MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Warriors have been having a tough time when it comes to one-goal games all season, and Tuesday night in Prince Albert was no exception.
The Warriors battled back to tie the contest three times, but Harrison Lodewyk would score the eventual game-winner with 6:37 to play and the Raiders would go on to a 6-3 win in Western Hockey League action in Prince Albert.
Moose Jaw has now lost four straight and are 6-18-3-1 on the season to sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. Prince Albert improved to 13-10-3-0 and are in ninth place, but four points out of third.
Aiden Oiring opened scoring in the contest with 7:29 to play in the opening frame, but Pavel McKenzie would get that one right back for Moose Jaw, scoring with 2:57 left in the period. That goal would kick off a string of special team markers for both teams, with the next four goals coming on the power play or shorthanded.
Lukas Dragicevic gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead 6:18 gone in the second, but the Warrior with the hottest hand offensively at the moment would make it a 2-2 contest a little under four minutes later.
Rilen Kovacevic picked up a turnover at the Prince Albert blue line, made a quick dipsy doodle to gain the zone, broke into the slot and pulled a slick little toe drag before putting a shot past Raiders goaltender Max Hildebrand at the 11:10 mark.
The goal was the fourth shorthanded marker of the season for the overage veteran, and would be named the WHL Highlight of the Night.
The tie wouldn’t last long, though, as Krzysztof Macias snapped the draw 1:40 later, giving the Raiders a 3-2 lead heading into the third.
There, Kovacevic struck again, scoring on the power play with 9:22 to play in regulation. The goal was his 11th in the Warriors’ last eight games and gives him 17 on the season to go along with 26 points in 24 games.
That set the stage for Lodewyk, who took a feed from behind the net from Nail Crocker into the slot and snuck a shot home for the game-winner 2:46 after Kovacevic’s tying goal.
Lodewyk and Brayden Dube would score empty netters in the final minute to finish things off.
McKenzie finished with a goal and two points for the Warriors and now has four goals and eight points in his last six games.
Crocker capped his night with four assists, while Dragacevic had two assists to go along with his goal.
Josh Banini returned to the crease for the Warriors for the first time since Oct. 26 and had a series of five-star saves to keep Moose jaw in the game, including the WHL Save of the Night on a backdoor pass to Oiring early in the second period. He’d cap his night with 43 saves.
Hildebrand had 27 stops for the Raiders.
The Warriors are back in action Friday when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Prince Albert returns to the ice on Saturday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.
