Hughes rains on Raiders party in Blades season opening OT win

The Blades celebrate an OT winner from Ryan Hughes, centre.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Ryan Hughes spoiled the championship banner raising party for the Prince Albert Raiders.

    On Friday night before a standing room crowd of 3,108 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, the speedy overage right-winger scored 17 seconds into overtime to lift the Saskatoon Blades to a 3-2 victory over their archrivals in the WHL regular season opening game for both sides.

    Hughes took a drop pass from overage defenceman Scott Walford in his own zone, zipped through the centre ice zone down the left wing, and roofed a shot to the top right corner of the Raiders goal past netminder Boston Bilous.

    Before Friday’s contest, the Raiders raised four banners for finishing first in the East Division, first in the WHL regular season standings, winning the WHL Eastern Conference title and the WHL championship last season.

Ryan Hughes starts his winning goal offensive rush.

    “Walford and I talked about that play there to go underneath and drop it,” said Hughes about his goal in the three-versus-three session. “I just saw that there was a forward skating backwards, and I kind of beat him wide.

    “I took a shot and it went in. It was nice.”

    Hughes said he was checking out his options as he came up the ice before deciding the situation was right to go coast-to-coast.

    “I kind of have to evaluate the puck on three on three,” said Hughes, who picked up assists on the Blades two regulation goals. “Once I got it and I saw I was skating against a forward, I just tried to get him wide.

    “I got a step on him and just took a shot.  Usually, I wouldn’t take that shot, but I’m lucky it went in.”

    Between the regular season and playoffs, the Blades fell in all seven of their visits to P.A. in the 2018-19 campaign. Saskatoon’s last win in “Hockey Town North” was by a 2-1 decision on March 16, 2018.

    Hughes was pleased his team could get that monkey off their collective backs.

    “It is a tough place to play for sure,” said Hughes. “It was tough tonight, and it was tough all year last year.

Scott Walford had the assist on the Blades OT winner.

    “It is nice for me to get my first win in this rink with the Blades.”

    The teams played through a feeling out type first period where the Raiders held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.

    The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 4:25 mark of the second period when import centre Aliaksei Protas blew home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

    The Blades evened things up a 1-1 just over two minutes later when right-winger Tristen Robins converted a backdoor feed on the power play from overage defenceman Nolan Kneen. The assist was Kneen’s 100th career regular season point in the WHL coming in his 250^th career game.

Aliaksei Protas had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

    Shortly after Robins goal, Blades star netminder Nolan Maier robbed Raiders import centre Ilya Usau with a sprawling save. The scoring chance came after the Blades turned the puck over in their own zone.

    Blades head coach Mitch Love expected his team would experience some bumps in Friday’s opener.

    “It wasn’t pretty at times for probably both teams,” said Love, whose team is rated third in the CHL’s pre-season Top 10 rankings. “I’ve often said this weekend is a bit of an unpredictable event. You have a lot of kids playing in front of big crowds for the first time.

    “It is opening weekend and lots of family is in town. There are a lot of nerves. Obviously, (there was) the presentation here tonight for the defending champions.”
    Just past the midway point of the second, the Raiders went ahead 2-1 on a nifty play from rookie 17-year-old defenceman Landon Kosior. Kosior got the puck, pinched into the slot and sniped a shot past Maier.
    The tally was Kosior’s first career WHL goal.

Landon Kosior scored his first career WHL goal on Friday.

    The rivalry came to the forefront in a pronounced way in the third period. At the 2:37 mark of the third, Blades left-winger Randen Schmidt took on Raiders rookie defenceman Braydon Clark in a spirited fight.

    At the 7:28 mark of the third, two unexpected combatants went at it as Blades left-winger Kjell Kjemhus took on Raiders rookie defenceman Nolan Allan.

    After those two bouts, the Blades evened things up at 2-2 at the 10:11 mark of the third, when Walford fired home a floater through a screen from the point. That set the stage for Hughes’s heroics in the extra session.

    Bilous made 15 saves in goal for the Raiders. Maier turned away 18 shots in goal for the Blades.

    “It has been a long time since we found a win in this building,” said Love. “It is something our guys are pretty happy about tonight.”

    The only down part for the Blades was veteran centre Eric Florchuk left the game in the first period with an injury. Love said Florchuk will be re-evaluated when his club returns home to Saskatoon.

The Blade celebrate their OT win on Friday night.

    “I haven’t heard anything,” said Love. “He (Florchuk) seemed to be in good spirits after the game with his teammates, which is a good sign, but we will find out more in the morning.”

    The Blades and Raiders go at it again in Saskatoon on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. That contest will be the home opener for the Blades.

    Hughes would like to see his team get after the Raiders right out of the gate.

    “Obviously, we need a faster start,” said Hughes. “I think that will be a big easier with our crowd behind us.

    “That is what we are going to look to do and see how it goes.”

Raiders captain Pachal inks NHL deal with Vegas

Brayden Pachal, left, signed an NHL contract on Friday.

    Prince Albert Raiders overage captain Brayden Pachal signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

    Last season, Pachal appeared in 66 regular season games for the Raiders posting 15 goals, 36 assists and a plus-76 rating in the plus-minus department. In the WHL post-season, Pachal suited up in all 23 games the Raiders played recording one goal, seven assists and a plus-12 rating.

    With Pachal as the Raiders leader, Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL last season with a 54-10-2-2 mark and captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup in the WHL playoffs to become league champions. That marked the first time the Raiders accomplished both those feats since the 1984-85 campaign.

    The Raiders won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1984-85. At last year’s Memorial Cup in Halifax, N.S., the Raiders posted an 0-3 record against a tough field. Pachal had a goal and two assists in that event.

    Pachal began his WHL career in the 2015-16 campaign with the Victoria Royals, and he came to the Raiders in a trade on Jan. 9, 2017 in his second campaign.

    In 239 career regular season games split with the Royals and Raiders, Pachal had 26 goals, 72 assists and a plus-67 rating.

    He was in Prince Albert on Friday night to take part in the Raiders pre-game banner raising festivities. He will be heading to camp with the Knights AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves.

    Pachal could still be eventually assigned to the Raiders for his overage campaign.

Love, Habscheid hit frenemies territory

Blades HC Mitch Love will be the HC of Team WHL.

    Mitch Love and Marc Habscheid are going to be frenemies.

    On Friday, the WHL and Hockey Canada announced that the 35-year-old Love, who is the head coach of the Saskatoon Blades, and the 56-year-old Habscheid, who is the head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders, will be working on the same staff together guiding the WHL team that will play in the annual Canada versus Russia series.

    Love will be the head coach of the WHL squad, while Habscheid will be an assistant coach along with Regina Pats head coach Dave Struch. Struch was a former Blades star forward, assistant coach and head coach.

    The WHL squad hosts Team Russia on Nov. 13 in Saskatoon and Nov. 14 in Prince Albert.

    Last season, the Raiders eliminated their archrivals in the Blades taking a best-of-seven second round series 4-2. During that series, Love and Habscheid fired verbal barbs at each other.

    Habscheid said the Blades players like to dive, while Love countered saying the Raiders like to go head hunting.

Raiders HC Marc Habscheid will be an AC for Team WHL.

    After that series, the Raiders moved on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

Love chuckles about what happened in the post-season now.

    “Of course, we had some fun with each other last year through the media in that playoff series,” said Love during a media conference on Friday morning at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. “The one thing that people maybe don’t understand is how much respect I have for Marc (Habscheid) and obviously Dave (Struch) himself.

    “Those are guys that have done a lot of things at this level along with international hockey, and I look up to (them). I’m real excited to get a chance to work with those guys, and I’m sure a lot of people are going to wonder about that relationship on that bench.”

    Love said he is looking forward to being the head coach of the WHL side, and believe it or not, he is pumped out the chance to work with Habscheid and Struch.

    “It is an extreme honour,” said Love. “I take a lot of pride in being a western Canadian boy working in the Western Hockey League whether as a player or now as a coach.

    “To get an opportunity from (WHL commissioner) Ron (Robison) along with Hockey Canada to be the head coach of this team is real exciting. I’m looking forward to working with the players that will be involved and obviously our staff her throughout the league.”

    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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Montgomery soaked in farewell lap with WHL champion Raiders

Sean Montgomery skates with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – For Sean Montgomery, his first days and season with the Prince Albert Raiders seem like they are from another lifetime.

    “I think most of all I was just kind of just shocked to be playing here,” said Montgomery. “I was just happy to be here.”

    Way back in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, the Raiders selected Montgomery in the sixth round and 114^th overall. The Calgary, Alta., product was going to have his chance to crack into the WHL, but there were no guarantees he would have a career in the major junior ranks.

    Montgomery made the Raiders in his 16-year-old season in 2014-15 collecting six goals and six assists for 12 points while posting a minus-four rating in the plus-minus department in 65 regular season games.

    The hard working centre would ultimately play a career record 345 regular season games for the Raiders netting 72 goals and 72 assists for 144 points and a plus-three rating.

    He skated in 35 career games in the WHL post-season posting 12 goals, nine assists and a plus-11 rating.

    Montgomery played in his final three games at this year’s Memorial Cup tournament in Halifax, N.S., for the Raiders picking up one goal in those outings.

    He had by far his most productive campaign as an overager this past season. In 67 regular season games, Montgomery posted 29 goals, 30 assists and a plus-41 rating.

Sean Montgomery leads the Raiders in career regular season games played.

    Over his five seasons with the Raiders, Montgomery became a solid two-way player. Looking back, Montgomery said he can’t remember too much about his first campaign, but he enjoyed being the elder statesman as a career member of the team in his final season.

    “It has been pretty cool,” said Montgomery. “I never thought I would get to that point, but I am here now.

    “I am just honoured to have that record.”

    With Montgomery having a big year, the Raiders had one of their best seasons ever since joining the WHL in the 1982-83 campaign.

    The Raiders topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record. The only time the club posted more regular season wins in the WHL came the only other time the squad finished first overall in the 1984-85 campaign, when the Raiders recorded a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.
    Prince Albert went on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup that season.

Sean Montgomery record 59 points in the regular season in 2018-19.

    During the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders topped the CHL’s Top 10 rankings for a number of weeks and were rated second in the final installment of those rankings.

    In the playoffs, the Raiders advanced on to win the WHL title for the second time in team history.
    Prince Albert captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in dramatic fashion on May 13.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun scored the overtime winner in Game 7 of the league final in a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

    During the club’s journey to reach the WHL’s peak, Raiders captain Brayden Pachal said Montgomery’s importance to the Raiders can’t be understated.

    “He (Montgomery) is a huge leader on our team,” said Pachal. “He has tonnes of games in this league.
    “He has the experience. He comes to play every single night. He battles, and that is the definition of a playoff guy.”

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said Montgomery has earned tonnes of respect for years of work he put in with the team and deserved to graduate from the major junior ranks as a league champion.

Sean Montgomery (#25) battles for a draw for the Raiders.

    “Look at Sean Montgomery and what he went through with the losing and the taunting,” said Habscheid. “If he would have lost (the WHL final), it wouldn’t have been right.

    “I’m really happy for him.”

    The Raiders missed the playoffs in Montgomery’s first and third seasons with the team, and he said persevering through those times helped his special final season materialize.

    “Whenever we did have 15 or 20 wins, it looked like a long shot, but those kind of helped us in the long run,” said Montgomery. “We just kept building off it, and now we are here.”

    Remembering those struggles, Montgomery said he soaked in and enjoyed every moment of his magical final season with the team.

    “It was a blast the whole time,” said Montgomery. “It was incredible.”

    After the Raiders bowed out of the Memorial Cup falling 5-2 to the OHL champion Guelph Storm in their final round robin game last Tuesday, Montgomery enjoyed the reception the team received from the fans upon returning to Prince Albert.

Sean Montgomery celebrates a hat trick goal against the Blades.

    Montgomery had fun seeing everyone that met the team bus at the Art Hauser Centre last Wednesday and taking part in a final rally for the team last Thursday at the club’s home rink.
    “It is pretty special,” said Montgomery. “We’ve come a long way, and we’re pretty proud of everyone.

    “We’ve had some tough years. To end it off on the most incredible year of my life, I can’t put it into words.”

    Now that his Raiders playing days have come to a completion, Montgomery said he wasn’t sure what waits ahead for him in the future as far as hockey goes. He planned to spend some down time in “Hockey Town North” before returning to Calgary.

    “I’m just going to enjoy the next few days, and then I am going to start to focus on what I am going to do next year,” said Montgomery. “I haven’t decided yet.”

Kelly sets sights on future with NHL’s Senators

Parker Kelly will likely find a home in the professional ranks next season.

    With the Prince Albert Raiders WHL championship winning season having come to a close, it has crossed Parker Kelly’s mind that he might have played his final game with the team.

    The 20-year-old power forward is eligible to return to the WHL for an overage season. With that noted, Kelly signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators back in September of 2017.

    The Camrose, Alta., product earned the contract as a free agent after having a good showing at the Senators development camp held in July of that year.

    It is highly likely Kelly will play in Ottawa’s system next season either with the NHL club, their AHL affiliate the Belleville Senators or their ECHL affiliate the Brampton Beast.

    Kelly will have to get used to a new head coach in Ottawa. On Thursday, the NHL Senators hired D.J. Smith to be the team’s new head coach. Smith has been an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

    “Obviously, that is the next chapter in my career,” said Kelly. “Hopefully, I can make it to part of their organization whether that is in Ottawa next year or in Belleville.

    “That is going to be the next chapter, and I am really looking forward to it. They just hired a new coach today. I’ll be looking forward to meeting him and getting back and seeing all my friends down there and hopefully kicking off a great career with the Senators organization.”

    Kelly has played four complete seasons with the Raiders appearing in 273 regular season games posting 93 goals and 95 assists for 188 points and a plus-50 rating in the plus-minus department.

    This past regular season, Kelly appeared in 64 games with the Raiders picking up career highs in goals (35), assists (32) and points (69) to go with a plus-42 rating. In the WHL playoffs, Kelly had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points to go with a plus-19 rating in 23 games.

Leason notes mom is the boss of the family household

Brett Leason said his mom, Rhonda, makes the family household run.

    Brett Leason might be a star right-winger for the Prince Albert Raiders, but he is quick to note his mom, Rhonda Leason, is the boss at home.

    Brett had a breakout season with the Raiders leading the team in regular season scoring in the 2018-19 campaign with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points to go with a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department. He topped the Raiders in scoring in the WHL playoffs with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points to go with a plus-six rating in 22 games.

    Father, Darryl Leason, was a star quarterback with the Regina Rams from 1992 to 1995 when the team was in the Canadian Junior Football League and with the University of Regina Rams in 2000 and 2001 when the squad joined the U Sports ranks. In between those stints with the Rams, Darryl was a star with the University of Calgary Dinos.

    While Brett and Darryl have fame from athletic pursuits, Brett said Rhonda is the one who is always right at home and makes sure everything runs well in the household.

    “I think she rules it pretty good,” said Brett.

    Both Brett and Darryl know that life is happy when Rhonda is happy. Brett, who turned 20 in late April, is expected to be an early selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

Habscheid said Simpson still “the man” with Raiders

Marc Habscheid gave props to Raiders coaching legend Terry Simpson.

    Marc Habscheid would never put himself ahead of the legendary former Prince Albert Raiders head coach and general manager, who has a street beside the club’s home rink named after him.

    Terry Simpson, who achieved legendary status as the Raiders head coach and general manager, said in an online CBC story on May 10 that the current team, “is probably a lot better coached than the team in 1985.”

    When the Raiders played in the junior A ranks, Simpson guided the club to Centennial Cup victories as national champions in 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1982. After the Raiders moved up to the major junior ranks and joined the WHL for the start of the 1982-83 season, Simpson guided the Raiders to WHL and Memorial Cup titles in the 1984-85 campaign.

    Simpson has a vast coaching resume that includes being a head coach in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Winnipeg Jets. One of the streets that runs beside the Art Hauser Centre is name Terry Simpson Lane.

    Habscheid has his own lengthy and impressive resume, but doesn’t put himself on Simpson’s level.

    “I don’t think so,” said Habscheid. “He (Simpson) has had a way better coaching career than me.”

    With that noted, Habscheid was proud his Raiders could win the club’s second WHL title this past season.

    “I’m just so happy for these kids,” said Habscheid. “I really am.

    “They are proud Raiders. They hung in there and faced a lot of adversity. Nobody picked us to do this at the beginning of the year.

    “We have four guys that have NHL allegiance, and they just kept believing. We have great players. A lot of these guys are going to get opportunities because of this and deservedly so.”

Huskies rally to win first Memorial Cup title 4-2

    The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies weren’t going to be denied.

    On Sunday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S., the QMJHL champion Huskies fell behind the host Halifax Mooseheads 2-0 before rallying for a 4-2 victory in the title game at the Memorial Cup tournament played before a sellout crowd of 10,595 spectators. The win gave the Huskies their first CHL championship in team history.

    The Huskies topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 59-8-0-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They won the best-of-seven QMJHL final 4-2 taking out the Mooseheads.

    The Mooseheads finished first in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference in the regular season with a 49-15-2-2 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    In Sunday’s clash in the Memorial Cup championship game, Samuel Asselin scored with 44 seconds remaining in the opening frame to give the Mooseheads a 1-0 lead. At the 5:26 mark of the second, Raphael Lavoie tallied to increase the Mooseheads edge to 2-0.

    From that point, the Huskies took over. Before the second period ended, Felix Bibeau and Joel Teasdale each netted singles for the Huskies to even the score at 2-2.

    At the 3:02 mark of the third, overage centre Peter Abbandonato scored the winning goal for the Huskies to put Rouyn-Noranda up 3-2. Just 2:01 later, the Huskies received an insurance goal from Vincent Marleau to round out the 4-2 final.

    Samuel Harvey made 23 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies, who posted a 4-1 record at the tournament. Alexis Gravel turned away 31 shots to take the setback in goal for the Mooseheads, who finished the tournament with a 2-2 mark.

    Teasdale was named the MVP of the Memorial Cup recording four goals, one assist and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in the Huskies five games.

    Huskies head coach Mario Pouliot became the first head coach to win back-to-back Memorial Cup titles with two different teams having guided the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to the CHL title last season.

    Huskies star offensive defenceman Noah Dobson was a member of the Acadie-Bathurst squad that won the Memorial Cup a year ago.

    Huskies import left-winger Jakub Lauko led the tournament in scoring with two goals and six assists for eight points to go along with a plus-three rating.
    Between action in the regular season, QMJHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament, the Huskies won eight of 10 head-to-head meetings with the Mooseheads.

    The tournament’s title game has been plagued off the ice by people trying to make a quick buck. Gregg Drinnan, who is the dean when it comes to covering the WHL, reported from a source on his Taking Note blog that a pair of tickets for today’s championship game was offered for sale at $1,500.

    On Thursday, CBC ran a story online stating it has found tickets for the title game of the Memorial Cup tournament being sold on resale sites for $1,000 each.

    Individual tickets for the Memorial Cup’s title game were running from $50 to $75 each at face value.

    Over the last 11 Memorial Cup tournaments, teams from the QMJHL and the OHL have won five titles each, while the WHL has claimed one championship.

    The next Memorial Cup will be hosted by the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets running from May 22 to 31, 2020 in Kelowna, B.C.

THE ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES ARE YOUR MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPS! pic.twitter.com/X4Rhm0Dr0X

— Memorial Cup presented by Kia (@CHLMemorialCup) May 27, 2019

    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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Legacy of spectacular Raiders season will live on forever

The Raiders celebrate winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The Prince Albert Raiders relished in a 2018-19 campaign that you couldn’t script for the most part.

    How could anyone envision a campaign that sees star netminder Ian Scott score a goal during the regular season.

    The same goes for winning a league title on home ice in Game 7 in overtime. That Raiders pulled that off on May 13 before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun had the honours of netting the winner with 1:35 remaining in overtime tapping home a backdoor feed at that right side of the Vancouver Giants goal. He converted a beauty pass from linemate Noah Gregor.

Brett Leason celebrated scoring a number of goals for the Raiders.

    Hannoun’s tally gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory and sent the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre into a joyful celebration that might have been unmatched in the history of the club’s storied home rink. It delivered the Ed Chynoweth Cup to the Raiders as WHL champions.

    That goal is destined to become the building’s signature moment and a legend that will live on forever in “Hockey Town North.”

    For the Raiders and their fans, it was a season under the sun that was a long time coming. Entering the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders hadn’t experienced a whole lot of success in the 13 previous campaigns missing the playoffs seven times and being eliminated in the first round six times.

    In the 2018 post-season, Prince Albert almost pulled off a major upset.

Noah Gregor had a stellar final WHL campaign for the Raiders.

    The Raiders, who were 32-27-9-4 in the 2017-18 regular season, went the distance before falling in seven games to the Moose Jaw Warriors, who led the 2017-18 WHL regular season standings at 52-15-2-3, in the first round.

    The Raiders were tied 4-4 late in the third period in that Game 7 with the Warriors before falling 5-4.

    Prince Albert entered the 2018-19 campaign with legitimate hopes of having a special season like when it advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series in 2005. The Raiders fell in seven games to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the conference final that year.

    The Raiders were carrying a core group of eight players in Brayden Pachal, who became the team’s captain this season, Parker Kelly, Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and Scott.

Dante Hannoun will always have a special place in the hearts of Raiders fans.

    That group was with the team in 2016-17 when the Raiders finished third last in the WHL with a 21-44-5-2 record.

    People in Prince Albert watched that likable and well-mannered group grow together and hoped their hard work would pay off in a big way with big accomplishments.

    Still, optimism was tempered. It seemed there was still a slight fear that maybe special seasons weren’t meant to come the Raiders way and that fate might ultimately conspire to bring down the team.

    No one expected the chips to fall like they did.

    The Raiders topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record.

Spencer Moe (#11) gets set to take a draw for the Raiders.

    The only time the club posted more regular season wins in the WHL came in the 1984-85 campaign, when the Raiders recorded a record of 58 wins, 11 losses and three ties.

    Prince Albert went on to win the WHL title and the Memorial Cup that season.

    During the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders topped the CHL’s Top 10 rankings for a number of weeks and were rated second in the final installment of those rankings.

    The fans in Prince Albert realized early that something special was at hand. They started to pack into the Art Hauser Centre early in the campaign, and the team averaged standing room crowds of 2,615 spectators over 34 regular season home dates.

Zack Hayes was solid defensively on the back end for the Raiders.

    It was a big jump from the 2,050 spectators the Raiders averaged for 36 home games in the 2017-18 campaign.

    During the 2019 playoffs, attendance at Raiders games never dipped below 3,000 over a run that included 12 home contests. The sellout figure of 3,289 became a fixed sight over the last 10 of those games as people brought in milk crates, stools and boxes to stand on to see the action on the ice.

    When doors opened an hour before game time, fans ran to get their standing room spots.

    Faith in the Raiders always existed in Prince Albert. The 2018-19 campaign finally saw that faith be rewarded and the fans soaked in every moment of the journey.

Sean Montgomery (#25) wins a battle on the boards for the Raiders.

    The Raiders received a shot in the arm with a breakout season by 19-year-old right-winger Brett Leason, who shot up to star status. He led the Raiders in regular season scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points, while posting a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department in 55 regular season games.

    Leason and Scott earned spots on Canada’s world junior team.

    In the WHL post-season, Leason emerged as the club’s top scorer there too with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 22 appearances.

    Gregor, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, showed he is ready for the next level piling up 43 goals and 45 assists for 88 points to go with a plus-49 rating in 63 regular season games.

The passion of the Raiders faithful could not be denied.

    The WHL rights to the star overage centre were acquired from the Victoria Royals last June.

    Hard-working career Raiders centre Sean Montgomery had a big personal season the squad’s followers were hoping would come his way. He piled up 29 goals and 30 assists for 59 points to go with a plus-41 rating in 67 regular season games.
    Import left-winger Aliaksei Protas took on hero status in the post-season netting 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points to go along with a plus-12 rating in 23 games in the WHL playoffs. 

    The Raiders had a starting six on defence that was one of the best in the CHL in Pachal, Hayes, Max Martin, Sergei Sapego, Jeremy Masella and Kaiden Guhle. They were arguably one of the best groups of six the Raider have ever placed on the ice to protect their back end.

The Raiders faithful cheer one of the team’s goals.

    Scott was a clutch last line of defence in goal.

    All the work of general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid came to fruition. The pair has worked together building the team since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    Habscheid joined the Raiders partway through the 2014-15 season and Hunt came up board before the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

    Both men have been popular with the fans in all their years with the team. Hunt was also a Raiders defenceman back in their 1984-85 Memorial Cup winning season.
    Even when you walk into the team’s business office, there is a warm family type feeling there among that group headed up by business manager Michael Scissons.

At times it felt like the fans were on top of Raiders goal celebrations.

    As a whole, the organization is all class. The class came through when deaths had an impact on the club.

    On April 6, 2018, Raiders prospect and defenceman Adam Herold passed away in the bus crash involving the junior A Humboldt Broncos. Herold played four career regular season games with the WHL club and made strong friendships during his time with the squad.

    Last summer, Habscheid’s father, Nicholas, passed away and the bench boss said his players were big in helping him through that.

    Last December, Ron Gunville, who was the Raiders director of player personnel, passed away as well. In March, former Raiders player, head coach and general manager Donn Clark passed away too. Clark was inducted on to the Raiders Wall of Fame in his final days of life.

    The memory of all four men was prevalent during the Raiders run to winning the WHL title.

Parker Kelly, left, and Brayden Pachal do their handshake after a win.

    When the Raiders won the WHL title, the team picture at centre ice with the Ed Chynoweth Cup was heartwarming. The family that was made up of good people was happy and on the league’s mountaintop sharing that moment with the community.
    The only thing the Raiders weren’t able to do was win the Memorial Cup. They went 0-3 in the CHL championship tournament.

    That will ultimately just be an epilogue.

    The overriding memory of the 2018-19 season will be the fact the Raiders finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings and won the league crown both for the second time in team history. It has been a 34-year wait for the Raiders and their fans to go through those experiences again.

    The Raiders received a shot in the arm, and it was deserved shot that was long overdue. “Hockey Town North” is once again a force on the hockey map.

Scott claims CHL goaltender of the year honours

Ian Scott earned CHL goaltender of the year honours for the stops he made.

    Ian Scott achieved a first for the Prince Albert Raiders, when it came to the CHL awards.

    On Saturday, the CHL’s major individual awards were handed out as part of the Memorial Cup tournament festivities going on in Halifax, N.S., and Scott was named the winner of the goaltender of the year award.

    The Calgary product, who turned 20-years-old in January, became the first goalie from the Raiders to ever win the CHL goaltender of the year award, which was first handed out in the 1987-88 campaign.

    Scott, who has signed an NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, had an outstanding season posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Ian Scott makes a kick save during a post-season game in Edmonton.

    His goals against average, save percentage and shutout totals were all regular season club records.

    In his 49 regular season appearances, Scott, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 183 pounds, collected two assists, and he scored a goal. Scott scored his goal shooting the puck into an empty net in the Raiders 3-1 victory at the Art Hauser Centre on Nov. 16, 2018.

    During the WHL playoffs, Scott continued his impressive performance. He played in all of the Raiders 23 games in the WHL post-season posting a 16-7 record, a 1.96 goals against average, a .925 save percentage and five shutouts.
    When the Raiders won the WHL title, Scott was named the MVP of the WHL playoffs.

Ian Scott stops a shot in Game 7 of the WHL final.

    Scott has played in four complete seasons with the Raiders. Over that time, he has appeared in 175 career regular season games posting an 87-64-14 record, a 2.90 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and 11 shutouts.

    Scott is the Raiders all-time career leader in regular season victories. He is eligible to return to the WHL for an overage season, but he is expected to play next season somewhere in the Leafs professional system.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was nominated for Brian Kilrea coach of the year award, but that honour went to Mario Pouliot, who is the head goal of the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
    Bowen Byram, who is a Vancouver Giants defenceman, was named the top prospect. Jason Robertson of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs claimed honours as the top scorer.

Ian Scott, left, took MVP honours in the WHL playoffs.

    Justin Almeida of the Moose Jaw Warriors picked up the sportsman of the year award. Charle-Edouard D’Astrous of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic claimed honours as the humanitarian of the year.

    Netminder Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips was named the scholastic player of the year. Quinton Byfield of the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves claimed rookie of the year honours.

    Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs took home the defenceman of the year award. Alexis Lafreniere of the Oceanic was named the player of the year.

    The Memorial Cup title game will conclude the CHL’s 2018-19 campaign. It is set for Sunday and features the Huskies taking on the host Halifax Mooseheads in an all-QMJHL tilt (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet).

    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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Raiders’ core group enjoyed journey to WHL’s peak

Raiders LW Parker Kelly, right, always makes time for the fans.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Parker Kelly is in his element, when he is amongst the fans.

    The Prince Albert Raiders power forward, who recently turned 20-years-old, soaked in every moment of a rally held for the team on Thursday night at the Art Hauser Centre. The rally concluded with the Raiders players signing autographs for a lengthy stretch after the formal part of the program for the fans.

    Kelly was smiling away and being his jovial self, while greeting the team’s supporters. The Camrose, Alta., product was intent on signing every autograph request and satisfying every picture query.

Parker Kelly in action for the Raiders in the WHL final.

    Thursday’s rally attracted about 600 fans, but sometimes it was hard to pin down the estimate. It was obvious some of the team’s faithful came fresh from games at the neighbouring softball fields as young players were still wearing the uniforms of their local minor ball teams.

    Some came from the neighbouring track facility and were wearing their track and field gear.

    Kelly was happy to see all the supporters, who came down to celebrate what was a special and remarkable season for the Raiders.

    After going through a 13-year stretch where they missed the playoffs seven times and were eliminated in the first round six times starting in 2006, the Raiders had their season in the sun in 2018-19.

    They finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

The Raiders faithful give their team a standing ovation on Thursday.

    They won the WHL final in a 3-2 victory in overtime in Game 7 against the Vancouver Giants with overage centre Dante Hannoun scoring the winner. With that win, the Raiders captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Prince Albert advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament in Halifax, N.S. and bowed out after posting an 0-3 record. The Raiders closed play at the Memorial Cup on Tuesday falling 5-2 to the OHL champions Guelph Storm.

    Kelly was pumped to see the turnout on the final night the 2018-19 Raiders would get together as some members of the team were slated to start returning home on Friday.

Raiders fans had their picture taken with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    “It is unbelievable,” said Kelly. “It is kind of starting to sink in now.

    “You see all the people here after a long work day coming to support us, a little celebration we had tonight, it is really cool to see all the support we have and how many people love coming to watch us play. We appreciate it so much.

    “It is such an underrated town. It has to be one of the best places to play, when it is packed. We really appreciate these guys.”

    Kelly was part of a core group of eight players that were with the Raiders in 2016-17, when the club finished third last in the WHL with a 21-44-5-2 record. The other members from that group included Brayden Pachal, who became the team’s captain this season, Zack Hayes, Max Martin, Spencer Moe, Cole Fonstad, Sean Montgomery and netminder Ian Scott.

    Together, they pushed the Raiders into the playoffs with a 32-27-9-4 regular season record in 2017-18, where they fell in a heartbreaking seven game first round series to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Raiders centre Sean Montgomery, right, satisfies a fan request.

    That set the stage for the magical campaign in 2018-19, where the Raiders topped the WHL standings and won the WHL title for the first time since the 1984-85 campaign. The 1984-85 Raiders were able to capture the Memorial Cup as CHL champions.

    Kelly was part of the team’s WHL Bantam Draft class in 2014 with Scott and Hayes and was proud the core group from the 2016-17 campaign could grow and persevere.

    “I go back to what Habby (Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid) said in his interview about us getting sand kicked in our faces and us being made fun of,” said Kelly. “All I can just say is look at us now - we’re champs.

    “We’re going to have rings on our figures. I’ve been through thick and thin with those guys, and you know what, we’re going to be brothers for life.”

Sean Montgomery was a heart and soul career Raiders player.

    Montgomery is the elder statesman of the entire Raiders team. The Calgary, Alta., product was selected in the sixth round and 114^th overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.

    He would go on to play a team record 345 career regular season games for the Raiders collecting 72 goals and 72 assists. Montgomery enjoyed sharing the ride with the core group of eight that has been together since the 2016-17 season.

    “That has been awesome,” said Montgomery. “We’ve had a few tough years, but we learned from those years and grew from them and now we won.”

    The Raiders acquired Pachal in a trade with the Victoria Royals on Jan. 9, 2017. Pachal remembered the taunts he first endured with the Raiders after joining them for the second half of the 2016-17 campaign.

    “We didn’t forget that, and now we are at the top,” said Pachal. “We lost with class, and now we’ve won with class.

Captain Brayden Pachal addresses the team’s faithful on Thursday.

    “It is an amazing feeling. Obviously, becoming close with all those core guys is amazing, but at the same time it is tough. There are a lot of us that won’t be back next year.

    “We played our last game as a group together. It is a tough one. It is bittersweet.”

    Habscheid has gotten emotional talking about his team since the club concluded play at the Memorial Cup. He has a big sense of pride for his players and what they accomplished this season.

    The veteran bench boss said it has been fun seeing the journey the core group of eight has been on together since the 2016-17 season.

    “We just stayed with it,” said Habscheid. “We just kept believing and kept working.

    “You know hard work pays off, and it showed. These guys are league champions, and they resurrected a franchise that needed a little shot in the arm. They provided that for the franchise and for the city.”
    Kelly admitted there were stretches this season where he was really locked in and focused on the task at hand.

A scene that will be remembered forever in Prince Albert.

    During those stretches where the team is working hard day after day, Kelly said he might have not taken enough time to reflect how fun the ride has been.

    The prospect of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators said events like the rally that was held for the Raiders on Thursday more than made up for the times he might have been too locked in.

    “You kind of miss how fun a whole season is with your brothers and playing with them every night, going to war with them,” said Kelly. “When you finally get to raise a trophy and have a celebration like this, it is unbelievable.

    “There are really no words to put it other than it is just so surreal right now. Like we always say, we’ll be brothers forever and we’ll walk together for the rest of our lives.”

Huskies punch ticket to all-QMJHL Memorial Cup title game

    The Memorial Cup’s title game will be a rematch of the QMJHL championship series.

    On Friday, the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies slipped past the OHL champion Guelph Storm 6-4 in a Memorial Cup semifinal game before a sellout crowd of 10,595 spectators at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S.

    The Huskies and Storm entered the third period locked in a 3-3 tie.

    Huskies centre Felix Bibeau scored the first two goals of the third to put Rouyn-Noranda up 5-3.

    With 73 seconds remaining in the third period, Storm captain Isaac Ratcliffe scored his second of two goals on the night to cut the Huskies lead to 5-4.

    Huskies captain Rafael Harvey-Pinard sealed victory for his side scoring into an empty net with 2.9 seconds remaining in the third. Harvey-Pinard had two assists to go with his goal.

    Alex Beaucage, Joel Teasdale and Tyler Hinam had singles for the Huskies. Jack Hanley and Cedric Ralph replied with singles for the Storm.

    Samuel Harvey stopped 34 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Huskies. Anthony Popovich turned away 33-of-38 shots to take the loss in goal for the Storm.

    Huskies offensive defenceman Noah Dobson was stopped on a penalty shot.

    With the win, the Huskies will play for the CHL championship advancing to the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday to play the host Halifax Mooseheads (5 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet).
    The only other time there was an all-QMJHL title game at the Memorial Cup came back in 2006, when the QMJHL finalists Quebec Remparts downed the host and QMJHL champion Moncton Wildcats 6-2 in 2006.

    The Huskies beat the Mooseheads 4-2 in the best-of-seven QMJHL final. The Huskies downed the Mooseheads 4-3 in a round robin game on Wednesday.

    The Huskies topped the QMJHL regular season standings with a 59-8-0-1 record and were rated first in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    The Mooseheads finished first in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference in the regular season with a 49-15-2-2 mark and were rated eighth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Friday’s game brought an end to a remarkable run for Guelph. The Storm finished eighth overall in the OHL’s regular season with a 40-18-6-4 mark.

    Guelph trailed the London Knights 3-0 in a best-of-seven second round series and rallied for four straight wins for a 4-3 series victory.

    In the best-of-seven Western Conference final, the Storm fell behind the Saginaw Spirit 3-1 before rallying for three straight wins to take the series 4-3.

    In the best-of-seven OHL final, the Storm fell behind 2-0 to the Ottawa 67’s before rallying for four straight wins to take the series 4-2.

    At the Memorial Cup tournament, the Mooseheads, Huskies and Storm all had 2-1 records in the round robin portion of the tournament.

    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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