Raiders take big step playing full campaign in 2021-22

The Raiders get pumped up before their playoff game last Wednesday.

The Prince Albert Raiders’ biggest victory in the 2021-22 campaign might have been the fact everything felt normal by season’s end.

When the Raiders began the 2021-22 campaign, they were still traveling down an unknown highway that had some images of familiarity. After playing through a four-game pre-season schedule in September of 2021, the Raiders hosted the Regina Pats on October 1, 2021 at the Art Hauser Centre in the regular opener for both sides.

For the Raiders, they would be hosting their first regular season game since March 6, 2020, when they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic would proceed to get its grips on North America to go along with the rest of the world. The 2019-20 WHL campaign was officially brought to an end on March 12, 2020.

No WHL playoffs were held in 2020 or 2021, and the Memorial Cup tournament to crown a CHL champion was nixed in both of those years too.

Reece Vitelli led the Raiders with 51 points.

Teams in the WHL had an abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. The Raiders took part in 24 regular season games in 2020-21 playing in a bubble environment in Regina against the league’s other four teams located in Saskatchewan and two clubs from Manitoba.

When the Raiders stepped on the ice to play the Pats on October 1, 2021, no one was certain the 2021-22 campaign would be played to a conclusion. The Raiders raised a banner for finishing first in the WHL’s East Division before falling 3-1 to the Pats in that contest played before 2,578 spectators at the Raiders storied 2,580-seat home rink.

As far as first impressions went, fans in “Hockey Town North” had to note this wasn’t the same Raiders team they last saw in person hit the ice in 2019-20 that topped the East Division with a 36-18-6-4 record. This was definitely not the same Raiders that finished first in the WHL’s regular season standings in 2018-19 with a dominant 54-10-2-2 record and went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in the post-season.

It was obvious the Raiders roster was in a transition type reload state. With that said, fans were just happy to have the chance to watch Raiders hockey at the Art Hauser Centre that night during the loss to the Pats.

There were no guarantees the Raiders would get in all their regular season games.

Ozzy Wiesblatt was a holdover from the 2018-19 WHL title winner.

Since March 12, 2020, it has been hard to almost impossible in some cases to grade how any team in the WHL has performed due to all the twists and turns and adjustments that had to be made due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For a two-week period at the start of this past January, positive COVID-19 tests caused major disruptions causing rescheduling that saw games go on for two weeks after the original April 3 end date of the regular season. The Winnipeg Ice and Brandon Wheat Kings also postponed a number of home games originally schedule in January and the first half of February due to capacity restrictions that were brought into Manitoba to combat COVID-19.

Still, the Raiders and the WHL were able to navigate all those hurdles to date. The Raiders played a completed 68 game regular season posting a 28-35-4-1 regular season record to finish eighth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and capture the conference’s final playoff berth.

Prince Albert proceeded to fall 4-1 in a best-of-seven first round series to the Winnipeg Ice, who finished first overall in the WHL regular season standings with a 53-10-3-2 mark and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Raiders campaign ended with an 8-2 loss to the Ice in Game 5 of their series on Friday in Winnipeg.

Nolan Allan anchored the Raiders back end.

Credit goes to general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid and his coaching staff for their efforts ensured the Raiders remained a team that could make the post-season. In the process, Habscheid moved into fifth place on the WHL’s career head coaching regular season wins list current sitting with 582 victories.

Credit goes to business manager Michael Scissons and the office staff for fact the Raiders averaged 2,334 spectators over their 34 home regular season games and 2,605 spectators for the team’s two home playoff dates.

During the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Raiders office staffers took on unforeseen roles at various times to ensure there was a product on the ice and game days did happen.

At lot of good things happened on the ice for the team as well. The Raiders closed the regular season winning two straight must win games in order to qualify for the WHL Playoffs.

After star defenceman Kaiden Guhle was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings on December 1, 2021, Nolan Allan, who was selected in the first round and 32^nd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, assumed the role as the main force in the back end for the Raiders.

Landon Kosior, who is a 19-year-old veteran, broke out as an offensive defenceman collecting 45 points on 18 goals and 27 assists appearing in all the Raiders 68 regular season games.

Tikhon Chaika emerged as a legit solid starter.

Overage centre Reece Vitelli, who became the Raiders captain after Guhle was traded, had his most memorable season in the WHL. Vitelli topped the Raiders in scoring with 51 points coming off 25 goals and 26 assists, and all those statistical totals were career highs.

Overage defenceman Remy Aquilon provided a steady presence on the back end and posted career highs in goals (three), assists (24) and points (27).

Left-winger Evan Herman, who was playing through his 19-year-old campaign, showed he had a nose for the net leading the Raiders with 28 goals to go along with 19 assists appearing in all the Raiders 68 regular season games.

Rookie 18-year-old import netminder Tikhon Chaika, who is from Minsk, Belarus, emerged as a solid legit WHL starter. In 51 regular season appearances, Chaika posted a 22-21-4 record, a 2.79 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and three shutouts.

The Raiders do have a number of younger players that have the potential to take big steps in the future.

Do they have the roster that can win a WHL Championship or a Memorial Cup at the moment?

That answer to that is “no” for now. At the moment, those titles were still last awarded in 2019, and since March 12, 2020, no one could realistically determine when they would be awarded again.

The Raiders salute their fans at the Art Hauser Centre.

The immediate goal was to get on the ice and plan a complete campaign like the Raiders did.

Assuming world events don’t throw in any more curveballs, the steps to building a team capable of capturing the WHL and CHL titles can now start in a more honest fashion.

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

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Raiders post-season life gets put on Ice

Winnipeg eliminates Prince Albert from WHL Playoffs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Connor McClennon scored twice for the Ice on Friday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reece Vitelli had the Raiders first goal on Friday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ozzy Wiesblatt had an assist on the Raiders final goal.

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

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

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Warriors hold serve at home with 5-3 Game 2 win

Blades trail WHL playoff series 2-0 heading home to Saskatoon

Brayden Yager had three points for the Warriors on Saturday.

The Moose Jaw Warriors were out to prove what happened against the Saskatoon Blades in the regular season means nothing in the WHL Playoffs.

On Saturday playing before 3,290 spectators at Mosaic Place, the host Warriors slipped past the visiting Blades 5-3 in Game 2 of a WHL first round playoff series between the two sides. The victory allows the Warriors to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set.

During the regular season, the Blades won six out of the eight head-to-head meetings between the two sides. The Warriors gained home ice advantage for the first round playoff series collecting 81 points to finish fourth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 37-24-4-3 record.

The Blades finished fifth in the Eastern Conference one point back of Moose Jaw with a 38-26-3-1 mark.

In Saturday’s Game 2 encounter, the two sides skated through a scoreless opening frame with the Warriors holding a 15-8 edge in shots on goal.

Just 20 seconds into the second, Warriors star centre Brayden Yager, who turned 17-years-old in early January, entered the Saskatoon zone jetting down the right wing on a short-handed two-on-one rush. Yager fired a shot that rebounded off the right pad of Blades overage star netminder Nolan Maier and deflected into the Saskatoon net off Blades centre Trevor Wong to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

The positive bounce tally by the Warriors didn’t discourage the Blades. At the 14:20 mark of the second, Blades left-winger Brandon Lisowsky banged home his first marker of the post-season from the right side of the Moose Jaw goal during a mini net scramble to even the score at 1-1.

Just 1:53 after Lisowsky’s equalizer, Blades overage defenceman Rhett Rhinehart fired a point shot on the Moose Jaw net that was deflected home by Blades left-winger Vaughn Watterodt to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.

With 1:33 remaining in the second Yager shifted the momentum back on the Warriors side blowing home a point shot that got through Maier to even the score at 2-2.

Moose Jaw went ahead 3-2 with 4.7 seconds remaining in the second, when Warriors defenceman Lucas Brenton wired home a shot from just inside the left faceoff circle in the Saskatoon zone. A shot taken by Warriors star centre Ryder Korczak that got blocked by a Blades player came out to Brenton to be a perfect positive bounce setup for his goal.

In the third, Moose Jaw got a key insurance goal to go ahead 4-2 with 6:46 remaining in the frame, when Warriors left-winger Riley Niven popped home a loose puck in the crease of the Saskatoon goal.

Things proceeded to get really hectic inside the final 50 seconds of the third. With 45.6 seconds remaining in the third and Maier pulled for an extra attacker for Saskatoon, Lisowsky backhanded home his second goal of the contest to cut the Warriors lead to 4-3.

Brandon Lisowsky had a pair of goals for the Blades on Saturday.

The Blades proceeded to get the puck right back into the Moose Jaw zone after cutting the Warriors lead to one goal. During a cycle, Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was tripped down to the ice. During a mix up when Crnkovic was tripped, the puck came out to veteran Warriors left-winger Calder Anderson.

Anderson sealed the win for Moose Jaw potting a long range empty-net goal that rounded out the 5-3 final score with 21.9 seconds remaining in the third. The Blades player and coaches proceeded to protest what went on and the resulting protest saw the officials access Crnkovic a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

A short time later, there was a faceoff with 9.9 seconds remaining in the third, and the officials ruled that tensions got hot enough that they called for the final 9.9 seconds to be run off the clock with the Warriors holding a two-goal lead. WHL rules allow officials the digression to run out the final seconds of a game clock at the end of the third period, if they feel tensions had gotten too high and score dictated the contest was decided.

The Blades protested the run off of the final 9.9 seconds on the clock.

Star overage netminder Carl Tetachuk made 28 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors. Maier turned away 33-of-37 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades.

Yager, who is a graduate of the Saskatoon Contacts under-18 AAA team, had an assist to go with his two goals for a three-point night. Warriors offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk had a pair of assists in the win.

Blades centre Jayden Wiens collected a pair of helpers in the setback.

The Warriors failed to score on six chances with the power play, while the Blades were unable to score on two chances with the man advantage.

The Warriors have been without star defenceman Daemon Hunt so far for the series, because he is out week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Blades star overage captain Tristen Robins missed both games of the series so far being listed day-to-day with a lower body injury. Robins did accompany the Blades to Moose Jaw.

The series now shifts to Saskatoon with Game 3 set for Tuesday and Game 4 following on Wednesday. Puck drop for each of those contests is set for 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

Winnipeg counter surge puts Raiders on Ice in Game 2

Nolan Orzeck scored the Ice’s first goal on Saturday.

The Prince Albert Raiders saw their momentum slip away at the worst possible time.

On Saturday playing Game 2 of a WHL first round playoff series against the Ice in Winnipeg, the Raiders fell behind 2-0 to the host before the contest was 12 minutes old.

With 1:29 remaining in the first, Raiders offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior scored to cut the Ice lead to 2-1. Raiders captain Reece Vitelli and left-winger Cale Sanders picked up assists on the play.

After the visitors gained the momentum, Raiders import left-winger Vladislav Shilo picked up a tripping minor with just under 13 seconds to play in the opening frame. The Ice would capitalize on that infraction before the period expired.

With 4.8 seconds remaining in the first, a point shot from Ice offensive-defenceman Benjamin Zloty was deflected home by Ice left-winger Owen Pederson from the front of the Prince Albert goal to give the host side a 3-1 lead.

The Ice scored twice inside of the first 3:20 of the second period to increase their advantage to 5-1 and cruised from there to a 5-2 victory before a standing room crowd of 1,983 spectators at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

The win allows the Ice to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. They took Game 1 on Friday by a 3-1 final thanks to a storyline that was similar to what happened at the end of the first period in Game 2.

In Saturday’s clash, the Ice opened the scoring at the 2:51 mark of the first period while working on a power play. Ice overage defenceman Nolan Orzeck slipped a midrange shot from right boards by the right faceoff circle in the Prince Albert zone through a screened Raiders import rookie netminder Tikhon Chaika to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

With 8:03 remaining the first, Ice overage right-winger Jakin Smallwood came on a rush down the right wing to slip home a midrange shot from the right boards by the right faceoff circle to put the Ice up 2-0.

That set the stage for the dramatics at the end of the frame that saw Kosior score to cut the gap on the scoreboard to one for the Raiders and Pederson tip home his power-play goal right before the end of the frame to restore Winnipeg’s two-goal edge.

Momentum continued to avalanche against the Raiders at that point. At the 2:10 mark of the second, Ice star 16-year-old centre Zachary Benson slipped home a bad angle shot from the right boards just above the icing line to increase Winnipeg’s advantage to 4-1.

The Raiders proceeded to pull Chaika at that point in the contest. He turned away 11-of-15 shots to take the setback in goal for the Raiders.

Reece Vitelli had a goal and an assist for the Raiders on Saturday.

Max Hildebrand, who is a 17-year-old rookie, played the rest of the way in relief in goal for the Raiders turning away 13-of-14 shots sent his way.

The Ice beat Hildebrand just 70 seconds after he entered the contest, when Ice star centre Conor Geekie made a mini toe-drag move and roofed home a shot to give the hosts a 5-1 lead.

Despite being down by four goals, the Raiders did attempt to push back. With 4:22 remaining in the third, Sanders was able to flip a pass out to Vitelli in front of the Winnipeg net, and Vitelli blasted home his second of the post-season to round out the 5-2 final score in the Ice’s favour.

Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser stopped 18 shots to pick up the win in goal. Winnipeg defenceman Carson Lambos had three assists in his team’s win on Saturday.

The Ice were 2-for-3 on the power play in Saturday’s contest, while the Raiders failed to score on three chances with the man advantage.

In Saturday’s win, Winnipeg was without star centre Matthew Savoie, who turned 18-year-old on Jan. 1. Savoie left the third period of his team’s Game 1 victory at home on Friday favouring his left leg after blocking a shot.

Following the Ice’s victory on Saturday, Winnipeg head coach James Patrick told Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press that Savoie is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Patrick said Savoie will travel with the Ice to Prince Albert for Tuesday’s Game 3 and Wednesday’s Game 4, which will be both played at the Art Hauser Centre. Puck drop for both of those contests is slated for 7 p.m.

The Ice, who posted a 53-10-3-2 regular season record, enter the series with the Raiders, who were 28-35-4-1 in the regular season, as big favourites. While the Ice’s record was way better than that of the Raiders, the Prince Albert side did give the Winnipeg side fits in eight head-to-head games in the regular season winning three of those contests.

Going into Game 3 in Prince Albert on Tuesday, the Raiders will be looking to get an emotional boost from their faithful as they try to get back in the series.

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

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Ice hold off feisty Raiders, take series opener 3-1

Jakin Smallwood scored for the Ice on Friday.

The Winnipeg Ice were reminded that the Prince Albert Raiders won’t be an easy out.

Still, the Ice, who were the WHL’s top team during the regular season, used their special teams to pull out a 3-1 victory over the visiting Raiders in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series at the Wayne Fleming Arena. Winnipeg cashed in on two-of-four power-play chances and killed off all five power-play opportunities the Raiders had.

The Ice, who posted a 53-10-3-2 regular season record, enter the series with the Raiders, who were 28-35-4-1 in the regular season, as big favourites. While the Ice’s record was way better than that of the Raiders, the Prince Albert side did give the Winnipeg side fits in eight head-to-head games in the regular season winning three of those contests.

The host side came out on fire in the first period hold an 11-2 edge in shots on goal. Despite that momentum over opening 20 minutes, the Ice were only able to put one goal past Raiders rookie import netminder Tikhon Chaika.

At the 12:03 mark of the first, the Ice entered the Prince Albert zone on a rush. Ice centre Cole Muir took a bank pass off the boards from linemate Skyer Bruce and circled around the back of the Raiders net.

After coming out the left side of the Prince Albert goal, Muir fed a pass to overage right-winger Jakin Smallwood, who was position in front of the Raiders goal. Smallwood quickly pushed the puck past Chaika to give the Ice a 1-0 lead.

The Raiders pushed back in the second period that saw the teams come out even in the shots on goal department 7-7. The Ice got the frame’s only goal scoring on the power play to extend their advantage to 2-0.

Reece Vitelli scored for the Raiders on Friday.

While working with the man advantage, Ice star 16-year-old centre Zachary Benson had the puck on the right wing and fed it down low to the right side of the Prince Albert goal to left-winger Owen Pederson. Pederson banked a close in shot in off Chaika’s right pad into the net to give Winnipeg the two-goal lead at the 9:34 mark of the second.

Just 1:45 into the third, the Raiders broke through on the scoreboard when a midrange shot from right-winger Sloan Stanick deflected off the skates of Raiders overage captain Reece Vitelli into the Winnipeg net to cut the Ice lead to 2-1.

The visitors proceeded to receive a bad break just 15 seconds later when centre Hayden Pakkala received a minor penalty for high-sticking.

On the ensuing power play, Ice power forward Jack Finley found star 19-year-old right-winger Connor McClennon with a backdoor pass at the left side of the Prince Albert net.  McClennon buried the puck into an empty cage past a sprawling Chaika to give the Ice a 3-1 advantage.

The power-play goal by McClennon came 68 seconds after Vitelli’s goal. Benson picked up his second helper of the contest on McClennon’s tally.

During the final three minutes of the third, the Raiders had the pick in the Winnipeg zone for most of that span of time but couldn’t put any more pucks past Ice star netminder Daniel Hauser.

Hauser made 19 save to pick up the win in goal for the Ice. Chaika turned away 27 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders.

Ice star centre Matthew Savoie left the game in the third period with his team up 3-1 and did not return after blocking a shot.

Both teams don’t have long to reflect on what happened in the series opener. Game 2 is slated for 7 p.m. local time on Saturday at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

Warriors wipeout Blades 5-1

Jagger Firkus had a highlight reel goal for the Warriors on Friday.

The Moose Jaw Warriors easily shook off any playoff opening jitters, and it spelled doom for the Saskatoon Blades.

Playing in front of a crowd 3,276 spectators made up mostly of their adoring faithful at Mosaic Place, the Warriors skated past the Blades 5-1 holding a 36-19 edge in shots on goal to take Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series between the two sides.

The Warriors, who were 37-24-4-3 in the regular season, just edged the Blades, who were 38-26-3-1 in the regular season, by one standings point 81-80 in order to gain home ice advantage for the best-of-seven set. The friendly confines of Mosaic Place seemed to suit the Warriors just fine.

The host side stormed out of the gates holding a 12-6 edge in shots on goal and taking a 2-0 lead on a pair of stellar tallies.

Just past the midway point of the first, Warriors centre Atley Calvert tipped home a shot from linemate Martin Rysavy to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

With 5:04 remaining in the first, Warriors star right-winger Jagger Firkus put home a lacrosse style goal to the top right corner of the Blades net push the host’s lead out to 2-0.

The Blades appeared to get a spark 78 seconds in the second, when standout centre Josh Pillar fired home a shot from the front of the Moose Jaw goal to cut the Warriors lead to 2-1. Pillar was in the right spot at the right time as a point shot from veteran Blades defenceman Charlie Wright went wide and bounced off the right back boards right to Pillar in front of the Warriors net.

At that point, Pillar wasted no time in taking advantage of a positive bounce.

The Warriors restored their two-goal lead at the 11:21 mark of the second, when defenceman Maximus Wanner took the puck down the right wing, cut across the front of the Saskatoon goal and put home a backhand shot to give the hosts a 3-1 edge.

Nolan Maier was pulled out of the Blades net to rest in the third.

Moose Jaw rounded out the scoring in the 5-1 win with overage defenceman Majid Kaddoura scoring a on a point shot and star centre Ryder Korczak slipping home a shot from the front of the Saskatoon goal. Korczak netted his marker after receiving a great setup from standout left-winger Eric Alarie, who was positioned behind the Blades net.

After Korczak scored the Warriors fifth goal at the 8:54 mark of the third, the Blades pulled star overage netminder Nolan Maier. Maier turned away 21-of-26 shots to take the setback in goal for the Blades.

Rookie netminder Ethan Chadwick played the rest of the way in relief turning away all 10 shots he faced.

Overage star goalie Carl Tetachuk stopped 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Warriors.

Alarie finished with two assists for the Warriors, while offensive-defenceman Denton Mateychuk had two helpers for the Moose Jaw side. Korczak had a helper to go with his goal, while Firkus also had an assist to go with his tally.

The Blades were without star overage centre and captain Tristen Robins, who is still listed day-to-day with a lower body injury. Robins missed the Blades last games of the regular season due to injury.

In eight regular season meetings between Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, the Blades won six of those encounters. Game 2 of the series between these two sides is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place.

Blades’ Crnkovic picks up pair of East Division honours

Kyle Crnkovic picked up two WHL East Division awards. 

Saskatoon Blades star left-winger Kyle Crnkovic was a big award winner for his club picking up a couple of WHL East Division honours on Thursday.

The Chestermere, Alta., product was named the Most Sportsmanlike Player and a first team all-star for the East Division. Crnkovic appeared in all of the Blades 68 regular season games posting career highs in goals (39), assists (55) and points (94), while only collecting 20 minutes in penalties.

The WHL announced division award winners and all-stars as part of a massive news dump on Thursday. Blades star captain and overage centre Tristen Robins was named a second team East Division all-star.

Prince Albert Raiders rookie right-winger Harrison Lodewyk was named the Scholastic Player of the Year for the East Division, while the Raiders as a team was tabbed as the winner of the WHL Business Award for the East Division.

The WHL is slated to announce its overall league awards via livestream on June 1.

Also on Thursday, the Edmonton Oil Kings were the winners of the WHL U.S. Priority Draft Lottery.  The WHL U.S. Priority Draft is slated for May 18, and the Oil Kings will select first overall in that draft.

The Medicine Hat Tigers won the WHL Prospects Draft Lottery. The WHL Prospects Draft is scheduled for May 19, and the Tigers will have the first overall selection for that draft.

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

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Raiders big underdogs versus Ice in WHL Playoffs

First round series classic David versus Goliath match up

Evan Herman and the Raiders are set for the playoffs.

Marc Habscheid is well aware of the daunting task his Prince Albert Raiders face in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.

On Friday, the Raiders open a first round best-of-seven series against the Ice in Winnipeg (7 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena). On paper, the series is a classic David versus Goliath matchup.

The Ice finished first overall in the WHL posting a 53-10-3-2 record and are rated second in the CHL Top 10 rankings. Winnipeg posted a 13-0-1-1 record in the month of March playing those 15 contests in a span of 28 days.

The Ice were an impressive 18-1-1-1 in their 21 regular season outings leading into the post-season.

The Raiders posted a 28-35-4-1 mark to finish eighth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and take the conference’s final playoff berth. Prince Albert had to win its last two straight games to sneak into the playoffs.

“We’re up against it,” said Habscheid, who sits fifth on the WHL’s career regular season head coaching wins list with 582 victories. “We know that.

“We’ll just figure out a way and try and get it done. Like I said, we’re up against it. They’re a good team.”

Due to challenges relating to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world, no WHL Playoffs were held in 2020 and 2021 and there was no Memorial Cup tournament to crown a CHL champion in either of those years also.

When the WHL Playoffs were last held in 2019, the Raiders captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions. During that post-season, the Raiders created the most memorable moment in the history of their storied home rink – the Art Hauser Centre.

The 2019 WHL Final between the Raiders and the Vancouver Giants went to a series-deciding Game 7. With 1:35 remaining in overtime, overage centre Dante Hannoun scored to deliver the Raiders to a 3-2 victory.

During the 2018-19 campaign, the Raiders topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2. The Raiders had a deep team where they could roll all four forward lines, had a stellar starting six on defence and received a CHL goaltender of the year award winning performance from Ian Scott.

Keaton Sorensen wants his squad to focus on team play.

This season the Ice are the deep team that can roll four lines, have seven strong options to use on their six defensive spots and have received superstar goaltending from Daniel Hauser, who turned 18-years-old in January.

The Raiders are skating through a transition type reload year. They captured a post-season berth due to the fact their team play has improved as the campaign has gone on.

To close the regular season, the Raiders faced basically two must-win games when it came to making the playoffs. They played arguably their two best games of the campaign downing the Broncos in Swift Current 4-1 last Friday and dumping the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-1 last Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I’ve said it all year we’ve got a good group, a hard working group,” said Raiders veteran left-winger Evan Herman. “(We have) a bunch of great guys in there.

“I’m just super excited that we got those two must wins. That is just more experience now going down the road as we head into playoffs here.”

Raiders veteran centre Keaton Sorensen said his squad showed how strong they can be when they are focused on team play in their two regular season ending wins.

“When everybody is rolling and everybody is doing their jobs, it is really important,” said Sorensen. “When we just keep to the structure, it all works out.”

The Ice had eight players put up 50 or more points during play in the regular season, while the Raiders only had one skater hold that distinction.

Centre Matthew Savoie led the Ice in scoring with 90 points coming off 35 goals and 55 assists. He had a plus-54 rating in the plus-minus category.

Veteran right-winger Connor McClennon topped the Ice with 43 goals to go along with 38 assists and a plus-46 rating. Veteran left-winger Mikey Milne appeared in all of the Ice’s 68 regular season contests posting 38 goals, 43 assists and a plus-56 rating.

Captain Reece Vitelli led the Raiders in scoring this season.

Veteran defenceman Ben Zloty led all Ice rearguards in scoring recording eight goals, 56 assists and a plus-38 rating in 62 regular season appearances.

In goal, Hauser posted a 34-3-1 record, a 2.00 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and eight shutouts. The Chestermere, Alta., product’s shutout total was tops in the WHL, and he equaled Kamloops Blazers star Dylan Garand for the most goaltending victories on the circuit.

The Ice get steady guidance from head coach James Patrick, who played defence for the Raiders way back in the 1980-81 campaign when they were still in the junior A ranks and won the Centennial Cup as national junior A champions.

Overage captain Reece Vitelli led the Raiders in scoring with 51 points coming off of 25 goals and 26 assists to go with a plus-five rating. Herman topped the Raiders with 28 goals to go along with 19 assists appearing in all the team’s 68 regular season games.

Sloan Stanick, who is an 18-year-old right-winger, posted 49 points coming off of 22 goals and 27 assists appearing in 66 games between the Regina Pats and the Raiders. The Raiders acquired Stanick in a trade early in the season with the Pats.

Veteran 19-year-old defenceman Landon Kosior led all Raiders blue-liners in scoring collecting 18 goals and 27 assists appearing in all of the Raiders 68 games. Standout rearguard Nolan Allan, who has a signed entry-level contract with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, had a strong campaign for the Raiders recording seven goals and 34 assists in 65 appearances.

Import netminder Tikhon Chaika, who became the Raiders starter as an 18-year-old rookie, improved steadily as the season progressed. He posted a 22-21-4 record, a 2.79 goals against average, a .904 save percentage and three shutouts.

Chaika was named the WHL’s goaltender of the week for the week ending on Sunday for his performance in the Raiders last two regular season wins.

In the eight head-to-head regular season meetings between the Raiders and Ice, the Raiders were able to win three of those contests. Sorensen believes his team can make some noise against the Ice.

“I think we have good chances when everybody comes to play and everybody is focused and everybody knows the structure,” said Sorensen. “We’re a good team, and the easy part of the year is over and the hardest part starts now.”

With star right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt out for the rest of the campaign due to injury, the Raiders have no holdovers who were regulars from the 2018-19 WHL Championship winning season. Herman and Allan are the only current Raiders who saw action in regular season games during that league title winning season.

The Raiders aim to play spoiler against the Ice.

Herman saw some of the Raiders post-season games in that 2019 championship run, and he remembers the home crowd at the Art Hauser Centre giving the Prince Albert side a lift. The speedy winger said the Art Hauser Centre faithful have been giving the club an energy boost throughout the season, and he expects that will continue when the Raiders play at home in this year’s WHL Playoffs.

“In (2019), it (the Art Hauser Centre) was an unbelievable place to be, and it still is,” said Herman. “The fans here, I don’t have a work to describe how awesome they are for us.

“You know what? I think we look forward to playing in front of them every night. We’ll I guess we will continue to see that here as we move on now.”

Pats’ Bedard exits WHL campaign with a roar, other notes

Connor Bedard posted 51 goals and 49 assists for 100 points this season.

Regina Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard turned heads nationally one last time before his 2021-22 WHL campaign came to an end.

On Sunday playing before 5,545 spectators at the Brandt Centre, Bedard collected two goals and three assists to power the Pats a 7-4 victory over their archrivals in the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors in the regular season finale for both sides. The North Vancouver, B.C., product finished the campaign posting 100 points coming on 51 goals and 49 assists to go with an even rating in the plus-minus department in 62 appearances.

The Pats finished the regular season with a 27-36-3-2 record to sit two points back of the Prince Albert Raiders for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Warriors finished fourth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-24-4-3 mark.

Bedard became the youngest player to ever score 50 goals in one WHL regular season. There were stories about his performance on Sunday by a number of national media outlets.

Before Sunday’s game, Bedard took home a number of Pats team awards including player of the year, the Torchey Schell top scorer award and the three star award.

On Monday, the accolades kept coming for Bedard. He was named the WHL’s player of the week for the week ending on Sunday.

He was also named to Canada’s roster for the world under-18 hockey championship tournament, which begins on Saturday and runs through to May 1 in Landshut and Kaufbeuren, Germany.

• Red Deer Rebels overage left-winger Arshdeep Bains led the WHL in scoring during the regular season with 112 points coming off 43 goals and league high 69 assists. He also posted a plus-35 rating. Bains finished seven points ahead of teammate in 19-year-old centre Ben King. King collected 105 points on 52 goals and 53 assists to go with a plus-36 rating. King’s goal total was a league high.
• Pats left-winger and Prince Albert product Tanner Howe had a stellar 16-year-old season with the Pats. Howe recorded 69 points coming off 27 goals and 42 assists to go with a plus-three rating in 64 appearances. He made Canada’s roster for the world under-18 hockey championships. Howe claimed the Pats Nick Papas rookie of the year team award.
• Victoria Royals 17-year-old defenceman and Clavet, Sask., product Kalem Parker earned a spot on Canada’s roster for the world under-18 championships. Parker appeared in 66 games this season with the Royals posting two goals and 18 assists.
• The Swift Current Broncos had six players named to Canada’s roster for the world under-18 championships. The Broncos contingent included four forwards in Josh Davies, Josh Filmon, Mathew Ward and Connor Hvidston. Defenceman Owen Pickering and netminder Reid Dyck will also suit up for the Canadian side. The Broncos have a seventh player heading to under-18 worlds as defenceman Rayan Bettahar will play for Germany.
• I have to admit it is fun seeing the excitement of a couple of young sportswriters as the WHL Playoffs near. Kyle Kosowan will be covering his first WHL post-season covering the Prince Albert Raiders for the Prince Albert Daily Herald. Logan Lehmann will be working his first WHL post-season writing about the Saskatoon Blades for the team’s website. For an old veteran like me, I enjoy seeing that first time excitement again. I hope both of them enjoy the moment in the present.
• The WHL Playoffs officially begin with one game on Thursday. The Lethbridge Hurricanes will travel to Edmonton to face the Oil Kings in Game 1 of a best-of-seven first round series at 7 p.m. local time at Rogers Place. The Oil Kings finished second overall in the WHL with a 50-14-3-1 record, while the Hurricanes were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 33-30-4-1 mark.

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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Allan ensures Raiders playoff push stays alive

Defenceman picks up four points in 6-1 win

Nolan Allan collected four points for the Raiders on Saturday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Nolan Allan made certain his Prince Albert Raiders stayed alive as far as a playoff push is concerned as the WHL regular season draws to a close.

On Saturday night, the 18-year-old standout defenceman recorded one goal and three assists to power the Raiders to a 6-1 victory over the Regina Pats before a season high crowd of 3,040 fans at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The win allows the Raiders hopes of chasing down a WHL playoff berth to remain very much alive.

The triumph over the Pats was a big bounce back effort for the Raiders, who dropped a 4-2 decision one night earlier on home ice to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Nolan Allan and his Raiders stayed alive in the WHL playoff chase.

“We were more ready to go tonight I think,” said Allan, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. “We weren’t real happy with our game against Brandon last night.

“We came in prepared today and got the job done. It was just our mindset. We are do or die right now.

“Everyone has to bring more. We need every inch we can get. We have to stick to that mentality and play that way every night.”

With the victory, the Raiders to improve to 26-33-4-1 to jump into ninth place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings with 57 points to sit one point ahead of the 24-31-6-2 Calgary Hitmen.

Nolan Allan scored a key second period goal on Saturday.

The Raiders trail the 26-32-5-2 Swift Current Broncos by two points for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

The Pats fell to 24-33-3-2 with Saturday’s setback to the Raiders. Regina remains 11^th overall in the Eastern Conference six points behind the Broncos for the final playoff berth in the conference.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes gave themselves a little breathing room when it comes to locking up a playoff berth posting a 6-1 road victory over the Tigers in Medicine Hat on Saturday. The Hurricanes improved to 29-30-3-1 to sit three points ahead of the Broncos for seventh in the Eastern Conference.

The Pats have six games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Hurricanes and Hitmen have five contests remaining on their slates, the Raiders have four games left on their schedule and the Broncos are set to hit the ice for three more contests this season.

Keaton Sorensen scored the Raiders first goal on Saturday.

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said he liked how his players took ownership when it came to playing well in Saturday’s game with the Pats.

“That was all on the players,” said Habscheid. “We had one power play meeting before the game.

“It was time they took over the show. In the end, the players have to own it, and they owned it tonight. They deserved the benefits.”

Just 2:12 into the opening frame, the Raiders jumped ahead 1-0 on a goal from left-winger Keaton Sorensen. Sorensen entered the Regina zone on a rush down the right-wing, cut in close to the Pats goal and tucked home his 10^th tally of the season.

Connor Bedard fires home his breakaway goal for the Pats.

With 7:01 remaining in the opening frame, Pats 16-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard snapped home his 45^th tally of the season on a short-handed breakaway glove side on Raiders import rookie netminder Tikhon Chaika to even the score at 1-1.

Bedard sprung himself on the breakaway intercepting a pass in his own zone from Allan, who was working the point.

On top of evening the score of the contest at 1-1, Bedard tied the Pats record for most goals in a season by a 16-year-old matching the 45 markers former NHLer Jeff Friesen put up in the 1992-93 campaign.

Reece Vitelli scored the winning goal for the Raiders.

While the Pats got even on the scoreboard, Habscheid was pleased to see Allan didn’t get down on himself after Bedard scored.

“It was important the way he (Allan) responded after that first goal,” said Habscheid. “(Connor) Bedard is a pretty good player.

“You can say it was a lucky play, but really it wasn’t. I just like the way Nolan responded.”

The opening frame had an intense playoff feel to it where the Pats held an 11-9 edge in shots on goal, and both sides brought some physical play.

The Raiders started to gain an edge in the second period and ultimately captured the games momentum scoring two goals in a span of seven seconds to go up 3-1 with just under five minutes to play in the frame.

The Raiders celebrate Nolan Allan’s second period goal.

With 4:52 remaining in the third, Raiders captain Reece Vitelli blew home a midrange shot for a power-play goal that put the Raiders up 2-1. Allan and centre Evan Herman combined to set Vitelli up for the one-time chance that resulted in the power-play tally.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Vitelli won the draw to Allan. Allan zipped down the right wing into the Regina zone and banked home a bad angle shot to give the Raiders their 3-1 advantage just seven seconds after Vitelli’s goal.

Allan said that two-goal spark proved to be important in allowing the Raiders to ultimately take the game.

“It was big,” said Allan, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 184 pounds. “I think it turned the momentum our way.

The Raiders celebrate an Evan Herman power-play goal.

“We obviously got a couple of more on the power play to kind of put them to bed. Those were huge.”

Just 41 seconds in the third, the Raiders struck again on the power play with offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior firing home a point shot to post his 18^th goal of the season to give the hosts a 4-1 advantage. Allan picked up his second assist of the night on Kosior’s tally.

At the 9:04 mark of the third, Allan and Vitelli combined to set up Herman for the Raiders third power-play goal of the night. Herman tucked home his 23^rd goal of the season from the centre left side of the Regina goal.

Eric Johnston (#3) scored the Raiders last goal on Saturday.

The Raiders went 3-for-8 on the power play on Saturday, while the Pats were unable to capitalize with four chances with the man advantage.

Rookie defenceman Eric Johnston scored a point shot goal to round out the 6-1 final for the host side.

Chaika stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. 

Drew Sim turned away 22 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

When asked about his four-point game, Allan chuckled and deadpanned that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

“I guess some of those assists were just secondary assists,” said Allan. “They are not really that nice.

The Raiders salute their fans after their win on Saturday.

“It is whatever. We got the win is the main thing. It was a huge two points against this team.”

The Pats now get back into action on Tuesday when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Westman Place).

The Raiders are off until this coming Friday when they travel to Saskatoon to take on their archrivals the Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

Allan said his squad has to keep up the urgency going forward.

“It is do or die,” said Allan. “We pretty much have to win all of our games here.

“Every night you are putting everything on the line. That is just the mentality that we need that we are going to have going forward to try and get into playoffs here.”

Injury ends season for Raiders’ Wiesblatt

Ozzy Wiesblatt is out for the rest of the season due to injury.

On Saturday afternoon, the Prince Albert Raiders announced star forward Ozzy Wiesblatt has been brought to an end due to an upper body injury.

A decision was made to shutdown Wiesblatt through consultation of the doctors from the Raiders and the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. The Calgary, Alta., product, who turned 20-years-old earlier this month, has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Sharks.

The Sharks selected Wiesblatt in the first round and 31^st overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Wiesblatt last suited up for the Raiders on March 12, when they downed the Blades at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon 1-0.

With 3.8 seconds remaining in the first period of that contest, Blades overage defenceman Rhett Rhinehart nailed Raiders left-winger Sloan Stanick hard into the right wing boards in the Prince Albert zone by the blue-line. Wiesblatt took exception to the hit and engaged Rhinehart in a fight.

The two had a short fight with Rhinehart getting in the majority of the hard shots. Wiesblatt left the game and did not return appearing to favour his left wrist.

Wiesblatt appeared in 43 games with the Raiders this season posting 10 goals, 31 assists and a minus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

Before leaving Prince Albert, Wiesblatt was a guest of the 900 CKBI post-game show in the Ches Leach Lounge hosted in front of fans following the Raiders 6-1 home ice victory over the Regina Pats.

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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