The Prince Albert Raiders got two goals from Aliaksei Protas and 30 saves from Boston Bilous to the defeat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-3 Friday night. Hurricanes netminder Carl Tetachuk had 22 saves in the loss.
It was a strong start for the hometown Hurricanes who had their legs moving early, grabbing an early 1-0 lead just 5:06 into the game. Noah Boyko jumped on a rebound in the crease to bang home his sixth of the season, assisted by Calen Addison and Zack Stringer.
The lead was short lived. The Raiders evened things up 1:12 later when Ozzy Wiesblatt poked the puck between the pads of Tetachuk for his 10th of the season assists from Juston Nachbaur and Zack Hayes. Using that momentum, the visitors pushed the pace of the game, and it paid off with two more first-period goals.
First, Kaiden Guhle blasted home his sixth of the season just as a power play expired. Helpers on that goal were credited to Reece Vitelli and Evan Herman. Just over a minute later and while shorthanded, Protas poked the puck loose and headed in on a breakaway, making no mistake. His unassisted goal gave the Raiders a 3-1 lead heading into the break.
A strong start for Lethbridge in the second period saw them strike early for two goals in just 48 seconds. D-Jay Jerome got the party started on the power play with his 11th of the season at the 4:11 mark. That was followed by a Logan Barlage ripper at 4:58 of the period — his sixth of the year. The teams traded chances but headed into the second intermission tied at 3.
In the third period, the Raiders pulled ahead for good. Just before the midpoint of the period, Danill Stepanov put home his second goal of the season from Guhle and Vitelli. The Hurricanes were unable to capitalize on any of their nine shots in the frame, before Protas put away the game into the empty to seal the 5-3 win.
Shooting the breeze:
Hurricanes forward Dylan Cozens was held off the scoresheet for the third time in five game, uncharacteristic for the Sabers prospect. Also without a point was Alex Cotton — his eight game point streak came to an end. With the win, the Raiders are now 5-1 vs Lethbridge, dating back to last season. With two more points, Protas added to his league lead at 36 points now.
Next up for the Raiders is a trip to Medicine Hat Saturday night to battle the Tigers. The Hurricanes are back on the road for one game, as they head to Red Deer for a divisional matchup vs the Rebels.
