The Prince Albert Raiders couldn’t secure a teddy boss night victory as they fell 2-1 to the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday night.
Raider head coach Jeff Truitt says the Rebels made it tough for the Raiders to get many scoring chances.
“They clog up the front of the net real well. They got strong defensemen to tie you up. We might have gotten the first shot through, but it was tough for the second opportunity. They did a good job of tying us up in front of the net.”
The Rebels and Raiders would play a tightly contested, defensive first period with neither team scoring a goal.
Prince Albert held a slight advantage on the shot clock 10-9 after twenty minutes.
Zane Saab would break the seal on the scoreboard at the 2:02 mark of the second period with his first goal of the season. Dwayne Jean Jr. and Jace Weir assisted on the play.
After a high sticking penalty against Eric Johnston, the Rebel power play would double the lead in the last minute of the middle frame.
Talon Brigley would bury his 10th goal of the season on the power play at the 19:04 mark. Weir picked up his second point of the night with an assist.
The Raiders would have a prime opportunity to break into the score column about halfway through the third period with an extended 5-on-3 power play, but the Rebels were able to successfully kill.
“(It) wasn’t fast enough.” Truitt said about the 5-on-3. “We moved the pocket but then we slowed it down. We weren’t opening up things. I thought that we extended the zone a little bit too high. A couple of missed passes, it goes outside of the zone, kills everything. You have to bear down in those situations.”
Sloan Stanick would send the teddy bears flying with just 1:07 left to go in the third period with his 11th goal of the season. Niall Crocker and Ryder Ritchie assisted on the play.
Stanicks says the teddy bear goal always has special meaning.
“I’ve been around quite a few games and you obviously want to get it, so it felt pretty cool. We obviously wanted the two points, but just fell short there.”
Chase Wutzke would make 35 stops for the Rebels in the win, Max Hildebrand made 27 stops for the Raiders.
Prince Albert returns to action on Tuesday night when they welcome Ashton Ferster, Ashton Tait and the Kamloops Blazers to the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
