Raiders forward Reece Vitelli had a pair of goals in Sunday's win over the Winnipeg ICE. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Reece's Pieces

Raiders say goodbye to slump with big win over ICE; Vitelli shows off in hometown

Jan 5, 2020 | 9:38 PM

It’s over. It’s finally over.

Despite playing their third game in as many nights, and their fifth contest this week, the Prince Albert Raiders snapped their eight-game winless streak. They defeated the Winnipeg ICE 5-3 on Sunday.

Before Sunday’s win, the Raiders were 0-7-1, which was their longest stretch without getting a win since the 2016-17 season. They were stuck on 20 wins since Dec. 13, but now get that elusive 21^st win to sit two points back of the ICE for the top spot in the WHL East Division standings.

“I’m really happy for the guys,” Raiders assistant coach Jeff Truitt said. “They’ve had to look in the mirror an awful lot for the last little while, before the Christmas break and even after. We have to regroup and get back to our identity, I thought we did that tonight—with speed, we were tenacious and way more engaged than what we have been in the last little while.”

Reece Vitelli came into the game with two goals on the season—put he was able to double his tally. Vitelli, in front of friends and family while playing in his hometown of Winnipeg, scored a pair in the second period to turn the game around. He scored the 3-2 goal while shorthanded after winning the puck twice from ICE defender Ben Zloty and scoring on a breakaway. Vitelli then made it a 5-2 game with a power play goal, winning the offensive zone faceoff and tipping home a Landon Kosior point shot.

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“You really like to cheer for a guy like that, who just comes to work every night and does everything that he needs to do,” Truitt said. “He’s good in the faceoff circle and is good defensively. We trust him an awful lot in the defensive zone and he’s smart in the offensive zone. He doesn’t turn pucks over an awful lot, he keeps pucks deep and keeps our offensive momentum going.”

The Raiders power play had struggled a little in recent games, but went 3-5 on Sunday. They also scored on their first two opportunities, with Ozzy Wiesblatt and Aliaksei Protas providing the goals.

Keegan Karki made his first official start for the Raiders, after playing all but the opening 1:08 of the 6-3 loss on Saturday night. Karki made 25 saves on 28 shots for the victory.

Like he did on Saturday, Owen Pederson had a pair of goals for the ICE in the first period—but it took him a little longer to get them. After scoring his two in the first 68 seconds of Saturday’s game, Pederson scored on the first shot of the contest on Sunday just 1:19 into the frame, and added his second at the 9:54 mark. Cole Muir scored in the third period for the ICE.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, ICE, Owen Pederson from Nolan Orzeck and Connor McClennon, 1:19

1-1, Raiders, Ozzy Wiesblatt from Brayden Watts and Spencer Moe (power play), 8:34

2-1, ICE, Owen Pederson from Connor McClennon and Isaac Johnson (power play), 9:54

2-2, Raiders, Aliaksei Protas from Ozzy Wiesblatt and Ilya Usau (power play), 13:01

Second Period

3-2, Raiders, Reece Vitelli (unassisted, shorthanded), 2:13

4-2, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Aliaksei Protas and Spencer Moe, 4:45

5-2, Raiders, Reece Vitelli from Landon Kosior and Kaiden Guhle (power play), 9:18

Third Period

5-3, ICE, Cole Muir (unassisted), 14:19

Back home

The Raiders won’t have long to rest as they’re back in action on Tuesday against the Red Deer Rebels at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders will also play host to the Prince George Cougars on Friday night and the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW