Tigers Fall To Raiders 5-4 In OT
The Tigers finished off their weekend with a visit from the Prince Albert Raiders. Both teams sat atop their divisions and were looking to add to their point totals.
The game remained scoreless until the 11:43 mark of the first period. Former Tiger Tomas Mrsic got loose on a breakaway and gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead with his 30th of the season. The Tigers would respond quickly though. 30 seconds later, Liam Ruck tied the game with the 17th goal of his rookie season. Shaeffer Gordon–Carrol found Markus Ruck in front of the net with a nice puck from the trapezoid. He let a shot go that was stopped but Liam put home the rebound. Prince Albert would retake the lead again before the end of the first period. Niall Crocker redirected Lukas Dragicevic’s point shot into the back of the Tigers net. Mrsic picked up his second point of the night with the secondary assist on Crocker’s 19th.
Medicine Hat wouldn’t waste any time in the middle frame scoring 31 seconds in. While on the power play, Tanner Molendyk let a shot go from the point that Ryder Ritchie was able to tip past the netminder for his 20th of the year. Gavin McKenna picked up the secondary assist to extend his league leading point streak to 28 games. The Tigers would take their first lead of the night six minutes later. Molendyk tried to make a pass in the offensive zone but it was blocked by a Raiders defender. Misha Volotovskii grabbed the loose puck and fired a quick shot that found the top corner for his fifth. It looked as though the Tigers were going to head into the third with the lead but Prince Albert was able to add two goals in the final 72 seconds of the period. Crocker finished off a nice passing play with a tap in for his second of the night. Brayden Dube and Mrsic picked up the helpers on the power play goal. 30 second later, Rilen Kovacevic let a quick wrister go that sent the Raiders into the second intermission up 4-3. Harrison Lodewyk and Vojtech Vochvest found the scoresheet with the assists.
Goals were harder to come by in the third period, but the Tigers were able to tie things up late in the game. Mathew Ward made a smart play and banked the puck off the goaltender’s back from the goal line on the right side. McKenna grabbed the assist on Ward’s 14th.
The game headed to overtime but a late penalty in the third period gave the Raiders a man advantage to start the extra frame. They would capitalize early on the power play to secure the extra point. Dragicevic let a one timer go from the point that found the top corner for his 12th goal of the season. Mrsic and Aiden Oiring grabbed the assists on the game winning goal.
Harrison Meneghin was back in net for the Tigers. He stopped 17 of the 22 shots he faced. Max Hildebrand got the call in net for the Raiders. He made 29 saves to secure his 24th victory of the season.
Shots:
- Medicine Hat – 33
- Prince Albert – 22
Special Teams:
- PP: 1/5 – 20%
- PK: 2/5 – 40%
Stringam Law Three Stars:
- Lukas Dragicevic – Prince Albert
- Tomas Mrsic – Prince Albert
- Tanner Molendyk – Medicine Hat
Supplement King Hardest Working Player: Mathew Ward
The Tigers are back in action Tuesday night when they head to Saskatoon to take on the Blades. Game time is 7:00 PM (ST). You can listen live on Wild 94.5 FM or watch on watch.chl.ca.
