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Raiders Cole Peardon fends off a Pats defender. (Mark Peterson Media)
Raiders preseason

Peardon, Tansem light the lamp; Pats edge Raiders in preseason contest

Sep 9, 2022 | 11:15 PM

PRINCE ALBERT – Rookies Cole Peardon and Seth Tansem each netted their first WHL preseason goals on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough as the Prince Albert Raiders fell short to the Regina Pats 3-2 at the Art Hauser Centre.

The loss comes three days after the Raiders opened their preseason with a triumphant 6-3 win over the Saskatoon Blades in Big River.

“We were on our heels quite a bit,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt. “We were chasing in the second period and we had to calm things down a bit. We had a lot of turnovers and some needless plays but we have a young group just trying to figure things out.”

Trevor Thurston led the assist category for the Raiders, netting two assists while Evan Herman and Zachary Wilson each potted one.

Pats forwards Cole Dubinsky and Tye Spencer each netted a goal and an assist in the game while Alexander Suzdalev also found the back of the net for Regina.

Raiders netminder’s Tikhon Chaika and Max Hildebrand each combined for 22 saves on 25 shots as PA falls to a 1-1-0-0 pre-season record.

Pats goalie’s Drew Sim and Kelton Pyne made a total of 27 saves on 29 shots as Regina improves to 1-0-0-0 in the pre-season.

COMPLETE BOX SCORE

The Pats trailed in shots for the entire game but despite being down, Regina managed to score three unanswered goals with each coming in a different period.

The Pats scoring parade all started with Chaika misplaying the puck behind his net which resulted in a Tye Spencer goal to put the Pats up 1-0 after one.

Not too long into the second and the Pats went up by two with Dubinsky adding a shorthanded goal to double the lead. After this goal, both clubs subbed their starting goaltenders for their backups.

The Pats kept trucking into the third as less than a minute in, Suzdalev made it three for Regina.

But the tides started to shift less than five minutes later as the Raiders efforts finally paid off.

A Wilson point shot was tipped in front by Peardon which found a way past Pyne to put PA on the board.

“It was pretty awesome to get the first one out of the way,” said Peardon. “I was kind of surprised to see the puck in the back of the net but I was filled with joy. It was an awesome experience.”

Raiders Cole Peardon leading the flyby after scoring his first WHL preseason goal. (Mark Peterson Media)

Not too long after, the Raiders added another on the powerplay. Herman’s initial shot was blocked by a Pats defender where he picked up his own shot and sent it cross ice for Tansem who fired it past Pyne to make it a one goal game.

Raiders Seth Tansem going ahead in the flyby after netting his first career WHL preseason goal. (Mark Peterson Media)

In a last-ditch effort, the Raiders pulled Hildebrand for the extra attacker but it proved unhelpful as Regina held off Prince Albert 3-2.

The Raiders now prepare for a quick turnaround as they’ll head south to rematch the Pats tomorrow night at the Brandt Centre.

logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann