Boston Bilous made 23 saves on 25 Pats shots on Friday for the victory. Through three starts, Bilous has a .928 save percentage, 1.62 goals against average, a 2-0-1 record and a shutout.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Pats, Riley Krane (unassisted), 5:49

2-0, Pats, Riley Krane from Austin Pratt and Makai Mitchell, 16:50

Second Period

2-1, Raiders, Cole Nagy from Cole Fonstad and Kaiden Guhle (power play), 16:06

2-2, Raiders, Evan Herman from Jakob Brook, 16:32

Third Period

3-2, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Aliaksei Protas and Ozzy Wiesblatt, 4:23

4-2, Raiders, Aliaksei Protas from Brayden Watts and Ozzy Wiesblatt, 12:40

5-2, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Aliaksei Protas and Ozzy Wiesblatt

Slippery Saturday

The Raiders will get their first look ever at the Winnipeg ICE on Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre. Then next week, the Raiders will have two more home games against the Saskatoon Blades on Friday and a rematch against the Pats on Saturday.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW