There hasn't been too much room available for Raiders forward Dante Hannoun, being tracked here by Oil Kings forward Scott Atkinson. Lucas Chudleigh/Apollo Multimedia

By Jeff D'Andrea

Unfamiliar territory

Raiders put into the backseat for first time this postseason

Apr 23, 2019 | 10:31 PM

EDMONTON—For the first time these playoffs, the Prince Albert Raiders find themselves behind in a playoff series.

The Raiders gave up four consecutive goals in the second period to fall 5-1 Tuesday to the Edmonton Oil Kings at Rogers Place. The Oil Kings now have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference Finals.

The top line for the Oil Kings exploded in the game after being held to one point in the first two games at the Art Hauser Centre.

Vince Loschiavo had a pair of goals and an assist during the Oil Kings’ surge in the second period. Trey Fix-Wolansky had a hat trick of helpers and Quinn Benjafield had two assists.

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“Right from the first period, I thought we were getting chances,” said Loschiavo, who had one assist in the first two games before his breakout. “A couple didn’t go in, but in the second we started finding our game and finding the back of the net.”

But what might be even more alarming than that is the Raiders’ top guns still have had trouble firing in this series.

Dante Hannoun, who came into the conference finals leading the league in both goals (nine) and points (14) still doesn’t have a point yet in the series. Brett Leason doesn’t either, after leading the Raiders in regular season scoring (89 points) and having 12 in the first two rounds. As a team, the Raiders have just five goals in the first three games, but Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid wants to see a certain something from his top players.

“Goals. But they’re tough to come by sometimes,” Habscheid said. “As long as they’re doing the right things. I think we can still get some inside presence. We were outside a little bit. You just got to be resilient, nothing good comes easy. You have to keep doing the right things, being belligerent and believing in it. We’ve got a long ways to go, yet.”

Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer and his group have been able to take the wind out of the Raiders’ usually fast moving sails this series, and erase their tempo.

“Our strength that we talk about is our quickness, our foot-speed. We want to play the game fast,” Lauer said. “It’s not just one, it’s got to be done by five guys when we’re on the ice. We’ve been doing that so far, and it’s going to be important going forward, too.”

The Raiders were down 1-0 after Loschiavo launched in his first goal of the night 87 seconds into the second period. But the Raiders had numerous chances to tie it up. Parker Kelly was stopped on a number of occasions and Zack Hayes hit the post. All that pressure was in vain as Conner McDonald stormed down the other way to put the Oil Kings ahead.

“That was huge, for sure. It gave them a boost and kicked us a bit. That was definitely a turning point,” Habscheid said. “If we had scored maybe a little bit earlier, we would have found that injection of energy.”

Dylan Myskiw made 28 saves on 29 shots. Ian Scott gave up five goals on 39 shots. That’s the first time these playoffs Scott has surrendered five goals, and just the third all season.

Scoring Summary

First Period

No scoring.

Second Period

1-0, Oil Kings, Vince Loschiavo from Quinn Benjafield and Trey Fix-Wolansky, 1:27

2-0, Oil Kings, Conner McDonald from Trey Fix-Wolansky and Vince Loschiavo, 9:48

3-0, Oil Kings, Vince Loschiavo from Trey Fix-Wolansky and Quinn Benjafield (power play), 14:48

4-0, Oil Kings, Matthew Robertson from Andrei Pavlenko and Vladimir Alistrov, 18:54

4-1, Raiders, Sean Montgomery from Noah Gregor and Max Martin (power play), 19:59

Third Period

5-1, Oil Kings, Josh Williams from Jake Neighbours and Andrew Fyten (power play), 16:05

Back here in Game 4

The Raiders will look to tie the series at 2-2, instead of having their backs against the wall at 3-1.

“It’s a huge game tomorrow,” Raiders captain Brayden Pachal said. “[Between] 3-1 and 2-2, it’s a big difference. We gotta have that mindset that it’s a must-win game tomorrow.

“We’re looking to do that.”

–

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW