PRINCE ALBERT -- It was another tough start for the Moose Jaw Warriors against the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday night, but the final result ended up far closer than the previous meeting between the two teams.
The Raiders took a 3-1 lead out of the first period and would go on to a 4-1 victory in Western Hockey League action, the second game of a home-and-home that saw Prince Albert win 8-2 in Moose Jaw on Monday.
The Warriors are now 11-39-4-2 after their ninth-straight loss and remain in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, while Prince Albert improved to 32-19-3-1 and moved within three points of fourth place.
The contest marked a much-anticipated debut for Warriors fans, as 2025 CHL Import Draft selection Dominik Pavlik suited up in his first game for Moose Jaw.
The Raiders got things going quickly, scoring three times in the span of 5:18 before the game was 10 minutes old.
Niall Crocker opened scoring with a power play goal at 4:15 before Ty Meunier made it 2-0 at the 8:15 mark and Matteo Fabrizi extended the Raiders’ edge to 3-0 only 1:18 after that goal.
Warriors captain Lynden Lakovic got one back for the Warriors with a power play goal with 29 seconds remaining in the period, running his point streak since returning from injury to four games.
Prince Albert carried the play through much of the second period, but the Warriors had their chances -- including a shot in close by Krzysztof Macias and breakaway by Pavel McKenzie -- but goaltender Max Hildebrand would come up with the big saves.
The third period was another back-and-forth affair with each team getting a handful of chances, but neither squad would find the back of the net until 1:43 remained in the contest. The Warriors had pulled goaltender Matthew Hutchison for the extra attacker with just over two minutes remaining, and Aiden Oiring would score into the empty net to give the Raiders a 4-1 lead.
Hutchison finished with 36 saves on the night, while Hildebrand turned aside 28.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday night when they host the Calgary Hitmen, with puck drop at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Raiders hit the road and are in Regina to face the Pats on Saturday, with that contest at 6 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.
