Raiders goaltender Tikhon Chaika paddles a puck out of the air and beats Blades forward Trevor Wong to the puck. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D’Andrea

Bounces go Blades’ way in tough, tight game vs. Raiders, Highway 11 rivalry continues Saturday

Dec 17, 2021 | 10:01 PM

Prince Albert Raiders’ captain Reece Vitelli assisted on his team’s first goal and scored the equalizer in the third period on his way to be named as the game’s first star against the Saskatoon Blades on Friday. But Vitelli will be thinking about another play after Friday’s 3-2 defeat at the Art Hauser Centre.

Vitelli partially blocked Aidan De La Gorgendiere’s point shot with just over three minutes left in the game, and saw the eventual game-winning goal bounce and pinball its way into the Raider goal.

“We worked so hard there. We came back there and tied it up. To have a goal like that, it sucks, obviously. It cost us the game, but bounces will happen in a hockey game,” Vitelli said. “We have to come out strong tomorrow [Saturday].”

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid believed his side may have tried to be a little cute at times, trying to make the perfect play or the difficult play instead of taking what was available.

“We wanted to make hard plays instead of easy plays, and that comes with maybe feeling a little overconfident. We weren’t efficient, I didn’t think. We were okay, but on the other side, you could see some pucks went off the end of our sticks, instead of going this way, they went that way,” Habscheid said. “It wasn’t an easy night, and the way you get through that is to make the right plays. When we didn’t, they kind of bounced around and ended up in our net.”

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The Raiders scored the first goal of the contest, as Sloan Stanick fought in front of the net on a power play and scored on his second attempt, 6:59 into the game. The Blades would score the next two goals of the frame on deflections, as both Brendon Lee and Trevor Wong’s shots hit Raider defenders and fooled Tikhon Chaika. The Blades would hold their narrow 2-1 lead until 3:55 into the third period when captain Reece Vitelli scored his 10th goal of the season to tie the game up. Both of the Raiders’ first two goals came on their first two power plays.

Then with just 3:21 left in the third period, Blades’ De La Gorgendiere’s point shot was partially blocked by Vitelli, and bounced its way into the net.

The Raiders won both of the first two matchups against the Blades, and are 2-1 after Friday’s loss. Both teams will meet again on Saturday at the SaskTel Centre for a rematch.

Goalie shakeup

The Raiders reassigned goaltender Carter Serhyenko to Junior A, a team to be named later—the team announced earlier on Friday.

Serhyenko had a 6-10-1 record with the Raiders, a 3.55 goals-against average, and a 0.881 save percentage in 17 appearances this year.

The Raiders started Tikhon Chaika for his eighth straight start and his ninth straight appearance. Cole Tisdale, who was acquired on Sunday from the Tri-City Americans, backed up Chaika.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Sloan Stanick from Reece Vitelli and Carson Latimer (power play), 6:59

1-1, Blades, Brendan Lee from Tristen Robins, 9:35

2-1, Blades, Trevor Wong from Brandon Lisowsky, 11:24

Second Period

No scoring.

Third Period

2-2, Raiders, Reece Vitelli from Ozzy Wiesblatt and Carson Latimer (power play), 3:55

3-2, Blades, Aidan De La Gorgendiere from Jayden Wiens, 16:39

Rematch tomorrow

The Raiders and Blades will have a rematch on Saturday at the SaskTel Centre. It will be both teams’ final game before the holiday break. The two teams will meet again on Dec. 27, right after the break at the Art Hauser Centre. It won’t be a home-and-home series like usual years, however, as the Raiders will host the Red Deer Rebels on Dec. 29 before tangling with the Blades at the SaskTel Centre on Dec. 30 at the SaskTel Centre.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW