Learning curve makes Raiders prospects bright for 2023-24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aiden Oiring gained lots of opportunities with the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Niall Crocker started to produce more offence for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders celebrate a win on February 11.

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

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

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Tigers buck Broncos 4-3, capture final WHL post-season berth

The Tigers celebrated a berth in the WHL Playoffs on Saturday.

The Medicine Hat Tigers weren’t going to be denied by an opponent who had their number for most of the season.

On Saturday, the Tigers hosted the Swift Current Broncos at Co-op Place in a win and you’re in showdown for the final post-season berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and the final remaining berth in the WHL Playoffs. Entering the final regular season contest for both clubs, the Broncos had won six of the previous seven head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

This time the Tigers overcame a hot start by the Broncos to pull out a 4-3 victory before 4,506 spectators. The win allowed the Tigers to improve to 30-29-8-1 to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference and capture the conference’s final playoff berth.

Swift Current fell to 31-33-1-3 to finish ninth in the Eastern Conference and three points back of the Tigers for the conference’s final playoff position.

The Broncos forced Saturday’s winner take all clash for the final playoff berth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference posting a 3-1 victory over the Tigers on Friday at the InnovationPlex in Swift Current.

Swift Current got out to a quick start in Saturday’s clash at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Just 3:16 into the first period, Broncos star 18-year-old right-winger Connor Hvidston netted his 21^st of the season to put the visitors up 1-0.

Just under five minutes later while working on the power play, Broncos centre Josh Davies, who turned 19-years-old on Friday, netted his 20^th goal of the season to give the visitors a 2-0 edge. The shots on goal were finished tied 10-10 when the first period came to a conclusion.

The Tigers turned the tables on the Broncos in the second surging ahead 3-2 holding a 16-4 edge in shots on goal for the frame.

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored the Tigers second goal on Saturday.

Just 14 seconds into the second, 18-year-old left-winger Tyler MacKenzie netted his 18^th goal of the season to cut the Broncos lead to 2-1. At the 7:52 mark of the second with Medicine Hat working on the power play, Tigers 18-year-old centre Oasiz Wiesblatt netted his 26^th goal of the season to even the score at 2-2.

With 4:25 remaining in the second, the Tigers jumped ahead 3-2 on a power-play goal from 20-year-old right-winger Dallon Melin. Tomas Mrsic, who is a rookie left-winger who turned 17-years-old in late February, had the puck at the right side boards and passed the puck across the front of the Swift Current goal to defenceman Dru Krebs, who turned 20-years-old in February.

Krebs fed a pass across the face of the Broncos net to Melin, who converted the backdoor tap to give the host side a one-goal edge.

At the six-minute mark of the third, right-winger Brayden Boehm, who turned 19-years-old in January, had the puck in the left corner of the Swift Current zone. He centred a pass to linemate in rookie centre Cayden Lindstrom, who one-timed home his 19^th goal of the season to push the Tigers lead out to 4-2. Lindstrom, who turned 17-years-old in February, posted 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points to go with a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus department in 61 games with the Tigers this season.

The Broncos didn’t go away. Just after a power-play opportunity expired at the 10:26 mark of the third, Broncos star right-winger Josh Filmon, who turned 19-years-old on March 18, potted his 47^th goal of the campaign to cut the Tigers lead to 4-3.

Late in the frame, Broncos 17-year-old left-winger Brady Birnie hit a goalpost, and that was how close the visitors game to scoring the equalizer that forced overtime.

The Tiger proceeded to hold the Broncos off the scoreboard for just their second head-to-head victory between the two sides this season.

Tigers 15-year-old left-winger and associate player call up Gavin McKenna had a pair of assists in the win. In 16 appearances with the Tigers, McKenna, who was selected first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, posted four goals, 14 assists and a plus-seven rating. McKenna played most of the 2022-23 campaign with the Southern Alberta Hockey Academy Under-18 prep team located in the Medicine Hat area.

Tyler MacKenzie scored the Tigers first goal on Saturday.

Beckett Langkow stopped 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Tigers. Reid Dyck turned away 26 shots to take the setback in net for the Broncos.

The Broncos are still looking for their first playoff berth since 2018, when they loaded up with a veteran roster to win their third WHL championship since the franchise relocated from Lethbridge to Swift Current for the start of the 1986-87 campaign.

The Tigers return to the WHL Playoffs after finishing last in the entire league in 2021-22 with an 11-53-3-1 record.

Medicine Hat will be heavy underdogs taking on the Winnipeg Ice in a first round best-of-seven series. The Ice topped the WHL standings with a 57-10-1 record. Game 1 of the series between the Tigers and Ice is set for Friday at 7 p.m. local time at the Wayne Fleming Arena in Winnipeg.

Blades hit 100-point plateau for fifth time

Trevor Wong scored twice for the Blades on Saturday.

The Saskatoon Blades hit a rare milestone in their last outing of the regular season.

On Saturday, the Blades traveled to Moose Jaw to take on the Warriors in the final regular season contest for both teams. The visiting Blades doubled up the host Warriors 6-3 to disappoint most of the 3,786 spectators at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

With the win, the Blades concluded the regular season posting a 48-15-4-1 record for 101 standings points. That marks just the fifth time in team history dating back to the team’s creation in 1964 the Blades have recorded 100-or-more standings points in a campaign.

The Blades won the most games and posted the most points in a season since going 56-13-1-2 in the 2010-11 campaign. Saskatoon’s 56 wins and 115 standings points from that campaign are both club records.

In Saturday’s clash with the Warriors, the Blades jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes on goals from star right-winger Brandon Lisowsky and hard-working centre Jayden Wiens.

At the 3:08 mark of the second with Moose Jaw working on a power play, Warriors star right-winger Atley Calvert netted his 39 goal of the season to cut the Blades lead to 2-1. The Warriors evened the score at 2-2 at the 9:23 mark of the second on a goal from 20-year-old defenceman Logan Dowhaniuk, with Calvert picking up an assist on that tally.

Before the second ended, the Blades surged back in front 4-2 with goals coming from the sticks of 19-year-old left-winger Justin Lies and rookie 17-year-old right-winger Rowan Calvert.

At the 8:42 mark of the third, Atley Calvert potted his 40^th goal of the season for the Warriors, who were working on the power play, to cut Saskatoon’s lead to 4-3. That was as close as the Warriors would come to making a comeback.

Blades star centre Trevor Wong scored 55 seconds later to give the Blades a 5-3 edge. Wong added a second tally scoring into an empty net with less than 55 seconds remaining in the third to round out the 6-3 final score.

Rowan Calvert had the winning goal for the Blades on Saturday.

Wong topped the Blades in scoring this season with 86 points coming off 27 goals and 59 assists to go with a plus-23 rating in the plus-minus department appearing in all the team’s 68 games. Lisowsky had an assist to go with his goal and finished the campaign with career highs in goals (38), assists (33), points (71) and plus-minus (plus-17).

Right-winger Jake Chiasson and utility player Spencer Shugrue each had a pair of assists for the Blades on Saturday.

Ethan Chadwick stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Blades. Jackson Unger turned away 25-of-30 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors, who fell to 41-24-0-3.

The Blades finished fourth overall in the WHL and second in the Eastern Conference. In the conference playoff format used by the WHL, the two division winners are given the first and second seeds in the first round. From the second round onwards, the teams are reseeded by standings points.

In the Eastern Conference, the Winnipeg Ice took top spot in the conference, the overall WHL standings and the East Division. The Red Deer Rebels (43-19-3-3) topped the Central Division and finished third overall in the Eastern Conference. They will be the top two seeds in the first round of the playoffs.

That means the Blades will face Connor Bedard and the Regina Pat in a first round best-of-seven series in the WHL Playoffs. Game 1 of that series set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre. The Pats finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark.

The last time the Blades and Pats met in the post-season came back in the 2006 WHL Playoffs, where the Blades claimed a best-of-seven first round series 4-2.

The Warriors finish fourth overall in the Eastern Conference and will face the fifth place Lethbridge Hurricanes (36-26-3-3) in a best-of-seven first round series. Game 1 of that series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

Raiders close with 5-3 win over Pats, other notes

Sloan Stanick (#23) had a hat trick on Saturday.

Sloan Stanick closed the 2022-23 campaign for the Prince Albert Raiders by outshining Connor Bedard in the Regina Pats home rink.

On Saturday, Stanick had a hat trick for the Raiders to power them to a 5-3 victory past the Pats to the disappointment of most of the sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre. The contest concluded the regular season schedules for both squads.

For the Raiders who had already been eliminated from WHL post-season contention, the win allowed them to halt a three-game skid and improve to 28-37-3. The Raiders finished 11^th in the 12 team Eastern Conference and 18^th overall in the 22 team WHL.

Prince Albert got close to shutting out Bedard, who is the Pats 17-year-old phenom centre, for the contest. Bedard netted the game’s final goal with five minutes remaining in the third period. The North Vancouver, B.C., product finished the regular season leading the WHL in goals (71) and points (143) to go with a plus-39 rating in the plus-minus department in 57 appearances.

In Saturday’s clash between the Raiders and Pats, the Raiders drew first blood with 3:21 remaining in the opening frame on a power-play goal from 17-year-old centre Aiden Oiring, who netted his 12^th tally of the season. Defenceman Easton Kovacs and 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ryder Ritchie picked up assists on the tally.

In the second, Stanick, who is the Raiders star 19-year-old left-winger, went to work scoring at even strength at the 10:23 mark and short-handed at the 12:44 mark to put the visitors up 3-0. Those tallies allowed Stanick to his the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his WHL career.

Pats star import defenceman Stanislav Svozil scored at the 2:59 mark of the third to cut the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Just 76 seconds after Svozil’s tally, Stanick completed his hat trick to put the Raiders up 4-1. At the 8:54 mark of the third, Raiders overage captain Evan Herman potted his 18^th goal of the season to increase the visitors’ edge to 5-1.

Landon Kosior had 63 points this season for the Raiders.

Star 17-year-old left-winger Tanner Howe and Bedard replied with singles for the Pats to round out the game’s scoring.

With his hat trick, Stanick finished up the 2022-23 campaign as the Raiders leading scorer posting 64 points coming off 31 goals and 33 assists to go with an even rating appearing in 67 games. Landon Kosior, who is the Raiders star 20-year-old offensive-defenceman, finished second in team scoring with 63 points coming off 17 goals and 46 assists to go with a plus-three rating in 60 appearances.

Ritchie finished the contest recording a pair of assists for the Raiders. He finished third in team scoring with 55 points coming off 20 goals and 35 assists in 61 appearances.

Import netminder Tikhon Chaika stopped 29 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Kelton Pyne turned away 25 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats.

The Pats finish sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 34-30-3-1 mark and will face the Saskatoon Blades (48-15-4-1) in a best-of-seven first round playoff series. Game 1 of that series set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre.

The last time the Blades and Pats met in the post-season came back in the 2006 WHL Playoffs, where the Blades claimed a best-of-seven first round series 4-2.

The Raiders finished 10 points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers (30-29-8-1) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

• The Winnipeg Ice topped the WHL overall standings with a 57-10-1 mark and their 57 wins and 115 standings points are both team records. The Ice’s old records of 53 wins and 111 standings points were set last season when they went 53-10-3-2 to finish first overall in the WHL.
• The Seattle Thunderbirds finished second overall in the WHL with a 54-11-1-2 mark and their 54 wins and 111 standings points are both team records. The Thunderbirds old records of 52 wins and 111 standings points were set back in the 1989-90 season. In 1989-90, the Thunderbirds finished second overall in the WHL with a record of 52 wins, 17 losses and 3 ties.
• Prince George Cougars star centre and Saskatoon product Riley Heidt, who turned 18-years-old on Saturday, finished fifth in the WHL scoring race with 97 points coming off 25 goals and 72 assists appearing in all his teams 68 regular season games. Heidt’s assists total of 72 tied for tops in the league with Regina Pats 17-year-old phenom centre Connor Bedard.

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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“Tour de Bedard” hits Saskatoon with record buzz

Blades to set team attendance record, could hit building mark

Connor Bedard leads the WHL in scoring with 134 points.

The Saskatoon Blades will see a crowd the size they’ve never seen before thanks to the buzz around Connor Bedard.

On Sunday, the Blades will host Bedard and his Regina Pats for a 4 p.m. regular season clash at the SaskTel Centre. Bedard is the Pats 17-year-old phenom centre who leads the WHL in goals (66) and points (134) to go with a plus-36 rating in the plus-minus department in 53 appearances this season.

The North Vancouver, B.C., product’s 68 assists are tied for tops in the WHL with Prince George Cougars 17-year-old star centre and Saskatoon product Riley Heidt.

Barring something unforeseen, Bedard will be the first overall selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft which will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 28 to 29. He is rated first among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings.

The Blades are expecting to smash their single game attendance record as over 15,000 tickets have been sold for Sunday’s contest. The team’s current single game attendance record sits at 12,588 spectators, and that mark came back on February 9, 2013 when they downed the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-2.

This season, the Blades attendance high was 7,868 spectators set back on November 13, 2023, when they downed Bedard and the Pats 5-2. Over 31 home dates, the Blades are averaging 3,864 spectators a game, which is an increase from the average attendance of 3,390 spectators that turned out for the Blades 34 regular season home dates in 2021-22.

It is expected that Sunday’s game will sellout as there were fewer than 100 tickets available as of Friday afternoon. It is uncertain what a sellout figure will look like for a sporting event for the SaskTel Centre.

The Blades are expected to threaten the current SaskTel Centre attendance record for a single sports event. That mark is currently held by the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush, who the hold the top two single event attendance records for a sporting event in the history of the SaskTel Centre

The Rush drew a SaskTel Centre record 15,192 spectators on May 21, 2016 for their 12-9 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks in Game 2 of a best-of-three West Division semifinal series that they swept 2-0.

Connor Bedard, left, in action against the Blades on Nov. 13, 2022.

On June 4, 2016, the Rush drew the second highest attendance for a sporting event at the SaskTel Centre when 15,182 spectators saw them down the Buffalo Bandits 11-10 in Game 2 of the best-of-three NLL Championships Series. The Rush swept the series 2-0 to claim their second NLL title after having relocated to Saskatoon following their first NLL title victory in Edmonton in 2015.

The Rush claimed victory in dramatic fashion in their win over the Buffalos on June 4, 2016 to capture that year’s NLL championship. With that contest locked in a 10-10 tie with 12 seconds to play, Rush defenceman Jeff Cornwall ran coast-to-coast to score a breakaway goal to deliver the host side a league championship in thrilling style. Those two Rush contests were announced as sellouts.

At that time, the Rush were owned by Bruce Urban. Urban sold the Rush to what is now known as the Saskatoon Entertainment Group owned by Mike Priestner and his son Colin on May 10, 2021. That move brought the Rush and Blades under the same ownership.

The Rush games might end up with a higher attendance as a party alley was hosted in on the vehicle entrance leading to the SaskTel Centre’s playing surface. At Blades games, the vehicle entrances leading to the playing surface are usually filled with rink attendants and the team’s game night staff.

As for Bedard, his brand took a big jump upward after he set numerous Canadian team records at this past world juniors held in Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., Canada won gold taking the gold medal final 3-2 in overtime over Czechia this past January 5 in Halifax.

Bedard was named the most valuable player at world juniors along with picking up accolades being named the event’s best forward and a tournament all-star.

His tallies for assists (14) and points (23) were new Canadian records for a single world juniors along with setting a new record for points in a tournament by any player aged 18 or younger. In 16 career games played at world juniors, Bedard set new Canadian career records at the event for goals (16) and points (36).

Connor Bedard broke numerous Canadian records at world juniors.

Due to the increase in fandom for Bedard, the Pats had to suspend online sales of their jerseys shortly after the WHL trade deadline passed on January 10 after it was beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bedard would finish his major junior season playing for Regina. A notice on the Pats website said the move was made due to lower inventory levels.

On eBay, Bedard’s first Pats team issued hockey card with a top mint grade of 10 has sold for around $3,400 on a number of occasions. You can find a number of Bedard hockey cards on eBay for around $25, but anything that has a mint grade of 10 usually has bids starting at $1,250.

As for Bedard jerseys, sellers on eBay have autographed versions of his blue Pats jersey for sale in prices ranging from $998 to $2,200. Hockey Canada Bedard jerseys start at $200 for unsigned replica jerseys and go up $2,500 for an autographed jersey.

In the current WHL campaign, Bedard is still rolling. On Friday night before a sellout crowd of 6,499 spectators at the Brandt Centre in Regina, the Pats dropped a 9-5 decision to their archrivals in the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, but Bedard was in on every Pats tally posting a hat trick and two assists.

The Blades have sold out games in the past, but they haven’t sold out any games since the SaskTel Centre’s current configuration was put in place to accommodate the world juniors that were held in the building during the 2009-10 campaign.

When the Blades made it to the WHL final in 1992 and 1994, the SaskTel Centre was configured to hold a capacity of around 11,310 spectators at that time.

With all the anticipation surrounding Bedard’s visit, it is easy to forget the Blades (45-14-4-1) have a big game on Saturday when they host the 26-31-8 Brandon Wheat Kings (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre). If the Blades win that contest, they will lock up a second place finish in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and ensure they will finish at least fourth in the WHL’s overall standings.

In the first round of the WHL Playoffs, the two division winners are given the first and second seeds. From the second round onwards, the teams are reseeded by standings points.

Connor Bedard and the Pats will be in Saskatoon again on March 24.

In the Eastern Conference, the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice (53-9-1) have top spot in the conference and the East Division locked up. The Red Deer Rebels (42-17-3-3) have secured first in the Central Division and are third in the Eastern Conference.

If the Blades finish second in the Eastern Conference, they would have home ice advantage for any post-season meetings with the Rebels.

Still, Sunday’s encounter with Bedard and the Pats is the main event of the weekend. For anyone who misses that contest, Bedard and the Pats return to Saskatoon on Friday, March 24 for another regular season battle with the Blades set for 7 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre.

As of Wednesday, 13,600 tickets were sold for that contest on March 24. In short order, the “Tour de Bedard” hype gets to repeat itself all over again.

Raiders keep playoff hopes alive for another day

Tikhon Chaika made 36 saves for the Raiders on Friday.

The Prince Albert Raiders kept their mathematical shot for making the WHL playoffs alive.

 On Friday night, the Raiders traveled to Brandon and downed the host Wheat Kings 4-3 in a WHL regular season contest played before 3,725 spectators at Westoba Place. The Raiders relied on a trio of their top players to pull out victory.

Import netminder Tikhon Chaika made 36 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders and also recorded an assist. Sloan Stanick, the team’s 19-year-old star left-winger, had a pair of goals, and 16-year-old star right-winger Ryder Ritchie had a goal and an assist.

In 57 games this season, Ritchie has 51 points coming off 20 goals and 31 assists. Stanick has 58 points coming off 26 goals and 32 assists appearing in 63 games for the Raiders. All of Stanick’s totals are career highs.

The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 27-34-3 to sit 11^th overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. They sit five points behind the Calgary Hitmen (27-28-5-3) for eighth place and the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Prince Albert has four games left on its regular season schedule, while Calgary has five contests left on its regular season slate.

The Wheat Kings fell to 26-31-8 with the setback to sit two points behind the Hitmen and three points ahead of the Raiders. Brandon is tied with the Swift Current Broncos (28-32-1-3) for the ninth and 10^th spots in the Eastern Conference.

The Broncos have four games left on their regular season schedule, while the Wheat Kings have three contests left on their regular season slate.

In Friday’s clash between the Raiders and Wheat Kings, Prince Albert jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals coming from Ritchie and Stanick netting his first of the contest. Just 39 seconds into the second, Nate Danielson netted his 33^rd goal of the campaign to cut the Raiders edge to 2-1.

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

At the 8:48 mark of the third, 18-year-old left-winger Carter Anderson scored for the Raiders to increase their lead to 3-1. Just 61 seconds later, import defenceman Andrei Malyavin replied for the Wheat Kings to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2.

Stanick netted his second of the contest with 2:23 remaining in the third to push the Raiders advantage out to 4-2. Nolan Ritchie responded 53 seconds later to trim the Raiders edge to 4-3. The Wheat Kings were unable to get the equalizer from there.

Carson Bjarnason turned away 17 shots to take the setback in goal for the Wheat Kings, who have lost three straight. Malyavin had an assist to go with his goal, while Quinn Mantei and Kayden Sadhra-King each had a pair of assists for Brandon.

Raiders captain Evan Herman and Wheat Kings 19-year-old right-winger Dawson Pasternak engaged in a fight at the end of the second period.

Friday’s contest started a three games in three nights road trip for the Raiders. The Raiders travel to Winnipeg on Saturday to face the WHL leading 53-9-1 Ice (7 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena). Those two squads go at it again on Sunday in Winnipeg (5 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena).

The Wheat Kings get back at it on Saturday, when they travel to Saskatoon to take on the 45-14-4-1 Blades (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

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 good, not consistent enough for WHL leading Ice

Winnipeg prevails 4-3, deals big blow to P.A. playoff hopes

The Ice celebrate a goal from Graham Sward, centre.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Prince Albert Raiders came out hot, but the skill of the WHL leading Winnipeg Ice ultimately prevailed.

On Tuesday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes over the visiting Ice. At that point, Ice star 18-year-old centre Conor Geekie dished out three assists like he was Wayne Gretzky allowing the Winnipeg side to roar back and pull out a 4-3 win in the WHL regular season clash to the disappointment of most the 2,427 spectators in attendance.

“What we did in the first period we didn’t do in the second,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt. “We turned pucks over.

Conor Geekie had three assists for the Ice on Tuesday.

“We tried to get cute through the neutral zone. They turned pucks over and got into their transition game. They’re an explosive team.

“We told them they were going to be better in the second period, and they were.”

When the dust settled on Tuesday, the Ice won their fifth straight improving to 53-9-1 to lead the Seattle Thunderbirds (50-9-1-2) by four points for first overall in the WHL. The Ice have five games remaining on their regular season schedule, while the Thunderbirds have six contests remaining on their regular season slate.

Winnipeg equaled its franchise record for regular season wins in a campaign, which was set last season after the Ice posted a 53-10-3-2 mark to top the WHL standings. Geekie was pleased his Ice, who are rated third in the latest CHL Top 10 Rankings, regrouped to pull out a fifth straight win on Tuesday.

Matthew Savoie had two goals for the Ice on Tuesday.

“I think it was a hard-fought game,” said Geekie. “You can never come into this building and expect to win.

“They came out hard, but I think we pieced together and kind of pulled together for the win.”

The Raiders fell to 26-34-3 and will now scoreboard watch on Wednesday to see where their slim chances at earning a post-season berth sit before they return to action on Friday, when they travel to Brandon to face the Wheat Kings (7 p.m. local time, Westoba Place).

The Raiders sit 11^th in the WHL’s Eastern Conference and are five standing points behind the Wheat Kings (26-29-8), the Swift Current Broncos (28-30-1-3) and the Calgary Hitmen (26-27-5-3) who are all tied for eighth and the final playoff berth in the conference with 60 points. The Wheat Kings have five regular season games remaining, the Broncos have six regular season contests left and the Hitmen have seven regular season matches left to play.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Cole Peardon, centre.

All three of those squads are in action on Wednesday with the Wheat Kings traveling to Regina to take on Connor Bedard and the Pats, the Hitmen host the Lethbridge Hurricanes and the Broncos host the Saskatoon Blades. 

A win by either the Wheat Kings, Hitmen or Broncos will push the Raiders, who have five regular season games left to play, that much closer to mathematical elimination from playoff contention.

Raiders 16-year-old rookie centre Cole Peardon said he will be doing some scoreboard watching on Wednesday night, but when the Raiders return to action on Friday, he said his team will focus on the task at hand in attempting to get a win.

Sloan Stanick (#23) celebrates scoring the Raiders second goal.

“I think we just have to keep it simple that is the biggest thing,” said Peardon. “I think we got away from that, and that is what hurt us in the second.

“(If we) just keep it simple we should be good.”

As for Tuesday’s contest between the Raiders and Ice, the Raiders came out flying in the opening 20 minutes holding a 13-9 edge in shots on goal and jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Peardon opened the game’s scoring at the 6:24 mark of the second tipping home a shot by star 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior.

With 55.3 seconds remaining in the first, Raiders star 19-year-old left-winger Sloan Stanick potted his 24^th of the season to put the hosts up 2-0. Kosior picked up his second assist of the contest on that tally.

Landon Kosior had two assists for the Raiders on Tuesday.

“I was really happy about the way that we generated speed,” said Truitt about the opening 20 minutes. “There wasn’t a lot of turnovers through the neutral zone, because we just made simple plays.

“We didn’t over pass the puck. We didn’t over think things. We just got pucks in deep and started to go to work.

“I thought that really kept the flow for us going in the first period.”

Early in the second, the Raiders went on the power play, but it turned out to be the opportune time for the Ice to get back into the contest. While on the penalty kill, Geekie got the puck on the forecheck in the left corner of the Prince Albert zone.

The Raiders and Ice scrum it up late in the second period.

Geekie centred the puck to Ice 20-year-old star right-winger Connor McClennon, who was all alone in from of the Prince Albert net. McClennon put a short-handed goal past Raiders import netminder Tikhon Chaika to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1.

Just 48 seconds later with play back at even strength, Ice star centre Matthew Savoie got in alone on the Prince Albert goal and put home his 36^th goal of the season to even the score at 2-2. Savoie’s opportunity was created by another nice pass by Geekie.

Graham Sward scored with 2.3 seconds remaining in the second.

After a scrum occurred by the Raiders net with 1:23 remaining in the second, the Ice used their skill to take advantage of the four-versus-four situation. Geekie had the puck by the right boards deep in the Prince Albert zone.

He fed a pass to the front of the net to a pinching 19-year-old defenceman Graham Sward. Sward fired home a goal with 2.3 seconds remaining on the clock to put the Ice in front 3-2.

“I think we just started playing a little more simple,” said Geekie. “We really focused on our D-zone, and maybe caught them in transition a few times.

“I think we buried on our chances, and obviously, the scoreboard shows it. Obviously, I think they are all real important goals for us. I think Connor (McClennon’s goal) was kind of a momentum changer.

Raiders C Aiden Oiring, left, battles Ice C Matthew Savoie.

“Obviously, he has some pretty sick hands, so he knows how to put it in the back of the net.”

At the 3:15 mark of the third, Savoie potted his second of the contest where he broke his stick on a backdoor tap at the left side of the Prince Albert net to increase the Ice advantage to 4-2. Savoie converted a beauty pass from Ice star 20-year-old left-winger Owen Pederson.

Any thoughts of a Raiders comeback appeared to be dashed, when centre Hayden Pakkala was given a high sticking minor with 2:01 remaining in the third.

With 69 seconds remaining in the third, Raiders 17-year-old rookie centre Aiden Oiring sprung 20-year-old captain Evan Herman into the Winnipeg zone on a breakaway and Herman buried his 17^th of the season to cut the Ice lead to 4-3.

Owen Pederson set up the Ice’s winning goal.

On the ensuing faceoff, the Ice got control of the puck and pretty much kept possession of the puck for most of the remaining 69 seconds to hold on for the victory.

Chaika turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Raiders. Daniel Hauser stopped 22 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Ice, who improved to 41-0 when leading after two periods.

Injury troubles caused the Ice to play with 17 skaters on Tuesday. The Ice injury list includes highly touted prospect centre Zach Benson (upper body, day-to-day), right-winger Carson Latimer (lower body, month-to-month) and defencemen Wyatt Wilson (lower body, day-to-day) and Carter Prosofsky (upper body, week-to-week). Associate player call up Landon Young, who has been with the Edmonton Junior Oilers under-18 AAA team, played his sixth game of the season for the Ice.

Evan Herman scored the Raiders third goal on Tuesday.

The Ice get back it on Saturday when they host the Raiders (7 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena). That will be the second of a stretch where the Raiders play three games in three nights. The Raiders and Ice will face each other on Sunday in Winnipeg (5 p.m. local time, Wayne Fleming Arena).

For now, Truitt said the focus is on getting ready for the Wheat Kings on Friday.

“There will be quite a bit of video work tomorrow, and we’ll go through what we did well in the first and what we didn’t do well in the second,” said Truitt. “We’ll talk about consistency in our game.

The Ice celebrate their win on Tuesday.

“We didn’t get it here tonight. We still have to sell 60 minutes here and play the way that we need to play to win to give ourselves the best chance.”

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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Desperation brings out best effort in Raiders

Prince Albert bashes Blades 8-1 at SaskTel Centre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brandon Lisowsky had the Blades lone goal on Sunday.

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

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

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

Evan Herman had the Raiders second goal on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

Carter Anderson celebrates scoring for the Raiders on Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ryder Ritchie had a pair of assists for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

Terrell Goldsmith had two assists for the Raiders on Sunday.

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

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

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

Tikhon Chaika made 32 saves in goal for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

The Raiders celebrate their win on Sunday.

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

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

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