The Regina Pats battled hard to tie the game twice on Tuesday night at the Art Hauser Centre against the Prince Albert Raiders, but couldn't complete the comeback as the Raiders pulled away for a 5-2 victory on home ice.
With a quiet opening half of the first period, Regina native Jonah Sivertson opened the scoring for Prince Albert on the Raiders' ninth shot of the period. Sivertson pounced on a rebound from a Alisher Sarkenov shot and beat Pats goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk at 9:34. However, Regina responded just two minutes later. Dayce Derkatch finished a stretch pass from Shea Rollason with a nifty backhand past the Raiders' Michal Orsulak to even the score at 11:37 against his former team. Prince Albert would reclaim the lead before the end of the period, though, with defenceman Daxon Rudolph notching his 23rd goal of the season to put the Raiders back in front after 20 minutes.
In the middle frame, the team traded goals, with Prince Albert maintaining a one-goal lead heading into the final period. Pats captain Ephram McNutt struck first in the second, finishing off his 10th goal of the season on the doorstep at 10:30. The play was set up by a strong defensive effort from Keets Fawcett, who created a 3-on-1 opportunity. After Zach Lansard was denied in the slot, McNutt was on top of the rebound to tie the game once again. Then, on the power play, Justice Christensen capitalized on a give-and-go opportunity for Prince Albert, securing his 50th career WHL goal and his 13th of the season – putting the Raiders ahead 3-2 at 18:26.
Just 2:25 into the third, Braeden Cootes picked up his second point of the night by collecting a loose puck in the Pats' slot and roofing a backhand over the shoulder of Tabashniuk to make it 4-2 for Prince Albert. With the Pats' net empty, Brandon Gorzynski would tack on another goal for the Raiders, making it a 5-2 score that would stand as the final. With the result, the Pats moved to 16-26-6-1 on the season. Pats' Tabashniuk stopped 39 of 43 shots he faced. At the other end, Raiders netminder Orsulak turned aside 21 of 23 shots, with the final shots on goal being 44-23 in favour of Prince Albert. On special teams, the Pats went 0-for-1, while the Raiders succeeded at a 1-for-3 rate on the night.
Most notably, Derkatch picked up his third goal of the season, while Fawcett picked up his fourth point in his last four games.
FINAL: Prince Albert Raiders 5, Regina Pats 2
THE GOALS
First Period
Raiders 1-0 —#28 Jonah Sivertson (17), assisted by #24 Alisher Sarkenov, & #34 Braeden Cootes at 9:34
Cootes knocked a bouncing puck towards Sarkenov, who directed it on goal. The shot rebounded off Tabashniuk's right pad and onto the stick of Sivertson, who snapped it home at 9:34.
Pats 1-1 —#49 Dayce Derkatch (3), assisted by #22 Shea Rollason at 11:37
Picking up the puck behind his own net, Rollason fired a stretch pass from the Pats' blue line that found its way onto Derkatch's stick. The 18-year-old drove to the net and beat Orsulak's blocker side to even the score at 11:37.
Raiders 2-1 —#10 Daxon Rudolph (23), assisted by #23 Owen Corkish, & #14 Max Heise at 16:23
Heise swung the puck around the boards in the Pats' zone, where Corkish collected it and slid a pass to Rudolph at the point. After walking the blue line, Rudolph's shot through traffic found the back of the net at 16:23.
Second Period
Pats 2-2 —#55 Ephram McNutt (10), assisted by #57 Zach Lansard, & #10 Keets Fawcett at 10:30
After outmuscling a Raiders defenceman, Fawcett created a 3-on-1 and fed Lansard, whose initial attempt was stopped before McNutt jumped on the rebound to tie the game once again at 10:30.
Raiders 3-2 —#7 Justice Christensen (13), assisted by #12 Brock Cripps, & #24 Alisher Sarkenov at 18:26 (PP)
On the man advantage, taking a give-and-go pass from Cripps, Christensen walked into the slot and wired a wrist shot past Tabashniuk to put Prince Albert in front at 18:26.
Third Period
Raiders 4-2 —#34 Braeden Cootes (19), assisted by #28 Jonah Sivertson, & #12 Brock Cripps at 2:25
After the puck pin-balled between Cripps and Sivertson, Cootes picked it up in the slot and went bardown to double the Raiders' lead at 2:25.
Raiders 5-2 —#29 Brandon Gorzynski (24), assisted by #21 Evan Smith, & #7 Justice Christensen at 19:09 (ENG)
Christensen shot the puck around the boards, Smith chipped it out of the Raiders' zone, and Gorzynski shuffled it into the Pats' empty net at 19:09.
Shots on Goal
- Pats: 6 – 5 – 12 — 23
- Raiders: 17 – 16 – 11 — 44
Power Plays
- Pats: 0/1
- Raiders: 1/3
Goaltending
- Pats: Taylor Tabashniuk — 39 saves on 43 shots
- Raiders: Michal Orsulak — 21 saves on 23 shots
Three Stars
- First Star: #28 Jonah Sivertson (1G, 1A)
- Second Star: #24 Alisher Sarkenov (2A)
- Third Star: #30 Taylor Tabashniuk (39 saves)
COMING UP
The Pats continue a busy stretch of five games in seven nights, closing out a two-game road trip on Wednesday, February 11, against the Saskatoon Blades at 7:00 p.m., before opening a home-and-home series with the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, February 13, at 7:00 p.m. for Retro Night at the Brandt Centre.
