Raiders forward Niall Crocker gets a step on Broncos defender Sam McGinley as he cuts in on goal. (Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raiders Hockey

Raiders’ undefeated streak bucked by Broncos

Mar 16, 2022 | 9:58 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders have been getting some incredible goaltending from reigning WHL Goaltender of the Week Tikhon Chaika lately, as the rookie workhorse got two shutouts in his last three games.

But unfortunately for him and the Raiders, that did not carry over to Wednesday. Chaika surrendered four goals on 12 shots as he was pulled during the Raiders’ 6-3 defeat to the Swift Current Broncos at the Art Hauser Centre. Chaika lasted 26:19 and was replaced by Max Hildebrand, who made 10 saves on 11 shots. On the other side, Broncos goaltender Isaac Poulter made 43 saves.

“[Chaika] wasn’t very good, Hilty let one in that wasn’t very good, and four of our D were—terrible to be quite honest,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “Two [defencemen] were good, and one was really bad tonight. It’s not very good timing.”

The Raiders had points in all of their last five games before the regulation defeat on Wednesday. With the win, the Broncos are now one point back of the Raiders in the WHL Eastern Conference playoff race. The Raiders came into Wednesday’s game in the eighth spot but now fall to 10th.

“Every time we lose, it’s disappointing. But we talked about it quite a few times, these points are huge for us. That’s a tough one, real tough,” said Raiders forward Evan Herman, who had a goal and an assist in the game.

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Both teams traded goals, as Kayden Sadhra-Kang opened the scoring on a rebound at the 12-minute mark before Sloan Stanick ended a chaotic, pinballing pressure sequence over 14 minutes into the opening frame.

Then the first period got super weird. Hayden Pakkala was ejected from the game after hitting Broncos call-up Josh Fluker from behind. But the Raiders actually ended up on the power play when play resumed, as Sam McGinley got two and 10 for crosschecking Pakkala in relation, and Broncos Isaac Poulter got two minutes for leaving the crease and joining the fray. The Raiders then scored on that power play, with Evan Herman potting his 22nd goal of the season on a lovely feed from Landon Kosior, 17:03 into the 1st period.

Then 44 seconds later, Carter Stebbings would tie the game after he dangled towards the Raiders’ net, but got some help from Raiders defender Tayem Gislason, who poked the puck away from Stebbings but into the Raiders’ goal.

Then it was all Broncos in the second period. Karson King scored two rebound goals 11 seconds apart at the six-minute mark of the period, chasing Chaika from the net. Mathew Ward scored on the power play 13:41 into the frame, picking the corner with a picture-perfect shot. That gave the Broncos five goals on their first 14 shots.

Raiders goaltender Max Hildebrand was pulled with about three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the period and Nolan Allan rewarded that decision. He scored in the top corner, his second-straight game scoring a goal. Hildebrand made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief. Raphael Pelletier then scored late on the empty net.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Broncos, Kayden Sadhra-Kang from Brady Birnie and Raphael Pelletier, 11:31

1-1, Raiders, Sloan Stanick from Reece Vitelli and Remy Aquilon, 14:05

2-1, Raiders, Evan Herman from Landon Kosior and Nolan Allan, 17:03

2-2, Broncos, Carter Stebbings (power play), 17:47

Second Period

3-2, Broncos, Karson King from Josh Fluker and Connor Hvidston, 6:08

4-2, Broncos, Karson King from Connor Hvidston, 6:19

5-2, Broncos, Mathew Ward from Sam McGinley and Josh Filmon (power play), 13:41

Third Period

5-3, Raiders, Nolan Allan from Sloan Stanick and Evan Herman, 16:44

6-3, Broncos, Raphael Pelletier from Cole Nagy (empty net), 18:58

Up next

After getting three out of four points over the Saskatoon Blades on the weekend, the Raiders are going to attempt to keep up their recent success against the Blades on Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre.

It is also Pirate Specialty Jersey Night as the Raiders will wear these insane pirate jerseys for the game. They will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the team’s WHL Education Fund.

https://www.32auctions.com/RaidersPirates

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW