Raiders start short Alberta road trip with 5-2 win in Edmonton
Krzysztof Macias tied his career high in points with four, while Niall Crocker scored twice as the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-2 on Tuesday night at Rogers Place.
The Raiders scored first despite being heavily outshot in the early stages of the first period. Tomas Mrsic came flying down the left wing with the puck and danced around Parker Alcos at the Oil Kings blue line. After that, the winger fired a hard shot on goal that Alex Worthington stopped, but he left a rebound right in front of the net. Brayden Dube spotted the puck and buried home his 14th goal of the season with 1:10 left in the first to give Prince Albert a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Gavin Hodnett tied the game 48 seconds into the second period for Edmonton, scoring on a powerplay to make it a 1-1 game. After a neutral zone faceoff, Hodnett took a pass from Gracyn Sawchyn and was all along skating into the Raiders zone. Working one on one against Max Hildebrand, Hodnett buried his 14th goal of the season to even things up.
Marshall Finnie gave Edmonton their first lead of the game with 3:49 left in the second, as the Oil Kings scored their second powerplay goal of the frame. After a nice passing play, Roan Woodward spotted Finnie in front of the net and fed his forward a one timer to the far post. It was Finnie’s eighth goal of the season, and it gave the home side a 2-1 lead.
Lukas Dragicevic brought the Raiders back onto even terms with a powerplay goal of his own late in the second period. From the blue line, the defenceman fired a shot on goal through traffic. It didn’t hit a single thing on its way to the net, and the puck beat a screened Worthingon, giving Dragicevic his fifth goal of the season, and extended his goal scoring streak to three games.
After 40 minutes, both sides were even at 2-2 heading into period three.
4:06 into the third, Prince Albert took their second lead of the game, scoring another powerplay goal, and again, it was Dragicevic starting the play with a shot from the point. This time, his hip high shot was deflected in front by Niall Crocker. The tipped puck snuck past Worthington, as Crocker scored his 10th goal of the season to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead.
Just over 11 minutes later, Crocker scored his second goal of the night to make it a two goal game. After Aiden Oiring sent a stretch pass ahead to Krzysztof Macias, the Polish Prince started a great play to find Crocker. Skating down the left wing, Macias sent a shot intentionally wide behind Edmonton’s net. The puck hit the end boards and bounced right to Crocker’s stick in the right circle, and he was able to bury the rebound to make it a 4-2 game. That goal made it five straight powerplay goals in the game, and the third one of the game for Prince Albert.
Edmonton pulled Worthington with over three minutes left in regulation, sending the extra attacker out to try and make it a one goal game. That plan didn’t work, however, as the Raiders scored an empty net goal with 1:04 left to seal the deal. Crocker gained control of the puck in the neutral zone and fed Macias who was wide open near the Edmonton blue line. All he had to do was skate the puck in and guide it into the yawning cage, as Prince Albert took a 5-2 lead, and that would stand as the final score.
Hildebrand stopped 32 of 34 shots in the win, as Prince Albert picked up their third straight victory.
Tomorrow night, the Raiders head to the Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Hitmen in the league’s final game before the Christmas break on Wednesday Night In The Dub. Puck drops at 8pm Sask time.
