The Raiders Jr. Hockey Club came close but couldn’t find the win column in their two Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League matchups last week.
On Thursday, the Raiders were looking for their second victory of the season when they faced the St. Vital Jr. Victorias in St. Vital. Despite outshooting the Vics 13–10 in the first period, the Raiders trailed 3–1 after 20 minutes.
Logan Ashe had the lone Raiders goal in the frame, scoring shorthanded in the final minutes to narrow the deficit to two.
Jackson Zuk cut the lead to one with a power-play marker midway through the second, but the Vics answered quickly. Zuk struck again for his second of the night to make it 4–3, where the score held through two periods.
With momentum building, the Raiders came out strong in the third. Ryan Cromie tied the game on the power play, and Cole Kennedy followed up to give the Raiders their first lead of the night.
But with just under a minute to go, St. Vital’s Tyler Free completed his hat trick to even things at five and force overtime. The Vics then scored on their first shot of the extra frame to win 6–5, earning their first victory of the season.
The Raiders fell to 1-1-1 but picked up a point in the sudden-death loss.
Back on the road Sunday afternoon in Charleswood, the Raiders struck early when Riley Kushnier opened the scoring five minutes in. The Hawks tied it midway through the period, then added two more in the second before Carter Andersson replied for the Raiders.
Trailing by one entering the third, the Raiders couldn’t close the gap as Charleswood scored twice early in the period to pull away. The Hawks skated to a 5–2 win at Eric Coy Arena, dropping the Raiders to 1-2-1 on the season — good for seventh place in the MMJHL standings.
The Raiders return to action this weekend against the Ft. Garry/Ft. Rouge Twins and the River East Royal Knights.
Upcoming games:
Friday, Oct. 17 – at Ft. Garry/Ft. Rouge Twins, 7:30 p.m., Century Arena
Sunday, Oct. 19 – vs. River East Royal Knights, 2 p.m., Seven Oaks Sportsplex
