Raiders defenceman Landon Kosior checks ICE forward Matthew Savoie during the Raiders-ICE clash Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raiders Hockey

ICE with ‘newfound respect’ for Raiders, pull away in 2nd period

Jan 21, 2022 | 10:03 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders came into Friday’s game with two straight wins in their back pocket against the WHL’s top team, the Winnipeg ICE.

Connor McClennon and the rest of the ICE seemed to be aware of that, as they went to make amends and avoid three losses in the season series. The ICE scored the first five goals of the game, with McClennon scoring a hat trick in the second period alone, to skate away with a 5-2 victory over the Raiders at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I liked our game, it’s tough to say that after 5-2, but we look for three things—work ethic, commitment and playing as a team. And we did all that. They’re a talented team,” Habscheid said. “We made some individual mistakes that cost us, those things happen. But if anything, that’s from trying too hard. I’ll live with that. I love this group. Their energy was outstanding tonight, but you could tell Winnipeg had a newfound respect for us. They didn’t really want to lose three in a row to us, so they brought their A-game tonight, they were pretty good.”

ICE forward Owen Pederson scored the game’s only goal in the first period before the Winnipeggers started to skate away with the game in the second. They made it a 5-0 game with the three from McClennon and another from Cole Muir.

Raiders goaltender Tikhon Chaika was under fire, especially in the second period but did everything he could to keep his Raiders in the game. Chaika was replaced after making 13 saves on 17 shots, 31:17 into the game after the ICE scored the 4-0 goal. Habscheid said after the game he just wanted to give Chaika a little time off his feet before he plays his 17^th straight game on Saturday against the Medicine Hat Tigers.

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“He played great, he did. He made some key saves early,” Habscheid said. “It gives him a chance to rest, he’ll go back in tomorrow, and Hildy hadn’t played yet. So it gives him an opportunity to get in there. I like how our guys rallied, just changes things up a bit. Sometimes change is good, but it definitely wasn’t [Chaika’s] fault.”

“Hildy” of course is Raiders’ rookie netminder Max Hildebrand, who saw his first WHL action on Friday night. Hildebrand made 12 saves on 13 shots in the final 28:43.

“He was good. Sometimes for a young guy that’s going into his first game, there’s a build-up if he knows he’s playing. He thinks he’s not playing and bang, he’s in the net. He doesn’t have time to think, and especially as a goalie, that’s a good thing. He just got in there and played—and played fine.”

Both of the Raiders’ goal scorers were from Manitoba. Tayem Gislason scored against his hometown team with nine seconds left in the second period, and Ste. Anne’s Reece Vitelli scored on a wraparound in the third period.

Even with the loss, the Raiders remain one of three teams in the WHL to have defeated the ICE twice this season (Edmonton Oil Kings and Brandon Wheat Kings). The Saskatoon Blades are the only other team to have beaten the ICE this year, but are 1-4 on the year against the frozen yetis. The Raiders are 2-2.

Daniel Hauser played at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday for the first time in his career. Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff

Hauser makes history at the Hauser

Friday was a pun three years in the making for history to be made—ICE goaltender Daniel Hauser finally got to play a game at the Art Hauser Centre. He made 23 saves on 25 shots to improve his record to 13-0-1 on the season.

Hauser was drafted in the sixth round in 2019 by the then-named Kootenay ICE. Since then, the team relocated, Hauser played U18 AAA hockey before getting called up to the ICE last year. Hauser did play an “away game” against the Raiders, but that was at the Brandt Centre as part of the Subway Hub Centre in Regina.

No Wiesblatt and no Thurston

The Raiders were without Ozzy Wiesblatt and Trevor Thurston for a second straight game on Friday. Wiesblatt missed his second game to injury, after suffering a hit into the end boards from Christoffer Sedoff in Monday’s game against the Red Deer Rebels. Sedoff was levied with a major penalty and a one-game suspension. In that same game Monday, Thurston was also ejected for a major penalty, kneeing Rebel newcomer Frantisek Formanek. Thurston served his second of his ensuing two-game suspension on Friday.

The ICE were without four players, Gage Alexander, Jarod Newell, Carson Lambos and Zach Benson.

Game Summary

First Period

1-0, ICE, Owen Pederson from Mikey Milne and Conor Geekie, 4:01

Second Period

2-0, ICE, Connor McClennon from Matthew Savoie and Jack Finley (power play), 7:46

3-0, ICE, Cole Muir (unassisted), 10:46

4-0, ICE, Connor McClennon (unassisted), 11:17

5-0, ICE, Connor McClennon from Benjamin Zloty (power play), 18:21

5-1, Raiders, Tayem Gislason from Cale Sanders and Sloan Stanick, 19:50

Third Period

Up next

The Raiders will stick at home Saturday to take on the Medicine Hat Tigers at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders will then head on the road for a pair of road games against the Regina Pats at the Brandt Centre, on Tuesday and on Friday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW