Raiders’ Meunier finding early hot stride in second season

Prince Albert sinks Rebels 4-1 to improve to 4-0-1

Ty Meunier had one goal and one assist for the Raiders on Saturday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Things just seem to be that much more comfortable for Ty Meunier the second time around.

Last season as a 16-year-old rookie in the WHL, Meunier, who was selected by the Raiders in the first round and seventh overall in the 2023 WHL Prospect Draft, had a fairly solid campaign as a first-year player. The speedy left-winger suited up for all of the Raiders 68 regular season games posting 14 goals and 15 assists to go with a plus-three rating in the plus-minus department.

After five games as a 17-year-old sophomore, Menuier has recorded three goals, one assist and a plus-one rating. Those offensive numbers included the St. Albert, Alta., product providing the Raiders with one goal, one assist and a plus-two performance in a 4-1 regular season victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels before 2,843 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre on Saturday.

Ty Meunier has four points in five games this season.

Meunier said he feels the flow of things on the ice comes with a lot more familiarity than it did a year ago as a rookie.

“You feel more comfortable,” said Meunier. “That is the biggest thing.

“You feel like you can be a big asset out there and make plays and be confident. That is how I feel right now, so I’ll continue to do that.

“It has been awesome.”

Meunier got things going early in the first period. Breaking into the centre ice zone on a two-on-two rush, Meunier passed the puck to 17-year-old rookie right-winger Jonah Sivertson right before crossing the Red Deer blue line.

Ty Meunier had 29 points in 68 games as a WHL rookie last season.

Upon entering the Red Deer end, Sivertson slipped a lead pass past the Rebels defence to spring Meunier in alone on the Red Deer goal. Meunier roofed a shot to the top right corner of the Red Deer net to give the host side a 1-0 lead.

“It was just a great play by (Jonah) Sivertson,” said Meunier, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 162 pounds. “We kind of got going up ice.

“I gave it to him. He made a great play getting it back, and I got lucky enough I picked a corner and it went in.”

With 6:10 remaining in the first, Meunier had the puck low to the left side of the Red Deer net below the icing line. He put a pass across the front of the goal to the right side boards to veteran 19-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett.

Jonah Sivertson (#28) celebrates his first career WHL goal.

Burrett proceeded to quickly put a backdoor pass across the front of the Red Deer net to Sivertson at the left side of the goal. Sivertson promptly buried a shot into an empty cage for his first career WHL regular season goal to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0.

Meunier said in the early going of the current campaign he really feels he can size up plays a lot better than he did a year ago. Visually, he believes the game is starting to slow down for him.

“There are obviously new players in the league, but there are still guys that are from last year,” said Meunier. “It definitely feels a little slower.

“You feel like you can kind of be more dominant out there in different areas.”

Matthew Gard had the Rebels lone goal on Saturday.

Raiders head coach Ryan McDonald believed that Meunier had an outstanding outing for the entirety of Saturday’s contest.

“I thought Ty’s play away from the puck was phenomenal,” said McDonald. “Inside the dots, he made some great, great defensive reads that led to some great offensive chances for him.

“When Ty has the ability to get the puck and roll through the dots offensively and get his looks, Ty doesn’t need too many of those to make them count.”

The performance of Meunier, Sivertson and Burrett, who picked up assists on both first period goals for the Raiders, helped cap a dominant opening frame for the Prince Albert side. That included holding a 13-3 edge in shots on goal. The Raiders could have had a bigger advantage if it wasn’t for the performance of Rebels star 19-year-old netminder Chase Wutzke making a number of big saves.

Chase Wutzke makes one of his 24 saves in goal for the Rebels.

The Rebels proceeded to grab some momentum early in the second period on a stretch of four-versus-four play. Just 29 second into the stanza, Rebels 18-year-old centre Matthew Gard ripped home a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle in the Prince Albert zone to cut the Raiders lead to 2-1.

Prince Albert proceeded to change the complexion of the contest scoring twice late in the second period to push their advantage out to 4-1. With 2:18 remaining in the frame, Raiders 20-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube broke into the Red Deer zone with rookie 16-year-old right-winger Ben Harvey on two-on-the-goalie break with Rebels 17-year-old defenceman Luke Vlooswyk in hot pursuit on the backcheck.

Ben Harvey had the Raiders third goal on Saturday.

Dube went to the left side of the Red Deer net and put a backhand pass across the face of the goal that deflected off Vlooswyk’s stick to Harvey by the right post. Harvey potted the puck into an empty cage to give the Raiders a 3-1 edge.

With 63 seconds remaining in the second and the Raiders working on the power play, Raiders 17-year-old right-winger Riley Boychuk had the puck at the right side of the Red Deer net and fired a pass across the front of the goal backdoor to Dube. Dube received the puck just beside the left faceoff circle and wired home his fourth of the campaign to give the Raiders their 4-1 lead.

“Dupes (Dube) possesses tremendous speed,” said McDonald. “Again, we have to make sure that we can utilize his pace.

Dimitri Fortin made 18 saves in goal for the Raiders.

“He has got a great shot. You saw it on the power play where he gets the one through the seam there and makes a great shot with it. Again, we have to make sure we can find that open ice for him to utilize his speed.”

The Rebels came with a push in the third period holding a 12-7 edge in shots on goal in the frame. Raiders 19-year-old netminder Dimitri Fortin slammed the door shut in front of the Prince Albert net to ensure the 4-1 lead in favour of the Raiders held up as the game’s final outcome.

During the third period, McDonald and the Raiders coaching staff showed great faith in all their players by rolling all four of the team’s forward lines and the three defensive pairings in finishing off the game defensively.

Brayden Dube had one goal and one assist for the Raiders.

“That was the game plan,” said Meunier. “We said in the second intermission let’s finish this game off good.

“That is what the coach wanted to do is roll all four lines, and we did that. Props to our team for doing that, and I think the coaches are happy with it.”

Fortin stopped 18 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (4-0-1). Wutzke turned away 24 shots to take the setback in net for the Rebels (1-4).

Saturday’s contest marked the first time Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid coached a game in Prince Albert since the 2021-22 campaign, which was his final season as head coach of the Raiders. Habscheid became the Raiders head coach on November 1, 2014 and held that post to the end of the 2021-22 campaign. He guided the Raiders to their second WHL championship win during a magical 2018-19 season.

Marc Habscheid works the Rebels bench as head coach.

For the current Raiders and their current head coach, McDonald said the focus will be on continually working to get better.

“For us, we just continue to take things day by day (and) continue to build our game,” said McDonald. “We had a fantastic week of practice this week, and we had a lot of learning.

“As a coach, what you’re looking for is guys applying the stuff that we’re learning in practice out on the ice and in games. For us, we saw a lot of that stuff come to the forefront today. For us, it is just continue to keep building our game and keep taking it one game at a time.”

The Rebels return to action on Tuesday when they host the Lethbridge Hurricanes (7 p.m., Marchant Crane Centrium)

The Raiders get back at it on Wednesday when they host the Vancouver Giants (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Raiders salute their fans at the Art Hauser Centre.

Meunier said he is really looking forward to the rest of his 17-year-old sophomore campaign.

“It is a great start for our team, and we just have to keep building,” said Meunier. “I’m super proud of the guys, and we’ll just keep moving on from here.”

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Party is on in P.A. – Raiders blank Oil Kings 5-0 in Game 7

The Raiders begin to celebrate their series win on Tuesday night.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Lukas Dragicevic will always have a place in his heart for the fans of the Prince Albert Raiders.

The 19-year-old star defenceman loves how the fans in “Hockey Town North” always have his team’s back. Having been traded by the Tri-City Americans to the Raiders before the 2024-25 campaign began on July 24, 2024, Dragicevic has given the Raiders faithful plenty of thrills, and the Richmond, B.C., product has taken that up a level in the post-season.

After the Raiders fell behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven first round series to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL Playoffs, Dragicevic delivered game-winning goals in Games 5 and 6 to help the Raiders even the series 3-3. On Tuesday night, he came up with another big game in a series-deciding Game 7.

Part of the sellout crowd of 3,293 spectators salutes the Raiders.

Dragicevic recorded one goal, three assists and a plus-two rating in the plus-minus department to help power the Raiders to a 5-0 victory over the visiting Oil Kings before a raucous sellout crowd of 3,293 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, which is the Prince Albert side’s storied and historic home rink. The win allowed the Raiders to claim the series 4-3.

“I don’t even know what to say about the fans,” said Dragicevic. “It is crazy.

“I saw a video today of a school in my neighbourhood, actually, and there were about 10 to 15 kids that were all wearing Raiders jerseys. They were lining up and chanting ‘go Raiders go,’ and stuff like that. We go to Tim Horton’s down the street, and we see a bunch of guys, and they’re all just like, ‘we believe in you.’

The Raiders and Oil Kings take part in the handshake line.

“They’ll buy us coffees and stuff like that, so it is unbelievable the support that we have every single day, not even game days, just every single day, practice days and off days. We run into fans all the time, and just the support that we have is unbelievable.”

Dragicevic, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 196 pounds, played a major part in the Raiders series comeback. In the Raiders three straight wins they put together to take the series, Dragicevic posted four goals, four assists and a plus-four rating.

Lukas Dragicevic had one goal and three assists for the Raiders.

The rally marked the first time the Raiders came back to win a series after trailing 3-1 since 1996. In 1996, the Raiders trailed the Regina Pats 3-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Prince Albert rallied for three straight wins to take the set 4-3 which included a 5-1 victory in Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre, which was then known as the Comuniplex, on April 10^th of that year.

While he had a huge last three games and series, Dragicevic said everyone on the Raiders played a big part in the series victory over the Oil Kings.

“We play a full team game,” said Dragicevic, who has a signed NHL entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken. “That has been kind of our motto all year is depth and everybody contributes.

Lukas Sawchyn (#95) is checked by Harrison Lodewyk (#29).

“I’m an offensive guy. I have to put up points or else what am I doing out there, right? I’m so fortunate to play with great players that help me score goals and help me set up plays.

“It is not all me. It is not me at all. It is the other guys that are contributing offensively and putting themselves in good spots for me to hit them, and they’re burying it. It is a lot to them as well.”

Shortly after the opening faceoff, it looked like the visiting Oil Kings would get the jump on the host Raiders. Oil Kings overage defenceman Josh Mori brought the puck into the Prince Albert zone on an offensive rush and rang a shot off the crossbar.

A young fan cheers on the Raiders.

The Raiders proceeded to open the scoring at the 7:40 mark of the opening frame right as a power play expired. Dragicevic fired a shot on goal from the left point that Oil King rookie netminder Ethan Simcoe, who turned 19-years-old in March, turned away with a pad save.

The puck proceeded to rebound out to Raiders 19-year-old star centre Aiden Oiring at the right side of the Edmonton net. Oiring pushed the puck past a fallen Simcoe and it just trickled over the goal line to give the Raiders 1-0 lead.

Just over six minutes later, Oil Kings captain Gavin Hodnett bobbled receiving a pass in his down zone causing the puck to land on the stick of Raiders 16-year-old rookie right-winger Ty Meunier. Meunier skated to the front of the Edmonton goal and roofed a shot to the top right corner of the net to push the Raiders lead out to 2-0. The St. Albert, Alta., product enjoyed playing a part in the Raiders series win.

Aiden Oiring scored the Raiders first goal on Tuesday.

“It is pretty special to be winning the first round as a 16-year-old and experience this whole playoff atmosphere as a first year,” said Meunier. “I just hope it continues.”

The teams played through a fairly even second period, but the Raiders came up with a big dagger in the frame. With 1:28 remaining in the stanza, Dragicevic floated a point shot at the Edmonton goal, which ended up in the back of the net to extend the Raiders lead to 3-0.

The hosts proceeded to round out the win with a pair of power-play goals in the third. With 9:16 remaining in the frame, a Dragicevic point shot was tipped home in front of the Edmonton net by Raiders star 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker to give the Raiders a 4-0 advantage.

Ty Meunier had the Raiders second goal on Tuesday.

With 5:31 remaining in the third, Dragicevic and breakout rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph combined to set up 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic for a one-time shot, which he buried from the left side of the Edmonton net to round out the 5-0 final score.

Shortly after Kovacevic’s tally, Oil Kings right-winger Landon Hanson and Raiders rookie centre Ethan Bibeau engaged in a short fight.

Still, Kovacevic’s tally really got the part going in earnest by the Raiders faithful. Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald said the atmosphere in the Hauser is special.

“As a kid born and raised in Prince Albert, I mean it is exciting in this rink,” said McDonald. “It is electric.

Max Hildebrand covers up one of his 30 saves for the Raiders.

“We know how passionate our fans are and how supportive our fans are. We just can’t thank them enough for their support.”

The bench boss was impressed by the performance of Dragicevic in the Raiders three straight wins that allowed them to take the series.

“He (Dragicevic) is just taking his game to another level,” said McDonald. “He is just continuing to elevate.

“Big players shine in big moments, and he did a tremendous job for us again tonight.”

Niall Crocker tipped home a power-play goal for the Raiders.

Max Hildebrand stopped all 30 shots he faced to pick up the shutout win in goal for the Raiders. Simcoe turned away 18 shots in to take the setback in net for the Oil Kings.

The Raiders were 2-for-5 with the power play, while the Oil Kings failed to score on three chances with the man advantage.

Hildebrand did make a number of highlight reel saves for the Raiders. Overall, the star netminder thought his side played a fairly complete game.

“I thought it was very clean,” said Hildebrand. “When you play a team that many times especially in a row like that, it is kind of just you’re bound to know kind of what is coming.

“I thought we did a great job with our systems tonight and played hard. This one for the most part, the P.K. came up huge. Obviously, the power play was very big again for us.”

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Rilen Kovacevic, centre.

The Raiders entered the series having won the WHL’s East Division title with a 39-23-5-1 mark. The Oil Kings were seventh overall in the Eastern Conference with a 37-27-2-2 mark.

Prince Albert took the regular season series against Edmonton claiming three regulation victories in five head-to-head encounters.

The Raiders were without star left-winger Tomas Mrsic for a second straight contest having suffered a skate cut late in the first period of the Raiders victory in Game 5. Raiders breakout 19-year-old star right-winger Brayden Dube was also out of the lineup with a nagging injury he tried to play with in Game 6 but was used sparingly in that contest.

The Raiders pour off their bench to celebrate their series win.

The Oil Kings had rookie star right-winger Lukas Sawchyn, who turned 18-years-old in February, back on the ice after missing two games with an undisclosed ailment.

The Raiders now advance to a best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Medicine Hat Tigers. Game 1 of that series is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. local time at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat.

The Tigers topped the Eastern Conference and finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 47-17-3-1 mark.

McDonald said his team’s ability to persevere will key as the Raiders go forward in the post-season. On top of battling back to win the series against the Oil Kings, McDonald remembers his club started the regular season 2-7-2 after going on a road trip through B.C. and rebounded to win a division title. He appreciates his team’s ability to grind.

“We have a really resilient group,” said McDonald. “We’ve fought the fight since October to get to where we are.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“(We have) the brotherhood in there and the compete and the willingness to continue to just stick to it no matter what happens. We play until the final buzzer goes, and we’ve been doing that for years and years and years. It is great to see the guys get rewarded.”

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Dragicevic starts the party, Raiders win East Division title

Archrival Blades fall 4-3 before electric Art Hauser Centre crowd

The Raiders celebrate a winning goal from Lukas Dragicevic.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Lukas Dragicevic couldn’t help but let the emotions out.

On Saturday night playing before 3,264 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre, the Prince Albert Raiders star 19-year-old defenceman blew home a power-play goal from inside the right faceoff circle to put his squad up 4-3 over the Saskatoon Blades. The tally was Dragicevic’s 18^th goal of the campaign and it came with 3:01 remaining in the third period in a winner take all match between the two sides for the WHL’s East Division championship.

The roar of the fans after the key tally almost blew the roof off the Art Hauser Centre in a contest where the Raiders and Blades closed their respective regular season schedules. The noise from that point of the game was surpassed when the final seconds of the third period clock expired during a mad scramble in the Prince Albert end.

Lukas Dragicevic had the winning goal for the Raiders.

When the final buzzer sounded, the 4-3 score held up as the game’s final outcome. The noise in the building got louder as the archrivals got into some scrum action shortly after the contest ended causing the officials to separate the two sides from each other.

After the officials got the Blades players back to their bench, Dragicevic and his teammates proceeded to skating to centre ice both saluting and hyping up the crowd at the same time. As is the Art Hauser Centre tradition when the Raiders beat the Blades, The Guess Who’s “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” blared through the building’s sound system.

With a fifth win in a row, the Raiders improved to 39-23-5-1 to become champions of the WHL’s East Division.

The mad scramble around the Raiders net at game’s end.

“It is unbelievable,” said Dragicevic, who remembered his team stumbled out of the gate to a 2-7-2 start. “Just the group that we have in there, you guys know what we’ve been through.

“We were almost last place in the CHL for a bit there, and then we climbed back and now we’re division champions. The work we put in this year just shows what kind of group we have and now much time and effort we put in every single day to claim that banner. Nobody is taking that away from us.

“We’re division champions in the Western Hockey League, so it is super cool. Just to see what we went through this year, I’m just so proud of everyone in there.”

The Raiders and Blades engage in scrums at the end of the game.

Dragicevic’s tally came on what would be just the Raiders second of two power-play opportunities in the contest. Raiders head turning rookie defenceman Daxon Rudolph had the puck at the left point and got a pass down to star centre Aiden Oiring in the left corner of the Saskatoon zone.

Oiring passed the puck up the centre of the ice to Dragicevic, who was pinching down from the right point. The rearguard proceeded to stride into the right faceoff circle where he blew home his winner. He was pumped to be in the right spot at the right time.

Lukas Dragicevic pumps up the Art Hauser Centre faithful.

“We were buzzing all night on the power play,” said Dragicevic. “We just couldn’t get one to go in, and then we finally got one to go in.

“I just let it go, and it happened to go in. Fortunately, it was me (who scored).”

In what was a back-and-forth game, the Blades broke through on the scoreboard first with 8:04 remaining in the opening frame. Blades rookie import left-winger David Lewandowski, who turned 18-years-old in February, had the puck in front of the Prince Albert net and passed it off to rookie linemate Cooper Williams positioned by the left post. Williams, who turned 17-years-old in February, potted his 21^st goal of the campaign to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

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

The Raiders pulled even at 1-1 when gritty centre Harrison Lodewyk wired home his 11^th over the campaign with 64 seconds remaining in the first.

Just 62 seconds into the second, the Raiders jumped ahead 2-1, when Oiring wired his 29^th of the campaign home converting a drop pass from linemate Brayden Dube.

At the 11:18 mark of the second, Raiders rookie centre Ethan Bibeau made a long looping dump of the puck from his zone into the right faceoff circle of the Saskatoon zone. That created a race to the puck by Raiders 16-year-old right-winger Ty Meunier and Blades sophomore defenceman Jack Kachkowski.

Raiders players salute the fans and say farewell to the Blades.

Meunier fought off Kachkowski for the puck, did a turnaround in close in to the Saskatoon net and wired a shot past Blades star netminder Evan Gardner to put the Raiders up 3-1.

The Blades proceeded to battle back. Breakout right-winger Hunter Laing potted his 25^th goal of the campaign capitalizing on a power-play chance with 3:41 remaining in the second to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2.

At the 9:11 mark of the third just as another power-play chance had expired, the Blades evened the score at 3-3. Blades 20-year-old offensive-defenceman Grayden Siepmann put a backhand pass from the left side of the Prince Albert net across the front of the goal to Blades sophomore centre Hayden Harsanyi. Harsanyi preceded to one-time home the equalizer.

The officials direct the Blades down their dressing room tunnel.

That set the stage for the dramatics with Dragicevic’s winner and the scrum activities at the end of the game. The win allowed the Raiders to take the regular season series against the Blades winning five the the eight head-to-head encounters between the two sides.

“I am extremely proud of the group and just the way we continue to battle,” said Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald. “We start off and we have a really good start.

“We bend a little bit in the first period there. I think we just continued to take the game over as it went on and really simplified and got pucks in behind and used our speed to create our chances.”

Cooper Williams scored the Blades and the game’s first goal.

Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand put in another spectacular performance making 34 saves to backstop the Raiders to victory. Hildebrand loved how his squad stayed composed even when the Blades rallied to tie the game.

“It is kind of something we’ve been talking about down the stretch here just staying even keel no matter what happens,” said Hildebrand. “If we give up a goal or get ahead by a few, you can lose leads fast, and you can get leads fast.

“It is a game of inches out there. I thought we stayed even keel and our power play came clutch like it has all year. That was the difference.”

Aiden Oiring had a goal and an assist for the Raiders.

Gardner turned away 28 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades. The Blades fell to 37-23-4-4 with the loss to finish third in the East Division two points behind the Raiders and one point behind the second place Brandon Wheat Kings (38-23-4-3).

Saskatoon placed sixth overall in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. The Blades wait to find out who their opponent will be in the first round of the WHL Playoffs. They will face the team that loses in Sunday’s clash for top spot in the conference between the Medicine Hat Tigers (46-17-3-1) and the host Calgary Hitmen (45-16-3-3) at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Thanks to finishing first in the East Division, the Raiders will be the second seed in the Eastern Conference for the first round of the WHL Playoffs. 

Evan Gardner made 28 saves in goal for the Blades.

They will face the Edmonton Oil Kings (36-27-2-2) opening the first two games of a best-of-seven series at the Art Hauser Centre. Game 1 is Friday at 7 p.m., and Game 2 follows on Saturday, March 29 at 7 p.m.

McDonald is looking forward to seeing his squad play before the Art Hauser Centre faithful in the post-season. He said the fans gave the Raiders a big boost in Saturday’s win to claim the East Division title.

“They are just absolutely tremendous,” said McDonald. “Our fans, they’re second to none.

“They are the atmosphere in here. They keep our guys going. Their passion is exactly how we play on the ice.

Max Hildebrand stopped 34 shots in goal for the Raiders.

“As a Prince Albert born and raised young man, I’ve been coming to these games for a lot of years. It never ceases to amaze me the support that we have.”

Raiders star 20-year-old right-winger Niall Crocker was pumped to help his squad win the East Division title. 

The last time the Raiders claimed the division crown was during the 2019-20 campaign, which was shortened due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. That was the campaign before Crocker joined the team on a full-time basis.

This season Crocker had career highs in goals (27), assists (38), points (65) and the plus-minus department (plus-four) in helping the Raiders claim a division title.

A total of 3,264 fans packed the 2,580 Art Hauser Centre.

“It is unbelievable,” said Crocker. “From the start of the year to where we are now, I’m just so proud of these guys.

“Some guys counted us out at the start, but we kept at it. We battled. Now, we are East Division champions.

“I’m so proud of these guys.”

While Crocker soaked in the moment on Saturday night, he is looking forward to his last venture through the WHL Playoffs.

“We’ll just take it one game at a time,” said Crocker. “It is nice that we have the home ice advantage.

Max Hildebrand sends a souvenir stick to the crowd.

“I know it is my last year. We have the team to make a big boom here. I’m super excited and looking forward to it.”

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Fabrizi perfect physical fit in “Hockey Town North”

Raiders rearguard gets goal in 4-1 win over Warriors

Matteo Fabrizi scored the Raiders third goal on Friday.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – Matteo Fabrizi said it didn’t take long for Prince Albert to feel like home.

The 19-year-old physical defenceman was acquired by the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels on December 31, 2024. By tradition, both the Raiders and the Rebels like to play more of a physical game. That characteristic has allowed Fabrizi’s transition from Red Deer to Prince Albert to be seamless.

“They (the Raiders) traded for me for a reason,” said Fabrizi, who 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds. “They expect a certain game that they know I can play, and that I know I can play too.

“I just try to bring it every night and do what I can to help the team win every night.”

On Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre, Fabrizi was able to chip on offence. At the 9:33 mark of the first period of a WHL regular season contest against the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors, Fabrizi sent a shot from the point that deflected off a Warriors player into the Moose Jaw net.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Matteo Fabrizi (#5).

That tally was Fabrizi’s first goal as a member of the Raiders and it gave the Prince Albert side a 3-0 lead. The Raiders would cruise to a 4-1 victory from there to the delight of the 2,551 spectators in attendance.

In 51 games split between the Rebels and the Raiders this season, Fabrizi has three goals and nine assists for 12 points. His assist total is a career high and his point total matches a career high. The St. Albert, Alta., product was pleased to get his first goal as a member of the Raiders.

“I mean, no matter who you are, it is always good scoring a goal,” said Fabrizi. “I mean it is nice to get the first one here in the green.

“It is just whatever I can do to help the team.”

Matteo Fabrizi is known for his physical style of play.

The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 32-19-3-1 and jump back into first place in the WHL’s East Division combined with the fact the Brandon Wheat Kings dropped a 5-0 decision at home to the Calgary Hitmen. The Wheat Kings (30-17-4-3) and the Saskatoon Blades (30-18-3-4) both sit one standings point behind the Raiders for first. Brandon has a game in hand on both Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

The Blades slipped past the Rebels in Red Deer 3-2 in overtime on Friday night to keep the first place race in the East Division very heated.

Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt said it was big for the team to add Fabrizi’s physical style of play to the club’s roster.

“He is a big physical guy that stops pucks in our defensive zone,” said Truitt. “He makes the simple plays.

Niall Crocker celebrates scoring the Raiders first goal on Friday.

“He gets one tonight, which is tremendous. It is always nice to get one, but his job is to play defence and move pucks and be strong along the wall. We’ve got enough puck handlers and what not that can really motor.

“We needed to solidify things by adding on to what (import defenceman) Vojtech (Vochvest) does for us. We just thought that we needed a bigger body back there to help be a little bit more physical and simplify the game.”

Fabrizi said was welcomed into the Raiders organization and the team’s dressing room right from the start. He said it has been fun getting to witness the skill of the Raiders high-flying offensive players like Tomas Mrsic, Aiden Oiring, Rilen Kovacevic and Lukas Dragicevic.

Ty Meunier scored the Raiders second goal on Friday.

“They are a great group of guys, and obviously, a lot of them are very high skilled,” said Fabrizi. “It is cool to watch, and it is fun to watch the power play work sometimes.

“I wish I had half that skill sometimes.”

The Raiders offence got going opening the game’s scoring at the 4:15 mark of the first while working the power play. Raiders 20-year-old standout left-winger Niall Crocker tallied from a trademark area from in front of the Moose Jaw net putting home a backhander for his 24^th goal of the season.

Exactly four minutes after Crocker’s tally, Raiders 16-year-old rookie left-winger Ty Meunier slipped home a shot from the left boards in the Moose Jaw zone to put the host side up 2-0. Meunier’s tally was his 13^th of the campaign.

Matthew Hutchinson made 36 saves for the Warriors.

Fabrizi added his goal just 78 seconds after Meunier’s marker and the faithful at the Art Hauser Centre were rocking.

The Warriors were able to get some traction as 18-year-old right-winger and captain Lynden Lakovic tallied on the power play for his 20^th goal of the campaign to trim the Raiders lead to 3-1.

Moose Jaw continued to battle with some pretty good jump for the rest of the contest, but they were unable to get another puck past Raiders star 20-year-old netminder Max Hildebrand, who finished the contest making 28 saves.

Oiring, who is a Raiders star centre, rounded out the game’s scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:43 remaining in the third period. He finished the contest with an assist to go along with his goal. Mrsic, who is a star left-winger, and Brayden Dube, who is breakout right-winger, each collected two assists for the Raiders.

Lynden Lakovic netted the Warriors lone goal on Friday.

Truitt was pleased with the game’s final outcome, but he added there were still areas that could be improved.

“I liked our first period for sure,” said Truitt. “I thought that we dictated a lot of the play.

“In the second period, we didn’t do enough. Even in the third period, I thought that we didn’t do enough. We had too many blind plays when we just let guys come right to our net.

“You’ve got to be tighter than that.”

Matthew Hutchinson turned away 36-of-39 shots to take the setback in net for the Warriors (11-39-4-2).

The Warriors get back in action on Saturday when they return home to host the 36-15-3-2 Calgary Hitmen (7 p.m., Moose Jaw Events Centre). Moose Jaw is looking to end a nine game losing streak.

Max Hildebrand stopped 28 shots in goal for the Raiders.

The Raiders also return to action on Saturday when they travel to Regina to take on the 15-34-5-2 Pats (6 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Back in the 2022-23 campaign, Fabrizi helped the Rebels top the WHL’s Central Division. He is enjoying trying to help the Raiders top their division this season.

“It is our goal, so we’re just trying to stay on the path that we want and put ourselves in a position to control our own destiny however it may be,” said Fabrizi. “We want top spot.”

When the regular season wraps up, Fabrizi said he would like to be part of a long post-season run. In his three previous seasons with the Rebels, Red Deer advanced to the second round of the post-season but was never able to make the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship Series. Fabrizi wants to finally get pass the second round.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“I got a lot of games, but I’m ready for a third round,” said Fabrizi. “Three second rounds in a row, it is time for more.”

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Lodewyk powers Raiders with Gordie Howe hat trick

Prince Albert knocks off visiting Pats 5-2

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) celebrates his Gordie Howe hat trick goal.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - Harrison Lodewyk admitted he was oblivious at first to the fact he got a Gordie Howe hat trick.

On Wednesday night playing before 2,395 spectators at the Art Hauser Centre, the 19-year-old centre picked up one goal, one assist and one fighting major to power his Prince Albert Raiders past the visiting Regina Pats 5-2 in a WHL regular season clash. The win allowed the Raiders to improve to 26-15-3-1 to push their lead for first place in the East Division to four points over the idle Saskatoon Blades (23-16-3-3).

With the Raiders holding a 2-0 lead on the Pats in the second period of Wednesday’s contest, Lodewyk already had an assist coming on his club’s first goal and a fight. On a rush into the offensive zone, Lodewyk drove down the left wing to the net.

Harrison Lodewyk had a goal, an assist and a fight on Wednesday.

A linemate in 20-year-old left-winger Niall Crocker came with the puck down the right wing and put a pass across the face of the Regina net to Lodewyk. Lodewyk converted the backdoor tap to put the Raiders up 3-0 at the 10:36 mark of the frame and complete the Gordie Howe hat trick in the process.

“It didn’t pop in my mind right away,” said Lodewyk, whose goal ended up being the game winner. “I was just happy that my teammates made a great play, and I got the goal.”

The Red Deer product said he decided against trying anything fancy, which ultimately helped him get the goal to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.

Harrison Lodewyk (#29) takes down John Babcock (#5).

“I was thinking maybe I’ll just pull it back and go backhand there, but then I know that is not my game,” said Lodewyk, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 193 pounds. “I just thought why don’t I just redirect it and hope for the best there.”

Lodewyk picked up his assist on the Raiders opening goal at the 13:34 mark of the opening frame that was banged home from the front of the Regina net by 19-year-old right-winger Brayden Dube. The tally was Dube’s 22^nd goal of the season and it came off the rebound of a Lodewyk shot.

With 4:28 remaining in the first, Lodewyk engaged Pats 20-year-old defenceman John Babcock in a fight. The bout was a quick one with both players throwing about a couple of shots each before Lodewyk got the take down.

Raiders HC Jeff Truitt, centre, returned after a medical leave.

“He (Lodewyk) does a lot of things for us,” said Raiders head coach Jeff Truitt. “He is a leader in our room.

“He is a guy who is one of the hardest workers that you’ll ever meet. He is very effective on the ice, faceoffs and penalty kills. He has got responsibilities that way.

“He can pitch in on the offence. He does a lot of everything. He is probably a very underrated player in our league.”

The feistiness of the contest continued early in the second period as Pats 17-year-old defenceman Reese Hamilton took down Raiders rookie left-winger Ethan Bibeau, who turned 18-years-old on January 1, with a high stick. Raiders rookie 18-year-old defenceman Linden Burrett immediately engaged Hamilton in a fight.

Brayden Dube scored the Raiders first goal on Wednesday.

Just over four minutes after that fight, the Raiders went ahead 2-0, when rookie 16-year-old right-winger Ty Meunier had the puck at the left side of the Regina net roofed home his 10^th marker of the campaign to the top right corner of the goal. Meunier converted a sweet setup pass from 16-year-old rookie right-winger Riley Boychuk on the play.

Lodewyk would record his Gordie Howe hat trick goal just 40 seconds after Meunier’s tally. The veteran, who has been with the Raiders since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, was pumped to pick up that milestone on Wednesday.

“It was pretty awesome,” said Lodewyk. “I mean you don’t go into a game hoping for those things.

Reese Hamilton, left, and Linden Burrett engage in a fight.

“You’re just hoping for the win and do the things you need to do to be successful. You’ve got to love the results.”

Before the second period ended, the Pats battled back with left-wingers Cohen Klassen and Keets Fawcett picking up singles to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2 heading into the second intermission.

Just 38 seconds into the third, Raiders had to kill off a double minor assessed to 20-year-old right-winger Rilen Kovacevic for high sticking.

Shortly after that kill, Raiders 18-year-old centre Evan Smith tipped the puck home from the front of the Regina net to give the host side a 4-2 advantage. Smith got his stick on a smart setup pass from linemate Oli Chenier to record his first goal as a member of the Raiders since being acquired in a trade with the Red Deer Rebels.

Ty Meunier had the Raiders second goal on Wednesday.

Raiders star centre Aiden Oiring rounded out the game’s scoring picking up his 20^th goal of the season with 2:28 remaining in the third period.

With 90 seconds remaining in the third, Boychuk picked up a double minor for high sticking, which the Raiders were able to kill off. The double minors for high sticking given to Kovacevic and Boychuk will be automatically review by the WHL office for a possible suspension.

Max Hildebrand stopped 31 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders. Ewan Huet turned away 32 shots to take the setback in net for the Pats (13-27-4-2).

Raiders 19-year-old defenceman Matteo Fabrizi picked a pair of assists in the win.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Evan Smith (#21).

Wednesday’s game mark the first time Truitt was working behind the Raiders bench as head coach after missing 15 games for a medical leave to have eye surgery.  

He said it felt real good to be back behind the bench for his Prince Albert side.

“That is where you’re most comfortable is behind there and operating things and reading the game that way,” said Truitt. “The kids make it easy.

“It is just junior hockey. Sometimes, it gets a little hairy at times, but I like the way that we managed the puck, especially later on in the game. At times, we let teams back in.

“We didn’t let them back in. The two points is what we needed, and we got it.”

Aiden Oiring had the Raiders fifth goal on Wednesday.

With Wednesday’s game in the books, the Pats return to action on Friday when they host the Red Deer Rebels (7 p.m., Brandt Centre).

The Raiders get back at it on Saturday when they host the Wenatchee Wild (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

Truitt is looking forward to his team’s next game, and he said things are feeling normal for him now that he is back coaching.

“You’ve done it for so long that you get back in a comfort area, and that is where it is,” said Truitt. “You have prepared for the last couple of days the same way that we always have.

The Raiders salute their faithful at the Art Hauser Centre.

“Then, we have our meetings, and you are on the bench and you’re reading off of things and making sure that you’re getting the right guys out at the right time as much as you can. It wasn’t like it was totally different, but it just feels right.”

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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