TThe Prince Albert Raiders returned from the Christmas break without missing a beat.
The Raiders travelled to Swift Current and dominated the Broncos 7-1 at the InnovationPlex on Saturday. Prince Albert led 3-1 after the first period and 5-1 after the second.
Raiders’ head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased with how the Raiders returned from the holiday layoff.
“(It was) a fantastic 60 minute effort,” McDonald said. “(We) just played very simple, played very direct, played where we could take advantage of our opportunities.”
McDonald said he was happy with the effort from all four lines and the defensive pairing.
“We were very efficient getting pucks out of our zone and took advantage of our opportunities in our offensive zone,” he said.
“We created motion with them and again our guys did a tremendous job and fantastic looks at the net that the guys could capitalize on. A lot of goals came off of pretty foundational plays, zone forechecks, putting pucks on the net and finding those second opportunities,” he explained.
Daxon Rudolph got his first of two in the game to open the scoring for the Raiders 5:08 into the game. Brayden Dube made it 2-0 just over a minute later for the Raiders.
Trae Wilke scored the Broncos’ lone goal at 10:35 of the first period.
Prince Albert continued to roll as Riley Boychuck scored on a power play goal at 19:02 of the first period.
Alisher Sarkenov added another Raiders goal at 17:03 of the second period, Rudolph added his second at 19:41 of the second period. McDonald said Rudolph showed his whole skill set in the game.
“(He’s) just doing what Daxon does out there, being very steady defensively and you saw he just toys with his offensive ability,” McDonald said. “The goal where he goes short side off of a great screen with a tremendous shot, the way he moves pucks, the way he gets pucks going, is awesome.”
In the third period Maddix McCagherty scored for the Raiders when Broncos goaltender Joey Rocha thought he had a rebound covered but McGagherty snagged the puck and put it past him.
“We were extremely hungry,” McDonald said. “That one is just stick around the net after a great play to get it there and never give in.”
Linden Burrett sealed the game for the Raiders with a goal at 11:09 of the third period.
The Raiders went one for two on the power play while the Broncos went zero for five.
Dmitri Fortin made 17 saves for the Raiders and Rocha made 47 saves for Swift Current.
McDonald said the Raiders looked recharged after having the Christmas break in practice and on the ice Saturday.
“We had a good break where guys were able to get home and see their family and friends and rest and recharge and come back,” he said. “We thought our first practice back last night was
very snappy, crispy and we had guys that were ready. Guys had a lot of energy and looked fantastic and you could see that today.”
The two teams meet again Monday at the Art Hauser Centre, puck drop is 7 p.m.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
