Raiders live up to being more than a team in opener

PA bests Pats 7-4 in banner raising night at home

Connor Howe first of two goals on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders were living up to their legacy of being more than just a hockey team to the folks in “Hockey Town North.”

On Friday before a standing room crowd of 2,916 spectators at the storied and historic 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders downed the visiting Regina Pats 7-4 in the WHL regular season opener for both clubs. It was a night where the Raiders raised banners for finishing first in the WHL’s East Division and capturing the Eastern Conference Championship last season.

On their opening day roster on Friday night, the Raiders took the ice with 12 returning plays from last season’s squad that finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 52-10-5-1 mark and advanced to the WHL Championship Series falling in five games to the Everett Silvertips. The Raiders are still without two more potential returning skaters from last year’s squad as 19-year-old left-winger Brandon Gorzynski is still taking part in NHL training camp activities with the Dallas Stars and 18-year-old right-winger Jonah Sivertson is in camp with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Benett Kelly skates on to the ice during pre-game introductions.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said it was important to see the East Division and Eastern Conference championship banners to up into the Hauser’s rafter, because it further cements the history that was made last season.

“It was a real special night in a number of ways,” said McDonald. “Watching the banner go up and the trophies sitting there, the guys who were here with us last year it is an amazing accomplishment and something that you should be very proud of.

“You watch those banners go to the rafters, and you’re a part of this history and this culture forever when those are up there.”

The Raiders raise two championship banners to the rafters.

The Raiders also ran a stirring video tribute for club mainstay in the late Mark Odnokon. Odnokon passed away this past May 24 due to cancer, and he was still a Raiders assistant coach at the time of his passing.

In living to age 63, Odnokon is viewed as a Raiders lifer. In the early 1970s growing up in Prince Albert, he went to Raiders games as a ticket buyer and used to camp out for tickets in the team’s early playoff runs when they were in junior A as part of the SJHL.

He was a stick boy for the Raiders first Centennial Cup winner in 1976-77, was a late season call up for their second Centennial Cup championship team in 1978-79 and was a full-time player for their final two Centennial Cup triumphs in 1980-81 and 1981-82.

After serving as head coach and general manager of the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs from 1988 to 1990, Odnokon returned to the Raiders as an assistant coach in the 1990-91 season. He was pretty much a part of the Raiders staff for most of the years he lived from that moment until his passing, when he served as a skills coach and the team’s Respect Champion. It was really only broken up for a long stretch from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s when he was a scout for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks.

The Raiders paid tribute to the late Mark Odnokon.

McDonald, who was born and raised in Prince Albert and played for the under-18 AAA Prince Albert Mintos and the Raiders, said Odnokon has been present in his hockey journey, and he still feels the physical void of the forever hockey coach not being there. Odnokon’s celebration of life took place fittingly at the Hauser this past May 31.

““Ozzy” was a huge part of those banners and the fabric of the culture that we have here in Prince Albert with the Raiders,” said McDonald. “He is a man who has been at this rink since I’ve been a kid.

Ben Harvey had one goal and three assists for the Raiders.

“He has been a part of it every single way with me whether it was working NorSask Hockey School, coming to the rink as a player playing for the Prince Albert Raiders to assistant and to head coach. It is hard to come and him not be here with his laughter, his humour, his work ethic and everything that he brings. He was the ultimate glue guy of a teammate.

“You heard all the stories at his funeral. Also as a coach too, he kept that coaching office extremely light, extremely close, and he is sadly missed.”

Raiders sophomore 17-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey said he still feels Odnokon’s physical absence. Following all the pre-game ceremonies, Harvey went out and had a huge night recording a short-handed empty-net goal, three assists and posting a plus-five rating in the plus-minus department.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Maddix McCagherty (#17).

“Obviously, heavy hearts out to “Oz” and his family,” said Harvey, who has 14 goals, 13 assists and a plus-21 rating in 45 regular season games in 2025-26 as a 16-year-old rookie with the Raiders. “You never want to see that.

“He is a big part of our organization and was out with us every day.”

Harvey said Odnokon will always stand for all the good values and characteristics of what the Raiders are and mean to the community of Prince Albert.

“He means a lot to this organization itself,” said Harvey. “It was nice to do a little tribute video there.

“We’re playing for him this year, and he is definitely in our hearts.”

Following the pre-game festivities, the Raiders exploded out to 3-0 a lead. Just 70 seconds into the contest, Raiders 18-year-old defenceman Benett Kelly slipped a see-eye point shot through a screen to put the hosts up 1-0.

Carsyn Dyck sets up to score a breakaway goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to show their skill with 17-year-old left-winger and local product Connor Howe finishing off a couple of nice setup passes with goals to give Prince Albert a 3-0 lead at the 14:14 mark of the first. Howe would finish the contest with a plus-four rating.

With any opening game of a regular season, there were moments when the sailing wasn’t entirely smooth. Just 45 seconds after Howe’s second tally, Pats 20-year-old right-winger Keets Fawcett scored on the power play to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

At the 5:29 mark of the second, the Raiders pushed their edge out to 4-1 with a grittier goal, when 20-year-old centre Maddix McCagherty backhanded home a rebound in close that came from a long range shot taken by 18-year-old rookie defenceman Darius Hordal. McCagherty also had two assists and a plus-three rating on Friday.

PIMS the Parrot meets the Raiders young fans.

Veteran right-winger Jace Egland popped a single home for the Pats just over four minutes later to trim the Raiders lead to 4-1. Carsyn Dyck, who is a 20-year-old veteran centre, proceeded to slip home a shot on a breakaway just over two-and-a-half minutes later for the Raiders to put the hosts up 5-2. Dyck previously played in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks until being released this past off-season allowing him to be added to the Raiders roster.

Before the second frame closed out, Fawcett netted his second of the contest and centre Ellis Mieyette, who will turn 20-years-old in October, tallied with 51.2 seconds remaining in the frame to cut the Raiders lead to 5-4.

Riley Boychuk jets into the offensive zone on a rush.

The Raiders ensured the Pats wouldn’t spoil the opening game party in the third. With 4:07 remaining in the frame, Raiders star 18-year-old centre Ben Harvey burst into the offensive zone on a rush with his team working on the power play.

Harvey got in close to the Regina net and put a backhanded pass to import right-winger Alisher Sarkenov at the right post of the Pats goal. Sarkenov potted the puck into the open side of the cage to push the Raiders lead out to 6-4. Harvey would add his short-handed empty-net goal with 2:15 remaining on the clock to round out the scoring in the contest.

Maddix McCagherty had two assists to go with his goal.

Star 19-year-old import netminder Michal Orsulak made 20 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. 

Taylor Tabashniuk turned away 10-of-13 shots starting in goal for the Pats and was pulled after the first period. Drake Mooney turned away 12-of-15 shots playing the rest of the way in relief and took the loss in goal for Regina. 

The Pats were without 16-year-old star centre Maddox Schultz and veteran defenceman Kolten Bridgeman with undisclosed injuries.

The only other downer for the Raiders was that 18-year-old rookie left-winger Cash Lanigan was given a major penalty for kneeing, which also saw him get kicked out of the contest. The major penalty will automatically be reviewed by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos (6 p.m., InnovationPlex). The Pats get back at it on Friday, September 25, when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Assiniboine Credit Union Place).

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

As the Raiders go forward in the season, Howe would like to see the 2026-27 Raiders create another banner raising ceremony for September of next year. He admitted it was pretty sweet to see the banners from last season get raised on Friday night.

“I think it means a lot to us all that hard work from last year,” said Howe. “I think we’re trying to do that again this year, so I think it should be a good year.”

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Raiders in command of Eastern Conference Semifinal

Prince Albert takes 2-0 lead in series with rival Blades

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

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders are in the driver’s seat.

On Saturday playing before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,299 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders blanked their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades 3-0 in Game 2 of a WHL Eastern Conference Semifinal Series while also holding a 37-15 edge in shots on goal. Combined with their convincing 6-1 victory in Game 1 on Friday before another sellout crowd at the Hauser, the Raiders hold a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set.

The series now switches over to Saskatoon. Games 3 and 4 will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at the SaskTel Centre for a 7 p.m. start time on both nights.

Owen Corkish does a flyby after scoring for the Raiders.

Going into those two upcoming contests in Saskatoon, the Raiders are feeling good about where they are at.

“It feels amazing,” said Raider 18-year-old rookie right-winger Owen Corkish. “It feels really good.

“We’re not going to get too overwhelmed. We’re going to stay simple and keep doing the things we need to do, and that is what is going to lead us to success.”

In Saturday’s clash, the two sides played through a scoreless first period, where the Raiders held an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal. Prince Albert’s shots were put up via a more gradual pace due to the Blades doing a little better job of getting to pucks in their own zone and transitioning up ice.

Evan Gardner mades one of his 34 saves in goal for the Blades.

The Blades looked like they were going to get the biggest first break of the contest when Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube was given a double minor for high sticking. That infraction will be automatically reviewed by the WHL Office for a possible suspension, which is a standard practice by the circuit.

The visitors weren’t able to create any dangerous scoring chances on those two power-play chances due to the Raiders stellar work on the penalty kill.

With 10:05 remaining in the second period, a fight developed between two unlikely combatants in Raiders standout 16-year-old rookie defenceman Brock Cripps and Blades 17-year-old rookie centre Ben Bowtell. The two combined for 48 penalty minutes during the regular season. Both players got a couple of good shots in before the two players ended up wrapped up together after the short bout.

A Raiders fan has sympathy for Blades goalie Evan Gardner.

That set the stage for the Raiders to break onto the scoreboard. With about 6:30 remaining in the second, the Blades broke into the Prince Albert zone and Blades sophomore star centre Cooper Williams appeared in prime shooting position with the puck in front of the Raiders net.

Raiders star centre Max Heise stole the puck from Williams and passed the puck to Raiders star defenceman Daxon Rudolph to start a rush up ice. Rudolph passed the puck up to Raiders standout left-winger Maddix McCagherty, who entered the Saskatoon zone jetting down the left wing.

McCagherty dropped the puck back to Rudolph at the top of the left faceoff circle. Rudolph fired a drive on goal that deflected off Blades star netminder Evan Gardner, bounced off Corkish and went into the Saskatoon net to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

Brock Cripps (#12) tangles with Ben Bowtell (#71).

“I saw Rudolph about to shoot the puck there on the net,” said Corkish. “I thought I should stand in front of the net and see what happens, see if there is a rebound.

“Luckily, it went off me and then in the net, so it was nice.”

With 2:04 remaining in the second, the Raiders pushed their lead out to 2-0. Blades defenceman Jack Kachkowski was trying to hold the puck in the Prince Albert zone at the left point, when he had the puck taken away from him by Raiders standout import rookie left-winger Alisher Sarkenov.

Sarkenow passed the puck to Raiders standout 17-year-old rookie right-winger Jonah Sivertson to start a two-on-one break into the Saskatoon zone. Sivertson ripped his first of the post-season to the top left corner of the Saskatoon net to give the Raiders their two-goal advantage.

Michal Orsulak made 15 saves to pick up a shutout win.

Just 61 seconds into the second, Sivertson was working with the puck along the left boards of the Saskatoon zone. He passed the puck to 19-year-old import shutdown defenceman Matyas Man, who one-timed home his first of the post-season to give the Raiders their 3-0 edge.

“I was pretty confident not that I am going to score, but that I am going to hit the net,” said Man. “I was like a little bit surprised that I scored.

“I am not there to score the goals. We have a lot of other players to score too.”

The Raiders proceeded to cruise to victory from that point.

Michal Orsulak stopped all 15 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders. It was the second shutout of the post-season for Orsulak. Gardner turned away 34 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

Daxon Rudolph had an assist for the Raiders.

“I thought it was a better effort from our group for sure,” said Blades head coach Dan DaSilva. “We asked them to simplify our game, play a little bit harder, a little faster and a little more north-south.

“I thought that we did that for the most part. We were right there over halfway through the second period 0-0. We take a chance on a rush, a four-on-three, we don’t execute, and they come back and put it in the back of our net.

“It was a better effort from our group for sure. It is going to be a tall task. We know that, but I think it was a step in the right direction.”

During the first two games of the series in Prince Albert, Gardner has been the target of heckles from the Raiders faithful. DaSilva has no complaints about how his puck stopper, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has played.

The faithful in the Art Hauser Centre cheer on the Raiders.

“Evan (Gardner) has been great,” said DaSilva. “He has given us everything he has back there.

“He has made some huge saves, especially early in the second period there. He stopped a couple of net front scrambles, made a couple of good pad saves and gave us an opportunity to keep on fighting. That is all you can ask of your goalie.

“I thought he has handled himself really well so far in this series.”

Going into this rivalry series, the Raiders were the favourites.

They finished first in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and second overall in the league with a 52-10-5-1 record during the regular season. They were rated fourth in the final CHL Top 10 Rankings. In the first round of the playoffs, Prince Albert eliminated the Red Deer Rebels, who were eighth in the Eastern Conference, in five games.

Jonah Sivertson (#28) celebrates scoring for the Raiders.

The Blades were sixth in the Eastern Conference and placed 10^th in the overall regular season standings with a 34-27-5-2 mark. In the first round of the playoffs, they upset the Edmonton Oil Kings, who were third in the Eastern Conference and fifth overall in the WHL, in seven games taking Game 7 by a 3-2 score in overtime. In the seven games against the Oil Kings, the Blades played their best hockey of the 2025-26 campaign.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald has been pleased with how his club has played in their first two games of their post-season series with the Blades and how his squad battled in Game 2.

“I thought our guys did a tremendous job,” said McDonald. “We stuck with it.

Matyas Man was named a named the game’s second star.

“It took a period and a bit to get the first one. They (the Blades) came out hard. They pushed.

“We pushed back and continued to play fast, continued to play up the ice and play north and got our opportunities. The P.K. did a great job with a big kill at the end of the first and the second. We just continued to create our push from there.”

Now the series switches over to the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, and Man believes the Blades will come out with their best effort of the series in those contests.

“I think it is going to be harder,” said Man, who was a plus-three in the plus-minus department on Saturday. “They are going to have their fans, so as players, I think we just need to stick with what we are good in.

The Raiders salute their fans at the Art Hauser Centre.

“We just need to stick to our game.”

NOTE – The Raiders 50/50 jackpot drew a ticket where a team record $100,025 goes to the winner. As of the time this post went life, the jackpot had not been claimed. The winning number is C-115039.

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Raiders taking advantage of Rebels youth on defense

Jake Missura (#3) chats with Brandon Gorzynski and Justice Christensen.

The Prince Albert Raiders have been merciless when it comes to taking advantage of the youth on the Red Deer Rebels defense.

One of the facts on life in the WHL is teams will capitalize on an area you can take advantage of in an opponent and keep doing it again and again and again until you pick up the win. That type of development becomes larger in a best-of-seven post-season series.

That is becoming evident in the best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs between the Raiders and the Rebels. The Raiders lead the series 2-0 with Games 3 and 4 to be hosted Tuesday and Wednesday respectively at the Merchant Crane Centrum in Red Deer.

During the regular season, the Raiders topped the Eastern Conference 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.

At this point in their development, they are an experienced and more veteran team that also has a youthful contingent who are proving to be special players. The steady veterans include 20-year-olds in captain Justice Christensen, Brayden Dube and Aiden Oiring along with Braeden Cootes, Brandon Gorzynski, Maddix McCagherty and Linden Burrett.

The youngsters who are playing beyond their age include Daxon Rudolph, Brock Cripps, Ben Harvey, Connor Howe and netminder Steele Bass. On Monday, the 16-year-old Cripps was named the WHL’s rookie of the week for posting two goals, two assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department in Prince Albert’s victories in Games 1 and 2 of the series at the Art Hauser Centre.

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

Christensen’s Gordie Howe hat trick powers Raiders over Blades

Prince Albert locks up first in WHL’s Eastern Conference  

Justice Christensen celebrates his second goal of Friday’s game.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Justice Christensen got the party started for the Prince Albert Raiders.

The 20-year-old captain delivered a signature game to give his Raiders a first place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. He had a pair of goals, an assist, a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department and engaged in one fight to power Prince Albert to a 4-0 victory over their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades. The victory came before an elated standing room home crowd of 3,076 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre.

With the win, the Raiders improve to 51-10-5-1. While the defending WHL champion Medicine Hat Tigers improved to 49-10-5-3 with a 9-3 victory over the Rebels in Red Deer on Friday to remain two standings points back of the Raiders, Medicine Hat loses out on the standings tiebreaker. Both teams have one game remaining in their respective regular season schedules, and the Raiders are guaranteed to finish with more wins than the Tigers to take the standings tiebreaker.

Justice Christensen (#7) fights Tyler Parr (#20).

The Raiders will also finish second overall in the WHL behind the Everett Silvertips (56-8-2-1), while the Tigers will place third overall. Everett is rated first in the CHL’s Top 10 Rankings, Prince Albert is fourth in those ratings and Medicine Hat is rated fifth.

Friday’s tilt between the Raiders and Blades got off with some good fireworks just 38 seconds into the contest with a fight between captains of the two sides in Christensen and Tyler Parr of the Blades. The players went at it for about a solid 30 seconds throwing a bunch of punches for arguably one of best fights of the 2025-26 WHL campaign.

The Raiders opened the game’s scoring on a beauty power-play goal at the 7:57 mark of the first period. Raiders star defenceman Daxon Rudolph had the puck in his own zone and hit star centre Braeden Cootes with a slick stretch pass right before the Saskatoon blue-line.

Justice Christensen had a Gordie Howe hat trick on Friday.

Cootes burst into the Saskatoon zone and beat Blades netminder Taye Timmerman mid-height to the glove side to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

With 5:44 remaining in the first, the Raiders pushed their edge to 2-0 on a goal from sophomore right-winger Riley Boychuk. Boychuk tipped home a puck in front of the Saskatoon net that came from a point shot taken by Raiders standout left-winger Maddix McCagherty.

Christensen would complete the Gordie Howe hat trick with 6:24 remaining in the second frame firing home a “juice bomb” point shot for his 17^th goal of the season. That tally pushed the Raiders advantage to 3-0.

Daxon Rudolph had a pair of assists for the Raiders on Friday.

At the 5:22 mark of the third, Christensen fired home his second “juice bomb” shot of the contest with this one coming from midrange to make Prince Albert’s lead sit at 4-0. The marker was Christensen’s 18^th goal of the campaign.

Blades starting netminder Taye Timmerman got dinged up on the Raiders fourth goal. The associate player call up was pulled after turning away 26-of-30 shots sent his way to take the setback in net for Saskatoon. Timmerman, who turned 19-years-old in late February, had been playing in the junior A ranks with the Warman Wolverines of the SJHL and had been making his second WHL regular season start on Friday.

The faithful at the Art Hauser Centre cheer on the Raiders.

Blades star netminder Evan Gardner stopped all five shots he faced playing the rest of the way in relief.

Michal Orsulak stopped all 16 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders. The shutout was the fourth of the season for the rookie Czech import start netminder.

Rudolph finished with two assists and a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department. Cootes and Boychuk each had an assist to go with their goals, and both had a plus-one rating.

Michal Orsulak made 16 saves to pick up the shutout win.

The Blades fell to 34-26-5-2 with the loss and are locked into finishing sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. They will face the 44-18-3-2 Edmonton Oil Kings, who finished third overall in the Eastern Conference, in a best-of-seven first round series in the WHL Playoffs.

The Raiders could still potentially face either the Regina Pats (25-33-7-2), the Red Deer Rebels (26-35-4-2) or the Moose Jaw Warriors (25-35-5-2) in the first round of WHL Playoffs. The Pats, Rebels and Warriors all finish their respective regular season schedules on Saturday.

The Raiders and Blades go at it again on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon to close out their respective regular season schedules. After that clash, the focus turns to the WHL post-season.

The Raiders salute their fans after their win on Friday night.

As Raiders fans have known for some time, Christensen has been an outstanding leader for the team. As he is playing out his final season of WHL eligibility, you can expect Christensen will do whatever he can in his power to help his squad conclude the 2025-26 campaign in a blaze of glory.

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Raiders in rare air with 20-goal men

Maddix McCagherty (#17) celebrates scoring his 20th goal last Friday.

Do you like 20-goal men?

While the Prince Albert Raiders have lots of 20-goal men – eight to be exact. Entering play on Tuesday, they include Daxon Rudolph (28), Aiden Oiring (28), Max Heise (28), Brandon Gorzynski (27), Braeden Cootes (22), Jonah Sivertson (22), Brayden Dube (21) and Maddix McCagherty (20). At the moment, 18-year-old import rookie left-winger Alisher Sarkenov is sitting on 19 goals. If he scores one more goal, that would give the Raiders nine 20-goals scorers.

The Raiders 2018-19 WHL title winning team didn’t even have eight 20-goal scorers. The five players who hit the 20-goal mark in that campaign included Noah Gregor (43), Brett Leason (36), Parker Kelly (35), Cole Fonstad (29) and Sean Montgomery (29).

The last time the Raiders had eight players who hit the 20-goal plateau was back in the 1991-92 campaign. The players that hit the 20-goal mark that season included Lee Leslie (52), Jeff Nelson (48), Dan Kesa (46), Dean McAmmond (37), Donevan Hextall (33), Curtis Regnier (30), David Neilson (25) and Jeff Gorman (23).

If Sarkenov scores one more goal to hit 20, it would give the Raiders nine players who hit the 20-goal plateau for the first time since the 1985-86 campaign. That season they included Pat Elynuik (53), Ryan Stewart (52), Dale McFee (47), Tony Grenier (42), Steve Gotaas (40), Kim Issel (29),Scott Kruger (26), Emanuel Viveiros (22) and Rod Dallman (20).

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

Rudolph equals Raiders record held by Morrissey

Prince Albert romps over Moose Jaw 11-0

Daxon Rudolph scored his 28th goal of the season on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Daxon Rudolph wants to take things as they come when it comes to being the lone holder of a cool Prince Albert Raiders team record.

The star defenceman is happy to be sharing a Raiders team mark with one of the best playing along the blue-line in the current day. On Friday playing before a standing room crowd of 2,890 spectators at the 2,580 seat storied and historic Art Hauser Centre, Rudolph, who turned 18-years-old on March 6, had a goal and three assists helping his Raiders romp to an 11-0 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors in a WHL regular season clash.

With the Raiders holding a 1-0 lead entering the second, Rudolph tallied on the power play firing home a shot the front of the Moose Jaw net to the top right corner of the goal to put the Raiders up 2-0. That tally was Rudolph’s 28^th goal of the season and it equaled the Raiders team record for most goals in one regular season by a defenceman.

Daxon Rudolph equaled the one season record for goals by a D-man.

Josh Morrissey, who is a star defenceman with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, was the first blue-liner to score 28 goals in regular season for the Raiders, when he was the team’s captain in the 2013-14 campaign. During that season, Morrissey recorded 28 goals and 45 assists for 73 points in 59 regular season games to go with a plus-six rating in the plus-minus department. Morrissey’s 28 goals for one season a Raiders defenceman went unmatched until Rudolph picked up his 28^th tally on Friday.

“It feels good,” said Rudolph, who also had a plus-three rating on Friday. “I mean, obviously being named with a guy like (Josh) Morrissey is pretty special.

The Raiders celebrate Daxon Rudolph’s 28th goal of the season.

“He is having a tremendous career, and he is going to play for a lot more years to come. (It is) pretty cool for sure, and I hope to break it here in the next couple of games. I am just happy about the two points.

“The team played a really good game.”

In a game where seemingly everyone on the Raiders was having a good night, Rudolph’s accomplishment wasn’t lost amongst the team’s coaches and players. The rearguard also leads the Raiders in scoring with 74 points coming off his 28 goals to go with 46 assists and a plus-26 rating appearing in all of the team’s 64 games this season.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald said it has been special to watch Rudolph have the season he has had as a second-year player in the WHL. The bench boss said equaling the team record for most goals by a defenceman held by Morrissey makes Rudolph’s campaign even extra special.

Daxon Rudolph leads the Raiders in scoring with 74 points.

“It is impressive,” said McDonald. “You watch how he does his business out there.

“You just watch in the first period where he is getting pucks past the first layer of blocks that he did. He got pucks there (to the net) and shot with a purpose to create rebounds. When he got his opportunity, he was able to put it in the back of the net.

“His hockey I.Q. is through the roof defensively and offensively with how he does stuff like that.”

While Rudolph had a great night, Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ben Harvey had an even more memorable night. In the win, he led the Raiders in goals (three), assists (three), points (six) and plus-minus (plus-six).

Daxon Rudolph had three assists and a plus-three rating on Friday.

Harvey’s hat trick was his first in his WHL career. Still, he was pumped Rudolph equaled Morrissey’s Raiders record for most goals in one season by a defenceman. Harvey and Rudolph were part of the Northern Alberta Xtreme academy program for a couple of seasons from 2022 to 2024, so the young forward was pumped to see his long time friend equal a Raiders team record with one of the club’s most famous alums.

“It is obviously something that is very cool going up with him (Rudolph) and knowing him before I came here,” said Harvey. “He is obviously a very special player.

“He is going to do great things in his career. To tie a record put up by such a great defenceman (in Morrissey), I am not surprised. He (Rudolph) is a great player.

Ben Harvey celebrates his first of three goals on Friday.

“It is something very cool to be a part of.”

Harvey scored his first of the night just 21 seconds after Rudolph’s tally to give the Raiders a 3-0 advantage. The host side would proceed to surge out to 7-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

On the Raiders fifth goal that came at the 9:28 mark of the second period, Rudolph had the puck in prime shooting position at the left point. Instead of going for lone possession of the goals record there, he started a tick-tack-toe passing play that saw the puck go to star centre Braeden Cootes and then to breakout star centre Max Heise, who popped home his 27^th tally of the campaign.

Maddix McCagherty had two goals and two assists on Friday.

“I try not to think about it (the goals record) too much when I’m out there,” said Rudolph. “I just always try to make the right play.

“I saw Cootesy (Cootes) open there through the seam, and he fired one right back to Heise, who ended up putting it in the back of the net. (It was) a really nice play by our power play. I thought we were pretty good tonight.”

In the third with the Raiders rolling with a more than comfortable lead and ultimately adding four more goals in that frame, it was apparent that thoughts about helping Rudolph get the record came up. During a couple of offensive zone faceoffs, the Raiders lined up with a set play to give Rudolph a shooting chance, if they could execute on the draw.

Rudolph said his defensive partner and Raiders captain in Justice Christensen talked to him about getting the record in the third.

“Justice (Christensen) is a little bit bugging me on the bench about it and trying to get me another one,” said Rudolph. “He fired a pass to me I remember off the rush.

Braeden Cootes had one goal and three assists for the Raiders.

“I shot one, but it didn’t end up going in. Really, (it is) not the end of the day or not the end of the world. I’m not thinking about it a whole lot.

“It is cool, obviously, and you want to get another one. You are just trying to play hockey and make the right play.”

In Friday’s win, Raiders standout left-winger Maddix McCagherty had two goals, two assists and a plus-five rating. Cootes finished with one goal, three assists and a plus-three rating. Alisher Sarkenov, Jonah Sivertson and Brock Cripps all had singles for the Raiders.

Michal Orsulak stopped 17 shots to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders.

Chase Wutzke turned away 19-of-24 shots starting in net and taking the loss for the Warriors. He was pulled after the Raiders fifth goal. Kyle Jones turned aside 18-of-24 shots playing the rest of the way in relief for the visitors.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday when they travel to Regina to take on the Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Warriors get back at it on Sunday when they return home and host the Pats (2 p.m., Temple Gardens Centre).

Going forward, McDonald said Rudolph has a pretty good shot at outright breaking Morrissey’s record as the Raiders continue to push for first overall in the Eastern Conference.

“For him (Rudolph), we got more games left in the holster here,” said McDonald. “He is going to get lots of opportunities to get that opportunity.

“He is a tremendous player, and he is a team first guy. That is where his mind is at.”

Odds and Ends:

Michal Orsulak picked up his third shutout of the season.

• With Friday’s win, the Raiders improve to 48-10-5-1 and remain tied with the Medicine Hat Tigers (47-10-5-3) for first in the Eastern Conference at 102 standings points. Prince Albert has a game in hand on Medicine Hat. The Raiders hold the standings tiebreaker due to having more wins.
• Orsulak picked up his third shutout of the season in Friday’s win. In 33 games in the 2025-25 campaign, the star rookie import netminder has posted a 25-4-4 record, a 2.27 goals against average and a .907 save percentage to go with his three shutouts.
• Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary is searching for one more win to become his team’s all-time leader in regular season head coaching victories. O’Leary is tied with Tim Hunter with 189 career wins.
• The Warriors fell to 23-35-5-2 with the loss and sit ninth in the Eastern Conference two points back of the Red Deer Rebels (25-34-3-2) for eighth place and the conference’s final playoff berth. Red Deer has one game in hand on Moose Jaw.
• Only four Raiders skaters were held without a point on Friday. They included Christensen, Riley Boychuk, Brandon Gorzynski and Owen Corkish.
• The Raiders were 2-for-3 on the power play on Friday, while the Warriors were unable to score on their one chance with the man advantage.
• The Raiders wore fan designed jerseys on Friday as part of CHL promotion. The jerseys were auctioned off online with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to President’s Choice Children’s Charity to help feed one-million children a year.

Stanks’ Three Stars

Ben Harvey had three goals and three assists on Friday.

1. Ben Harvey, (Raiders) – Had a career night with three goals, three assists and a plus-six rating. That is one of the most impressive outings seen by a 16-year-old Raiders rookie in recent years.
   
2. Daxon Rudolph, (Raiders) – Had one goal, three assists and a plus-three rating. He controlled play for the back end every time he stepped on the ice.
3. Maddix McCagherty, (Raiders) - Had two goals, two assists and a plus-five rating. He was one of many Raiders players who were rolling.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com. This piece can also be found in the Prince Albert Daily Herald by clicking right here.

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