Raiders take five out of six points from the weekend after a shootout loss against the Blades
The Prince Albert Raiders took the Saskatoon Blades to the limit and beyond on Sunday night, but fell just short in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Art Hauser Centre.
After a scoreless first period which saw the Blades outshoot the Raiders 17-3, both teams combined for three goals in the second period. Saskatoon got things going on their first powerplay chance of the game, as Egor Sidorov opened the scoring. Trevor Wong sent a cross ice pass to Sidorov, who blasted a one timer past Chase Coward, giving the Blades a 1-0 lead with his sixth goal of the season 2:34 into the middle frame.
The Raiders responded with exactly three minutes left on the clock, as Ryder Ritchie drew the green and gold even. From the slot, Ritchie ripped a shot that beat Austin Elliott glove side. His seventh goal of the season made it a 1-1 game.
With 1:25 left in the second, Sloan Stanick was handed a charging penalty at center ice, which sent the Blades to their third powerplay of the game. Wong was able to capitalize on the man advantage, firing a shot five hole past Coward. The late marker was Wong’s third goal of the season, and it gave the Blades a 2-1 lead with 25 seconds left in the second. Saskatoon would take that lead into the third period, while outshooting the Raiders 24-9.
At the 7:46 mark of the third period, the Raiders tied things up after their best offensive zone shift of the game. With Elliott losing his stick and a Blades defenceman stick-less, Prince Albert generated a handful of chances. One resulted in a shot off the post, but shortly after, Sloan Stanick buried a goal to tie the game at 2-2.
The two teams exchanged chances for the rest of the third period, but neither side could find the game winning goal in regulation, and overtime was needed.
The Blades put up four shots in the extra frame, but Chase Coward denied them all. At the other end, Elliott stopped both shots he faced, and the game would need to be decided via the shootout.
Ryder Ritchie scored in the second round of the shootout, while Trevor Wong responded with the game on the line in the third round with a goal of his own. The shootout went to five rounds, where Easton Armstrong potted the game winning goal, giving the Blades a 3-2 win.
It was another solid performance in goal for Coward, who stopped 30 of 32 shots through regulation and overtime. At the other end, Elliott stopped 20 of 22 shots in the win for Saskatoon.
The Raiders (6-3-0-1) picked up five out of a possible six points during their three in three weekend. They will have the week off before hosting a pair of home games starting on Friday night against the Regina Pats. Puck drop is 7pm.
