Raiders deliver spectacular night for Vance, beat Pats 6-4

Long time business head inducted to Wall of Honour

Bruce Vance, second from right, was honoured on Friday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Bruce Vance might have known all the 2,383 spectators in attendance at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre on Friday night.

Before the Prince Albert Raiders 6-4 WHL regular season victory over the Regina Pats on Friday night, the long time business head of the Raiders was inducted to the Raiders Wall of Honour in the builders’ category. His plaque on the Wall of Honour sits next to that good friend and long time co-worker in the late Donn Clark, who held the positions of head coach, director of hockey operations and general manager during his time with the team.

The Raiders were paying tribute to Vance, who is putting up a valiant fight against Stage IV colon cancer, for all he did with the team from 2001 to 2015. From director of marketing to business manager and director of marketing, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Vance might have at some point in time done every business function in the Raiders office during his time with the team. Often, he was the guy that made the Raiders go.

Plaques for Donn Clark and Bruce Vance on the Raiders Wall of Honour.

Even when Vance moved on to become the Marketing and Sponsorship Coordinator for the City of Prince Albert, he still did some volunteer work with the team. That work often required his help for a special event like the jersey retirement night of the #4 for legendary Raiders defenceman Dave Manson on February 12, 2016.

“Being involved in the community was very important,” said Vance in a video address to the crowd. “The Raiders are such a passionate part of Prince Albert.

Bruce and Liane Vance, centre, watch video tributes for Bruce.

“This community is so welcoming. It was easy to become immersed in the community as a team and as a family. To work for 14 years here in junior hockey in Prince Albert was very special with a number of great moments including games where we had the Teddy Bear Toss all the way to haunted houses.

“We gave away a truck and many other fun things. We got involved in the community events like ‘Bring Back the Magic’ (campaign), the Special Olympics Power Breakfast and the Father Daughter Gala. Over the 14 years, it was incredible to work with some great staff, players, board of directors and fans many of whom are still good family friends.”

Vance more then walked the walk when it came to community involvement. If you try to name every community thing he was involved with, you would inevitably forget a sizable amount of things.

Bruce Vance, centre, walks out to centre ice.

Vance involved himself in numerous ways in the community coaching, managing and volunteering due to the sports and activities his son, Jon, and daughters, Briane and Jessica, were involved with. A lot of the involvements continued after all three of his children moved into adulthood. That included being involved with the Esso Cup female under-18 AAA national championship hockey tournament held in Prince Albert this past April.

Vance served as co-manager alongside his wife, Liane, with the Prince Albert A & W Bears, now known as the Prince Albert Northern Bears, from 2011 to 2015. He served as president of the Crescent Acres Community Club for seven years and was named Softball Saskatchewan’s volunteer of the year in 2009.

The scene after Bruce Vance drops the ceremonial faceoff puck.

Family is very important to Vance too. Missing special events like graduations or presiding over Briane’s wedding is unthinkable. One of the reasons he started working for the City of Prince Albert was it allowed more time him to see Jessica play goal in the U Sports ranks. Jessica had a spectacular career playing for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s Team that included Canada West Conference MVP honours in 2017-18.

Vance also got to travel to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in March of 2019 to see Jessica play for Canada’s women’s hockey team that won silver at the FISU Winter Universiade.

Bruce Vance shakes hands with Raiders captain Eric Johnston.

Along with his family at home, Vance had a family in the Raiders. The team collected numerous video tributes from former players, coaches, staffers and family friends that were shown through the course of Friday’s contest. Josh Morrissey, who plays defence for the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, was one of the Raiders alums that sent in a video tribute.

Another one of the video tributes that came in was from NHL referee Chris Schlenker, who played defence for the Raiders in the second half of the 2003-04 season and the entire 2004-05 campaign, where the Raiders made it to Game 7 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series.

“When I think about my time in Prince Albert, it is still the best time of my entire hockey life,” said Schlenker. “It was because of the people of Prince Albert, the team and the overwhelming support for the Raiders around there.

Bruce Vance shakes hands with Pats captain Tanner Howe.

“The first guy I think about when all of that comes to mind is you. There is nobody who lives the green and gold more than you. You really felt you were a part of the team with us even though you weren’t going on the ice.

“I’m so, so proud of you. I’m happy you are being recognized tonight. Take care my good friend.”

During the pre-game ceremony for Vance, a number of video tributes were played for Vance coming from the likes of former Raiders play-by-play voice Brian Munz, Manson, former coach and player Peter Anholt, former coach Wade Klippenstein, former captain Jeremy Colliton, former NHL Toronto Maple Leafs star Wendel Clark, who is Donn Clark’s younger brother, and Betty Clark, who is Donn Clark’s wife. Vance is a huge Maple Leafs fan.

Aiden Oiring breaks into the offensive zone for the Raiders.

Munz also traveled into Prince Albert for the festivities for Vance from Winnipeg, where he is the director of communications for Golf Manitoba.

Vance applauded all the tributes. He came out to centre ice to a standing ovation from all in attendance.

After accepting the plaque he gets to keep for his Wall of Honour induction, Vance is his customary fun style got the job quickly making an immediate puck drop for the ceremonial faceoff between Raiders captain Eric Johnston and Pats captain and Prince Albert product Tanner Howe. Both players had a chuckle while pictures were taken before Johnston scooped up the puck.

The Raiders did their part to ensure the night would have a perfect ending. They scored first, fell behind 2-1 at the first intermission and proceeded to storm ahead 5-2 early in the third period. From there, they cruised to victory by the 6-4 final score.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Easton Kovacs (#8).

Sloan Stanick, Easton Kovacs, Tyrone Sobry, Hayden Pakkala, Niall Crocker and Brayden Dube all netted singles for the Raiders, who improved to 7-3-0-1. Matteo Michels, Borya Valis, Sam Oremba and Cole Temple replied with singles for the Pats, who fell to 7-4-1.

Chase Coward stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Kelton Pyne turned away 32-of-37 shots to take the setback in goal for the Pats.

Following the end of the game, the Raiders skated to the east end of the rink to the box Vance and his family were seated in and gave him and his family a salute the then proceeded to salute the rest of their faithful in attendance at their storied home rink.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors (6-5) at 7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre. The Pats return to action on Sunday when they travel to Swift Current to face the Broncos (4-6-1) at 4 p.m. at the InnovationPlex.

Niall Crocker had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

As Friday’s game between the Raiders and Pats went along, Vance met a steady stream of well-wishers. While cancer sent an ultimate unfair hit to Vance, it didn’t matter on Friday night.

Vance was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in November of 2013, and went on to get a no evidence of disease diagnosis in July of 2014. Liane being diagnosed with rectal cancer in July of 2018, and their family dog, Bella, was diagnosed with lymphoma that same month. Liane won her cancer battle, while Bella passed away after a year of battling the disease.

In August of 2020 about six months after Liane finished her treatment, Bruce was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer with metastases to his bones, liver and lungs. Vance’s diagnosis was terminal, and he was given 24 to 28 months to live. He has outlived that initial diagnosis.

Vance and his family have always approached their cancer battles with a positive nature and focus on doing upbeat things. That has been a huge ally in their cancer battles.

The Raiders give a salute to Bruce Vance and his family.

It has made people in Prince Albert and all the communities they have lived in take their family that much closer to their hearts.

Vance and his family very much deserved their special night on Friday. In the history of the Raiders franchise, he will live on as one of storied team’s most enduring figures.

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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Family feeling from Raiders bus makes Humboldt Broncos tragedy tough to stomach

Some old Raiders items with a picture of the Broncos centre ice logo.

    I always thought I had the coolest seat on the Prince Albert Raiders bus.

    I sat next to Dave Manson, who was the Raiders assistant coach. To the outside, he is still regarded as one of the most feared players to ever lace up the skates in the NHL.

    While there were a few times where I would jokingly do something to get him fired up, the majority of the time was spent talking about everything in life. The impression of feared NHL heavyweight was replaced by seeing someone who as a great guy with an incredibly huge heart.

    We were two rows back from the front of the bus, and we had a card table to ourselves. I always thought that was a sweet perk.

    I covered the Raiders for three seasons from 2001 to 2004 for the Prince Albert Daily Herald, and during the last of those three campaigns, then head coach Peter Anholt and then general manager Donn Clark gave the invite to have me tag along on the bus to cover road games. At the time, myself and then Raiders play-by-play voice Brian Munz were the only two full-time media staffers covering sports in “Hockey Town North.”

    I tried to make the in division games that could be covered on day trips. I accompanied the Raiders on the playoff run that unfortunately only lasted for two trips in the first round.

    Anholt always told everyone you will make your best memories on the bus. When I left Prince Albert to cover the Medicine Hat Tigers for the Medicine Hat News before the start of the 2004-05 WHL campaign, I always looked back on those Raiders road trips fondly.

    The biggest thing that stuck in my mind was that there were no secrets on the bus. After a short time, you quickly begin to know the players, coaches and staff better than your own blood family members, and it feels like they know you better than their own blood family members. We all likely knew things about each other our blood families didn’t know about us.

    The Raiders were focused on winning, but that team was likely the most sociable bunch I ever dealt with on the WHL circuit. You wanted to hang out everywhere with them. The Raiders always had the reputation of having guys that were viewed as the greatest sociable guys on top of being one of the most physical teams in the WHL.

The inside of a Raiders program from the 2003-04 WHL season.

    I always seemed to cycle to the back of the bus to hang with veteran defencemen Luke Fritshaw and Chris Schlenker along with then skilled sophomore power forward Kyle Chipchura. They were all characters who had character. They always seemed to be my dinner companions too during stops at restaurants.

    I remember Travis Young always being composed and his composure might only be surpassed by the surreal calm of netminder Rejean Beauchemin.

    Seth Leonard, the team’s 50-goal man that season, and checking forward Justin Cruse always seemed to provide good humour. I was on the trip where Cruse famously shoe-checked Manson.

    I could go through the whole roster that season including the likes of captain Jeremy Colliton, Mike Gauthier, Jeff May, Brett Novak, Jordan Morgan, Brandon Peet, Dane Byers, Evan Schafer, Aki Seitsonen and everyone brings back a good memory. You also can’t forget everyone’s best friend in trainer Duane “Puff” Bartley.

    Those guys do become your family. Back then, I wasn’t that much older than the players, and a bond formed over the fact that we were all still young. We took on the world with a youthful energy.
    While there was a lot of fun with jokes, card games and movies, there were conversations about subjects in the news or authors of books, which you wouldn’t think happens on a hockey team bus.

    That is what for me makes Friday’s accident involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus so hard to stomach. While on the way to play the Nipawin Hawks in a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game, the Broncos bus collided with a semi-truck just north of Tisdale.

    I remember all those bonds on the Raiders bus and identify with how tight Humboldt’s hockey team must have been. The Broncos are one of the elite and storied franchises in the junior A ranks, so I believe the bonds on that club would be really strong.

The Broncos logo all set up for Sunday night’s vigil.

    It is conceivable I crossed paths with members of the Broncos somewhere in hockey, but I do not have any memories of the players in captain Logan Schatz, Adam Herold, Conner Lukan, Evan Thomas, Jacob Leicht, Jaxon Joseph, Logan Boulet, Logan Hunter, Stephen Wack or Parker Tobin. Same goes for head coach and general manager Darcy Haugen, assistant coach Mark Cross, play-by-play voice Tyler Bieber and bus driver Glen Doerksen.

    Stats expert Brody Hinz did like my Twitter posts about the Raiders the odd time.

    All of those names make up the 15 deceased.

    Two players have been released from hospital including forward Nick Shumlanski, and 12 are still in hospital including four in critical condition.

    As time moves on, I keep finding out I am friends with someone who was friends or family members with one of the deceased or survivors of the crash. It makes what happened hit a little more at home.

    Even with that said, I still can’t imagine what everyone connected with the Humboldt team is going through. I went to the vigil on Sunday night in Humboldt and to the one on the University of Saskatchewan campus on Monday afternoon. I believe being there to offer support helped, but I am still wrapping my head around the enormity of everything.

    I think back to the days on the Raiders bus, and I know I would have been absolutely gutted if a bus crash happened and half of everyone on board was no longer with us. As that season went on, I needed those guys.

My father Dan Steinke, left, passed away during the 2003-04 hockey season.

    I was back home with my parents in Regina for the WHL Christmas break, and my dad, Dan Steinke, was admitted to hospital just as that break was ending. He passed away due to cancer on January 4, 2004. I ultimately missed most of the first three weeks of the second half of the season.

    Anholt was in touch with me through everything when that happened. The first game I worked after my dad’s passing was on Jan. 10, 2004, and because of the bus bonds, the Raiders were waiting to be a support system.

    They won a tight 3-2 outing over the Moose Jaw Warriors, and it felt like they had some extra jump in their step to help what I was going though.

    Later on in playoffs, we went out to Winnipeg for Game 6 of a best-of-seven first round series against the Brandon Wheat Kings, who were leading the set 3-2. The Wheat Kings were forced out of their home rink due to annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon.

    As usual, the Raiders went up the day before the game, and I had an important blood family issue to look after, when I arrived in Winnipeg. On the trip down, everyone on the bus new my situation.
    When the bus arrived in the Manitoba capital, I left to address the issue. I didn’t see everyone until the next night’s game at the storied Winnipeg Arena.

    In the last playoff game ever played at the Winnipeg Arena, the Wheat Kings claimed a 4-1 win to take the series 4-2 bringing the Raiders season to an end.

    Anholt took losing hard, but he always answered post-game interview questions honestly. With a season ending loss, emotions around the Raiders dressing room were low.

    After I interviewed Anholt, he asked how things went on the blood family front. I said they went well.

    Anholt smiled and said, “That’s good. Family is important.”

The 2003-04 Raiders are pictured on the right.

    Family is important, and the family formed on the bus is just as important. I learned that from my experiences on the Raiders bus.

    At the moment, the survivors of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash are missing a huge chunk of that bus family here in the physical world. Among the larger hockey family, people might not have a full realization of the hurt, but everyone knows it is there.

    We just hope we can play a small part in helping on the recovery trail.

    On a spiritual level, my gut tells me those that have passed on from the crash are still there to provide help to their family members on the Broncos bus who are still in this physical world. The bus family will always be there for the survivors of the Broncos bus crash as they work to find a new everyday normal and continue to be “Bronco Strong.”

    Finding the new normal won’t be an easy road for the survivors to travel, but they will have lots of help along the way.

    Editor Note - A day after this column was originally posted, Broncos team athletic therapist Dayna Brons passed away due to her injuries from the team’s bus accident. The total number of deaths from the Broncos bus accident stands at 16.
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