After suffering a 4-2 loss to the hands of the Red Deer Rebels Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders returned to the road and picked up a 4-1 win in Swift Current against the Broncos.
Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was upset with his team’s effort in Friday’s loss, but was pleased with how his group responded on Saturday.
“Three things were missing last night. Work ethic, compete, and playing as a team,” Habscheid said. “That’s our foundation. I’ll live with anything, but won’t live without a foundation. Our foundation was good tonight, and we won.”
Dallyn Peekeekoot scored twice in the win, and while Habscheid’s message after the loss to the Rebels was for the veterans to step up and play their roles, he was impressed with how 17 year old Peekeekoot stepped up on Saturday.
“He’s a good kid,” Habscheid said of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation product. “He’s young and still finding his way. He got a chance to watch the game (on Friday) and get a fresh outlook, and away he went, and he scored two important goals for us.”
Evan Herman got things started for the Raiders in the first period, sniping a shot from the slot bardown over Broncos goalie Reid Dick. Ozzy Wiesblatt sent a nice pass over to Herman, who was left alone, and he made no mistake, burying his third goal of the season, giving Prince Albert a 1-0 lead six minutes into the game.
Peekeekoot scored his first goal of the night at the 12:37 mark of the first period right after an offensive zone faceoff. The puck bounced off of Broncos defenceman Rayan Bettahar and right to Peekeekoot’s stick. He snapped a shot past Dick, doubling the Prince Albert lead.
The Raiders controlled the puck for most of the opening 20 minutes in the Broncos end, and went into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead, holding Swift Current to just four shots on goal, while mustering nine of their own.
Peekeekoot picked up right where he left off, extending the Raiders lead to 3-0 just 1:42 into the second frame. He parked himself in front of the net on a Raider powerplay, and Landon Kosior ripped a point shot that Peekeekoot redirected in front, and past Dick. That goal marked his first multi goal game in the WHL.
The Broncos responded with 10:59 to go in the second. Bettahar won a puck battle behind the Raider goal, and sent a pass to Josh Filmon near the right hash. Filmon faked a shot, freezing Carter Serhyenko, and sent a pass to the left circle for a waiting Owen Pickering. Pickering was left all alone, and scored past a diving Serhyenko, cutting the Raiders lead to 3-1.
That’s as close as the Broncos would get to coming back in the game, as Tyson Laventure sealed the game for the Raiders with an empty net tally with 23 seconds left in the third, putting the Raiders up 4-1 on his fourth goal of the season.
“Before you put the shingles on a house, you need to have the foundation,” Habsheid reiterated. That’s what we have to keep reinforcing every day.”
With the win, the Raiders all of a sudden find themselves tied for third in the East division with the Moose Jaw Warriors, improving to 6-9-0-1.
Prince Albert will stay on the road for two more games, as they travel to Edmonton to take on the Oil Kings on Friday, before heading to Red Deer for a date with the Rebels on Saturday.
The Raiders will also be looking for a bit of revenge on the road, as both the Oil Kings and Rebels beat Prince Albert 4-2 at the Art Hauser Centre on Wednesday and Friday.
Puck drop for both games is at 7pm.
@kyle_kosowan•sports@paherald.sk.ca
