Raiders win away from WHL final, Oil Kings look to force seventh heaven

Raiders RW Brett Leason, left, knocks down Oil Kings D Conner McDonald.

    The Prince Albert Raiders are on the verge of returning to a place they last visited in 1985.

    The Edmonton Oil Kings are trying to stave off elimination for the first time in 2019 WHL playoffs.

    The stakes are as high as they have ever been this season for both clubs when they meet in Game 6 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series on Sunday at Rogers Place in Edmonton at 2 p.m. local time.

    The Raiders lead the conference final 3-2. If they win on Sunday, they will advance to the WHL Championship series for the first time since 1985, when they won the league crown and advanced on to capture the Memorial Cup.

Parker Kelly cranked up his physical game for the Raiders.

    If the Oil Kings prevail on Sunday, they will force a series deciding Game 7 back in Prince Albert on Tuesday. Edmonton is hoping to close out the series with two straight wins in order to return to the league final for the first time since 2014.

    That year, the Oil King won the league title and moved on to win the Memorial Cup.

    In winning the last two games of the series, the Raiders looked more like the club that finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings posting a 54-10-2-2 record to get rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said his squad still has work to do to lock up the series, but he believes his players are hitting their stride once again.

    “We adjusted a few different things a couple of games ago,” said Habscheid. “I think the guys’ energy has really been the difference.

    “We’re just hounding. I think our speed is back. I think earlier in the series they (the Oil Kings) really didn’t see our speed, and now they are seeing it.”

Matthew Robertson (#22) wasn’t happy with the play of his Oil Kings.

    The Oil Kings are trying to rediscover their form that allowed them to top the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark. They were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    While they dropped a 4-0 decision to the Raiders in Game 5 on Friday in Prince Albert, Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer said his team needs to play better, but he will also remind his players they had moments where they played well on Friday.

    “This wasn’t the result we wanted,” said Lauer. “I really liked our first period.

Tensions have increased between the Oil Kings and Raiders.

    “They got a couple of good bounces, a power-play goal and then one that snuck through. I liked our game in the first period. The last two periods P.A. played well.”

    The Raiders set the tone delivering a number of big hits in Friday’s win. Power forward Parker Kelly made about five to six big hits, and he said he needs to keep up his physical play.

    “Obviously, that is something I need to be doing every game,” said Kelly. “That kind of helps me get engaged, and I think helps create chances for my linemates and myself.”

    Habscheid was pleased with the effort Kelly brought in Game 5 and thought it was unfortunate Kelly missed an open net on a third period scoring chance.

    “He was flying around,” said Habscheid. “He just couldn’t hit the open net that is all on that one.

Brett Leason, left, gets set to deke around an Oil Kings defenceman.

    “Poor guy, I felt bad for him, because that was probably his best game of the playoffs. He played great. It would have been nice for him to get a little reward on that goal.

    “He really led that physical nature for us. He is tough to play against, a heart and soul guy. He was real important early on.”

    The Oil Kings were in a state of dismay when came to reflecting on how they played in dropping Game 5.

    “We just need to come out way better than we did,” said defenceman Matthew Robertson. “It was embarrassing what we did.

Dylan Myskiw has been solid in goal for the Oil Kings.

    “We just need come out and worry about what we can control. We need to play better.”

    Oil Kings offensive defenceman Conner McDonald said his team had too many self-inflicted wounds on Friday with turnovers and bad breakouts. McDonald said his club will be looking for redemption at home in Game 6.

    “Our backs are up against the wall now,” said McDonald. “Our true colours are going to come out.

    “We have to be ready, and I think we will be.”

    Still, the Raiders will do whatever they can to avoid having to play a winner take all Game 7 back in Prince Albert. Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason likes his team’s chance of advancing, if they can duplicate Friday’s effort on Sunday.

Ian Scott’s focus has been sharp in goal for the Raiders.

    “I know we put together a great performance,” said Leason. “I know we had everybody going from top to bottom.

    “This is just a good example of what we can do when everybody is going. It feels great to get the win and refocus quick. We will get focused on Sunday.”

    The winner of Eastern Conference final will face the Vancouver Giants in the WHL Championship series.

    On Friday before 4,886 spectators at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., the Giants slipped past the Spokane Chiefs 3-2 in Game 5 of the WHL Western Conference Championship series. With the win, the Giants took the best-of-seven set 4-1.

Jake Neighbours will try to make more noise for the Oil Kings.

    Bowen Byram, Justin Sourdif and Brayden Watts netted singles for the Giants. Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Ethan McIndoe replied for the Chiefs.

    David Tendeck stopped 27 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Giants. Bailey Brkin turned away 29 shots to take the setback in goal for the Chiefs.

    The Giants finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings at 48-15-3-2 and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Chiefs finished eighth overall with a 40-21-2-5 mark.

    Vancouver last made the WHL final in 2007 falling in a series deciding seventh game to the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Giants hosted that year’s Memorial Cup tournament and downed the Tigers in the Memorial Cup title game 3-1.

    NOTE – Lauer was fined $1,500 by the WHL office Saturday for his post-game comments to the media following his team’s 4-0 loss in Game 5 in Prince Albert. 

The Raiders hope to celebrate a few goals in Edmonton on Sunday.

    The bench boss criticized the officials and their supervisors in his comments.

    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.

Oil Kings big guns overpower Raiders in Game 3

The Oil Kings celebrate one of their goals in a 5-1 win on Tuesday.

    EDMONTON, Alta. – The Edmonton Oil Kings top line looked like they were auditioning for the 1980s Edmonton Oilers.

    The unit of captain Trey Fix-Wolansky, overage centre Vince Loschiavo and left-winger Quinn Benjafield combined for three goals and six assists to deliver the Oil Kings to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday in Game 3 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series.

    With the win before 6,807 spectators at Rogers Place, the Oil Kings took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time at Rogers Place.

    “I thought we were playing well and moving our feet and moving pucks quick,” said Loschiavo, who had a pair of goals and an assist. “That is when we are at our best is when we are playing fast.

    “I think we have to keep that going here, and we should have success. Right from the first period, I thought we were getting chances. A couple of them didn’t go in.

Vince Loschiavo had two goals and an assist for the Oil Kings.

    “In the second, we started to find our game and find the back of the net. It is good.”

    After a scoreless opening frame, the Oil Kings top line got rolling in the second period. Just 87 seconds into the frame, Benjafield sprung Loschiavo into the Prince Albert zone on a breakaway and he snapped home the opening tally to give the hosts a 1-0 edge.

    At the 9:48 of the second, Loschiavo and Fix-Wolansky set up offensive defenceman Conner McDonald on a backdoor feed on a tic-tack-toe passing play and McDonald buried a shot to give the Oil Kings a 2-0 advantage.

    Working on the power play, the Oil Kings big line struck again at the 14:48 mark of the second. Benjafield got the puck to Fix-Wolansky, who fed a beauty backdoor feed to Loschiavo.

Trey Fix-Wolansky had three assists for the Oil Kings.

    Loschiavo made no mistake burying his second goal of the contest to give Edmonton a 3-0 lead.

    “It was unreal,” said Fix-Wolansky, who had three assists on Tuesday. “We were clicking.

    “We found each other when we were open and banged a couple home.”

    The Oil Kings captain said his line had more room and opportunities to make plays on Tuesday skating at the Rogers Centre, which has a bigger ice surface than the Raiders home rink in the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    “Coming back here, there is a little bit more time and space,” said Fix-Wolansky. “I think that worked to our advantage.

    “I think it was better for us tonight to able to make plays and have that time and space.”

Quinn Benjafield had two assists on Tuesday night.

    Having held the line of Fix-Wolansky, Loschiavo and Benjafield to one goal in the first two games of the series in Prince Albert, Raiders captain Brayden Pachal didn’t want to see them get rolling in Edmonton.

    “I think they got a couple of even strength goals,” said Pachal. “A lot of their offence has come off the power play.

    “Our penalty kill has to do a better job. Special teams again tonight, they won that battle. I think just forget about this one and move on for tomorrow.

    “We have to have that mindset that it is a must-win game tomorrow, and that is what we are looking to do tomorrow.”

    Sophomore defenceman Matthew Robertson scored on a point shot with 66 seconds remaining in the second to put the Oil Kings up 4-0.

    The Raiders managed to halt the bleeding with 0.2 seconds remaining in the second, when overage centre Sean Montgomery scored on the power play to cut the Oil Kings lead to 4-1.

Montgomery’s goal wasn’t able to trigger a Prince Albert comeback.

    Sophomore centre Josh Williams rounded out the scoring for Edmonton in the third with a power-play goal.

Brayden Pachal and the Raiders took one on the chin.

    Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer was pleased to see his top line have a special night.

    “It doesn’t matter what level you play at if your top line is not going to be going, you are not going to be going far,” said Lauer. “I thought today our guys were going.

    “It is big for the rest of the series. We don’t rely on them every night either. One thing that we’ve been able to do this year is get contributions from all four lines.

    “That is the biggest part of our team right now.”

    Ian Scott made 34 saves to take the loss in goal for the Raiders. Dylan Myskiw turned away 28 shots to pick up the win in net for the Oil Kings.

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said his team looked off on Tuesday and wasn’t able to find an early traction point to get going.

    “We just looked tired a little bit,” said Habscheid. “I think first period we looked tired, second period and then for some reason at the start of the third we found our legs a little bit.

    “It is something we can draw off of. I think if we would have scored early that might have helped. It is amazing when you get a goal all of sudden you find your legs, and we didn’t find the goal.

Netminder Ian Scott makes one of his 34 saves in goal for the Raiders.

    “We had some good chances in the second, when they got up by one. We had some good chances, point blank chances to tie it. We didn’t and they went from there.”

    Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. As a result, the Raiders are pegged as favourites in the Eastern Conference final against Edmonton.

    The Oil Kings topped the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark, and they were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Fix-Wolansky said the players on his team have developed a self-confidence that they can get the job done against the Raiders.

The Oil Kings celebrate their victory on Tuesday.

    “Everybody in that room believes in ourselves,” said Fix-Wolansky. “We believe in our team.

    “Other people might say we are the underdogs, but we don’t believe that one bit.”

    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.

Oil Kings grow from clashes with top-seeded Raiders

Oil Kings LW Jake Neighbours, left, drives on Raiders D Sergie Sapego.

    Brad Lauer remembers when his Edmonton Oil Kings were in awe of the Prince Albert Raiders.

    The Oil Kings head coach recalls the time when the Oil Kings first met the Raiders this season last Nov. 28, and the results weren’t particularly good for his side. The Raiders skated away with a 6-3 victory at Rogers Place in Edmonton to improve to 25-1 at the time.

    “When we played them at the beginning of the year, they were on their roll,” said Lauer. “At that time, we were a very young and immature team.

    “We probably wanted to get their autographs more than wanted to play against them. We just sat back and watched, and they pretty much took it to us. As you play teams like this, you learn an awful lot.

    “Not only do you learn, it makes your team better, when you play good teams. There was a lot that we took away every time we played these guys all year. There was something that we were able to take from them what they did as a team and kind of bring it into our group.”

    Having missed the playoffs the previous two seasons, the Oil Kings continued to improve as a team from that first meeting with the Raiders. Last Dec. 12, they dropped a 6-5 decision in overtime to the Raiders in Prince Albert.

Raiders D Brayden Pachal, right, closes on Oil Kings LW Quinn Benjafield.

    On Feb. 1, Edmonton posted a 6-3 victory in Prince Albert. On Feb. 4, the Raiders came into Edmonton and dropped the Oil Kings 5-1.

    The two squads are now battling in the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series. The best-of-seven set is tied at 1-1.

    Games 3 and 4 are set for Rogers Place in Edmonton on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively with a 7 p.m. local start times on both nights.

    Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. As a result, the Raiders are pegged as favourites in the Eastern Conference final against Edmonton.

    The Oil Kings topped the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark, and they were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. They are proving to be a formidable foe.

    Lauer has seen the improvement in his club each time they’ve played the Raiders.

    “The next time we played them we were better against them,” said Lauer. “When we play good teams, the good comes from our team.”

    As for Prince Albert, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid is looking for his side to hit the reset button for the upcoming clash.

    “We’ve won two there, so we feel comfortable playing on the road,” said Habscheid. “It is the way it is.

    “We didn’t want to lose a home game for sure, but they are a good team.”

Trey Fix-Wolansky scored on Saturday for the Oil Kings.

    The series has been a physical one so far. That is an aspect Oil Kings rookie left-winger Jake Neighbours, who turned 17-years-old in late March, has enjoyed.

    “Game 1 was kind of a feel out game,” said Neighbours, who has four goals and seven assists in the Oil Kings 12 playoff games. “Both teams are kind of seeing what is coming.

    “(Game 2) was probably what this whole series is going to be like, lots of physicality. I don’t mind the physical game. I’m out there throwing my body around and obviously taking a couple of hits too.”

    Another plotline from the series revolves around the Oil Kings top line of right-winger Quinn Benjafield, centre Vince Loschiavo and left-winger and captain Trey Fix-Wolansky going against the Raiders top defensive pair of captain Brayden Pachal and Zack Hayes.

    The unit of Benjafield, Loschiavo and Fix-Wolansky has been held to one goal so far in the series. That tally was a big one as Fix-Wolansky netted the equalizer in the third period of Game 2 on Saturday in Prince Albert to force a 3-3 tie and ultimately overtime.

    Neighbours score the overtime winner to give Edmonton a 4-3 victory.

    Pachal said he was all set to continue to team with Hayes to go against Edmonton’s top line.

    “We’re used to it now,” said Pachal. “We’ve been doing it all year.

    “Every team has top players, and it is our job to shut them down. Obviously, those guys are good players, and we just have to do our job.”

    Over the course of the campaign, the Raiders have received praise for the work done by their starting six on defence including Pachal, Hayes, Jeremy Masella, Max Martin, Sergei Sapego and Kaiden Guhle.

    The back end is a veteran one as Pachal, Hayes, Masella, Martin and Sapego are all in their 19-year-old seasons, while Guhle is in his 16-year-old rookie campaign.

Zack Hayes has been tough on defence for the Raiders.

    The Oil Kings defensive unit, which is a little more on the youthful side, has taken shape too. Conner McDonald, Will Warm and Parker Gavlas are in their 19-year-old years on the back end.
    Gavlas is playing through his first full season in the WHL and is a plus-11 in the plus-minus department in the post-season.

    Wyatt McLeod and Ethan Cap are in their 18-year-old campaigns, while Matthew Robertson is a 17-year-old sophomore.

    “We’re really in sync,” said Robertson. “We rolling the lines pretty much most of the time.

    “I think we are doing a really good job.”

    As for the Raiders, they will be looking to recapture home ice advantage in the series aiming to get a win in Edmonton. Physical left-winger Justin Nachbaur said his Raiders just have to avoid dwelling on the 4-3 overtime loss in Game 2 on Saturday in Prince Albert.

    “It was a tough one,” said Nachbaur. “We have to bounce back as a team.

    “That is the way it goes right now. It is playoffs. They are a good team.

    “You have to do what we have to do. We have to play hard.”

Extra attention likely to be paid on play in the crease

Andrew Fyten celebrates his goal for the Oil Kings on Saturday.

    When the Prince Albert Raiders and Edmonton Oil Kings resume play in the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series, there will likely be more attention to what happens during play in the goal crease.

    The best-of-seven series between the teams is tied 1-1. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

    Following the Oil Kings 4-3 overtime victory in Game 2 in Prince Albert on Saturday, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said he didn’t like the fact the officials allowed his star starting goaltender Ian Scott to be knocked around quite a bit.

    “The one thing that concerned me a little bit is it was kind of open season on our goaltender,” said Habscheid. “We depend on the officials to defend our goaltender, because we have no recourse anymore these days.

    “He (Scott) was getting bumped and stuck and ran all game. We expect them (the officials) to take care of that, and they didn’t. That is a little bit disappointing.”

    The main sticking point for Habscheid occurred when Oil Kings overage centre Andrew Fyten scored a power-play goal with 28.4 seconds remaining in the first period to force a 2-2 tie in the contest.

    A point shot from Oil Kings defenceman Matthew Robertson deflected in off Fyten’s leg and off of Scott’s skate into the Prince Albert net.

    Habscheid believed there should have been goaltender interference on the play, which would have nullified the goal. The bench boss said Scott is doing his best to track the puck and fight through people to stop the puck.

Raiders goalie Ian Scott battled through traffic on Saturday.

    “He (Scott) has to battle through that, but that is where you depend on your officials to make those calls,” said Habscheid. “It can’t be open season on goaltenders.

    “If it is, just let us know, but that can’t happen.”

    Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer said his club is emphasizing driving to the net, and plan to keep going hard to the Raiders net as the series continues.

    “Their D do a really good job of getting into you,” said Lauer. “They box you out.

    “We found it really tough in Game 1 to get to the front of the net. Obviously as you make change and do adjustments during  the series as it goes along here. We had to find ways to get to him (Scott) and make things difficult for him.

    “We did it a couple of times. Did we do it enough? I don’t think so. We need to do more of that. We need to create that second and third opportunity. If we do that, we will be OK.”

    Looking at available video replays online of Fyten’s goal, it appears the veteran centre could have contacted Scott, but the video wasn’t conclusive.

    Raiders supporters could argue that wasn’t a goal and have a good case. Oil Kings supporters could say that was a goal and could be correct.

    In that type of situation, the call on the ice would stand.

    Jeff D’Andrea of paNOW.com appeared to get the most definitive look with a still photo from his press box location. From his still picture, it looks more conclusive Fyten bumped Scott helping the goal to be scored.

    Of course, no official in the building would have seen that picture, and D’Andrea himself might not have noticed that photo until after all the media interviews were completed that night.

    From my gut perspective from what I have seen with video and still photos after the fact, I believe that was a case of incidental contact and the goal should have been disallowed. I believe it was a missed call, and I understand how it can be missed.

    During the flow and the moment of the game itself, it felt like a goal.

    Still, Habscheid’s post-game comments will make all eyes pay extra attention towards what happens in the goal crease for the rest of the series that could potentially play out to another three to five games.

    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.