Raiders’ alum Sorensen happy to be with Huskies

Forward pumped to play in U Sports Nationals

Keaton Sorensen, right, smiles after getting a Canada West gold medal.

For Keaton Sorensen, the province of Saskatchewan has become home.

When the Red Deer, Alta., product wrapped up his WHL career at the end of the 2022-23 campaign with the Prince Albert Raiders, he was hoping to find a way to stay in Saskatchewan. Sorensen played two seasons with the Raiders from 2021 to 2023 with his final 20-year-old season being the most memorable. In the 2022-23 campaign, the steady forward appeared in 64 regular season games with the Raiders posting 25 goals, 28 assists and a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

Before his WHL days began, Sorensen spent three seasons at the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask., playing for that school’s hockey programs from 2016 to 2019.

When the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team came calling following the completion of his WHL career, Sorensen elected to join the storied U Sports program.

“I love Sask (Saskatchewan),” said Sorensen, who is majoring in Agriculture and Bioresources. “I just wanted to be a Dog.”

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

Oh how sweet it is – Huskies capture Canada West title

Dogs claim first conference championship since 2020

Justin Ball goes for a spin with the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

It was the spark that helped the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team surge to a Canada West championship.

On Sunday at Merlis Belsher Place, the Huskies found themselves in a scoreless deadlock in the third period with the Mount Royal University Cougars in a series deciding Game 3 of the Canada West Championship series. The Cougars had gotten the record crowd of 3,013 spectators at the Huskies state of the art rink to fall into a hush.

At the 10:09 mark of the frame, the Huskies got a rush that turned the game around. 

Vince Loschiavo scored the winning goal for the Huskies.

Second-year offensive defenceman Landon Kosior got the puck to fourth-year left-winger Chantz Petruic at the left side of his own blue-line. Petruic made seeing-eye pass up the centre of the ice to fifth-year right-winger Vince Loschiavo to spring him into the Mount Royal zone on a one-on-one rush.

Loschiavo jetted up the left wing, took a shot that deflected off the stick of Cougars defenceman Michael Ladyman into the Mount Royal net to put the Huskies up 1-0 and almost blow the roof off Merlis. That started a three-goal surge that allowed the Huskies to take the game 3-0. With the win, the Huskies claimed the best-of-three set 2-1 to capture their first conference crown since 2020.

Vince Loschiavo reacts to score at the 10:09 mark of the third period.

Both Huskies and the Cougars will play in the U Sports Championship Tournament – the David Johnston University Cup. It is slated to be held at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario, from March 20 to 23, and it will be played in elite-eight format.

“I’m so happy for our guys,” said Huskies head coach Brandin Cote, who was named the Canada West Conference coach of the year this season. “They put in so much work.

“They bought in, and that is what good teams do. They are so close and so tight. We’re going to enjoy this, but we also got nationals to be ready for as well, so we’re not done yet.”

The Huskies celebrate a third period goal from Vince Loschiavo (#18).

The Huskies captured the Canada West title for the 19^th time in team history with 12 of those wins coming in the conference’s modern era that started in 1972.

For the first 40 minutes in Sunday’s game, it seemed like the Huskies were stuck in a mud bog. While they had their spurts of offence, the Cougars pinned the hosts in their own zone for extended stretches.

Mount Royal had a 12-4 edge in shots on goal after the first period and 24-11 advantage in the same department heading into the second intermission. While the Cougars had their chances, they couldn’t solve Huskies fourth-year netminder Roddy Ross, who claimed honours as the Canada West goaltender of the year for the current campaign.

Part of the crowd of 3,013 spectators cheer the Huskies first goal.

Kosior said Ross’s performance helped give the Huskies traction.

“Roddy (Ross) was making saves,” said Kosior. “I think that just gave us so much belief.

“We knew that he is not letting anything in. We just knew that we had to get one. Once we got it, it was all gas.”

Huskies second-year right-winger Keaton Sorensen thought his team’s effort was there for the first 40 minutes and the intensity of the contest was high. He said all his squad had to do was get a touch more composure.

Roddy Ross made 30 saves to pick up the shutout win on Sunday.

“We just took it period by period every five minutes,” said Sorensen. “Sometimes, we got revved up.

“We just got calm and collected. We just got it done today.”

The game’s momentum shifted drastically in the third when Loschiavo got the Huskies on the scoreboard. Kosior was pumped to see the rush that he started get finished off by Loschiavo.

“That was unbelievable,” said Kosior. “That was a feeling I won’t forget.

“We celebrated, and then knew there was nine minutes left or whatever it was. We had to refocus and finish the game out.”

Shane Farkas stopped 24-of-26 shots in goal for the Cougars.

Following Loschiavo’s goal, the Huskies got the puck deep in the Mount Royal often and were hard on the forecheck. That pressure resulted in a key insurance goal with 5:55 remaining in the third.

Cougars third-year defenceman Remy Aquilon had the puck deep in his zone, and he was forced to cough it up after he was floored by a big hit from Huskies fourth-year right winger Jarrett Penner. After the hit, the puck squirted to Huskies third-year centre Ethan Regnier, who was all alone in front of the Mount Royal net.

Regnier tucked a shot between the legs of Cougars netminder Shane Farkas to push the Huskies lead out to 2-0.

“Penn (Jarrett Penner) is my linemate there,” said Regnier. “He is always hard on the puck, so you always have to be ready.

Ethan Regnier scored the Huskies second goal on Sunday.

“You never know what is going to happen. It just came out to me. I tried to make a quick move, and luckily, it went in.”

Regnier was pumped his Huskies prevailed in Game 3 to capture the conference title.

“I’m pretty speechless,” said Regnier. “To do it in front of the crowd and the support we have here, it is awesome.”

With 1:16 remaining in the third, fourth-year defenceman Ty Prefontaine sealed the victory with an empty-net tally that rounded out the 3-0 final score.

Ross stopped all 30 shots sent his way to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Huskies. Farkas turned away 24-of-26 shots to take the setback in net for the Cougars.

During the regular season, the Huskies topped the Canada West standings with a 23-5 record, and they were rated second in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings. 

The Huskies pour off their bench after winning the Canada West title.

The Cougars were second overall in Canada West at 22-6, and they were rated fourth in the final U Sports Top 10 Rankings.

Kosior was elated his squad claimed the conference title.

“It feels unreal,” said Kosior. “At the start of the year, this was our goal.

“To accomplish it, it is the best feeling in the world.”

Sorensen contributed some gritty minutes to help the Huskies cause. With 3:34 remaining in the third, he drew a tripping penalty from Cougars rookie right-winger Justin Lies that help keep the momentum on the Huskies side.

Ty Prefontaine (#9) reacts to getting his Canada West gold medal.

When the third period clock expired, Sorensen was over the moon excited about the fact his team won the conference title.

“It is awesome,” said Sorensen. “There is no better feeling than winning.

“It is just awesome. We have a great group of guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys.”

The 3,013 spectators the Huskies drew for Game 3 matched the record total they attracted for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at Merlis, which the Cougars claimed 2-1 in overtime. In the Huskies 6-3 victory in Game 1 of the series on Friday, 2,980 spectators packed into Merlis, which was the attendance record for the building until Games 2 and 3 of the series were played.

Landon Kosior raises the Dr. W.G. Hardy Trophy.

Kosior played before some lively crowds during his WHL career as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders at the storied and historic Art Hauser Centre in “Hockey Town North.” He loved how the Huskies faithful brought the noise and the energy in the Canada West final.

“The crowd has been amazing,” said Kosior. “It is unbelievable.

“I can’t even put it into words. We’re just so thankful with how good our crowd was.”

Now the Huskies turn their attention to trying to win their second U Sports championship in team history. Their lone U Sports title came from their legendary 1982-83 squad that was coached by Dave King and captained by Willie Desjardins.

Kosior said his squad is looking forward to what awaits then at the David Johnston University Cup.

The Huskies celebrate their Canada West title win on Sunday.

“We’re excited,” said Kosior. “We will celebrate this, and then, we will come back and be ready to go and be looking forward to nationals.”

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

-------                                                                   

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Raiders’ grad Kosior leads P.A. connections that power Huskies

Landon Kosior in action for the Huskies in February of 2024.

Landon Kosior and a number of other Prince Albert connections have put the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Men’s Hockey Team on quest to capture Canada West Conference and U Sports national titles.

Last Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place on the University of Saskatchewan campus, the Huskies concluded their regular season downing the University of Manitoba Bisons 4-2. That win allowed the Huskies to improve to 23-5 and lock up first place in Canada West and home ice advantage through the conference playoffs. The last time the Huskies pulled that feat off was back in the 2018-19 campaign under now retired legendary head coach Dave Adolph.

U of S is also rated second in the U Sports Top 10 rankings.

The Huskies roster includes Kosior and Keaton Sorensen, who are grads of the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. U of S’s roster includes Rhett Rhinehart, who started his WHL career with the Raiders, and Ty Prefontaine, who played the first three games of his WHL career with the Raiders before playing most of his major junior career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Josh Pillar and Ashton Ferster are grads from the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA team who are skating with the Raiders. Prince Albert product Ethan Regnier came up through Prince Albert’s minor hockey system and found his way to the Huskies after playing in the WHL with Swift Current Broncos and Everett Silvertips.

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

Learning curve makes Raiders prospects bright for 2023-24

Ryder Ritchie had 55 points in 61 games with the Raiders.

The struggles in 2022-23 will make the Prince Albert Raiders reach bigger goals in 2023-24.

Actually for a reloading campaign, the Raiders did alright this past season. They posted a 28-37-3 record to finish 11^th overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and 10 points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (30-29-8-1) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the conference.

The 28 victories was the same win total the Raiders posted in the regular season in 2021-22, where they made the WHL Playoffs. In 2021-22, the Raiders posted a 28-35-4-1 record to finish eighth overall in the Eastern Conference taking the conference’s final playoff berth.

The Raiders in 2022-23 had two fewer standings points than in 2021-22. Of course in 2021-22, WHL teams just played a full 68 game regular season against conference foes, while there was cross-conference play in 2022-23. Ultimately, that shuffled the wins around in a way that the Raiders made the post-season in one campaign and missed out with almost the same standings points total in the next campaign.

The biggest thing the Raiders were able to deliver in the 2022-23 was hope that seasons in the near future have the potential to be bright ones. Their younger players grew by leaps and bounds and the experience they gained will be a big asset in future campaigns.

The two players that really stood out were left-winger Ryder Ritchie, who was a 16-year-old rookie, and centre Aiden Oiring, who was a 17-year-old rookie. Ritchie finished third in team scoring with 55 points coming off 20 goals and 35 assists in 61 games.

It isn’t often 16-year-old rookies almost score a point per game in the WHL and hit the 20-goal plateau. Ritchie, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 157 pounds, has the potential to be one if the circuit’s elite players in future campaigns as he follows in the strides of his father Byron Ritchie, who starred with the Lethbridge Hurricanes from 1993 to 1997.

Aiden Oiring gained lots of opportunities with the Raiders.

Oiring was acquired by the Raiders on December 31, 2022 in a trade with the Winnipeg Ice that saw right-winger Carson Latimer head to the Manitoba capital. Buried on a deep Ice roster, Oiring, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 164 pounds, had five goals and three assists in 26 games with Winnipeg. He was given a lot more opportunities with the Raiders including lengthy stretches as the first line centre and recorded seven goals and 16 assists in 31 appearances with Prince Albert.

Young forwards like Cole Peardon and Grady Martin, who were skating through their 16-year-old rookie seasons, showed glimpses that they could have greater potential in future seasons. Various forwards from the Raiders 18-year-old group this past season showed well at different times in Hayden Pakkala, Gabe Ludwig and Carter Anderson.

During the second half of the season, 18-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker, who was the Raiders first round selection in the then 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, started to pick up points on a more frequent basis. He might still find the scoring touch he had growing up in minor hockey as a late bloomer in the WHL.

One of the returnees that is pegged to take a 20-year-old spot next season is left-winger Sloan Stanick. Stanick led the Raiders in scoring this past season posting career highs in goals (31), assists (33) and points (64) in 67 appearances, and he has potential to be a really good 20-year-old.

On defence, the Raiders six potential returnees should give them a good base in Eric Johnston, Seth Tansem, Justice Christensen, Easton Kovacs, Terrell Goldsmith and Owen Boucher. Johnston and Goldsmith could make up a top pairing, and Christensen turned heads with his physical play.

Sloan Stanick put up a career high 64 points in 2022-23.

Netminder Tikhon Chaika will take up both a 20-year-old spot and an import spot, but he will give the Raiders comfort in net. As the Raiders went with a more youthful roster, Chaika’s statistics took a hit from the season before, but they were still respectable as he posted a 17-23 record, a 3.28 goals against average, a .894 save percentage and one shutout in 45 appearances.

Barring trades, he has the potential to continue to form a strong tandem in net with Max Hildebrand, who will be in his 19-year-old season in 2023-24. In 32 appearances in 2022-23, Hildebrand posted an 11-14-3 record, a 3.71 goals against average and a .871 save percentage, but those number don’t show the improvement he made.

The Raiders will miss their 20-year-old class from this past season. Star offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior and captain Evan Herman were regulars at the start of the 2019-20 season and hung in with the Raiders during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdowns.

Centre Keaton Sorensen was acquired in a trade on August 17, 2021 with the Red Deer Rebels, and along with Kosior and Herman, he helped lead the Raiders back into an era of full 68-game regular seasons and once again playing in front of supportive crowds in their storied home rink in the Art Hauser Centre.

Kosior, who was named a second team East Division all-star on Tuesday, finished second in team scoring with 63 points coming off 17 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department in 60 appearances. Sorensen finished fourth in team scoring posting career highs in goals (25), assists (28), points (53) and plus-minus (plus-five) in 64 games. Herman was fifth in team scoring posting 38 points coming off 18 goals and 20 assists in 64 games.

Niall Crocker started to produce more offence for the Raiders.

Next season, players who were apart of the Raiders WHL Prospects Draft class in 2022 will get a chance to make positive impact on the team. 

Forward Luke Moroz was selected in the first round and 15^th overall in that draft by the Raiders, and he put up 16 goals and 31 assists in 40 regular season games with the Regina Pat Canadians under-18 AAA team this past season. There is anticipation to see what Moroz can do sporting a Raiders jersey on a full-time basis.

For future seasons, the Raiders found out on Wednesday in the WHL Prospects Draft Lottery held in Calgary that they will have the first and second overall selections in the WHL Prospects Draft slated to be held online on May 11. 

The first overall selection was acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Raiders will also pick in the seventh overall spot having acquired that selection in a trade with the Kelowna Rockets.

In the U.S. Priority Draft Lottery that was held on Wednesday in Calgary, the Raiders found out they will be selecting fifth overall in the U.S. Priority Draft to be held online on May 10. Those selections will likely allow the Raiders to strengthen their depth for the future.

Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Jeff Truitt have to feel good about where their team is positioned.

The Raiders celebrate a win on February 11.

Of course when the 2023-24 campaign comes around, the WHL roster deck will see some shuffling. The Raiders are in position to take a decent step upwards.

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Raiders’ 20-year-old class kept club on track

Helped team navigate pandemic rough waters

Landon Kosior in action for the Raiders on March 14.

Evan Herman, Landon Kosior and Keaton Sorensen had a special commitment that helped the Prince Albert Raiders navigate unforeseen rough waves that were beyond the team’s control.

Actually, the entire WHL should be thankful for the overage class of 2022-23. This group of players felt the effects that came with the various stops and starts when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world in earnest in March of 2020. Thanks to the commitment of this season’s 20-year-old player class, the WHL got to experience its first what can be termed normal season since the 2018-19 campaign.

Last Saturday, the Raiders were officially eliminated from post-season contention with a 4-1 loss to the WHL leading Ice in Winnipeg. While there was disappointment among the Raiders faithful there would be no action in the WHL Playoffs in 2023, a youthful Raiders squad fought hard enough that the team would only experience three games where it would be playing out the string.

After Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the Ice in Winnipeg, the Raiders have two games left on their regular season schedule. On Friday, they will host the Moose Jaw Warriors at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. On Saturday, the Raiders wrap up the 2022-23 season traveling to Regina to take on Connor Bedard and the Pats.

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

Desperation brings out best effort in Raiders

Prince Albert bashes Blades 8-1 at SaskTel Centre

The Raiders celebrate a second goal from Keaton Sorensen (#20).

It was a great afternoon to cheer, if you were a fan of the Prince Albert Raiders, and an afternoon to sit in stunned silence, if you were a booster of the Saskatoon Blades.

On Sunday, the Raiders showed the desperation they needed for 60 minutes to keep their post-season hopes realistic. They bombed their archrivals in the Blades 8-1 before 4,875 spectators at the SaskTel Centre.

The win allowed the Raiders to end a four-game losing streak and improve to 26-33-3 to get closer into the WHL’s playoff chase that is in the stretch run. The Blades, who won seven of the 10 head-to-head contests with the Raiders this season, saw their seven game winning streak come to an end.

Keaton Sorensen (#20) celebrates his first goal on Sunday.

Prince Albert still sits 11^th in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, but moves to within five points of the final playoff berth in the conference. The Brandon Wheat Kings (26-29-8), Swift Current Broncos (28-30-1-3) and Calgary Hitmen (26-27-5-3) all sit tied for eighth and the Eastern Conference’s final playoff berth with 60 standings points.

The Hitmen have seven games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Raiders and Broncos have six contests to play on their regular season slates, and the Wheat Kings have five regular season games left.

Raiders 21-year-old centre Keaton Sorensen led the way for a great all-around effort by his club with a pair of goals and an assist. The Red Deer, Alta., product along with captain Evan Herman and offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior, are playing out the final games of their major junior careers.

Keaton Sorensen has career highs in goals (25) and assists (28).

Sorensen said the urgency of trying to keep the campaign going for as long as possible is felt by the trio.

“It is not just something that comes up now,” said Sorensen, who has career highs in goals (25), assists (28) and points (53) this season. “It has kind of been a thought in the back of our mind all year just thinking that it is our last shot.

“It is now or never. There is no next season for us in this league, so it is definitely a big step here. I guess it has been almost the whole season we’ve kind of felt that way.

“It is good to see all the boys pulling in the right direction.”

The Raiders broke through on the scoreboard at the 10:21 mark of the opening frame Sorensen potted his 24^th goal of the season from the front of the Saskatoon net to give the visitors a 1-0 edge. Sorensen converted a sweet pass from Raiders star 16-year-old right-winger Ryder Ritchie from behind the icing line at the right side of the Saskatoon net.

Brandon Lisowsky had the Blades lone goal on Sunday.

Just 46 seconds later, the Blades pulled even at 1-1 as star left-winger Brandon Lisowsky drove down the left wing and fired home his 33^rd tally of the season.

Prince Albert jumped back ahead 2-1 just under three minutes later, when captain Evan Herman blasted home his 16^th of the season from the front of the Saskatoon net. Herman converted a beauty setup pass from 19-year-old star left-winger Sloan Stanick, who was position by the left boards at the edge of the faceoff circle.

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said he could see his club was playing with an elevated effort compared to when the Blades dumped the Raiders 6-2 on Friday in Prince Albert.

Evan Herman had the Raiders second goal on Sunday.

“I liked our response from 48 hours ago,” said Truitt. “You didn’t know what the guys were thinking, but when we talked about it, we could just see that a lot of the guys are determined coming into the game.

“It was good that we got off to a good start in the first period. We never looked back. I thought pace, our determination and our compete we played the right way.”

At the 5:37 mark of the second, the Raiders pushed their advantage out to 3-1, when 18-year-old left-winger Carter Anderson banged home a rebound from point blank range in front of the Saskatoon goal. Anderson’s gritty tally was his 11^th of the season.

Things proceeded to get feisty shortly after Anderson’s tally. Blades import rookie 17-year-old defenceman Tomas Zizka nailed Ritchie with a hard hit into the boards in the Prince Albert zone.

Carter Anderson celebrates scoring for the Raiders on Sunday.

Raiders 16-year-old rookie centre Grady Martin proceeded to quickly skate towards Zizka to start a fight. Martin, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 167 pounds, and Zizka, who stands 6-feet and weighs 172 pounds, traded some good punches before falling to the ground, where the officials proceeded to break up the bout.

Martin received a minor for instigating, a major for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct, and Zizka was assessed a major for fighting.

At the 11:02 mark of the second, the Raiders had control of the puck in the Saskatoon zone and scored on a delayed penalty call extend their lead to 4-1 on a goal from centre Hayden Pakkala. Pakkala deflected home a point shot from Herman to account for his eighth tally of the season.

Blades D Tomas Zizka (#45) fights Raiders C Grady Martin (#28).

The Blades pulled starting netminder Ethan Chadwick after Pakkala’s tally. Chadwick turned away 5-of-9 shots sent his way to take the setback in goal for the Saskatoon side. Austin Elliott turned away 12-of-16 shots playing the rest of the way in relief.

The Raiders weren’t done there. With 0.6 seconds remaining in the second, 17-year-old rookie defenceman Justice Christensen fired home a shot from the high slot to give the visitors a 5-1 lead.

Sorensen enjoyed seeing numerous players on the Raiders roster find success on the ice on Sunday.

“It is awesome,” said Sorensen. “I haven’t had many of those games in my career.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Justice Christensen (#7).

“It is awesome to see everyone clicking. All the bounces, I guess, are going our way too. Everyone is just working.

“It is very contagious out there when one line is going and then the next line is going. It just goes down the whole lineup starting from our goaltender just right up to the forwards.”

Just 89 second into the third, Sorensen netted his second of the contest and 25^th marker of the season and Stanick tallied 68 seconds later to surge the Raiders out to a 7-1 lead. Sophomore left-winger Harrison Lodewyk popped in the Raiders final goal on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the third to round out the games scoring.

With 1:27 remaining in the third, Anderson and Blades centre Jayden Wiens engaged in a short fight, which was quickly broken up by the officials. Both were given fighting majors.

Ryder Ritchie had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Ritchie and 17-year-old defenceman Terrell Goldsmith each had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

Tikhon Chaika stopped 32 shots to pick up the win in net for the Raiders and many of his stops were quality ones. Truitt said Chaika’s play keeping the Blades at bay proved to be key in the Raiders pulling away on the scoreboard.

“We said even after the first period that he was kind of dialled in,” said Truitt. “It was a situation where he was quick in the net.

“Our defence were there to clear pucks away, but he obviously the difference in this game. It could have went either way. We had some pucks bouncing in the slot that they couldn’t get to.

Terrell Goldsmith had two assists for the Raiders on Sunday.

“He had a couple of saves that he made that you might not think he could. That is what we needed. We needed a big goaltending performance tonight, and we got it.”

The Blades, who are rated 10^th in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, fell to 44-14-4-1 with their loss on Sunday to sit fourth overall in the WHL, and they need to earn four standings points in their last five games to finish second overall in the Eastern Conference. Saskatoon sits five points up on the Red Deer Rebels (41-17-3-3), who have locked up first in the Central Division.

In the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the two division winners are given the first and second seeds. From the second round onwards, the teams are reseeded by standings points, which means the Blades at the moment would have home ice advantage for any potential post-season encounters with Red Deer.

Tikhon Chaika made 32 saves in goal for the Raiders.

Saskatoon has five games remaining on its regular season slate, while Red Deer has four regular season outings left to play.

The Raiders get back at it on Tuesday when they return home to host the WHL leading 52-9-1 Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

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

Sorensen said the Raiders have to get ready to have a good focused effort against the Ice.

“It is definitely important just kind of after a game like this to reset,” said Sorensen, who clubs still had to play the Ice three more times this season. “It is a zero-zero hockey game every game we start with.

The Raiders celebrate their win on Sunday.

“We just have to get after them right away and keep to our structure all game and just burying our chances and playing good in the D-zone. I think we’ll have good shots and good games against Winnipeg.”

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Raiders spoil milestone night for Pats phenom centre Bedard

Prince Albert skates away with 6-5 firewagon win

The Raiders begin to celebrate their victory on Friday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Connor Bedard picked up the milestones, but the Prince Albert Raiders picked up victory.

At first, Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre looked like it was going to be a banner night for the Regina Pats 17-year-old phemon centre. Bedard posted two goals and two assists to help stake his Pats out to a 5-4 lead early in the third period in a WHL regular season clash with the Raiders.

At the 5:19 mark of the third, Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Grady Martin knocked home the rebound from his own shot from the front of the Regina net to even the score at 5-5. The tally was Martin’s first career WHL goal.

Exactly four minutes later, Raiders 17-year-old rookie centre Aiden Oiring popped home his ninth of the season from the front of the Regina net to give the Raiders a 6-5 lead. Oiring converting a beauty drop setup pass from left-winger Sloan Stanick at the right side of visitors’ net.

Connor Bedard had two goals and two assists for the Pats.

The young and gutty Raiders made that 6-5 score hold up as the final to the delight of the sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators that packed into the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. While the Raiders first sellout of the current campaign came due to people wanting to see Bedard, almost the whole crowd was firmly behind the Raiders.

When time expired in the third period, the home side faithful gave their Raiders a rousing ovation as sophomore 18-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand gave a kick and fist pump celebration before being mobbed by his teammates. Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said the sellout crowd got their money’s worth with Friday’s game.

“It took six to beat them (the Pats),” said Truitt. “I didn’t think at the beginning of the night it was going to take six.

Aiden Oiring scored the winning goal for the Raiders.

“It opened up quite a bit. There were some good quality chances on both sides. It was pretty wide open that way.

“The score was indicative of the play, because there were breakdowns on either side and good quality chances.”

The Raiders victory spoiled a banner night for Bedard, who barring something unforeseen will be the first overall selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. That draft will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 28 and 29.

With his two tallies, Bedard now had 50 goals on the season. He scored those 50 goals in 40 games played.

The last player to score 50 goals in 50 or few games in a WHL regular season was Jayden Halbgewachs of the Moose Jaw Warriors back in the 2017-18 campaign. Halbgewachs netted 50 goals in his first 47 contests that season. He appeared in all the Warriors 72 regular season games in 2017-18 recording 70 goals, 59 assists and a plus-43 rating in the plus-minus department.

Alexander Suzdalev had a pair of goals for the Pats.

Bedard now has 100 points on the season coming off his 50 goals and 50 assists to go with a plus-32 rating. He leads the WHL in points and goals. The North Vancouver, B.C., product hit the 50-goal and 100-point plateaus in back-to-back seasons.

Besides Bedard’s exploits, Friday’s contest between the Raiders and Pats was as wild as a mid-1980s NHL clash between the Hartford Whalers and the Quebec Nordiques.

The Pats opened the scoring at the 4:37 mark of the opening frame when import right-winger Alexander Suzdalev netted a Michigan style lacrosse goal. Just over four minutes later, left-winger Tanner Howe, who is from Prince Albert, increased the Pats advantage to 2-0 scoring on the power play in close to the left side of the Prince Albert net thanks to a beauty pass from the point by Bedard.

Ryder Ritchie had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

Rookie 17-year-old left-winger Brayden Dube tallied for the Raiders at the 12:44 mark of the opening frame to cut the Pats lead to 2-1.

With 29.9 seconds remaining in the first, Bedard potted his first goal of the contest to push the Pats lead out to 3-1. Coming down the left wing, Bedard looked like he was going to skate behind the Prince Albert net.

As he was about to go behind the Raiders goal, Bedard stopped, took a stride backwards and deflected home a tally off Hildebrand into the Prince Albert goal.

The Raiders came storming out of the gate in the second surging for three straight goals by the 7:59 mark of the frame to take a 4-3 lead. Left-winger Carter Anderson scored an even strength tally to start the surge. After Anderson’s goal, 16-year-old rookie standout right-winger Ryder Ritchie and overage centre Keaton Sorensen each tallied on the power play to give the Raiders their one-goal edge.

Tanner Howe (#43) had a goal for the Pats on Friday.

Truitt said the host side came out skating a lot better coming out of the second intermission than they did in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.

“I thought we were on pucks,” said Truitt. “I thought that we gained control of pucks in the offensive zone.

“I thought that we cut some seams and made them guess a little bit. We took the ice that was given to us, and we made some really good plays.”

With 2:59 remaining in the second, Bedard scored on the power play for his second goal of the contest driving a mid-range shot through a screen for his 50^th goal of the season. Bedard’s second tally forced a 4-4 tie heading into the second intermission.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders first goal on Friday.

Just 90 seconds into the third, Suzdalev scored on a five-on-three power play to account for his second goal of the contest and 30^th tally of the campaign to give the Pats a 5-4 edge. Bedard picked up an assist on that tally to account for his fourth point on the night and 100^th point of the season.

That set the stage for Martin and Oiring to come through with their singles to deliver victory to the Raiders. Martin was pumped to net his first career WHL goal.

“I was just so full of joy,” said Martin. “It feels good to get that monkey off the back.

Connor Bedard (#98) reacts to scoring his 50th goal of the season.

“I’ll just keep going from here.”

After Martin scored the equalizer that forced a 5-5 tie, Hildebrand stopped Bedard on a breakaway with 11:48 remaining in the third. That allowed the host side to take the lead on Oiring’s goal.

Hildebrand stopped 32 shots in goal for the Raiders. Drew Sim turned away 25 shots in goal for the Pats.

Ritchie and Oiring each had assists to go along with their goals to post respective two-point nights. Raiders 20-year-old defenceman Landon Kosior collected a pair of helpers in the win. Import defenceman Stanislav Svozil had a pair of assists for the Pats.

Terrell Goldsmith returns after missing eight games due to injury.

The Raiders returned 17-year-old physical defensive-defenceman Terrell Goldsmith to their lineup on Friday after he missed eight games with an upper body injury. Goldsmith, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 219 pounds, is rated 202^nd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings, and he played a sizable amount of minutes in the host side’s winning effort.

“Obviously, it was awesome to be back,” said Goldsmith. “I had to shake the rust off a bit in the first period.

“After that, I kind of just tired to play my game, and it felt good to be back.”

Raiders LW Sloan Stanick, left, rubs out Pats D Stanislav Svozil.

With the setback, the Pats fell to 25-23-2-1. They sit tied for sixth to eighth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with 53 standings points along with the Swift Current Broncos (25-23-1-2) and the Calgary Hitmen (23-23-5-2).

The Raiders improved to 21-28-3 with the second straight win to sit eight points back of the Pats, Broncos and Hitmen. The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

The Pats return to action on Saturday when they return home to face the WHL leading 42-7-1 Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders want to keep holding frequent goal celebrations.

The Raiders also get back at it on Saturday as they host the 33-18-0-3 Moose Jaw Warriors (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre). Martin believes his Raiders will keep their positive momentum going against the Warriors.

“We’re very confident with our game,” said Martin. “Today, we really showed what we can do and where we are at.

“We’ll get Moose Jaw tomorrow.”

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Raiders bash Broncos 4-1

P.A. won’t be a pushover down stretch of WHL campaign

The Raiders celebrate a second period goal by Niall Crocker (#20).

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – If you are going to play the Prince Albert Raiders during the home stretch of the WHL campaign, you better be prepared to battle.

The young reloading Raiders might be sitting 11^th among the 12 teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and nine points out of a playoff spot, but they aren’t going to mail any games in. On Saturday night, the Raiders hosted the Swift Current Broncos at the Art Hauser Centre, and the Broncos entered the regular season clash holding a playoff spot.

By night’s end, the Broncos dropped to 24-22-1-2 and fell out of a playoff spot sliding to ninth in the Eastern Conference. They sit one point behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (22-22-7-1) with three games in hand. Prince Albert has one game in hand on Medicine Hat.

Keaton Sorensen (#20) had a goal and two assists for the Raiders.

In Saturday’s clash with the Broncos, the Raiders overcame a bit of a sluggish start in the first period giving up the game’s first goal before going on to cruise to a 4-1 victory to the delight of the 2,343 spectators in attendance at the team’s storied home rink. The host side improved to 20-28-3 with the win.

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said it is in forefront of his team’s mind that they have to come out, battle and give an honest effort every night.

“You never want to be (an easy out),” said Truitt, whose team fell 4-0 to the Broncos in Swift Current one night earlier. “We said that right from the get go that we want our players to be excited and dedicated and to learn the right way.

Niall Crocker had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

“Those guys have learned the right way, and no matter who we play, we want to make sure that we are playing to the best of our capabilities. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. If you don’t put that effort in, you’re not going to give yourself the chance.

“Our guys are doing a good job. This is very eerie feeling from last year, when we were nine or 10 points out of the playoffs with about this many games left and we got in on the last day. There is no quit in there, and that is what we want to strive for.”

The Broncos opened the scored just 34 seconds into the first period. After the Raiders coughed the puck up in their own zone, Broncos 19-year-old Caleb Wyrostok wired home his 16^th of the season to give the visitors a one-goal edge.

Caleb Wyrostok had the Broncos lone goal on Saturday.

Just past the midway point of the first, the Raiders evened the score a 1-1, when 17-year-old left-winger Harrison Lodewyk banged home a gritty goal during a net scramble.

With 1:51 remaining in the first, Raiders centre Hayden Pakkala was given a boarding major and a game misconduct for a hit he threw on Broncos 20-year-old defenceman Sam McGinley. The infraction will trigger an automatic review by the WHL office for a possible suspension for Pakkala. McGinley was able to stay in the game.

Prince Albert’s penalty kill on the five-minute power play for Swift Current was stellar, and the Broncos had all sorts of trouble setting up for any quality shots.

Ryder Ritchie had a goal and an assist for the Raiders on Saturday.

A short time after killing off the major infraction, the Raiders went ahead at the 4:04 of the second on a beauty goal by standout 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Ritchie was sprung seemingly on a breakaway into the Swift Current zone, but was caught up by a pursuing Broncos defender.

The Calgary, Alta., product toe dragged the puck around the Broncos defender, drove in on the Swift Current net and snapped home his 14^th tally of the campaign to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

Just over four minutes later the Raiders extended their advantage to 3-1 scoring on the power play. Raiders overage centre Keaton Sorensen had the puck behind the Swift Current net and fed a pass on to the tape of the stick of linemate Niall Crocker, who was positioned in front of the goal. Crocker quickly fired home the puck to give the hosts their two-goal edge.

Max Hildebrand stopped 33 shots in goal for the Raiders.

“Obviously, we weren’t happy about last night,” said Crocker. “We went into Swift Current, and I think they beat us in all areas.

“We were obviously frustrated with that. It was a great response game from us. Everyone was working today and blocking shots and getting pucks out.

“It was just a great performance there.”

At that point, the Raiders were carrying the momentum, and rookie 17-year-old defenceman Justice Christensen nailed Broncos star centre Mathew Ward with big open ice hit, when Ward had entered the Prince Albert zone in a rush.

With 56.2 seconds remaining in the third, Sorensen fired home his team leading 18^th goal of the season from the front of the Swift Current net to ultimately round out the 4-1 final. Right-winger Gabe Ludwig slid a smart pass from the left corner of the Swift Current to Sorensen in front of the net to allow the overager to give the host side a three-goal lead.

Evan Herman, right, fires a shot on goal for the Raiders.

Sorensen finished the night posting one goal, two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Crocker said the Raiders are gaining confidence as a group, and he believes his club has improved a tonne overall as the season has gone on.

“It has been awesome seeing the development,” said Crocker, who had an assist to go with his goal. “Guys like (Justice) Christensen today just throwing the body everywhere.

“You can’t really get around that guy. Marty (Grady Martin) is making smart plays everywhere and (Seth) Tansem. All our young guys are stepping up, and it is definitely huge for us.”

Gabe Ludwig had an assist for the Raiders on Saturday.

The Broncos tried to mount a push back in the third holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal for the frame, but they weren’t able to cut in the Raiders lead.

Max Hildebrand had a stellar night stopping 33 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Reid Dyck turned away 17 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos.

Ritchie had an assist to go along with his goal.

Hildebrand said his team takes pride in not being an easy out.

“We love the way we play,” said Hildebrand. “We love this rink, and our fans, they juice us up every night.

“That is our style of play. We’re gritty and we like to battle. That is all it is.”

The Raiders huddle around their bench during a timeout.

The Broncos get back it on Tuesday when they travel to Brandon to take on the 21-22-7 Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

The Raiders return to action on Friday when they host Connor Bedard and the 25-22-2-1 Regina Pats (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Truitt said it has been great seeing the improvement in his young team, and he wants his squad to keep improving as the WHL campaign hits its stretch run.

“As a coach, that is what you want to see,” said Truitt. “You want to see guys develop and get better.

The Raiders celebrate their win on Saturday.

“You talk about Aiden Oiring, you talk about Ryder Ritchie, you talk about Seth Tansem and it goes on and on to (Grady) Martin and (Cole) Peardon. Those guys have really come along, and that is a real testament to those guys. They’ve come into a new league or a new team, and they have to learn our way and they have.

“They have embraced it. They’re finding success that way, so it is great to see.”

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

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.