Raiders rough up Wheat Kings

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/01/2023 (718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A tough first period and a bevy of penalties proved too much for the Brandon Wheat Kings to overcome on Saturday night. 

Rapid City product Sloan Stanick potted a pair of goals for the Prince Albert Raiders (14-21-3-0) as they came away with a 6-2 triumph over the Wheat Kings (16-18-4-0) in a Western Hockey League contest at the Art Hauser Centre. 

Aiden Oiring and Evan Herman had a goal and an assist each for the hosts, who also got offensive contributions from Justice Christensen and Niall Crocker to go along with an 18-save performance by Max Hildebrand on their way to their second straight triumph. 

Nate Danielson and Nolan Ritchie countered for the Wheat Kings and Nick Jones stopped 21 shots in a losing effort. 

In addition to seeing their two-game win streak come to an end, the Wheat Kings now find themselves one point back of the Swift Current Broncos for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

The Broncos — who have four games in hand on Brandon — picked up a 6-4 road triumph over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday for their sixth win in a row. 

While Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Marty Murray noted that the squad was coming off a long travel day after a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Portland Winterhawks at Westoba Place on Friday, they weren’t using that as an excuse for Saturday’s performance. 

“That’s life in the Western Hockey League,” Murray said.  

“I thought Prince Albert outskated us and outworked us, and as a result, they took it to us pretty good.” 

The opening frame told the story of the contest as the Raiders raced out to a 3-1 advantage and could have easily held a bigger lead after 20 minutes of play. 

“I don’t think we did a very good job in the neutral zone,” Murray said.  

“Prince Albert clogged it up pretty good and they went out on odd-man rushes when we turned the puck over. They were able to capitalize on their opportunities.” 

Oiring got things started for the Raiders at the 2:43 mark of the first period as he batted home a rebound from a Gabe Ludwig shot during a power play. 

Herman nearly doubled the lead a minute later as he beat Jones on a breakaway, only to have his backhander ring off of the crossbar. 

The Wheat Kings got on the board with 11:23 left on the clock as Danielson beat Hildebrand blocker side, taking advantage of a screen by Raiders defenceman Terrell Goldsmith. 

Prince Albert potted a pair in the later stages of the frame as Christensen fired home his first-career goal. Herman made no mistake on his second breakaway opportunity to make it 3-1. 

The second period started with a parade to the sin bin as four minor penalties — three on the Raiders — were called over 60 seconds. 

Ritchie cut the hosts’ lead to 3-2 at the 4:20 mark of the frame as he converted a feed from Danielson during a four-on-three power play. 

Stanick increased Prince Albert’s lead back to a pair late in the period while the Raiders were enjoying a man advantage as he worked his way around the net and beat Jones glove side. 

The 19-year-old then scored a highlight-reel goal midway through the final stanza. 

After he dangled his way around Wheat Kings blueliner Quinn Mantei, Stanick avoided a pokecheck attempt from Jones and got a shot off from a bad angle while being shoved by Danielson for his second marker of the night. 

Crocker rounded out the scoring with a couple of minutes to go as he converted a backhanded behind-the-net pass from Hayden Pakkala. 

The Wheat Kings will look to put Saturday’s result behind them on Tuesday as they welcome the Seattle Thunderbirds (28-5-1-1) to town to kick off a three-game homestand. 

They are slated to face Medicine Hat (14-18-5-1) on Friday and the Moose Jaw Warriors (24-13-0-1) on Saturday at Westoba Place. 

ICINGS: Eastyn Mannix, Andrei Malyavin, Caleb Hadland and Ben Thornton did not dress for Brandon on Saturday, while Prince Albert was without the services of Landon Kosior and Cole Peardon … Brett Hyland played in a limited role for Brandon for most of the game after he was shaken up in a first period scrap with Stanick … Wheat Kings assistant coach Mark Derlago was handed a $500 fine by the Western Hockey League after receiving a game misconduct penalty at the end of Friday’s win over the Portland Winterhawks … Prince George Cougars defenceman Ethan Samson was given a two-game suspension by the league after he was handed a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct during Friday’s contest with the Everett Silvertips. 

TRADES: The Thunderbirds added another major piece to their lineup on Saturday morning as they acquired 19-year-old forward Colton Dach and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 WHL draft from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for 18-year-old forward Ty Hurley, 17-year-old defenceman Ethan Mittelsteadt, a first-round pick in 2024 that originally belonged to the Regina Pats, a conditional second-round pick in 2025 and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2023 that originally belonged to the Silvertips. 

Dach — who was the captain for the Rockets and is a signed prospect of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks — is currently sidelined with an injury that he suffered while playing for Canada at the World Juniors. 

The Pats and the Winnipeg Ice also made a trade on Saturday as Regina dealt 19-year-old forward Easton Armstrong for 17-year-old defenceman Omen Harmacy.  

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com 

» Twitter: @lpunkari