Raiders drop high scoring affair 7-5 in Kelowna

The Prince Albert Raiders erased two different three goal deficits, and took a lead in the third period, but the Kelowna Rockets scored two goals late in regulation to win by a 7-5 final on Monday afternoon.

Kelowna scored the only goal of the first period, as their big three went to work on the powerplay, with Caden Price, Tij Iginla, and Andrew Cristall connecting. From the point, Price sent a pass to the right circle to Iginla, Iginla handled the puck for a few seconds before firing a cross ice pass to Cristall. From the bottom of the left circle, Cristall was able to roof a shot over Max Hildebrand, who came diving across but couldn’t quite get his shoulder up to make the save. Cristall’s second goal of the season gave the Rockets a 1-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first.

With the shots even at 10-10, Kelowna would take their lead into the second.

3:04 into the middle frame, the Rockets took a 2-0 lead, as they piled the puck as well as bodies into the crease. When it looked like Hildebrand had the puck under his glove, it came loose in the blue paint. A Rocket was lying on top of the Raider netminder, which allowed Ethan Neutens to poke the puck over the goal line. It was Neutens first goal of the season, and it doubled Kelowna’s lead.

That lead became 3-0 just over four minutes later, as the Rockets finished a three on one rush in the Prince Albert zone. Cristall led the rush down the left wing, and sent a cross crease pass to Kanjyu Gojsic. All Gojsic had to do was tap the puck home into a wide open net, as Hildebrand had no chance to make a save. Just like that, two quick goals gave Kelowna a three goal advantage.

The Raiders found their first goal of the contest with 11:03 left in the second, as Niall Crocker scored in his home province for the second straight game. Daxon Rudolph fired a shot on goal from the right half wall, and Crocker was parked in front to deflect a shot far side past Jake Pilon. Crocker collected his third goal of the season, as it became a 3-1 game.

Max Graham put Kelowna back up by three with 8:18 left in the second period, as he was able to score his second goal of the season. From the point, Price worked his way down the right wing, and fed a pass to Graham in the slot. Graham’s first shot was stopped by Hildebrand, but he was able to follow up and bury his own rebound to make it a 4-1 game.

Prince Albert didn’t go down without a fight in the second, as they scored a pair of powerplay goals to get right back in it. On a five on three man advantage, Krzysztof Macias scored in his season debut. After a one timer from the slot by Mrsic was blocked, Crocker tipped a pass over to the side of the net. Macias was in the right place at the right time, as he was able to bury the puck into the back of the net, making it a 4-2 game.

1:37 later, Tomas Mrsic showed how lethal his shot is, as he scored to make it a one goal game. Getting the puck in the high slot, Mrsic skated in and sniped a shot top corner over Pilon’s glove. The perfect shot was Mrsic’s fourth goal of the season, giving the Raiders even more life.

After trailing by three at two different points in the second, the Raiders were able to claw back to only trail 4-3 after 40 minutes.

Harrison Lodewyk tied the game for Prince Albert 4:32 into the third period, finishing a play that he started. Flying down the right wing and into the Rockets and, Lodewyk used his speed to cut in on goal, taking a forehand shot, but it was stopped by Pilon. However, Lodewyk got the puck back near the left wall, and he fired a long distance shot, beating Pilon top corner over his glove. Lodewyk’s second goal was a big one, as it made it a 4-4 game.

Just 2:24 after Lodewyk scored, Brayden Dube found the back of the net to give Prince Albert their first lead of the contest. In the neutral zone, Ethan Bibeau advanced the puck to Lodewyk, who entered the offensive zone leading a two on one rush with Dube. The two forwards used their speed to their advantage, as Lodewyk fed a backdoor pass to Dube. Dube was able to tap home his second of the year, giving the Raiders their first lead of the game at 5-4.

Less than 30 seconds later, the Rockets tied the game right back up. For the second time in the game, Hildebrand thought he had the puck covered in the crease, but there was no whistle to be heard, as the puck was still loose in the paint. Lurking near the goal line was Michael Cicek, who was able to push the puck over the line, scoring his fifth goal of the season to tie the game at 5-5.

With 5:50 left in regulation, the Rockets took the lead back. Cristall fed Carter Kowalyk at the blue line, and Kowalyk fired a harmless looking shot on goal. Hildebrand couldn’t track the puck through traffic, as it hit the back of the net. The defenceman picked up his first goal of the season, and it was a big one to make it a 6-5 game.

Kelowna sealed the deal with 2:27 left in the third, scoring an insurance marker to go up by a pair. From the slot, Brett Calhoon buried a hard shot past Hildebrand to make it 7-5, which would stand as the final score.

The Raiders (1-5-2-0) are back in action tomorrow night in Kamloops. Puck drops at 8pm Sask time.