The Prince Albert Raiders dropped a 2-0 game against the Saskatoon Blades in Warman in exhibition action. (Rob Mahon/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Exhibition Wrap-Up

Goalies shine in Warman for Raiders final exhibition game

Sep 26, 2021 | 7:33 AM

For the second night in a row, the Prince Albert Raiders got a stellar goaltending performance with improbable, highlight-reel saves against the Saskatoon Blades. Unfortunately, for the second night in a row, it wasn’t enough.

Though Max Hildebrand stopped 25 of 27 shots thrown his way, Ethan Chadwick was just a little better in the Blades net, stopping 20 of 20 for the 2-0 shutout win. Jayden Wiens and Moritz Elias scored for Saskatoon in front of a crowd comprised largely of Blades fans at the Legends Centre in Warman.

“That was the best game of the four, for sure,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. “I told them after, you’ve got to have a foundation to build a house, and the Raiders, from day one, since I got here, has been all about team and playing together. That was our best team game. We ran into some penalty problems but I’d rather be over-aggressive than under-aggressive.”

Penalties were indeed a huge part of the game, and both Blades goals came on the man advantage. Their first, however, didn’t come off what you’d call a traditional power play set up. In what was his only gaffe of the night, Hildebrand came out to play the puck but turned it over at the side of the net and left Wiens with a tap-in just under four minutes into the first.

Redemption came in the second period for Hildebrand, as a series of penalty kills forced him to make some acrobatic saves, including one with his blocker that left the Blades-favoring crowd gasping in shock as he spread across the crease to deny what seemed a sure goal. It was the second such highlight-reel save in as many games for the Raiders as Ronin Geraghty had put on a similar show the night before.

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“They (the goaltenders) were both good,” Habscheid said. “They made some good saves. I thought their goaltender made some good saves too. We’re going to have to score by committee this year, that’s just the way it is.”

Though the Raiders pressed early in the third and drew some power-play opportunities of their own, they could not solve Chadwick. When Prince Albert began to slip into penalty trouble again, the Blades extended their lead as Elias had room to walk into a shot and took the space he was offered, picking a corner for his first of the preseason.

The Raiders finish the preseason with a 1-3 record and will regroup before their season opener against the Regina Pats on Friday at the Art Hauser Centre. Catch that game on your home of the Raiders, 900 CKBI.