The Saskatoon Blades scored four unanswered goals on route to a 4-1 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in the first game of the WHL exhibition season.
Henning Reinprecht had the lone goal for Prince Albert, while Evan Wandler, Chase Kettles, and Carter Adams combined to make 28 saves.
Julian Revel, Kiptyn Kennedy, Gavin Clark, and Adam Halat had the goals for Saskatoon, while Bracken Larocque and Dysen Loewen combined to make 25 saves for the win.
Reinprecht opened the scoring with 7:26 left in the first when he went around a Blades defenceman, cut to the front of the net, and beat Larocque short-side to make it 1-0. Walker Bergen earned the lone assist on the play.
The Blades responded with three goals in the second. Revel tied the game at one shortly after the Raiders failed to score on a 2-on-1 when he took a pass in the slot and beat Carter short side.
Saskatoon broke the game open midway through the second with two goals in 70 seconds. Kennedy scored first on a rebound, with the assist to Brant Caswell, to make it 2-1. Clark then made it 3-1 with assists to Noah Morrison and Braden Nowoselski.
The Raiders had six powerplays in the game, including two in the third period, but couldn’t capitalize with the man advantage. Halat iced the game for Saskatoon with an empty net goal with 55 seconds to play.
The two teams are back on the ice Wednesday and Friday at the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert. Puck drop for both games is at 6 p.m.
The two teams play again in Warman on Saturday, Sept. 6. The Raiders finish their pre-season schedule with two games against the Regina Pats before their regular season opener against Saskatoon at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday, Sept. 19.
