Raiders Fall in Game 2 to Winnipeg
April 23, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release
Winnipeg, Man. - The Prince Albert Raiders fell 5-2 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series with the Winnipeg ICE on Saturday night at Wayne Fleming Arena.
Reece Vitelli had a goal and an assist for the Raiders in the loss, while Cale Sanders chipped in a pair of assists. Landon Kosior scored the other Raiders' goal.
Winnipeg leads the series 2-0 as the series moves to Prince Albert for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Winnipeg opened the scoring with a power-play goal 2:51 into the contest. Nolan Orzeck's shot got through a screen in front of Tikhon Chaika and past the Raiders goaltender.
Midway through the first, Winnipeg extended their lead to 2-0. Jakin Smallwood carried the puck down the right wing and put a shot towards goal. The puck went off a body in front to change direction on Chaika to find the back of the net with 8:02 left in the frame.
The Raiders got a goal back with 1:29 to play in the opening period. Vitelli won a puck battle down low and centered a pass to Kosior. The Regina product wired a shot past Daniel Hauser for his first career goal in the WHL Playoffs to make it a 2-1 game.
Winnipeg restored its two-goal lead just before the final buzzer of the opening 20 minutes with another power-play marker. Owen Pederson got a stick on a point shot from the top of the crease to redirect the attempt past Chaika to give the ICE a 3-1 lead after the first.
Less than three minutes into the second, Winnipeg made it a three-goal game. Zachary Benson skated behind the net to the bottom of the right faceoff circle, then spun and fired a low shot that got through Chaika to give Winnipeg a 4-1 lead.
The goal ended Chaika's night. The Raiders goaltender stopped 11 shots in 22 minutes of play.
Seventy second after Benson's goal, Conor Geekie made it a 5-1 contest. He faked a shot between the hashmarks, took another step in, then fired a shot past Max Hildebrand, who was making his WHL Playoffs debut.
The score held until there was 4:22 left in the third period. Working with Sloan Stanick in the corner, Sanders was able to dig a puck out. He chopped the puck into the slot where Vitelli one-timed it past Hauser for his second goal of the WHL Playoffs to round out the scoring at 5-2.
Hildebrand made 13 saves in nearly 38 minutes of action in relief for the Raiders. Hauser turned aside 18 Raider shots to get the win between the pipes for Winnipeg.
With the Raiders searching for their first win of the 2022 WHL Playoffs, the series shifts to the Art Hauser Centre for Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Puck drop is 7 p.m. CST for both games. Tickets are available at SaskTix.ca and at the Raiders Office.
Western Hockey League Stories from April 23, 2022
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