By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders in 5 game skid after 3-1 defeat to Oil Kings

Oct 17, 2014 | 10:23 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders losing streak drooped to five games after a 3-1 loss against the Edmonton Oil Kings Friday at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders have won only once in their last six games, and haven’t picked up a ‘W’ since Oct. 3.

Although Raiders head coach Cory Clouston has overall like his team’s effort through most of the season, he is still disturbed by a couple of late collapses. Specifically, the 4-3 loss Sept. 27 at home against the Regina Pats and the 3-2 defeat Oct. 11 on the road against the Saskatoon Blades are the ones that sting the most.

The Raiders had a 3-2 lead over the Pats before giving up two goals in the final five minutes, including a controversial penalty shot to Rylee Zimmer, to lose 4-3 regulation. Against the Blades, the Raiders had a 2-0 lead after the first period, but giving up three unanswered goals to the boys from the Bridge City.

“We’ve had a couple of games slip away on us, where we had leads late into games and right now, those are kind of haunting us,” said Clouston. “We had leads in Saskatoon, we had leads here against Regina. Those are the games that are right now weighing heavy on shoulders right now.

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“If we had those two in the bag, it’s a lot different of a situation right now. To me, I like the effort and the execution. That’s what we have to focus on.”

On Friday, the Raiders had an early collapse as they were down 2-0 just 4:08 into the game. Blake Orban beat Raiders goaltender Rylan Parenteau on a stoppable point shot, then Edgars Kulda scored shortly after on a pretty passing play.

But Parenteau stopped the next thirty shots to keep the Raiders in the game, including an exceptional post-to-post, spread-eagle blocker save on Kulda to keep it a 2-1 game late in the second.

Clouston was happy with how Parenteau battled back and that he made some great saves to keep them in the game, but also said those two early goals put the team in a tough position. Parenteau had a similar take on the game.

“The start definitely wasn’t what any of us expected or wanted, but in those situations, you can’t just fold—especially myself,” said Parenteau. “I just wanted to make sure I did what I could to get the ‘W’ for my team and make up for (the start), definitely the first goal is my fault.”

Reid Gardiner scored the lone goal for the Raiders, already his sixth goal of the season. Brandon Ralph added the empty net goal 52 seconds left in the game to make it 3-1.

The Oil Kings have had a ton of success against the Raiders, especially in the Art Hauser Centre. Friday was their sixth consecutive win against the Raiders in P.A. dating back to Nov. 2, 2012.

That stat made Oil Kings captain Ashton Sautner chuckle, as he was caught off guard with that figure.

“I actually wasn’t aware of that. Obviously, it’s a tough barn to play in, it’s one of the smallest ice surfaces in the league,” said Sautner, who’s from Flaxcombe. “The crowd’s really into it here and there’s always a little bit of something for myself too, coming back to Saskatchewan. It’s always nice to come back here and play in front of my family.”

Timmy’s return

After missing the first eight games of the season with a lower body injury, Tim Vanstone finally made his season debut Friday. Although he was held pointless, Vanstone was named the game’s third star for his energy and hustle. He also earned a promotion from the fourth line onto third line duty along with Matteo Gennaro and Darcy Zaharichuk.

“We’ve missed him a lot the last month and a half,” said Clouston. “We envisioned him to play a large role, the type of player he showed tonight—with a physical presence, working hard and being hard to play against. We missed that a lot this year.”

“That’s a great compliment by Cory,” said Vanstone. “You gotta get back in the lineup and start on the fourth line and just work your way up. I had a great first period and got promoted up to the third line. We had chances, we probably had the most chances on our team, but it just didn’t work out.”

No more McCarthy

On Thursday, the Raiders announced that 18-year-old Colton McCarthy left the team.

McCarthy was acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors in exchange for a sixth round pick Sept. 6 during the preseason.

Super Series

On Thursday, the WHL announced that Raiders captain Josh Morrissey has been named to Team WHL to take on Team Russia in the 2014 SUBWAY® Super Series Nov. 10 in Saskatoon.

Morrissey was an assistant captain for Team WHL in the Super Series last year and registered a +3 rating in two games.

Also in the Super Series this year is Oil Kings goaltender Tristan Jarry, who made 18 saves in Friday’s game.

When the Raiders take on the Red Deer Rebels Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre, they’ll face two more Super Series players in defenceman Haydn Fleury and forward Conner Bleackley.

Looking ahead

The Raiders still have four games left in a five-game homestand. After the Rebels game Saturday, the Raiders will host the Kootenay Ice on Oct. 21, the Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 24 and the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Oct. 25.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea