Oil Kings’ Holinka hammers Blades with hat trick

Edmonton evens series with Saskatoon 2-2

The Oil Kings celebrate a hat trick goal from Miroslav Holinka (#92).

Miroslav Holinka is becoming the Edmonton Oil Kings version of Connor McDavid.

On Wednesday, the 20-year-old import centre showed why he has become one of the WHL’s superstars. In Game 4 of a best-of-seven first round playoff series against the host Saskatoon Blades, Holinka fired home a hat trick and was a plus-two in the plus- minus department to power the Oil Kings to a 5-2 victory to disappoint most of the 4,834 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

With the win, the Oil Kings even the series at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Friday at 6 p.m. local time for Rogers Place in Edmonton. Game 6 is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Miroslav Holinka was on fire for the Oil Kings on Wednesday night.

Holinka, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, came into Wednesday’s contest having posted two goals, two assists and an even rating in the previous three games of the set. He nearly doubled his offensive output for the post-season in one contest.

Oil Kings head coach Jason Smith said Holinka gave his squad the boost they needed to even the series with the Blades.

“He is an experienced player in this league,” said Smith. “He is a 20-year-old guy, and he has expectations to play well and lead our team.

“His game tonight was outstanding, and it was a 200-foot game. He played well on both ends. He was out on the penalty kill and did a real good job.

Lukas Sawchyn had one goal and two assists for the Oil Kings.

“That is what you need from good players is good effort.”

Thanks to his hat trick performance, Holinka’s line had a great night. On Wednesday, Holinka for most of the contest centred a forward unit that contained rookie left-winger Kayden Stroeder, who turned 17-years-old in early March, and star veteran right-winger Lukas Sawchyn.

Stroeder finished with two assists and a plus-one rating, while Sawchyn posted one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating.

“They’re really skilled players,” said Blades head coach Dan DaSilva. “They are some of the best players in the league.

Kayden Stroeder had a pair of assists for the Oil Kings.

“They can make you look silly, if you’re not playing the body on them. I thought tonight we made it too easy on them and kind of let them off the hook a little bit. We’ve been doing a really good job on those guys.

“They are high-end players. They are going to have their nights, (and) they are going to get their looks. We’ve got to try and do a better job of limiting those looks and being more physical on them.”

At the 7:34 mark of the first period, Holinka opened the game’s scoring firing home a shot from the left slot to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.

With 5:39 remaining in the first, Blades 18-year-old centre Kazden Mathies had a loose puck deflect off his skate from a rebound in front of the Edmonton net to even the score at 1-1.

Before the first came to an end, the Oil Kings would go back in front by scoring on the power play with 1:16 remaining in the stanza on a highlight reel effort by Holinka. Holinka skated through the Blades defence up through the centre of the Saskatoon zone and put home a close in backhand shot for his second of the contest to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.

Kazden Mathies had the Blades first goal on Wednesday.

Sawchyn said it is a blast to play on the same line as Holinka, especially when the Czech product makes plays like he does like on his second tally on Wednesday.

“He (Holinka) is a great player and super smart,” said Sawchyn. “He can pretty much throw from anywhere on the ice, so it is fun giving him the puck.”

At the 4:29 mark of the second, the Oil Kings top line rushed into the Saskatoon zone, and Stroeder dropped a smart pass to veteran star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn. Sawchyn fired a perfect snipe to the top right corner of the Saskatoon net to push the Oil Kings lead to 3-1.

The Blades would answer back with 4:27 remaining in the second with a goal from star right-winger Hunter Laing. Laing tapped home a puck at the left side of the Edmonton net after receiving a cross crease feed from veteran defenceman Tristen Doyle to cut the Oil Kings lead to 3-2.

Hunter Laing had the Blades second goal on Wednesday.

Just when the Blades seemed to have the momentum, Holinka would complete his hat trick at an absolute dagger of a time. After catching the Blades on a bad line change, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett received a cross ice pass at the left side of the Saskatoon net from Sawchyn.

Blades star netminder Evan Gardner made a sprawling save but the puck rebounded out to Holinka at the right side of the Saskatoon net. Holinka popped home his hat trick tally with 21.5 seconds remaining in the frame to make the Oil Kings advantage sit at 4-2.

Mathies said his squad has to do a better job at playing against Holinka’s line.

“I think we have to be hard on them and not allow them to make just like the cute plays,” said Mathies. “We have to play physical and close the gap on them as quick as you can, so they can’t make those plays.”

Fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

The Blades made a big push in the third outshooting the Oil Kings 14-7 in the frame, but they weren’t able to put any pucks past Oil Kings veteran netminder Ethan Simcoe. Saskatoon even got to work on a four-minute power play as Oil Kings centre Andrew O’Neill picked up a double-minor for slew-footing. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL Office for a possible suspension.

Oil Kings import right-winger Adam Jecho scored into an empty net with 2.2 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 5-2 final score in favour of the visitors.

Tristen Doyle had a slick assist for the Blades.

Gardner turned away 23-of-27 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. Ethan Simcoe stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings. 

The Oil Kings are without 17-year-old rookie netminder Parker Snell with an undisclosed ailment. Associate player call up Elias Mitrikas, who is a 15-year-old who played for the North Shore Warriors Under-18 Prep Club, dressed as Edmonton’s backup netminder.

The Oil Kings finished third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and fifth in the circuit’s overall regular season standings with a 45-18-3-2 mark. The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark.

During the regular season, Saskatoon was a club that was consistently inconsistent. The Blades were able to go out and pick up victories against the top teams in the league and would turn around and lose to squads that missed the post-season and were at the bottom of the overall standings.

Landon Hanson sets to shoot in the offensive zone for the Oil Kings.

At the moment, the Blades have shown they can compete at the same level as the Oil Kings. DaSilva is confident in his group going into Game 5, and he believes his players will be better than they were in Game 4.

“I think that we lacked a little bit of bite in our game,” said DaSilva. “It was not the game that you’ve seen from our group through three games in the series.

“They are a good team, (and) we knew they were going to push back. They were going to have their best effort here tonight. They didn’t want to be going home down 3-1.

“It is a best of three series. Anything can happen. We feel comfortable playing in Roger’s Place.”

Smith said his Oil Kings didn’t expect the series against the Blades would be a short one. As the two clubs head into the deep waters of the series, Smith said his squad will just focus on the next game.

The Oil Kings celebrate their Game 4 win on Wednesday.

“I think we kind of talked about it from the start of the playoffs that it is a game by game reset,” said Smith. “You’ve got to be prepared to play hard games.

“It is going to be very competitive, and you’ve got to be emotionally and physically involved in it to wear through it.”

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Opportunistic Oil Kings give Raiders slip in 5-3 win

Miroslav Holinka (#92) soaks in scoring the winner for the Oil Kings.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Edmonton Oil Kings proved that if you give them an inch they can take a mile.

On Saturday playing before a standing room crowd of 2,817 spectators at the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre, the Oil Kings, who were rated sixth in the CHL Top 10 Rankings release on Tuesday, took on the host Prince Albert Raiders, who were rated third in the CHL Top 10. The clash was viewed as a heavyweight showdown coming just past the midway point of the WHL regular season.

The Raiders outshot the Oil Kings 37-21 in the contest, but the visitors skated away with a 5-3 victory for their eighth win in a row, which brought an end to Prince Albert’s six game winning streak. 

Miroslav Holinka has points in 11 straight games.

With the victory, the Oil Kings improved to 29-7-3-1 to sit two points up on the Raiders, who fell to 28-6-4, for second overall in the Eastern Conference. The Raiders, who have two games in hand on the Oil Kings, still sit comfortably in first place in the East Division.

The Oil Kings trail the Eastern Conference leading Medicine Hat Tigers by one point for first overall in the conference. The Tigers downed the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 7-4 in Medicine Hat on Saturday night improving to 29-6-3-2 with their 17^th win in a row. Medicine Hat’s winning streak equals a team record set back in the 2006-07 campaign, when the Tigers won their fifth of their six total WHL titles.

“You’re always continuing to build throughout the season,” said Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald. “We’re just after Christmas.

Braeden Cootes had one goal and one assist for the Raiders.

“Every game is important. I really liked our effort. I thought we were very relentless.

“In the second period, they had their push. They had some areas that they took advantage of. Again, we answered right back, and that third period, I thought we continued to put our foot on the gas.”

The two sides entered the third period locked in a 3-3 tie.

At the 7:34 mark of the third, Oil Kings 20-year-old star import centre Miroslav Holinka roofed a shot to the top left corner of the Prince Albert goal with a chance alone in front of the net to put the visitors up 4-3. Holinka converted a beauty setup pass from Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett that came from behind the Raiders goal.

Ethan Simcoe made 34 saves in goal for the Oil Kings.

With an assist earlier in the game and the goal, Holinka improved his consecutive game points streak to 11 contests netting 12 goals and 11 assists over that time.

The Raiders pressed to get the equalizer outshooting the Oil Kings 15-5 in the frame. Prince Albert’s arguably best chance to even the score came with 1:50 remaining in the third when breakout star right-winger Max Heise fired a drive from the right faceoff dot that was swallowed up by Oil Kings star netminder Ethan Simcoe.

With 12.9 seconds remaining in the third, Oil Kings star 19-year-old import right-winger Max Curran sealed the victory for the visitors with an empty-net goal.

Owen Corkish does the fly by after scoring the Raiders first goal.

“I think we just didn’t get the bounces, and it goes that way,” said Raiders star centre Braeden Cootes. “They’re a really good team over there.

“That is a playoff-type game and a potential playoff series. It stings, but we’ll learn from it. We’ll just get better.”

Saturday’s clash was the first time the Raiders and Oil Kings went at it since the passing of the WHL trade deadline on Thursday and since the world juniors wrapped up on Monday. Cootes was playing his second game for the Raiders since being acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Tuesday. Star defenceman Carter Sotheran was skating in his third game for the Oil Kings since being acquired in a trade with the Portland Winterhawks earlier that same day.

Raiders mascot PIMS makes his rounds at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders came out on fire outshooting the Oil Kings 12-4 in the opening frame. The hosts finally broke through on the scoreboard with 1:49 remaining in the first when rookie 18-year-old left-winger Owen Corkish potted home a shot from the front of the Edmonton net.

At the 5:39 mark of the second, the Raiders pushed their edge up to 2-0. Cootes tipped home a shot in front of the Edmonton net that came in from the point off the stick of 19-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett to give the hosts their two goal edge. That tally was Cootes first goal as a member of the Raiders.

“It is always nice to score, obviously, and get more comfortable,” said Cootes, who made his Raiders debut on Friday in a 6-1 win over the Swift Current Broncos at the Hauser. “I thought it was a lot better today.

Lukas Sawchyn (#95) does the fly by after scoring for the Oil Kings.

“Yesterday was kind of a pretty crazy day getting here and just trying to get going. Today kind of felt more normal, just a normal game day. I got to have a normal sleep and a nap, so it felt better out there.

“It was nice to get the first one.”

The Oil Kings proceeded to go on a tear scoring the next three goals in the frame to go ahead 3-2. Lukas Sawchyn, Blake Fiddler and Noa Ta’amu all had singles for Edmonton in the surge. Sawchyn scored from the left side boards, Fiddler with an on ice shot from the point and Ta’amu with a screen shot from midrange.

Blake Fiddler scored the Oil Kings second goal on Saturday.

With 73 seconds remaining in the second, Heise potted a laser from close in at the right side of the Edmonton net to even the score at 3-3. That set the stage for the dramatics in the third period.

Michal Orsulak turned away 16 of 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Simcoe stopped 34 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings.

The two sides went at it twice earlier in the season with each contest being decided in overtime. On October 18, 2025, the Oil Kings slipped past the Raiders 3-2 in extra time at the Art Hauser Centre. On December 7, 2025, the Raiders edged the Oil Kings 4-2 in overtime at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

Going forward Cootes is looking to build more chemistry with his new team.

“You get better each day, and we want to peak at the right time,” said Cootes, who had an assist to go along with his goal on Saturday. “That is obviously the playoffs.

Max Heise scored the Raiders third goal on Saturday.

“I just have to come in here and do my part and try to be the best player I can be and be a good leader. I just try to keep getting better and get more chemistry with them. Once we get a few weeks and a month as just a team, I think we’ll do a lot of damage.”

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Oil Kings get back it on Wednesday when they return home and host the Medicine Hat Tigers (7 p.m. local time, Rogers Place).

The Raiders and Oil Kings will go at it once more in the regular season. That last encounter will take place on Sunday, March 8 at 4 p.m. local time at Rogers Place.

Ethan MacKenzie (#47) chases Maddix McCagherty (#17).

Looking back and noting the two sides met in the first round of the 2025 WHL Playoffs where the Raiders took the set with a 5-0 win in a series deciding Game 7, McDonald said there is not a lot separating the two clubs.

“I think these two teams have played each other a lot over the last four or five or six months,” said McDonald. “We’re very familiar with the group over there.

The Oil Kings celebrate their win on Saturday night.

“Again, these are two really good teams slugging it out. The margins are very thin as you continue to go through the game. It is all about just continuing to strive for that 60 minutes.”

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Party is on in P.A. – Raiders blank Oil Kings 5-0 in Game 7

The Raiders begin to celebrate their series win on Tuesday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Lukas Dragicevic will always have a place in his heart for the fans of the Prince Albert Raiders.

The 19-year-old star defenceman loves how the fans in “Hockey Town North” always have his team’s back. Having been traded by the Tri-City Americans to the Raiders before the 2024-25 campaign began on July 24, 2024, Dragicevic has given the Raiders faithful plenty of thrills, and the Richmond, B.C., product has taken that up a level in the post-season.

After the Raiders fell behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven first round series to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL Playoffs, Dragicevic delivered game-winning goals in Games 5 and 6 to help the Raiders even the series 3-3. On Tuesday night, he came up with another big game in a series-deciding Game 7.

Part of the sellout crowd of 3,293 spectators salutes the Raiders.

Dragicevic recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to help power the Raiders to a 5-0 victory over the visiting Oil Kings before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,293 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, which is the Prince Albert side’s storied and historic home rink. The win allowed the Raiders to claim the series 4-3.

“I don’t even know what to say about the fans,” said Dragicevic. “It is crazy.

“I saw a video today of a school in my neighbourhood, actually, and there were about 10 to 15 kids that were all wearing Raiders jerseys. They were lining up and chanting ‘go Raiders go,’ and stuff like that. We go to Tim Horton’s down the street, and we see a bunch of guys, and they’re all just like, ‘we believe in you.’

The Raiders and Oil Kings take part in the handshake line.

“They’ll buy us coffees and stuff like that, so it is unbelievable the support that we have every single day, not even game days, just every single day, practice days and off days. We run into fans all the time, and just the support that we have is unbelievable.”

Dragicevic, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 196 pounds, played a major part in the Raiders series comeback. In the Raiders three straight wins they put together to take the series, Dragicevic posted four goals, four assists and a plus-four rating.

Lukas Dragicevic had one goal and three assists for the Raiders.

The rally marked the first time the Raiders came back to win a series after trailing 3-1 since 1996. In 1996, the Raiders trailed the Regina Pats 3-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Prince Albert rallied for three straight wins to take the set 4-3 which included a 5-1 victory in Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre, which was then known as the Comuniplex, on April 10^th of that year.

While he had a huge last three games and series, Dragicevic said everyone on the Raiders played a big part in the series victory over the Oil Kings.

“We play a full team game,” said Dragicevic, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken. “That has been kind of our motto all year is depth and everybody contributes.

Lukas Sawchyn (#95) is checked by Harrison Lodewyk (#29).

“I’m an offensive guy. I have to put up points or else what am I doing out there, right? I’m so fortunate to play with great players that help me score goals and help me set up plays.

“It is not all me. It is not me at all. It is the other guys that are contributing offensively and putting themselves in good spots for me to hit them, and they’re burying it. It is a lot to them as well.”

Shortly after the opening faceoff, it looked like the visiting Oil Kings would get the jump on the host Raiders. Oil Kings overage defenceman Josh Mori brought the puck into the Prince Albert zone on an offensive rush and rang a shot off the crossbar.

A young fan cheers on the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to open the scoring at the 7:40 mark of the opening frame right as a power play expired. Dragicevic fired a shot on goal from the left point that Oil King rookie netminder Ethan Simcoe, who turned 19-years-old in March, turned away with a pad save.

The puck proceeded to rebound out to Raiders 19-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring at the right side of the Edmonton net. Oiring pushed the puck past a fallen Simcoe and it just trickled over the goal line to give the Raiders 1-0 lead.

Just over six minutes later, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett bobbled receiving a pass in his down zone causing the puck to land on the stick of Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ty Meunier. Meunier skated to the front of the Edmonton goal and roofed a shot to the top right corner of the net to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0. The St. Albert, Alta., product enjoyed playing a part in the Raiders series win.

Aiden Oiring scored the Raiders first goal on Tuesday.

“It is pretty special to be winning the first round as a 16-year-old and experience this whole playoff atmosphere as a first year,” said Meunier. “I just hope it continues.”

The teams played through a fairly even second period, but the Raiders came up with a big dagger in the frame. With 1:28 remaining in the stanza, Dragicevic floated a point shot at the Edmonton goal, which ended up in the back of the net to extend the Raiders lead to 3-0.

The hosts proceeded to round out the win with a pair of power-play goals in the third. With 9:16 remaining in the frame, a Dragicevic point shot was tipped home in front of the Edmonton net by Raiders star 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker to give the Raiders a 4-0 advantage.

Ty Meunier had the Raiders second goal on Tuesday.

With 5:31 remaining in the third, Dragicevic and breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph combined to set up 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic for a one-time shot, which he buried from the left side of the Edmonton net to round out the 5-0 final score.

Shortly after Kovacevic’s tally, Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson and Raiders rookie centre Ethan Bibeau engaged in a short fight.

Still, Kovacevic’s tally really got the part going in earnest by the Raiders faithful. Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald said the atmosphere in the Hauser is special.

“As a kid born and raised in Prince Albert, I mean it is exciting in this rink,” said McDonald. “It is electric.

Max Hildebrand covers up one of his 30 saves for the Raiders.

“We know how passionate our fans are and how supportive our fans are. We just can’t thank them enough for their support.”

The bench boss was impressed by the performance of Dragicevic in the Raiders three straight wins that allowed them to take the series.

“He (Dragicevic) is just taking his game to another level,” said McDonald. “He is just continuing to elevate.

“Big players shine in big moments, and he did a tremendous job for us again tonight.”

Niall Crocker tipped home a power-play goal for the Raiders.

Max Hildebrand stopped all 30 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders. Simcoe turned away 18 shots in to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

The Raiders were 2-for-5 with the power play, while the Oil Kings failed to score on three chances with the man advantage.

Hildebrand did make a number of highlight reel saves for the Raiders. Overall, the star netminder thought his side played a fairly complete game.

“I thought it was very clean,” said Hildebrand. “When you play a team that many times especially in a row like that, it is kind of just you’re bound to know kind of what is coming.

“I thought we did a great job with our systems tonight and played hard. This one for the most part, the P.K. came up huge. Obviously, the power play was very big again for us.”

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Rilen Kovacevic, centre.

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

Prince Albert took the regular season series against Edmonton claiming three regulation victories in five head-to-head encounters.

The Raiders were without star left-winger Tomas Mrsic for a second straight contest having suffered a skate cut late in the first period of the Raiders victory in Game 5. Raiders breakout 19-year-old star right-winger Brayden Dube was also out of the lineup with a nagging injury he tried to play with in Game 6 but was used sparingly in that contest.

The Raiders pour off their bench to celebrate their series win.

The Oil Kings had rookie star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in February, back on the ice after missing two games with an undisclosed ailment.

The Raiders now advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game 1 of that series is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark.

McDonald said his team’s ability to persevere will key as the Raiders go forward in the post-season. On top of battling back to win the series against the Oil Kings, McDonald remembers his club started the regular season 2-7-2 after going on a road trip through B.C. and rebounded to win a division title. He appreciates his team’s ability to grind.

“We have a really resilient group,” said McDonald. “We’ve fought the fight since October to get to where we are.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“(We have) the brotherhood in there and the compete and the willingness to continue to just stick to it no matter what happens. We play until the final buzzer goes, and we’ve been doing that for years and years and years. It is great to see the guys get rewarded.”

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Raiders veterans come up clutch in 4-3 win in Game 6

Prince Albert forces series-deciding Game 7 with Oil Kings

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Game 6 winner for the Raiders.

Lukas Dragicevic, Rilen Kovacevic, Aiden Oiring and Max Hildebrand are trying to live up to a cliché that says, “Legends are made in the playoffs.”

The four veterans had monster efforts on Sunday to ensure their Prince Albert Raiders would stave off elimination from the WHL Playoffs for a second straight game. Locked in a 3-3 tie with the host Edmonton Oil Kings late in the third period of Game 6 of a best-seven-series first round series in the WHL Playoffs, Oil Kings overage defenceman Josh Mori would take a hooking penalty with 63 seconds remaining in the frame.

Working on the ensuing power play, Kovacevic, who is a star overage right-winger, passed the puck from the right wing to Dragicevic, who was positioned on the point just inside the centre of the blue-line. Dragicevic, who is a star 19-year-old defenceman, one-timed home a shot with 52.2 seconds remaining in the frame to put the Raiders up 4-3.

The Raiders proceed to kill of the rest of the time in the frame to make the 4-3 score hold up as the game’s final outcome to the disappointment of most of the 5,052 spectators in attendance at Rogers Place.

With the win, the Raiders even up the best-of-seven series at 3-3. They force a series-deciding Game 7 that is set back at their storied and historic home rink in the Art Hauser Centre for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The winner of Game 7 will advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series to take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark.

Dragicevic netted the winning goal for the second straight game for the Raiders. In Game 5 on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Dragicevic netted two goals including the winner, one assist and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in a 4-2 win on that night.

The Raiders were trailing their series with the Oil Kings 3-1 before rallying to win the last two contests to even the series up at 3-3.

Prince Albert will be attempting to rally and win a series they were down 3-1 in for the first time since 1996. In 1996, the Raiders trailed the Regina Pats 3-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Prince Albert rallied for three straight wins to take the set 4-3 which included a 5-1 victory in Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre, which was then known as the Comuniplex, on April 10th of that year.

Aiden Oiring had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

In Sunday’s win over the Oil Kings, Kovacevic had one goal, three assists and a plus-two rating. Oiring had a pair of goals and a plus-one rating. Hildebrand, who is the Raiders star 20-year-old netminder, made 30 saves to backstop the Prince Albert side to victory.

Breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph, who turned 17-years-old in March, had a pair of assists to aid the Raiders triumph.

The Game 6 clash started out as more of a tight-checking affair. The Oil Kings exited the first period with a 1-0 lead thanks to a power-play goal coming from overage centre and ace agitator Marshall Finnie. Finnie deflected home a shot from Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett to give the host side a one-goal lead with 2:14 to play in the opening frame.

The Raiders had a goal disallowed at the 10:17 mark of the first, when it was ruled 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ty Menuier deflected home a tally with a high stick. The officials went to a video review to confirm the call.

At the 8:34 mark of the second, the Raiders evened the score at 1-1 with their first power-play goal of the night. Kovacevic had the puck on the right-wing boards and fed a pass across the face the Edmonton goal to Oiring, who was positioned by the left post. Oiring tapped home the equalizer for the only tally of the frame.

After a tight checking first 40 minutes, the third period turned into a wide open 1980s style game.

Just 58 seconds into the frame, Kovacevic sniped home a breakaway tally short-handed to put the Raiders up 2-1. At the 6:19 mark of the stanza, Oiring netted his second of the contest lifting a shot to the top left corner of the Edmonton net close in at the left side of the goal to give the visitors a 3-1 edge.

The Oil Kings answered back just 13 seconds later. Oil Kings 20-year-old left-winger Rylen Roersma potted a rebound from Landon Hanson shot that rebounded out to the left faceoff circle to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2.

Hanson than fired home the equalizer on a shot from a right-wing rush just 61 seconds later to force a 3-3. The Oil Kings second-year right-winger snuck a shot between the legs of Hildebrand.

Daxon Rudolph had two assists for the Raiders.

It looked like all the momentum was going to go in the host side’s favour after Raiders 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker took a double minor for high-sticking with 8:26 remaining in the third. Crocker’s infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Oil Kings star left-winger Adam Jecho hit the post early in the four-minute power-play chance. The Raiders proceeded to get a big penalty kill to change the momentum of the contest once again.

That set the stage for Dragicevic to score his winner with Crocker providing a screen in front of Oil Kings rookie netminder Ethan Simcoe, who turned 19-years-old in early March. The officials video reviewed the goal checking for possible incidental contact by Crocker on Simcoe, but the video showed Crocker contacted Simcoe after the puck from Dragicevic’s shot entered the Edmonton net.

Simcoe turned away 19 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

Prince Albert took the regular season series against Edmonton claiming three regulation victories in five head-to-head encounters.

Both sides are starting to deal with their issues on the health front too. Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic was lost to a skate cut late in the first period of the Raiders Game 5 victory. The Oil Kings were without rookie star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in February, with an undisclosed ailment for a second straight contest.

The Raiders and Oil Kings have played highly competitive and even series, so it seems fitting the set goes to a winner-take-all Game 7.

The last time the Raiders played a Game 7 in the WHL Playoffs came back on May 13, 2019 in the WHL Championship Series. On that night at the Art Hauser Centre, Dante Hannoun scored his famed overtime winner to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Giants and helped the Raiders capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions.

Max Hildebrand made 30 saves in goal for the Raiders.

Now, we get to see who will shine in the upcoming Game 7 between the Raiders and Oil Kings and add to the WHL’s post-season lore.

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Dragicevic, Raiders drag series back to Edmonton

Prince Albert stays alive with Game 5 win over Oil Kings

The Raiders celebrate their Game 5 on Friday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Lukas Dragicevic is dragging everyone back to Edmonton.

With his team facing elimination from the WHL Playoffs, the Prince Albert Raiders star defenceman came up with a monster effort scoring a pair of goals and collecting an assist to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus category. Thanks to his big Friday night, Dragicevic powered the Raiders to a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 5 of a best-of-seven first round series before an ecstatic standing room crowd of 3,222 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre.

Lukas Dragicevic had two goals and an assist on Friday.

The win allowed the Raiders to cut the Oil Kings lead in the series to 3-2. Game 6 is set to be held at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 4 p.m. local time on Sunday.

“It was huge,” said Dragicevic. “Obviously, we knew what was at stake.

“We talked about that in the room. Leading up to the game, we knew what was at stake. We pushed, and we had a great team effort.”

Having been traded by the Tri-City Americans to the Raiders before the 2024-25 campaign began on July 24, 2024, Dragicevic has taken the Raiders faithful to heart. The Richmond, B.C., product loves the support his Raiders receive from the folks in “Hockey Town North” that fill the Hauser on a nightly basis.

Max Hildebrand stopped 36 shots in goal for the Raiders.

“They’ve been by our side all year,” said Dragicevic. “They’ve showed up every single night.

“To win for them is great. We’re going to force a Game 7, and we’re going to be back in front of them.”

If the Raiders win Game 6 in Edmonton on Sunday, they will force a series-deciding Game 7, which is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. back at the Hauser. To start that journey to get to a potential Game 7, the Raiders had to take care of business in Game 5 first on Friday.

The Oil Kings came out with some early zip getting the first six shots on goal in the contest, but they were stoned by Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand. Hildebrand denied Oil Kings overage centre and ace agitator Marshall Finnie close in twice on one sequence and turned away a toe drag snipe shot from Edmonton captain Gavin Hodnett on another.

Tomas Mrsic had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

The Raiders proceeded to push back at that point resulting in an offensive zone faceoff just over six minutes in the opening frame. Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring won the draw back to 19-year-old import defensive-defenceman Vojtech Vochvest, who passed the puck to Dragicevic at the right point.

Dragicevic fed the puck down to star left-winger Tomas Mrsic, who was skating through the right faceoff circle. Mrsic put home a backhand shot through a screen to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead at the 6:17 mark of the frame.

Unfortunately, the Raiders would lose Mrsic for the night with about four minutes to play in the opening frame while working on the power play. Mrsic was in the left corner of the Edmonton zone when he was accidentally cut in the face area by the skate of a falling Oil Kings player.

Ethan MacKenzie had the Oil Kings first goal on Friday.

Mrsic left the game and didn’t return. Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald didn’t have an update on the status regarding the skilled forward at game’s end.

Moments after Mrsic left the game and the Raiders still working the power play, the hosts entered the Edmonton zone on a rush. Dragicevic received a pass from star 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker and roofed home a shot from the right faceoff dot to the top left corner of the Edmonton net to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0.

While the Raiders held that two-goal edge going into the first intermission, Dragicevic said his squad knew the rest of the game would still be a battle.

“Obviously when we get up 2-0, we know that they’re going to push, and they did,” said Dragicevic. “We pushed harder, and we ended up winning.”

Landon Hanson had the Oil Kings second goal on Friday.

Early in the second, Raiders physical defensive-defenceman Matteo Fabrizi did his best impression of former NHL star offensively gifted rearguard Nicklas Lidstrom. Fabrizi jetted down the left wing with the puck cut across the front of the Oil Kings net and put a backhand shot on target.

Fabrizi’s shot slipped through Oil Kings rookie netminder Ethan Simcoe, who turned 19-years-old in March, and the puck was slowly sliding towards going into the Edmonton net. Oil Kings sophomore 17-year-old defenceman Blake Fiddler stopped the puck just before goal line and slid it under Simcoe to get a stoppage in play.

From that point, the Oil Kings mounted a push back. At the 11:59 mark of the second, Oil Kings 18-year-year old defenceman Ethan MacKenzie drove home a midrange shot through a screen from the front of the Prince Albert net for a power-play goal that cut the Raiders lead to 2-1.

Blake Fiddler made a big defensive play to prevent a goal.

With 3:37 remaining in the second, Dragicevic wired home his second of the contest to the top left corner of the Edmonton net to push the Raiders lead out to 3-1. McDonald was pleased to see Dragicevic come up with a clutch performance.

“He (Dragicevic) was fantastic,” said McDonald. “He made a great entry play on the power play and had a great shot.

“His second one he just came down off the point, and what a shot to be the goalie. He is moving pucks quick and making sure he is playing north and jumping in the rush when he has opportunities.”

The visitors responded with 93 seconds remaining in the second when Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson jetted into the Prince Albert zone on a rush down the right wing and wristed home a shot to the top right corner of the Raiders net to trim the host side’s lead to 3-2.

Aiden Oiring (#19) had an empty-net goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders ensured the Oil Kings wouldn’t comeback all the way. With 82 seconds remaining in the third, Oil Kings star right-winger Gracyn Sawchyn was coming up ice the with the puck and blew a tire and went down on his own in front of the Raiders bench.

Oiring pounced on the gift of a loose puck and sent it into the Edmonton goal for a long empty-net tally that sealed the 4-2 final outcome in favour of the Raiders.

The contest did end with a big scrum in the Prince Albert zone that was calmly broken up by the officials.

Hildebrand stopped 36 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Simcoe turned away 22-of-25 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

Matteo Fabrizi created excitement with an offensive rush.

Oiring had a pair of assists to go with his empty-net goal in the win.

Both sides are starting to deal with their issues on the health front too. Raiders breakout star right-winger Brayden Dube participated in warm up but didn’t play in Friday’s contest due to an undisclosed ailment. When Mrsic was lost to a skate cut late in the first, the Raiders were without their two players who surpassed the 30-goal plateau during the regular season.

The Oil Kings were without rookie star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in February, with an undisclosed ailment.

McDonald was impressed how his players raised the level of their game when they had teammates have to leave the lineup due to injury.

Niall Crocker had an assist for the Raiders on Friday.

“It just speaks to the character in that room,” said McDonald. “The guys, they battle, and they battle hard.

“They play the right way and manage pucks. It is the next man up mentality. They cheer each other on, and they battle hard for each other.”

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

Prince Albert took the regular season series against Edmonton claiming three regulation victories in five head-to-head encounters.

The Raiders and Oil Kings scrum it up to end Friday’s game.

The winner of the series between the Raiders and the Oil Kings will advance to face the Medicine Hat Tigers in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

The Tigers, who finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 47-17-3-1 mark, eliminated the Swift Current Broncos in five games in a first round series between those two clubs. 

The Tigers claimed a 3-2 victory in Game 5 on Friday in Medicine Hat.

The Calgary Hitmen, who were third overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 45-17-3-3 mark, will face the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who were sixth overall in the league during the regular season with a 42-21-3-2 record, in the other Eastern Conference semifinal. 

The Raiders faithful cheer on their team.

The Hurricanes beat the visiting Wheat Kings 5-2 in Game 5 on Friday in Lethbridge to close out that first round series.

Starting in the second round, the conference brackets in the WHL Playoffs reseed via regular season standing points. The division winners are given the top two seeds in the first round.

For the moment, the Raiders focus is on winning Game 6 of their series with the Oil Kings on Sunday in Edmonton to continue to stay alive in the WHL post-season.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“We’re in a one-game series again,” said McDonald. “We’re working on the next one, and that is the next game in Edmonton.”

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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