Captain Christensen will forever cherish his Raiders days

Justice Christensen salutes the Art Hauser Centre faithful on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Justice Christensen didn’t want to think about his time ending with the Prince Albert Raiders until that moment actually happened.

That moment came to pass on Friday before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders dropped a 7-2 decision to the visiting Everett Silvertips in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series. With that win, the Silvertips took the best-of-seven set 4-1 and will play in the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

Christensen wanted the final goodbyes to come after a WHL title win, a trip to Kelowna, B.C. for the Memorial Cup and a championship win at that event. Instead, Christensen took a final lap in front of the Raiders faithful being named to the game’s three stars along with Raiders overage star forwards Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring.

“It has been incredible,” said Christensen, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 191 pounds. “I think the reason why I’m so emotional right now is because of the memories and the journey I’ve been through to get here.

Justice Christensen played all four of his WHL seasons with the Raiders.

“To spend four years on the same team is something not many people get to say. That I was able to spend four years here and be a captain for two and just have so many memories, it was great. I couldn’t say a bad thing about my time in P.A.”

Christensen arrived with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent before the start of the 2022-23 campaign. The reliable defenceman was named the team’s captain before the start of the 2024-25 season.

The Red Deer, Alta., product played four full seasons with the team appearing in 263 career regular season contests recording 148 points off 55 goals and 93 assists to go with a plus-22 rating in the plus-minus department. Christensen suited up for 36 career games in the WHL Playoffs recording 20 points coming off six goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-one rating.

In the 2025-26 campaign, Christensen skated in 63 regular season contests posting 48 points off 18 goals and 40 assists to go with a plus-36 rating. His totals in assists, points and plus-minus were all career highs. Christensen suited up in all the Raiders games in the 2026 WHL Playoffs recording 14 points coming off five goals and nine assists to go with a plus-seven rating.

Justice Christensen marks scoring his final WHL goal on Friday.

As captain, Christensen helped the Raiders win an East Division title in 2024-25 posting a 39-23-5-1 mark in the regular season. In 2025-26, Christensen played a key role in helping the Raider win another East Division title and place second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark in the regular season. In the post-season, the Raiders won their first Eastern Conference title since 2019, but they were unable to duplicate the WHL championship win from that campaign.

Christensen said the Raiders returning players will come back with a tremendous experience from the deep run in the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

“It is a huge thing to learn from,” said Christensen. “Obviously, right now, we’re experience the heartbreak.

“Everything in this championship series from media and all the kind of perks and flying to the games in Everett, things like that, it is something you’ll never forget. It is a really good experience for the guys. To get through here to the fourth round is pretty special for those guys, and they’ll be able to build on that for sure.”

The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheer Justice Christensen’s final goal.

For Christensen, his best memories of the run came from beating the then defending WHL champion Medicine Hat Tiger in six games in the Eastern Conference final. The Tigers swept the Raiders in an Eastern Conference semifinal series in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. The rearguard said one unique aspect from the WHL final stands out for him.

“I think being able to fly to Everett,” said Christensen. “That is kind of what we’ve always talked about.

“We bus all year, and then, we get to fly in the finals. To go through that, I think that is a huge memory and beating out Medicine Hat. They took us out last year and went on to win it.

“For us to beat them in the third round to get into the finals was a big one as well.”

Justice Christensen had 148 points in 263 career regular season games.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald appreciates everything Christensen brought to the team. McDonald was a Raiders assistant coach when Christensen joined the team and got to see the blue-liner become a career WHL member with the team.

“He is the ultimate warrior,” said McDonald. “He is a tremendous leader.

“His compete level is second to none. The way he prepares, the way he treats his body, recovers, the way he plays the game out there, he plays extremely honest. It has just been a pleasure to coach him for the last four years.

“He is just an absolute tremendous young man. He is going to continue to do bright things in the future.”

Justice Christensen starts a final lap at the Art Hauser Centre.

On April 9, Christensen signed a two-year contract with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, who are an affiliate with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. He attended Red Wings training camp in the fall of 2025 before returning to the Raiders for his final major junior campaign.

As his hockey journey will continue in the professional ranks, Christensen will always have a soft spot for the Raiders faithful. Prince Albert picked up the “Hockey Town North” nickname thanks to the support the Raiders got from their fans and that nickname spread to all levels of the game in that northern Saskatchewan centre.

“The support that you guys have, the community that is built here in P.A. and the way you guys rally around our team, it has been incredible,” said Christensen, who scored his final WHL goal in Friday’s loss. “Thank you guys.”

Christensen said he wanted to take some time making some final rounds in Prince Albert before departing to Red Deer.

“I’ll spend some time here,” said Christensen. “(I have) lots of memories and stuff with billet families and all the teammates that have been here and lots of friends and family and whoever will still be here.

Justice Christensen gives fist bumps to young fans along the glass.

“I’ll definitely stick around for a couple of days to see them.”

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Silvertips would not be denied first WHL championship

Everett downs Raiders 7-2 in Game 5 to clinch league title

The Silvertips raise the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Everett Silvertips were not going to let an opportunity go to waste, and as a result, they are Western Hockey League champions for the first time in team history.

On Friday night before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, the visiting Silvertips downed the Prince Albert Raiders 7-2 in Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series. With the win, the Silvertips, who have never missed the WHL Playoffs since entering the league in the 2003-04 campaign, claim the best-of-seven series 4-1 to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

The Silvertips begin celebrating their WHL title win.

“It is hard to put into words to be honest with you,” said Silvertips head coach Steve Hamilton. “The support we’ve had in Everett it is just an unbelievable franchise.

“It is an unbelievable fan base, and this has been just a team above all. I couldn’t ask for more from them. It has been a special group and a special year, and I just have all kinds of love and respect for them.”

The Silvertips have gone to the league final twice previously in their history. They got there as an expansion team in 2004 and again in 2018 and weren’t able to come up with a WHL title on either occasion.

The Silvertips captains receive the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont said everyone on this year’s team was pretty pumped to win the club’s first WHL title in the franchise’s history.

“We worked all year for this,” said DuPont. “To do it with this group of guys, for these coaches, the leadership group and all the 20-year-old, it is unreal.”

Like they have done all series, the Silvertips started fast and succeeded in scoring the first goal in all five games of the set. Just 68 seconds into Friday’s contest, Silvertips 20-year-old centre Zackary Shantz broke down the left wing of the Prince Albert zone and put a backhanded pass across the face of the Raiders net to 18-year-old left-winger Shea Busch.

Anders Miller skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Busch popped home what would be his first of three goals on the night. He said his first tally that put the Silvertips up 2-0 on their second shot on goal of the contest was key in starting the squad on the path to victory.

“We wanted to do that just set the tone,” said Busch. “I think that is what we’ve been trying to do all year.”

Everett would proceed to control play for much of the opening frame holding a 14-5 edge in shots on goal. 

With 4:03 remaining in the first, Silvertips 19-year-old defenceman Mattias Uyeda fired home a shot through a screen from the top of the left faceoff circle to put the visitors up 2-0.

The Raiders mull over falling in the WHL final.

The Raiders started the second with a full two minute power play, but the Silvertips got to show how good they are at protecting their end of the ice. Raiders star defenceman Daxon Rudolph was denied on a prime scoring chance due to a shot block from Silvertips sturdy defensive-defenceman Luke Vlooswyk.

“I think it was a big momentum shift in the game,” said Vlooswyk. “Obviously, it didn’t feel too good.

“It is the finals, and I know anyone on this team is willing to block a shot with their teeth. It was great.”

Shea Busch had a hat trick for the Silvertips.

The Raiders did use their spirited start of the second period to get on the scoreboard. At the 3:38 mark of the second, Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube popped home a rebound at the front of the Silvertips net to trim Everett’s lead to 2-1.

While the Raiders pressed, the Silvertips would close the second frame with a couple of dagger goals to push their advantage out to 4-1. Everett standout defenceman Brek Liske scored with 5:09 remaining in the second. Busch potted his second of the contest with 43.5 seconds left in the stanza putting a shot on goal that banked off Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett into the Prince Albert net during a power play.

Busch would complete his hat trick at the 6:17 mark of the third. On a set play off an offensive zone faceoff, Shantz won a draw to Busch who fired home a shot from the top of the right faceoff dot to make the Silvertips lead sit at 5-1. Busch almost couldn’t believe he got a hat trick in the Silvertips WHL title clinching game.

Zackary Shantz had three assists for the Silvertips.

“It was pretty special,” said Busch. “I wasn’t thinking about me too much.

“I knew we were up a lot. I was just waiting for the clock to go down.”

Just 50 seconds after Busch scored his hat trick goal, Silvertips 20-year-old centre Nolan Chastko scored to make the visitor’s lead stand at 6-1. At that point in the contest, Raiders 20-year-old captain and star defenceman Justice Christensen admitted he felt like things were getting away from his team.

“They got up 6-1, and I looked up at the clock,” said Christensen, who exhausted his major junior eligibility with Friday’s loss. “Not that we would ever quit, but it was looking like this was going to be my final game in my Western League career.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“That was tough to kind of think about and kind of wrap my head around that this would be my final game. Overall, I’m really happy with how the guys handled themselves today and went about our business.”

Christensen proceeded to score on one last “Juice Bomb” with a point shot on a power-play goal with 8:56 remaining in the third. That tally trimmed the Silvertips lead to 6-2. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald appreciated the fact his team kept battling against a tough foe.

“Give them (the Silvertips) credit, they played hard,” said McDonald. “They capitalize on their opportunities.

“I look at our group. We kept fighting. We kept battling no matter what the score was.

Brek Liske had the Silvertips third goal in Game 5.

“The guys played for the crest on the front of the jersey and laid it right on the line until the final buzzer went.”

DuPont proceeded to tally on the power play with 4:10 remaining in the third to round out the 7-2 final score in favour of the Silvertips.

Anders Miller stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Silvertips. Michal Orsulak turned away 29 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders.

Shantz finished the game collecting three assists for the Silvertips.

As the final two minutes of the third period ticked away, Vlooswyk said the reality of what his team was going to celebrate in winning a WHL title started to sink in.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Vlooswyk. “You have to still think the game is not over, but in the back of your head, you’re already celebrating.

Nolan Chastko scored the Silvertips’ sixth goal in Game 5.

“It was so cool, and I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life.”

Busch said he had a lot of thoughts running through his head during the final two minutes of the contest.

“I mean you’re thinking about all the guys on your team and everybody who has helped you out throughout the way like your parents, your grandparents and like everybody in your family too,” said Busch. “It is a special thing.”

Silvertips star import centre Julius Miettinen was named the most valuable player of the WHL Playoffs. While he was held pointless in Game 5, Miettinen appeared in all of Everett’s 18 post-season contests recording 27 points off 14 goals and 13 assists to go with a plus-21 rating in the plus-minus department.

Justice Christensen (#7) enjoys his final goal with the Raiders.

Going into the WHL final, there was no clear cut favourite.

Everett topped the WHL regular season standings, the Western Conference and the U.S. Division with a 57-8-2-1 record and was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records.

Prince Albert topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. The Raiders were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Raiders and Silvertips went head-to-head once in the regular season, where Prince Albert posted a 4-1 victory on November 11, 2025 at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.

Landon DuPont scored the Silvertips final goal in Game 5.

On the key injury front, the Silvertips were without star defenceman and captain Tarin Smith with an upper body injury. He was injured in Game 4 of a 6-3 victory over the Winterhawks in Portland as Everett closed out the first round series between the two clubs at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Raiders scratched star right-winger Brandon Gorzynski due to an undisclosed injury. He returned to play Game 4 and scored a goal in that setback for his team having missed the previous seven contests due to injury.

When it comes to the WHL final, the Raiders have made two previous trips to the league championships series in their history coming up with title wins in 1985 and 2019. Prince Albert went on to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985. Friday’s game marked the first time the Raiders weren’t able to win a WHL title after reaching the WHL Championship Series.

Zackary Shantz enjoys a WHL title win with his family.

Now, the Silvertips will turn their attention toward the CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The newly crowned WHL champions will open play in the Memorial Cup on Saturday, May 23, when they face the champion of the QMJHL at Prospera Place in Kelowna, B.C.

In the QMJHL championship series, the Chicoutimi Sagueneens downed the Moncton Wildcats 7-6 in Moncton in Game 5 of that league’s championship series on Friday. The Sagueneens lead that best-of-seven set 3-2 and will look to close that series out in Game 6 on Sunday in Chicoutimi.

Lukas Kaplan (#12) gets hugs going with his family.

The Kitchener Rangers have won the OHL championship sweeping the Barrie Colts in that circuit’s best-of-seven title series.

The Kelowna Rockets are the host team for the Memorial Cup, and they have been practicing since falling to the Silvertips 4-1 in a Western Conference Championship Series.

The Rockets and Rangers go at it in the first game of the Memorial Cup tournament on Friday, May 22 at Prospera Place. The Memorial Cup championship game is slated for Sunday, May 31.

The Silvertips enjoy their WHL championship win.

DuPont is looking forward to playing in the Memorial Cup.

“We still have lots of hockey left,” said DuPont. “Hopefully, we can celebrate this for a few days and then get back to work and hopefully have a good Memorial Cup.”

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What a battle! What a finish!

Raiders take conference title, Tigers rally falls short

The story lines were plentiful as the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series closed out.

In a battle of two powerhouse teams, the Prince Albert Raiders were out to show their time is now. The defending WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers were not ready to give up their crown.

Going into Game 6 of the best-of-seven conference title tilt at Co-op Place on Sunday, the visiting Raiders were in position to advance with a win. The host Tigers were looking to force the series back to Prince Albert for a series deciding Game 7 back in Prince Albert set for Tuesday.

The Tigers brought in Oasiz Wiesblatt, who was the captain of last year’s WHL championship team, to fire up the 5,181 spectators at Co-op place with the “Whose House, Our House” chant pregame. Wiesblatt just finished his first season of professional hockey playing with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals.

When the dust settled, the Raiders prevailed 7-6 to take the series 4-2. They advance to the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series to take on the Everett Silvertips. That marks the first time the Raiders will play in the WHL final since they last won it in 2019.

Riley Boychuk had a pair of goals for the Tigers on Sunday.

The valiant Tigers took part in one last salute from their hometown crowd. Their overagers in right-winger Ethan Neutens, centre Andrew Basha and hometown product Josh Van Mulligen took a final bow. Basha finished the night with four assists, while Van Mulligen had one goal and once assist.

Medicine Hat’s Christian players did one final prayer at centre ice before departing to allow the conference trophy presentation to the Raiders. The Raiders had a quick moment with the Eastern Conference Championship trophy taking a team picture before departing to their dressing room.

The Tigers opened the contest with a big push. Early in the contest, Tigers star left-winger Markus Ruck started the contest in an uncharacteristic fashion throwing a rare bodycheck on Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett.

The hosts opened the scoring with 6:31 remaining in the first as star defenceman Jonas Woo wired home a mid range shot from the front of the Prince Albert net to the top left corner of the goal. That marked just the second time in the post-season the Raiders gave up the first goal of a game and both occurrences came at the hand of the Tigers. At the time of Woo’s goal, the Tigers were holding a 9-4 edge in shots on goal.

Josh Van Mulligen had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

One of the many momentum changes occurred with 4:17 remaining in the opening frame. During a net scramble around the Medicine Hat net, Raiders standout right-winger Riley Boychuk found a loose puck at the left side of the goal and popped the puck home to even the score at 1-1.

The 1980s shootout then commenced in earnest at the start of the second period. Centre Noah Davidson scored on the power play just 75 seconds into the stanza to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

Prince Albert answered back quickly. Star centre Braeden Cootes tallied at the 3:47 mark of the second on the power play, and star defenceman Daxon Rudolph scored at the 5:39 mark of the frame at even strength to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.

At that point, the Tigers elected to pull starting netminder Jordan Switzer after turning away 10-of-13 shots. Carter Casey turned back 14-of-18 shots playing the rest of the way in relief. He ultimately took the loss in goal for Medicine Hat.

Daxon Rudolph had one goal and two assists for the Tigers.

Casey became Medicine Hat’s goalie of record on the scoresheet a short time after entering the contest. At the 8:31 mark of the second, Tigers standout right-winger Luke Cozens potted his first of the post-season to even the score at 3-3.

Momentum proceeded to jump behind the Raiders in a huge way. They closed out the second scoring three straight goals to go ahead 6-3 coming off the sticks of star 20-year-old centre Aiden Oiring on the power play, star right-winger Brayden Dube and standout 17-year-old rookie right-winger Jonah Sivertson. Dube’s tally came with 2:01 remaining in the second, and Sivertson’s came with 33.5 seconds remaining in the stanza.

During that goal surge, the Tigers appeared they might have lost star captain Bryce Pickford for the contest. With 2:46 remaining in the second, he was hit on his left side by Raiders feisty 16-year-old left-winger Connor Howe, while Howe’s stick also connected across the visor of Pickford’s helmet. No penalties were called on the play.

Pickford went down, and he then got up and proceeded to skate straight to the Tigers dressing room favouring his left shoulder. Miraculously, the rearguard returned for the start of the third period.

Noah Davidson had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

His return seemed to inspire the Tigers. Kade Stengrim tallied at the 2:20 mark of the third, and Van Mulligen found the back of the net at the 6:59 mark of the stanza to cut the Raiders lead down to 6-5.

Medicine Hat pushed for the equalizer, but the Raiders came up with a key insurance goal with 7:01 remaining in the frame. Raiders centre Evan Smith made a high looping pass out of his own zone down the right wing to Boychuk springing him into the Medicine Hat end on a two-on-two rush.

Boychuk made a toe drag move around a Tigers defenceman, slipped down, got up and fired a shot to the top right corner of the Medicine Hat net to push the visitor’s edge out to 7-5.

The Tiger truly did battle to the bitter end. With 6.9 seconds remaining in the third, star right-winger Liam Ruck one-timed home a shot from the front of the Prince Albert net converting a beauty setup pass from Basha to cut the Raiders lead to 7-6. Medicine Hat couldn’t come up with a miracle play to get the equalizer to force overtime.

Michal Orsulak stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Cootes and Rudolph each finished with one goal and two assists. Rudolph leads the WHL post-season in scoring with 23 points coming off nine goals and 14 assists to go with a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department.

Braeden Cootes had one goal and two assists for the Raiders.

Woo, Davidson and Cozens each finished with one goal and one assist for the Tigers. Yaroslav Bryzgalov had a pair of assists for Medicine Hat. For the moment, Basha sits second in the scoring race in the WHL Playoffs with 21 points coming off three goals and 18 assists to go with a plus-one rating.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL during the regular season with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. After losing a number of key players from their WHL championship club last season, the Tigers were not expected to do as well as they did at the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Raiders and Tigers met four times in the 2025-26 regular season. Each side claimed two regulation time wins including one victory at home and one the road. Each side scored 16 goals in those four head-to-head contests.

Jonas Woo had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

In the Eastern Conference final, the Tigers were battling a big flu bug for the entire series. Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins said at the end of Game 6 that his players who hit the ice for his team still were not at full strength, but he gave the Raiders credit for the series win. Desjardins said the Raiders are a really good team, and he wasn’t sure his squad would have won the series at full health but would have liked to have had that opportunity.

The Raiders will now face another tough foe in the Silvertips in the WHL Championship Series. The Silvertips swept the Penticton Vees 4-0 in the Western Conference Championship Series and will enter the WHL final after a long rest period. Game 1 of the WHL final is set for this coming Friday at the Angel of the Winds Arena with a start time still to be announced.

Everett topped the WHL regular season standings with a 57-8-2-1 and was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. The Silvertips 57 wins and 117 standings points are team records. They are appearing in the WHL final for the first time since 2018, when they fell in the championship series in six games to the Swift Current Broncos.

Aiden Oiring scored for the Raiders on Sunday.

As for the now completed Eastern Conference final, it delivered the thrills that were expected and a memorable conclusion for both teams. The Raiders exited the series as a deserving conference champion, and the Tigers went down with the fight fitting a defending league champion.

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Corkish hatty puts Raiders one win away from WHL final

Tigers fall 6-3 in Game 5 of Eastern Conference final

The Raiders celebrate a hat trick goal from Owen Corkish (#32).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Owen Corkish capitalized on his moment to be the x-factor for the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, Corkish, who is an 18-year-old rookie left-winger, delivered his first WHL hat trick in either regular season or post-season play. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota, product’s three-goal night powered the host Raiders to a 6-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 5 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series.

With the Raiders clinging to a 4-3 lead late in the third period, Corkish fired home a shot from his own zone into an empty Tigers net with 2:31 remaining in the third period to complete his hat trick. Following that tally, hats rained down from the Raiders faithful at the Hauser in celebration of that goal.

Owen Corkish (#32) breaks away from Noah Davidson (#39).

“I just put one and one together and tried to go for it and see what happens,” said Corkish. “Fortunately, it went in.”

If there was going to be any other drama, Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube wrapped home an empty-net tally with 1:29 remaining in the third to round out the 6-3 final score in favour of the Prince Albert side.

With the win, the Raiders take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set with the Tigers. They will try to close the series out in Game 6 on Sunday at 6 p.m. local time at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

Before looking forward to Game 6, Corkish said his hat trick performance in Game 5 ranks up there with the biggest hockey games he has ever had.

Owen Corkish sets to score his long distance empty-net goal.

“It is definitely one of them,” said Corkish. “I’m fortunate enough to have the night I had with the guys around me.

“I couldn’t have done it without those guys. We have such a tight group and such an amazing group that it could have been any one of those guys tonight. I’m just proud to be a part of this group.”

The Raiders came storming out of the gate. At the five-minute mark of the opening frame, standout 17-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson had the puck in the left corner of the Medicine Hat and passed it to linemate Alisher Sarkenov in front of the goal. Sarkenov quickly blasted the puck home to put the host side up 1-0.

Prince Albert outshot Medicine Hat 16-3 in the opening 20 minutes, but the Tigers were able to force a 1-1 tie before the stanza came to a close. With 2:50 remaining in the first, Tigers star 19-year-old defenceman Jonas Woo popped home a puck close in at the left side of the Prince Albert net for the equalizer.

Jonas Woo scored the Tigers first goal on Friday.

“We let them get off to a great start, which we can’t do in their building,” said Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “We were so lucky to come out 1-1.”

While 18-year-old rookie netminder Carter Casey came up big in the opening frame, he couldn’t keep the Raiders at bay forever.

Just 22 seconds into the second period, Corkish tipped home a point shot from Raiders captain Justice Christensen to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ben Harvey then tapped home a puck at the right side of Medicine Hat net to push Prince Albert’s advantage to 3-1 at the 8:57 mark of the frame. Harvey converted a beauty setup pass from linemate Maddix McCagherty from the left side boards in the Medicine Hat zone.

Alisher Sarkenov scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

With 6:24 remaining in the second, Corkish picked up his second goal of the contest banging home the rebound of his own shot in front of the Medicine Hat net. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased with the play of the line of Corkish, 20-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring and Dube calling them dynamic. Dube finished with an assist to go with his goal, while Oiring had one helper.

“I thought their line did a great job tonight,” said McDonald. “They were on the right side of pucks.

“They checked really well. They got their offensive chances, and they capitalized on them and really used their speed tonight.”

The Tigers proceeded to battle back in the third. 

Just 1:55 into the frame, a shot from Tigers 19-year-old left-winger Cam Parr deflected off the skate of 20-year-old right-winger Ethan Neutens into the Prince Albert net to cut the Raiders lead to 4-2.

Ethan Neutens scored for the Tigers on Friday.

At the 9:19 mark of the third, Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham put a shot on goal from the left side of the Raiders net that was stopped by Raiders star import netminder Michal Orsulak. The puck rebounded to the right side of the net to Tigers 20-year-old rearguard Josh Van Mulligen. Van Mulligen fired home the rebound to trim the Raiders advantage down to 4-3.

While the Tigers have posted their share of comeback victories this season, they weren’t able to rally back any further on this night. The tallies by Neutens and Van Mulligen set the stage for the Raiders two empty-net markers to close the contest out.

Desjardins was pleased to see his squad battle back to make the contest a one-goal game again in the third.

“We got the first one,” said Desjardins. “You knew you had a chance.

Ben Harvey had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

“Then, we got the second. We had some looks to get the third as well. We just didn’t get it.

“They bent a little bit, but they didn’t break. They stayed with their game plan, and they were able to pull it out.”

McDonald was happy to see there was no panic coming from his Raiders side after the Tigers pulled to within 4-3.

“They’re a good team,” said McDonald. “You can’t give them chances.

“They have the ability to put them in the back of the net. I really liked our guys’ calmness tonight. They got those two in the third, and guys were even keel.

“We just continued to go about our business and continued to win our battles and lock it down.”

Brayden Dube had one goal and one assist for the Raiders.

Orsulak stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Casey turned away 41-of-45 shots to take the setback in net for the Tigers.

Prince Albert also held a 49-21 advantage in the faceoff circle.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers, who are the defending WHL champions, finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL during the regular season with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers enjoy a goal from Josh Van Mulligen (#22).

The Raiders and Tigers met four times in the 2025-26 regular season. Each side claimed two regulation time wins including one victory at home and one the road. Each side scored 16 goals in those four head-to-head contests.

The winner of the Eastern Conference final will face the Everett Silvertips in the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series. The Silvertips swept the Penticton Vees 4-0 in the Western Conference Championship Series. Everett was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Looking towards Game 6, Desjardins wants his team to be better in a couple of areas.

Fans at the Art Hauser Centre cheer on the Raiders.

“We’ve got to be more aggressive,” said Desjardins. “They’ve got lots of speed and the worst thing with speed is to back up.

“You’ve got to be aggressive on speed and gap up and handle it. We’ve got to be better in the faceoff circle too. They were really good in the faceoff circle.

“Give them credit, but they’ve got to win another one.”

The Raiders celebrate their win on Friday.

While the Raiders will try to clinch the series and the Eastern Conference title on Sunday, Corkish said his squad has to focus on business as usual on the ice.

“I think there is nothing we’ve got to overcomplicate,” said Corkish. “I think we’ve just got to simplify our game and keep doing what we’re doing, and it is going to turn out good.”

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Tigers show tenacity, rebound with 5-0 win over Raiders

WHL Eastern Conference final tied at 1-1 heading to the Hat

Markus Ruck (#26) is all smiles after scoring the Tigers third goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – When it comes to handling adversity, it can be argued that no team in the WHL circles the wagons better than the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Friday, the Tigers opened the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series by getting trampled 8-3 by the host Prince Albert Raiders at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre. Since Willie Desjardins first joined the Tigers before the start of the 2002-03 campaign, it became common for the Medicine Hat franchise to quickly get over what happened in a bad loss and roar back with a sound victory.

In Game 2 of the series on Saturday played before another sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the Hauser, the Tigers rolled to a 5-0 victory and silenced the Raiders faithful for long stretches of the contest. The win allowed the Tigers to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Markus Ruck had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

The defending WHL champions will now host the next two games of the set in Medicine Hat. Games 3 and 4 are set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at Co-op Place for a 7 p.m. start on both nights.

“It is a big win for sure,” said Tigers star left-winger Markus Ruck, who had one goal, one assist and a plus-two in the plus-minus department. “We knew coming in it is a really tough rink.

“To get that one is huge. We knew coming into it we had to get this one.”

The teams started off playing fairly even as the shots on goal were tied 4-4 after the first 11 minutes of the opening frame. Momentum changed when Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett was given a roughing minor with eight minutes remaining in the frame.

Jordan Switzer made 30 saves to earn a shutout win.

The Tigers proceeded to buzz the Prince Albert net forcing Raiders rookie star import netminder Michal Orsulak to make about six huge saves. Tigers star 20-year-old centre Andrew Basha came the closest to scoring by wiring a shot off the crossbar causing a scramble in front of the Raiders net. Raiders star centre Braeden Cootes came up with a clearance to relieve the pressure.

While the Raiders got the kill, the Tigers had a tonne of momentum they would carry through to the end of the second period. Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube said you could feel that momentum was on the side of the visitors after that power-play chance.

“They got lots of shots and lots of good looks,” said Dube. “They got a jump in their step.

Michal Orsulak makes one of his 36 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“We just have to find a way to go back at them after big kills like that. We have to find a way to get back to our game after.”

Before the first ended, the Tigers went back on the power-play after Raiders standout 16-year-old defenceman Brock Cripps was called for holding with 2:07 remaining in the first. Right after that power play expired, Tigers star defenceman Jonas Woo threw a puck from a bad angle at the right boards by the icing line to the front of the Prince Albert net.

The puck appeared to deflect home off Tigers standout centre Noah Davidson into the Prince Albert goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead with 5.9 seconds remaining in the frame. Woo, who missed Game 1 of the series with an undisclose ailment, was given credit for the goal. The Tigers exited the first holding their 1-0 advantage and a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.

Jonas Woo was credited with two goals on Saturday.

That opening tally by Medicine Hat marked the first time the Raiders gave up the first goal of a game in the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

The Tigers continued to come hard at the Raiders in the second holding a 17-9 edge in shots on goal for the frame. Medicine Hat finally got a second goal past Orsulak with 3:47 remaining in the stanza while working on the power play.

Ruck swooped down the right wing with the puck and made a backhanded pass to the front of the Prince Albert net to his twin brother Liam Ruck. Liam blasted home his sixth of the post-season to push the Tigers advantage out to 2-0.

“It is pretty cool,” said Markus Ruck about the power-play goal. “I was kind of just wheeling in the zone, and I kind of popped up and saw him there.

Alisher Sarkenov and the Raiders had no luck around the net.

“It is pretty cool playing with him. It is obviously really cool being his brother.”

In the third, the Raider came with a big push forcing Tigers netminder Jordan Switzer, who turned 19-years-old in January, to stand on his head. The Raiders would outshoot the Tigers 15-8 in the third but were unable to put a puck past Switzer, who was making his first start of the series.

“In our room, we knew they were going to battle hard there,” said Switzer. “I think it was only 2-0 for a bit.

“I think we did a good job shutting them down, weathering the storm and then we got a couple in the end.”

With 7:11 remaining in the third, Markus Ruck came up with a dagger goal. Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham sprung Ruck down the left-wing on a contested breakaway. Ruck lasered home a shot to the short side on Orsulak to give the visitors a 3-0 advantage.

Aiden Oiring of the Raiders jets away from Cam Parr of the Tigers.

Woo proceeded to score a long empty-net from his own icing line with 1:55 remaining in the third, and import defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen netted his first of the post-season with a seeing-eye shot from the left side boards in the Prince Albert end to round out the 5-0 final score in favour of the Tigers.

“This is a hard barn to play in, especially in playoff time,” said Switzer. “It is a sold out rink.

“All the fans are all over us, but I think we handled it good tonight, didn’t get rattled and stuck to our game plan.”

Orsulak turned away 36-of-40 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Switzer stopped 30 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Tigers, which was also Switzer’s first clean slate in post-season play.

Noah Davidson had a strong game for the Tigers.

The Tigers were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Raiders failed to score on four chances with the man advantage.

“The first period the shots were a little lopsided there from a couple of power-play situations,” said Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald. “I didn’t mind our start.

“I thought we created some opportunities and didn’t get some bounces and got away from it in the second period and started turning some pucks over and feeding into their transition and making it real hard on ourselves. In the third period, we got back to our game and getting pucks in behind and created some opportunities for ourselves. Again, you have to tip your cap to them.

“They played hard. Again, we need to match that intensity and match that level.”

Liam Ruck scored a power-play goal for the Tigers.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers, who are the defending WHL champions, finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL during the regular season with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Raiders and Tigers met four times in the 2025-26 regular season. Each side claimed two regulation time wins including one victory at home and one the road. Each side scored 16 goals in those four head-to-head contests.

These two traveling fans enjoyed the Tigers win on Saturday.

Due to how even the regular season series was, Desjardins, who is the Tigers legendary head coach and general manager, expects every game of the Eastern Conference final with the Raiders to be a battle.

“I thought we played a little better tonight,” said Desjardins. “I thought the first game they kind of took it away on us.

“We had a really good start and then got on our heels a little bit. They got some power-play goals. Tonight, we got one on the power play.

“One just went in at the end of two (minutes), so that was probably the difference.”

Niilopekka Muhonen had the Tigers final goal on Saturday.

Going into Game 3 of the series in Medicine Hat on Tuesday, Dube said his Raiders have to show their perseverance.

“We just have to wipe this one and play our game,” said Dube. “Today, we were trying to do too much I think.

“We’re at our best when we are playing fast, just getting pucks deep and on our forecheck.”

As for the Tigers, Ruck said everyone on his squad is pumped to continue the series at their home rink.

“Going back 1-1 in the series, we know our fans are going to be awesome,” said Ruck. “We can’t wait.

“Hopefully, we continue what we just had today.”

The Tigers celebrate their win on Saturday.

NOTES – The Raiders had another huge 50/50 pot for Saturday’s game with online sale combined with sales in the building. The take home prize was $98,540 and will go to the person with ticket number C-124720.

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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