A few thoughts from an ink-stained, dog-eared notebook after witnessing an exciting evening at the Langley Events Centre. With its 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Giants, the Prince Albert Raiders are one victory away from claiming its first league title since 1985.
Supporters of the Vancouver Giants proved they can rock the LEC! Most of the 4,626 assembled were in full-throat for the duration of Game 4. Suffice to say the only reason the roof stayed attached was because the locals were unable to score.
Prince Albert Raiders radio colour-man Martin Ring has been posting decibel readings online during playoff home games at the Art Hauser Centre and the place has been going bonkers.
The atmosphere at Western Hockey League playoff games in these smaller venues is absolutely delightful.
How good is Raiders goaltender Ian Scott? The six-foot-three, 185-pound netminder from Calgary posted his fifth shutout of the post-season and second clean sheet in the 2019 Rogers #WHLChampionship Series. Scott, who has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was outstanding as he turned aside 36 Vancouver shots.
He swiped a loose puck away from Jared Dmytriw at the goal line early on, then later in the first frame stoned Davis Koch on a shorthanded breakaway with a slight shrug of his arm, glove hand side. The Giants outplayed Prince Albert badly through 20 minutes, firing 15 shots on goal, but had nothing to show for the effort.
In the third period, Scott made enormous saves that had both Jadon Joseph and Alex Kannok-Leipert shaking their heads.
Scott is 15-4-1 so far in the post-season, with a 1.83 goals against average. His .931 save percentage – that’s 497 saves in 534 shots.
Let’s not forget the shot-blocking display in front of Scott during the final stanza.
“I maybe blocked three shots in my entire career,” said Raiders bench boss Marc Habscheid after the tilt. “And probably two of those were by accident.
“We had a lot of guys who don’t block shots – block shots. That speaks to the type of people we have. Cole Fonstad, I think he had four or five blocks tonight and that’s doing what you have to do to help the team win.”
Compared to Game 3, this was entirely a much more disciplined effort. The teams split 16 minor penalties on Tuesday night, but referees Jeff Ingram and Mark Pearce did not have a busy evening at all on Wednesday.
Coincidental minors early in the first frame to Noah Gregor and Bowen Byram, followed by three minor penalties the rest of the way, resulted in zero power play goals on the night. The teams combined for six power play tallies on Tuesday.
David Tendeck gave the Giants a chance to win, rebounding with confidence and tenacity following a dubious start the previous night.
The Arizona Coyotes prospect made a couple of stops early and settled in to give the Raiders fits for most of the affair. He turned away import forward Sergei Sapego on a second period breakaway and ended the night blocking 25 of 26 shots.
Indeed, Tendeck certainly gave his mates the goaltending performance they needed and a legit opportunity to even the series.
When was the last time a team came from down 3-1 in the championship best-of-seven series to win?
When was the last time the WHL Champion won each of its playoff series clinching games on the road? The Raiders have clinched in Red Deer, Saskatoon and Edmonton this post-season. They can win the league title with a win in Langley on Friday.
When was the last time the league champs won each series clinching game on home ice?
Wondering if the Giants and its supporters have seen enough of Dante Hannoun in an opposition uniform? When the diminutive forward from Delta was traded by the Victoria Royals in January, the entire B.C. Division was happy to see him gone east.
According to the Giants website, Hannoun has collected 56 points in 52 career regular-season and playoff games against Vancouver.
The 20-year-old veteran of 314 regular season games and 23 pre-season affairs, played in his 52nd post-season contest last night. That’s 389 totals games…and counting!
Meanwhile, the Victoria Royals connection looms large for the Raiders. While Hannoun and Noah Gregor have been stellar offensive producers, defenceman Jeremy Masella has been rock solid on the backend.
The six-foot-five, 220-pounder from Phoenix, Arizona factored in the game-winner, chipping the puck to Aliaksei Protas from a dangerous scrum in the defending zone. Protas head-manned the puck to Brett Leason, who scored his fifth goal of the series on a breakaway to give the Raiders its margin of victory.
Milos Roman has been snake-bitten in the offensive zone. The Calgary Flames prospect has been an efficient, tenacious player during his WHL career.
During the post-season, he has scored only twice in 19 games. The Giants need more from the Slovakian-born Roman, who is without question one of the most complete import forwards in the WHL.
What the heck happened when Roman was summoned back to Slovakia to write high school exams during the final weeks of the regular season? He missed four games and has seemed sluggish since his return to the lower mainland.
For almost the entire regular season, the Raiders were ranked among the top teams in the CHL. As Vancouver navigated its way through an impressive second half of the campaign, it found its way into the nation’s top ten. Both teams arrived, deservedly, in the 2019 Rogers #WHLChampionship Series.
But four games in, it appears the Giants have given almost all they have, including an important 5-4 win on the road in Game 1. Yet, they face elimination on Friday night.
“We built a foundation tonight,” said Giants head coach Michael Dyck afterwards.
Huh?
Given the excitement in the city of Prince Albert, one has to think the Raiders would love to win it all at home. But Habscheid isn’t buying that.
“I’ve learned, because I’m older than dirt, you don’t give games away,” Habscheid said. “We’ll forget about hockey for a day, then wind ‘er up again on Friday. We’re one shot away. When you’re one shot away, the motivation is there.”
I continue to really enjoy the energy the Giants play-by-play team brings to the rink.
Dan O’Connor, who may well have spent last evening on injury reserve, was brilliant from the booth. He has become a bright young star in WHL circles and has gained the respect and confidence of his peers. Veteran analyst Bill Wilms just continues to do what we’ve all grown accustomed to over the years with tremendous insights.
The pair brings a top notch game day production to the airwaves.
And a tip of the hat to Habscheid, who allowed me a quick handshake back at the team’s hotel late on Wednesday, even though I very briefly interrupted his conversation with hall-of-famer Scotty Bowman.
For the record, had Mr. Bowman managed to be more kind to my Boston Bruins during his many successful years behind the Montreal Canadiens bench, I probably would have given the gentlemen a wider berth as I passed by.
