Harrison Lodewyk salutes the crowd after scoring the first goal of the game for the Raiders, his third point since returning to the lineup in the last three games. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 4-3

Raiders win East Division title in epic final clash with Saskatoon

Mar 23, 2025 | 9:49 AM

This team started the season with a record of 2-7-2 through the first 11 games of the season, but now after 68 games the Prince Albert Raiders are East Division champions.

It all came down to the final game of the regular season between the Raiders and their bitter rivals the Saskatoon Blades. Both teams had the lead in the final game, but the Raiders powerplay would score late to take the 4-3 win and the East Division title for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Both teams came out of the gate swinging and by the halfway point of the period, both teams already had ten shots on goal. The Blades struck first at 11:56 on a play that started off a shot from the point that was blocked, and in the melee to recover it David Lewandowski found the puck in the middle of the slot. He sent it to his left for Cooper Williams on the doorstep to tap in.

Then at 18:56, the Raiders would tie things up. Daxon Rudolph sent a breakout pass up the left wall for Oli Chenier, and he walked over the left side of the blueline before dropping the puck back for a streaking Harrison Lodewyk. He’d go down the left wall, and Lodewyk ripped a wrist shot short side top corner to tie the game with his 11th of the season.

After 1: Raiders 1 – 1 Blades, shots 17-14 Blades

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The Raiders then took the lead just 1:02 into the second period. Tomas Mrsic carried the puck over the right side of the line, and he dropped the puck for Brayden Dube. Mrsic would drive the net from the left while Dube tried to toe-drag into the middle, but he was poke checked and the puck came back to Aiden Oiring, and he fired in his 29th of the season.

Then at 11:18, Ethan Bibeau cleared the puck out of the zone that sent Ty Meunier down the ice in a 1-on-1 battle with Blades defender Jack Kachkowski. Meunier did a great job protecting the puck, but Kachkowski did well to deny Meunier an open look at the net and forced him to the goal line. Meunier stopped and curled as he waited for his teammates to catch up, freezing Kachkowski at the side of the goal, and then Meunier decided to fire, sending the puck through Kachkowski’s legs and into the top corner for Meunier’s 14th of the year.

At the 16:19 mark, the Blades powerplay would score on a bit of a bad luck play. Rowan Calvert below the goal line would try to centre the puck for a Hunter Laing one-timer, but a good stick from Ethan Bibeau would block the shot wide. Instead, the puck bounced into the air, off the back of Matteo Fabrizi, off the side of Max Hildebrand’s helmet, and into the net.

After 2: Raiders 3 – 2 Blades, shots 11-10 Raiders, 27-25 Blades overall

At the 9:11 of the third period, the Blades would tie the game. Just as Mrsic was leaving the penalty box, the Blades would get a great individual effort from Grayden Siepmann who beat to Raiders defenders moving the puck from the middle of the blueline down to the left side of the goal, and he’d create a lane for a Hayden Harsanyi onetimer to tie the game.

After four straight powerplays to the Blades, the Raiders got their second of the game and capitalized. Rudolph would hold the puck in at the left point and send it ahead for Aiden Oiring in the corner. Oiring would go towards the left of the goal, and he sent a great saucer pass through the slot that looked like it was intended for Niall Crocker, but instead it came to Lukas Dragicevic behind him. Dragicevic used Crocker as a screen and fired home the game winner at 16:59 for Dragicevic’s 18th of the season.

FINAL: Raiders 4 – 3 Blades, shots 10-7 Blades, 37-32 Blades overall

The Raiders win the East Division for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The Raiders will now face the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of the playoffs starting on Friday, March 28.