Aiden Oiring scores in the first round of the shootout, and Braeden Cootes would follow up in the second to give the Raiders a 5-4 win in the shootout over the Saskatoon Blades. (Image Credit: Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 5-4 (SO)

Tired Raiders squad battles back to earn shootout win over Blades

Feb 15, 2026 | 7:21 AM

After a frustrating loss in Brandon and a seven hour bus ride home, a tired Prince Albert Raiders squad welcomed their rival Saskatoon Blades into town for their sixth meeting of the season. The Raiders had some rough moments in this one and especially in the second period, but ultimately they came back for a gutsy 5-4 shootout win.

The Raiders were the ones to take the lead early in the game at the 3:47 mark. Justice Christensen put a shot on goal from the right point, it bounced off the goaltender to the left for Alisher Sarkenov cutting into the slot. Sarkenov fired a backhand, and Ben Harvey redirected it the other way for his sixth of the year.

Through the middle of the period, the Raiders had some defensive lapses and the Blades went on the attack with three separate breakaways. One was stopped by a great Daxon Rudolph backcheck, another hit the post, and Michal Orsulak made a solid save on the third.

In the final minute of the period, the Raiders scored during a 6-on-5 delayed penalty. Daxon Rudolph picked up an assist for the exit pass out of the zone for Aiden Oiring moving through centre ice. Oiring fed Brandon Gorzynski at the left side of the blue line for a give-and-go play, and as Gorzynski brought puck over the line, Oiring crashed the net hard. Gorzynski fired for Oiring’s stick, but instead hit a defender’s and Gorzynksi had his 25th of the season at 19:34.

After 1: Raiders 2 – 0 Blades, shots 9-6 Raiders 

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In the second period, the wheels fell off the Raiders for a bit and the Blades took over on a powerplay. Just 2:53 in, a shot from Cooper Williams at the blue line would bounce loose for Hunter Laing, and he potted the rebound to start the run.

Then at 6:13, the Blades scored again when David Lewandowksi fed Brayden Klimpke on the rush for a shot. Klimpke was stopped, but the rebound came out the other side for Lewandowski on the other side and he tied the game.

The Blades then took the lead at 7:07 off another point shot. This time it was Jack Kachkowski (who was incorrectly not credited with an assist initially) who fired a shot from the right point around a screen, and Ben Bowtell in front tipped it in for the lead.

At 7:42, the Blades doubled their lead when a Raiders defenceman mishandled the puck at the opposing blue line, and Tyler Parr took the gifted breakaway up ice and fired for the lead. In the span of 1:29, the Blades had gone from down 2-0 to leading 4-2.

Luckily it didn’t take the Raiders long to score to breakup their momentum. Justice Christensen picked up another assist for a pass out of his zone for Brandon Gorzynski skating up the left wall, and Gorzynski sent a pass to Riley Boychuk streaking to the goal who tipped it in for his 12th of the year.

After 2: Raiders 3 – 4 Blades, shots 9-7 Blades, 16-15 Raiders overall

At the 5:22 mark, Benett Kelly and Linden Burrett both picked up assists for back and forth passes in their zone, but Jonah Sivertson scored a beautiful goal on an individual effort. On a 3-on-1, Sivertson skated in the zone on the right wall, cut towards the middle on his backhand like he was about to set up a trailing defender, then quickly turned back to his forehand and fired a wrist shot. That was stopped, but Sivertson followed it up and potted the rebound for his 19th of the year.

Sivertson had a phenomenal third period with two more chances to score on a tipped shot and a great move to his backhand that didn’t quite reach around the goaltender, and a couple plays to help set up his linemates, but Evan Gardner was strong in net for the Blades to keep the game tied and send it to overtime.

After 3: Raiders 4 – 4 Blades, shots 13-6 Raiders, 30-21 Raiders overall

In overtime, Blades forward David Lewandowski would take an interference call when he tried to set up a pick play, and the Raiders would get their second powerplay of the game.

On that man advantage, the unit of Aiden Oiring, Max Heise, Braeden Cootes, and Daxon Rudolph went to work, firing chance after chance on goal for the whole two minutes, but Gardner held down the fort. In total, the powerplay generated five shots and managed to keep the puck in the zone long enough for a whole line change, but the game still needed a shootout.

In just their second shootout of the season, the Raiders shot first and both Aiden Oiring and Braeden Cootes scored. The Blades went with the only two shooters who scored in the shootout the previous night, but both Tyler Parr and Hayden Harsanyi were stopped by Michal Orsulak, and the Raiders took the win.

FINAL (SO): Raiders 5 – 4 Blades, shots 7-1 Raiders, 37-22 Raiders overall

While the stats won’t be flattering, Michal Orsulak was fantastic in net for the Raiders with a breakaway save in each period including overtime, a couple other unopposed shots from players in the slot, and the two shots in the shootout. He only posted a 0.818 save percentage on the night, but he made a lot of quality saves on the night too.

The Raiders have Sunday off before hosting a Monday matinee game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com