If the WHL gave bonus points for boos the Prince Albert Raiders would have left Manitoba with a healthy lead in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Raiders roared back from a two-goal third period deficit to send Saturday’s game against the Brandon Wheat Kings into overtime. Once there, Aiden Oiring left the hometown fans and Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray fuming with a late winner following a pair of non-calls from the officiating crew.
“From our vantage point, it was in the far end through some bodies and through the net,” Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said when asked about the OT winner. “(We) just saw Oiring on the forecheck creating some pressure. (He) turned the puck over and he caught the goalie on the short side.”
The boos began when Wheat Kings forward Jaxon Jacobson attempted to duck a check from Oiring at centre ice roughly 40 seconds into overtime. The Raider forward nearly hit Jacobson’s head in the resulting collision, drawing the ire of the 2,457 fans in attendance.
Seconds later, Oiring pressured Wheat Kings defenceman Dylan Ronald while chasing a loose puck behind the Brandon net. The move resulted in Ronald losing his footing and sliding into the boards. Oiring, meanwhile, picked up the puck, skated in front to the faceoff dot, and fired a wrist shot into the top corner of the net.
The Raiders poured off the bench to mob Oiring while fans vented their frustration, and Murray gave the officials an earful while passing them on his way off the ice.
The goal capped a furious Raider comeback and gave them four out of a possible four points on their weekend road trip.
“It was a great third period,” McDonald said. “We continued to get pucks behind and get on the forecheck, make them defend underneath the tops of the circles. (It’s) great to see the guys get rewarded.”
Michal Orsulak picked up another win for the Raiders in his second WHL start. The 6’4 Czech netminder made 26 stops on the night, including a key third period save that prevented Wheat Kings winger Luke Mistelbacher from scoring a spectacular goal after he walked around a Raiders defenceman.
At the other end of the ice, Prince Albert product Jayden Kraus got the start for the Wheat Kings. The former Prince Albert Minto was coming off a tough outing where he gave up nine goals against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Sept. 20, but was solid in the Brandon goal on Saturday.
Kraus made several big saves in the second period while it was still a 2-2 game, including a sprawling pad save on Daxon Rudolph, who found himself all alone in front of the net thanks to a beautiful Max Heise pass.
Leading 4-2, the Wheat Kings appeared to have everything in control heading into the final minutes of the second period, but quickly ran into penalty trouble.
Grayson Burzynski received a major for checking to the head and a game misconduct after crushing Riley Boychuk from behind at the buzzer. The Raiders failed to capitalize on the five minute power play thanks to some excellent Wheat Kings shotblocking, but soon found themselves with two more third period power plays after Giorgos Pantelas was sent off at 12:23, and Adam Hlinsky was penalized at 16:58. Both players were called for tripping.
The latter was the most significant penalty. It allowed Heise to capitalize with a wraparound goal that required every inch of his 6’4 frame.
“Stay composed,” McDonald said when asked what the message was to the Raiders heading into the third period. “Stick to the game plan. Obviously, we needed a little more urgency in our game and again, we kept getting pucks north, kept getting pucks in behind them, and kept getting to work. We continued to do that throughout the period and we got rewarded at the end.”
The Raiders led 2-1 after the first thanks to goals from Evan Smith and Harrison Lodewyk. Jaxon Jacobson had the lone first period goal for the Wheat Kings.
Brandon responded with a three-goal second period outburst to make it 4-2. Chase Surkan had two of the goals and assisted on the third by Nicholas Johnson.
Raiders forward Ty Meunier started the comeback in the third period when he buried a wrist shot after picking up a loose puck in the slot. Rookie defenceman Hubert Clarke earned an assist on the play for his first WHL point.
With the win, Prince Albert improves to 3-0-1-0 on the season. They’re off until Saturday when they begin a six game homestand against the Red Deer Rebels. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.
