Raiders wrangle Hitmen at home with a 7-2 win
The Prince Albert Raiders had a sweet return home after returning from Alberta, as they beat the Calgary Hitmen 7-2 on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. Aiden Oiring had two goals and an assist in the win, while newly acquired defenceman Jacob Hoffrogge tallied two assists in his debut.
The Raiders got off to a hot start, opening the scoring 6:07 into the game. They were awarded an early four minute powerplay, thanks to David Adaszynski taking a high sticking double minor penalty on Sloan Stanick. In the second half of the man advantage after two hit posts, the Raiders were finally rewarded for the pressure in the Calgary end. After Aiden Oiring took a shot that was stopped by Alex Garrett, Niall Crocker dug out a loose puck in front of the net. Crocker fired a shot glove side past Garrett, giving Prince Albert a 1-0 lead with a powerplay marker.
Just over two minutes later, the Raiders doubled their lead thanks to Aiden Oiring. Ryder Ritchie was stopped on a wraparound attempt, and Cole Peardon was denied on a follow up chance, but Oiring would finally break through for another Raider goal, burying a third rebound attempt right in front of the net to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
Calgary got one back on a powerplay goal of their own with 11:39 left in the opening frame. Oliver Tulk fired a shot off the post and in past Max Hildebrand, as he picked the top corner for his third goal of the season. The response from the Hitmen made it a 2-1 Raider lead.
With 9:33 left in the first, Oiring scored his second goal of the night. Ritchie slipped a pass in front that snuck through some legs, and Oiring tracked the puck and placed a nice shot past Garrett for his second of the period. His fifth goal of the season gave the Raiders a two goal lead.
Prince Albert outshot Calgary 15-10 in the opening 20 minutes, and went into the second period holding a 3-1 lead.
Krzysztof Macias starting things early in the second period for the Raiders, scoring just 1:53 into the frame. Spinning and firing a shot from the slot, Macias’ shot found its way through two bodies in front of the net before beating Garrett. After scoring a hat trick last weekend, Macias picked up his sixth goal of the season to give the Raiders a 4-1 lead.
The Hitmen put up 11 shots in the middle frame, but Max Hildebrand stopped them all, including a few ten bell stops. The Raiders even killed off a 5 on 3 Hitmen powerplay to take a 4-1 lead into the third period.
A 4-1 lead became a 5-1 lead with 7:06 left in the third period, as Hayden Pakkala got on the board for the first time this season. From the left point, Oli Chenier sent a hard pass in front of the net, and all Pakkala had to do was redirect it to the back of the net. The Okotoks, AB product got the monkey off his back to put the Raiders up by four.
Carter Yakemchuk responded for the Hitmen, as he scored a neat goal. Toe-dragging around a Raider defenceman, Yakemchuk then sniped a shot top corner past Hildebrand, scoring his third goal of the season to make it a 5-2 game with 3:03 left in regulation.
The Raiders had a powerplay late in the game, and scored their second powerplay goal of the night. A nice passing play led to Justice Christensen feeding Matej Kubiesa, who then sent a cross ice pass across to Terrell Goldsmith. From the right circle, Goldsmith fired a one timer past Garrett for his first goal of the campaign, putting the Raiders up 6-2.
With one minute left on the clock, Kubiesa put the icing on the cake with a shortside snipe from the right circle to make it a 7-2 game with his third goal of the year. The tally also sent the fans home with Candle Lake Golf Resort passes, with the team scoring seven goals on the night.
Max Hildebrand stopped 30 of 32 shots on goal for his fourth win of the season, as the Raiders won their fifth game of year by a 7-2 final.
The team will have time to rest tonight, before heading to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors tomorrow night. Puck drop is at 7pm.
