The Prince Albert Raiders used a three-goal second period to overcome a 2-0 deficit and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-3 Friday at Mosaic Place. Reece Vitelli had a pair of goals, while Ozzy Wiesblatt chipped in with a goal and two assists, as the Raiders snapped a brief two game slide.
“I thought the guys did a good job, especially being down by two,” head coach Marc Habscheid said. “They kept rallying, and they did what they had to do to get the win. They faced some adversity and killed some penalties, and scored on the powerplay, and they did a good job.”
The Warriors went up 1-0 just 1:36 into the contest on their first shot of the game. After a Raider rush was stopped in the Moose Jaw zone, Riley Niven led a rush for the Warriors, working his way down the ice. Stepping into the blue line, Niven ripped a shot that was partly deflected by Remy Aquilon and fooled Tikhon Chaika. The puck found its way over his trapper and in, giving the home side an early lead.
Moose Jaw doubled their lead with 10:31 left in the first period, as Calder Anderson scored his first goal in his first game of the season. After missing the start of the year recovering from knee surgery, Anderson made his return one to remember, scoring on a one timer from the right circle to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead. A nice cross ice pass from Lucas Brenton set the play up, as Moose Jaw took control of the game midway through the opening frame.
Carson Latimer cut into the lead with a goal of his own with 6:30 to go in the first. After Jackson Unger stopped a one timed blast from Keaton Sorenson, Latimer pounced on the rebound in front, jamming a backhand shot home. His 13th goal of the year made it a 2-1 Warrior lead, and that’s how it would stay heading into the second period.
Raider captain Reece Vitelli knotted things up in the second with a powerplay marker. From the right circle, Ozzy Wiesblatt threw a pass to the high slot as he was falling, and it went right to the tape of Vitelli. A quick one timer beat Unger glove side, tying the game at 2-2 with his 19th goal of the season.
Ozzy Wiesblatt got in on the scoring fun in the second, scoring on an odd man rush to give the Raiders their first lead of the game. Leading a two on one rush with Sloan Stanick in the Warriors end, Wiesblatt kept the puck, zipping a shot high glove side past Unger. Prince Albert’s leading scorer didn’t skip a beat after missing the team’s last game in Edmonton, as he gave the Raiders a 3-2 lead, registering his second point of the night.
Hayden Pakkala gave the Raiders a two goal cushion with 49 seconds left in the middle frame, breaking a 13 game goalless drought. After laying a big hit in his defensive zone, Pakkala turned up the ice with the puck, working his way in on Unger. Zipping a shot far side, the Raider rookie picked up his seventh goal of the season. The timely goal gave the Raiders a 4-2 lead into the third period.
“It’s a team game, and we have to score by committee,” Habscheid said. “We play to win. Some plays don’t get noticed. Keaton (Sorenson) made a nice play in the second period where he had to get the puck out. He knew he was going to take a heavy hit, and he took it to get the puck out. Nobody notices that play, but that’s one you have to make if you’re going to win.”
Eric Alarie brought the Warriors back to within one 4:03 into the third period. Atley Calvert slipped a pass from the goal line to the slot for Alarie, who sniped a shot blocker side past Chaika. His 15th of the season made things interesting again, as Moose Jaw pulled back to within one, trailing 4-3.
Just as the clock hit the final minute in the third period, Vitelli restored the Raiders’ two goal lead with an empty net marker. The captain became the first Raider to reach the 20 goal milestone this season, as he gave Prince Albert a huge 5-3 lead.
The Raiders held on to their two goal lead for the final 58 seconds, winning 5-3, and finishing their five game road swing with a 3-2 record. Chaika turned aside 23 of 26 shots for the win.
“Moose Jaw is a team that has a lot to say,” Habscheid added. “They had a lot to say, they were laughing at us and making fun. Last time I checked, we’re still the defending champs. What goes around comes around, they were laughing at us and they ended up losing the game. We’ll take our win and leave.”
The Raiders return home on Saturday night when they welcome the Winnipeg ICE. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
@kyle_kosowan•sports@paherald.sk.ca
