Giants Back Against Wall

The Prince Albert Raiders are on the verge of their first Western Hockey League Title dating back to 1984-85 managing to pull out back to back wins over the Giants in a pair of mid-week games.

Upon returning home they were no match to the Raiders who managed to score 7 times in the opening period in front of 4,733 fans that saw the G-men drop the game by a  8-2 drubbing.

The victory allowed PA to grab a 2-1 series lead in a game that was dominated by Brett Leason, and Parker Kelly, with each notched a pair.

The Raiders scored just 21 seconds in with Parker hammering his first of two  past a stunned David Tendeck, while the Giants managed to run into penalty trouble giving PA a pair of 5 on 3 power plays.

Weisblatt gave the Raiders a 2-0 lead three minutes later converting on the first of the man advantage that saw the Giants pull Tendick after giving up two goals on 4 shots placing with Trent Miner between the pipes.

Raiders Leason grabbed his first of two goals a minute later while still on the PP giving the Raiders a 3-0 lead only to be followed by goal number four managing to extend the lead to 7-0 at the intermission.

The Raiders controlled the territorial edge in play outshooting the Giants 18-8 after one to the shock of everyone.

The Raiders played steady managing to deny the Giants any opportunity to bounce back behind the steady goalkeeping of Ian Scott when tested by Vancouver, which was sparse.

Wednesday saw the Raiders defeated the Giants 1-0 in what many thought was exceptionally entertaining game in front of 4,626 fans, with many cheering for the Raiders..

The Raiders managed a 1-0 win taking a 3 – 1 series lead with game four notably a turn-a-round from the previous night in a battle “Between The Pipes” with Giants David Tendeck and Raiders Ian Scott trading key saves.

The first saw both teams come out strong with each team having better shot selections on Scott and Tendeck with the first ending scoreless with the Giants holding a 15-9 edge in shots.

The second saw both teams settle down and play more of a controlled, discipline style of play with both teams having great scoring chances.

The Raiders eventually managed to score four and half minutes in the third as Aliaksei jumped on a loose puck on the right boards sliding Leason in alone slipping one past Tendeck giving PA a lead 1-0, which proved to be the eventual winner.

Raiders “tender” Ian Scott made 36 saves earning a shutout as well as getting named as the games first star.

The Giants hit the ice for game 5 Friday at the Langley Events Centre with both teams having a off day as the Giants look to get back into the series trailing 3-1.

The game was entertaining from the start with a trio of youngsters singing the Antheum and the only part that could have been better is the seating in the press box – not the best!!