Unlucky bounce stands as game winner as Tigers beat Cobra Chickens 3-2
The Prince Albert Cobra Chickens suffered their first loss in the brand’s existence, as they fell 3-2 on Saturday night to the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers. In their three year lifetime, the Cobra Chickens are 2-1, while the Raiders this season fell to 17-2-4-0.
The Tigers struck first at the 4:06 mark of the first period, as Riley Steen got on the board with his second goal of the season. After Noah Davidson’s sharp angle shot attempt was stopped by Michal Orsulak, the rebound came loose in front of the net. Steen was able to find the loose puck and bury his shot home before Orsulak could recover, making it a 1-0 game.
After Matyas Man was handed an interference penalty, somehow, for standing still at his own goal line, the Tigers capitalized on the ensuing man advantage. Bryce Pickford made a nice no look backhand pass to find Jonas Woo at the blue line, and the defenceman had all sorts of room to step into a shot. Taking about five or six strides towards the net, Woo picked the top corner over Orsulak’s glove, sniping home his 14th goal of the season to give Medicine Hat a 2-0 lead.
The visitors outshot the Cobra Chickens 11-6 after the opening 20 minutes, taking their two goal lead into the middle frame.
A Matyas Man fight 8:27 into the second period seemed to shift momentum back to the Cobra Chickens favour. After he dominated his scrap against Steen, Prince Albert scored back to back goals to tie the game. Just less than two and a half minutes after the tilt, Jonah Sivertson scored in his second straight game. Taking a drop pass from Benett Kelly along the right wall, Sivertson skated towards the slot, and then made a nice toedrag move to avoid a pokecheck from a Tiger. Waiting to shoot, Sivertson banked a shot off the pad of Jordan Switzer and in for his eighth goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game.
Just under three minutes later, the Cobra Chickens evened the score on their fourth powerplay of the night. Orsulak picked up an assist on this goal, as he stopped the puck behind his net, where it was picked up by Daxon Rudolph. Circling around the crease, Rudolph sprung a pass ahead for Aiden Oiring, who carried the puck into the offensive zone. Rudolph kept on skating, as he drove to the front of the net, and he got a return pass from Oiring in tight. Taking the pass on his forehand, Rudolph redirected the puck home past Switzer, scoring his seventh goal of the year.
With 40 minutes in the books, the Cobra Chickens were tied 2-2 with the Tigers heading into period three.
Prince Albert controlled most of the third period, putting forward an aggressive forecheck in the offensive zone, but the shots read 8-7 in favour of the Tigers. Medicine Hat’s last shot of the third period, proved to be the game winner. After a shot from Pickford was stopped by Orsulak, the rebound was bouncing around in front. The puck ended up hitting a leg on a clearing attempt by the Cobra Chickens, and it bounced way up in the air in the crease, and then hit Orsulak in the shoulder and went in. Orsulak had no clue where the puck was, and it was Kadon McCann who was credited with the game winning goal with 1:37 left in regulation time.
The Cobra Chickens couldn’t tie things late with the net empty, as the Tigers held on for the 3-2 win.
Next up for Prince Albert is a gruelling four games in five nights stretch in Alberta, starting on Wednesday night in Medicine Hat.
