Banner battles are fun, Raiders fight for East Division title

The Raiders celebrate a goal in their game last Friday.

Being in the chase for banners is fun and winning banners is even more fun.

The WHL regular season is heading down its final straightaway, and the Prince Albert Raiders are in a heated race for first place in the East Division. Entering play on Tuesday, the Raiders (33-20-5-1) hold down first place in the East with a one standings point lead over the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-19-4-3).

Sitting three points back of the Raiders and two points back of the Wheat Kings are the Saskatoon Blades (31-20-2-4). Both the Wheat Kings and the Blades have a game in hand on the Raiders.

Basically, the team that plays the hottest down the stretch will take the division title. The club that wins the East Division will also be the second seed in the WHL’s Eastern Conference for the first round of the playoffs.

That is a big prize considering the fact that the first place finisher will be the only East Division team with home ice advantage for the first round of the post-season. The top three teams in the Central Division sit ahead of the Raiders in the Medicine Hat Tigers (41-17-3-1), the Calgary Hitmen (39-15-3-3) and the Lethbridge Hurricanes (38-19-2-2).

This story of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click right here.