Raiders forward Noah Gregor celebrates his first of two goals Friday at the Art Hauser Centre as the Raiders beat the Blades 6-1 in Game 5, to take a 3-2 series lead. (Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders Replay

Raiders Replay; Noah Gregor goes nuts as Raiders dominate Blades Game 5

Apr 10, 2020 | 9:30 PM

On CKBI, we’re reliving some of the biggest Prince Albert Raiders games in the playoffs, on their way to the 2019 Ed Chynoweth Cup victory. We’re re-broadcasting some of the key games on Raiders Replay and played Game 5 of the second-round series against the Saskatoon Blades. That was a critical game that turned the tide of the series and put the Raiders in the drivers’ seat. We wanted to relive the game here on paNOW.com too. If you missed the game preview, it’s right here.

Prince Albert Raiders forward Noah Gregor has had his chances to score but was unable to convert in the first four games of the series against the Saskatoon Blades.

But he sure chose a great time to end that streak as he scored twice in the second period, including the game-winning goal and insurance goal as the Raiders went on to win 6-1 Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders are now one win away from advancing to the WHL Eastern Conference finals and have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 will be at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon at 4 p.m.

Gregor gave the Raiders a 2-0 lead with this shorthanded effort.

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“It felt really good. I thought throughout the series, I’ve had chances to score,” Gregor said at the time. “I haven’t played my best at times but I thought tonight was a good one for me.”

Gregor had the breakout game without Cole Fonstad, his trusted playmaking linemate throughout most of the season. Fonstad missed the game to an undisclosed injury (welcome to the playoffs), but Gregor eventually clicked with Brett Leason and Dante Hannoun. Hannoun also finished the game with two goals and an assist, like Gregor did. Leason had three helpers.

“[Gregor] was like the rest, he took a while to get going. We had to adjust the lines a bit, so it was a feeling out process,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “When we adjusted them in the second, I think that helped for him and other guys too. We patched things together, that’s playoffs. You do what you got to do to find a win. I thought he stepped forward.”

Habscheid thought throughout the series, especially in Games 3 and 4, the Raiders had stretches were they played gripped their sticks a little tight. Habscheid’s message for Game 5 Friday was very simple.

“I told the guys, ‘just play,’” Habscheid said. “We were trying to play a perfect game or whatever. We hadn’t scored, so trying hard to score, all those emotions come in. They care. No doubt it’s an important game, so we never had to worry too much about them not trying hard enough—it was about trying too hard and being too careful.”

Maier’s fire and ire

It’s been a tail of two different Nolan Maier’s in the series so far.

He’s been almost impossible to beat this series at the SaskTel Centre. In Games 3 and 4, Maier was 2-0 with a .986 save percentage and a shutout while playing on Saskatoon ice.

But at the Art Hauser Centre, it’s been a much different story.

After Friday, Maier is now 0-3 in the series, with a .849 save percentage. He has also been replaced twice by call-up Koen MacInnes, who had previously never played an WHL game until this series.

Nachbaur major

With 5:08 left in a 6-1 game, Justin Nachbaur was issued a five-minute major for this hit on Dawson Davidson. Davidson needed to be helped to the bench and appeared to have been cut on the play.

Editor’s note—Nachbaur would later serve a two-game suspension for this hit, missing Game 6 in Saskatoon and the opening game of the Eastern Conference series against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Scoring Summary

First Period

No scoring.

Second Period

1-0, Raiders, Dante Hannoun from Max Martin and Brett Leason (power play), 2:51

2-0, Raiders, Noah Gregor (shorthanded, unassisted), 6:01

2-1, Blades, Emil Malysjev from Chase Wouters, 9:07

3-1, Raiders, Noah Gregor from Dante Hannoun, 10:23

Third Period

4-1, Raiders, Aliaksei Protas from Brett Leason. 1:01

5-1, Raiders, Dante Hannoun from Brayden Pachal and Noah Gregor, 12:31

6-1, Raiders, Sean Montgomery from Brett Leason and Jeremy Masella, 13:54

Looking ahead

The Raiders went on to finish off the Blades 6-3 in Game 6 on April 14, in front of a crowd of 10,521 people. Dante Hannoun scored a hat trick in the game. Gregor and Brett Leason each had a pair of assists. Aliaksei Protas, Sean Montgomery and Parker Kelly.

The Raiders then advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oil Kings, the top-ranked team in the WHL Central Division.

Like the Blades were in the second round, the Oil Kings proved to be tough opponents as well. The series was tied at 2-2 after the first four games, before the Raiders returned home for Game 5 on April 26 looking to take hold of the series.

That’s where we’ll pick up next week in Raider Replay. Come back next Friday for a scene setter and a game recap, as well as the re-broadcast itself starting at 7 p.m. on CKBI.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW