Dayce Derkatch puts a shots on goal against the Swift Current Broncos after scoring on a hard working effort in the first period. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders Win 2-1

Raiders start second half with adversity filled win over Swift Current

Dec 28, 2024 | 7:26 AM

After nine days off for the Christmas break, the Prince Albert Raiders returned to the ice on Friday night to find they would be without a few bodies in Krzyszstof Macias and Tomas Mrsic as well their Head Coach Jeff Truitt. The Raiders stepped up to the challenge to take on the Swift Current Broncos, and the Raiders never trailed in a 2-1 win.

Just over 11 minutes into the game, Brayden Dube took the game’s first penalty for slashing. The Raiders would kill off the penalty, and seconds before Dube was set to leave the box, Dayce Derkatch hustled behind his goal line to collect a loose puck. Derkatch sent a picture perfect pass from below his goal line to the tape of Dube’s stick on the far blueline to set Dube up on the breakaway, but he was stopped.

Derkatch wasn’t done though as he hustled up the ice to catch up to the play and he held the puck in for Dube. Evan Smith trailing into the play received the cross crease pass, but he had the patience to send it back the other way for Derkatch in the middle who finished the play he started with his second of the season at 13:37.

Before the end of the period, Harrison Lodewyk went down on an awkward collision at centre ice and skated off the ice under his own power. He came out for a short skate at the start of the second period, but went back down the tunnel and never returned.

After 1: Raiders 1 – 0 Broncos, shots 9-6 Broncos

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The second period saw the Broncos start to pick up the pace early, and three minutes in Ethan Bibeau was called for boarding to give the Broncos their third powerplay of the game. On the man advantage, the puck came to the left point for Luke Mistelbacher, and he fired a shot low on the ice that snuck under Justice Christensen’s attempt to block it and through a screened Max Hildebrand, and Mistelbacher had his 20th of the season at 4:01.

The Broncos started to take the momentum to their side, but Hildebrand shut that down with the save of the night. The Broncos got a 2-on-0 with two of their most dangerous players, team leading scorer Mistelbacher with the puck, Rylan Gould on an 11 game point streak waiting for the onetimer, but Hildebrand saw the play perfectly and stopped the onetimer with a glove save.

That settled the Raiders down, and they took over for the second half of the period, but the game entered the third still tied.

After 2: Raiders 1 – 1 Broncos, shots 13-10 Raiders, 19-19 overall

The two teams traded penalties early in the third but neither team could score. The tie wouldn’t break until the final five minutes when Ty Sobry, who played defence and forward during the game due to injuries, stepped up into a play to hold the puck in.

From there, the Raiders went on the cycle and Luke Moroz collected a puck on the left wall to get it back to the point for Doogan Pederson. He took a shot that was blocked, and it came out to Oli Chenier on the right side of the slot. Chenier drew all the attention on the ice, and he sent a great feed across to Moroz on the left, and he ripped home a quick wrist shot for his fourth of the season at 15:04.

FINAL: Raiders 2 – 1 Broncos, shots 13-8 Broncos, 32-27 Broncos overall

The game serves as the first time this season the Raiders have found a way to win a game with just two goals on the night, and the first time in four games the Raiders have scored less than five.

The Raiders powerplay went 0/3 on the powerplay, but without both Mrsic and Macias on that first unit, the two powerplays units still looked good as the game went on.

Max Hildebrand was excellent on the night, stopping 31 of 32 shots faced on the night. Between the 2-on-0 save he made in the second, another save in the third where he was in the full splits and still held the puck off the goal line as the Broncos got a few whacks at the puck.

The win serves as the first for Interim Head Coach Ryan McDonald as the bench boss for his home town team.

The Raiders take on the Broncos in a rematch on the road Saturday night.