Dimitri Fortin makes one of his 28 saves on the night in his return to the Moose Jaw Events Centre. (Nick Pettigrew/Moose Jaw Warriors)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 3-2 (SO)

Goaltender battle leads Raiders to shootout victory in Moose Jaw

Jan 4, 2025 | 6:36 AM

The Prince Albert Raiders have had a busy schedule coming out of Christmas so far, and Friday’s action against the Moose Jaw Warriors served as the Raiders’ fifth game in eight days. The Raiders dominated play for most of the game, but two great performances in goal between Josh Banini and Dimitri Fortin playing against his old team sent the game into a six round shootout and the Raiders win 3-2.

Brayden Dube had a great chance 20 seconds into the game where he used his speed to generate a breakaway, but he was stopped. The Warriors took the puck the other way, and at just 48 seconds Ryder Ellis put a shot on goal from the point that Owen Berge tipped in to give the Warriors an early lead.

At 10:53, the Raiders tied it. On the powerplay, Aiden Oiring, Tomas Mrsic, and Lukas Dragicevic were given all kinds of space to cycle the puck on the blueline, and Dragicevic finally ended the play with a slapshot from the middle for his seventh of the season.

The Raiders then took the lead at 15:58 thanks to a great effort by Luke Moroz to hold the puck in at the blueline as the play was alread shifting towards centre ice. Moroz chipped the puck into the corner for Oiring, and he waited for Daxon Rudolph to get into position. Just before the passing lane closed, Oiring sent a beautiful saucer pass over two sticks that landed perfectly on Rudolph’s blade, and Rudolph roofed it from the right side of the slot for his third of the season.

After 1: Raiders 2 – 2 Warriors, shots 13-11 Raiders

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Just one goal in the second period belonged to the Warriors at the 15:53 marks. This time it was Riley Thorpe on the rush, who used his speed to get around behind the net for a wraparound that tied the game.

There were two fights in the period. Oli Chenier and Max Finley dropped the gloves and met at centre ice where they both landed a number of clean shots, and eventually Finley got the takedown. Then there was Rilen Kovacevic trying to fight the newest Raider Matteo Fabrizi. At 6’5, 235 lbs, Fabrizi used his size advantage to clock Kovacevic twice before throwing him aside like yesterday’s newspaper.

After 2: Raiders 2 – 2 Warriors, shots 9-7 Raiders, 22-18 Raiders overall

Both teams had great chances in the third period, but the goaltender battle between Dimitri Fortin and Josh Banini was the big story. On the night, Fortin would finish with 28 saves on 30 shots for a 0.933 save percentage, Banini stopped 37 of 39 for a 0.949.

The Warriors gave up two powerplays in the period, one in the middle where the Raiders put five shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net, and one with just two seconds left in the period that would carry over into overtime.

After 3: Raiders 2 – 2 Warriors, shots 12-9 Raiders, 35-27 Raiders overall

On the powerplay to start overtime, the Raiders put the Warriors under seige with three shots on goal and a few more onetimers that barely missed the mark, but the Warriors managed to stay strong enough to kill it.

From there, the Warriors started to put some momentum together for a few shots of their own, but neither team could end it and we needed a shootout.

With goals from Aiden Oiring and Lukas Dragicevic in the first and third rounds respectively, the Warriors matched it with goals from Brayden Schuurman and Pavel McKenzie. In the sixth round, Aiden Ziprick was stopped by Fortin, leaving the door open for Ty Meunier to end it in the shootout.

FINAL (SO): Raiders 3 – 2 Warriors, shots 5-3 Raiders, 40-30 Raiders overall

After giving up six powerplays in the action against Saskatoon on December 30, the Raiders have only given up a single powerplay in the last two games since.

Lukas Dragicevic’s goal was point number 198 of his career, and he’ll be looking to hit the 200 mark when the Raiders welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday night.

With the win for the Raiders, a win of the Wheat Kings, and a loss from the Lethbridge Hurricanes all in the same night, the Raiders hop over Lethbridge in the standings and enter a tie for fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with Brandon.