Raiders forward Reece Vitelli takes the team's third and final shot against the Brandon Wheat Kings. (Submitted Photo/Mark Peterson Media)

By Rob Mahon

Raiders Fall In Shootout

Raiders gain one point, lose second in shootout with Wheat Kings

Oct 30, 2021 | 9:24 AM

The efforts have been steadily improving for the Prince Albert Raiders, but unfortunately, the points haven’t been coming in the standings. The team earned one point but couldn’t snag the second, falling 5-4 to the Brandon Wheat Kings in a shootout.

Remy Aquilon scored twice, and Kaiden Guhle added three assists in the loss. Reece Vitelli and Cale Sanders also scored, while Tyson Zimmer, Zakhar Polshakov, Brett Hyland, and Nolan Ritchie answered for the Wheat Kings. The Raiders outshot the Wheat Kings 37-22.

The start was all the Raiders could’ve asked for, drawing a penalty just 20 seconds in and going up by two goals with 7:14 left in the opening frame. First Aquilon took a one-timer from the right point on a feed from Guhle that found its way through traffic. Then, Vitelli knocked down a bouncing puck in the slot and backhanded it through the legs of Ethan Kruger for the 2-0 lead.

Within two minutes, however, the Wheat Kings had tied the score. Ridly Greig took a hit to make a play, sending the puck out front to Zimmer who snuck it between the pads of Tikhon Chaika. Just 19-seconds later, Hyland and Polshakov broke in two-on-one after a Raider rush misfired, and they worked a give-and-go perfectly to tie the game.

An already injured Brandon team got more bad news in the second. Polshakov missed the rest of the game after going heavily into the end boards following his goal. Then, after Sanders made it a 3-2 game, Greig took a hard hit from Aquilon as he came out from behind the net, turning as the hit came, and went into the boards at an awkward angle. He left the game and did not return.

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Nonetheless, the Raiders lead evaporated for a second time early in the third when Hyland followed up a net drive by Jessiah Bennett and tapped the puck into a gaping cage. Undeterred, the Raiders regained their lead with just over eight minutes to play on a nearly identical goal to the first one, with Aquilon again letting a one-timer go off the feed from Guhle.

Penalty troubles again cost the Raiders late in the third, as Ritchie tied the game just 16 seconds into a minor penalty by Vladislav Shilo. Zimmer shot for a rebound and got one, and Ritchie was there to knock it in.

Overtime saw the ice tilted towards the Wheat Kings end again, but despite a 4-1 shots on goal advantage in the extra frame, they couldn’t find the winner. In the shootout, Guhle scored for the second time this season, but the Wheat Kings got goals from Hyland and Zimmer to take the win.

The Raiders won’t have to wait long for a rematch as they travel to Brandon Saturday for a game at 6 p.m. Saskatchewan time. Catch that game on 101.5 Beach Radio.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com