WHL Prince Albert Raiders

Giants Knock Off Raiders 6-5 In A Shootout

Published on January 9, 2024 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release


The Prince Albert Raiders couldn't outlast the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday night, as they fell 6-5 in a six-round shootout. Oli Chenier was the story of the night, scoring his first career WHL hat trick and adding an assist for a four-point night.

"Chenier was unreal tonight," head coach Jeff Truitt said. "I thought that he was terrific tonight."

"It's good, just building trust is awesome," Chenier said about getting that confidence from Truitt. "It's a small step, but I'm just going to keep being undeniable and keep on playing the way I'm playing."

The Giants got off to a quick start, jumping ahead to a 2-0 lead in the first 6:29 of the first period. A great save by Matthew Hutchison at one end of the ice led to the Giants turning the play the other way. Tyler Thorpe walked in and fired a shot from the left wing that was stopped by Max Hildebrand, but the rebound sat in front of the crease. Mazden Leslie jumped all over it and directed a backhand shot to the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season to give Vancouver an early 1-0 lead.

Vancouver added to their lead, going in front by two with a shorthanded goal at the 6:29 mark. After the Giants cleared the puck down the ice, Hildebrand misplayed the puck behind the net, and it bounced right in front to Tomis Marinkovic. All he had to do was bang home his first goal of the season into an empty net, as the visitors took a 2-0 lead early.

The Raiders got one back with 9:27 left in the opening frame, as Oli Chenier got the green and gold on the board. After Harrison Lodewyk was stopped on a backhand driving hard to the net, he beat a Giants defender to the puck. From near the corner, Lodewyk fed a pass to Chenier, who was wide open in the low slot. The rookie forward blasted a one timer past Hutchison, scoring his fourth goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game after 20 minutes.

"I think we're all just hard workers," Chenier said of his line with Lodewyk and Krzysztof Macias. "We're working it down low and throwing our bodies around. The puck is going in because we're working hard. All three of us, hats off to both of those guys, they're playing great."

Chenier scored his second goal of the night 7:16 into the second period, and it was a beauty. Taking a pass in the neutral zone from Doogan Pederson, Chenier worked his way into the Vancouver zone. From there, he toe dragged around a defender, before toe dragging again and firing a shot glove side past Hutchison. It's the first time Chenier has scored twice in a game this season, and the tally made it a 2-2 game.

The Giants took their lead back on a five on three powerplay with 9:24 left in the second. Samuel Honzek ripped a one timer from the right circle after taking a pass from Leslie. Honzek's blast beat Hildebrand top shelf, and it gave the visitors a 3-2 lead midway through the middle frame.

Prince Albert tied things up once again, as Krzysztof Macias snapped a four-game goal-less drought. After a point shot from Eric Johnston went just wide of the net, the puck bounced off the end board and found Macias in front of the net. The Euro grabbed it and tucked home his 14th goal of the season, tying things up at 3-3 after two periods.

The Giants took a 5-3 lead, scoring twice in a stretch of 1:24 in the second half of the third period. Jaden Lipinski scored on a powerplay, and Tyler Thorpe scored to make it a two-goal game with 6:46 left in regulation, leaving the Raiders with a tall task to come back.

Sloan Stanick started the battle back with 5:03 left in the third, firing a shot home from the slot. Hayden Pakkala dropped a pass for the winger, and Stanick was able to fire home his 16th goal of the season to cut Vancouver's lead to 5-4.

"You get the goal from him at the end, and you need that from him," Truitt said.

With 3:56 left in the third, Oli Chenier completed his first career hat trick, tying things up at 5-5. Harrison Lodewyk led a rush up the right wing and dropped a pass for Chenier in the slot. The winger was able to step into a hard shot that beat Hutchison for his third goal of the night and his seventh of the season.

"I think I'm getting more confident in my game," Chenier said. "I'm making smarter plays with the puck and it's working out for me."

The late charge from Prince Albert forced the game into overtime, but fans were anxious in the final minute of regulation when the Raiders had to kill off a penalty.

In overtime, the Raiders killed off the remainder of the Giants' powerplay, and the rest of the extra frame was played without a whistle, so it was four skaters aside. Neither team could find a winner in the five-minute session, bringing forward Prince Albert's second straight shootout game.

This time, the shootout went to six rounds, but Vancouver came out on top. With nobody scoring through five rounds, newly acquired Giant Tyson Zimmer had the game on his stick in the bottom half of the sixth. Zimmer worked his way in and beat Hildebrand five hole to win the game for Vancouver by a 6-5 final.

"You come back from 5-3 to get a point, but when you're looking at that 5-3 score, you're wondering if you're going to get any (points)," Truitt added. "You get an opportunity in the shootout, we just came out on the short end of it this time."

The Raiders pick up a point as their record moves to 18-18-0-3 on the season. Prince Albert is back in action on home ice Friday night when they welcome the Victoria Royals. Puck drops at 7pm.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 9, 2024


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