Evan Herman. (Submitted photo/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raider Hockey

Raiders take costly penalties late to see lead slip away in Lethbridge

Oct 23, 2021 | 10:13 PM

Midway through the third period of Saturday’s game, the Prince Albert Raiders had a 3-2 lead, and were suffocating the Lethbridge Hurricanes to the point where the Enmax Centre crowd was actually booing their own team.

Halfway through the final frame, the Raiders held the Hurricanes to just three shots, none of which were anywhere near high-scoring chances. But then came the penalties, the Hurricanes goals and a 5-3 Raider defeat in regulation.

With nine minutes remaining, Raider newcomer Hayden Pakkala took a double-minor for high-sticking former Prince Albert Minto rearguard Chase Pauls well in the Hurricanes’ zone. Then with 53 seconds remaining in the second Pakkala penalty, Reece Vitelli fell while taking a draw and was given a faceoff violation. The Hurricanes scored on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, with Yegor Klavdiev tying the game up with a one-timer.

Four minutes later, Alex Thacker scored the game-winning goal after a give-and-go with Ty Nash in the Raider zone. Justin Hall scored the empty netter for the Hurricanes.

Although Raiders assistant coach Jeff Truitt said the team’s effort was much better than Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers, there is still some room for improvement.

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“We had a couple of penalties that changed the momentum a little bit, and killed us for any momentum here towards the end,” Truitt said. “The silver lining to this is that we played a hard game here tonight. It was physical, it was fast, we were on pucks. We don’t like losing, there’s no doubt about it, but we worked here tonight.”

Herman heals from snakebite, Laventure begins his adventure

Evan Herman piled up chance after chance early on this season but was held off the goal sheet until Saturday. Herman scored twice in the first period, including a rebound goal on the power play to tie the game, and a long-distance wrist shot to give the Raiders a 2-1 advantage.

“It was great for Evan. He’s a hardworking guy. He won’t score 30, but you’d kind of like if he did,” Truitt said. “That’s not really him. He’s a hardworking guy, he creates turnovers, he’s on the body but he plays with a lot of pace. He has such a great attitude with how he prepares himself for each game. You cheer for some of those guys.”

Herman’s pair was sandwiched in between Alex Thatcher’s rebound goal early in the opening frame, and Noah Boyko’s power play slap shot near the end.

Both teams tightened the screws in the second period before Tyson Laventure scored 18:23 into the sandwich stanza on a partial breakaway goal. While absorbing a check at the Hurricanes’ blueline, Michael Horon was able to find Laventure open in the middle of the ice. That’s Laventure’s first goal in his second game back from his preseason injury.

Stick to the trapezoid

Like Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid has said throughout the week, the team’s new imports will have a ton of adjustments to make— including the rules. Tikhon Chaika found that out on Saturday in his first WHL start, when he played the puck in the no-play zone to negate a Raiders power play. Assistant captain Reece Vitelli quickly explained the rule afterward. Chaika settled in before the Hurricanes exploded late in the third period. Chaika made 27 saves on 31 shots. Jared Picklyk got the win for the Hurricanes, stopping 28 of 31 shots.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Hurricanes, Alex Thacker from Ty Nash and Logan Barlage, 2:13

1-1, Raiders, Evan Herman from Tyson Laventure and Kaiden Guhle, 4:19

2-1, Raiders, Evan Herman from Nolan Allan, 8:20

2-2, Hurricanes, Noah Boyko (power play), 17:10

Second Period

3-2, Raiders, Tyson Laventure from Michael Horon, 18:23

Third Period

3-3, Hurricanes, Yegor Klavdiev from Alex Cotton and Alex Thacker (power play), 14:39

4-3, Hurricanes, Alex Thacker from Ty Nash, 18:49

5-3, Hurricanes, Justin Hall (empty net), 19:36

Up next

The Raiders will take on the Brandon Wheat Kings for a home-and-home series. Both teams will meet at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday at 7 p.m., before a rematch in Brandon on Saturday.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW