Prince Albert Raiders (53-9-2-2) at Saskatoon Blades (44-14-8-0)



TALE OF THE TAPE

Prince Albert Raiders (53-9-2-2 – 110pts)

1st – East Division 1st – Eastern Conference

PP– 56/253 = 22.1% (9th in WHL)

PK– 243/279 = 87.1% (1st in WHL)

Last 5: (4-1-0-0) Streak: (3-0-0-0)

Saskatoon Blades (44-14-8-0 – 96pts)

2nd – East Division 2nd – Eastern Conference

PP– 63/286 = 22% (10th in WHL)

PK– 184/226 = 81.4% (6th in WHL)

Last 5: (5-0-0-0) Streak: (7-0-0-0)

Tonight…

The top two teams in the Eastern Conference open up a home-and-home series at SaskTel Centre to wrap up an eight game season series and close out the 2018-19 regular season schedule. The Blades enter on a seven game winning streak. Meanwhile, Prince Albert enters on a three game winning shutout streak after not allowing a single goal beating the Swift Current Broncos by a total of 20-0 in three contests last week. Neither team can move up or down in the standings, but the rivalry, pride, and momentum heading into the post-season should provide for a hostile weekend between both clubs.

The last game…

Saskatoon erased 2-0 and 3-1 deficits and scored the final four goals of the game on Sunday to defeat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-3. Max Gerlach (39,40) and Gary Haden (30,31) each scored twice and added single assists for the Blades, Dawson Davidson (13) had the other goal and Nolan Maier made 21 saves for his 35th win of the season. Brandon Schuldhaus and Reece Harsch each had two assists from the backend.

Head to head…

The Blades are 1-4-1-0 in the season series and 1-1-1-0 at SaskTel Centre. The last meeting was a 5-2 loss in Prince Albert on January 5th. Dawson Davidson leads Saskatoon’s offense in the series with 2G-3A… Cole Fonstad has 11 points for PA in the series. Nolan Maier earned Saskatoon’s lone win against the Raiders, a 32 save shutout on December 9th. In the last 30 games the Blades are 23-3-3-0 (49pts) and the Raiders are 20-7-2-1 (43pts). Saskatoon’s PP against Prince Albert is 6/28 (21.4%) and the PK is 18/21 (85.7%).

Who’s hot…

Max Gerlach is coming off a 3-point game and has five points in his last three outings. Dawson Davidson has goals in three straight games, and Nolan Maier has won his last five starts. In those last five starts, Maier stat line is: .940SV% – 1.80GAA – 2SO – 5-0-0-0.

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