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| Dante Hannoun lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup. |
You still question, “Did Dante Hannoun’s overtime winning
goal really happen?”
There is no controversy whether Hannoun scored or not. If
you support the Prince Albert Raiders, it seems almost too good to be true that
a pretty play like Hannoun’s goal actually happened in the most nerve-racking
of times.
On Monday, the Raiders went to overtime locked in a 2-2 tie
with the Vancouver Giants in a series deciding Game 7 of the WHL Championship
series. The two best teams from the WHL’s regular season were in a situation
where the next goal takes the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
The Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a
54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
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| The Raiders mob Dante Hannoun after his OT winner. |
During the contest that featured various momentum swings,
the sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat rink gave their team a
number of warm standing ovations. One of those ovations came at the start of
overtime and others followed in the extra session.
Still there were fears a glorious moment might not happen
for the Raiders.
Then it happened.
With 1:35 remaining in overtime, Raiders star overage centre
Noah Gregor had the puck at the left side of the Vancouver net.
He slid a smart
backdoor pass across the front of the goal to Hannoun, who tapped home the puck
for a 3-2 Raiders victory.
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| The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheers the Raiders. |
The crowd noise exploded at the team’s long time home rink
in a way that was likely never seen before. Complete pandemonium, euphoria and
elation reigned supreme as Hannoun made a victory dash skate to the back boards
in the Raiders zone.
In the history of the Raiders, Hannoun’s goal will go down
as one of those “where were you when” moments.
Currently, it is the signature hockey play in the history of
the rink.
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| Dante Hannoun scored one of the biggest goals in Raiders history. |
Hannoun’s goal and the victory proved to be that much more
special, because it happened in Prince Albert. The Raiders faithful were able
to share in a special generational moment at home.
The last time the Raiders won a major hockey championship on
home ice came back in 1982, during the franchise’s final year in the junior A
ranks. That season, the Raiders downed the Guelph Platers 8-4 in Prince Albert
in the deciding game of the Centennial Cup championship series to become
national champions at the junior A level for a fourth and final time.
In the 13 seasons previous to the 2018-19 campaign, the
Raiders missed the playoffs seven times and were eliminated in the first round
six times.
Their magical regular season combined with the fact they advanced
to the WHL final restored the luster and the romanticized great vision of the
skilled team that was tough and is honourable.
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| Dante Hannoun has become a favourite with the Raiders faithful. |
The hard work of general manager Curtis Hunt, head coach
Marc Habscheid and late director of player personnel Ron Gunville came to fruition
in a major way on Monday.
The pride and joy seen in the faces of Hunt and Habscheid
watching their players enjoy the special victory was priceless.
During the season, the Raiders players won with class and
lost with class, but they rightfully let their hair down on Monday night.
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| Brett Leason enjoys a post-game photo opportunity. |
Fellow veterans like Zack Hayes, captain Brayden Pachal, Max
Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Parker Kelly and star netminder Ian Scott
all took growing pain lumps with the Raiders posting a 21-44-5-2 record in the
2016-17 campaign.
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| Duane “Puff” Bartley lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup. |
The victory helped celebrate a season that saw right-winger
Brett Leason achieve star status and import left-winger Aliaksei Protas emerge
as a clutch playoff performer.
Right-winger Justin Nachbaur and defenceman Jeremy Masella
give the Raiders a big shot of toughness, while still flashing moments of great
skill from time to time.
You can go up and down the Raiders roster and say great
things about every player. They are all outstanding young men and good
citizens.
Another heartwarming aspect of the celebrations was the fact
Duane “Puff” Bartley, who has been the Raiders athletic therapist since 2001,
got to enjoy a championship moment.
Popular skills coach Mark Odnokon, who played on the Raiders
Centennial Cup winning teams in 1981 and 1982, has put in a tonne of work over
the years as a coach with the Prince Albert club, and it was warm to see him
lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
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| Sean Montgomery goes for a skate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup. |
In the playoffs, the Raiders played 12 home games and the
last 10 of those were all sellouts.
Even in seasons where attendance wasn’t the greatest, there
was always a sense that Raiders fans would be there to back their team when
push came to shove. Now they got reward for sticking with the club through the
down years.
Hannoun’s OT winner sparked so many great stories.
Now the Raiders will try to finish the season with the
ultimate capper by winning the Memorial Cup. Prince Albert opens the CHL
championship tournament in Halifax, N.S., against the host Mooseheads.
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| Aliaksei Protas (#21) and Sergei Sapego (#12) enjoy photo time. |
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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