Preston puts in solid performance in goal, but Raiders fall 3-1 in Moose Jaw
The Prince Albert Raiders fell 3-1 in their final head to head matchup with the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night. Nathan Preston had a strong showing in goal for the Raiders, however, as he stopped 31 of 34 shots in his third WHL appearance while picking up third star honours for his efforts.
After a scoreless first period that saw Preston stop all 14 shots he faced in his second career WHL start with the Raiders, the Warriors opened the scoring on their second powerplay of the game 2:12 into the middle frame. After Jagger Firkus just missed the net on a one timer, the puck wrapped around the right wall where it was picked up by Brayden Yager. Yager quickly sent a cross ice pass back to the left circle for Firkus, and this time he made no mistake, firing a one timer blocker side past Preston. Firkus scored his 38th goal of the season to give Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead.
That was the only goal through 40 minutes, as the Warriors took their 1-0 lead into the third period, while also leading 24-16 in shots.
Harrison Lodewyk tied the game for the Raiders with 12 minutes left in the third period, scoring a shorthanded marker to bring the visitors back level. After a won faceoff in their own end, Eric Johnston fired the puck all the way down the ice. Jackson Unger came out of the Moose Jaw net to play it, but Lodewyk showed off his speed to track the puck down. Stealing the puck from the Warriors netminder, Lodewyk scored a wraparound goal before any Warriors defencemen could get to him, as he scored his fifth goal of the season to make it a 1-1 game.
Just over three minutes after Prince Albert tied it, Moose Jaw took the lead back. Atley Calvert beat Preston for his 29th goal of the season to give the home side a 2-1 lead.
Just 24 seconds after that, Moose Jaw took a two goal lead, as Lynden Lakovic scored his 11th of the season. With two Raider defencemen in the same corner, Rilen Kovacevic found Lakovic wide open in front, and the forward was able to snipe a shot past Preston’s blocker, making it a 3-1 game.
The Raiders were unable to find any more offence, as they fell by a 3-1 final. The green and gold are back in action tomorrow night on home ice with the Medicine Hat Tigers in town. Puck drops at 7pm.
