Disappointing start continues

By Ryan McCracken on October 4, 2018.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com @MHNMcCracken

The Prince Albert Raiders continued their pursuit of perfection on Wednesday night at the Canalta Centre.

Raiders goaltender Ian Scott kept the Medicine Hat Tigers frustrated with 25 saves en route to a 5-1 victory, pushing Prince Albert to a 6-0-0-0 start to the season while handing the Tabbies their fifth consecutive loss.

“It’s disappointing,” said Tigers captain James Hamblin, who played in his 200th Western Hockey League game Wednesday. “We’re just beating ourselves. It’s the same thing over and over, and we have to address it.”

Eager to shake off their four-game slide, the Tigers attempted to push the early pace but it was Raiders centre Spencer Moe who found the board first by slotting a feed from Max Martin past Hat goaltender Jordan Hollett on an odd-man rush.

Martin doubled up on the Raider lead seven minutes later when he stepped into a slapshot from the point and beat Hollett through traffic for his second of the year.

“It’s good for him to pot a few,” Scott said of Martin, who scored twice. “He’s a rookie for us so it’s good to see him get rewarded like that.”

The Tigers were given a chance to start the road back when Hamblin was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway in the dying minutes of the first, but Scott calmly kept the puck out to preserve a two-goal lead at the break.

“I thought we were prepared but our first period was probably the worst so far this season,” said Linus Nassen, who returned to the Tigers from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds earlier this week, along with teammate Dylan MacPherson.

“We didn’t skate, we didn’t get the puck deep. We just gave P.A. the first period, which was stupid because we knew they were a really good team. We had to go out there right away and show them that we’re faster and stronger.”

Prince Albert picked up where they left off in the second. First Martin struck again —this time on a power play with Hamblin in the box for high sticking — then Parker Kelly tacked on with a one-timer from Noah Gregor to bury the Tigers in a 4-0 hole just before the halfway point of the second.

“I don’t think we managed the puck real well,” said Tigers head coach Shaun Clouston. “The mindset wasn’t where it needed to be. We needed to keep it as simple as possible and we turned the puck over through the neutral zone, at the blue line, way too much. Period.”

Scott continued to weather the storm early in the third, allowing Brett Leason to stretch the gap to five at the six-minute mark of the frame, but the Raider netminder’s shutout bid was snapped 15 seconds later.

Elijah Brown took credit for the marker after crashing the net and jamming in a behind-the-net feed from Josh Williams to ignite the tepid crowd of 2,727 — but the clock quickly ran on any hope for a comeback and the Raiders skated away to victory.

“I think we’re playing with a lot of confidence and we’re just making sure it doesn’t get to our heads right now,” said Scott. “It was a pretty good all-around effort.”

Hollett settled for the loss on 23 saves, dropping the Tigers to 1-4-0-1 on the season. Medicine Hat’s power play went 0-for-4.

The Tigers return to the ice Friday in Spokane against the Chiefs before hitting the road to Tri-City to face the Americans Saturday.

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