Four point night for McCagherty as Raiders topple Blades in overtime

After 1: Raiders 2 – 1 Blades, shots 18-8 Raiders

Early in the second, the Blades fired back. After bringing the puck in on the rush, Jack Lavallee was set up for a onetimer at the right point through a screen. The rebound came back for Konstantin Hutzinger to clean up at 5:00.

The Raiders scored soon to restore their lead at the 9:02 mark. Again on the powerplay, all five players on the ice got a touch but McCagherty got the first assist for a onetimer that was blocked. The loose puck came to Connor Howe in the slot, and he set the puck to the left for Harvey to score his second of the night on another onetimer.

The Blades scored twice before the end of the period though to tie the game. At 14:12, Kazden Mathies used his speed to start a 2-on-1, then made a great pass across the slot for Yegor Gusev to tip in.

Then at the 19:55 mark, while the Raiders were still on the powerplay, but the puck was cleared down the ice. The Raiders got caught sleeping while they headed towards the bench, but Hayden Harsanyi stayed with the play, collected the loose puck, and scored to tie it.

After 2: Raiders 3 – 3 Blades, shots 14-10 Blades, 28-22 Raiders overall

At the 7:18 mark, the Raiders restored their lead. Connor Howe earned an assist for getting puck to McCagherty at centre, but then McCagherty went to work. He nearly lost the puck to a defender but made a spin move to enter the zone, then burned another defender while pulling the puck back, and fired a wrist shot right under the bar for his third point of the night.

Then at the 11:30 mark, the Blades tied it again. This time Mathies blocked a shot at the blue line, then hustled up the ice and burned a defender 1-on-1 before putting the puck in the back of the net.

That meant the overtime where the WHL is testing new rules wasn’t just for the test, it would determine the winner.

After 3: Raiders 4 – 4 Blades, shots 10-10 even, 38-32 Raiders overall

In overtime, Carsyn Dyck drew a call at centre for tripping, and that gave the Raiders a 4-on-3 powerplay. With that man advantage, Brock Cripps passed the puck up to the goal line for Alisher Sarkenov, who then fed the puck to McCagherty in the slot, and McCagherty fired for his fourth point of the night and the game winner.

FINAL (OT): Raiders 5 – 4 Blades, shots 2-0 Raiders, 40-32 Raiders overall

The Raiders will play one final game of the preseason on Friday night against the Regina Pats.

nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Four point night for McCagherty as Raiders topple Blades in overtime

What's Trending