Riley Boychuk of the Raiders battles with Triston Mitchell-McElhone of the Blades for a centre ice faceoff. (Nick Nielsen)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 4-1

Raiders young guns outpace Blades in preseason opener

Sep 5, 2024 | 5:31 AM

The Prince Albert Raiders opened their preseason last night against their rival Saskatoon Blades, with the Raiders heavily outshooting the Blades for two periods to earn the 4-1 victory.

With either team only dressing players born in 2006 and younger, the Raiders came into the game with only 10 forwards dressed along with the usual six defencemen. Raiders Head Coach Jeff Truitt was impressed with the way his team managed their time on the ice.

“I thought that they did a great job. We didn’t want to put any of our older guys in here tonight. The younger guys got to get their feet wet and get some confidence, lots of reps, there’s lots of ice time for everybody, and that’s what this was all about here tonight. But the performances were good, it’s carried over right from training camp and we want that to be a a staple, and then once the older guys get in expect me even more.”

Oli Chenier was given the first star honours of the game for a goal and an assist.

“Well-rounded. He gets involved in the scrums, he gets involved along the boards, he’s got a heck of a good shot, and he played a good poised game out here tonight. He’s probably one of the older guys out here but I thought that he showed real well with the puck and even without it.”

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Despite the short handed lineup, the Raiders got out to a quick start when Jonah Sivertson stole the puck from the Blades defence at centre and went down the left wall on a 2-on-1 and ripped a wrist shot short side just 2:39 into the first period.

The Blades would score next when Colten Worthington took the puck down the left wall on a rush, and he threw it towards the net looking for Cohen Lewko streaking towards the net. Luke Moroz was backchecking for the Raiders, and the puck hit his skate and bounced into the back of the net to give Worthington the goal and tie the game 4:44 in.

After the halfway mark, the Raiders would use a delayed penalty call to get a temporary 6-on-5 man advantage and set up the cycle in the offensive zone. Ty Meunier would feed Benett Kelly in the middle of the blue line, and he’d send a shot that was labeled for the crossbar that Oli Chenier tipped downward to go five hole and take the lead back for the Raiders at the 12:17 mark.

After 1: Raiders 2 – 1 Blades, shots 18-5 Raiders

In the second, the Raiders would extend their lead at the 14:38 mark when Oli Chenier would work his way down the left side wall and absorb a hard hit as he crossed the blue line to earn a 2-on-1 rush. Chenier got to the goal line before sending a pass in front for Ty Meunier and he swatted it home to give the Raiders a two goal lead.

Two minutes later, the Raiders powerplay would get their lone powerplay goal of the game. After pouring on the pressure the puck would squirt to the point for Luke Moroz, and he made a nice pass into the middle that drew a defender out of the shooting lane for Benett Kelly. Kelly then put the puck on the net and was stopped, but Kyle Obobaifo would pop the rebound free and Ben Harvey would clean it up into the back of the net at 16:04.

After 2: Raiders 4 – 1 Blades, shots 14-9 Raiders, 22-14 Raiders overall

In the third, the Raiders would get a chance on a 5-on-3 powerplay but couldn’t find a way to put the puck in the back of the net despite some good pressure to go 1/4 on the night. The Raiders would also kill off just their second penalty of the game, going a perfect 2/2 on the penalty kill.

FINAL: Raiders 4 – 1 Blades, shots 5-4 Raiders, 37-18 Raiders overall

Both Cooper Anderson and Steele Bass got into the game with Cooper Anderson getting the start. Anderson stopped 10 of 11 shots faced, while Bass went a perfect 7 of 7 on the night.

The Raiders will head to Swift Current tonight for their first road preseason game of the season against the Swift Current Broncos.

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