The Swift Current Broncos will be pleased that they probably won’t have to face Ian Scott ever again.
The signed Toronto Maple Leafs prospect held the defending Western Hockey League champions off the scoresheet for the third time in six days Sunday as he recorded his league-leading eighth shutout of the campaign in a 6-0 affair at the Credit Union iPlex.
“It’s an impressive accomplishment for Ian,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.
“To be fair, he may have only had one really tough save to make today, but a shutout is a shutout. The guys played well in front of him and they did a great job of limiting their chances.”
It was another well-balanced and dominating performance from the 53-9-2-2 Raiders, as they outshot the Broncos by a 57-14 margin on their way to their third straight win.
“I liked the way that we’ve played over the last few games,” Habscheid said. “We played the right way, we played smart and we did what we had to do in some games that can be tough.
“We’ll have a off day here to rest up and then we’ll get ready for our last two regular season games against Saskatoon.”
Parker Kelly led the way for the Raiders with two goals and an assist, while Brett Leason had a goal and two assists.
Sean Montgomery and Sergei Sapego had a goal and an assist each in the victory, which saw Noah Gregor light the lamp for the 40th time this season.
Riley Lamb made 51 saves for the 10-49-4-2 Broncos, who have lost 18 straight games.
Sunday’s setback means the Broncos will finish at the bottom of the league standings this year and gives the Prince George Cougars the best chance of earning the first overall pick in May’s WHL Bantam Draft.
The Cougars hold the rights to the Broncos’ first round selection as a result of a trade that saw Swift Current acquire defencemen Josh Anderson last January.
The Raiders will wrap up their regular season slate next weekend with a home-and-home series against the Saskatoon Blades.
The two sides will square off Friday at SaskTel Centre before they meet up at the Art Hauser Centre for a 7 p.m. matchup Saturday.
Post-Game Notes
In addition to moving one shutout ahead of Everett’s Dustin Wolf for the league lead, Scott is also now the record holder for the longest stretch a goaltender has gone without allowing a goal at 180 minutes and counting.
The previous mark was set by Craig Hordall as he didn’t allow a goal for 128 minutes and 32 seconds during a three game stretch in September 1995.
With Cole Fonstad already out of the lineup due to an undisclosed injury, the Raiders also lost the services of Dante Hannoun in the third period as he did not return following a hit by Broncos overager Tanner Nagel.
The status of both forwards for next weekend’s games against the Blades has yet to be determined.
The Raiders went 7-1 against the Broncos this year, which marked the first time they have won the season series outright since they went 5-3 against their provincial rivals in the 2010-11 campaign.
Leason’s first period goal was his sixth shorthanded marker of the season, which moved him into a tie with Lethbridge’s Jake Elmer for the league lead.
The Broncos did not dress blueliners Roope Pynnonen and Alex Moar, along with forward Owen Blocker.
Sunday’s Scores
- Saskatoon 5 Moose Jaw 3 (Gary Haden and Max Gerlach – Two Goals and One Assist – Tristin Langan – Two Goals – Reaches 50-Goal Plateau)
- Edmonton 4 Kootenay 0 (Todd Scott – 18 Saves – First Career Shutout – Trey Fix-Wolansky – One Goal – Reaches 100-Point Plateau)
Saturday’s Scores
- Moose Jaw 6 Regina 1 (Justin Almeida and Brayden Tracey – Two Goals and One Assist – Almeida Reaches 100-Point Plateau)
- Saskatoon 6 Swift Current 1 (Eric Florchuk – Three Assists)
- Lethbridge 7 Calgary 4 (Taylor Ross – Three Goals and One Assist – Second Hat Trick This Year)
- Red Deer 8 Kootenay 4 (Brandon Hagel – One Goal and Three Assists)
- Medicine Hat 4 Brandon 2 (Ryan Jevne – Two Goals and One Assist)
- Kamloops 2 Kelowna 1 (Dylan Garand – 27 Saves)
- Prince George 5 Portland 2 (Taylor Gauthier – 37 Saves)
- Seattle 2 Everett 1 (Roddy Ross – 46 Saves)
- Spokane 6 Victoria 1 (Adam Beckman – Two Goals and Two Assists)
- Vancouver 4 Tri-City 3 (Bowen Byram Overtime Winner – Sets WHL Record for Most Overtime Goals in a Season with Six – Parker AuCoin – Two Goals)
Eastern Conference Wild Card Race
- Red Deer – 72 points (Four Games Left – Edmonton, at Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and at Kootenay)
- Medicine Hat – 72 points (Three Games Left – Red Deer, at Kootenay and Lethbridge)
- Brandon – 68 points (Three Games Left – Moose Jaw, at Regina and Regina)
Around the WHL
Prior to recording three points against the Regina Pats on Saturday, Moose Jaw Warriors forward Justin Almeida signed an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A fifth round pick in last year’s NHL Draft after being passed over in 2017, Almeida leads the WHL in assists with 71 and is third in points with 101.
Saturday also saw Red Deer Rebels head coach Brent Sutter became the ninth bench boss to win 500 career games in the WHL following an 8-4 victory over the Kootenay Ice.
Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid reached that milestone last month.
Tuesday’s Schedule
- Edmonton vs. Red Deer – 7 p.m.
- Spokane vs. Kamloops – 8 p.m.
- Everett vs. Portland – 8 p.m.
- Vancouver vs. Seattle – 8 p.m.
