It looked as if the Prince Albert Raiders would end their Alberta road trip with a win, but the Lethbridge Hurricanes clawed their way back into the game with three third period goals for a 5-3 victory.
The Raiders, held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period, but the Hurricanes scored three times in the last six minutes to secure the win Saturday night.
“We played as a team and we worked,” Head coach Marc Habscheid said after the game. “We deserved a better fate. We had four breakaways, didn’t score on any of them, and we took two penalties that we probably shouldn’t have, and that was the difference.”
The scoring came early at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge, with the Hurricanes getting on the board just over two minutes into the game.
Alex Thacker scoring his second goal of the season, putting the Canes up 1-0. Former Prince Albert Minto Logan Barlage picked up an assist on the goal, giving the 20 year old overager his fifth point in seven games.
Ty Nash took the initial shot on goal that was stopped by Raider goalie Tikhon Chaika, who is getting his first start in the WHL, but Thacker was able to find the loose puck and bury it past Chaika.
The Raiders would respond just 2:06 later on the powerplay when Evan Herman cleaned up a loose puck in front of the Hurricanes net, and stuffed it between the pads of Lethbridge goalie Jared Picklyk.
Kaiden Guhle set up Tyson Laventure, who let go a one timer from the left circle which was blocked in front, which led to Herman finding the loose puck in the crease, tying the game 1-1.
Herman would quickly score his second goal of the night and second of the season 8:40 into the opening frame, as he wired a wrist shot low on the glove side of Picklyk, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead.
Prince Albert maintained the one-goal advantage until the 17 minute mark of the first. Noah Boyko continued his great start to the regular season, tying the game with a slapshot that he ripped from the point that beat Chaika. The Lethbridge powerplay goal would send both teams into the first intermission tied 2-2.
The second period would find no scoring until the 18 minute mark. Michael Horon sprung Tyson Laventure on a breakaway by Michael Horon, and Laventure made no mistake, slipping a shot past Picklyk’s glove, giving the Raiders a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission. Laventure picked up his first goal of the season, as well as his second point after missing the first six games due to injury.
In the third period, the Raiders would hold onto their one goal edge until the 14:39 mark, when the Hurricanes would find the equalizer. Lethbridge had a five on three powerplay, and Alex Cotton set up Yegor Klavdiev with a one time pass on the right hash, and Klavdiev made no mistake, ripping his shot past Chaika, tying the game 3-3.
Alex Thacker would score his second goal of the game late into the third period, on a pretty pass in front from Ty Nash. Nash picked up the primary assist on both of Thacker’s goals, with the most important coming with 1:11 to go in the final frame.
Kaiden Guhle would head to the penalty box with 48 seconds left after taking a hooking penalty, and that would pretty much seal the deal for the Hurricanes. With 24 seconds left and Chaika on the bench, Justin Hall would fire a puck into the empty PA net, putting Lethbridge up by two goals. The Canes walked away with a 5-3 win, despite being outshot 31-28 in the contest.
Even after coming out on the losing end again, Habscheid saw some positives to take away from Saturday’s game.
“If we keep playing like that, we’ll win some,” he said. “The guys just have to keep competing and playing together.”
Chaika made 24 saves in the contest, but Habscheid said he’s still learning the game.
“It was his first game, and a new kind of game for him, and hopefully he’ll be better and ready to go again next time,” he said.
Next up, the Raiders return home on Friday for the first half of a home and home series with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.