Raiders forward Spencer Moe is poke checked by Pats goaltender Matthew Kieper. Keith Hershmiller/WHL

By Jeff D’Andrea

After defeat to Pats, Raiders now winless in last four and down to one goalie

Mar 25, 2021 | 7:21 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders are starting to face a little trouble in the bubble.

After their 5-3 defeat to the Regina Pats in the Queen City Subway Hub Centre Thursday, the Raiders are now winless in their last four games. The scuffle comes after the Raiders had a nearly flawless start to the season with five out of a possible six points.

They’ve played without their captain Kaiden Guhle for five of those games now, as he remains out indefinitely with a hand injury. And 20-year-old goaltender Max Paddock is nicked up with a day-to-day lower-body injury and did not dress for Thursday’s game.

That meant that Carter Serhyenko was the lone option for the Raiders in goal, especially with the difficulty of adding another player into the Raiders’ bubble due to protocols and isolation requirements.

According to Raiders business manager Michael Scissons, the Winnipeg ICE had a goaltender available to enter the game on an emergency basis, if Serhyenko was forced to exit the game.

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“We had a goalie from another team in the stands, so if something would have happened to Carter, he would have dressed. It’s part of the bubble life. It’s the way it is,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “Sherm [Serhyenko’s nickname] was okay today, but he wasn’t what he has been. But that’s usually how it is when things are tough—you fix one thing and then another thing…so on and so forth.”

Raiders goaltender Carter Serhyenko is screened by Pats forward Drew Englot in the first period. Keith Hershmiller/WHL

Serhyenko was playing out of his mind heading into Thursday’s game. He stopped 59 out of 63 shots and kept the Raiders in their games even when they were pressured or broke down in front of him. But Serhyenko’s stats came back down to earth on Thursday, making 21 saves on 26 shots.

As to his postgame message to his team, Habscheid kept it pretty simple.

“’Keep going,’ Habscheid said. “I thought we played a pretty good game. We dominated them and we were down 1-0. You get games like that. I thought 45 out of the 60 minutes, we were the better team but it didn’t result in a win. That’s the way it goes. You move on.”

The Raiders power play has struggled at times this season. Heading into the third period, the Raiders were scoreless in their last 18 attempts—dating back to Game 3 against the Brandon Wheat Kings on March 14.

Before Landon Kosior broke the streak late in the frame with a nice wrist shot from the circle, the Raiders were 0-4 and surrendered a shorthanded goal. That also includes a five-minute power play the Raiders received after Pats captain Logan Nijhoff was ejected for kneeing Raider forward Spencer Moe.

“We’ve been trying to make pretty plays, so we just got to get pucks to the net and get greasy ones. Because right now, the pretty plays aren’t working,” Raiders defenceman Landon Kosior said. “We just have to get more pucks to the net.”

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Carson Denomie from Connor Bedard and Ryker Evans (power play), 19:12

1-1, Raiders, Remy Aquilon from Michael Horon and Tyson Laventure, 6:49

Second Period

2-1, Pats, Braxton Whitehead from Cole Carrier and Ryker Evans, 13:01

3-1, Pats, Cole Carrier from Kyle Walker (shorthanded), 14:51

4-1, Pats, Carter Massier from Drew Englot, 8:59

5-1, Pats, Layton Feist from Connor Bedard and Carson Denomie, 8:59

5-2, Raiders, Eric Pearce from Tyson Laventure, 11:35

5-3, Raiders, Landon Kosior from Justin Nachbaur (power play), 14:52

Raiders and Warriors

The Raiders will face the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday at 8 p.m. for their next game. The Warriors defeated the Raiders 2-1 in a shootout on March 14 in the last meeting between the two sides.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW