Raiders pick up huge 2-1 shootout win over Tigers
After giving up an early goal to start the game, the Prince Albert Raiders came back to pick up a 2-1 shootout win over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday night. Oli Chenier scored for the Raiders in regulation, while Aiden Oiring and Sloan Stanick netted shootout goals in the win. Max Hildebrand stopped 26 of 27 shots in regulation and overtime, plus two more in the shootout.
The Tigers opened the scoring 1:40 into the game, as Andrew Basha found the back of the net first. A shot at the point from Hayden Harsanyi was stopped by Hildebrand, but Basha was on the doorstep to bury the rebound past a diving Hildebrand. Basha’s 24th goal of the season gave Medicine Hat the early lead in the contest.
That was the only action in an otherwise quiet first period, as the Tigers took their 1-0 lead into the second period, also leading in shots 11-4.
Prince Albert tied the game 3:33 into the second period, as Tigers netminder Zach Zahara was caught out of position behind his own net. Zahara came out to play the puck and wrapped it around the right wall, but the puck was met by Oli Chenier. Chenier fired a shot on goal that beat Zahara five hole for his 11th goal of the season.
Both sides registered nine shots apiece in the second period, as the Raiders and Tigers went into the final 20 minutes deadlocked at 1-1.
The third period was the quietest period of the game, as neither side could score a goal. The Raiders edged the Tigers 6-4 in shots in the final regulation frame, but the game would need overtime to find a winner.
The overtime frame was controlled by the Tigers for the majority of the five minutes, but Hildebrand was clutch in goal, making a few big saves to keep the Tigers off the board, as the game would head to a shootout.
Aiden Oiring and Sloan Stanick both scored for the Raiders in the first two rounds of the shootout, while Gavin McKenna was the only Tiger to score in the first two rounds. Krzysztof Macias was stopped on his shot in the third round, meaning Oasiz Wiesblatt would have to score to extend it for Medicine Hat. However, Hildebrand shut him down as the Raiders took down the Tigers by a 2-1 final, picking up a huge win on the road.
Prince Albert brings their record back to .500 at 25-25-1-3 on the season. With the win, combined with Lethbridge’s overtime loss against Saskatoon, the Raiders now have a two point cushion on the Hurricanes for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
The green and gold are back in action tomorrow night when they will travel to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes in a big standings game.