The Regina Pats fell 8-4 to the Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday night at the Art Hauser Centre, as the Raiders pulled away with three goals in under three minutes in the third period.
After waiting until the final three minutes for the first goal in Saturday’s meeting between these two teams, the Raiders needed just 5:39 to strike on Tuesday. At the end of a Pats power play, Pats defenceman Kolten Bridgeman’s shot was blocked, and Benett Kelly picked up the loose puck and sent a stretch pass to Ben Harvey for a breakaway. Harvey, in alone, beat Marek Schlenker blocker side to give Prince Albert a 1-0 lead. Regina had the only two opportunities on the man advantage in the opening frame but couldn't capitalize, while the Raiders outshot the Pats 12-2 throughout the first period.
In the second, the game opened up with four goals. Raiders forward Braeden Cootes struck at 2:26, but Pats' Mathis Paull answered less than a minute later. Scooping up a loose puck and entering the Prince Albert zone on a 2-on-1, Paull made a slick move with the puck on his stick before placing a shot past Raiders' Michal Orsulak to cut the deficit in half at 3:25. Prince Albert quickly regained control, however, as Riley Boychuk and Jonah Sivertson scored less than a minute apart at 8:23 and 9:04 to make it 4-1. The Raiders carried that lead into the second intermission and outshot Regina 28-11 through 40 minutes.
The third period turned into a high-scoring affair, with seven goals scored split between the teams. Keets Fawcett opened the surge, burying a loose puck in a crease scramble on Regina’s first shot to make it 4-2 at 1:11, with assists from Zach Lansard and Matyas Ubl. Reese Hamilton then pulled the Pats within one, beating traffic from the point on the power play at 9:03. Despite a near comeback effort in the opening half of the period, any momentum was short-lived. The Raiders wasted no time in regaining their lead, scoring three goals in under three minutes from Alisher Sarkenov, Brayden Dube, and Max Heise, to stretch the lead to four by 12:01, prompting Drake Mooney to replace Schlenker after the sixth tally. Regina's Ellis Mieyette added another for the Pats at 13:14 on a strong solo effort set up by Ruslan Karimov, but Prince Albert answered again to seal an 8-4 final.
With the result, the Pats moved to 25-32-7-2 on the year. Pats' Schlenker stopped 34 of 40 shots he faced, and Mooney made seven saves. At the other end, Raiders netminder Orsulak turned aside 19 of 23 shots. The final shots on goal were 49-23 in favour of Prince Albert. On special teams, the Pats went 1-for-3, while the Raiders were scoreless, going 0-for-2.
Most notably, Ubl registered his first career WHL assist and point. Additionally, Fawcett reached the 30-goal milestone for the first time in his WHL career.
FINAL: Prince Albert Raiders 8, Regina Pats 4
THE GOALS
First Period
Raiders 1-0 —#20 Ben Harvey (13), assisted by #6 Benett Kelly & #17 Maddix McCagherty at 5:49
After a blocked shot, Kelly sent the loose puck up ice to Harvey coming out of the penalty box for a breakaway, and he beat Schlenker blocker side at 5:49 to open the scoring.
Second Period
Raiders 2-0 —#34 Braeden Cootes (23), assisted by #5 Maytas Man at 2:26
After Man’s shot hit Schlenker’s right pad, Cootes jumped on the rebound and quickly turned to fire it home, doubling the Raiders’ lead at 2:26.
Pats 2-1 — #32 Mathis Paull (7), (unassisted) at 3:25
Picking up a bouncing puck in the neutral zone, Paull carried it in and ripped a shot past Orsulak's glove side to cut the deficit in half at 3:25.
Raiders 3-1 —#23 Riley Boychuk (14), assisted by #17 Maddix McCagherty & #5 Matyas Man at 8:23
McCagherty threw a puck on goal, creating a rebound for a cutting Boychuk on the right side, who buried it to restore Prince Albert’s two-goal lead at 8:23.
Raiders 4-1 —#28 Jonah Sivertson (23), assisted by #34 Braeden Cootes & #24 Alisher Sarkenov at 9:04
Sivertson fed Cootes before receiving the puck back in the slot, where he made no mistake and roofed it at 9:04.
Third Period
Pats 4-2 — #10 Keets Fawcett (30), assisted by #57 Zach Lansard, & #51 Matyas Ubl at 1:11
Ubl sent the puck into the slot for Lansard, who battled with it before Fawcett banked a backhand off a Raiders defenceman and in at 1:11.
Pats 4-3 — #6 Reese Hamilton (7), assisted by #23 Aiden Wagner, & #37 Cohen Klassen at 9:03 (PP)
On the man advantage, Hamilton took a feed from Wagner before walking the blue line and shooting the puck through traffic, beating Orsulak at 9:03.
Raiders 5-3 — #24 Alisher Sarkenov (20), assisted by #34 Braeden Cootes, & #12 Brock Cripps at 10:10
After putting the puck under the stick of a Pats defenceman, Sarkenov converted on an unexpected backhander that beat Schlenker upstairs at 10:10.
Raiders 6-3 — #15 Brayden Dube (22), assisted by #14 Max Heise, & #14 Justice Christensen at 11:11
With lots of speed entering the Pats' zone, Heise left the puck for Dube at the blue line. Walking in with time and space, Dube snapped a wrist shot and scored, finishing the play at 11:11.
Raiders 7-3 — #14 Max Heise (29), (unassisted) at 12:01
Heise, picking up his own attempted pass, sent a shot on goal that pin-balled into the net at 12:01.
Pats 7-4 — #21 Ellis Mieyette (11), assisted by #25 Ruslan Karimov at 13:14
Stopping the puck at the Raiders’ blue line, Karimov sent it into the Prince Albert zone. Mieyette picked it up, sold the forehand, and slid a backhand into the open net at 13:14.
Raiders 8-4 — #20 Ben Harvey (14), assisted by #29 Brandon Gorzynski, & #6 Benett Kelly at 15:17
Kelly found Gorzynski in front, and he went backdoor to Harvey, who completed the tic-tac-toe play for the Raiders' eighth goal of the night at 15:17.
Shots on Goal
- Pats: 2 – 9 – 12 — 23
- Raiders: 12 – 16 – 21 — 49
Power Plays
- Pats: 1/3
- Raiders: 0/2
Goaltending
- Pats: Marek Schlenker — 34 saves on 40 shots, Drake Mooney — 7 saves on 9 shots
- Raiders: Michal Orsulak — 19 saves on 23 shots
Three Stars
- First Star: #34 Braeden Cootes (1G, 2A)
- Second Star: #20 Ben Harvey (2G)
- Third Star: #14 Max Heise (1G, 1A)
COMING UP
The Pats return to the Brandt Centre for their final home game of the regular season on Friday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m., hosting the Brandon Wheat Kings. They’ll wrap up regular season play the following night in Brandon, closing out the home-and-home on Saturday, March 21 at 5:00 p.m.
