Raiders forward Niall Crocker causes havoc in front of the Saskatoon net Saturday night in Warman. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)

By Nolan Kowal

Perfect pre-season

Raiders complete perfect pre-season with win over Blades

Sep 16, 2023 | 10:50 PM

It was a perfect pre-season for the Prince Alberts Raiders, who beat the Saskatoon Blades 4-3 in a shootout Saturday night at the Warman Home Centre Communiplex to finish up the exhibition schedule a perfect 4-0.

It was the third time the Raiders have beaten Saskatoon in the pre-season. All four of the Raiders wins were one-goal games.

“I really liked our intensity and our focus all night long,” said Raiders Head Coach Jeff Truitt. “We battled from start to finish. It was a good complete game but it was a game that showed our character, showed our resolve to what we have to do, because it’s always going to be a grind.”

It was a deafening atmosphere inside the rink in what was a pro-Blades crowd. It was the second neutral site game for Prince Albert this pre-season.

“It was nice to get on the road here and really grind one out against a team that’s got a lot of speed,” Truitt said. “We stuck to it and it takes a shootout to do it but, again, it’s a different way that we win.”

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Raiders forward Sloan Stanick pots the shootout winner. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)

Sloan Stanick, Aiden Oiring, and Oli Chenier were the goal scorers for Prince Albert, with Stanick also scoring the shootout winner. Jayden Wiens scored twice for Saskatoon, while Lukas Hansen also found the net for the Blades.

Raiders goaltender Max Hildebrand stopped 27 of 30 shots in the win, while Blades netminder Evan Gardner stopped 35 of 38.

Saskatoon went 1-3 in the pre-season.

The Raiders and Blades will play next Sunday Sept. 24, in what will be the first regular season matchup between the two rivals. Prior to that game, Prince Albert will host Moose Jaw on opening night on Friday, while Saskatoon will be in Regina next Saturday to open their season.

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nolan.kowal@pattisonmedia.com