Raiders prepare for second straight 3-in-3 weekend

The Raiders will also be short-handed during the three games, missing all three European-born players. Alisher Sarkenov is still away with Team Kazakhstan at the D1A World Juniors, while defenceman Matyas Man and goaltender Michal Orsulak are both gone to camp with a strong chance to make Team Czechia at the World Juniors in Minnesota.

The Raiders’ power play has started to find a rhythm again, going 5/8 in their last two games. On the season, the Raiders are up to 13th in the league at 24.5 per cent, while their penalty kill sits tenth in the league at 77.3 per cent.

Aiden Oiring has the team lead in points for the Raiders with 10G-17A-27P. Sitting second is Riley Boychuk with 5G-21A-26P, and Daxon Rudolph sits third at 10G-14A-24P.

As for the goaltending pair, the Raiders will be working with the pair of Dimitri Fortin and rookie Steele Bass, who was called up on Wednesday. For Fortin, he comes in with a record of 8-1-1-0, a 0.888 save percentage, and a 2.89 goals against average, along with one shutout.

Bass played one game for the Raiders this year, but has since been playing with the SJHL’s Battlefords North Stars, where he’s started nine games. In that time, the High River, AB, product has a record of 4-3-1-0, a 0.924 save percentage, and a 3.00 goals against average.

Friday @ Swift Current

The first matchup of the weekend will be the third straight Teddy Bear Toss game the Raiders are playing in, this time against the Swift Current Broncos. On the season, the Broncos are the last place team in the league with a record of 8-20-1-0.

This is the third matchup of the season between the Raiders and the Broncos, where the Raiders have won both on a home-and-home weekend in October with 4-0 and 5-0 wins.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are coming off a 6-4 loss on Tuesday to Kelowna. The Broncos have lost their last nine, with their most recent win coming back on November 14 in a 4-3 shootout over Moose Jaw.

On special teams, the Broncos sit 16th in the league power-play rankings at 21.8 per cent. Their penalty kill is at 70.8 per cent, good for 17th in the league.

Noah Kosick leads the Broncos in scoring with 9G-21A-30P on the year. From there, it’s a drop off to a tie for second between Zach Pantelakis with 8G-10A-18P and Jace McFaul with 7G-11A-18P.

In goal, Joey Rocha has had the majority of the starts with an 8-12-0-0 record, 0.880 save percentage, and a 4.62 goals against average. Aiden Eskit, behind him, is 0-8-1-0 on the season with a 0.876 save percentage and a 4.76 goals against average.

Saturday vs. Lethbridge

After playing in three straight Teddy Bear Toss games on the road, the Raiders will finally host their own on Saturday when they welcome the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The Hurricanes come in with a record of 10-20-1, sitting four points ahead of Swift Current for the last place spot in the league.

This is the second time of four the Raiders will take on the Hurricanes. In the only meeting of the season, the Raiders won 2-1 in Lethbridge on November 5 as the Raiders started their U.S. road swing.

Ahead of the matchup with the Raiders, the Hurricanes will play in Saskatoon against the Blades on Friday.

Before that though, the Hurricanes have lost their last two games, 7-3 in Brandon on Wednesday, and 4-1 at home against Calgary.

The Hurricanes powerplay is the fifth worst in the league and the worst in the Eastern Conference at 19.8%. As for their penalty kill, it’s the second worst in the Eastern Conference and third last in the league at 67.9%.

Leading the Hurricanes in scoring is Luke Cozens with 16G-22A-38P. With the departure of Logan Wormald, Easton Daneault sits second on the team with 4G-17A-21P, and Nathan Maloney is third with 2G-18A-20P.

As for goaltending, the Hurricanes have the pair of Koen Cleaver and Leif Oaten. The majority of the starts belongs to Cleaver, who brings in a record of 7-12-0 on the weekend with a 0.869 save percentage and a 4.55 goals against average. Oaten has a 2-7-0 record with a 0.877 save percentage, and a 4.25 goals against average.

Sunday @ Saskatoon

Finally on to the Sunday matchup, two teams playing three games in three nights will finish off the busy weekend against each other as the Raiders take on the Saskatoon Blades. The Blades sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, a full ten points back of the Raiders at the top spot in the East Division.

The two teams haven’t played since the home and home to start the season back in September. Both teams won on home ice, with the Raiders winning 4-2, and the Blades winning 3-2 in overtime.

The Blades are also playing three games in three nights, first hosting Lethbridge on Friday, then heading to Moose Jaw on Saturday, then welcoming the Raiders on Sunday.

Recently, the Blades have not been great. They are coming off a 9-3 win over Moose Jaw, but before that they had lost their last four games including their most recent loss being a 4-0 defeat at home against Regina.

The Blades have a solid powerplay sitting sixth in the league at 27%. Their penalty kill is right in the middle of the pack at 12th in the league, good for 76%.

Leading the Blades in scoring is David Lewandowski with 8G-24A-32P. After that is Hunter Laing with 13G-14A-27P, and Cooper Williams sits third with 11G-14A-25P.

Finally in goal, the Blades recently traded away goaltender Ethan McCallum to the Penticton Vees. That leaves them with the pairing of Evan Gardner and Ryley Budd.

Gardner has a record of 10-7-2 on the year with a 0.892 save percentage and a 3.08 goals against average. Budd has played one WHL game this season, where he stopped 13 of 15 shots faced for the win and a 0.867 save percentage.

The Raiders will head on the road to take on the Swift Current Broncos on Friday, followed up by a return home Saturday against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Both games start at 7:00 p.m., and you can listen in to the action starting at 6:30 p.m. on 900 CKBI.

Then Sunday’s game against the Saskatoon Blades begins at 4:00 p.m. The pregame show on 900 CKBI starts at 3:30 p.m.

by Nick Nielsen

Raiders prepare for second straight 3-in-3 weekend

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