Harrison Lodewyk battles for a faceoff at centre as the Raiders fight for a 6-5 win in Swift Current. (Ed Fonger/Swift Current Broncos)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 6-5

Mrsic’s second hat trick in four games leads Raiders over Broncos

Nov 29, 2024 | 11:17 PM

With a six game point streak and a single loss in regulation in their last nine games, the Prince Albert Raiders went into Swift Current looking to avenge that regulation loss against the Broncos. The Raiders battled adversity and found a way to come away with a 6-5 win in regulation.

The Broncos opened the scoring at the 5:02 mark when Luke Mistelbacher from the right point sent a puck towards the left side of the Raiders net, and Brady Birnie streaked in from the left to tip it into the back of the net.

The Raiders thought they tied it up minutes later when Niall Crocker buried a rebound, but the whistle had already gone and the net was barely off of it’s moorings.

At the 12:40 mark, the Broncos made it 2-0 when Daxon Yerex set up a similar play to the first goal, this time his pass came from the left point and was tipped at the goal line by Ty Coupland.

The Raiders battled back in the first though, and at 14:56 the Raiders started a run. After Lukas Dragicevic dumped it in, Brayden Dube found the puck behind the net. He got the blender going, faking one way, then the other, the back the first way to send a pass out front for Tomas Mrsic who jammed home his 14th of the season.

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Just six seconds after the Raiders red hot powerplay failed on their first opportunity of the game, Luke Moroz found the puck at centre and streaked down the left side of the ice. He put on a wrist shot that found the far top corner for his third of the year and to tie the game.

After 1: Raiders 2 – 2 Broncos, shots 13-8 Raiders

The Raiders killed off a Harrison Lodewyk penalty in the early goings of the second period, and he helped his team a few moments later by drawing a four minute double minor to Carlin Dezainde.

The Raiders powerplay went to work, and the puck worked from Mrsic on the right point to Krzysztof Macias on the left point, then across to the right side of the slot for Aiden Oiring to blast with a onetimer to score his 10th of the season and give the Raiders their 10th straight game with a powerplay goal.

With the first two minutes of the double minor off the board, the Raiders drew another penalty for almost a minute of 5-on-3. Just as one man came out of the box, Macias found Oiring, and Oiring set up a Mrsic onetimer for his second of the game and 15th of the season at 10:36.

The Broncos would find a powerplay goal of their own in the third period, breaking a streak of 15 straight successful penalty kills for the Raiders. Ty Coupland put a shot wide of the goal on the Raiders, and it popped out on the other side of the net. Max Hildebrand managed to get a piece of the puck with the handle of his stick, but Josh McGregor scored to bring the Broncos back withing one at 12:46.

The Raiders would get their two goal lead back though thanks to Aiden Oiring. After getting the breakout pass from Justice Christensen, Oiring went down the left wall and put a great wrist shot on at 18:59 for his second of the game and 11th of the season.

After 2: Raiders 5 – 3 Broncos, shots 7-6 Broncos, 19-15 Raiders overall

The third period saw the Broncos get an early boost from a powerplay that carried into the third and another one shortly after. At 4:54, Rylan Gould scored with a tip at the crease on the man advantage to bring the Broncos back within one again.

Then they tied it at the 7:46 mark. Clarke Caswell found a rebound after a Ty Coupland shot at the side of the net, and suddenly the game was right back to where it started.

The two teams played 5-on-5 until Tomas Mrsic scored his third of the game for the game winner. Aiden Oiring went off the ice after a collision in his own zone looked like he was hurt, but 30 seconds later he rejoined his line on the ice and picked up a dump in from Niall Crocker. Oiring centered the puck, and Mrsic hammered it home for the game winner.

With exactly 2:00 left and the Broncos poised to pull their goaltender, Justice Christensen was called for holding. That gave the Broncos a chance to tie it, but after a couple penalty calls during the game that didn’t go the way of the Raiders, the hockey gods smiled on Prince Albert as the puck hit the post three times in the final two minutes before Ethan Bibeau collected the puck and pinned it to the wall to kill off the rest of the clock.

FINAL: Raiders 6 – 5 Broncos, shots 13-12 Broncos, 31-28 Raiders overall

The Raiders return home Saturday as they welcome the Lethbridge Hurricanes for the first matchup of the season. Lethbridge is coming off a 4-1 loss in Saskatoon on Friday.

The win extends the Raiders point streak to seven games, with six wins and an overtime loss. In their last ten games, the Raiders have just one loss in regulation.