Raiders Hold off Royals 4-3 in Third Consecutive Shootout Game
January 12, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince Albert Raiders News Release
Prince Albert is becoming more and more familiar with shootouts this season, as they went to their fifth of the season, and third straight game that needed one to find a winner. This time, they would only need two shots, as Aiden Oiring and Sloan Stanick both scored on their shots, while Max Hildebrand made two saves in the penalty shot rounds, as the Raiders fought off the Victoria Royals 4-3 on Friday night.
The Raiders opened the scoring with 10:05 left in the first period, scoring on their only powerplay of the opening frame. From the right circle, Turner McMillen sent a shot-pass towards the slot with Oli Chenier parked in front. Chenier deflected the puck home with a neat forehand tip, staying red hot by scoring his fourth goal in two games. His eighth tally of the season gave the green and gold a 1-0 lead at the midway mark of the first.
Victoria tied things up with 6:27 left in the first, scoring right after a faceoff win in the offensive zone. Justin Kipkie took a shot on goal that was blocked, but Reggie Newman chased the rebound in front. The Royals forward found the puck and took a shot that just snuck past Max Hildebrand under his glove. Newman's 13th goal of the season made it a 1-1 game after the opening 20 minutes.
After a quiet first three quarters of the second period, the Raiders opened things up, scoring twice in 23 seconds late in the frame. Sloan Stanick started the stretch off by ripping a one timer past Jayden Kraus from the right circle. Niall Crocker fed his linemate a pass from near the right circle. Stanick was able to let one rip and beat Kraus, who attempted a spectacular pad stack save but missed it. Stanick's 17th goal of the season gave Prince Albert a 2-1 lead with 1:33 left in the second.
The goal call on Stanick's goal was still being announced when the Raiders scored again. Once again it was Crocker who set up the goal, feeding Justice Christensen at the point. The Raider defenceman gathered the puck and stepped into a shot that beat Kraus blocker side. Back-to-back goals gave the Raiders a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Just like the Raiders did in the second, the Royals scored back-to-back goals late in the third, as they came back to tie the game 3-3. In his first game with his new team, Tyson Laventure beat Hildebrand to make it a 3-2 game with 3:20 left in regulation.
With exactly two minutes left on the clock, Cole Reschny tied things up, getting a fortunate bounce as the puck bounced off Jacob Hoffrogge and in to make it a 3-3 game. The two late goals forced overtime, becoming the third game in a row that would go beyond regulation for Prince Albert.
History repeated itself once again with no scorers in overtime, as it became not just the third straight game that needed an extra five minutes, but also the third game in a row that required a shootout.
Aiden Oiring started things off in the penalty shot rounds, and he sniped a shot past Braden Holt, who replaced Kraus between the pipes for Victoria to start the third. Cole Reschny came up first for the Royals, but was stopped by Hildebrand, which put the Raiders on top 1-0 after the first round.
Sloan Stanick came up next for the green and gold and duplicated what Oiring did, beating Holt to score the Raiders' second shootout goal. With the game on the line, Dawson Pasternak stepped up for the Royals with a chance to extend it. Hildebrand had other ideas, however, as he stopped Victoria's leading scorer to secure the victory for Prince Albert.
The Raiders improve to 19-18-0-3 on the season, and continue their 3 in 3 weekend tomorrow night in Regina. Puck drops at 7pm.
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