Alisher Sarkenov failed to score on this play as he tipped it over the goaltender and off the post, but he later scored both a goal and an assist on the night. (Ed Fonger Photography/Swift Current Broncos)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders win 6-1

Game turns ugly as Raiders pick up sixth straight win in Swift Current

Jan 24, 2026 | 12:07 AM

After winning their first shootout of the season Friday night in Moose Jaw, the Prince Albert Raiders made their way to Swift Current for their seventh matchup of the season with the Broncos. The first period was tightly contested, but the Raiders ran away with things in the second and survived a violent third period to win 6-1.

It took a bit for the Raiders to shake off the bus legs, but they opened the scoring at the 8:59 mark. Braeden Cootes worked the puck out of the corner and back up the wall to Daxon Rudolph at the right point. Rudolph fired a wrist shot, and it caught a piece of Jonah Sivertson on the way which redirected it just enough to find the back of the net for Sivertson’s 16th of the year.

The Raiders then got two powerplays in a row, first a double minor for highsticking, and at the tail end of the second half of that double minor another penalty gave them a 5-on-3. The Raiders failed to score, and a late penalty to Hubert Clarke meant the Raiders would start the second period down a man.

After 1: Raiders 1 – 0 Broncos, shots 15-6 Raiders

The Raiders killed the end of the penalty and quickly scored after. At 1:02, Max Heise worked the puck free on the right side wall and found Alisher Sarkenov streaking in through the middle. Sarkenov skated to the lower right slot unopposed, then fired for his 12th of the year.

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At 3:44, the Raiders scored again. This time it started with Sarkenov taking a puck away in his own slot, then he cleared it to the left wall for Justice Christensen. He then sprung Braeden Cootes on a tightly contested 2-on-1, stopped at the top of the left circle to gain some space, then ripped a wrist shot for his 14th on the year.

That’s when the rough stuff happened. 16-year-old Bronco Brock Burch challenged 16-year-old Raider Connor Howe, and Howe landed about 10 right hands before switching to the left and continuing the beat down. The local boy had inspired the bench.

Just 43 seconds after the last Raider goal and 15 seconds after the fight, the Raiders scored again. Hubert Clarke earned an assist for a great exit pass out of his zone to Aiden Oiring on a 2-on-1. Oiring was forced to the wall, but he made a great pass behind his back to Owen Corkish wide open in the middle, and Corkish finished on the backhand for his 12th of the season.

Then at 12:39, Maddix McCagherty fed the puck out of his zone to Jonah Sivertson moving up the left, and the two went in on the rush. Sivertson then found Max Heise trailing through the middle, and Heise ripped his team leading 24th of the season.

Before the end of the period, the Broncos were gifted their second 5-on-3 of the period, and they would score. At the 17:56 mark, Trae Wilke was set up for a onetimer, and he fired to get the lone tally of the night for the Broncos.

The second period ended with some nastiness that sent two Raiders and two Broncos to the box with 10 minute misconducts, and things only got worse from there.

After 2: Raiders 5 – 1 Broncos, shots 14-10 Broncos, 25-20 Raiders overall

Early in the third, Jayden Olsekiw took a long run at a defenceless Brock Cripps for what should have been called charging and given the Raiders a powerplay.

Hubert Clarke stepped up to defend his teammate and Clarke dropped the gloves with Oleskiw, but somehow Oleskiw end up with a cross checking penalty, Clarke with an unnecessary roughness call, both got fighting majors, and play stayed 5-on-5.

The mockery of penalties contied through the rest of the period with two more big hits against the Raiders, one which saw Jonah Sivertson hit into the open door of the Broncos bench, and another that saw Sawyer Dingman take a long run at Alisher Sarkenov who didn’t even have the puck at the time, but the Raiders powerplay still couldn’t score.

At the 14:49 mark though, Justice Christensen never got credit for an assist but probably deserved one when he sent the puck down the ice for what would’ve been an icing call, but Daxon Rudolph was too quick. He beat everyone to the puck and onetimed it off the back wall to score his 21st of the season.

FINAL: Raiders 6 – 1 Broncos, shots 12-4 Raiders, 37-24 Raiders overall

With 23 stops on 24 shots, Steele Bass posted a 0.958 save percentage for his third win of the season over Swift Current, and his seventh win of the season overall.

Max Heise added a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to five games. In that time, he has 5G-5A.

The Raiders now have a two point lead over the Medicine Hat Tigers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to the Tigers losing in a shootout to Saskatoon Friday night. The Raiders are also one point back of the Everett Silvertips for the top spot in the league.

The Raiders finish their three games in three nights stretch on home ice Saturday when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers for the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two teams.