Aiden Oiring leads the fly by after scoring the first goal of the game for the Raiders to tie it 1-1 as the Raiders earned a 4-3 win over the Oil Kings. (Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings)

By Nick Nielsen

Series tied 3-3

Late game heroics brings Raiders and Oil Kings back to Prince Albert for Game 7

Apr 6, 2025 | 9:20 PM

Things looked bleak for the Prince Albert Raiders after two straight losses in Edmonton in games three and four, but the Raiders picked up a big win in game five at home and went back to Edmonton for Game 6. A competitive effort saw both teams hold the lead, but the Raiders would battle late adversity with a last minute powerplay goal to give the Raiders a 4-3 win.

In the first half of the first period when Lukas Dragicevic fired through traffic and Ty Meunier would tip it in fivehole, but his stick was well over his shoulders and the game would stay tied.

The Raiders would kill their first penalty kill, but the second penalty would see the Oil Kings score on the powerplay. At 17:46, Gavin Hodnett would rip a onetimer on goal, and Marshall Finnie parked in front would tip it into the back of the net.

After 1: Raiders 0 – 1 Oil Kings, shots 11-4 Oil Kings

In the second period, the Raiders got a powerplay goal of their own. At the 8:34 mark, Daxon Rudolph gave the puck to Aiden Oiring on the left side of the slot and Oiring had room to shoot, but instead fed the puck to the right wall for Rilen Kovacevic. Oiring snuck behind the defence to the back door, and Kovacevic threaded a great pass through traffic to Oiring to tip in his fourth of the playoffs.

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Oiring would add two other marks on the scoresheet before the end of the second period, but both were penalties. The first was for a charging call, the second was for roughing at the very end of the period that would send the Raiders shorthanded for a full two minutes to start the third.

After 2: Raiders 1 – 1 Oil Kings, shots 9-8 Raiders, 19-13 Oil Kings overall

In the third period, things popped off offensively. Still shorthanded, Kovacevic would steal the puck from the Oil Kings at the blueline and speed down the ice on the breakaway. Just 58 seconds into the period, Kovacevic ripped his third of the playoffs unassisted into the net to give the Raiders the lead.

Then at 6:19, Oiring would find the back of the net again. With a hold at the blueline by Vojtech Vochvest, he’d send the puck ahead for Kovacevic again, and Kovacevic again fed Oiring at the side of the goal. This time Oiring had to make a great play, stickhandling in tight and roofing it for his second of the game and fifth of the campaign.

The Oil Kings would answer in just 13 seconds however. On the rush, Landen Hanson would put a shot on goal that Hildebrand would make the stop on, but the rebound popped out to his right and Rylen Roersma crashing the goal would bury the rebound for his first of the series at 6:32.

Then 1:01 later, the Oil Kings tied it. Again it was Hanson coming down the left side, but this time he’d get a better lane to the net after a great move and he’d fire fivehole to tie the game with his third of the series at 7:33.

From there, an odd but fair call was made against the Raiders when Niall Crocker caught Adam Jecho under the chin guard of his cage and caused Jecho to bleed. Play continued without a penalty, but once play stopped Crocker was handed a double minor for high sticking. Despite some crazy pressure, the Raiders would kill the penalty off capped off by a great glove save from Max Hildebrand, and Crocker hustling out of the box to break up another potential onetimer as the penalty expired.

With 1:03 left in the game, the Raiders got their third powerplay of the night, and they’d capitalize. It took six seconds for the Riley Boychuk to win the faceoff to the right point for Rilen Kovacevic, across to the right point for Daxon Rudolph, into the middle for Lukas Dragicevic, right for Kovacevic, and back to the middle for a Dragicevic onetimer that gave the Raiders the lead at 19:07. It serves as Dragicevic’s fourth of the playoffs.

FINAL: Raiders 4 – 3 Oil Kings, shots 14-10 Oil Kings, 33-23 Oil Kings overall

Rilen Kovacevic has been playing some of his best games as a Raider in the playoffs, and this may be his best yet. Not only did he have the shorthanded goal on the breakaway, but all three assists of his were primary assists on the night that directly contributed to the goal.

The Raiders have now come back from the 3-1 deficit in the series, and now they’ll get ready for game seven at the Art Hauser Centre on Tuesday. Tickets go on sale Monday at 9:00 a.m.