Kostiuk scores first WHL goal as part of Prince Albert’s 6-3 win over Saskatoon
It was a run and gun start to Friday night’s game between the Prince Albert Raiders and Saskatoon Blades, as both sides came out swinging in the first period to rack up the score. The Raiders were able to put the game away in the third period however, thanks in part to Jackson Kostiuk scoring his first Western Hockey League goal to help the green and gold win by a 6-3 final at the Art Hauser Centre.
The first period was busy from the start to finish, as there were seven combined goals. Daxon Rudolph opened the scoring 2:31 into the game, taking a pass from Aiden Oiring and blasting a one timer five hole past Evan Gardner. Rudolph collected his fourth goal of the season, and extended his point streak to ten games.
Just over three minutes later, Brayden Dube extended Prince Albert’s lead to 2-0. After fanning on a one timer, Dube recovered and chased the puck below the goal line. The Raider winger chopped at the puck, sending it towards the net, where it bounced off of Gardner and over the goal line. Dube’s 20th goal of the season forced the Blades to call a quick timeout.
With 7:26 to go in the first, the Raiders opened up a 3-0 lead, as Riley Boychuk got in on the scoring action. Ty Meunier fed his fellow rookie a pass in the slot, and Boychuk roofed a shot from in tight over Gardner, scoring his eighth goal of the season.
Saskatoon responded 33 seconds later, as Cooper Williams scored their first goal of the game to make it 3-1 with 5:53 left in the first.
Aiden Oiring restored Prince Albert’s three goal lead with 1:10 left in the first. After Dube freed up a loose puck behind Saskatoon’s net, he fed a sharp pass in front, where Oiring was able to rip a one timer top corner past Gardner’s glove hand. His 19th goal of the season made it a 4-1 game.
Saskatoon refused to go away, however, as they scored twice in the final minute to make it a one goal game. Hayden Harsanyi and Hunter Laing scored 32 seconds apart for the Blades, making it a 4-3 game after the opening 20 minutes. Prince Albert scored four goals on 18 shots in the period, while Saskatoon scored three times on 10 shots.
There was no scoring in the second period, despite the Blades outshooting the Raiders 11-0 at one point in the middle frame. The shots favoured Saskatoon 16-5 overall in the second period, but Prince Albert was able to hold onto their 4-3 lead after 40 minutes, thanks to Max Hildebrand stopping everything he saw.
The Raiders were able to put the game to bed in the final five minutes of the third period, scoring twice to seal the deal. Jackson Kostiuk stepped up in a big moment, scoring his first WHL goal with 4:16 left in regulation. After his initial shot was stopped by Gardner, he found the rebound in the slot and buried home his first in the league to put Prince Albert up 5-3.
With 36 seconds left, Mrsic added another insurance marker, scoring into an empty net for his third point of the night to give the Raiders a 6-3 win.
After giving up three goals on the first ten shots of the game, Hildebrand responded nicely the rest of the way, stopping 32 of 35 shots in the win.
Prince Albert’s win streak extends to five games now, and they have taken over first place in the East Division. They will look to keep rolling tomorrow night when they visit the Regina Pats. Puck drops at 6pm.
