Raiders fall into 3-1 series hole after 3-2 loss in Edmonton
The Prince Albert Raiders fell behind by three goals in the second period, and couldn’t quite recover, as they fell 3-2 to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Wednesday night at Rogers Place. The Raiders now trail their first round series 3-1.
The Raiders were able to outshoot Edmonton 8-4 in the opening period, but found themselves trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes. With 8:07 to go in the first, Lukas Sawchyn found the game’s first goal, as the Oil Kings came into the offensive zone led by Parker Alcos down the left wing. Looking for a pass in front, Alcos fed the puck hard towards the crease, and Sawchyn was able to beat Ethan Bibeau in front of Max Hildebrand to score his second goal of the playoffs. Sawchyn went hard into the boards after the goal, and did not play the rest of the first period.
At the other end of the ice, the Raiders were able to generate some chances of their own, throwing eight shots on Ethan Simcoe. The best came on their only powerplay in the frame, as Daxon Rudolph sent a pass to the slot for Aiden Oiring. The centerman was unable to get full power on the shot, but Simcoe was still forced to make a good pad save at the top of his crease.
After 20 minutes of play, Prince Albert put together a solid road period, but saw themselves trailing 1-0 heading into the intermission.
The second period got off to a shaky start, as the Raiders gave up two goals in the opening five minutes. Gavin Hodnett struck at the 1:09 mark of the frame, capitalizing on an Oil Kings powerplay. From the left circle, the captain released a shot that Hildebrand got the top of his glove on, but the puck powered its way through and over the goal line. Hodnett picked up his second goal of the postseason, and it gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead.
At the 4:48 mark of the middle frame, Adam Jecho found his way onto the scoreboard for the Oil Kings, as they were able to score on a two on two rush. Carrying the puck, Hodnett cut into the middle of the ice, sending the puck down to the goal line for Jecho. From a tight angle, the import forward was able to find space under Hildebrand’s glove and over his pad, scoring for the first time in the playoffs.
After 40 minutes, the Raiders had a big hole to dig out of, as they would trail 3-0 heading into period three.
The Raiders struck twice in the third period, as Rilen Kovacevic scored shorthanded off a great setup by Aiden Oiring to make it 3-1. Niall Crocker also found the back of the net after an Edmonton turnover, beating Ethan Simcoe five hole. That goal made it 3-2 late in the third, but that would be as close as Prince Albert would come.
Edmonton survived late pressure with the Raiders net empty, coming away with a 3-2 win and taking a 3-1 series lead.
Prince Albert will look to get back in the series in Game Five on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre.
