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| The Raiders celebrate Noah Gregor’s goal in Game 4 versus Edmonton. |
On Sunday,
the Prince Albert Raiders won their first WHL Eastern Conference title since
1985, when they downed the Oil Kings in Edmonton 4-2 in Game 6 of the
conference championship series. Prince Albert claimed the best-of-seven series
4-2.
The turning
point of the series came in Game 4 in Edmonton last Wednesday. Going into that
contest, the Oil Kings had won two straight games to take a 2-1 lead in the
series.
The
previous night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the Raiders were coming off
arguably one of their worst performances of the season falling 5-1.
In Game 4, the
Raiders got their wheels going and started to play like themselves for the
first time in the series. Star right-winger Brett Leason scored in the second
period and star overage centre Noah Gregor tallied early in the third to give
the Raiders a 2-0 advantage.
Oil Kings
defenceman Wyatt McLeod scored with 6:06 remaining in the third to cut the
Raiders lead to 2-1, but Edmonton couldn’t get any closer. The Raiders got 25
saves from star goalie Ian Scott to pull out a 2-1 victory.
Dylan Myskiw turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Oil Kings.
Dylan Myskiw turned away 25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Oil Kings.
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| Brett Leason had a big goal for the Raiders in Game 4. |
The Raiders
took Game 5 of the series 4-0 at home before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,289
spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre last Friday before clinching the
series on Sunday.
The Raiders
played with tonnes of jump and had a physical edge to their game. Power forward
Parker Kelly closed out the series throwing a number of big hits for Prince
Albert.
During the
first three games of the series, the Raiders seemed to be suffering a hangover
after taking a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against their
archrivals the Saskatoon Blades 4-2. It seemed like it was hard for the Raiders
to get up for the Oil Kings.
Even the
fans seemed to suffering from a Blades hangover at the stars. When I visited
with a number of Raiders fans during Games 1 and 2 of the Oil Kings series at
the Art Hauser Centre, they said it felt like a disappointment when the Blades
series ended.
They even
seemed to be a little off when it came to being engaged with the first two
games against Edmonton. With that in mind, the Raiders 1-0 victory in Game 1 of
the conference final seemed like a feeling out contest for the hosts and the
visiting Oil Kings.
After the Raiders evened up the series at 2-2 in Game 4, the Prince Albert fans were equal to the Raiders players for being on their game in a Game 5 romp in “Hockey Town North.”
After the Raiders evened up the series at 2-2 in Game 4, the Prince Albert fans were equal to the Raiders players for being on their game in a Game 5 romp in “Hockey Town North.”
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| Noah Gregor was clutch for the Raiders in Game 4. |
Edmonton was a tough challenge having finished first in the Central Division and fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 record. The Oil Kings were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
Kudos to head
coach Marc Habscheid and the Raiders coaching staff by just letting their
players watch the video of the Game 3 loss and then discuss their thoughts
before Game 4. The Raiders have a tight bunch and the visuals from Game 3 made
them realize they didn’t want to go down playing like that.
Now, the
Raiders are back in top gear heading into the WHL Championship series against
the Vancouver Giants. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser
Centre in Prince Albert.
Meet the Giants
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| Bowan Byram is a Giants star defenceman. |
The series
is a tough one to predict as the two side met just once in the regular season
due to playing in separate conferences. On Jan. 24, the Giants downed the
Raiders 3-1 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
Davis Koch
scored twice for the Giants in that contest including an empty-net goal, while
Brayden Watts had a single. Captain Brayden Pachal replied for the Raiders in
that contest.
Trent Miner
made 31 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Giants. Ian Scott turned away
25-of-27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.
The Raiders
followers will likely not know a whole lot about the Giants due to the fact
they make an appearance in Prince Albert once every second season. With that in
mind, here are some basics about the Giants.
The Giants
finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings at 48-15-3-2 and
were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
Barclay
Parneta is the Giants first year general manager, and he has a lengthy career
in hockey scouting in the WHL and NHL.
Michael
Dyck is in his first year as the head coach of the Giants. He guided the
Lethbridge Hurricanes as head coach for four seasons from 2005 to 2009 and led
the Hurrcanes to an appearance in the WHL final in 2008.
Dyck has
coached hockey at various levels in high level capacities, and he is a very
talented bench boss.
Koch is a
star overage right-winger for the Giants, and he led his team in regular season
scoring with 28 goals and 50 assists for 78 points to go with a plus-16 rating
in the plus-minus department. He has two goals and 15 assists in the Giants 15
post-season games.
Milos Roman
is a star Slovakian import centre who posted 27 goals 33 assists and a plus-19
rating in 59 regular season games.
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| Dylan Plouffe is a steady defenceman for the Giants. |
Sophomore offensive defenceman Bowen Byram has had a breakout season. The skilled 17-year-old finished second in Giants team scoring in the regular season with 26 goals and 45 assists for 71 points to go with a plus-33 rating.
Byram tops
the Giants in post-season scoring with seven goals and 11 assists in the club’s
15 games. He has a plus-10 rating as well. He is a hot prospect for the
upcoming NHL Entry Draft earning the number two ranking among North American
skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.
The Giants
added 18-year-old defenceman Seth Bafaro in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades
partway through the season. In 55 regular season games between the Blades and
Giants, Bafaro has six goals, six assists and a plus-nine rating.
Dylan Plouffe is another steady rearguard. He posted eight goals, 27 assists and a plus-10 rating in 63 regular season games. Plouffe has four goals, nine assists and a plus-three rating in the Giants 15 playoff games.
Dylan Plouffe is another steady rearguard. He posted eight goals, 27 assists and a plus-10 rating in 63 regular season games. Plouffe has four goals, nine assists and a plus-three rating in the Giants 15 playoff games.
David
Tendeck has emerged as the Giants go-to guy in goal during the post-season. The
NHL Draft selection of the Arizona Coyotes appeared in 38 regular season games
posting a 24-10-3 record, a 2.48 goals against average, a .911 save percentage
and four shutouts.
In 10
playoff appearances, Tendeck has posted an 8-2 record, a 2.14 goals against
average and a .921 save percentage.
The Giants
will pose a significant challenge to the Raiders.
Two hot points made Lauer fine big
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| Officials in Game 5 were targeted by Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer. |
After the
Oil Kings dropped a 4-0 decision to the Raiders in Game 5 of the Eastern
Conference final last Friday, Lauer expressed his displeasure with the
officials. Lauer was upset the Raiders were awarded three power plays in that
contest, while his squad didn’t have any power-play chances.
For the
majority of his post-game scrum with reporters following the game, Lauer went
off on the officials. The next day, he was fined $1,500 by the WHL office.
One of the
reasons for the steep fine was the following comment.
“I’m not saying we didn’t deserve penalties,” said Lauer.
“I’m not saying that.
“The calls they called on us there were infractions going
against us the same way, and they didn’t get called. To me, that is a choice.”
When Lauer
said that line, he was claiming the officials on the ice made a choice to not
call penalties on the Raiders in order to hurt the Oil Kings. That struck at
the integrity of referees Brett Iverson and Mark Pearce along with linesmen
Sean Dufour and Deion Foster.
As a
result, the fine was going to be a big one.
The other
part that cost Lauer was this comment.
“The head officials were here, there should be an evaluation
there too,” said Lauer. “For me, it is unacceptable to be in the third round to
have zero power plays.”
For me, that was the first time I’ve ever heard a goal go
after the officials supervisors that were at the game. WHL officiating
development coach Tom Kowal and officiating supervisor Tim Tisdale were present
for Game 5.
Lauer’s comment here likely caused a bigger fine.
It should be noted Lauer doesn’t usually criticize the officials.
He is a really good interview and very accommodating.
For my two cents, I was good with the job the officials did in
Game 5 of that series, and I didn’t think the work of the officials had an
effect on the Raiders winning that series against the Oil Kings.
There was only one mess up in Game 2, when a late first
period goal by Oil Kings overage centre Andrew Fyten should have been waved off
due to incidental contact on the goaltender. Edmonton won that contest 4-3 in
overtime.
Still, it took looking at various replays and still photos
to come to that conclusion on that play.
Gavlas earns shot to be overager next season
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| Parker Gavlas had a good season with the Oil Kings. |
The
19-year-old defenceman entered this past season with very limited experience on
the WHL front. The Saskatoon product suited up for eight regular season games
and three post-season contests in 2017-18 with the Regina Pats, who were
hosting that season’s Memorial Cup.
Gavlas, who
stands 6-feet and weighs 184 pounds, spent most of the 2017-18 campaign in the
junior A ranks appearing in 35 regular season games with the Yorkton Terriers
recording one goal and 11 assists.
He made the
Pats as a 19-year-old rookie this season, but the Pats, who are in the midst of
a major rebuild, were doing whatever they could to round out a roster.
Gavlas
appeared in 12 regular season games with the Pats collecting an assist and
posting a minus-three rating in the plus-minus department.
Last Nov.
9, Gavlas was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings in exchange for an eighth round
pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.
In
Edmonton, Gavlas took off. In 46 regular season games with the Oil Kings,
Gavlas posted one goal and nine assists to go with a plus-15 rating.
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| Parker Gavlas became a solid defensive defenceman for the Oil Kings. |
Gavlas
became a solid defensive defenceman who played big shutdown minutes. He was a
regular on Edmonton’s penalty killing unit as well.
He brought
a physical edge too. In the Oil Kings six game WHL Eastern Conference final loss
to the Prince Albert Raiders, Gavlas often mixed it up with Raiders power
forward Parker Kelly.
Over the
course of the season, Gavlas went from roster throw in to a sound roster
regular. He did enough to be seriously considered for one of the league’s 66
overage spots next season.
Edmonton
could potentially return six players from their current roster to compete for
the team’s three overage spots next season. He could return for a second season
with the Oil Kings.
It will be
interesting to see where he lands when the annual overage shuffle gets
underway.
Raiders sweep WHL player of the week awards
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| Aliaksei Protas, left, was all smiles after a memorable week. |
Import
Belarusian left-winger Aliaksei Protas was named the player of the week for the
week of April 22 to Sunday.
Protas earned
the honours with two big games. On Friday, he had his first career WHL hat
trick and an assist to power the Raiders to a 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oil
Kings in Game 5 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series at the Art
Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.
In Game 6
on Sunday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Protas had a hat trick in the Raiders
4-2 series clinching victory over the Oil Kings.
Over the
Raiders 16 post-season games to date, the “Viper” from Vitebsk leads the WHL with 11 goals, while
adding four assists and posting a plus-11 rating.
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| Ian Scott was the goaltender of the week for the WHL. |
Raiders
star netminder Ian Scott was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week
running from April 22 to Sunday. During that span of time, Scott appeared in
four games recording a 3-1 record, a 2.00 goals against average, a .935 save
percentage stopping 115 of 123 shots fired his way and one shutout.
In 49
regular season appearances with the Raiders, Scott posted a 38-8-3 record, a
1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.
Over the
Raiders 16 post-season games, Scott has recorded a 12-4 record, a 1.85 goals
against average, a .930 save percentage and three shutouts.
Scott has a
signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Early season Raiders column popular
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| Parker Kelly salutes the fans at the Art Hauser Centre. |
Back on
October 5, 2018, I wrote a column titled “As always – The song in Prince Albert
is “Go Raiders Go.””
The piece was
typed out that night after the Raiders had downed the Hurricanes in Lethbridge
5-1 to improve to 7-0. The column touched on a thought that this could turn out
to be a special season for the Raiders.
I wrote that
the Raiders fans should embrace this team and the team should embrace the fans,
because the memories that could be made.
For the
rest of the regular season, the Raiders were in standing room territory on most
nights averaging 2,615 spectators per game at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre for
34 home dates. In the playoffs, the Raiders are averaging 3,247 spectators over
eight home games.
The Raiders
topped the overall WHL standings with a 54-10-4-4 record and were rated second
in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
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| Raiders fans enjoy a fun moment at the Art Hauser Centre. |
Over the
course of the season, I’ve had a number of Raiders fans come up to me and tell
me they loved that column. They said it got them pumped up for the season and
motivated early on to head to the rink.
If the
piece helped a few Raiders fan to soak in what has been a special campaign for
pretty much the whole season, I am happy about that. I hope the fans embraced
and have enjoyed every moment and will continue to enjoy the action that will
hit the ice in May.
If you want
to check out that early season piece, you can do so by clicking right here.
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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