The Prince Albert Raiders have relied on their incredible depth to open up a 10 point lead in the WHL's East Division, and that depth propelled them to victory again on Friday.
The Raiders received seven goals from six different goal scorers in a 7-4 thumping of the Swift Current Broncos. Owen Corkish led the way with two goals, including the game winner, but the rest of the offence came by all corners as the Raiders won their third straight game.
"The luxury of having depth of scoring has been tremendous for us this season," coach Ryan McDonald said after the game. "We do it by committee."
The list of contributors ran from leading goal scorer Max Heise, who notched his 14 of the season, to reliable stay-at-home defenceman Benett Kelly, who recorded his second of the season with less than seven minutes to play in the first.
Overagers Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring chipped in, as did draft-eligible defenceman Daxon Rudolph.
The Raider offence came from all angles on Friday, as the club built up a 6-1 lead heading into the final 12 minutes of the third period and held on for the win.
"We played direct," McDonald said. "We played simple. We played north in a hurry. We got pucks in behind, whether we're spotting them to dots or getting in on our forecheck, used our feet to create our chances and really created some o-zone time."
With Michal Orsulak away at the World Juniors, Dimitri Fortin got the start in goal for the Raiders. The Winnipeg product had a fairly quiet first 40 minutes, facing 12 shots and giving up just one goal.
Down 4-0 and with less than a minute to play in the second, the Broncos cashed in on one of their five power play opportunities when local product Parker Rondeau poked in a loose puck before Fortin could smother it. That was the only blemish through 40 minutes, as the Raiders smothered the Bronco attack.
At the other end of the ice, Prince Albert pelted Swift Current starter Aiden Eskit with 22 shots in 34 minutes of action. Joey Rocha came in in relief after Rudolph's second period goal, which made it 4-0, and faired slightly better.
Rocha gave up two goals on 15 shots. The final goal, courtesy of Aiden Oiring, came with the goalie pulled.
"We were good in all three zones," McDonald said. "Our breakouts, when we were rolling, we were getting pucks out quick, we were being direct, we were playing fast through the neutral zone and playing to the weak side, what creates our space for us."
Friday's game could have gotten out of hand when Dube shrugged off a Bronco defenceman and shovelled a cross-ice pass from Heise into an open goal to make it 6-1. However, the home-side rallied for three goals in the final 11 minutes to make it 6-4, and throw a scare into Hockeytown North.
McDonald gave the Broncos full credit for their play in the final frame.
"They started pushing," he said. "They started flying (and) getting guys behind (the defence). That's a really good learning lesson for us, making sure we're managing pucks, (and) making sure we're managing guys in front of us."
Friday's win was Prince Albert's third straight Teddy Bear Toss victory. They'll have a chance to go for four on Friday when they welcome the Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday. Puck drop is 7 p.m.