Raiders getting spark after coaching change

The Raiders celebrate a goal during a game earlier this season.

Maybe the Prince Albert Raiders really did need a new main voice behind the bench.

On March 10, the Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt relieved head coach Jeff Truitt, 59, of his duties. Ryan McDonald, 37, was promoted from assistant coach to interim head coach.

At the time of those moves, the Raiders were sitting first in the WHL’s East Division with a 34-22-5-1 record. They had a one standings point lead over the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades.

During the final six games where Truitt served as the Raiders head coach, they posted a 1-3-2 record including dropping both ends of a home-and-home series to the archrival Blades in regulation. It seemed like the Raiders were repeating a trend from the previous campaign, where they went 2-9 over their last 11 games including action in the regular season and the WHL Playoffs. It is possible that parallelism was one of the factors that went into Hunt’s decision to make a move.

Hunt told Nathan Reiter of the Daily Herald that he made the decision because he thought a new voice was needed in the dressing room. The Raiders got a preview of what things would look like with a new main voice behind the bench during their first 15 games after coming back from their Christmas break.

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

Feisty affair – Oil Kings slip past Raider 5-4 in penalty filled clash

The Raiders and Oil Kings tangle in a second period scrum.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Jeff Truitt wanted to see his team getting going a touch quicker to counter a feisty foe.

On Friday, Truitt’s Prince Albert Raiders faced the Edmonton Oil Kings in a feisty WHL regular season contest that saw the two sides combine for 71 minute in penalties. The Oil Kings took 12 infractions for 35 minutes in penalties, and the Raiders had 14 infractions for 36 minutes in penalties.

When the dust settled, the Oil Kings edged the host Raiders 5-4 before a standing room crowd of 2,691 mostly unhappy spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The Oil Kings converted on 3-of-7 power-play chances in the contest, while the Raiders were 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

The Oil Kings celebrate a third period goal from Adam Jecho (#43).

The Edmonton side played an agitating brand of hockey that at times got under the skin of the Prince Albert players. Truitt, who is the Raiders head coach, said his squad just needs to navigate that aspect just a slight bit better.

“They’ve got speed, they’ve got size, and they’ve got grit,” said Truitt. “We’ve got to be smarter in that department as well.

“We can’t take the slashing penalties and the 10-minute misconducts. We just can’t take ourselves out of the game line that. This is where you’ve got to bite the bullet here a little bit.

“You know what? There is another game between these two teams, and we just have to show up earlier.”

Adam Jecho had the winning goal for the Oil Kings.

The Raiders and Oil Kings have split their four head-to-head encounters this season with each side collecting two regulation victories. They will meet for the fifth and final time in the regular season on Saturday, March 15 in Edmonton at Rogers Place at 7 p.m. local time.

Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic thought his squad played harder after the Oil Kings took the game to them in the opening 20 minutes. He said the biggest thing for his Raiders in the short term was to regroup for their next game.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (7 p.m., InnovationPlex).

Lukas Dragicevic had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

Dragicevic said his club wants to play the Oil Kings again to improve upon what happened in Friday’s setback to the Edmonton side.

“We’re back in Edmonton’s building,” said Dragicevic noting the upcoming March 15 encounter. “We’re just going to continue to work hard, and we’re going to owe them one when we’re back there.”

Edmonton dominated the first period of Friday’s contest, but they weren’t able to crack on to the scoreboard due to the play of Raiders netminder Dimitri Fortin. Fortin was spectacular making 16 saves in the opening 20 minutes to keep the Oil Kings off the scoreboard.

The Raiders had just four shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, but one of those shots found its way into the Edmonton net. At the 5:14 mark of the stanza,

Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Dragicevic got the puck inside the left faceoff circle on a rush and wired home his 15^th tally of the season on the Raiders first shot on goal in the contest. That marker allowed the Raiders head into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Prince Albert jumped into the second period with more intensity holding an 18-10 edge in shots on goal in what turned out to be a back and forth frame.

The Oil Kings evened the score at 1-1 just 1:45 into the second on a power-play goal from Gracyn Sawchyn. Sawchyn fired home a shot from the left side of the Prince Albert goal for the equalizer.

Import centre Miroslav Holinka added the Oil Kings second power-play goal at the 12:44 mark of the second to put the visitor up 2-1.

Rylen Roersma had three assists for the Oil Kings.

Raiders captain Justice Christensen put the host side back on even terms firing home his 21^st of the season at the 14:13 mark of the second to force a 2-2 tie. With 54.5 seconds to play in the second, Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring tallied on the power play slipping home a bad angle shot from the right side of the Edmonton goal to give Prince Albert a 3-2 lead.

Just when it seemed the Raiders would take that lead into the second intermission, Oil Kings agitating overage centre Marshall Finnie scored with 18.4 seconds remaining in the third to force a 3-3 tie.

“You have to play a complete 60 (minutes),” said Truitt. “In the second period, we started getting power plays.

Gracyn Sawchyn had the Oil Kings first goal on Friday.

“We picked up our pace a little bit and picked up our battle. Now the game gets going. We pushed back.

“I thought there was lots of intensity in the second and the third.”

With 5:56 remaining in the third, Oil Kings veteran right-winger Cole Miller scored off a set faceoff play to give the visitors a 4-3 lead. The visitors added a key insurance marker with 2:38 remaining in the third with a power-play goal coming off the stick of import right-winger Adam Jecho to give Edmonton a 5-3 advantage.

The Raiders didn’t go away. With Fortin pulled for an extra attacker, Dragicevic added his second of the contest and 16^th tally of the campaign with 86 seconds remaining in the third to cut the Oil Kings lead to 5-4. Prince Albert pressed hard in the final 86 second but was unable to come up with another equalizer.

Miroslav Holinka had the Oil Kings second goal on Friday.

“Obivously, the first period wasn’t too great,” said Dragicevic. “The second and third were.

“We got a goal on the power play that was huge. Obviously, they got a couple. Third period, I thought we battled hard, and they just ended up getting the last one.”

Dimitri Fortin turned away 36 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Ethan Simcoe stopped 28 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Oil Kings.

Star left-winger Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders. The Raiders were without star 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic, who was serving a one-game suspension for being accessed a kneeing major and a game misconduct in 2-1 home ice overtime loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday.

Justice Christensen had the Raiders second goal on Friday.

Rylen Roersma, who is a 20-year-old left-winger, recorded three assists and was a plus-two in the plus-minus department for Edmonton. Holinka had a pair of assists to go with his goal. 

The Oil Kings, who improved to 33-22-2-2 get back at it on Sunday when they travel to Saskatoon to face the Blades (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders fell to 33-20-4-1 with the setback and now have the same amount of standings point as the Brandon Wheat Kings (32-18-4-3) at 71 for first in the East Division. Prince Albert holds the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins, but the Wheat Kings have one game in hand on the Raiders.

Josh Mori controls the puck for the Oil Kings.

The Saskatoon Blades (30-19-3-4) sit four points back of both the Raiders and Wheat Kings. Saskatoon has two games in hand on Prince Albert and one game in hand on Brandon.

Dragicevic said his squad is excited to be battling late in the regular season for first place in the East Division. During the stretch run, he expects his Raiders will face some more feisty battles from opponents like what they experienced against the Oil Kings on Friday.

“It is hockey, right,” said Dragicevic. “Everything is going to always be tough, and we like it that way.

The Oil Kings celebrate their win on Friday.

“That is how we want to play, and they obviously just beat is tonight, which sucks. We’ll never complain about things getting greasy like that. That is how we want to play, and we’re just going to continue to get on with our season.”

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Fabrizi perfect physical fit in “Hockey Town North”

Raiders rearguard gets goal in 4-1 win over Warriors

Matteo Fabrizi scored the Raiders third goal on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Matteo Fabrizi said it didn’t take long for Prince Albert to feel like home.

The 19-year-old physical defenceman was acquired by the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels on December 31, 2024. By tradition, both the Raiders and the Rebels like to play more of a physical game. That characteristic has allowed Fabrizi’s transition from Red Deer to Prince Albert to be seamless.

“They (the Raiders) traded for me for a reason,” said Fabrizi, who 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds. “They expect a certain game that they know I can play, and that I know I can play too.

“I just try to bring it every night and do what I can to help the team win every night.”

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Fabrizi was able to chip on offence. At the 9:33 mark of the first period of a WHL regular season contest against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, Fabrizi sent a shot from the point that deflected off a Warriors player into the Moose Jaw net.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Matteo Fabrizi (#5).

That tally was Fabrizi’s first goal as a member of the Raiders and it gave the Prince Albert side a 3-0 lead. The Raiders would cruise to a 4-1 victory from there to the delight of the 2,551 spectators in attendance.

In 51 games split between the Rebels and the Raiders this season, Fabrizi has three goals and nine assists for 12 points. His assist total is a career high and his point total matches a career high. The St. Albert, Alta., product was pleased to get his first goal as a member of the Raiders.

“I mean, no matter who you are, it is always good scoring a goal,” said Fabrizi. “I mean it is nice to get the first one here in the green.

“It is just whatever I can do to help the team.”

Matteo Fabrizi is known for his physical style of play.

The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 32-19-3-1 and jump back into first place in the WHL’s East Division combined with the fact the Brandon Wheat Kings dropped a 5-0 decision at home to the Calgary Hitmen. The Wheat Kings (30-17-4-3) and the Saskatoon Blades (30-18-3-4) both sit one standings point behind the Raiders for first. Brandon has a game in hand on both Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

The Blades slipped past the Rebels in Red Deer 3-2 in overtime on Friday night to keep the first place race in the East Division very heated.

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said it was big for the team to add Fabrizi’s physical style of play to the club’s roster.

“He is a big physical guy that stops pucks in our defensive zone,” said Truitt. “He makes the simple plays.

Niall Crocker celebrates scoring the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“He gets one tonight, which is tremendous. It is always nice to get one, but his job is to play defence and move pucks and be strong along the wall. We’ve got enough puck handlers and what not that can really motor.

“We needed to solidify things by adding on to what (import defenceman) Vojtech (Vochvest) does for us. We just thought that we needed a bigger body back there to help be a little bit more physical and simplify the game.”

Fabrizi said was welcomed into the Raiders organization and the team’s dressing room right from the start. He said it has been fun getting to witness the skill of the Raiders high-flying offensive players like Tomas Mrsic, Aiden Oiring, Rilen Kovacevic and Lukas Dragicevic.

Ty Meunier scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

“They are a great group of guys, and obviously, a lot of them are very high skilled,” said Fabrizi. “It is cool to watch, and it is fun to watch the power play work sometimes.

“I wish I had half that skill sometimes.”

The Raiders offence got going opening the game’s scoring at the 4:15 mark of the first while working the power play. Raiders 20-year-old standout left-winger Niall Crocker tallied from a trademark area from in front of the Moose Jaw net putting home a backhander for his 24^th goal of the season.

Exactly four minutes after Crocker’s tally, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ty Meunier slipped home a shot from the left boards in the Moose Jaw zone to put the host side up 2-0. Meunier’s tally was his 13^th of the campaign.

Matthew Hutchinson made 36 saves for the Warriors.

Fabrizi added his goal just 78 seconds after Meunier’s marker and the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre were rocking.

The Warriors were able to get some traction as 18-year-old right-winger and captain Lynden Lakovic tallied on the power play for his 20^th goal of the campaign to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Moose Jaw continued to battle with some pretty good jump for the rest of the contest, but they were unable to get another puck past Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, who finished the contest making 28 saves.

Oiring, who is a Raiders star centre, rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:43 remaining in the third period. He finished the contest with an assist to go along with his goal. Mrsic, who is a star left-winger, and Brayden Dube, who is breakout right-winger, each collected two assists for the Raiders.

Lynden Lakovic netted the Warriors lone goal on Friday.

Truitt was pleased with the game’s final outcome, but he added there were still areas that could be improved.

“I liked our first period for sure,” said Truitt. “I thought that we dictated a lot of the play.

“In the second period, we didn’t do enough. Even in the third period, I thought that we didn’t do enough. We had too many blind plays when we just let guys come right to our net.

“You’ve got to be tighter than that.”

Matthew Hutchinson turned away 36-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors (11-39-4-2).

The Warriors get back in action on Saturday when they return home to host the 36-15-3-2 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). Moose Jaw is looking to end a nine game losing streak.

Max Hildebrand stopped 28 shots in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders also return to action on Saturday when they travel to Regina to take on the 15-34-5-2 Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Back in the 2022-23 campaign, Fabrizi helped the Rebels top the WHL’s Central Division. He is enjoying trying to help the Raiders top their division this season.

“It is our goal, so we’re just trying to stay on the path that we want and put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny however it may be,” said Fabrizi. “We want top spot.”

When the regular season wraps up, Fabrizi said he would like to be part of a long post-season run. In his three previous seasons with the Rebels, Red Deer advanced to the second round of the post-season but was never able to make the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. Fabrizi wants to finally get pass the second round.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I got a lot of games, but I’m ready for a third round,” said Fabrizi. “Three second rounds in a row, it is time for more.”

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Lodewyk powers Raiders with Gordie Howe hat trick

Prince Albert knocks off visiting Pats 5-2

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) celebrates his Gordie Howe hat trick goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Harrison Lodewyk admitted he was oblivious at first to the fact he got a Gordie Howe hat trick.

On Wednesday night playing before 2,395 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the 19-year-old centre picked up one goal, one assist and one fighting major to power his Prince Albert Raiders past the visiting Regina Pats 5-2 in a WHL regular season clash. The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 26-15-3-1 to push their lead for first place in the East Division to four points over the idle Saskatoon Blades (23-16-3-3).

With the Raiders holding a 2-0 lead on the Pats in the second period of Wednesday’s contest, Lodewyk already had an assist coming on his club’s first goal and a fight. On a rush into the offensive zone, Lodewyk drove down the left wing to the net.

Harrison Lodewyk had a goal, an assist and a fight on Wednesday.

A linemate in 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker came with the puck down the right wing and put a pass across the face of the Regina net to Lodewyk. Lodewyk converted the backdoor tap to put the Raiders up 3-0 at the 10:36 mark of the frame and complete the Gordie Howe hat trick in the process.

“It didn’t pop in my mind right away,” said Lodewyk, whose goal ended up being the game winner. “I was just happy that my teammates made a great play, and I got the goal.”

The Red Deer product said he decided against trying anything fancy, which ultimately helped him get the goal to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) takes down John Babcock (#5).

“I was thinking maybe I’ll just pull it back and go backhand there, but then I know that is not my game,” said Lodewyk, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 193 pounds. “I just thought why don’t I just redirect it and hope for the best there.”

Lodewyk picked up his assist on the Raiders opening goal at the 13:34 mark of the opening frame that was banged home from the front of the Regina net by 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube. The tally was Dube’s 22^nd goal of the season and it came off the rebound of a Lodewyk shot.

With 4:28 remaining in the first, Lodewyk engaged Pats 20-year-old defenceman John Babcock in a fight. The bout was a quick one with both players throwing about a couple of shots each before Lodewyk got the take down.

Raiders HC Jeff Truitt, centre, returned after a medical leave.

“He (Lodewyk) does a lot of things for us,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt. “He is a leader in our room.

“He is a guy who is one of the hardest workers that you’ll ever meet. He is very effective on the ice, faceoffs and penalty kills. He has got responsibilities that way.

“He can pitch in on the offence. He does a lot of everything. He is probably a very underrated player in our league.”

The feistiness of the contest continued early in the second period as Pats 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton took down Raiders rookie left-winger Ethan Bibeau, who turned 18-years-old on January 1, with a high stick. Raiders rookie 18-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett immediately engaged Hamilton in a fight.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders first goal on Wednesday.

Just over four minutes after that fight, the Raiders went ahead 2-0, when rookie 16-year-old right-winger Ty Meunier had the puck at the left side of the Regina net roofed home his 10^th marker of the campaign to the top right corner of the goal. Meunier converted a sweet setup pass from 16-year-old rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk on the play.

Lodewyk would record his Gordie Howe hat trick goal just 40 seconds after Meunier’s tally. The veteran, who has been with the Raiders since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, was pumped to pick up that milestone on Wednesday.

“It was pretty awesome,” said Lodewyk. “I mean you don’t go into a game hoping for those things.

Reese Hamilton, left, and Linden Burrett engage in a fight.

“You’re just hoping for the win and do the things you need to do to be successful. You’ve got to love the results.”

Before the second period ended, the Pats battled back with left-wingers Cohen Klassen and Keets Fawcett picking up singles to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2 heading into the second intermission.

Just 38 seconds into the third, Raiders had to kill off a double minor assessed to 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic for high sticking.

Shortly after that kill, Raiders 18-year-old centre Evan Smith tipped the puck home from the front of the Regina net to give the host side a 4-2 advantage. Smith got his stick on a smart setup pass from linemate Oli Chenier to record his first goal as a member of the Raiders since being acquired in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels.

Ty Meunier had the Raiders second goal on Wednesday.

Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring rounded out the game’s scoring picking up his 20^th goal of the season with 2:28 remaining in the third period.

With 90 seconds remaining in the third, Boychuk picked up a double minor for high sticking, which the Raiders were able to kill off. The double minors for high sticking given to Kovacevic and Boychuk will be automatically review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Max Hildebrand stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Ewan Huet turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats (13-27-4-2).

Raiders 19-year-old defenceman Matteo Fabrizi picked a pair of assists in the win.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Evan Smith (#21).

Wednesday’s game mark the first time Truitt was working behind the Raiders bench as head coach after missing 15 games for a medical leave to have eye surgery.  

He said it felt real good to be back behind the bench for his Prince Albert side.

“That is where you’re most comfortable is behind there and operating things and reading the game that way,” said Truitt. “The kids make it easy.

“It is just junior hockey. Sometimes, it gets a little hairy at times, but I like the way that we managed the puck, especially later on in the game. At times, we let teams back in.

“We didn’t let them back in. The two points is what we needed, and we got it.”

Aiden Oiring had the Raiders fifth goal on Wednesday.

With Wednesday’s game in the books, the Pats return to action on Friday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they host the Wenatchee Wild (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Truitt is looking forward to his team’s next game, and he said things are feeling normal for him now that he is back coaching.

“You’ve done it for so long that you get back in a comfort area, and that is where it is,” said Truitt. “You have prepared for the last couple of days the same way that we always have.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“Then, we have our meetings, and you are on the bench and you’re reading off of things and making sure that you’re getting the right guys out at the right time as much as you can. It wasn’t like it was totally different, but it just feels right.”

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Raiders grit and perseverance delivers 4-3 victory

Fortin’s 39 saves holds off Hitmen

Niall Crocker, left, enjoys his winning goal with Aiden Oiring.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Head coach Jeff Truitt appreciated the battle of his Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before 2,432 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders built a 3-0 lead on the visiting Calgary Hitmen and carried a 3-1 advantage into the third period. The Hitmen evened the score at 3-3 in the third, but the Raiders ensured the Calgary comeback was not to be.

With 4:08 remaining in the third period, Raiders 20-year-old standout right-winger Niall Crocker came up with one is his specialties. He banged home a gritty power-play goal from the front of the Calgary net on a four-on-three advantage to ultimately deliver the Raiders to a 4-3 victory.

“I really liked our compete,” said Truitt. “I thought that we skated real well.

Justice Christensen had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“I thought that we were on pucks. I thought that we carried the speed quite a bit. I like a lot about our game and our physicality from time to time.

“We’re not going to get pushed around, and we showed that here tonight. It was kind of a team effort that way. We had to grind her out under some weird conditions in the third period and got her done.”

Raiders captain Justice Christensen opened the game’s scoring firing home a shot from the left point at the 9:56 mark of the opening frame. With Friday’s contest being the Raiders Toque and Teddy Bear Toss night, stuffed animals and mitts rained down on to the Art Hauser Centre’s ice surface after Christensen’s tally.

The players and off-ice staffers along with the game’s linesmen made sure the clean up was completed in rapid order.

The Raiders celebrate a Teddy Bear goal from Justice Christensen.

The Hitmen got into penalty trouble inside the final 92 seconds of the opening frame. First, they got unsettled after 19-year-old star offensive-defenceman Carter Yakemchuk was hit by Raiders 19-year-old centre Harrison Lodewyk in the right corner of the Calgary zone.

The Hitmen coaching staff argued loudly from the bench with the officials for a penalty for hitting from behind, and no infraction was called. Just 18 seconds later, Hitmen 20-year-old import left-winger Max Muranov forearm hit Raiders 16-year-old rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph in the Calgary zone starting a big scrum. The Raiders came away with a power play with Muranov being given an interference minor making the difference in how the penalties were sorted out.

The Raiders show off some of the stuffed animals that were collected.

With 23.2 seconds remaining in the first, Hitmen star 20-year-old defenceman Kalem Parker was given a roughing minor to give the Raiders a two-man advantage for 69 seconds.

Just 33 seconds into second working that two-man advantage, Raiders star offensive-defenceman Lukas Dragicevic wired home a power-play goal from the left point to push the host side’s edge out to 2-0. For Dragicevic, that was his first goal since he tallied once in a 6-4 loss to the Royals in Victoria back on October 18.

His tally on Friday came on a Raiders power play that entered the day’s action leading the WHL with a 28.3 per cent success rate.

The Raiders and Hitmen engage in a first period scrum.

“It feels good,” said Dragicevic, who has two goals and 26 assists in 22 games with the Raiders this season. “Obviously, the power play has been really good this year.

“It just fits that I got it on the power play. I play with good players on that line. They set me up pretty good, and I just had to do the rest.”

At the 4:07 mark of the second, the Hitmen gave the puck away to Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker. Crocker got the puck to import left-winger Krzysztof Macias, who wired home a mid-range shot to give Prince Albert a 3-0 advantage.

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

The Hitmen stopped the bleeding at the 7:20 mark of the second when 19-year-old centre David Adaszynski sent home a mid-range off-speed shot through a screen for a goal to cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

With 10:02 remaining in the second working on a power play, Hitmen star 19-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe thought he scored a goal during a mad scramble. The officials first called the play a goal, proceeded to have a conference over the call and waved the tally off on the ice.

The Hitmen thought they had another goal with 3:53 remaining in the second with a shot coming off the stick of captain Carson Wetsch. That goal was waved off as Hitmen 17-year-old centre Ben Kindel was given a minor penalty for goaltender interference.

Krzysztof Macias, left, enjoys scoring the Raiders third goal.

Just 62 seconds into the third, Hitmen 20-year-old star centre Connor Hvidston snuck a turnaround shot past Raiders 18-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin to further trim the host side’s edge to 3-2.

The Hitmen evened the score a 3-3 with 5:21 remaining in third on a power-play goal from star 19-year-old right-winger Oliver Tulk. 

Tulk tipped home a puck from the front of the Prince Albert net that came from a pass by Wetsch.

That set the scene for Crocker to come through with the winning tally.

Dimitri Fortin made 39 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“We don’t give up,” said Dragicevic. “Maybe at the start of the year that is something that would have done, but we’ve grown as a team.

“We’ve grown as individuals. We knew we were going to get one on that power play. Our power play is too good to get stopped there.

“Crocks (Crocker) obviously banged that one home. It was a couple of passes before that one that led to that, and it was a nice goal.”

Fortin stopped 39 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (12-9-3). Anders Miller turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Hitmen (13-9-3-1).

Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Star 18-year-old left-winger Tomas Mrsic had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Truitt has been pleased with how solid Fortin has been for the Raiders after joining the club in a trade with the Moose Jaw Warriors on November 27.

“Since he has come in, he has been calm and cool,” said Truitt. “He has just done his job.

“He has made some key saves, but he hasn’t had to make many circus saves here. He has been pretty good. The guys in front of him have been good as well, but he has been solid.”

The Hitmen return to action on Saturday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 17-6-1-2 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders salute their faithful after Friday’s win.

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they travel to Brandon to battle the 13-8-3-1 Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

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Raiders HC Truitt said return to playoffs huge for club

20-year-olds made impact, future bright for returnees

The Raiders celebrate a goal on April 2 at the Art Hauser Centre.

Jeff Truitt said the 2023-24 campaign was a season of development for his Prince Albert Raiders.

The Raiders head coach said that due to coming into the campaign with a younger group the focus for the season was on establishing culture. Prince Albert ultimately played well enough to post a 31-32-2-3 record to finish eighth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and capture the conference’s final playoff berth.

The Raiders posted their record even with having to play their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades 10 times in the regular season, and the Blades finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 50-13-2-3 mark that included going 7-2-0-1 against the Raiders. In the WHL Playoffs taking on the Blades in a best-of-seven first round series, the Raiders claimed Game 1 by a 4-3 score on March 28 in Saskatoon before the Blades claimed victory in the next four straight contests to take the set 4-1.

Prince Albert’s campaign came to an end on Friday with a 6-2 loss in Game 5 of that series to the Blades in Saskatoon.

“Getting into the playoffs, it was a real good education for everybody,” said Truitt. “I feel bad for our 20-year-olds.

Jacob Hoffrogge joined the Raiders on October 7, 2023.

“That ends their season. For the rest of the guys in this group, it was a real good education about what it takes to win at this level.”

Due to the 20-year-old shuffle that happens annually in the WHL as each team can only have three players in that age group. Star left-winger Sloan Stanick was the most tenured player on the team in that age group arriving in Prince Albert early in the 2021-22 campaign in a very early season trade with the Regina Pats.

The Raiders two other 20-year-old players actually didn’t start the 2023-24 campaign with the club. Defenceman Jacob Hoffrogge came to the Raiders in a trade on October 7, 2023 with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Centre Turner McMillen was released by the Kelowna Rockets on October 11, 2023. Just two days after that release, McMillen was added to the roster of the Estevan Bruins joining the junior A ranks of the SJHL.  He returned to the major junior ranks being added to the Raiders roster on January 5.

Hoffrogge had one assist in three games with the Oil Kings in the 2023-24 campaign before joining the Raiders. In 60 regular season games with the Raiders, Hoffrogge recorded one goal and 17 assists. The Saskatoon product had one assist in the Raiders five post-season contests.

Turner McMillen joined the Raiders on January 5.

“Jacob was just a steady guy nothing flashy or anything like that,” said Truitt. “He is a tremendous skater that helped out with our younger guys kind of taking care of (Doogan) Pederson and (Tyrone) Sobry back there a little bit.

“You can’t ask much more from a 20-year-old that way.”

McMillen, who is an alumnus of the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team, had two goals and two assists in six games with the Rockets before being released. The Cairevale, Sask., product posted five goals and five assists in 11 games with the Bruins.

In 31 regular season games with the Raiders, McMillan had seven goals and 11 assists. He was held off the score sheet in the Raiders five post-season outings.

“We picked him (McMillan) up, and he came in and did a tremendous job,” said Truitt. “He is a good player.

“He plays with some power. He takes the body. He can shoot.

Sloan Stanick (#23) lead the Raiders with 84 points in 2023-24.

“He has that 20-year-old little bit of savvy too as well, which is great.”

Stanick, who is from Rapid City, Man., had an outstanding season leading the Raiders in scoring with 84 points coming off 30 goals and 54 assists appearing in all of the team’s 68 regular season contests. He had four assists in the Raiders five post-season games.

In 196 career regular season games with the Raiders, Stanick posted 81 goals and 112 assists for 193 points.

“Sloan Stanick again is just a tremendous player that we’re hoping that he gets a pro opportunity,” said Truitt.

Looking towards next season, the Raiders are going to return a solid core groups with one more season of experience under their collective belts. Barring any trade activity, that group will contain star right-winger Ryder Ritchie, who will be 18-years-old, offensive-defenceman Justice Christensen, who will be 19-years-old and star netminder Max Hildebrand, who will be 20-years-old.

“That is going to be the nucleus of our team,” said Truitt. “(Terrell) Goldsmith is in there as well.

The Raiders contemplate their campaign coming to an end on Friday.

“There are lots of them. Aiden Oiring has been a tremendous player for us as well. We like the pieces that we have coming back, and we’ll add to it with some of our younger guys.”

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Blades boot Raiders from first round of WHL Playoffs

Rebels up next for rematch from 2023 post-season

The Blades celebrate an empty-net goal from Trevor Wong (#38).

The Saskatoon Blades delivered a big blow with an early surge of goals their archrivals the Prince Albert Raiders couldn’t recover from.

Now, “the Bridge City Bunch” will meet another post-season foe they achieved a historical accomplishment against a year ago.

On Friday before 9,869 spectators at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades downed the Raiders 6-2 in Game 5 of their best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs. With the win, the Blades take the set 4-1.

The Blades advance to face the Red Deer Rebels in a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Rebels closed out their best-of-seven first round series with a 5-2 victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat in Game 5 of that set on Friday.

Brandon Lisowsky scored the Blades first goal on Friday.

In the 2023 playoffs, the Blades and Raiders went at it in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal. The Rebels won the first three games of the series, but the Blades claimed the last four games of the set to take the series 4-3. In the process, Saskatoon became just the third team in the history of the WHL to comeback from a 3-0 series deficit to win a series.

As for the series that just wrapped up between the Blades and Raiders, Blades head coach Brennan Sonne appreciated the unique aspect of going against the Raiders for the first time in the post-season as Saskatoon’s bench boss.

“The game on the ice itself was very gritty,” said Sonne. “I really enjoyed the fandom.

Ben Saunderson (#2) reacts to scoring the Blades second goal.

“I love the crowds we got. I enjoyed even the crowds they had. It felt like a real true playoff series.

“I really enjoyed it. I hope the fans enjoyed to, because their support was phenomenal. In both buildings, it was great.”

Entering the first round series between Saskatoon and Prince Albert, the Blades came into the set as heavy favourites. They finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 50-13-2-3 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Raiders entered the WHL Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 31-32-2-3 mark.

With the difference in the standings noted, Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt liked the compete level his club displayed against the Blades.

Alexander Suzdalev scored the Blades third goal.

“If you take a look at the series, you are up against a tremendously talented team,” said Truitt. “You always go into every playoff series believing you can win, because the slate is clean.

“As the games go on, you have to tweak and see what they’re doing and what you’re doing. We played to our capabilities. We win one game.

“We lose one in overtime. A couple of them were a little bit more distanced, but I won’t fault our guys for anything on their effort. They played hard.”

As for Friday’s clash itself, the Raiders came out and got the first three shots on goal in the contest. At that point, momentum jumped on the side of the Blades in a big way as they surged ahead 4-0.

Fraser Minten scored the Blades fourth goal on Friday.

At the 3:24 mark of the opening frame, Blades star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky jumped on a mishandled puck by a Raiders defenceman in the Prince Albert zone. Lisowsky proceeded to wire a shot from the left faceoff circle through Raiders star netminder Max Hildebrand for his first of the post-season to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. The tally came on the Blades second shot of the game.

During the regular season, Lisowsky appeared in all of the Blades 68 games posting career highs in goals (42), assists (38), points (80) and the plus-minus department (plus-26). While he hadn’t scored in the first four games of the series, Lisowsky, who is a 19-year-old veteran, learned that when he went through scoreless stretches in the past not to press but to play like he normally plays when he is on hot stretches.

The fans at the SaskTel Centre cheer on the Blades.

“Obviously as a goal scorer, you want to score and you want to help the team win,” said Lisowsky. “I kind of know just not to grip the stick too tight and not to go anything about being different.

“I try to be myself. I thought our line has been playing really good, and I thought we got rewarded tonight.”

Blades defenceman Ben Saunderson proceeded to convert a backdoor feed at the left side of the Prince Albert net to put the Blades up 2-0 at the 5:57 mark of the opening frame. Saunderson cashed in a beauty setup feed from Blades captain Trevor Wong, who was positioned beside the right faceoff dot. Saunderson’s tally was the Blades third shot on goal of the contest.

Niall Crocker reacts to scoring for the Raiders in the first period.

Just 73 seconds later, Blades star 19-year-old right-winger Alexander Suzdalev tipped home a shot from the point by Lisowsky to push the host side’s advantage out to 3-0.

With 7:24 remaining in the first, Blades star centre Fraser Minten wired a midrange shot home from the Prince Albert goal to cap the surge that put Saskatoon up by four goals. Minten’s tally came on the Blades 10^th shot of the contest.

“It is a nice way to start a game that is for sure instead of chasing it or anything like that,” said Sonne. “Having a big start like that just makes it a lot easier.”

The Blades and Raiders get into some rough stuff on Friday.

The Raiders tried to stop the bleeding. With 5:47 remaining in the first, Raiders right-winger Niall Crocker popped home his third goal of the post-season to cut the Blades lead to 4-1.

With 18.5 seconds left in the first, Blades breakout rookie netminder Evan Gardner was knocked into by Raiders offensive-defenceman Justice Christensen after Christensen was pushed from behind by Blades defenceman Charlie Wright. Christensen was given a minor for goaltender interference on the play.

Gardner was checked by a Blades trainer but stayed in goal for the rest of the frame.

When the teams came out for the start of the second, Austin Elliott came out to take up the goalie spot for the Blades, and Gardner wasn’t on the bench. Gardner stopped 8-of-9 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Ellliott turned away 15-of-16 shots playing the rest of the way in goal in relief for Saskatoon.

Austin Elliott makes one of his 15 saves in goal for the Blades.

Blades star overage left-winger Easton Armstrong also missed the final two periods of the contest. Sonne didn’t have any updates to pass along about either player at game’s end.

Frustration started to boil over at points for the Raiders in the second. With 6:06 remaining in the frame, Raiders import left-winger Krzysztof Macias nailed Blades centre Lukas Hansen with an elbow to the head. Macias was given a major for checking to the head and a game misconduct. The penalty to Macias will trigger an automatic review from the WHL office for a possible suspension to be applied next season.

The Blades were unable to score on the subsequent man advantage.

The Raiders enjoy a goal from Harrison Lodewyk (#29).

Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Luke Moroz was serving Macias’s penalty, and when the infraction expired, Moroz came out of the penalty box and found himself on a breakaway. Lisowsky jetted up ice on the backcheck and poked the puck away from Moroz to prevent a scoring chance.

“I knew the penalty was getting to an end,” said Lisowsky. “I don’t really know how the puck got there.

“I’m going to have to watch it on video. I just saw a guy out of the box. I just wanted to catch him.

“It could have been a different game, if he scored that. It definitely could have been a different game, so I really wanted to get him and kind of show a 200-foot game from myself. I just had my legs, and I was trying to move as fast as I can.”

Trevor Wong scored a goal for the Blades.

With 4:54 remaining in the third, Raiders left-winger Harrison Lodewyk broke into the Saskatoon zone down the right wing, cut wide around the Blades defence to get alone in front of the Saskatoon net and tucked home his first of the post-season. That tally trimmed the Blades lead to 4-2.

“That is the big thing about our club is they will never give up,” said Truitt. “It has been like that all year long.

“We’ve come from behind to win games. We’ve stuck to it when we’ve had to defend. We won some shootout games and things like that.

“We’ve been down three or four goals before this year and have come back. The belief was still there, but we knew it was going to be a challenge. Again, our guys worked and competed right to the end.”

The Blades start celebrating their series win on Friday.

The Blades called a timeout a short time after the tally by Lodewyk. They snuffed out the attempted rally with an empty net goal from Wong with four minutes remaining in the frame to give the Blades a 5-2 advantage.

Wright added a short-handed empty-net goal with 2:11 left in the frame to round out the 6-2 final in favour of the host side. The tally came on the Blades 40^th shot of the contest.

Hildebrand turned away 35-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders.

While the Blades will face the Rebels in one Eastern Conference semifinal series, the other Eastern Conference semifinal will see the Moose Jaw Warriors take on the Swift Current Broncos in a rivalry clash. 

The Raiders react to their campaign coming to an end.

The Warriors swept the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round, while the Broncos had the brooms out to take out the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Game 1 of the series between the Blades and Rebels is set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre. Before thinking about what is to come against the Rebels, Sonne wants his club to enjoy the series win against the Raiders and some down time too.

“They hear from me so much they don’t need to hear from me for a day or two for sure,” said Sonne. “For all of us and the staff too, we have to get around our family a little bit too.

Max Hildebrand (#30) and Egor Sidorov (#19) pass on well wishes.

“We have to be human beings a little bit. It is the only way you stay centred and grounded and maintain the perspective you need to be a really good coach. They don’t need to hear from me for a day or two that is for sure.”

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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