Doing it for Harry – Tigers rallying around netminder

Medicine Hat takes commanding 3-0 series lead on Raiders

Harrison Meneghin makes one of his 21 saves on Wednesday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – On a night when the Medicine Hat Tigers had the offensive fireworks going at full force, their thoughts were still with their main man in the net.

On Wednesday, the Tigers had a great night rolling to a 6-1 win over the host Prince Albert Raiders in Game 3 of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Art Hauser Centre. The win allows the Tigers to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven set. They will try to close the series out in Game 4, which is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Hauser.

Just 58 seconds into the opening frame, Tigers star 19-year-old left-winger Hunter St. Martin roofed home the first shot of the contest from the right faceoff circle to the top right corner of the Prince Albert goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. St. Martin’s tally brought the raucous atmosphere created by the standing room crowd of 3,185 spectators at the 2,591 seat storied and historic home rink of the Raiders to a hush.

Harrison Meneghin plays the puck behind his own net.

St. Martin would finish with one goal, two assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department. He had helpers on the Tigers second and fourth tallies of the night.

Tigers superstar 17-year-old left-winger Gavin McKenna would steal the show with his own three-point night coming off one goal and two assists to go with a plus-one rating. He tallied his marker on a “Michigan” lacrosse-type goal play 76 seconds into the third period during four-versus-four action to give the Tigers a 5-1 lead. That tally is making all the major sports networks in Canada and has gone viral on various social media platforms.

While seemingly all the Tigers had big nights, it is safe to say they are all happy for their 20-year-old star netminder Harrison Meneghin, who was making his first start after attending the funeral for his father, Derek, last Thursday in South Surrey, B.C.

Harrison Meneghin tracks play in his own zone.

Meneghin made 21 saves to pick up the win in goal. He dressed as the Tigers backup for their wins over the Raiders in Games 1 and 2 this past Saturday and Sunday respectively at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

Tigers legendary head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins, who is wearing a button with Meneghin’s #35 and the word dad on it, was beaming with pride for his veteran puck stopper.

“It is a pretty difficult circumstance for sure,” said Desjardins. “Nobody knows what to do with that.

“It is a really tough one. You know, his family is unbelievable. When I was at the funeral, I was pretty impressed, pretty amazed by them.

Harrison Meneghin (#35) is embraced by two teammates.

“With Harrison (Meneghin), he has been good for us all year. He has battled lots of things. There is nothing really to say except he has got outstanding character.”

Desjardins then paused before continuing.

“I know he is playing for his dad,” said Desjardins. “I know that.

“For him, it is great to have a good night.”

Meneghin’s efforts were not lost on arguably his most famous teammate in McKenna, who seems to make nightly highlight reels recording points in his last 48 games played between the regular season and post-season. McKenna admitted he has been amazed by what Meneghin has been able to do.

“It has been huge for him to even be in between the pipes playing,” said McKenna. “It is very special.

Harrison Meneghin gives a stick tap thank you to a group of Tigers fans.

“We know he has gone through a lot, and we want to be there for him whenever we can. Obviously, I think the rink for him we want it to be a getaway to kind of feel normal again. We want to just comfort him when he needs it.

“He has been doing a heck of a job playing.”

After St. Martin put the Tigers up 1-0, the opening frame was fairly evenly played with the visitors holding a 9-8 edge in shots on goal. The game’s complexion changed greatly in the second.

Just 82 seconds into the second, Tigers overage centre Mathew Ward came down the left wing on a one-on-one rush and wired a shot to the top left corner of the Prince Albert net to push the visitor’s lead out to 2-0. St. Martin, who picked his first assist of the night on Ward’s tally, said it was big for his squad to score early at the beginning of periods.

Hunter St. Martin had one goal and two assists for the Tigers.

“The start and end of periods are huge for momentum and the overall game feel,” said St. Martin. “It was huge.

“Wardo (Mathew Ward) got us started in the second. I got us started in the first. It is just huge getting that momentum at the start of the period, so that you kind of take the energy out of the building.”

Shortly after Ward’s goal, the Raiders had a big chance to break on to the scoreboard when rookie centre Ethan Bibeau received a backdoor feed at the right side of the Medicine Hat net. Bibeau put a shot on goal only to be robbed by a sprawling left pad save by Meneghin.

At the 14:04 mark of the second, Tigers rookie import defenceman Veeti Vaisanen roofed home a power-play goal close in from the left side of the Prince Albert net to the top left corner of the goal. Vaisanen’s tally put the Tigers up 3-0.

Gavin McKenna had one goal and two assists for the Tigers.

Just 75 seconds later, Tigers right-winger Marcus Pacheco entered the Raiders zone on a two-on-one rush jetting down the left wing. Pacheco put a pass across the front of the Prince Albert net to star defenceman Tanner Molendyk, who quickly popped home his first of the post-season to push Medicine Hat’s advantage out to 4-0.

With 20.8 seconds remaining in the third, Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic deflected a puck home in front of the Medicine Hat that came via a point shot by standout rookie rearguard Daxon Rudolph to trim the Tigers lead to 4-1. For a moment, that looked to potentially set the stage for the Raiders to rally.

McKenna’s goal off the “Michigan” ended those hopes early in the third. Following his goal, McKenna had the puck on the left side boards of the Prince Albert zone and fed a pass to Tigers star right-winger Ryder Ritchie. Ritchie, who is a former member of the Raiders, jetted in alone and sniped a mid-height shot to the left side of the Prince Albert net to round out the 6-1 final score in favour of the visitors at the 5:12 mark of the frame.

Mathew Ward (#10) scored 82 seconds into the second period.

The Raiders elected to pull star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand after Ritchie’s tally. Hildebrand turned away 16-of-22 shots fired his way. Dimitri Fortin stopped all seven shots he faced in a relief effort.

“We had our chances early,” said Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald. “We created some chances.

“We just weren’t able to capitalize. They are a team that doesn’t need too many chances to put pucks in the back of the net. They capitalized on our mistakes and took advantage.”

The Raiders were without star left-winger Tomas Mrsic for a fifth 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. The Tigers were without star forwards Andrew Basha and Cayden Lindstrom.

Veeti Vaisanen had a big power-play goal for the Tigers.

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. In their last 42 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Tigers are an impressive 35-4-2-1.

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. McDonald said his Raiders will do their best to regroup to try and win a fourth straight elimination game on Thursday.

Lukas Dragicevic (#3) had the Raiders lone goal on Wednesday.

“It is sticking to the process and sticking to the game plan,” said McDonald. “The sun is going to come up tomorrow.

“We’ve been in this position before, and we will lean on the experience we just had. It is simplifying and sticking to our process.”

Since the WHL started in 1966-67, only three teams have rallied back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to claim the set.

The Spokane Chiefs, who were guided by Mike Babcock as head coach, trailed the Portland Winterhawks 3-0 before rallying to take a first round series 4-3 in 1996. The Kelowna Rockets fell behind the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-0 in 2013 before rallying back to claim that first round series 4-3. The Saskatoon Blades fell behind the Red Deer Rebels 3-0 in an Eastern Conference semifinal series in 2023 and stormed back to take that series 4-3.

Ryder Ritchie had the Tigers sixth goal on Wednesday night.

The Raiders have rallied once from a 3-0 series deficit in their team’s history back in their junior A days. In the 1979 SJHL Playoffs, the Raiders trailed the junior A version of the Swift Current Broncos that existed at that time 3-0 in a best-of-seven second round series. The Raiders stormed back to take that series 4-3 and moved on to win the Centennial Cup as national junior A champions.

Desjardins is more concerned that this season’s Raiders squad rallied back to down the Oil Kings in round one. The Tigers bench boss said his squad has to focus even more to close out their series with the Raiders.

“There is no reason to look ahead,” said Desjardins. “That team came back from 3-1.

“They think they’re going to come back from 3-0. That is their plan. They are going to come hard.

The Tigers celebrate their victory on Wednesday night.

“They will give everything they’ve got to get it. Tomorrow is a tough one. We’ve got to be good.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A young fan cheers on the Raiders.

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

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

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

Aiden Oiring scored the Raiders first goal on Tuesday.

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

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

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

Ty Meunier had the Raiders second goal on Tuesday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Rilen Kovacevic, centre.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

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

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

Prince Albert forces series-deciding Game 7 with Oil Kings

Lukas Dragicevic scored the Game 6 winner for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aiden Oiring had a pair of goals for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daxon Rudolph had two assists for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Max Hildebrand made 30 saves in goal for the Raiders.

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

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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Dragicevic, Raiders drag series back to Edmonton

Prince Albert stays alive with Game 5 win over Oil Kings

The Raiders celebrate their Game 5 on Friday night.

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

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

Lukas Dragicevic had two goals and an assist on Friday.

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

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

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

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

Max Hildebrand stopped 36 shots in goal for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

Tomas Mrsic had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

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

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

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

Ethan MacKenzie had the Oil Kings first goal on Friday.

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

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

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

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

Landon Hanson had the Oil Kings second goal on Friday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matteo Fabrizi created excitement with an offensive rush.

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

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

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

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

Niall Crocker had an assist for the Raiders on Friday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders faithful cheer on their team.

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

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

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

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

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

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Raiders rebound, romp over Oil Kings 6-1 in Game 2

First round WHL post-season series even up at 1-1

The Raiders celebrate a goal by Lukas Dragicevic (#3) on Saturday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Rilen Kovacevic thought experience was the best teacher.

The 20-year-old winger helped the Moose Jaw Warriors win their first WHL championship in May of 2024. Now playing for the Prince Albert Raiders, Kovacevic saw his squad fall 3-1 to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs.

Having a league title run under his belt, Kovacevic thought the best course of action was not to say anything going into Game 2 on Saturday.

“I kind of just let the first game go,” said Kovacevic, who was traded by the Warriors to the Raiders on January 7. “It is better to let the guys get their feet wet.

Justice Christensen (#7) had the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

“As we progress, it is easier for me to step in and use my voice, but it is all about learning.”

The Kelowna, B.C., product’s line of thinking proved to be the correct line of thinking. His Raiders posted a resounding 6-1 rebound victory in Game 2 on Saturday before a raucous standing room crowd of 2,852 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The win allowed the Raiders to even the series up 1-1.

“It was a learning curve last night,” said Kovacevic. “I think we just kind of were stepping on our own toes a little bit.

“It is only going to get better, and we have a really solid group of top guys that are going to lead us there.”

Rilen Kovacevic broke a lengthy goal scoring drought on Saturday.

While the Raiders would post a big win, the Oil Kings came flying out of the gate on Saturday holding a 19-6 edge in shots on goal in the first period with a number of shots coming off two power-play chances. Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand turned away everything that came his way in the opening 20 minutes to allow his teammates to get their skating legs under them.

With 35.6 seconds remaining in the opening frame, the Raiders changed the momentum of the contest seemingly out of nowhere. Working the puck in the Edmonton zone, Raiders breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph passed the puck from the right point to the top of the left faceoff circle to Prince Albert captain Justice Christensen.

Lukas Sawchyn scored for the Oil Kings on Saturday.

Christensen one-timed a shot home to put the Raiders up 1-0 heading into the first intermission.

“(Christensen’s) goal kind of turned the tide for us, and we got going after that,” said Hildebrand. “We probably have to be a bit more disciplined to start the game.”

Just 2:35 into the second, the Raiders pushed their lead out to 2-0. Raiders rookie defenceman Linden Burrett had the puck at the right side boards in the Edmonton zone and slipped a backdoor pass to Kovacevic positioned at the left post of the Oil Kings net. Kovacevic made no mistake in tapping home the puck for his first goal in 15 games for the Raiders.

Niall Crocker had two goals for the Raiders on Saturday.

Before that tally, Kovacevic’s last goal came way back on February 8 in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat. During the regular season, Kovacevic collected 26 goals and 33 assists in 60 games split between the Warriors and Raiders. He was pleased to be able to break his goal scoring drought.

“I found a good step tonight,” said Kovacevic. “I thought I was pretty solid last night, but it is going to get better as we go.”

At the 6:01 mark of the second, the Oil King struck on the power play to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1. Oil Kings star import centre Adam Jecho had the puck along the left side boards deep in the Prince Albert zone and made a backdoor pass across the face of the Raiders net to Oil King star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn positioned at the right post.

Max Hildebrand makes one of his 42 saves in goal for the Raiders.

Sawchyn’s first shot was stopped by a sprawling Hildebrand, but the skilled rookie popped home his own rebound to trim the Raiders advantage to one goal.

Just a little over three-and-a-half minutes later, the Raiders struck for a power-play goal. Raiders star left-winger Tomas Mrsic had the puck at the left wing boards and he put a slick pass on the stick of 20-year-old star left-winger Niall Crocker, who was stationed in front of the Edmonton net. Crocker showed some soft hands sliding home a power-play goal to push the Raiders lead out to 3-1.

The hosts proceeded to open the flood gates in the third. Just 3:04 into the frame, Crocker banged home his second goal of the night from the front of the Edmonton net to give the Raiders a 4-1 advantage.

Aiden Oiring had the Raiders fifth goal on Saturday.

Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring popped home a shot close in at the right side of the Edmonton net at the 7:48 mark of the third to put Prince Albert up 5-1. Raiders star defenceman Lukas Dragicevic rounded out the game’s scoring firing home a midrange shot on the power play with 7:34 remaining in the third.

At that point, frustration started to take over for some members of the Oil Kings. Just 23 seconds after Dragicevic’s goal, Burrett and Oil Kings rookie right-winger Jack Toogood engaged in a fight.

With 4:05 remaining in the third, Oil Kings overage centre Marshall Finnie was given a 10-minute misconduct for getting a little too loose with his lips on the ice. Finnie left the ice and departed to the Oil Kings dressing room to a standing ovation from the Raiders faithful.

Lukas Dragicevic had one goal and two assists on Saturday.

Hildebrand said it was important for his side to stay out of the extracurricular activities that occur on the ice.

“We just have to worry about ourselves and not them and just keep playing our game every game,” said Hildebrand. “We have to stay even keel, and that is going to be a big thing for us this series.”

Hildebrand stopped 42 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Alex Worthington turned away 20 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

Dragicevic had a pair of assists to go with his goal, and Rudolph had three helpers to go with a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department.

Prince Albert was 2-for-4 on the power play, while Edmonton was 1-for-9 with the man advantage.

Oil Kings RW Jack Toogood, left, fights Raiders D Linden Burrett.

Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald was pleased to see a number of his players have big games.

“I thought we had a really good group effort,” said McDonald. “Hilty (Hildebrand) stood tall back there.

“Our PK guys, they ate lots of pucks. They had great sticks and had some great stands on the blue line. We took advantage of the opportunities when they came.

“I thought it was a really good group effort. Our goals came off of resetting pucks back underneath the play.”

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. 

Daxon Rudolph had three assists for the Raiders on Saturday.

The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

The series how switches to Edmonton. Game 3 is set for Tuesday and Game 4 follows on Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time both nights at Rogers Place. 

Kovacevic said his club is gunning to take both of those games on the road.

“Our goal is to go and win two there,” said Kovacevic. “We want to come back and be able to finish it off at our rink.

“What happened will be what happens. We got home ice for a reason. We’re happy with the split, honestly.

The Raiders salute the Art Hauser Centre faithful after their win.

“There is nothing I’d change. I think it is a good learning curve that first game, and we have an opportunity to go in there and steal a couple.”

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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