Prince Albert-6 Saskatoon-1
Game 5
Prince Albert leads series 3-2
Well the home ice trend continued on Friday night in Prince Albert. The home team has taken every game in this series which has now pushed the Saskatoon Blades to the brink of elimination.
The first period seemed to be a tentative feeling out process, not much going either way. Nolan Maier continued his strong play with a cross-ice pad save on Brett Leason and Ian Scott had a nice save as Kirby Dach tried to out wait him but it ended a scoreless first period where the shots were tied nine to nine.
The second period is when they game really started to open up. Riley McKay was called for goaltender interference when he knocked the mask of Ian Scott off and put the Raiders on the power play.
On the ensuing man advantage Dante Hannoun was looking for a Sean Montgomery tip but it slid off the post and in as Hannoun scored for the second straight game.
Just over three minutes later the Blades headed to the power play but it was Noah Gregor who got the Raiders a shorthanded goal for the second straight game. The Blades turned it over at the blue line and Gregor, who might be the fastest player in the WHL, beat Maier on the breakaway.
Saskatoon was quick to respond though as Emil Malysjev got a point shot by the glove of Scott to get the Blades within one. That celebration was short lived as Gregor once again showed off his speed and beat Malysjev wide to put the Raiders on top three to one.
“They buzzed. They play off the energy of their fan base, of course, like they have in the series. Once we took that penalty and they got that power-play goal, it gave them some life and, after that, it was a 6-1 final,” said Blades head coach Mitch Love (Courtesy of the Saskatoon Starphoenix).
In the third period the Raiders put this game to bed pretty early as Leason found Aliaksei Protas just 61 seconds in and he beat Maier to make the score 4-1 for P.A.
Hannoun and Sean Montgomery both had Raider goals with under 10 minutes left to make it 6-1 and end Maier’s evening.
Justin Nachbaur was given a five-minute major for interference on Dawson Davidson as he was shaken up and Nachbaur will most likely be hearing from the league on any potential discipline.
“It’s really exciting (to get back on home ice for Game 6). We’ve got great support in Saskatoon and lots of people come out to SaskTel Centre. It’s nice to see and we’ve been playing pretty good hockey at home, so we’ll just focus on that,” said Blades captain Chase Wouters on Game 6 (Courtesty of the Saskatoon Starphoenix).
Kirby Dach also left the game near the end of the second period as he and Brett Leason locked feet and Dach headed to the dressing room but did return in the third. Game 6 goes on Sunday afternoon in Saskatoon.
