Corkish hatty puts Raiders one win away from WHL final

Tigers fall 6-3 in Game 5 of Eastern Conference final

The Raiders celebrate a hat trick goal from Owen Corkish (#32).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Owen Corkish capitalized on his moment to be the x-factor for the Prince Albert Raiders.

On Friday night playing before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, Corkish, who is an 18-year-old rookie left-winger, delivered his first WHL hat trick in either regular season or post-season play. The Cottage Grove, Minnesota, product’s three-goal night powered the host Raiders to a 6-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 5 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series.

With the Raiders clinging to a 4-3 lead late in the third period, Corkish fired home a shot from his own zone into an empty Tigers net with 2:31 remaining in the third period to complete his hat trick. Following that tally, hats rained down from the Raiders faithful at the Hauser in celebration of that goal.

Owen Corkish (#32) breaks away from Noah Davidson (#39).

“I just put one and one together and tried to go for it and see what happens,” said Corkish. “Fortunately, it went in.”

If there was going to be any other drama, Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube wrapped home an empty-net tally with 1:29 remaining in the third to round out the 6-3 final score in favour of the Prince Albert side.

With the win, the Raiders take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set with the Tigers. They will try to close the series out in Game 6 on Sunday at 6 p.m. local time at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

Before looking forward to Game 6, Corkish said his hat trick performance in Game 5 ranks up there with the biggest hockey games he has ever had.

Owen Corkish sets to score his long distance empty-net goal.

“It is definitely one of them,” said Corkish. “I’m fortunate enough to have the night I had with the guys around me.

“I couldn’t have done it without those guys. We have such a tight group and such an amazing group that it could have been any one of those guys tonight. I’m just proud to be a part of this group.”

The Raiders came storming out of the gate. At the five-minute mark of the opening frame, standout 17-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson had the puck in the left corner of the Medicine Hat and passed it to linemate Alisher Sarkenov in front of the goal. Sarkenov quickly blasted the puck home to put the host side up 1-0.

Prince Albert outshot Medicine Hat 16-3 in the opening 20 minutes, but the Tigers were able to force a 1-1 tie before the stanza came to a close. With 2:50 remaining in the first, Tigers star 19-year-old defenceman Jonas Woo popped home a puck close in at the left side of the Prince Albert net for the equalizer.

Jonas Woo scored the Tigers first goal on Friday.

“We let them get off to a great start, which we can’t do in their building,” said Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins. “We were so lucky to come out 1-1.”

While 18-year-old rookie netminder Carter Casey came up big in the opening frame, he couldn’t keep the Raiders at bay forever.

Just 22 seconds into the second period, Corkish tipped home a point shot from Raiders captain Justice Christensen to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ben Harvey then tapped home a puck at the right side of Medicine Hat net to push Prince Albert’s advantage to 3-1 at the 8:57 mark of the frame. Harvey converted a beauty setup pass from linemate Maddix McCagherty from the left side boards in the Medicine Hat zone.

Alisher Sarkenov scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

With 6:24 remaining in the second, Corkish picked up his second goal of the contest banging home the rebound of his own shot in front of the Medicine Hat net. Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased with the play of the line of Corkish, 20-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring and Dube calling them dynamic. Dube finished with an assist to go with his goal, while Oiring had one helper.

“I thought their line did a great job tonight,” said McDonald. “They were on the right side of pucks.

“They checked really well. They got their offensive chances, and they capitalized on them and really used their speed tonight.”

The Tigers proceeded to battle back in the third. 

Just 1:55 into the frame, a shot from Tigers 19-year-old left-winger Cam Parr deflected off the skate of 20-year-old right-winger Ethan Neutens into the Prince Albert net to cut the Raiders lead to 4-2.

Ethan Neutens scored for the Tigers on Friday.

At the 9:19 mark of the third, Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham put a shot on goal from the left side of the Raiders net that was stopped by Raiders star import netminder Michal Orsulak. The puck rebounded to the right side of the net to Tigers 20-year-old rearguard Josh Van Mulligen. Van Mulligen fired home the rebound to trim the Raiders advantage down to 4-3.

While the Tigers have posted their share of comeback victories this season, they weren’t able to rally back any further on this night. The tallies by Neutens and Van Mulligen set the stage for the Raiders two empty-net markers to close the contest out.

Desjardins was pleased to see his squad battle back to make the contest a one-goal game again in the third.

“We got the first one,” said Desjardins. “You knew you had a chance.

Ben Harvey had a goal for the Raiders on Friday.

“Then, we got the second. We had some looks to get the third as well. We just didn’t get it.

“They bent a little bit, but they didn’t break. They stayed with their game plan, and they were able to pull it out.”

McDonald was happy to see there was no panic coming from his Raiders side after the Tigers pulled to within 4-3.

“They’re a good team,” said McDonald. “You can’t give them chances.

“They have the ability to put them in the back of the net. I really liked our guys’ calmness tonight. They got those two in the third, and guys were even keel.

“We just continued to go about our business and continued to win our battles and lock it down.”

Brayden Dube had one goal and one assist for the Raiders.

Orsulak stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Casey turned away 41-of-45 shots to take the setback in net for the Tigers.

Prince Albert also held a 49-21 advantage in the faceoff circle.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers, who are the defending WHL champions, finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL during the regular season with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers enjoy a goal from Josh Van Mulligen (#22).

The Raiders and Tigers met four times in the 2025-26 regular season. Each side claimed two regulation time wins including one victory at home and one the road. Each side scored 16 goals in those four head-to-head contests.

The winner of the Eastern Conference final will face the Everett Silvertips in the best-of-seven WHL Championship Series. The Silvertips swept the Penticton Vees 4-0 in the Western Conference Championship Series. Everett was rated first in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

Looking towards Game 6, Desjardins wants his team to be better in a couple of areas.

Fans at the Art Hauser Centre cheer on the Raiders.

“We’ve got to be more aggressive,” said Desjardins. “They’ve got lots of speed and the worst thing with speed is to back up.

“You’ve got to be aggressive on speed and gap up and handle it. We’ve got to be better in the faceoff circle too. They were really good in the faceoff circle.

“Give them credit, but they’ve got to win another one.”

The Raiders celebrate their win on Friday.

While the Raiders will try to clinch the series and the Eastern Conference title on Sunday, Corkish said his squad has to focus on business as usual on the ice.

“I think there is nothing we’ve got to overcomplicate,” said Corkish. “I think we’ve just got to simplify our game and keep doing what we’re doing, and it is going to turn out good.”

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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Tigers and Raiders fans battle over God’s place in hockey

A quartet of Tigers players take part in a prayer circle on Saturday.

A holy war is breaking out in the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series between the fans of the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Prince Albert Raiders.

The trigger moment for the rising heat between the two fan bases came at the conclusion of Game 2 of the set played before a sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, which was won 5-0 by the Tigers on Saturday night. At that point, the Christian players on the Tigers set out to do their traditional prayer circle.

Before I go on, I want to say I liked how all parties in the Tigers, Raiders and the game officials handled the next part.

After the game ended, Raiders defencemen Linden Burrett and Matyas Man skated to centre ice, and both went down on one knee at the faceoff circle. When the Tigers were done celebrating and sharing congratulations around netminder Jordan Switzer, Tigers captain Bryce Pickford, assistant captain Jonas Woo, centre Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, right-winger Luke Cozens and left-winger Cam Parr separated from the rest of the Tigers and looked towards centre ice.

Pickford, Woo, Gordon-Carroll and Cozens are the four regulars who always take part in the Tigers prayer circle. To me, it looked like the group of Tigers players asked the Raiders players if they wanted to do a prayer together.

From my view, it looked like Burrett waved them away and told the Tigers players to go do their thing. In sports, the team logo at centre ice or centre field is a big thing, and it seemed like the Raiders players wanted to protect the logo.

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

Tigers show tenacity, rebound with 5-0 win over Raiders

WHL Eastern Conference final tied at 1-1 heading to the Hat

Markus Ruck (#26) is all smiles after scoring the Tigers third goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – When it comes to handling adversity, it can be argued that no team in the WHL circles the wagons better than the Medicine Hat Tigers.

On Friday, the Tigers opened the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series by getting trampled 8-3 by the host Prince Albert Raiders at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre. Since Willie Desjardins first joined the Tigers before the start of the 2002-03 campaign, it became common for the Medicine Hat franchise to quickly get over what happened in a bad loss and roar back with a sound victory.

In Game 2 of the series on Saturday played before another sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the Hauser, the Tigers rolled to a 5-0 victory and silenced the Raiders faithful for long stretches of the contest. The win allowed the Tigers to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Markus Ruck had one goal and one assist for the Tigers.

The defending WHL champions will now host the next two games of the set in Medicine Hat. Games 3 and 4 are set for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at Co-op Place for a 7 p.m. start on both nights.

“It is a big win for sure,” said Tigers star left-winger Markus Ruck, who had one goal, one assist and a plus-two in the plus-minus department. “We knew coming in it is a really tough rink.

“To get that one is huge. We knew coming into it we had to get this one.”

The teams started off playing fairly even as the shots on goal were tied 4-4 after the first 11 minutes of the opening frame. Momentum changed when Raiders defenceman Linden Burrett was given a roughing minor with eight minutes remaining in the frame.

Jordan Switzer made 30 saves to earn a shutout win.

The Tigers proceeded to buzz the Prince Albert net forcing Raiders rookie star import netminder Michal Orsulak to make about six huge saves. Tigers star 20-year-old centre Andrew Basha came the closest to scoring by wiring a shot off the crossbar causing a scramble in front of the Raiders net. Raiders star centre Braeden Cootes came up with a clearance to relieve the pressure.

While the Raiders got the kill, the Tigers had a tonne of momentum they would carry through to the end of the second period. Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube said you could feel that momentum was on the side of the visitors after that power-play chance.

“They got lots of shots and lots of good looks,” said Dube. “They got a jump in their step.

Michal Orsulak makes one of his 36 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“We just have to find a way to go back at them after big kills like that. We have to find a way to get back to our game after.”

Before the first ended, the Tigers went back on the power-play after Raiders standout 16-year-old defenceman Brock Cripps was called for holding with 2:07 remaining in the first. Right after that power play expired, Tigers star defenceman Jonas Woo threw a puck from a bad angle at the right boards by the icing line to the front of the Prince Albert net.

The puck appeared to deflect home off Tigers standout centre Noah Davidson into the Prince Albert goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead with 5.9 seconds remaining in the frame. Woo, who missed Game 1 of the series with an undisclose ailment, was given credit for the goal. The Tigers exited the first holding their 1-0 advantage and a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.

Jonas Woo was credited with two goals on Saturday.

That opening tally by Medicine Hat marked the first time the Raiders gave up the first goal of a game in the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

The Tigers continued to come hard at the Raiders in the second holding a 17-9 edge in shots on goal for the frame. Medicine Hat finally got a second goal past Orsulak with 3:47 remaining in the stanza while working on the power play.

Ruck swooped down the right wing with the puck and made a backhanded pass to the front of the Prince Albert net to his twin brother Liam Ruck. Liam blasted home his sixth of the post-season to push the Tigers advantage out to 2-0.

“It is pretty cool,” said Markus Ruck about the power-play goal. “I was kind of just wheeling in the zone, and I kind of popped up and saw him there.

Alisher Sarkenov and the Raiders had no luck around the net.

“It is pretty cool playing with him. It is obviously really cool being his brother.”

In the third, the Raider came with a big push forcing Tigers netminder Jordan Switzer, who turned 19-years-old in January, to stand on his head. The Raiders would outshoot the Tigers 15-8 in the third but were unable to put a puck past Switzer, who was making his first start of the series.

“In our room, we knew they were going to battle hard there,” said Switzer. “I think it was only 2-0 for a bit.

“I think we did a good job shutting them down, weathering the storm and then we got a couple in the end.”

With 7:11 remaining in the third, Markus Ruck came up with a dagger goal. Tigers right-winger Carter Cunningham sprung Ruck down the left-wing on a contested breakaway. Ruck lasered home a shot to the short side on Orsulak to give the visitors a 3-0 advantage.

Aiden Oiring of the Raiders jets away from Cam Parr of the Tigers.

Woo proceeded to score a long empty-net from his own icing line with 1:55 remaining in the third, and import defenceman Niilopekka Muhonen netted his first of the post-season with a seeing-eye shot from the left side boards in the Prince Albert end to round out the 5-0 final score in favour of the Tigers.

“This is a hard barn to play in, especially in playoff time,” said Switzer. “It is a sold out rink.

“All the fans are all over us, but I think we handled it good tonight, didn’t get rattled and stuck to our game plan.”

Orsulak turned away 36-of-40 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Switzer stopped 30 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Tigers, which was also Switzer’s first clean slate in post-season play.

Noah Davidson had a strong game for the Tigers.

The Tigers were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Raiders failed to score on four chances with the man advantage.

“The first period the shots were a little lopsided there from a couple of power-play situations,” said Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald. “I didn’t mind our start.

“I thought we created some opportunities and didn’t get some bounces and got away from it in the second period and started turning some pucks over and feeding into their transition and making it real hard on ourselves. In the third period, we got back to our game and getting pucks in behind and created some opportunities for ourselves. Again, you have to tip your cap to them.

“They played hard. Again, we need to match that intensity and match that level.”

Liam Ruck scored a power-play goal for the Tigers.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference, claimed the East Division title and finished second overall in the WHL with a 52-10-5-1 mark. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Tigers, who are the defending WHL champions, finished second in the Eastern Conference, captured the Central Division title and finished third overall in the WHL during the regular season with a 50-10-5-3 mark. They were rated fifth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings.

The Raiders and Tigers met four times in the 2025-26 regular season. Each side claimed two regulation time wins including one victory at home and one the road. Each side scored 16 goals in those four head-to-head contests.

These two traveling fans enjoyed the Tigers win on Saturday.

Due to how even the regular season series was, Desjardins, who is the Tigers legendary head coach and general manager, expects every game of the Eastern Conference final with the Raiders to be a battle.

“I thought we played a little better tonight,” said Desjardins. “I thought the first game they kind of took it away on us.

“We had a really good start and then got on our heels a little bit. They got some power-play goals. Tonight, we got one on the power play.

“One just went in at the end of two (minutes), so that was probably the difference.”

Niilopekka Muhonen had the Tigers final goal on Saturday.

Going into Game 3 of the series in Medicine Hat on Tuesday, Dube said his Raiders have to show their perseverance.

“We just have to wipe this one and play our game,” said Dube. “Today, we were trying to do too much I think.

“We’re at our best when we are playing fast, just getting pucks deep and on our forecheck.”

As for the Tigers, Ruck said everyone on his squad is pumped to continue the series at their home rink.

“Going back 1-1 in the series, we know our fans are going to be awesome,” said Ruck. “We can’t wait.

“Hopefully, we continue what we just had today.”

The Tigers celebrate their win on Saturday.

NOTES – The Raiders had another huge 50/50 pot for Saturday’s game with online sale combined with sales in the building. The take home prize was $98,540 and will go to the person with ticket number C-124720.

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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Tigers persevere with Ruck’s OT winner over Raiders

Medicine Hat takes 2-0 series lead over Prince Albert

The Tigers pile up top of Liam Ruck after he scores an OT winner.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – The Prince Albert Raiders had to have had visions of the Art Hauser Centre running through their collective heads.

For a moment, it appeared the Raiders had the host Medicine Hat Tigers right where they wanted them on Sunday night. After Tigers superstar left-winger Gavin McKenna scored on a rush down the left wing for his second of two short-handed goals on the night with 2:15 remaining in the third period of Game 2 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Tigers held a 4-2 lead with the 5,242 spectators at Co-op Place quickly going into full celebration mode.

While the Tigers have showed they have potent offence so far in this series, the Raiders are showing they never say die. In a span of 35 seconds, Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic scored twice to force a 4-4 tie and overtime.

The fans at Co-op Place cheer the Tigers overtime winner.

He tallied on the power play with a mid-range shot with 1:37 remaining in the frame and added the equalizer with 62 seconds remaining on the clock as the Raiders had 20-year-old star netminder Max Hildebrand pulled for an extra attacker.

Following Kovacevic’s second tally, it felt like Tigers rookie netminder Jordan Switzer, who turned 18-years-old in January, might have gotten a little shaky. Medicine Hat came out composed in the overtime period, and Prince Albert never really had a serious chance to test Switzer again.

Liam Ruck (#12) is all smiles after scoring the OT winner.

At the 8:42 mark of the extra session, Raiders gritty centre Harrison Lodewyk nailed Tigers offensive-defenceman Jonas Woo into the boards in the centre ice zone with a huge amount of force. Woo went down and had to be helped off the ice, and Lodewyk was give a minor penalty for boarding.

Just eight seconds into the ensuing power play, Tigers offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford took a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that was tipped home by super-rookie right-winger Liam Ruck to give the host Tigers a 5-4 victory. The crowd at Co-op Place exploded into a madhouse once Ruck’s goal entered the Prince Albert net.

The win allowed the Tigers to hold serve at home taking a 2-0 lead in the set, while the Raiders were left to lament they weren’t able to get the series back to their storied and historic home rink locked in a 1-1 tie. The series shifts back to Prince Albert for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Those contests will be held at 7 p.m. both nights at the Hauser.

Rilen Kovacevic celebrates his second of two goals on Sunday.

In a players’ poll conducted earlier this season, the Hauser was voted as the second toughest road rink in the WHL to play in.

From a Raiders perspective, Game 2 ultimately was the “one that got away.”

Lodewyk, who turned 20-years-old in March, was having a good night until taking his boarding infraction. The Red Deer, Alta., product had goal and won 13-of-19 faceoffs.

For the most part, Game 2 of the series was fairly evenly played. The Tigers went 2-for-5 on the power play, and the Raiders were 2-for-6 with the man advantage. 

Medicine Hat got two short-handed goals from McKenna, while the Raiders didn’t have any short-handed markers.

Tanner Molendyk, left, battles Rilen Kovacevic for the puck.

The Tigers had the only goal in the first period where the shots on goal were even at 7-7. With 3:36 remaining in the opening frame, Tigers captain Oasiz Wiesblatt deflected home a shot from offensive-defenceman Bryce Pickford to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

At the 6:51 mark of the second, McKenna netted his first short-handed goal of the contest to put the Tigers up 2-0, and it was a highlight reel tally that is sure to be played on most major sports networks and will show up all over social media. It was a goal where you have to see the video to truly appreciate it.

McKenna entered the Prince Albert zone on what ended up being a two-on-two rush, he put a couple of moves on to tie Raiders star 19-year-old defenceman Lukas Dragicevic in knots and proceeded to use Dragicevic as a screen to roof a shot to the top right corner of the Prince Albert net.

Oasiz Wiesblatt had the Tigers first goal on Sunday.

That spectacular tally would allow McKenna to have points in his last 47 consecutive outings including action in the regular season and post-season.

The two teams proceeded to combine for six goals in the final 10:14 of the third period. With 10:14 remaining in the third, Raiders rookie defenceman Linden Burrett wristed a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle to the top left corner of the Medicine Hat net to cut the Tigers lead to 2-1.

Just 72 seconds later, Tigers overage centre Mathew Ward got in alone on Hildebrand, put on a deke move and tucked home his first of the post-season to put the Tigers up 3-1.

The Raider answered back working on the power play 79 seconds later Lodewyk potted his first of the post-season from the front of the Medicine Hat net to cut the Tigers lead to 3-2. Lodewyk converted a nice short pass from Tigers rookie centre Riley Boychuk, who had been positioned by the left side of the Medicine Hat net.

Gavin McKenna had two short-handed goals on Sunday.

That set the stage for the dramatics that happened in the final 2:15 of the third and in the extra session.

Hildebrand turned away 33 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Switzer stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers.

The Tigers had a 31-30 edge in shots on goal after regulation and outshot the Raiders 7-1 in overtime.

Veteran Medicine Hat star defenceman Tanner Molendyk had three assists in the win.

The Raiders were without star left-winger Tomas Mrsic for a fourth straight contest having suffered a skate cut late in the first period of the Raiders victory in Game 5 in their first round series over the Edmonton Oil Kings. 

Linden Burrett had the Raiders first goal on Sunday.

The Tigers were without star forwards Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom.

Basha last played in the Tigers 4-0 home ice victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 28, 2024 and has been out with a lower body injury since that time. 

Lindstrom has been battling a back injury since December 16, 2023 and last suited up on April 5, 2024, when the Tigers fell 5-2 at home to be eliminated from the WHL Playoffs in Game 5 of a first round series against the Red Deer Rebels.

The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark. They took out the Swift Current Broncos in five games in a best-of-seven first round series.

The Raiders won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. They overcame a 3-1 series deficit to down the Oil Kings 4-3 in the first round of the playoffs.

The Tigers celebrate a goal from Mathew Ward (#10).

In their last 41 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Tigers are an impressive 34-4-2-1. While the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinal between the Tigers and Raiders have been entertaining and could have gone either way, the Tigers did what they needed to do in winning twice on home ice.

Now, the pressure shifts to the Raiders to hold serve at the Hauser. They know they will get a boost from their faithful in “Hockey Town North.”

Will that be enough to derail the heater the Tigers have been on?

The Tigers enjoy their overtime victory on Sunday night.

No matter what happens, it is safe to expect the remaining games of this series will be must-watch hockey.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Raiders rock Hauser, down Blades 6-3 for fifth straight win

Prince Albert takes slim edge for first in East Division  

It was a great night to be a fan of the Prince Albert Raiders outside of a bit of a mid-length scare.

On Friday night, the host Raiders stormed out to an early 4-1 lead and downed their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades 6-3 in a WHL regular season clash to the delight of a standing room crowd of 2,919 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The win was the fifth straight for the Raiders allowing them to improve to 24-15-3 to hold the slim edge for first place in the WHL’s East Division.

The Raiders and Blades, who fell to 23-16-2-3, have the same amount of standings points at 51, but the Prince Albert side holds the standings tiebreaker due having more wins. The squad from “Hockey Town North” also has a pair of games in hand on “The Bridge City Bunch.” After the Blades traded away their three best veteran players to get some quality younger players and acquire WHL Prospects Draft capital, the Raiders faithful were waiting for their Saskatoon rivals to fall back to the pack.

The Blades have recorded just one win and one standings point from an extra time setback in their last six games. During the losses over this six game stretch including Friday’s clash, the Blades did have their momentum carrying moments where it appeared they would potential steal a win before ultimately falling on the scoreboard.

In Friday’s contest between the Raiders and Blades, it appeared for a time the music operators in the Prince Albert side’s storied home rink might start playing The Guess Who’s “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” at an early juncture. As has been the tradition in Prince Albert for a lengthy stretch of time, the song “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” is played every time the Raiders, the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team and the Prince Albert Northern Bears under-18 AAA female squad defeat their respective rival foes from Saskatoon.

Just 2:31 into Friday’s encounter, Raiders standout 16-year-old rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph scored to give the host’s a 1-0 lead. At the 5:42 mark of the opening frame, Raiders 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube potted his 20^th goal of the campaign to push Prince Albert’s edge out to 2-0. Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk proceeded to put his squad up 3-0 at the 13:34 mark of the first as the Art Hauser Centre was rocking.

The Blades broke through on the scoreboard just 33 seconds after Boychuk’s tally with standout 16-year-old rookie centre Cooper Williams potting his 13^th goal of the season to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Raiders 19-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring restored the host side’s three-goal edge netting his 19^th goal of the campaign with 70 seconds remaining in the first.

At that point, the Blades proceeded to put a scare into the Raiders and their fans. Inside the final minute of the first, the Blades scored twice to cut the Raiders advantage to 4-3. Blades sophomore centre Hayden Harsanyi tallied with 43.8 seconds remaining in the first and 18-year-old right-winger Hunter Laing recorded his 12^th of the campaign with 12 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

The Blades came out buzzing in the second period holding a 16-5 edge in shots on goal and pinning the Raiders inside their own zone for lengthy stretches of time. Raiders star 20-year-old Max Hildebrand made a number of big saves to ensure his squad still held a 4-3 lead going into the second intermission.

The Raiders found their stride again and closed the contest out in a fairly evenly played third period.

With 4:16 remaining in the third, Raiders 18-year-old rookie centre Jackson Kostiuk scored his first career WHL goal to push the Raiders lead out to 5-3. Kostiuk joined the Raiders on January 10 after starting the current campaign in the junior A ranks with the Steinback Pistons of the MJHL.

Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 35.1 seconds remaining in the third.

Hildebrandt stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Evan Gardner turned away 26-of-31 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

Both Oiring and Mrsic finished the night recording one goal and two assists for three points.

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday, when they travel to Regina to take on the 12-26-4-2 Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre). The Blades are idle on Saturday.

The Raiders and Blades will tangle again on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

Tigers rally past Chiefs for eighth straight victory  

The Medicine Hat Tigers needed some late game heroics to pull out their eighth straight win and keep topping the WHL’s Eastern Conference and Central Division.

On Friday playing on the road before 7,134 spectators at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Tigers found themselves trailing the host Chiefs 2-0. Medicine Hat proceeded to rally with three straight goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period to pull out a 3-2 victory.

Just 31 seconds into the contest, Chiefs star 20-year-old left-winger Shea Van Olm opened the game’s scoring with his 34^th goal of the campaign to give the host side a 1-0 edge. The Chiefs pushed their advantage out to 2-0 at the 5:17 mark of the third on a goal by import 18-year-old rookie right-winger Assanali Sarkenov.

At that point, the Tigers offence came alive. With 9:58 remaining in the third, Tigers 20-year-old defenceman Josh Van Mulligen netted his second goal of the campaign to cut the Chiefs lead to 2-1.

Working on the power play with 6:54 remaining in the third, Tigers star 17-year-old left-winger Gavin McKenna one-timed home a power-play goal on a nice setup pass from 16-year-old centre Markus Ruck to even the score at 2-2.

With 4:57 remaining in the third, Tigers offensive-defenceman Jonas Woo potted the winner that gave the visitors their 3-2 victory.

Harrison Meneghin stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Dawson Cowan turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Chiefs.

McKenna had a pair of assists to go with his goal. Van Mulligen had an assist to go with his tally and Tigers star 18-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up a pair of helpers.

Chiefs star 19-year-old right-winger Andrew Cristall picked up an assist and leads the WHL in scoring with 78 points coming off 31 goals and 47 assists. McKenna sits second in the league scoring race with 76 points coming off 21 goals and 55 assists.

With their eighth straight win, the Tigers improved to 29-15-2 to lead the Eastern Conference and Central Division by two points over the Lethbridge Hurricanes (28-14-1-1). The Hurricanes have two games in hand on the Tigers.

The Calgary Hitmen (26-12-3-2) sit three points back of the Tigers and one point back of the Hurricanes. The Hitmen have three games in hand on the Tigers and one game in hand on the Hurricanes.

The Chiefs fell to 30-16 and remain second overall in the Western Conference and the U.S. Division.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they travel to Kennewick, Washington, to take on the 22-17-3-1 Tri-City Americans (6 p.m. local time, Toyota Centre).

The Chiefs are off until Friday, January 31, when they will host the Victoria Royals (7 p.m. local time, Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena).

Braillard’s hatty keeps Hurricanes on heater, other notes  

Leo Braillard ensured the Lethbridge Hurricanes stayed red hot.

On Friday night playing before 3,927 spectators at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena, Braillard, who is a 19-year-old import right-winger, picked up hat trick to power his host Hurricanes past the Red Deer Rebels 4-1. The victory was the ninth straight for the Hurricanes, who improved to 28-14-1-1 to sit two points back of the Medicine Hat Tigers (29-15-2) for top spot in the Eastern Conference and the Central Division. Lethbridge has two games in hand on Medicine Hat.

In Friday’s clash with the Rebels, Braillard opened the game’s scoring netting a pair of power-play goals 14 seconds apart from each other just before the nine-minute mark of the first period.

Hurricanes star 19-year-old left-winger Logan Wormald recorded his 27^th tally of the campaign before the first period came to a wrap to push his squad’s advantage out to 3-0.

At the 2:03 mark of the second, Rebels 19-year-old right-winger Talon Brigley netted his fifth goal of the campaign to cut the Hurricanes advantage to 3-1.

Braillard completed his hat trick tallying at the 5:12 mark of the third to round out the scoring in the contest.

Koen Cleaver, who is a 17-year-old rookie, stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes. Peyton Shore, who is a 16-year-old rookie, turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels.

Wormald had a pair of assists to go with his goal.

The Hurricanes went 3-for-7 on the power play in the win, while the Rebels failed to score on their three power-play opportunities.

The Rebels fell to 15-23-4-2 and haven’t posted a win over their last 13 contests picking three standings points in extra time setbacks over that span of games.

The Hurricanes return to action on Saturday host the Calgary Hitmen (26-12-3-2) at 6 p.m. local time at VisitLethbridge.com Arena. The Hitmen sit one standings point back of the Hurricanes.

The Rebels also get back at it on Saturday hosting the Moose Jaw Warriors (10-29-4-2) at 7 p.m. local time at the Peavey Mart Centrium.

• On Friday in Kamloops, captain Emmitt Finnie of the host Blazers had a pair of goals including the overtime winner and an assist in a 4-3 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. That result gave Blazers head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston his 580^th career regular season head coaching victory in the WHL. He needs two more wins to equal Marc Habscheid, who is best remembered for serving as head coach for the Rockets and Prince Albert Raiders, for fifth on the all-time list at 582 victories.
• On Friday in Edmonton, 17-year-old right-winger Lukas Sawchyn had a pair of goals and an assist to power the host Oil Kings to a 5-1 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors. The win was a third in a row for the Oil Kings who improve to 25-16-1-2.
• On Friday in Prince George, star 20-year-old right-winger Koehn Ziemmer had the winning goal and an assist to lead the host Cougars past the Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2. Star 18-year-old netminder Joshua Ravensbergen made 29 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Cougars.
• On Friday in Wenatchee, 19-year-old right-winger Dawson Seitz scored the overtime winner to give the host Wild a 3-2 upset victory over the WHL leading Everett Silvertips. The Wild improved to 17-22-3-1 to sit eighth overall and hold the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The Silvertips record moved to 32-6-4-3.

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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Ice set to win now, Oil Kings paying price going all in

Connor McClennon zips up ice for the Winnipeg Ice.

The Winnipeg Ice are the team to beat in the WHL, while the Edmonton Oil Kings are showing the consequences of going all in.

As all the teams in the WHL approach their respective 10-game marks, it is starting to become clear which clubs will be the teams to beat. The Ice top the list of the teams to beat, and they happen to be listed first in the CHL Top 10 rankings.

Last season, the Ice finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 record. They advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series falling in five games to the eventual WHL champion Oil Kings.

The Ice roster is stocked with returnees from last year like Matthew Savoie, Zach Benson, Connor McClennon, Conor Geekie, Ben Zloty, Carson Lambos and Daniel Hauser. They have solid youngsters like defenceman Jonas Woo, who turned 16-year-old in November and played every game in the Ice’s playoff run last season.

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

Raiders post-season life gets put on Ice

Winnipeg eliminates Prince Albert from WHL Playoffs

The Ice are all smiles to be moving on in the WHL Playoffs.

The stay of execution lasted one game for the Prince Albert Raiders.

The Winnipeg Ice had no intention of returning to the Art Hauser Centre in “Hockey Town North” with a further extension of the best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series between the two sides. In Game 5 of the series on Friday at the Wayne Fleming Arena in the Manitoba capital, the Ice stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and rolled to an 8-2 victory to the delight of most of the 1,606 spectators in attendance.

The win allowed the Ice to take the series 4-1. They now wait to see who they will play in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Winnipeg took the first three contests of the series against Prince Albert. Facing their first elimination game, the Raiders posted a 3-1 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday at the Art Hauser Centre to make a Game 5 of the series back in Winnipeg necessary.

In Game 5, the Ice showed why they were massive favourites in the series in the runaway victory. The Ice topped the WHL’s regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 record.

The Raiders won their last two regular season outings to finish eighth overall in the Eastern Conference and capture the conference’s final post-season berth with a 28-35-4-1 record. Prince Albert did win three out of the eight head-to-head meetings in the regular season with the Ice.

Connor McClennon scored twice for the Ice on Friday.

Including play in the regular season and post-season, the Ice, who were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings, are 22-2-1-1 in their last 26 games.

In Friday’s series clinching win, the Ice came out of the gates on fire. Raiders rookie import netminder Tikhon Chaika did his best to hold the fort early, but the dam burst right before the midway point of the frame.

At the 9:58 mark of the first, Ice 19-year-old power forward Jack Finley popped home Winnipeg’s first goal from the front of the Prince Albert net after collecting the rebound of a shot from linemate Owen Pederson. The tally was Finley’s first of the post-season after having netted 27 goals in the regular season.

Ice star 16-year-old centre Zachary Benson potted a close in backhander to increase the Ice’s edge to 2-0 at the 14:18 mark of the opening frame. Just one minute later, Ice 19-year-old star left-winger Mikey Milne netted his fifth goal of the playoffs to extend the Ice’s lead to 3-0.

Before the first period expired, Ice 19-year-old centre Chase Wheatcroft made a smart backhanded pass in the centre ice zone to spring 15-year-old Ice defenceman Jonas Woo on a breakaway down the left wing.

Woo sniped his first career post-season goal low right side to the Prince Albert net to send the Ice into the first intermission holding a 4-0 lead. Winnipeg held a 13-1 edge in shots on goal after the opening 20 minutes.

Reece Vitelli had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

Just 1:57 into the second, the Ice upped their lead to 5-0. Pederson had the puck at the right side of the Prince Albert goal and found star 19-year-old right-winger Connor McClennon with a backdoor pass, and McClennon slipped home a backhand shot to give the Ice their five-goal lead.

Following that tally, the Raiders pulled Chaika, who turned away 10-of-15 shots to take the setback in the Prince Albert net. Max Hildebrand played the rest of the way in the Raiders net in relief turning away 17-of-20 shots sent his way.

The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard with a short-handed tally at the 9:46 mark of the second. With the puck in the Prince Albert zone, McClennon fired a shot from the left shot that missed the net and the puck rimmed around the boards out of the Prince Albert zone on the left wing.

Raiders veteran right-winger Evan Herman chased down the loose puck and zipped down the left wing into the Winnipeg zone. Herman passed the puck across the face the Winnipeg goal backdoor to Prince Albert overage captain Reece Vitelli.

Vitelli popped home his third of the playoffs to trim the Ice lead to 5-1 heading to the second intermission. The miracle comeback wasn’t to be.

The Ice started the third with a three-goal surge pushing their advantage out to 8-1 by the 8:17 mark of the frame. Benson started the surge with his second goal of the contest, star centre Matthew Savoie netted his first of the playoffs for the second tally of the surge and McClennon capped the outburst with his second of the contest.

Jonas Woo scored his first career WHL playoff goal on Friday.

Raiders right-winger Sloan Stanick concluded the game’s scoring tipping home a point shot from standout defenceman Nolan Allan to round out the 8-2 final in favour of the Ice. Raiders star right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt also picked up a helper on Stanick’s tally.

Daniel Hauser stopped 11 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Ice.

During the five games of the series, the Ice outscored the Raiders 27-9. Winnipeg also posted a 10-1 blowout victory in Game 3 of the set, which was held on Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre.

The last time a WHL Playoffs were held back in 2019 the Raiders captured the league crown with a powerhouse squad. They took Game 7 of the WHL Championship Series 3-2 in overtime at the Art Hauser Centre with Dante Hannoun scoring the extra time winner.

After the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world in March of 2020, the WHL post-season set for that year and in 2021 were nixed.

Wiesblatt was the only regular left from the 2018-19 campaign still on the Raiders roster as Prince Albert was eliminated from the 2022 post-season. Herman and Allan are the only two other Raiders players who saw action during the regular season in the 2018-19 WHL title winning campaign.

The 2021-22 Raiders were in a reload campaign, so it was still big for them to make the post-season. Vitelli and overage defenceman Remy Aquilon both graduate after aging out of the major junior level for the Prince Albert side.

Ozzy Wiesblatt had an assist on the Raiders final goal.

As for the Ice, they move on in the WHL Playoffs as a powerhouse with incredible depth. They have a great opportunity to go all the way.

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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WHL leading Ice right the ship

Winnipeg ends slump with 6-0 victory over Blades

Connor McClennon (#94) dangles in the offensive zone for the Ice.

Any thoughts of about the demise of the Winnipeg Ice evaporated into the air.

Coming into Wednesday’s WHL regular season game against the host Saskatoon Blades at the SaskTel Centre, the Ice topped the overall WHL standings and were rated first in the CHL Top 10 Rankings. In their previous four outings heading into Wednesday’s game, the Ice weren’t living up to their record or high rating having lost three times in regulation.

Two of those losses included falling 6-2 at home to the Blades on December 4 and dropping a 4-1 decision to the Raiders in Prince Albert on Tuesday.

Owen Pederson (#17) makes a hit on the forecheck for the Ice.

Actually, the Ice had only won twice in their previous six contests heading into Wednesday having dropped a 4-3 decision in overtime at home to the Raiders on November 28 to start their recent struggles.

On Wednesday, the Ice righted the ship scoring three goals in a dominant first period and rolled to a 6-0 victory over the Blades to disappoint most of the 2,516 spectators at the SaskTel Centre. The convincing win allowed the Ice to improve their WHL leading record to 24-4-1.

“We were definitely fired up to play this one after being on a little bit of a skid for the last (six),” said Ice 17-year-old star centre Matthew Savoie. “Losing last night in P.A. really got us fired up.

“I just think the mentality coming into this game was must win, and we were really fired up today.”

Jakin Smallwood breaks into the offensive zone for the Ice.

Just 3:31 into the opening frame, the Ice drew first blood when left-winger Owen Pederson slipped home a shot five-hole on Blades netminder Nolan Maier.

Savoie said that first tally helped his team hit another gear.

“I thought the first shift from each line was really energetic,” said Savoie. “We came out with a physical mentality with the bounce back from last game.

“I thought the start was really key for our group tonight. Pedey’s goal just got us going.”

Jack Finley had a goal and an assist for the Ice.

The Ice upped their advantage to 2-0 just over six minutes later when star right-winger Connor McClennon wired a shot from the left slot past Maier.

Before the opening frame ended, the Ice went up 3-0 after tallying on the power play. Overage right-winger Jakin Smallwood made a smart pass in the centre ice zone to spring Savoie on a rush down the left wing.

Savoie burst down the wing, made a deke around a defenceman and snapped his 17^th of the season past Maier.

“I kind of just got on the ice a little bit late,” said Savoie, who had an assist to go with his goal on Wednesday. “Smallsy (Smallwood) kind of just had the puck in the neutral zone and made a good bump pass to me.

Matthew Savoie scores a power-play goal for the Ice.

“I kind of just went full speed and caught the D-man a little flat footed. I just put it through his triangle and tried to shoot it around the other side. Fortunately, it went in.”

Winnipeg held an 18-8 edge in shots on goal after an impressive showing in the first period.

The Blades pushed back really well in the second period. Early in the frame, Blades sophomore 17-year-old defenceman Pavel Bocharov rang a shot off the post.

That set the tone for the host side in the second as the Blades controlled territorial play holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal.

Ben Zloty is a skilled offensive-defenceman for the Ice.

Sophomore 17-year-old Ice netminder Daniel Hauser put up a wall in front of the Winnipeg net allowing the visitors to take their 3-0 lead into the third.

The Ice regained control of the contest early in the third when 17-year-old centre Connor Geekie wrapped home his 10^th goal of the season to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.

With 4:54 remaining in the third, Pederson scored on the power play to complete a two-goal night to increase the Ice edge to 5-0.

The Ice rounded out the scoring when 19-year-old power forward Jack Finley tipped home a point shot from offensive-defenceman Ben Zloty with 2:04 remaining in the third.

Jonas Woo made his WHL debut for the Ice on Wednesday.

Finley finished the game netting an assist to go with his goal recording his first two points as a member of the Ice since being acquired in a trade with the Spokane Chiefs on December 6. Finley had been the Chiefs captain and had attended the selection camp for Canada’s world junior team.

Smallwood finished the contest collecting three assists.

Maier turned away 27 shots to take the setback goal for the Blades (14-12-1). Hauser stopped 28 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Ice (24-4-1).

The shutout was the third of the season for Hauser.

When the dust settled, Savoie said Wednesday’s game was the performance his club needed to get things back on track again.

Ice G Daniel Hauser stops a shot that came through a screen.

“After a loss, you always want to play the next day and get back out there to bounce back,” said Savoie, who leads the WHL in scoring with 47 points coming on 17 goals and 30 assists. “I think playing the very next day after a loss was good for our group.

“I thought we came out good today.”

The Blades now play the Raiders twice before both those clubs go on a Christmas break. The sides meet Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre to start a home-and-home series and conclude that series with a 7 p.m. encounter on Saturday at the SaskTel Centre.

Jack Finley (#26) celebrates his first goal with the Ice.

That Saturday game will be the Teddy Bear Toss night for the Blades.

The Ice travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings on Friday (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place). That is the first game of a home-and-home series between those two sides.

They go at it again on Saturday in Winnipeg at 7 p.m. at the Wayne Fleming Arena before they depart on their respective Christmas breaks.

Savoie said the Ice just have to continue being themselves in order to go into the Christmas break on a high note.

“We just have to keep sticking to our system,” said Savoie. “When things don’t go right, you just go back to the step one and go back to the simple details for us.”

Zach Benson drives up ice for the Ice.

NOTES – Jonas Woo made his WHL debut with his hometown Ice on Wednesday. The Ice selected the 15-year-old defenceman in the first round and 18^th overall in the WHL Prospects Draft that was held online last Thursday. He was a plus-one in the Ice victory.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Ice acquired 17-year-old Italian import right-winger Alessandro Segafredo from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for 18-year-old Czech import defenceman Martin Bohm and a sixth round selection in the 2024 WHL Prospect Draft.

The Ice celebrate their 6-0 victory on Wednesday.

Segafredo had three goals, seven assists and a plus-four rating in the plus-minus department in 19 games with the Thunderbirds. He wasn’t able to suit up for the Ice on Wednesday.

Bohm had two assists and plus-10 rating in 15 games with the Ice.

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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