The Prince Albert Raiders were in control for about 50 minutes of Saturday’s contest with the Edmonton Oil Kings, but that 10 minute stretch did them in.
The Raiders led 2-0 in the second period thanks to goals from Owen Corkish and Braeden Cootes before the Oil Kings rallied for three goals in a little over five minutes to take a 3-2 lead.
Max Heise tied the game late in the second, but the Oil Kings added two more in the third to escape the Art Hauser Centre with a 5-3 win.
“I think we just had a little sleepy stint there when they got those goals,” Cootes said after the game. “I think we played well besides that little time there. They got the lead, and then we got it back. We just didn’t get the bounces (and) it goes that way.
“They’re a really good team over there. That’s a playoff type game and a potential playoff series. It stings, but we’ll learn from it and we’ll just get better.”
The Raiders outshot the Oil Kings 12-4 in the first period and 15-5 in the third, and couldn’t put more than three shots past Edmonton starter Ethan Simcoe. At the other end, Michal Orsulak went long stretches in the Prince Albert goal without facing a scoring chance.
The Czech netminder could do little on the first Edmonton goal where a Miroslav Holinka shot bounced off the shaft of Orsulak’s stick, off Lukas Sawchyn, and into the Raider net. The second goal came through a screen on a Blake Fiddler point shot, and the third by California product Noa Ta’amu came following a flurry of chances after a Raider defensive zone turnover.
“They were able to get pucks off the boards and they got pucks into the middle of the ice,” Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said.
“You want to make sure you defend as hard as you can in the middle of the ice, and again, give them credit. They capitalized on the opportunities that they did have,” he added.
Despite the loss, McDonald said he liked the team’s effort. He said the club was relentless, even after falling behind in the second.
“Give our guys a lot of credit too. They get those three quick ones and we come right back with another one before the period ends,” he said.
“In the second period they had their push and they had some areas that they took advantage of, but again, we answered right back and that third period, I thought we continued to put our foot on the gas. We pushed right until the end.”
Corkish opened the scoring late in the first period when he one-timed an Aiden Oiring feed past Simcoe to make it 1-0.
The Raiders went up 2-0 in the second on Cootes’ first as a Raider. The Sherwood Park, Alta. product, who was recently acquired in a blockbuster deal with Seattle, deflected a Linden Burrett point shot off the post and in.
After Edmonton went up 3-2, forward Max Heise one-timed a Cootes pass over Simcoe’s shoulder to tie the game with 1:13 left in the second. That was all the Raider scoring.
Holinka put Edmonton up for good 7:34 into the third period with a backhand from the slot that eluded Orsulak. The Raiders pressed for a tying goal, and pulled the goalie with 1:50 remaining and a face-off in the Edmonton end, but struggled to get control of the puck. Max Curran iced the game on an empty net goal with 13 seconds left that made it 5-3 Edmonton.
The Raiders are back on the ice Tuesday night when they welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings to the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
News and Notes:
• The Raiders once again dressed seven defenceman, with Hubert Clarke taking shifts at left wing alongside Connor Howe and Ben Harvey. Forwards Alisher Sarkenov and Jonah Sivertson were both out of the lineup.
• Maddix McCagherty had two assists on the night. He also had the check of the game after bowling over an Oil King at the Raider blue line in the third period.
• Both teams went goalless on two power play opportunities.
• Saturday’s game was the third of four meetings between the two teams. The road team has won every game.
