WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series
tied 2-2
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| Daxon Rudolph (#10) his second of two goals on Wednesday. |
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Co-op Place was Daxon Rudolph’s house.
The Prince Albert Raiders star defenceman had a monster game
when his team needed it the most. On Wednesday playing in Game 4 of a WHL
Eastern Conference Championship Series, Rudolph had a pair of power-play goals
and two assists to power his Raiders to 6-3 victory over the host Medicine Hat
Tigers to the disappointment of most of the 5,324 spectators in attendance at
Co-op Place outside of a sizable contingent of Raiders supporters.
With the win, the Raiders even the best-of-seven series at
2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the storied and historic Art Hauser
Centre in Prince Albert. Prince Albert picked up the victory after dropping a
2-1 heartbreaker in overtime to the Tigers in Game 3.
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| Daxon Rudolph had two goals and two assists on Wednesday. |
“Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted last night,
so we knew tonight was going to be a big one,” said Rudolph, who turned
18-years-old in early March. “We had to even the series up before heading home.
“We gave it our all out there. For myself, I felt really
good from the get go. I happened to put a couple in the net and help others as
well.
“It felt good for myself and then the team holding out to
get the win.”
It was obvious early in the contest that Rudolph had a good
jump. In the opening moments of the first period, he went coast to coast on a
rush and was stoned by a left pad save from Tigers sophomore netminder Jordan
Switzer.
Rudolph, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 202 pounds, wasn’t
going to be kept off the scoreboard for long. At the 10:16 mark of the first,
the Lacombe, Alta., product fired home a point shot through a screen to give
the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
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| Daxon Rudolph has 19 points in 13 games in the WHL Playoffs. |
Tigers 20-year-old right-winger Ethan Neutens said his squad
likely didn’t do the best job of tracking the Raiders rearguard.
“I think he (Rudolph) is a good player,” said Neutens. “All
credit to him, and their team.
“They’ve got a good power-play unit. They are a skilled
team. They are fast, and I think we just didn’t do as good of a job as we
usually do or can of containing him.
“I think moving forward we have to realize that those are
the type of players that we have to contain to help us be successful in our
game.”
 |
| Daxon Rudolph is a top prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. |
Just 84 seconds after Rudolph’s first tally, Raiders
19-year-old centre Evan Smith fired home a shot from the top of the left
faceoff circle to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0.
Medicine Hat put a halt to the Raiders momentum eight
seconds later on a positive break goal from 17-year-old centre Shaeffer
Gordon-Carroll. Gordon-Carroll was attempting to one-time a shot from the top
of the right faceoff circle, but he partially fanned on the attempt.
Raiders star rookie import netminder Michal Orsulak
misjudged what turned out to be an off-speed shot and the puck went between his
legs into the Prince Albert net to cut the visitor’s lead to 2-1. That just set
the stage for Rudolph to have his next big moment in the contest.
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| The Raiders contigent at Co-op Place salutes their team. |
Just 25 seconds into the second period and working on the power
play, Rudolph burst into the Medicine Hat zone on a rush, used a Tigers
defender as a screen and wired a bullet to the top right corner of the Medicine
Hat net to push the Raiders lead out to 3-1.
“He (Rudolph) is just a good hockey player,” said Tigers
legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “He is going to score.
“He could have had three in the first game (in Medicine Hat
on Tuesday). He had so many chances the first night. He just didn’t score.
 |
| Josh Van Mulligen had a pair of assists for the Tigers. |
“He is a good player. You have to be aware of that. I don’t
think we played our best coming back and finding guys.”
Rudolph would pick up his first assist of the night on the Raiders
next tally at the 4:15 mark of the second. He got the puck to defensive partner
and Raiders captain Justice Christensen at the left side boards in the Medicine
Hat zone.
Christensen fired a shot that rebounded out to the right side
of the net to Tigers 20-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring. Oiring popped the
puck home into an empty cage to put the Raiders advantage out to 4-1.
At that point, the Tigers elected to pull Switzer, who
turned away 12-of-16 shots to take the setback in net. Carter Casey played the
rest of the way in relief turning away 18-of-20 shots sent his way.
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| The Tigers celebrate a goal from Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll (#11). |
Casey would fall victim by a great play from Rudolph just
2:18 after entering the contest. Working the puck in the Medicine Hat zone,
Rudolph took a pass from Christensen and jetted down the right side boards low
to the right side of the Tigers net.
The skilled blue-liner put a pass across the face of the
cage to Raiders standout left-winger Maddix McCagherty. McCagherty tapped the
puck into the empty side of the net to make the visitors lead sit at 5-1.
Gordon-Carroll admitted that Rudolph was on a roll on
Wednesday.
“Obviously, he (Rudolph) is a great player,” said
Gordon-Carroll. “A great player is going to make plays.
 |
| Aiden Oiring does a fly by after scoring a goal for the Raiders. |
“He has a big game tonight, so we got to go out next game and
focus on him.”
Rudolph said all players want to have big outings in the
playoffs. After Tigers star right-winger Liam Ruck scored the overtime winner
for his side in Game 3, Rudolph said he was inspired to try to have a
difference-making performance in Game 4.
“I think that kind of brings the best out of everyone,” said
Rudolph, who is a top prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft set for June 26
and 27 in Buffalo, New York. “I saw an interview of Liam (Ruck) last night
saying everyone wants to be a big player in a big moment.
“It is no different for me just like he said. Everyone wants
to step up in the playoffs, and I think it is a big part of who I am. When it
really matters, I think I step up really well and can play some of my best
hockey.”
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| Maddix McCagherty had a goal for the Raiders. |
The Tigers attempted to battle back as Neutens scored 25
seconds after McCagherty’s tally to trim the Raiders edge to 5-2.
Max Heise tallied for the Raiders at the 9:07 mark of the
third, and Gordon-Carroll picked up his second of the contest with 4:40
remaining in the stanza to round out the 6-3 final score in favour of the
Raiders.
Orsulak stopped 23 shots to pick up the win in goal for the
Raiders. Christensen and star centre Braeden Cootes each finished with two
assists for Prince Albert. Local product and 20-year-old defenceman Josh Van
Mulligen had a pair of helpers for the Tigers.
Medicine Hat late scratched Ruck before Wednesday’s game and
also scratched import defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen with undisclosed ailments.
 |
| Max Heise had a third period goal for the Raiders. |
Still, Wednesday night was a night that belonged to Rudolph.
Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said his star defenceman was on point in all
facets of his game.
“Offensively, he chips in with his goals and assists and a
big time shot on the power play to get us started,” said McDonald. “He just
continues to elevate his game as it goes on.
“He defends extremely hard. Anytime things might have got
hairy for us out there, he was able to calm it down, him and his partner (Christensen)
and continue to get pucks going in the right direction.”
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.
 |
| Justice Christensen had two assists for the Raiders. |
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.
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.
Heading back to the Hauser for Game 5, Rudolph said the
series is at a new beginning.
“Obviously, they took one in our barn, so we knew we had to
get one here in their rink,” said Rudolph, who has eight goals and 11 assists
in 13 post-season contests. “It is important to tie this one up and have a
fresh start heading back home.
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| The Raiders head to their dressing room all smiles after their win. |
“(It is) a best-of-three series now. It all starts at zeros
again, and we’ll keep battling.”
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to stankssports@gmail.com.
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.JPG)
