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Prince Albert, SK – Prince Albert scored three goals in the third period, two into an empty net in the final minute, and went on to beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 6-3 at the Art Hauser Centre.
The first period was fast and furious as the teams established and maintained a quick and physical pace. Prince Albert scored the first goal of the game at 12:33 when Aidan Oiring capitalized on a Warrior turnover inside their zone.
Moose Jaw was able to respond with just under three minutes remaining. Working on the power play, Lynden Lakovic controlled the puck in the Prince Albert left circle. The 17-year-old tossed the puck to the top of the Raider crease where it went off the blade of Owen Berge and then rolled to Pavel McKenzie on the right side of the net where he scored his seventh of the season to tie the game at one.
Special teams were important throughout the second period.
Just over six minutes into the middle frame and with the Raiders on the man advantage, 19-year-old defenceman Lukas Dragicevic was able to get a shot through from the point to give Prince Albert the lead.
Shorthanded with under nine minutes left in the period, Rilen Kovacevic fought the puck away from the Raiders and then quickly turned up the ice. The 20-year-old came across the right line and then drifted to the middle of the ice where let a shot go that beat Max Hildebrand, his team-leading 16th goal tied the game at two.
Prince Albert remained on the power play and with one second left in the Warrior penalty, Krzysztof Macias was able to tip a loose puck over the goal line to put the Raiders back in the driver’s seat.
The battles continued throughout the third period as the Warriors pressed for an equalizer and the Raiders tried to hold on to the lead.
Moose Jaw picked up a power play opportunity at the midway point and they used this chance to capitalize. After winning the faceoff in the Prince Albert zone, the Warriors eventually set up Rilen Kovacevic in the right circle where he scored his second of the game, tying the game at three.
The Warriors had momentum after the power play goal, but the Raiders knocked the wind out of their sails with a goal from Harrison Lodewyk three minutes later to put them back up by one.
Moose Jaw pulled their goalie twice inside the final minute to try and claw back, but unfortunately, the Raiders put the puck into an empty net twice.
Josh Banini made 43 saves on 47 shots in his first start since October 22, while Max Hildebrand made 27 saves in the win.
Special teams had a big impact on this game. Moose Jaw was 2-for-6 on the power play and 1-for-3 with a shorthanded goal on the penalty kill.
The squad is back at home on Friday to take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. Tickets are available online at www.mjwarriors.ca or at the Moose Jaw Events Centre Box Office. On Saturday, the Warriors head into Regina to take on the Pats.