Dube’s first hat trick lifts Raiders to 5-2 win in Regina
Brayden Dube scored the first goal of the game and added two empty netters, finishing his first career hat trick, as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Regina Pats 5-2 on Saturday night at the Brandt Centre.
It didn’t take long for the Raiders get onto the board, as they opened the scoring 7:20 into the first period. Brayden Dube was off to the races chasing after a loose puck in the neutral zone, and won the battle for it in the Regina zone. Right when the puck hit his stick, he snapped a shot glove side past Marek Schlenker, scoring his third goal in two games. His 15th goal of the season made it 1-0.
With 9:32 to go in the first, Justice Christensen was called for a hook as he was chasing Jace Egland on a breakaway. Egland was awarded a penalty shot, but Steele Bass came up clutch, making a big glove save to keep the Raiders in front.
Brandon Gorzynski scored a disgusting goal with 2:52 left in the first, putting the Raiders up 2-0. After Daxon Rudolph sprung a pass ahead for Aiden Oiring down the left wall, Oiring played the puck far side into the Regina zone. Gorzynski picked it up down the right wing, and drove way down near the goal line. He turned the puck to his forehand and roofed a shot over Schlenker’s left shoulder from a ridiculous angle. Gorzynski picked up his 17th goal of the season, giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
At the 10:38 mark of the second period, Max Heise scored on a Raiders powerplay to extend their lead to 3-0. Brock Cripps sent a pass to the left wing to Daxon Rudolph, who sent a snap pass into the slot. It deflected off Heise on the way through, finding the back of the net. His 17th goal of the season tied Heise for the team lead in goals.
The Pats responded in the final two minutes of the frame, scoring back to back powerplay goals to make it a one goal game. After Bass made an incredible save on Caden Brown, the puck came free to Ruslan Karimov. He was able to bury the rebound to score his eighth goal of the season to make it a 3-1 game.
Zachary Lansard made it 3-2 with 36 seconds left in the second period. A shot by Keets Fawcett was blocked on the way through, but Lansard found the puck in the right circle. He snapped a shot home by Bass, who had no chance on the second scoring chance.
With 40 minutes in the books, the Raiders held on to a 3-2 lead heading into the third period.
The final push of offence came in the final two minutes of the third period, as the Raiders scored a pair of empty net goals to go up 5-2. Dube scored both of the empty netters, scoring his first career hat trick. He scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season in the third period, as Prince Albert swept the home and home series with the 5-2 road win.
The Raiders now get ready to kick off a three game homestand on Friday night against the Swift Current Broncos. Puck drops at 7pm.
