Iginla Sends Bears Flying, But Oil Kings Fall to Raiders in Overtime
Edmonton, Alta. – The Edmonton Oil Kings and Prince Albert Raiders played an instant classic on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place, and while the Raiders took a 4-3 overtime win over the Oil Kings, the game had a playoff feel.
In front of more than 16,800 fans at Rogers Place, the Oil Kings and Raiders certainly showed that they are the top two teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. And it was the Raiders that scored the first one of the game, not sending bears flying as Max Heise scored on the powerplay to give Prince Albert a 1-0 lead.
There were a few chances in the period where bears would make their way onto the ice, but the Oil Kings were down 1-0 heading into the second, and they were able to send the avalanche of bears onto the ice as Lukas Sawchyn worked his way into the zone, dished it to Miroslav Holinka who fired a shot that beat Michal Orsulak, and the entire building went into a frenzy. For a few minutes, it was Holinka’s goal, but upon further review, Joe Iginla got a piece of it en route to the back of the net, giving the Lake Country, B.C. product the title of Mr. Teddy Bear 2025.
IT'S SNOWING BEARS AT ROGERS PLACE! 🧸
Joe Iginla scores the magic goal for his 11th of the season.@EdmOilKings I #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/UOgPtPVglU
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) December 8, 2025
After the cleanup of 16,303 bears, there was still a hockey game to be played. Ethan MacKenzie gave Edmonton their first lead of the game as he notched his 10th of the season.
Then, Maddix McCagherty and Daxon Rudolph scored for Prince Albert, less than a minute apart to give the Raiders the 3-2 lead. Poul Andersen responded for Edmonton late in the period on a bouncing puck as he backhanded home his 11th of the year.
The third period was more back and forth action as both clubs had excellent chances, but neither team could capitalize in the third. However, a four-minute penalty was called on the Oil Kings with just over three minutes to play. They were able to kill off the regulation portion of the penalty, forcing overtime. But in the dying seconds of the powerplay, the Raiders got a fortunate bounce that beat Ethan Simcoe, giving the Raiders a 4-3 win.
The Oil Kings are now 21-6-2-1, still atop the WHL’s Eastern Conference and Central Division.
They’re back in action on Sunday, hosting Brandon.
