Protas knows playoffs – Belarusian’s second straight hatty puts Raiders in WHL final

Aliaksei Protas fired home a hat trick for the Raiders on Sunday.

    Thanks to Aliaksei Protas, no one in Prince Albert might show up for work on Monday morning.

    The “Viper” from Vitebsk fired home his second straight post-season hat trick on Sunday lifting the Prince Albert Raiders to a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings in Game 6 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series.

    With the win before 7,735 spectators at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the Raiders locked up the best-of-seven set 4-2. They win their first WHL Eastern Conference title and advance to the WHL Championship series for the first time since 1985.

    In the process, they likely sparked parties all across Prince Albert. At midnight on Sunday, citizens in “Hockey Town North” will be gathering at the Art Hauser Centre to welcome the Raiders home.

    The party in P.A. is likely to run into the early hours of the morning.

Aliaksei Protas has seven points in his last two games.

    During this playoff run, Protas, who is an import rookie left-winger from Belarus, has come into his own, especially in the Raiders last two games.

    In 61 regular season games, Protas, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 192 pounds, posted 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points while adding a plus-24 rating in the plus-minus department.

    In the Raiders 16 post-season games to date, Protas leads the WHL with 11 goals, while adding four assists and posting a plus-11 rating.

    Over his last two outings, Protas has recorded six goals, one assist and a plus-four rating. He had three goals and an assist in the Raiders 4-0 victory in Game 5 over the Oil Kings on Friday in Prince Albert.

Noah Gregor had a goal for the Raiders on Sunday.

    The Oil Kings still put up a fight on Sunday showing why they topped the WHL’s Central Division and finished fifth overall in the league with a 42-18-4-4 record and were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    They opened scoring at the 11:49 mark of the first period, when captain Trey Fix-Wolansky fired home a shot from the point. The 1-0 lead for the Oil Kings didn’t last long.

    Just 2:16 later, Protas sniped home a power-play goal from the right slot to even things up at 1-1.

Protas scored his second of the game to give the Raiders a 2-1 lead on a gaff by the Oil Kings.

    Edmonton centre Josh Williams tried to pass the puck across the front of his goal to teammate Conner McDonald, but Protas deflected the pass attempt past Oil Kings netminder Dylan Myskiw for the go-ahead goal.

    Just 3:11 after that tally, the Raiders went ahead 3-1 scoring another power-play goal with this one coming from overage centre Noah Gregor. Gregor got the puck in the right slot and wired a shot to the top right corner of the Edmonton goal.

Trey Fix-Wolansky had a pair of goals for the Oil Kings on Sunday.

    At the 10:41 mark of the second, the Oil Kings cut the gap to 3-2 on a short-handed goal from Fix-Wolansky.

    After nailing Raiders rookie defenceman Kaiden Guhle in the left corner of the Prince Albert zone, Fix-Wolansky skated to the front of the Raiders net and received a pass from linemate Quinn Benjafield.

    Holding the puck all alone to the right side of the Prince Albert goal, Fix Wolansky slid home a low shot past Raiders star netminder Ian Scott.

    Protas restored order with 3:20 remaining in the second. Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason made a diving stab pass that sprung Protas on a breakaway.

Josh Williams had an unfortunate gaff for the Oil Kings.

    The Belarusian proceeded to snipe his hat trick goal to the low left corner of the Edmonton net to give the Raiders a 4-2 advantage.

    Edmonton tried to mount a comeback in the third period opening the frame with three straight power plays and holding a 14-3 edge in shots on goal in the stanza.

    Fix-Wolansky wired a shot off the post, but that was as close as the host side came to scoring.

    Scott slammed the door and made 32 saves in the contest to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders.

Myskiw turned away 20 shots to take the setback in goal for the Oil Kings.

    The series win allows the Raiders to continue what has been a magical season for the franchise that has been backed by a passionate fanbase that has filled the Art Hauser Centre on a nightly basis and followed the team on the road.

Ian Scott made 32 saves in goal for the Raiders on Sunday.

    The Raiders topped the overall WHL standings for the first time since 1985 posting a 54-10-2-2 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    When the Raiders appeared in the WHL final in 1985, they swept away the Kamloops Blazers 4-0 in a best-of-seven series and moved on to win the Memorial Cup.

    In the best-of-seven WHL final, the Raiders will face their biggest test to date in the Vancouver Giants.

    The Giants finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 record and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Giants took the Western Conference Championship series 4-1 over the Spokane Chiefs.

    The Raiders and Giants met just once in the regular season back on Jan. 24. The Giants posted a 3-1 victory in that encounter in Langley, B.C.

Brett Leason had a gutty assist for the Raiders on Sunday.

    Vancouver last played in the WHL Championship series in 2007, when they fell in a hotly contest seven game series to the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Giants hosted that year’s Memorial Cup tournament and downed the Tigers in the event’s title game 3-1.

    Vancouver won the WHL title in 2006 sweeping the Moose Jaw Warriors away in four games.

Game 1 of this year’s WHL Championship series is set for this coming Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    The Raiders and their fans are looking forward to adding another chapter to their storybook season, but for now, they are savouring this moment in time. A conference title win doesn’t happen every day, and for the Raiders, they have only gotten to this point twice since they entered the WHL at the start of the 1982-83 campaign.

    It is a moment that should be enjoyed.

The Prince Albert Raiders won Game 6 to clinch the 2019 Eastern Conference Championship.

📲Get the recap on the Raiders App, or online here: https://t.co/zBEetbJ9ms

📸Marko Ditkun/Edmonton Oil Kings#PAvsEDM #GoRaidersGo #WHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/WOl7vfXpdu

— Prince Albert Raiders (@PARaidersHockey) April 28, 2019

    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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Art Hauser madhouse to be cranked to give Raiders edge against Oil Kings

WHL Eastern Conference final heads to critical Game 5

The Art Hauser Centre crowd will be ready to back the Raiders.

    The Prince Albert Raiders faithful is going to be ready to pounce.
    On Wednesday, the Raiders pulled out a gritty 2-1 road win at Rogers Place in Game 4 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

    With the win, the Raiders evened the best-of-seven series up at 2-2.

    After dropping a 5-1 decision to the Oil Kings at Rogers Place in Game 3 on Tuesday, the Raiders rebounded playing their best game of the series to earn victory in Game 4.

    The series now shifts back to “Hockey Town North” for Game 5 on Friday for a 7 p.m. local start time.

The Raiders will get a warm reception at home on Friday.

    After having some spotty performances over the first three games of the series against the Oil Kings, the Raiders looked more like themselves on Wednesday night.

    They skated like a team that finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    As a result, Friday’s crowd at the Art Hauser Centre has the potential to be the most frenzied it has been this post-season, and the Raiders wouldn’t have it any other way.

    “They (the Raiders fans) are awesome,” said Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. “We got home ice advantage back.

    “We respect this team (the Oil Kings), but it is up to us to hold home ice, and we like our chances.”

    Raiders fans have a tendency to get energized to back their team in moments when they feel that something underhanded happens to the club.

The Raiders faithful will try and give their team an edge.

    One of those moments happened around the midway point of the second period on Wednesday, when Oil Kings star captain Trey Fix-Wolansky pulled a UFC leverage style takedown on Raiders rookie defenceman Kaiden Guhle in front of the Prince Albert net. That happened in front of a referee and no penalty was called.

    Seconds later, Raiders rookie right-winger Jakob Brook was called for a cross-checking penalty behind the Prince Albert net. The Raiders killed that penalty.

    Fix-Wolansky’s take down will likely make him an even bigger villain in Prince Albert. Still, he believes his squad has handled the Art Hauser Centre crowd just fine.

Brett Leason had a big goal for the Raiders on Friday.

    “It is a little bit different,” said Fix-Wolansky. “I thought we were pretty good with it, pretty even keel.

    “We didn’t let the highs get to high or the lows get too low.”

    Fix-Wolansky, who has an NHL entry-level contract signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, said his team does get motivated to silence the Art Hauser Centre crowd.

    “You want to try to silence them as soon as you can,” said Fix-Wolansky. “Their emotion and how loud they are, that kind of feeds into us too on the bench.

    “Guys are talking. You want to silence the crowd.”

    Raiders star right-winger Brett Leason, who scored his first goal of the series against the Oil Kings in Wednesday’s win, believes the crowd at the Art Hauser Centre will hit yet another peak with the noise.

Oil Kings captain Trey Fix-Wolansky will likely be the target of jeers in P.A.

    “It will just be another level up,” said Leason. “The crowd is always great back home.

    “Coming back for Game 5, a pivotal Game 5, it is pretty much must win, and we have to treat it like that.”

    Leason and star overage centre Noah Gregor came up with clutch goals on Wednesday night.

Habscheid believes another one of the Raiders star players is due for a breakout game.

    Left-winger Cole Fonstad has been held without a point in his last eight post-season games. The Estevan, Sask., product last hit the scoresheet offensively back on March 27, when he had a goal and two assists in the Raiders 4-1 Game 4 victory that wrapped up a first round series win against the Red Deer Rebels in Red Deer.

Raiders fans will be on every Oil Kings misstep.

    Fonstad missed the Raiders final two games of their six-game victory over the Saskatoon Blades in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series with an undisclosed injury.

    In 67 regular season games, Fonstad recorded 29 goals, 44 assists and a plus-32 rating in the plus-minus department. He has one goal, three assists and is a plus-four in 12 post-season games.

Habscheid liked how Fonstad played on Wednesday.

    “I thought that was Cole Fonstad’s best game of the playoffs,” said Habscheid. “He was good.

Cole Fonstad might be due for a breakout game.

    “He had some chances, and he is a good player. We need him. He plays like that he will score his goals.”

    On the Oil Kings side of things, head coach Brad Lauer said his squad’s team play slipped in Wednesday’s Game 4 loss from where it was when his squad won Games 2 and 3 against the Raiders.

    The Oil Kings had a strong regular season topping the Central Division and finishing fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark, and they were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    “Did we think we were going to win two, three or four games in a row against these guys, probably not,” said Lauer. “Again, we missed the opportunity to take advantage of this series, so we have to go back there and get another win.

    “I think we just need to be better as a group. I didn’t think our team game worked very good.”

    Still, the Raiders believe they are in a good place. Gregor said the players on his team always believed in themselves, but the gritty road win in Game 4 helped re-energize the team.

Noah Gregor loves the passion Raiders fans bring to the game.

    “I think the confidence is always there,” said Gregor. “I think after a win it might go up a little bit.

    “We like playing at home. That crowd is great for us, and I think we know how to play well there. We’re looking forward to Game 5.”

    As for the WHL’s Western Conference Championship series, it has the potential to wrap up on Friday night, when the Vancouver Giants host the Spokane Chiefs in Game 5 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.

    In Game 4 of Wednesday night at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, fourth-year veteran centre Dawson Holt scored at the 7:07 mark of overtime to deliver the Giants to a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs and give Vancouver a 3-1 edge in that best-of-seven series.

Raiders fans hope to be celebrating another win on Friday night.

    The Giants finished first in the B.C. Division and second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-15-3-2 record. The Chiefs finished eighth overall in the league with a 40-21-2-5 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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Oil Kings big guns overpower Raiders in Game 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quinn Benjafield had two assists on Tuesday night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brayden Pachal and the Raiders took one on the chin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Oil Kings celebrate their victory on Tuesday.

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

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

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

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Oil Kings grow from clashes with top-seeded Raiders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zack Hayes has been tough on defence for the Raiders.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Extra attention likely to be paid on play in the crease

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raiders goalie Ian Scott battled through traffic on Saturday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Crazy bounce goal gives Raiders conference final opener

Ozzy Wiesblatt (#19) received some good luck for the Raiders.

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - It was the classic story of the positive bounce goal delivering elation for one team and dejection for the other side.

    In Game 1 of the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series on Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, the host Prince Albert Raiders were the beneficiary of the positive bounce. 
    The visiting Edmonton Oil Kings were on the other end of the coin that ultimately felt dejection.

    At the 1:48 mark of the second period, Raiders rookie right-winger Ozzy Wiesblatt swooped down the left wing of the Edmonton zone on rush.

    He ripped a backhanded centring pass to the front of the Edmonton net. The pass bounced off the stick of Oil Kings defenceman Wyatt McLeod and found a home in the open right side of the Edmonton goal.

Wyatt McLeod, right, was victim of bad luck for the Oil Kings.

    That tally by Wiesblatt was the only marker in the Raiders 1-0 victory over the Oil Kings before a sellout crowd of 3,289 spectators at the 2,580 seat building.

    Wiesblatt, who had been held pointless in his five previous post-season outings, gladly took any luck that came his way.

    “It is a big confidence boost for sure, especially after last series not playing my best,” said Wiesblatt referring to his team’s six game victory over the Saskatoon Blades in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. “I think good teams find a way, so it was nice to get that bounce.

The Raiders celebrate Ozzy Wiesblatt’s goal.

    “We’ve been working on that in practice just getting as many pucks on net as we can. Luckily, it went in.”

    McLeod was dumbfounded by what occurred in that part of the contest noting he wasn’t trying to shoot or pass the puck in that moment.

    “It was a two-on-two,” said McLeod. “(Oil Kings defenceman) Conner (McDonald) did a good job playing his guy.

    “The puck came to the centre, and I just lost track of it and in off my stick so a tough bounce on that one.”

    While Wiesblatt’s goal gave his side a victory in Game 1, the Calgary, Alta., product said his team wasn’t overly happy with their performance coming off an emotional series win over their archrivals in the Blades. He was already looking forward to Game 2 of the series set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    “I think it wasn’t our best performance for sure,” said Wiesblatt. “I think we’re just going to come back tomorrow and do a lot better.”

Ian Scott made 26 saves to pick up the shutout win for the Raiders.

    McLeod thought his side played better as the night went on. The Oil Kings were playing their first game after eight off days following their WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series sweep of the Calgary Hitmen.

    “I think we did a fairly good job of weathering their (the Raiders) push early,” said McLeod. “I think about after the 10-minute mark of the first we finally got really skating to what we think is capable.

    “In saying that, I think we still have another gear to give. We’ll bring it tomorrow.”

    Ian Scott turned away 26 shots to pick up his second shutout of the post-season in goal for the Raiders.

    The only time he looked shaky was on the Oil Kings first shot of the game, which went to a video review to ensure the puck didn’t go across the goal-line of the Prince Albert net. The review showed Scott kept the puck out.

Dylan Myskiw turned away 23 shots in goal for the Oil Kings.

    From that point onward, Scott was solid. He had to be particularly sharp in the third period, when the Oil Kings carried an 11-3 edge in shots on goal.

    Inside of the final 30 seconds of the third, Scott kept the puck out of his net during a couple of fire drill scrambles. One scramble came after Scott denied Oil Kings captain Trey Fix-Wolansky on a drive from the left side wall.

    The rebound from Fix-Wolansky’s shot went in front of the Prince Albert net, and Scott stopped two more chances before covering the puck.

    Overall, Scott felt his defensive unit had a solid game in front of him.

    “I thought they were pretty good,” said Scott. “(There were) lots of key (shot) blocks at really important times.

    “When you get that it is a big thing in playoffs.”

The Art Hauser Centre faithful cheer on the Raiders.

    In order to stay focused in goal, Scott tried to stay feeling a little loose as opposed to be uptight.

    “You just have to keep having fun,” said Scott. “It is playoffs.

    “It is not hard to get up for those games. As long as you keep it even keel it will be good.”

    At the other end of the rink, Dylan Myskiw stopped 23 shots to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

    Overall, Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer liked how his team played on Friday. He felt good about how his team responded to the raucous atmosphere in the Raiders home rink.

    Lauer said the Edmonton coaches tell their players to throw the puck on net, because you never know what can happen. He added the Raiders also followed that philosophy on Wiesblatt’s goal.

    “It was one of those things where we just couldn’t find that one shot,” said Lauer. “I think we learned an awful lot.

Cole Fonstad gets set to fire a shot on goal for the Raiders.

    “We will be better tomorrow.”

    Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

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

    Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said he expects the Eastern Conference final to be a competitive series. When the dust settled on Friday, the veteran bench boss said the big thing was his side picked up the positive result.

    “It is a win,” said Habscheid. “That is what matters in playoffs.

    “They are a good team. We knew that, but they proved it tonight they are a good team. I think we can be much better.

    “We didn’t really have what seemed like our legs tonight, but they played well. Our guys did what they had to do.”

    NOTES – The Raiders had star left-winger Cole Fonstad back in their lineup after he missed two games with an undisclosed injury.

Ian Scott, left, and Zack Hayes celebrate the Raiders win.

    Raiders physical forward Justin Nachbaur sat out the second of a two-game league imposed suspension for receiving an interference major penalty and a game misconduct in his club’s Game 5 win over the Blades. Nachbaur is expected to dress for the Raiders in Game 2 of their series with the Oil Kings on Saturday.

    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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Series win over Blades readies Raiders for conference final

Prince Albert and Oil Kings set for Game 1 on Friday

The Raiders aim to give their fans more highs in their post-season journey.

     For head coach Marc Habscheid, adversity was good for the soul of his Prince Albert Raiders.
     Battling through adversity will help his team as it continues to march through the WHL playoffs. The Raiders are set to open the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference Championship series against the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

    The Raiders are coming off downing their archrivals the Saskatoon Blades in six games in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.

    Before meeting the Blades, the Raiders were on an impressive march through the 2018-19 campaign.

Raiders fans have been packing and rocking the Art Hauser Centre.

    Prince Albert finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season posting a 54-10-2-2 record and was rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. The Raiders swept the Red Deer Rebels 4-0 in a best-of-seven first round series to set up a meeting with the Blades.

    Against the Blades, the Raiders won the first two games at home and dropped Games 3 and 4 on the road in Saskatoon. With the series tied 2-2, the Raiders rolled off a 6-1 victory in Game 5 in Prince Albert and sealed the series win with a 6-3 victory in Game 6 last Sunday at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.

    Habscheid remembers talking with his team after falling 4-1 in Game 4 and telling them about the opportunity they had to change things when the momentum of the series was going against them.

The Raiders faithful give their team a huge advantage at home.

    “You know what, we want this,” said Habscheid. “This is good for us. We’re not going to win 6-1 all the time. We need to go through this.

    “We need to feel an upset stomach. We need to have sleepless nights. We need to feel that anxiety. That is what you have to do to win.”

    Habscheid said being tied 2-2 with the Raiders was particularly challenging due to the fact his Raiders felt they should have won Games 3 and 4 in Saskatoon. In those two games, Blades star netminder Nolan Maier turned away 69-of-70 shots to back his side to two wins.

    The Blades, who finished fourth overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 45-15-8 record and were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings, took Game 3 of the series 1-0.

Dante Hannoun, left, leads the Raiders in post-season scoring.

    “If we plan on getting to where we want to go, we have to go through situations like that, and we did,” said Habscheid. “I think we responded in Game 5 and obviously (we were) real good (in Game 6).”

    In the conference final, the Raiders face the challenge of taking on another stubborn foe in the Oil Kings. The Oil Kings topped the Central Division and finished fifth overall in the WHL standings with a 42-18-4-4 mark, and they were an honourable mention in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.

    Edmonton downed the Medicine Hat Tigers in a best-of-seven first round series in six games and swept the Calgary Hitmen 4-0 in the other WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series.

    The Oil Kings have been off since blanking the Hitmen 6-0 in Calgary on April 10.

Brett Leason topped the Raiders in regular season scoring.

    “Obviously, they got a little more rest that we did,” said Raiders captain Brayden Pachal. “We faced adversity that we haven’t so much in the regular season, so it was a good test for us.

    “We are looking forward to Edmonton.”

    Star right-winger Brett Leason led the Raiders in regular season scoring with 36 goals and 53 assists for 89 points, while posting a plus-55 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Overage star centre Noah Gregor was second in regular season scoring for the Raiders posting 43 goals and 45 assists for 88 points to go with a plus-49 rating.

    Captain Brayden Pachal put up the most points out of all the Raiders defenceman. The Estevan, Sask., product racked up 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points.

    He topped the entire WHL in plus-minus with a plus-76 rating. Defensive partner Zack Hayes was second in the league in plus-minus with a plus-71 rating, while contributing three goals and 24 assists on the offensive end.

    Star netminder Ian Scott had a spectacular regular season posting a 38-8-3 record, a 1.83 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and a team record eight shutouts.
    The Raiders will be without physical forward Justin Nachbaur for Game 1 of the series with the Oil Kings, because he will be sitting out the second of a two-game league imposed suspension. Nachbaur received the suspension for getting an interference major and a game misconduct in the Raiders Game 5 win over the Blades.

Noah Gregor has been stellar for the Raiders all season.

    Overage centre Dante Hannoun leads the Raiders in post-season scoring with nine goals and five assists to go with a plus-seven rating. Hannoun said his Raiders are that much more ready for the rest of the post-season after their series win over the Blades.

    “They battled hard,” said Hannoun. “They pushed every game, and we pushed back.

“You have to give them credit.”

    Captain Trey Fix-Wolansky topped the Oil Kings in regular season scoring with 37 goals and 65 assists for 102 points, while posting a plus-36 rating in the plus-minus department.

    Overage centre Vince Loschiavo was second in team scoring with 37 goals and 25 assists for 62 points. He leads the Oil Kings in post-season scoring with five goals and five assists.

    Offensive-defenceman Conner McDonald topped all Edmonton blue-liners in scoring with 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points to go with a plus-16 rating during the regular season.

Trey Fix-Wolansky will be looking to celebrate a number of Oil Kings goals.

    Dylan Myskiw carried the load as the Oil Kings starter in goal posting a 28-11-5 record, a 2.53 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and one shutout in regular season play.

    The Raiders and Oil Kings met four times in the regular season, and Prince Albert won three out of those four head-to-head encounters.

    “We’ve had a good series with Edmonton all season too,” said Raiders power forward Parker Kelly. “They are going to be another team that is going to try and push us to our limits.”

    The Raiders are appearing in the Eastern Conference final for the first time since falling to the Brandon Wheat Kings in seven games back in 2005, which is a playoff foray that is generally known in Prince Albert at “The Run.”

Parker Kelly is looking to push the Raiders even further in the playoffs.

    Pachal said “Hockey Town North” is jumping at the prospect as what is to come.

    “It is an amazing feeling,” said Pachal. “Obviously, small market P.A. hasn’t seen a team like this in a while.

    “It is fun to be back on the map. The city is buzzing all the time. It is definitely a fun and a tough rink to play in back at the Hauser.”

    Home ice advantage could prove to be big as the Raiders have yet to lose in five post-season games at home and were 28-4-2 at the Art Hauser Centre during the regular season.

    So far in the playoffs, attendance for Raiders home game hasn’t dipped below 3,000 at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre. The last three Raiders home games were sellouts with 3,289 people turning out for each of those contests.

    Kelly said his club gets pumped up from the home ice atmosphere.

    “It is crazy,” said Kelly. “I’ve never see the rink like that in Game 5 (in the 6-1 win over the Blades).

The Raiders faithful will be ready to bring it in the conference final.

    “It was pretty crazy. It was three deep (on the concourse) and soldout. It is so fun to play in.

    “There is going to be a lot of fan support, and we are going to use that to our advantage.”

    The winner of the series between the Raiders and Oil Kings will take on the winner of the WHL’s Western Conference Championship series between the Vancouver Giants and Spokane Chiefs in the WHL final. The Giants finished second overall in the WHL at 48-15-3-2, while the Chiefs were eighth overall at 40-21-5-2.

Saskatoon/P.A. get Canada Russia Series games

The Blades and Raiders will each host a Canada Russia Series game.

    On Thursday, the CHL announced Saskatoon and Prince Albert will host the final two games of the CIBC Canada Russia series set for this coming November.

    The Canada Russia Series in an annual six-game event that is often used as a final evaluation point for Hockey Canada to determine its final list of invites for the final selection camp for Canada’s world junior team in December.

    In the series, a Russian national junior team will take on all-star teams from each of Canada’s three major junior leagues. The Russian team will face all-star teams from the QMJHL, OHL and the WHL twice each.

    The Saskatoon Blades will host the fifth game of the series on Nov. 13 at the SaskTel Centre. The Prince Albert Raiders will host the sixth and final game of the series on Nov. 14 at the Art Hauser Centre. The start times of the games are still to be determined.

    Saskatoon hosted games in this series on two previous occasions in 2005 and 2014. Prince Albert hosted this series on one other occasion back in 2008.

    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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