On a night where the Prince Albert Raiders had plenty of reasons to smile, no one had a bigger grin than Steele Bass.
The Prince Albert Raiders rookie goaltender practically beamed outside the Raiders dressing room on Monday after stopping 12 Swift Current Broncos shots and recording his first WHL shut-out in an 8-0 win.
“It was pretty exciting,” Bass said, game puck in hand, during an interview afterwards. “I haven’t had one in a long time, but I knew the team was going to shut it down for me and that’s what they did, so a big thanks to them as well.”
It’s been a literal up-and-down season for the High River, Alta. product. After starting the season with Prince Albert, and recording his first WHL win over the Regina Pats, he joined the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars when the Raiders elected to go with Dimitri Fortin and Michal Orsulak in goal.
Bass posted a 4-3-0-1 record in Battlefords, with a 3.00 GAA and .924 save percentage before finding himself back in Prince Albert when Orsulak was named to Czechia’s World Junior Team. On Monday, Bass made the most of his second WHL stint this season.
“(There are) lots of big guys out there trying to screen you, trying to get tips and always trying to take away your eyes,” Bass said when asked about the difference. “You’ve just got to be on top of the puck at all times.”
While Fortin has handled the majority of the workload during Orsulak’s departure, Bass has shone when needed. He stopped 17 shots in 5-1 Raiders win over Lethbridge on Teddy Bear Toss night, then nabbed his third win of the season against Swift Current on Monday.
Although he hasn’t been busy when called upon, Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said Bass has shown the focus and work ethic needed to succeed at the Major Junior level.
“Games where you don’t see as many shots are tough,” McDonald said after Monday’s win. “You need to stay in it mentally and Basser did a really good job. He had to make some 10-bell saves when he was called upon and made those saves for us and bailed us out.”
The rest of the Raiders were well aware of Bass’ landmark shut-out. After the game, captain Justice Christensen skated the length of the ice to get the Raider rookie his game puck.
Christensen said nobody wanted to talk about it on the bench, but they all knew Bass was minutes away from an important milestone, and that gave them a little bit of extra jump in the third period.
“You never want to say ‘shut-out’ on the bench,” Christensen said with a smile. “It was ‘lock it down for Basser’ there at the end. We were happy we could do that for him.
“He’s been a warrior for us. He’s come up and done great. He’s always been there when we needed him, so we’re super pumped for him.”
“Everyone was extremely excited,” McDonald added. “Just a great goaltender, great kid, works his butt off every single day he’s at the rink and he’s just a real joy to be around.”
With the World Juniors set to wrap up on Jan. 5, the Raiders will once again find themselves with one goalie too many. Until that happens, Bass said he’s just trying to soak in the experience.
“It’s always just about learning, getting used to playing in front of the crowds (and) playing at the junior level,” he said. “Obviously (I) got to play lots of games there in North Battleford and now come here, get in a few games, and experience the Hauser and get closer with these guys and stuff. It’s about building those relationships.”
The Prince Albert Raiders take on the Regina Pats at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday, Jan. 2. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
