After 1: Raiders 2 – 1 Rebels, shots 12-4 Raiders
The Rebels got their second bit of good luck on their first shot of the period at 2:45. Again it was Cameron Dillard, but this time his shot came from the right point, but it deflected off a Raiders defender and into the back of the net.
From there, the Raiders took control of the rest of the period and didn’t allow the Rebels another shot for almost 12 minutes. In the middle of that, Riley Boychuk received a pass at the right side of the Rebel blueline, and he passed into the middle for Ben Harvey on the rush. He went side by side down either side of the slot with Connor Howe, Harvey fed Howe, and Howe fired a wrist shot for his first playoff goal at 8:15.
At the 14:31, the Rebels got their second shot of the period, again from the point, and again it found the back of the net. This time it was forward Beckett Hamilton curling off the left wall and into the middle, and he fired a shot that Michal Orsulak got a piece of, but not enough and the Rebels had tied the game again.
After 2: Raiders 3 – 3 Rebels, shots 22-4 Raiders, 34-8 Raiders overall
With their second powerplay of the game 30 seconds into the third, the Rebels got the go ahead goal. This time Hamilton made a pass into the middle of the slot for Kalder Varga, and he fired to give the Rebels the lead at 1:24.
From there, the third period slowed right down to dump and chase hockey as neither team could carry the puck over centre ice. The Raiders would eventually get Michal Orsulak pulled out of the net and create some chances 6-on-5, but it was too little too late and the Rebels took Game 4.
FINAL: Raiders 3 – 4 Rebels, shots 5-4 Rebels, 38-13 Raiders overall
While Braeden Cootes was held off the board for the first time this series, Daxon Rudolph’s goal extends his playoff point streak to four games with 3G-4A so far in the first round.
The Raiders return home for Game 5 on Friday to try and close out the series at the Art Hauser Centre.
