Three games.
Three nights.
No problem.
The Prince Albert Raiders entered Saturday’s contest against the Medicine Hat Tigers with the trappings of a visiting team following road games in Swift Current and Moose Jaw on Thursday and Friday.
Despite playing 120 minutes of hockey in three different rinks over 72 hours, the Raiders showed no signs of fatigue, building a 2-0 lead in the first and cruising to a 5-1 victory.
“It’s pretty hard not to get up for that game (against the Tigers),” said Raider forward Brandon Gorzynski, whose goal with 13:48 gone in the first period proved to be the game winner. “Definitely a busy schedule but we had lots of rest and time on the bus to sleep.”
The Raiders appeared fully awake and well rested as they pounced on the Tigers in front of an announced crowd of 2,982, who packed the Art Hauser Centre despite -30 C temperatures.
Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said it’s hard to match the team’s compete level and determination, and that’s what helped them cap off a three-in-three stretch with another win.
“It’s a tough stretch,” McDonald said. “We played four games in five nights, and again, this is the back end of a three-in-three against a really good team. (With) the work ethic and the simpleness to the game that we played tonight and the directness of just getting pucks behind (their defence), it was a fun game to be a part of on the bench.”
The East Division leading Tigers were playing their second game in as many nights after falling in a shootout to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday. The Tigers were also without star defenceman Bryce Pickford, who did not make the trip to Saskatchewan due to injury.
Medicine Hat head coach and GM Willie Desjardins said having Pickford in the line-up would have helped, but argued the Raiders were also missing a key player in forward Brayden Dube.
He also dismissed notions that fatigue was a factor for his own club.
“They had three in three,” Desjardins said. “If anybody was fatigued it was them. It definitely wasn’t us.
“I think PA has a good team,” he added. “I thought they played hard. They got some power play goals, but they’re just a good hockey team.”
Prince Albert outshot the visitors 12-7 in the opening 20 minutes, and led 2-0 thanks to a pair of goals from Gorzynski.
The Arizona-product made it 1-0 exactly 10 minutes into the first period on a rare “double tip” where he redeflected a Justice Christensen point shot that had already been tipped by teammate Owen Corkish.
Gorzynski then made it 2-0 on the power play when he deposited a beautiful cross-crease pass from Braeden Cootes into an open Tiger net.
“Getting in front, that’s what we’ve got to do against these good teams,” Gorzynski said. “Stuff’s moving fast and (at the net) is where it’s going to land, so we definitely want to get there.”
While the Raiders carried the play in the first, the Tigers pushed back in the second. Medicine Hat outshot Prince Albert by a 15-4 margin, but couldn’t beat Raider starting goaltender Michal Orsulak.
“Orsi was fantastic here tonight,” McDonald said. “He made some real timely saves for us—two pk’s back-to-back where he stood tall—and again, just made timely save after timely save.”
Aiden Oiring made it 3-0 with an acrobatic bit of hand-eye coordination early in the third before the Tigers finally solved Orsulak. Liam Ruck took a cross-crease from Andrew Basha and buried it 4:32 into the third to pull the Tigers within two. That was as close as they got.
The Raiders responded with a pair of power play goals. The first came when a Brock Cripps pass deflected off a Tiger defender’s stick and in roughly seven minutes into the final period. The other came with less than four minutes to go when Oiring notched his second of the night on a one-timer off a Max Heise feed.
“We just play ridiculously fast and hard and they kind of can’t handle it,” Gorzynski said. “We just keep bringing it to them the full 60 minutes until they break.”
News and Notes:
• Aiden Oiring showed exceptional hand-eye coordination with his first goal of the third period. Tiger goaltender Jordan Switzer stopped Raider forward’s initial shot, but the puck bounced up in the air over Switzer’s head. Oiring responded by knocking the puck out of the air and across the goal line. The WHL’s social media accounts singled out the goal as their highlight of the night.
• The Raiders finished 3/5 on the power play while the Tigers went 1/3.
• Switzer played all 60 minutes for the Tigers, making 26 saves in the process.
• Raiders captain Justice Christensen had the hit of the night when he flattened Liam Ruck while the latter admired a pass midway through the first period.
• The Raiders are back on the ice Tuesday night when they face the Moose Jaw Warriors in Moose Jaw. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
The Daily Herald Three Stars
1 – Brandon Gorzynski (Prince Albert) – Raider forward set the tone with two first period goals, and assisted on Aiden Oiring’s third period goal which made it 3-0.
2 – Aiden Oiring (Prince Albert) – Scored twice on Saturday. His first goal should be a candidate for highlight of the month.
3 – Michal Orsulak (Prince Albert) – Was calm and collected in the Raider goal. Held up well during second period onslaught, despite going long stretches with minimal work in first and third.
