Stanick unleashes the teddy bears, but Raiders fall short 2-1 to Rebels

It took nearly 59 minutes, but Sloan Stanick scored the teddy bear toss goal on Saturday night for the Prince Albert Raiders against the Red Deer Rebels. However, that would be the only goal of the night, as the green and gold fell short 2-1.

After a scoreless first period, the Rebels scored a pair of second period goals to take a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Zane Saab started the second period off with his first career WHL goal 2:02, spinning and firing a shot home from the slot to give Red Deer a 1-0 lead.

A spark was ignited 6:36 into the middle frame, as Justice Christensen and Quentin Bourne dropped the gloves in the neutral zone. Christensen got the better of the Rebels defenceman, landing a couple of big shots before taking him down to the ice.

Red Deer got the only two powerplays of the second period, and after getting their first one killed off by the Raiders, Red Deer scored on their second opportunity. Talon Brigley fired a shot home from the left circle past a diving Max Hildebrand. Brigley’s 10th goal of the season gave the Rebels a 2-0 lead with 55.5 seconds left on the clock, and they took that lead into the third period.

7:23 into the third period, the Raiders were gifted a glorious chance to come back in the game, as they were given a long 5 on 3 powerplay after interference and delay of game penalties from the Rebels. However, Prince Albert failed to score on the man advantage, as the Rebels were able to maintain their two goal lead.

With 1:07 left on the clock, Sloan Stanick finally sent the bears onto the ice, as he scored a goal on the doorstep to make it a 2-1 game. His 12th goal of the season caused a brief cleanup delay, as the bears were taken off the ice before resuming play.

The break didn’t help the Raiders unfortunately, as Red Deer was able to hang on in the final seconds to win by a 2-1 final.

The Raiders are back in action on Tuesday night against the Kamloops Blazers. Puck drop is 7pm.