“Strange game”

Ten goals were not enough to settle last night’s match between the Raiders and the Pats.

A fourth shootout round was necessary for the Prince Albert Raiders to defeat the Regina Pats 6-5 at the Art Hauser Centre on Dec. 30. Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said “everything that could have happened, happened.”

“It was a strange game. I haven’t been around a game like that for quite some time,” he said.

The Pats sprung to the lead early in the first with Colby Williams banging the puck past P.A. netminder Ian Scott after only 34 seconds of play. Raider Vojtech Budik evened the score about nine minutes later, blasting home a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle.

Jesse Lees would give the Raiders the lead with just over one minute to go in the opening frame, tipping a Reid Gardiner point shot up and over Regina goalie Tyler Brown. It was Lees’ second goal in as many games playing on the forward line. The D-man is filling in for Austin Glover, who is sidelined with an upper body injury.

In the opening minutes of the second, Scott came into contact with a Pats player in the crease and with the Raiders expecting a call on the play Regina’s Sergey Zborovskiy fired the puck into the open net. The play was briefly reviewed but ultimately it was called a good goal. Just over a minute later Adam Berg gave the Pats their first lead, scoring off a faceoff in the Raiders zone.

But P.A. responded with two quick goals of their own, as Luke Coleman and Jordan Tkatch both found the back of the net within a 59-second span. The period also saw a rise in physical play. The penalty box had been empty until the second period, when a total of nine infractions, including two fighting majors, were called.

Once again the Pats opened scoring early in the third period. Austin Wagner scored on a smooth tic-tac-toe play down low. Parker Kelly would give the Raiders the lead shortly thereafter, but Luc Smith tied the score for Regina with 4:06 to go.

With the scored tied 5-5 at the buzzer the Raiders were off to overtime for the second consecutive game. Playing three-on-three meant chances were had on every possession.

Ian Scott stood tall in net, making highlight-reel saves to keep his team in the game and push the game to a shootout. An extra round was needed until Jordan Tkatch scored the winner.

The Raiders next take to the ice on New Year’s Day. They will spend Jan. 1 in Saskatoon when they face off against the Blades. Game time is 2 p.m.