Prince Albert survives second period scare to beat Pats 6-4
A 4-0 Raider lead nearly evaporated on Friday night in Regina, as Prince Albert held on to beat the Pats 6-4 at the Brandt Centre. Regina came back to score three straight goals in the second period to make it a one goal game, before a Raider goal at both the start and end of the third period put the game away.
The Raiders scored two powerplay goals, and another one at even strength in the first period to take a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. On their second powerplay of the game, Prince Albert got on the board with 12:11 left in the first. Brayden Dube took a pass in the left circle from Riley Boychuk and fired a one timer on goal. He didn’t get all of it, but the knuckle puck was still hard enough to beat Kelton Pyne. Dube’s third goal of the season put the Raiders up 1-0.
On their very next powerplay, the Raiders struck again with 8:12 to go in the opening frame. After Oli Chenier sent a pass to the point for Brock Cripps, the 16-year-old defenceman stepped in before giving a pass right back to Chenier. Parked at the top of the left circle, Chenier sent a hard shot-pass towards the net. Owen Corkish was standing net front, and was able to get his stick on the puck and redirect it bar down for his first career WHL goal.
Another Raider scored their first career goal, as Ben Harvey got on the board with 3:59 left. Harrison Lodewyk gained possession of the puck, leading a rush into Regina’s zone down the left wing. Wheeling down towards the goal line, Lodewyk sent a perfect pass in front to Harvey, who was able to beat Pyne five hole with his shot. Harvey’s first WHL goal extended Prince Albert’s lead to 3-0 heading into the second period.
Just 1:04 into the middle frame, the Raiders took an even more commanding 4-0 lead. Behind Regina’s net, Aiden Oiring picked off a pass from a Pats defenceman and quickly wrapped the puck past Pyne on the left post, scoring his second goal of the season. That would end Pyne’s night, as the overage goaltender surrendered four goals on 12 shots. Taylor Tabashniuk took over in the crease, stopping all 12 shots he faced in the second.
After the goalie change, the Pats came back to life, as they scored three unanswered goals in the second period to make it a one goal game. Julien Maze scored Regina’s first goal of the night with 11:48 to go in the second, as he took a pass from Cohen Klassen. Already just a few feet away from the Raiders net, Maze was forced to take a shot between his legs. He didn’t get much on it, but somehow it snuck through goaltender Steele Bass to make it a 4-1 game.
Regina scored a powerplay goal with 6:22 to go in the period to make it a two goal game. From the blue line, Maze ripped a shot wide of Bass, but the rebound bounced perfectly back in front to Caden Brown, who was able to bury his second goal of the year. The fortunate bounce made it a 4-2 contest.
The Pats weren’t done there either, as they scored again with 2:19 left in the frame, making it a one goal Raider lead. From the bottom of the right circle, rookie Liam Pue sent the puck in front, and Klassen was on the doorstep to redirect it home past Bass. With 40 minutes in the books, it turned into a close game, with the Raiders clinging onto a 4-3 lead.
It only took the Raiders seven seconds to strike in the third period, as Daxon Rudolph gave the visitors a two goal lead. After Prince Albert won the opening faceoff, Lodewyk carried the puck down the right wing. He dropped a pass to the point for Rudolph, who beat Tabashniuk with a hard one timer. Rudolph picked up his second goal of the season, making it a 5-3 lead.
Regina struck back with 2:33 left in regulation to make it a one goal game once again. Reese Hamilton beat Bass with a hard slapshot through traffic to make it a 5-4 game.
With Regina’s net empty again, Max Heise scored from center ice with 1:31 to go. It was his first career WHL goal, and it put the Raiders up 6-4.
Prince Albert was able to keep that lead the rest of the way, as they notched their second win of the season, improving to 2-0-1-0.
The green and gold are back in action tomorrow night in Brandon to wrap up their three game road swing against the Wheat Kings. Puck drops at 5pm.
