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| The Raiders celebrate a goal on Friday night. |
Way back on
March 6, 2020, the Raiders dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Brandon Wheat
Kings at the Hauser. Prince Albert sat first in the WHL’s East Division at the
time and was skating through a great follow up season after capturing the WHL
Championship in the 2018-19 campaign.
The 2,795
spectators that were in the 2,580 seat facility that night had no idea they
wouldn’t see the Raiders play at home again for another 574 days.
The Raiders
hit the road for two contests before the WHL season was first postponed on
March 12, 2020 before the rest of the 2019-20 campaign was outright cancelled
due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that had gripped the world.
For the
2020-21 campaign, the Raiders played an abbreviated 24-game regular season in a
bubble format in Regina against the WHL’s four other Saskatchewan franchises
and the circuit’s two clubs from Manitoba.
On Friday,
the Raiders finally played a meaningful game at the Art Hauser Centre hosting
the Regina Pats in the regular season opener for both clubs.
Prince
Albert raised a banner for finishing first in the East Division in the 2019-20
campaign. A total of 2,578 spectators came out to see the host side fall 3-1.
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| Keaton Sorensen soaked in playing in front of the Raiders faithful |
When the
first shutdowns started to happen in North America to battle the COVID-19
pandemic on March 11 and 12, 2020, there had to be fear at that time the sports
world in North America might change forever, which could include the loss of
the Raiders and many other teams.
The
attachment to seeing Raiders games at the Hauser is intensified, when you
realize the building had its signature moment just two years ago. Of course,
that moment occurred on May 13 when Dante Hannoun scored the overtime winner
for the Raiders in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series against the Vancouver
Giants.
Hannoun’s
tally gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory and a night the Raiders and their faithful
will remember forever as they captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
There had
to be a fear that those types of magical moments might not come true.
Most of the
worst case fears on the North American sports front didn’t come true
thankfully.
When the
Raiders did take the ice at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday, their faithful
brought the great atmosphere that the building is known for.
 |
| Dallyn Peekeekoot jets up ice for the Raiders. |
Following
Friday’s game, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said the absence makes you
cherish the time spent at the legendary rink that much more.
“Sometimes
in life, you take things for granted,” said Habscheid. “You don’t really
appreciate them until it gets taken away.
“It got
taken away from us for a year and a half. I think everyone whether it be the
players, the staff, the coaches, the fans and everybody realizes that it is
pretty special to be able to play.”
Veteran
19-year-old left-winger Keaton Sorensen was acquired in an off-season trade
from his hometown Red Deer Rebels, and he played his first regular season game
as a member of the Raiders on Friday. He enjoyed the atmosphere the fans
brought.
“It was an
awesome change,” said Sorensen, who scored the Raiders lone goal on Friday night. “Playing in front of no fans is tough with
gaining kind of energy.
“You kind of had to make you own energy, so having fans behind us was a great change for sure.”
There were
so many aspects of the Hauser that were missed. They include how the Ches Leach
Lounge was the perfect social hub, the concession food which has often been
tabbed the best on the WHL circuit and hearing “The Song In Prince Albert is Go
Raiders Go” echo in the building’s rafters.
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| Remy Aquilon salutes the fans during pre-game on Friday. |
If you are a hockey fan, seeing a Raiders game at the Art Hauser Centre is one of those bucket list things you have to do.
You get to feel the WHL atmosphere at its
best.
It is warms
the heart to know many more special memories can be made at this fabled hockey
home in “Hockey Town North.”
Pats finishing kick does in P.A.
 |
| Sloan Stanick scored twice for the Pats on Saturday. |
In a game
seen national on CBC from the Brandt Centre in Regina, the two sides were
locked in a 2-2 draw until the 14:22 mark of the second period, when Pats
right-winger Sloan Stanick scored his second of the afternoon to give the hosts
a 3-2 lead.
Pats left-winger
Zack Stringer scored 37 seconds into the third period, and 16-year-old phenom
centre Connor Bedard found the back of the net at the 13:30 mark of the third
to give the Pats a 5-2 victory to the delight 4,292 spectators in attendance.
Wiesblatt
returned to the Raiders after been at the training camp of the NHL’s San Jose
Sharks, and Vitelli, who is an overager, came back after attending the NHL training
camp of the Arizona Coyotes.
Wiesblatt,
who is a right-winger, and Vitelli, who is a centre, scored singles for the
Raiders in the setback.
Stanick had
an assist to go with his two goals for the Pats. Regina centre Cole Carrier had
a goal and two assists in the win.
Carter
Serhyenko made 29 stops to take the setback in goal for the Raiders (0-2). Matthew
Kieper turned away 19 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Pats (2-0).
The Pats
downed the Raiders 3-1 the previous night in Prince Albert. The Raiders
departed Prince Albert at 6:15 a.m. on Saturday to make the 1 p.m. start in
Regina.
Prince
Albert’s two best defencemen are still away at NHL training camps including
Kaiden Guhle, who is at Montreal Canadiens camp, and Nolan Allan, who is at
Chicago Blackhawks camp.
The Raiders
return to action this coming Friday, when they travel to Brandon to take on the
Wheat Kings. The Pats are next in action on Wednesday, when they travel to
Winnipeg to take on the Ice.
Raiders alternate jersey with traditional logo
gets axed
 |
| The Raiders wear throwback uniforms on Feb. 15, 2019. |
On Friday, the Raiders launched new home, away and alternate third jerseys. The alternate jersey was patterned after the uniform the team wore from 1982 through to the end of the 1995-96 campaign.
That era included the Raiders Memorial Cup win as CHL Champions in 1985. The Raiders are celebrating 50 years of existence, and the return of their traditional logo was part of those festivities to mark the club’s history.
The alternate jersey contained the Raiders traditional logo, which depicts an Arab on skates holding a sword in one hand a hockey stick in the other. The logo was designed in the Raiders third season 1973-74, when the club was still in the junior A ranks skating in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
On Saturday
night at 9:29 p.m. Saskatchewan time, the WHL issued a statement from
commissioner Ron Robison regarding the Raiders new alternate uniform.
“On Friday
night the Prince Albert Raiders unveiled an alternate third jersey, which was
inspired by a highly successful era in club history,” said Robson. “We
recognized the dated design is insensitive and offensive.
“After consultation
with the Prince Albert Raiders, this uniform and brand will be discontinued
effective immediately. On behalf of the WHL and the Prince Albert Raiders, we
regret this uniform design was approved and sincerely apologize for any harm it
may have caused.”
The release
said there would be no further comment from the WHL or the Raiders.
The Raiders
last wore a uniform like their now discontinued alternates for about a couple
of games in their 2018-19 WHL Championship season.
The Raiders
did get into hot water over their traditional logo before. In late 2014, the
Raiders unveiled a new mascot named “Boston Raider” which was patterned heavily
after the old logo.
Due to a
national uproar, the mascot was mothballed shortly after being unveiled.
By the
sounds of the statement by Robson late Saturday night, it appeared the
traditional logo will be discontinued along with the alternate jersey. The
Raiders still sold a lot of merchandise featuring the team’s traditional logo.
In Prince
Albert, it is safe to say the traditional logo is revered there, and a lot of
people in that northern Saskatchewan city will be upset about news from late
Saturday night.
The WHL’s
statement on the alternate Raiders jersey was posted on Twitter, and the lynch
mob has chimed in there with outrage the alternate jersey was approved.
It in the
climate of the current world, it was getting harder each passing day for the
Raiders to bring back their traditional logo. Outside of Prince Albert, the
opposition to the logo is quite large, and it has become large enough that the
team’s activities get grounded to a halt dealing with the criticism.
It seemed
like what happened on Saturday was inevitable.
Back in Daily Herald
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| My column in the Prince Albert Daily Herald last Wednesday. |
I will be writing columns on the WHL for the Daily Herald, which will appear every second Wednesday. I was a sports reporter for the Daily Herald from 2001 to 2004, and the crew there is a fantastic bunch.
Back in 2019, I got to write pieces for the special section the Daily Herald put out when the Raiders went to the Memorial Cup. I also wrote a column for the publications 125th anniversary.
My column this past Wednesday focused on the Art Hauser Centre being one of the WHL’s last great storied rinks and the hype train for Regina Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard is a good thing for the circuit.
That column can be found 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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