Raiders veterans come up clutch in 4-3 win in Game 6

Prince Albert forces series-deciding Game 7 with Oil Kings

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Game 6 winner for the Raiders.

Lukas Dragicevic, Rilen Kovacevic, Aiden Oiring and Max Hildebrand are trying to live up to a cliché that says, “Legends are made in the playoffs.”

The four veterans had monster efforts on Sunday to ensure their Prince Albert Raiders would stave off elimination from the WHL Playoffs for a second straight game. Locked in a 3-3 tie with the host Edmonton Oil Kings late in the third period of Game 6 of a best-seven-series first round series in the WHL Playoffs, Oil Kings overage defenceman Josh Mori would take a hooking penalty with 63 seconds remaining in the frame.

Working on the ensuing power play, Kovacevic, who is a star overage right-winger, passed the puck from the right wing to Dragicevic, who was positioned on the point just inside the centre of the blue-line. Dragicevic, who is a star 19-year-old defenceman, one-timed home a shot with 52.2 seconds remaining in the frame to put the Raiders up 4-3.

The Raiders proceed to kill of the rest of the time in the frame to make the 4-3 score hold up as the game’s final outcome to the disappointment of most of the 5,052 spectators in attendance at Rogers Place.

With the win, the Raiders even up the best-of-seven series at 3-3. They force a series-deciding Game 7 that is set back at their storied and historic home rink in the Art Hauser Centre for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The winner of Game 7 will advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series to take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark.

Dragicevic netted the winning goal for the second straight game for the Raiders. In Game 5 on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Dragicevic netted two goals including the winner, one assist and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in a 4-2 win on that night.

The Raiders were trailing their series with the Oil Kings 3-1 before rallying to win the last two contests to even the series up at 3-3.

Prince Albert will be attempting to rally and win a series they were down 3-1 in for the first time since 1996. In 1996, the Raiders trailed the Regina Pats 3-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Prince Albert rallied for three straight wins to take the set 4-3 which included a 5-1 victory in Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre, which was then known as the Comuniplex, on April 10th of that year.

Aiden Oiring had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

In Sunday’s win over the Oil Kings, Kovacevic had one goal, three assists and a plus-two rating. Oiring had a pair of goals and a plus-one rating. Hildebrand, who is the Raiders star 20-year-old netminder, made 30 saves to backstop the Prince Albert side to victory.

Breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old in March, had a pair of assists to aid the Raiders triumph.

The Game 6 clash started out as more of a tight-checking affair. The Oil Kings exited the first period with a 1-0 lead thanks to a power-play goal coming from overage centre and ace agitator Marshall Finnie. Finnie deflected home a shot from Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett to give the host side a one-goal lead with 2:14 to play in the opening frame.

The Raiders had a goal disallowed at the 10:17 mark of the first, when it was ruled 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ty Menuier deflected home a tally with a high stick. The officials went to a video review to confirm the call.

At the 8:34 mark of the second, the Raiders evened the score at 1-1 with their first power-play goal of the night. Kovacevic had the puck on the right-wing boards and fed a pass across the face the Edmonton goal to Oiring, who was positioned by the left post. Oiring tapped home the equalizer for the only tally of the frame.

After a tight checking first 40 minutes, the third period turned into a wide open 1980s style game.

Just 58 seconds into the frame, Kovacevic sniped home a breakaway tally short-handed to put the Raiders up 2-1. At the 6:19 mark of the stanza, Oiring netted his second of the contest lifting a shot to the top left corner of the Edmonton net close in at the left side of the goal to give the visitors a 3-1 edge.

The Oil Kings answered back just 13 seconds later. Oil Kings 20-year-old left-winger Rylen Roersma potted a rebound from Landon Hanson shot that rebounded out to the left faceoff circle to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2.

Hanson than fired home the equalizer on a shot from a right-wing rush just 61 seconds later to force a 3-3. The Oil Kings second-year right-winger snuck a shot between the legs of Hildebrand.

Daxon Rudolph had two assists for the Raiders.

It looked like all the momentum was going to go in the host side’s favour after Raiders 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker took a double minor for high-sticking with 8:26 remaining in the third. Crocker’s infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Oil Kings star left-winger Adam Jecho hit the post early in the four-minute power-play chance. The Raiders proceeded to get a big penalty kill to change the momentum of the contest once again.

That set the stage for Dragicevic to score his winner with Crocker providing a screen in front of Oil Kings rookie netminder Ethan Simcoe, who turned 19-years-old in early March. The officials video reviewed the goal checking for possible incidental contact by Crocker on Simcoe, but the video showed Crocker contacted Simcoe after the puck from Dragicevic’s shot entered the Edmonton net.

Simcoe turned away 19 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

Prince Albert took the regular season series against Edmonton claiming three regulation victories in five head-to-head encounters.

Both sides are starting to deal with their issues on the health front too. Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic was lost to a skate cut late in the first period of the Raiders Game 5 victory. The Oil Kings were without rookie star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in February, with an undisclosed ailment for a second straight contest.

The Raiders and Oil Kings have played highly competitive and even series, so it seems fitting the set goes to a winner-take-all Game 7.

The last time the Raiders played a Game 7 in the WHL Playoffs came back on May 13, 2019 in the WHL Championship Series. On that night at the Art Hauser Centre, Dante Hannoun scored his famed overtime winner to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants and helped the Raiders capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

Max Hildebrand made 30 saves in goal for the Raiders.

Now, we get to see who will shine in the upcoming Game 7 between the Raiders and Oil Kings and add to the WHL’s post-season lore.

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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Roulette comes up OT lucky in big night for Blades

Saskatoon quietly improves to 20-5 with win over Wheat Kings

Conner Roulette had two goals and two assists for the Blades.

Conner Roulette had the luck of James Bond in a casino when it came getting goals on video review.

With his Saskatoon Blades locked in a 4-4 tie in overtime with the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday night at the SaskTel Centre, Roulette broke into the offensive zone on a two-on-one rush to support linemate and standout centre Trevor Wong, who was carrying the puck. Wong zipped down the left wing and slid a pass across the front of the Brandon net to Roulette.

Roulette quickly wired a shot to the top left corner of the Wheat Kings net but the puck hit a post and quickly deflected away, but the officials weren’t sure if the puck hit one of the posts inside the net holding off on calling a goal. Roulette was certain the puck went in for the winning tally and raised his arms to celebrate.

Trevor Wong picked up an assist on the Blades OT winner.

As the Wheat Kings got set to rush back up ice, Roulette got set to be in a defensive position, but kept yelling his shot went in along with voices from the Blades bench. The officials proceeded to blow the play dead to go to video review.

They didn’t look at the video for long as the video angle from the top of the Brandon net clearly showed the puck going into the goal. That video was played on the scoreboard at the SaskTel Centre and the victory celebration was on for the Blades who pulled out the 5-4 victory in the WHL regular season clash.

The host side received an appreciative salute from the 2,611 spectators in attendance, who braved the -35 C conditions outside to make it two the Blades home rink located in the north end of Saskatoon.

The Blades celebrate Conner Roulette’s OT winner.

Netting the overtime winner capped a big night for Roulette. The 19-year-old right-winger finished the night netting two goals, which both had to be confirmed by video review, and two assists to go with a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department.

The Blades increased their winning streak to five games improving to 20-5 on the campaign. Their .800 winning percentage in the overall WHL standings trails only the .852 winning percentage of the league leading Winnipeg Ice (23-4).

During their winning streak, the Blades have beaten the Ice and the Red Deer Rebels (18-5-1-3), who sit first in the Central Division. When the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings were released on Tuesday, the Blades moved from sixth up to the fifth overall ranking.

Justin Lies scored the Blades first goal on Tuesday.

While the Blades have jumped out to one of their best starts in team history, they’ve kind of come up under the radar. When the season started, the Blades were expected to be a playoff caliber team, but the Ice and Rebels were projected to be the class clubs of the WHL’s Eastern Conference to contend for the league championship.

After the Blades graduated star netminder Nolan Maier at the conclusion of last season, the Blades weren’t expected to be contender for a WHL title or even occupy a top five spot in the circuit’s overall standings. Maier graduated from the WHL holding the league’s career record for regular season goaltending wins at 122, and the Blades didn’t have any concerns in net during the five campaigns Maier was with the club.

Calder Anderson scored the Wheat Kings first goal on Tuesday.

Saskatoon looked towards a pair of 18-year-olds in their system to carry the load in net in sophomore Ethan Chadwick and rookie Austin Elliott. So far, the Blades have posted the WHL’s lowest team goals against average at 2.10, while Chadwick has recorded a .908 save percentage and Elliott has put up a .930 save percentage.

Against the Wheat Kings, the Blades showed they had the mental toughness to withstand the push backs of a pesky opponent that gained some confidence looking to build on two straight wins entering play on Tuesday.

The Blades opened the game’s scoring just 1:56 into the first period, where Roulette picked up his first assist of the contest. Roulette had control of the puck at the left side of the Brandon net and fed a pass across the face of the goal to linemate Justin Lies. Lies potted home the backdoor feed to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.

Tyler Parr scored on a second period breakaway for the Blades.

Just over 10 minutes later, Roulette proceeded to put the Blades up 2-0 on his first goal that was confirmed by video review. He had puck deep in the Brandon zone by the right boards at a bad angle, but he still managed to fire home a shot to the top left corner of the Wheat Kings net for his ninth tally of the season.

The officials didn’t at first rule Roulette scored, even though he started to celebrate. When play stopped, the officials went to a video review and confirmed that Roulette did score to put the Blades up by two.

With just over two minutes remaining in the first period, the Blades turned the puck over at the Brandon blue-line to Wheat Kings 20-year-old right-winger Calder Anderson. Anderson broke down the ice on a contested breakaway and fired home a shot to the left corner of the Saskatoon net to cut the Blades lead to 2-1 with 1:59 remaining in the frame.

Rylen Roersma scored the Wheat Kings second goal on Tuesday.

The Blades restored their two-goal edge at the 8:13 mark of the second. Wong sent a long flip pass to spring left-winger Tyler Parr on a breakaway. Parr broke into the Brandon zone and snapped home his fourth of the season to give the Blades a 3-1 advantage.

With 4:04 remaining in the second, the Wheat King cut the Blades lead to 3-2 when Brandon left-winger Rylen Roersma tipped home a shot from the point taken by defenceman Andrei Malyavin.

Saskatoon again went back up by two goals with 1:34 remaining in the second, when centre Jayden Wiens corralled a loose puck at the right side of the Brandon goal during a net scramble and popped home his 10^th of the season to put the hosts up 4-2. Roulette picked up his second assist of the game on Wiens’s tally.

Jayden Wiens scored his 10th goal of the season on Tuesday.

Just 69 seconds into the third, Wheat Kings left-winger Brett Hyland potted his 11^th of the season to cut the Blades lead to 4-3. The Blades challenged that the Wheat Kings were offside on the play, but the officials ruled the video replay was inconclusive allowing the Brandon tally to stand.

The teams traded scoring chances as the frame went on, but the Wheat Kings found some last second heroics to force overtime. With 10.1 seconds remaining in the third, Wheat Kings 20-year-old centre Nolan Ritchie had the puck at the right side of the Saskatoon net and fed a pass across the face of the goal to linemate Jake Chiasson.

Chiasson converted the backdoor feed popping the puck into an empty cage to create a 4-4 tie and force overtime.

Jake Chiasson celebrates his equalizer in the third period.

That set the stage for the dramatics of Roulette’s winner that had to be confirmed by video review.

Chadwick made 16 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Nicholas Jones turned away 25 shots to take the extra time setback in goal for the Wheat Kings (10-15-3).

The Wheat Kings return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the 10-15-2 Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades get back at it Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

As the Blades keep moving forward, they will be looking to keep building on the feel good story they’ve created so far in the current campaign. You can be sure there are doubters out there who are waiting for the wheels to fall off.

The Blades leave the ice happy with pulling out their OT victory.

On the other hand, what if the wheels don’t fall off for the Blades this season? What if this Blades team is special?

If this turns out to be a Blades team that can accomplish special things, it might be best to just soak and appreciate in the cool moments that happen in the present like Roulette’s memorable big Tuesday night.

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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Maier ensures Blades banner night stays festive

Netminder makes 35 saves in 2-1 win over Wheat Kings

Blades G Nolan Maier stops Wheat Kings LW Brett Hyland (#7)

The Saskatoon Blades goat in goal made certain the party to honour the team’s goat behind the bench was a festive one.

On Friday night playing before 5,609 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, Blades star overage netminder Nolan Maier made 35 saves to backstop his club to a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. Maier came out with one of his best performances of the season on a night the Blades honoured their legendary former head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken.

Molleken was celebrated during a pre-game ceremony for his 14 seasons of service over two stints with the team by having his name added to the club’s builder’s banner that hangs in the rink.

Brett Hylund brings the puck up ice for the Wheat Kings.

Following the ceremony for Molleken, Maier was put to work in a contest that saw the Blades close their WHL regular season schedule. The Wheat Kings came out of the gate on fire holding a 14-6 edge in shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes.

Early the first, Wheat Kings 17-year-old right-winger Nate Danielson had a point blank chance to open the scoring from the front of the Saskatoon net, but he was stoned by Maier.

Later on in the frame, Maier robbed Wheat Kings left-winger Brett Hyland close in on the right side of the Saskatoon net. The rebound deflected to Wheat Kings 17-year-old centre Rylen Roersma for a backdoor chance at the left side of the Saskatoon goal.

Blades G Nolan Maier stops Wheat Kings RW Nate Danielson (#29).

Maier sprawled across his crease to make a steal of a save on Roersma’s backdoor opportunity.

The Wheat Kings finally got a puck past Maier and took a 1-0 lead on a positive bounce break at the 2:57 mark of the second. 

A dump in by Wheat Kings defenceman Logen Hammett saw the puck rim around the left corner boards in the Saskatoon zone, take a weird bounce out of the left corner boards off a crack where a door in the boards opens, hit the post of the Saskatoon net and shoot out in front of the Blades goal.

Rylen Roersma (#11) celebrates scoring for the Wheat Kings.

Maier had gone around behind his net to play where he expected the puck to be and was caught flat footed when the puck took the unusual deflection. The puck came right to Roersma, who promptly put the disk into an empty cage for his 19^th goal of the season.

Then, the momentum shifted in the contest.

Just under four minutes after Roersma’s goal, Blades centre Trevor Wong found himself on a breakaway. He snapped home his 17^th tally of the season to even the score at 1-1.

At the 11:56 mark of the second, the Blades went ahead 2-1 off a rush into the offensive zone. 

Trevor Wong scored for the Blades on Friday night.

Blades centre Jayden Wiens drove straight to the centre of the Brandon net and made a drop pass to star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic, who was rushing down the left boards.

Crnkovic wired a shot short side on Wheat Kings overage netminder Ethan Kruger to the top left corner of the Brandon goal for his 39^th tally of the season. That marker turned out to be the sixth game-winning goal Crnkovic would net on the campaign.

The Wheat Kings made a hard charge in the third to try and force overtime holding an 11-6 edge in shots on goal, but Maier kept the visitors at bay.

About five minutes into the frame, Maier flashed his glove to deny a laser drive by rookie import centre Zakhar Polshakov. With about 7:45 remaining in the third, Maier put up a wall to stone Wheat Kings overage import right-winger Marcus Kallionkieli on a redirection chance from the front of the Saskatoon goal.

Kyle Crnkovic smiles after scoring for the Blades.

Inside of the final minute of the third, Maier turned away Wheat Kings star 19-year-old centre Nolan Ritchie on two prime scoring chances. Maier stoned Ritchie close in at the right side of the Saskatoon goal with about 30 seconds to play and made another big stop from that same spot on the ice in the frame’s dying seconds to preserve victory for the host side.

Kruger turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Wheat Kings.

The Blades improved to 38-26-3-1 closing out their regular season schedule with two straight wins to finish fifth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 80 points in the standings. They will face the Moose Jaw Warriors in a best-of-seven WHL first round playoff series.

The Wheat Kings buzz round the Saskatoon goal.

The Warriors locked up a fourth place finish in the Eastern Conference and home ice advantage for that first round series with the Blades picking up one standings point falling 5-4 in overtime to the Hurricanes in Lethbridge on Friday night. Moose Jaw’s record moved to 37-23-4-3 for 81 standings points.

The Warriors will face the Pats in Regina on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Brandt Centre to close the regular season schedule for both of those clubs.

The Blades and Warriors will open their upcoming playoff series this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.

The Wheat Kings fell to 35-27-3-2 and are cemented to finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference and take on the Red Deer Rebels in a best-of-seven first round playoff series. The Wheat Kings close out their regular season schedule on Saturday when they travel to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades start celebrating their win on Friday night.

With the Blades win on Friday, Maier rounded out his WHL career regular season goaltending wins record at 122 victories. 

Since joining the Blades on a full-time basis in November of 2017, Maier has appeared in 216 career regular season games posting a 122-72-18 record, a 2.89 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

Along with those statistics, Maier has played 12,609 career minutes in goal for the Blades and made 5,788 career saves.

Maier’s career shutout, games played, minutes played and saves totals are all Blades franchise records.

Saskatoon still has four regulars on the injury list. Defenceman and captain Aidan De La Gorgendiere is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

The Blades salute their fans after their win on Friday.

Overage star centre Tristen Robins, who is the Blades captain for the rest of the current season, is out day to day with a lower body injury, while utility player Spencer Shugrue is day to day with an upper body injury. Rookie centre Lukas Hansen out indefinitely with an upper body injury.

Robins took part in the post-game ceremony the Blades held to honour their three overage players along with Maier and rugged defenceman Rhett Rhinehart. Odds are high that Robins will be in the Blades lineup when they open their post-season series with the Warriors.

In the post-game ceremony for their overages, the Blades played tribute videos and gave each player special artistic paintings.

Following the presentation, the trio did a victory lap on the ice with Maier waving a big team flag. It was fitting as the puckstopper’s memorable outing allowed the Blades organization to have a banner night.

Molleken gets his night in “Blade City”

Lorne Molleken speaks to the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

Lorne Molleken received a well deserved hero’s welcome when he stepped on to the ice surface at the SaskTel Centre on Friday night.

The legendary former head coach and general manager of the Saskatoon Blades was honoured by the team in a pre-game ceremony before the Blades closed their regular season schedule downing the Brandon Wheat Kings 2-1. When Molleken stepped on to the ice surface with his wife, Patsy, and their children and grandchildren, the veteran bench boss received a loud standing ovation from the 5,609 spectators in attendance.

A number of those in attendance included former players and team staffers.

Molleken spent 14 total seasons with the Blades over two stints. He will forever be linked with some of the Blades best days under the ownership of the Brodsky family working alongside Rick and then Jack. Jack Brodsky would quickly become a lifetime best friend.

The first stint from 1991 to 1995 saw Molleken serve as the Blades head coach with one of his lifetime best friends in Daryl Lubiniecki toiling in the role of general manager.

During that run, the Blades advanced to the WHL Championship Series on two occasions in 1992 and 1994. In both appearances, the Blades fell in a series deciding Game 7 to the dynasty Kamloops Blazers, who went on to win the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in both of those year as well as taking the WHL and CHL crowns again in 1995.

Lorne Molleken, right, watches the video scoreboard.

Molleken returned to the Blades as both head coach and general manager before the start of the 2004-05 campaign.

He served as head coach and general manager through to the end of the 2012-13 season after the Blades hosted the Memorial Cup. The Blades were sold from the Brodsky to the Priestner family during the 2013 off-season, and Molleken stayed on for one more campaign just as the general manager with Dave Struch handling the duties of head coach.

Molleken had a 539-325-58 regular season record with 23 ties over his career as the Blades head coach.

Friday’s ceremony for Molleken started with Blades play-by-play voice Les Lazaruk reminiscing about the days when Molleken was with the team. Lazaruk, who was the master of ceremonies for the pre-game festivities, added in a couple of humourous spots.

One of the spots that got the crowd chuckling came when Lazaruk talked about a bad loss the team experienced in Moose Jaw. Lazaruk got to the bus 35 minutes after the game ended, and Molleken mentioned there was a 15 minute rule.

Lazaruk said he was on the air and didn’t know what was talked about in the dressing room and was content to go about his business.

The Blades long time play-by-play voice said it was special him to have Molleken as a friend and that friendship expand beyond life around the rink.

Lorne Molleken gathers with his family.

Blades current general manager Colin Priestner delivered a second speech where he talked about how much Molleken meant to the team and the city. Priestner said he was always impressed with the class and dignity Molleken carried himself with.

Following those speeches, attention turned to the rafters of the SaskTel Centre as Molleken’s name was unveiled on the banner that hangs in the building to honour the WHL team’s builders.

Molleken then took the podium to speak. The 65-year-old delivered a classy and dignified speech where he thanked seemingly everyone that was involved with the Blades during his years with the team.

 He got emotional and started tearing at the end of his speech when he began thanking his family.

During that part of the speech, Molleken told his wife, “I love you Pat.”

Molleken also thanked the fans and said he believed the day would come when the Blades would win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup under the watch of the Priestner family.

The Blades builder’s banner with Lorne Molleken’s name on it.

Molleken was presented with a big frame picture marking his time with the team. The pre-game festivities finished with handshakes and embraces.

Molleken gave a big hug to Blades associate general manager Steve Hildebrand, who was an athletic therapist and equipment manager when Molleken guided the club.

The veteran bench boss also shared some big hugs with his grandchildren.

Originally, the Blades were set to honour Molleken on March 21, 2020. When the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world sparing shutdowns in North America starting on March 11, 2020, those original plans to honour Molleken were postponed.

Ultimately, the wait just made Friday night’s ceremony that much more special.

Raiders keep post-season hope alive with 4-1 win over Broncos

Carson Latimer had a goal and two assists for the Raiders.

The Prince Albert Raiders thrived in a do-or-die game to keep their playoff hopes alive.

On Friday night, the Raiders traveled to Swift Current and downed the host Broncos 4-1 before 2,093 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. The win allows the Raiders to tie the Broncos for eighth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and the conference’s final post-season berth.

That encounter closed the Broncos regular season schedule as they finished with a 26-35-5-2 mark.

The Raiders improved to 27-35-4-1 with the win, and they have one game remaining on their regular season slate. Prince Albert closes its regular season schedule on Saturday when they host the 35-27-3-2 Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference is a tight one. The 25-34-6-2 Calgary Hitmen are still alive in the playoff chase sitting one point behind the Raiders and Broncos.

The Hitmen close their regular season schedule on Sunday hosting the 32-30-4-1 Lethbridge Hurricanes (2 p.m. local time, Scotiabank Saddledome).

The 26-35-3-2 Regina Pats are two points back of both the Raiders and Broncos and have two games remaining on their regular season schedule. The Pats take on the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

That contest is penciled in as a home game for the Ice, because that contest was originally scheduled to be held in Winnipeg but was moved due to adverse weather in the area. The Ice have locked up top spot in the WHL with a 52-10-3-2 and dumped the Pats 6-1 on Friday at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

That Friday encounter was also penciled in as an Ice home game and was originally scheduled to be playing in Winnipeg until the venue was changed due to adverse weather in the area.

Sloan Stanick scored for the Raiders on Friday.

The Pats close their regular season schedule on Sunday when they host their archrivals the 37-23-4-3 Moose Jaw Warriors (4 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders could potentially lock up a playoff berth on Saturday night, if they beat the Wheat Kings and the Pats suffer any type of loss to the Ice.

If the Raiders fall to the Wheat Kings on Saturday night, there are still a number of playoff scenarios that could come into play.

If two teams finished tied for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, a tiebreaking game will be held to determine the club that moves on to the post-season.

In Friday’s contest between the Raiders and Broncos, the Prince Albert side was paced by right-winger Carson Latimer, who posted a goal and two assists.

Left-winger Sloan Stanick gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the first period potting his 22^nd goal of the campaign.

Just 27 seconds into the second period, overage centre Cole Nagy scored for the Broncos to even the score at 1-1.

Latimer scored four minutes after Nagy’s tally to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead. Following that tally, Latimer combined with overage defenceman Remy Aquilon to setup rookie import right-winger Vladislav Shilo for a power-play goal to give the Raiders a 3-1 advantage heading into the second intermission.

Veteran centre Evan Herman rounded out the 4-1 final in favour of the Raiders scoring into an empty net with 2:33 remaining in the third.

Standout defenceman Nolan Allan had a pair of assists and was a plus-one in the plus-minus department for the Raiders.

Nolan Allan had a pair of assists for the Raiders on Friday.

Rookie import netminder Tikhon Chaika stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Overage goalie Isaac Poulter turned away 24-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos.

Now, the Raiders will try and take potential their final step to locking away a post-season berth playing in what should be a raucous gathering at their storied home rink.

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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If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.