Raiders end road trip with massive 4-3 win in Edmonton
The Prince Albert Raiders picked up four of a possible six points on their three game weekend road trip, ending it with a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place.
Landon Hanson opened the scoring for Edmonton with 7:19 to go in the first. From the bottom of the right circle, Hanson beat Michal Orsulak shortside with a shot, scoring his 23rd goal of the season.
Prince Albert scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead late in the frame, as the top D pairing of Daxon Rudolph and Justice Christensen each scored. Brandon Gorzynski fed the puck to the point for Christensen, who quickly sent a pass across for Rudolph. Stepping in to the slot area, Rudolph moved the puck around Jaxon Fuder and his broken stick, and fired a laser shot blocker side past Parker Snell. His 27th goal of the year tied things up.
Rudolph picked up a secondary assist on Christensen’s goal with 3:55 left in the first, as he sent Maddix McCagherty up the ice with a crisp breakout pass. Down the left wing, McCagherty dropped a pass for Christensen at the top of the left circle, and the Raider captain sniped a shot far side past Snell’s glove. It was the 20-year-olds 16th of the year, putting Prince Albert up by one.
Edmonton tied the game under two minutes later, as Lukas Sawchyn scored. With two Raiders committed to the puck beneath the goal line, that left Sawchyn wide open in front of the net. Kayden Stroeder sent a pass to him in front, and Sawchyn beat Orsulak point blank for his 23rd of the season to make it a 2-2 game heading into the second period.
The Raiders scored twice early in the second period to take the lead, as they scored on the powerplay and shorthanded. Max Heise gave Prince Albert a 3-2 lead, scoring on the powerplay for his 26th goal of the season. Aiden Oiring gave him a pass in the slot, and Heise one timed a shot past Snell.
Just 3:01 later, Oiring scored shorthanded to make it a 4-2 lead. From behind his own net, Snell rimmed the puck around the boards to nobody in particular, which allowed Linden Burrett to pinch at the blue line and hold the puck in the zone. Burrett fed an open Oiring in the slot, and he beat Snell five hole on a partial breakaway. It was his 28th of the year, putting Prince Albert up by a pair heading into the third.
Edmonton made it a one goal game with 11:05 left in regulation, as Carter Sotheran found the back of the net, but that’s as close as they would get to a comeback. Sotheran’s tally was the only one of the final frame, as the Raiders held on to win by a 4-3 final.
With the win, Prince Albert takes sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with five games left in the regular season. They have a two point lead on the Medicine Hat Tigers with the same amount of games played (63).
