Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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It wasn’t an offensive explosion like the previous night, but the Prince Albert Raiders did more than enough defensively to earn a Game 2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday night.
A 15-save shutout by Raiders goaltender Michal Orsulak highlighted a 3-0 victory for Prince Albert, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven second round series.
While it was a tighter affair for Saskatoon compared to the Friday’s 6-1 loss in Game 1, the Blades’ offence failed to find the back of the net Saturday.
Read more:
- Prince Albert Raiders dominate series opener with 6-1 victory over Saskatoon Blades
- ‘You really do hate them’: Blades, Raiders to clash in second-round playoff series
- Saskatchewan Roughriders: Corey Mace previews 2026 training camp and talks Grey Cup tour
Shut out in three of their last four meetings against Prince Albert, Saskatoon now has gone 272:18 without scoring an even-strength goal against the Raiders dating back to Feb. 14 when captain Tyler Parr netted a second period goal in a 5-4 shootout loss.
The Raiders dominated the shot clock for a second game in a row, outshooting Saskatoon 11-3 in the first period which saw Blades goaltender Evan Gardner bounce back with 11 saves after being pulled in Friday’s Game 1 loss.
The series got its first fight midway through the second period, as Saskatoon forward Ben Bowtell and Prince Albert defenceman Brock Cripps dropped the gloves for an energetic tilt.
On the Raiders’ 26th shot on goal, Prince Albert finally broke the deadlock with Owen Corkish picking up the rebound off a shot by star defenceman Daxon Rudolph off the rush with 6:20 remaining in the middle frame.
Prince Albert extended their lead to 2-0 with just over two minutes left in the second period off a turnover by Saskatoon defenceman Jack Kachkowski at the attacking blue line, finished off by Jonah Sivertson on a two-on-one chance the other way for his first goal of the playoffs.
The Raiders needed just one minute and one second to find the back of the net to kick off the third period, as Sivertson found Matyas Man at the point who unloaded a one-timer past Gardner for the 3-0 goal.
Through seven playoff games so far, the Raiders have a 6-1 record with their only loss coming in Game 4 in their opening round series against the Red Deer Rebels.
As for the Blades, their playoff record dropped to 4-5 with the Game 2 loss.
The series now shifts down Highway 11 to SaskTel Centre, with the Blades set to host a pivotal Game 3 on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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