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Broncos clip Raiders in shootout

Nov 24, 2017 | 9:27 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders were left with just a single point Friday night as a hard fought effort against the Swift Current Broncos ended in a shootout, with the Broncos taking the extra point at the Art Hauser Centre.

Cole Fonstad, Jordy Stallard, and Parker Kelly had two points each for the Raiders while Ian Scott made 32 saves on 34 shots in a matchup against the sixth-ranked team in Canada.

The Broncos found themselves in the box in the early going as Aleksi Heponiemi took a hooking penalty just over three minutes in to the opening frame. The Raiders had some good control, but the Broncos came away with the kill, only to go right back into the box 17 seconds after Heponiemi’s penalty came to an end as Sahvan Khaira went off for cross-checking.

This time, the Raiders wasted no time as Fonstad converted a backdoor feed from Kelly just eight seconds into the man advantage, giving the home side a 1-0 lead. The goal was Fonstad’s eighth goal of the season and second on the power play.

Both teams stayed off the scoresheet in terms of both penalties and goals through the remainder of the first, and the period ended with the Raiders ahead 1-0 and shots even at 9-9.

In the second, the Raiders kept it rolling as they took a 2-0 lead just five minutes into the period as Stallard converted a two-on-one with Fonstad for his 16th goal of the season, with the secondary assist to Kelly.

Midway through the second, Prince Albert led 19-9 in shots, meaning it was 10-0 at the point in the second. However, the Broncos woke up later in the period and mounted a pushback.

With just over five minutes remaining in the second, Heponiemi found Glenn Gawdin backdoor, cutting the Raider lead to 2-1. Swift Current continued to push for the remainder of the period but couldn’t find the back of the net. After two, Prince Albert led 2-1 with shots tied yet again at 23-23.

In the third, it was more back and forth action with Prince Albert killing an early penalty, but Gawdin struck again midway through the period as he tracked a puck high in the rafters off a deflection from the point, gloving it down in the faceoff circle and quickly snapping it past Ian Scott to tie the game at 2-2. The teams went to overtime with the shot tally tied 30-30.

Raider captain Curtis Miske was called for goaltender interference midway through the overtime period, but the Raider penalty kill unit came up big on the 4-on-3 disadvantage and kept the puck out, setting up a shootout.

Stallard and Fonstad were both turned aside by Broncos goaltender Logan Flodell, while Tyler Steenbergen and Gawdin both scored for Swift Current to take the win.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Cole Fonstad from Parker Kelly and Jordy Stallard (PPG), 5:44

Second Period

2-0, Raiders, Jordy Stallard from Cole Fonstad and Parker Kelly, 5:08

2-1, Broncos, Glenn Gawdin from Aleksi Heponiemi and Colby Sissons, 14:17

Third Period

2-2, Broncos, Glenn Gawdin from Artyom Minulin, 10:21

Shootout

1-0, Broncos, Tyler Steenbergen

2-0, Broncos, Glenn Gawdin

Barlage returns to Prince Albert

After missing the Nov 4 game at the Art Hauser Centre while attending the World Under-17 Challenge, former Prince Albert Minto Logan Barlage drew into the lineup tonight with the Broncos, making his return to Prince Albert as a WHL player. Additionally, Prince Albert natives Jake Hobson and Ethan Regnier drew in for the Broncos in the game.

Road warriors

Friday’s game served as a brief reprieve from the road for the Raiders before heading out for another five games away from the Art Hauser Centre. All told, Prince Albert will play one home game in a span of 32 days by the time the team hosts Medicine Hat on Dec 6.