Max Hildebrand salutes the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre after the Raiders fended off a late push from the Winterhawks to earn a 5-4 win. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 5-4

Raiders win track meet against Winterhawks

Jan 15, 2025 | 6:53 AM

In their first home game in over a week, the Prince Albert Raiders welcomed the Portland Winterhawks for the only matchup of the season between the two teams on Tuesday night. A high octane offensive attack of the Winterhawks was thwarted by the Raiders making good on their opportunities, and the Raiders took away a 5-4 win.

The Winterhawks put a ton of pressure on early, outshooting the Raiders 6-0 in the early goings of the first period. When the Raiders got their first powerplay however, great puck movement saw Lukas Dragicevic and Aiden Oiring pick up assists as Rilen Kovacevic found open space on the right point. Kovacevic fired a wrist shot to score at 10:27 for his second goal as a Raider and his 23rd of the season.

The Raiders second powerplay had some trouble, and at the end of the man advantage the Winterhawks went down the ice on a 3-on-1 with Daxon Rudolph as the lone Raiders defender. Rudolph took away a cross ice pass and sent the puck ahead for Riley Boychuk up ice, creating a 4-on-1 the other way. Boychuk sent the puck to the middle for Ty Meunier, and just as the powerplay expired Meunier fed the puck right back to Boychuk who wired his sixth of the season at 17:31.

After 1: Raiders 2 – 0 Winterhawks, shots 14-7 Winterhawks

The Winterhawks were hungry to tie the game, and two plays from Tyson Jugnauth had the game tied before the halfway mark of the second. On the first play, just 1:01 in, Jugnauth circled a pile of bodies in front of the net as he looked for a lane to shoot or pass, and once he got to the goal line he found a pass to Josh Zakreski who scored his 22nd of the year.

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Jugnauth then scored on an unassisted effort at 7:48. Jugnauth entered the Raiders zone down the left wall, and he went around behind Max Hildebrand before banking it off his back and into the net for Jugnauth’s 10th of the season.

The Raiders quickly took control of the game again at 12:57. After a great hold at the right side of the blueline by Kovacevic, he sent the puck ahead to set up Ethan Bibeau and Niall Crocker on a 2-on-1 from inside the Winterhawks blueline. A quick pass in the transition from Bibeau to Crocker set up Crocker on the right side of the slot, and he wristed home his 16th of the year.

Then at 14:32, the Raiders scored again on a turnover, but this time at their own blueline. Justice Christensen sent the puck ahead to centre for Tomas Mrsic, and as he crossed the blueline with Brayden Dube, Dube fired from the left of the slot for his 18th of the year.

The Winterhawks struck back at the 16:22 on the powerplay. Kyle Chyzowski was given some time and space on the right circle, and he waited for the screen to form before firing his 30th of the year.

Aiden Oiring would then score what became the game winner at the 17:28 mark. Dube entered the zone with speed down the right side, and he froze his defender when he sent a pass behind to Oiring in the slot, and he wristed his 18th of the season into the back of the net.

After 2: Raiders 5 – 3 Winterhawks, shots 15-8 Winterhawks, 29-15 Winterhawks overall

The Winterhawks struck early in the third period to close things up when Josh Zakreski found a lane through traffic from the middle of the slot, and the puck found its way to the back of the net for his second of the game.

Max Hildebrand stopped 37 of 41 shots faced for a 0.902 save percentage on the night, and he had three incredible saves including one in the third. After stopping the puck, a rebound came out to Chyzowski on the left side of the ice, and Chyzowski sent a blind pass across the slot that landed perfectly on the stick of Diego Buttazoni. Hildebrand slid across aggressively, getting his glove in the air for a huge stop.

FINAL: Raiders 5 – 4 Winterhawks, shots 12-9 Winterhawks, 41-24 Winterhawks overall

The Raiders have now won two straight, and they’ll stay on home ice for their next three games starting with Swift Current on Friday.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com