Raiders goaltender Ronin Geraghty paddles away a Blades' shot during his Raiders preseason debut. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raiders’ newest goaltender

Sep 24, 2021 | 9:39 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders have dealt with a lot of uncertainty and absences in their crease this preseason.

Tikhon Chaika is on the roster but still stuck in his native Belarus. Carter Serhyenko, who is slated to be the team’s go-to starter, is at main training camp with Calgary Flames. The Raiders traded for Seattle Thunderbirds Jackson Berry, but he has yet to join the team. And rookie Max Hildebrand, who started both games against the Regina Pats, has a 6.05 goals against average and .800 save percentage.

So the Raiders made another move. They struck a trade with the Tri-City Americans on Tuesday, acquiring 17-year-old goaltender Ronin Geraghty, in exchange for 16-year-old prospect Ivan Kedrov. And if his Friday debut is any indication, Geraghty could provide some answers to the Raiders’ goaltending questions.

After making the trek from the heart of Washington all the way over to Prince Albert this week, the Raiders threw Geraghty on the ice in Friday’s 4-2 loss at the Art Hauser Centre. Geraghty made 29 saves on 32 shots in the loss (not including an empty netter) and did just about everything he could to keep the game close.

“The first thing actually I had to do was get a COVID test, so I could get back into Canada,” said Geraghty, who hails from Burnaby, B.C. “That was a process. But as soon as I got over here, everybody’s been very welcoming. I already feel like part of the team.”

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The newcomer was absolutely thrown into the fire in the first period. Within the opening 13 minutes of play, Geraghty was forced into two different 5-on-3 disadvantages he had to kill off. The wiry, 5-feet-11 goaltender buzzed and spun around his own crease like a padded Tasmanian Devil to keep the Blades off the board, including an incredible diving stick-save to rob Blades’ forward Moritz Elias.

After Geraghty’s early heroics, the Raiders seemed inspired late in the period. Eric Pearce scored a power play marker, then Keaton Sorensen scored within the same minute to give the Raiders an improbable 2-0 lead after the opening frame.

“It was so great. All the fans kept me going through the whole thing. I felt their energy through the whole game,” Geraghty said.

The Blades then finally beat Geraghty in the second period, after a Pavel Bocharov shot deflected off Raider Terrell Goldsmith and in. Brandon Lisowsky then tied it up after Brendan Lee shot hit the post. Brendan Lee scored the game-winner in the third period, dangling in the offensive zone and beating Geraghty with a backhand. Kyle Crnkovic scored the empty netter with 26.6 seconds remaining.

The Raiders are now 1-2 in the preseason, while the Blades improve to 2-1.

Main camping

All six Raiders out with NHL teams are participating in their main camps. Invitees Carter Serhyenko (Calgary Flames), Landon Kosior (Los Angeles Kings), and overager Reece Vitelli (Arizona Coyotes) have all made it past the rookie tournaments and rookie camp phases, as well as first-round picks Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens), Ozzy Wiesblatt (San Jose Sharks) and Nolan Allan (Chicago Blackhawks).

Tyson Laventure did not participate in the game due to an upper-body injury suffered in the home-and-home series against the Regina Pats.

Tristen Robins (San Jose Sharks) and Colton Dach (Chicago Blackhawks) were away for the Blades. Rhett Rhinehart, the former Raider first-round draft pick, recently returned from the Colorado Avalanche but didn’t play in Friday’s game.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Eric Pearce from Evan Herman and Tre Fouquette, (power play) 17:34

2-0, Raiders, Keaton Sorensen from Michael Horon and Dallyn Peekeekoot, 18:16

Second Period

2-1, Blades, Pavel Bocharov from Moritz Elias and Kyle Crnkovic, 1:06

2-2, Blades, Brandon Lisowsky from Brendan Lee, 19:12

Third Period

3-2, Blades, Brendan Lee from Kyle Crnkovic, 3:39

4-2, Blades, Kyle Crknovic from Jayden Wiens, (empty net), 19:33

Up next

Friday’s game was the last home preseason game at the Art Hauser Centre. The next time the Raiders will play in their home building, it will be on Oct. 1 for their season opener against the Regina Pats.

Before then, the Raiders will complete their exhibition campaign on Saturday with a road rematch against the Blades at the Legends Centre in Warman.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW