The Prince Albert Raiders picked up their first win on the road this season, downing the Red Deer Rebels 6-2 at the Peavey Mart Centrium on Friday night.
The Raiders would jump out early with two goals in the first period and wouldn’t look back.
Head coach Jeff Truitt says he was pleased with how the Raiders played from puck drop.
“We worked hard and took our opportunities when we had them and they went in early and we weren’t chasing it. They were, so it was a great team effort. I thought we controlled the puck an awful lot tonight and made some really good things happen so good on the guys.“
Krzyszstof Macias opened the scoring for Prince Albert just 2:45 into the first period with his third goal of the season. Niall Crocker and Justice Christensen assisted on the play.
Less than two minutes later, Aiden Oiring would strike for his second goal of the season. Crocker and Christensen assisted on the play.
Red Deer would respond before the end of the period as Carson Latimer would strike on the power play against his former team at the 7:10 mark. Mats Lindgren and Kalan Lind assisted on the play.
It would take just 4:13 into the second period for Macias to add his second of the night. Matej Kubiesa assisted on the play.
Just over five minutes later, the Polish forward would put a bow on his first WHL hat trick with his fifth goal of the season. Crocker and Oli Chenier assisted on the play.
Truitt says Macias possesses a great shot and he utilized it on Friday night.
“He just gets the puck on a stick and he shoots extremely hard and he’s always been a good shooter. We knew that when he came in that he was going to be there. He had a great shot but tonight he found the holes. He found some space. He had time and space to shoot the puck and when he gets that release going it’s hard to stop so you know all three of his goals were off those shots. “
Ryder Ritchie would add a pair of goals for the Raiders before the end of the second period to give the visitors a commanding 6-1 lead after forty minutes of play.
Carson Latimer would add his second of the night at the 13:25 mark of the third period, but that would be as close as Red Deer would get. Talon Brigley and Lindgren assisted.
The Raiders would score three goals on the man advantage throughout the evening, while going two for five on the penalty kill.
Truitt says the Raiders gained some much needed confidence on the power play early in the season.
“To have the three power play goals here tonight only builds confidence for our guys early on in the season. The penalty kill did a pretty good job there. We gave up the one but the penalty kill is all about you know you’re one man down trying to make the best plays that you can but we got jammed up at the net and they put one behind us. But overall real happy we’re building things which are good now we’re looking for that consistency.”
Through six games, the Raiders sit with a 3-3-0-0 record. Truitt says he is seeing promising signs early in the campaign.
“The early start was good for us to get the wins underneath the belts. And then you come up against good opponents that put you to the test all the time. You come off a hard loss. And then you find out about the character of your team. Our guys pass that in spades here tonight. they’re a determined group, we avoid a lot of turnovers. We’re a good team to play, a good team to face. That’s what we’ve got to concentrate on and keep building. It’s only six games in here, but, you know, we’ve got to make sure that we get to get that consistency. That’s going to be the name of the game here. We want to keep getting better and better.”
THe Raiders return to action tomorrow night when they take on the Edmonton Oil Kings at Roger’s Place. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
