Raiders put Rebels on the brink

A dominating performance at both ends of the ice has the Prince Albert Raiders one win away from the second round of the 2019 WHL playoffs.

The Raiders fired 42 shots on net and limited the Red Deer Rebels to 16 attempts on goal as they picked up a 4-2 win at the Westerner Park Centurium in Red Deer Tuesday and now hold a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series.

“We’re really happy with how the game went tonight,” Raiders overage forward Noah Gregor said. “That was probably Red Deer’s best performance in this series as they battled hard in a rink that’s always tough to play in.

“We found ways to put the puck in the net and we were able to lock things down on defence. When we can do that, our offence comes naturally.”

Gregor was able to take advantage of a couple of turnovers in the Rebels end for a two-goal performance, with his opening marker coming just 69 seconds into the contest.

“We wanted to come out quick and generate some momentum early,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “This was their first game back at home and that goal took a little bit out of them.

“We need guys like Noah and Cole (Fonstad) to go out there. They are two of our best players and they were pretty quiet in Prince Albert, but they were involved in making plays tonight and they were difference makers.”

The Raiders got their other goals on an end-to-end shorthanded rush by Dante Hannoun in the first period and an empty netter from Parker Kelly in the final minutes after Dawson Barteaux fanned on a shot from the point.

Ian Scott made 14 saves for the visitors, as Brandon Hagel found the back of the net in the second period and Reese Johnson scored with 1:02 to go as the Rebels brought out an extra attacker.

Ethan Anders was impressive for the hosts, who have lost seven straight games dating back to the end of the regular season, as he turned aside 38 shots and kept things from getting out of hand.

“Their goalie was really good tonight,” Habscheid said. “We hit a lot of posts and missed a lot of nets, but he was there to make the save when we got the puck on net.

“We played really well, but we still need one more win. We still respect this team and we know they are going to show up tomorrow wanting to get a victory.”

The fourth game in the series will get underway at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Red Deer.

Brett Leason will be back in the lineup for the Raiders, as he served a one-game suspension for a checking from behind major penalty and a game misconduct penalty he received on Saturday in Game 2.

Post-Game Notes

With Leason unable to play Tuesday, the Raiders put Loeden Schaufler into the lineup for the first time this post-season.

The Rebels had an identical lineup to Saturday’s at the Art Hauser Centre, with Kyle Masters, Hunter Donohoe and Alexander Alexeyev not on the blueline and the forward core missing Blake Sydlowski, Dallon Mellin and Ethan Rowland.

Tuesday’s Scores

WHL

• Saskatoon 3 Moose Jaw 2 (Saskatoon leads 3-0 – Kirby Dach – One Goal and One Assist – Adam Evanoff – 37 Saves)
• Medicine Hat 5 Edmonton 0 (Medicine Hat leads 2-1 – Mads Sogaard – 32 Saves – First Career Playoff Shutout)
• Calgary 5 Lethbridge 3 (Lethbridge leads 2-1 – Carson Focht – Two Goals and One Assist)
• Spokane 5 Portland 4 (Spokane leads 2-1 – Riley Woods Overtime Winner – Robbie Fromm-Delorme Two Goals)
• Victoria 3 Kamloops 2 (Victoria leads 2-1 – Griffen Outhouse – 32 Saves)
• Vancouver 6 Seattle 4 (Vancouver leads 2-1 – Bowen Byram – One Goal and Two Assists)

OHL

• Ottawa 2 Hamilton 1 (Ottawa leads 3-0 – Michael DiPietro – 18 Saves)
• Niagara 6 North Bay 0 (Niagara leads 2-1 – Philip Tomasino – Two Goals and One Assist – Stephen Dhillon – 20 Saves – Second Playoff Shutout)
• Guelph 6 Kitchener 3 (Guelph leads 3-0 – Nick Suzuki – Two Goals and One Assist)
• Peterborough 3 Oshawa 2 (Oshawa leads 2-1 – Christopher Paquette – One Goal and One Assist)
• London 6 Windsor 3 (London leads 3-0 – Adam Boqvist – Four Goals – First Career Playoff Hat Trick)
• Saginaw 6 Sarnia 1 (Saginaw leads 3-0 – Brady Gilmour – Two Assists)

QMJHL

• Baie-Comeau 4 Moncton 3 (Baie-Comeau leads 2-1 – Shawn Element Overtime Winner – Jeremy McKenna – Two Goals)
• Cape Breton 1 Charlottetown 0 (Charlottetown leads 2-1 – Kevin Mandolese – 26 Saves – First Career Playoff Shutout)
• Rouyn-Noranda 5 Shawinigan 0 (Rouyn-Noranda leads 2-1 – Peter Abbandonato – Three Assists – Samuel Harvey – 22 Saves – Second Career Playoff Shutout)
• Sherbrooke 6 Blainville-Boisbriand 3 (Sherbrooke leads 2-1 – Felix Robert – Two Goals and One Assist)
• Halifax 3 Quebec 1 (Quebec leads 2-1 – Raphael Lavoie – Two Goals)
• Val-d’Or 4 Victoriaville 3 (Victoriaville leads 2-1 – Marshall Lessard Overtime Winner – Felix Boivin – One Goal and One Assist)
• Drummondville 7 Gatineau 4 (Drummondville leads 3-0 – Dawson Mercer – Two Goals)
• Rimouski 4 Chicoutimi 3 (Rimouski leads 3-0 – Alexis Lafreniere – Two Goals and One Assist)

Monday’s Scores

OHL

• Sault Ste. Marie 5 Owen Sound 2 (Sault Ste. Marie leads 2-1 – Barrett Hayton – One Goal and Three Assists)

Sunday’s Scores

WHL

• Edmonton 4 Medicine Hat 3 (Series tied 1-1 – Mads Sogaard – 37 Saves)

OHL

• Ottawa 5 Hamilton 2 (Ottawa leads 2-0 – Graeme Clarke – Three Goals – First Career Playoff Hat Trick)
• London 5 Windsor 0 (London leads 2-0 – Evan Bouchard – Three Assists – Jordan Kooy – 15 Saves – First Career Playoff Shutout)
• Guelph 7 Kitchener 0 (Guelph leads 2-0 – Nate Schnarr – Four Assists – Anthony Popovich – 22 Saves – First Career Playoff Shutout)
• Oshawa 8 Peterborough 2 (Oshawa leads 2-0 – Tyler Tullio – Two Goals)
• Sudbury 5 Mississauga 3 (Sudbury leads 3-0 – Quinton Byfield – Two Goals)

QMJHL

• Victoriaville 4 Val-d’Or 2 (Victoriaville leads 2-0 – Jerome Gravel – Two Assists)

Wednesday’s Schedule

QMJHL

• Baie-Comeau vs. Moncton (Game 4) – 4 p.m.
• Charlottetown vs. Cape Breton (Game 4) – 4 p.m.
• Rouyn-Noranda vs. Shawinigan (Game 4) – 5 p.m.
• Sherbrooke vs. Blainville-Boisbriand (Game 4) – 5 p.m.
• Victoriaville vs. Val-d’Or (Game 4) – 5 p.m.
• Drummondville vs. Gatineau (Game 4) – 5:30 p.m.
• Rimouski vs. Chicoutimi (Game 4) – 5:30 p.m.

OHL

• Ottawa vs. Hamilton (Game 4) – 5 p.m. (Airing Nationally on Sportsnet 360)
• Sudbury vs. Mississauga (Game 4) – 5 p.m.
• Sault Ste. Marie vs. Owen Sound (Game 4) – 5 p.m.

WHL

• Saskatoon vs. Moose Jaw (Game 4) – 7 p.m.
• Prince Albert vs. Red Deer (Game 4) – 7 p.m.
• Edmonton vs. Medicine Hat (Game 4) – 7 p.m.
• Spokane vs. Portland (Game 4) – 8 p.m.
• Victoria vs. Kamloops (Game 4) – 8 p.m.
• Vancouver vs. Seattle (Game 4) – 8 p.m.
• Everett vs. Tri-City (Game 3) – 8 p.m.