Raiders goaltender Tikhon Chaika makes a save in close in Game 4 against the Winnipeg ICE. (Mark Peterson Media)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Chai T

Raiders respond in a huge way, extend series against ICE to Game 5

Apr 27, 2022 | 10:13 PM

“We’re not going out without a fight.”

That was Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid after his team lost 10-1 to the Winnipeg ICE on home ice Tuesday, was down 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, and knew the Raiders had to face the ICE the following night.

But he meant it. And so did his team.

On the back of Raiders goaltender Tikhon Chaika’s stellar 26-save performance, the Raiders defeated the ICE 3-1 on Wednesday to get their first win of the series and force a Game 5 on Friday in Winnipeg.

“It’s the Raider way. Character all the way,” Habscheid said. “We got shellacked last night, and the guys came back. They deserved to win.”

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One guy who showed that character was Chaika himself, who was pulled the last two games this series. Chaika has been glued into the Raiders’ crease this year, as. Chaika has at least appeared in all but three games since Nov. 24. Despite how much he’s played and how many pucks, Chaika was able to rebound and take the team with him to Game 5.

“It was awesome. It was my first experience, winning a [playoff] game at home. It was really incredible,” Chaika said.

On the back of Chaika’s play, the rest of the Raiders did what they had to.

Their power play goal a minute into the second was a screened shot from the high slot from Remy Aquilon, giving the Raiders an early advantage in the second period. Eric Johnston held the line and scored off a deflection to make it 2-0, just over a minute into the third period.

“Going into the dressing room in the second intermission, we just said ‘we have to win a period here.’ Luckily, that one went off their D-man there,” Johnston said. “The fans were definitely electric there and gave the team a lot of momentum.”

Even after a late scare when ICE forward Mikey Milne scored on the power play with 69 seconds left, the Raiders shut the door late and got a key empty-net goal from Sloan Stanick.

Excluding Game 3, Habscheid has been happy with how his team has played and hopes for more of the effort, especially with how Wednesday’s Game 4 turned out.

“For three games, we’ve played how we wanted to play. We got one win, but we easily could have had two wins out of the four so far.”

The Raiders came out with a much better effort in the first period. Tikhon Chaika made some acrobatic and great saves, including this one in tight on Owen Pederson.

Game Summary

First Period

No scoring.

Second Period

1-0, Raiders, Remy Aquilon from Vladislav Shilo and Carson Latimer (power play), 1:53

Third Period

2-0, Raiders, Eric Johnston (unassisted), 1:06

2-1, ICE, Mikey Milne from Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie (power play), 18:51

3-1, Raiders, Sloan Stanick from Evan Herman (empty net), 19:38

There will be a Game 5

The Raiders will pack up the bus at least one more time, as they head to the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg for Game 5 on Friday.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW