John MacNeil
Daily Herald
Here they go again.
One of junior hockey’s best rivalries resumed Friday night at a noisy Art Hauser Centre as the visiting Saskatoon Blades came back late to defeat the Prince Albert Raiders 3-2 in the first head-to-head battle between the WHL adversaries this season.
“It’s always a fun one,” said Brayden Klimpke, the newly christened Blades’ captain. “These fans, they like to give it to us and they make it a lot of fun. I like coming to play here. It’s the same thing in Saskatoon. It’s always a loud one. The teams always bring the best out of each other.”
In their home-opener Saturday, the Blades skated to a 5-2 victory over the Raiders in the back end of the weekend series.
Scouts from more than half of the NHL’s 32 teams attended Friday’s game, in which a couple of players just back from professional auditions played leading roles.
One night after dressing for the Edmonton Oilers in an NHL exhibition game at Vancouver, David Lewandowski scored the winning goal on a Saskatoon power play with 1:28 left in the third period.
Back from the Philadelphia Flyers’ training camp, Blades’ six-foot-six goaltender Martin Psohlavec stood out for more than his size as he stopped 26 shots in his WHL debut.
“Yeah, he’s a stud,” Klimpke said. “Like you said, he’s a big guy and very calm back there. He moves very well, as well. We’re lucky to have him.”
Likewise, the Raiders are fortunate to have Detroit Red Wings’ prospect Michal Orsulak, who posted a solid 29-save performance Friday.
Joining the two Czech goalies as one of the three stars, Blades’ forward Lewandowski smiled as Prince Albert fans booed the announcement of his selection as second star. He showed pro-like patience and precision in unleashing the game-winning shot, finishing a three-way play with Klimpke and Cooper Williams as the Blades took advantage of fluid puck movement during the power play.
“It’s nice to have Lewy back there,” Klimpke said. “He’s really good with the puck and on the power play, so he helps out a lot.”
Lewandowski and Klimpke also factored in the game-opening goal, assisting on a power-play marker from Kazden Mathies with eight minutes remaining in the second period. The Blades were on a two-man advantage, with Prince Albert veterans Riley Boychuk and Evan Smith in the penalty box.
The Raiders evened the score on a power play in the final minute of the second as hometown boy Connor Howe ripped his third Friday night goal at the Hauser in this young season. Just as the period ended, Howe fought with Blades defenceman Jack Kachkowski, with both teams living up to the hype of their storied rivalry.
The opportunistic Ben Harvey got around Psohlavec and scored to give Prince Albert a 2-1 lead just two minutes into the third period. It stayed that way until Kachkowski tied the score with six minutes remaining, as he capitalized on a fortuitous bounce that went off the skate of Prince Albert defenceman Hubert Clarke and into the net.
It was the first win of the season for the Blades, who lost twice on the previous weekend, including an overtime loss. For the Raiders, it was their second straight defeat, after an opening-night victory.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted, (but) I thought there were a lot of positives in the game,” said Raiders forward Maddix McCagherty, who came close to scoring on a wraparound in the final minute but was foiled by the sprawling Psohlavec. “We’ve just got to capitalize on our chances a little bit better. We know this is a hard game and both teams are very physical, playing Saskatoon.
“I remember, last year, every game we played Saskatoon, it was like going to war. It’s always fun to play those games. The first game (this season), it was a good game. It could have gone either way.
“I thought we were physical but we could be a lot more physical. Just eliminate the turnovers and be a little more physical. We’ve got to stay out of the box and be a little more disciplined.”
Raiders forward Brandon Gorzynski, just back from the Dallas Stars’ camp, was in the penalty box when the winning goal was scored. He went off for slashing, after trying to stop the Blades’ Yegor Gusev from breaking loose.
Prince Albert played without head coach Ryan McDonald behind the bench. He was absent because of personal reasons, the team said in a social-media post Friday. Assistant coaches Conor Yawney and Cole Bell handled the Raiders’ coaching duties.
“We played well,” said Jonah Sivertson, who returned from the Vegas Golden Knights’ camp in time to make his season debut with Prince Albert. “At the end of the day, I think we have to capitalize on our chances. We had some good chances. They just didn’t fall for us tonight.
“(Psohlavec) is a big guy in there. We’ve got to get (in) his eyes, get some tips on him, so we can get a greasy goal.”
Sivertson rejoined the Raiders with lessons learned from his first pre-season with Vegas, which made him a fourth-round NHL draft choice last June.
“It’s very fast-paced, so I’ll try to bring a faster pace down to the WHL and our team,” he said. “Excited to be back with the group. Just pumped to be back with the guys and get started on the season.”
Sivertson stepped right into the fray as the Raiders and Blades engaged in another spirited confrontation.
“Yeah, it’s pretty exciting, rival teams going at it,” he said. “It’s always going to be competitive and a good game.”
The fireworks briefly extended beyond the final buzzer as Sivertson and Klimpke exchanged unpleasantries and others joined the jostling, setting the stage for Saturday’s rematch in Saskatoon.
“I would say it was a rough game, back and forth,” said Klimpke, a Montreal Canadiens’ defence prospect. “Yeah, just some frustration boiled over. That’s hockey, it happens.”
Earlier in the week, the Blades named Klimpke as the 65th captain in franchise history.
“It’s an honour,” he said. “I love wearing that jersey every day. I’m very fortunate to do that. To have the C on my chest is super special and I don’t take that for granted.”
Welcome aboard
Friday’s game in Prince Albert marked the WHL debut of Raiders’ 20-year-old defenceman Jordan Murray, who had been playing junior A with the BCHL’s Okotoks Oilers. With an assist on Howe’s go-ahead goal, Murray recorded his first WHL point. He showed his puck-handling and smooth skating abilities throughout the game.
“Yeah, he came in a couple of days ago and he’s been fitting in pretty well,” said McCagherty, a fellow overager. “He’s a good guy and I thought he played pretty good today. He seemed confident and made our team better, that’s for sure.”
Along with Murray and McCagherty, Smith was the other 20-year-old in Prince Albert’s lineup, as Carsyn Dyck sat for the first time this season. The Raiders’ other scratches were 18-year-old forward Carter Kingerski and 17-year-old defencemen Kade Corbet and Liam Myhre.
Before the game, both teams and the 2,819 fans observed a moment of silence in memory of Brian Taylor, who was a Raiders’ season-ticket-holder for 56 of his 85 years.
