Luke Moroz celebrates scoring his first of the season which would go on to be the game winner as the Raiders route the Blazers 5-2. (Allen Douglas/Kamloops Blazers)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 5-2

Raiders offence stays hot to break losing streak against Kamloops

Oct 16, 2024 | 9:20 AM

After losing their last six games but scoring four and five goals in their two most recent, the Prince Albert Raiders were hungry for a win when they got set for battle with the Kamloops Blazers. While they were outshot in three periods, the Raiders had the majority of the high quality chances in the game to win 5-2.

Tomas Mrsic opened the scoring just 38 seconds in on the second rush of the game. Mrsic took the puck down the right wall and found Luke Moroz in the middle, but three backchecking defenders surrounded Moroz. He sent the puck back to Mrsic, and he fired the puck home for his fifth of the season with Justice Christensen picking up an assist on the play too.

The Blazers struck back to tie it at 6:20 when Emmitt Finnie came down the left wall on the rush, and he had an angle on the Raiders defence to get close to the net instead of being forced wide. From in tight, Finnie fired fivehole and scored unassisted to tie it.

The Raiders offence kept pressing, and two grade A chances came from onetimers set up for Niall Crocker and Krzyzstof Macias, but Dylan Ernst in net for the Blazers made two saves that could discourage a team. Instead, the Raiders offence kept pressing into the second period.

After 1: Raiders 1 – 1 Blazers, shots 13-9 Blazers

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At the 4:30 mark of the second period, Brayden Dube found the puck behind the net and faked a wraparound move and instead passed it across the crease for Riley Boychuk. He hit the post, but the puck popped out to the slot for Ethan Bibeau, and he lifted the puck over Ernst for his third of the season.

At the 18:39 mark of the second, the Raiders were fighting for the puck in the offensive zone when Mrsic got the puck back to the line for Doogan Pederson. He put a shot towards the goal, and it bounced off one body and then to Luke Moroz who tipped it back towards the net, scoring his first of the season with what would end up as the game winner.

After 2: Raiders 3 – 1 Blazers, shots 14-12 Blazers, 27-21 Blazers overall

The Raiders killed off two penalties in the second period but got their first powerplay in the third, and a set up play found its way to the back of the net. Mrsic got the puck at the left point and drove down the wall before giving a pass to Crocker at the side of the net. Crocker waited and found a lane through the slot to Macias, and he onetimed the feed into the back of the net for his second goal in two games and for his 50th point as a Raider at 6:32.

The Raiders got their second powerplay of the game moments later, and they made good on this one too when Lukas Dragicevic made a nice play to hold the puck into the offensive zone. He pushed the puck ahead to Crocker on the half wall, and Crocker sent a pass across the ice to a wide open Aiden Oiring whose wrist shot was blasted into the back of the net for his third of the season at 8:42.

In the final minute of the game, the Blazers scored on their third powerplay of the game on a shot from the point from Jordan Keller. Hildebrand got a piece of it, but not quite enough and it found the back of the net at 19:33.

FINAL: Raiders 5 – 2 Blazers, shots 12-5 Blazers, 39-26 Blazers overall

The Raiders play two more games on the road in British Columbia before they return home, Friday against the Victoria Royals, and Saturday against the Vancouver Giants.