1 week Ago By Scott Roblin
Pulling away from the parking lot of the Art Hauser Centre on Friday morning, the Prince Albert Raiders watched as sirens and horns from a line of first responders sent them off to the second round of WHL playoffs. It’s something that’s not a surprise, though, given the wave of green jerseys dotting ‘Hockey Town North’ these days, according to interim head coach Ryan McDonald. “You see videos from elementary schools with kids wearing Raiders jerseys and chanting, ‘go, Raiders, go,'” said McDonald.
“Just the support that our community has for us and how passionate our fan base is for us is truly inspiring for our group.” The Raiders are one of eight teams left battling for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, after rallying from a 3-1 series deficit to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the opening round of WHL playoffs. Capped off with a 5-0 shutout win on Tuesday night on their home ice to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
“When the buzzer went it was just a bit of relief that we finished off the comeback,” said Raiders star goaltender Max Hildebrand. “We were still alive.” Facing elimination in three consecutive games, the Raiders were able to force the comeback in their series which included a dramatic winning goal from defenceman Lukas Dragicevic in the final minute of Game 6 in Edmonton.
Putting up five goals and 12 points over seven games against Edmonton, he said the series is reflective of the team’s resilient mindset which has been growing since October. “From the start of the year we were last place in the WHL and almost last place in the CHL,” said Dragicevic. “We bounced back from that and we knew we could bounce back from anything.
We just needed to win three games in a row and we did that before this season.” Hildebrand was a force for Prince Albert in the series against the Oil Kings, finishing with a .941 save percentage over seven games and recording the second-most saves of any goaltender in the first round.
McDonald wasn’t surprised at his starting goaltender’s consistent performance however. “He’s the ultimate competitor,” said McDonald. “I’m very fortunate I get a front-row seat to it every single day at practice, in the gym, in the dressing room, in games.
He’s a tremendous teammate, he’s a tremendous leader and he’s a heart-and-soul guy for us.” Nominated for the WHL’s Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year awards, the 20-year-old said it’s been a strong stretch of play for both he and the team’s defence. Though he is more focused on piling up wins, rather than award nominations and shutouts.
Waiting on the other side will be the Medicine Hat Tigers, who earned the number one seed in the Eastern Conference with a 47-17-3-1 record and are coming off a five-game series victory against the Swift Current Broncos. The Raiders will be matched up against 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna, who leads all WHL scorers this playoffs with a stunning 16 points scored over five games. “They like to play on the offensive side and they have a really quick transition game,” said McDonald.
“It’s making sure that we manage pucks in all three zones and making sure we get pucks behind them.” No team has scored more goals in the WHL than the Tigers this year, meaning the Raiders’ margin for error will need to be minimal once the puck drops on the second round series. For Dragicevic, however, the stage has not grown compared to the must-win scenarios the team has come out on the other side of.
“We’ve played three Game 7s,” said Dragicevic. “We’re ready for Medicine Hat and we’re going to come out hard.” Games 1 and 2 between Prince Albert and Medicine Hat will be held on Saturday and Sunday in the ‘Gas City,’ with the series heading back to Saskatchewan on Wednesday for Game 3.
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