Raiders players celebrate after scoring against the Portland Winterhawks on Jan. 10, 2023. (Mark Peterson Media)
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Raiders welcome former captain Allan, league-best Thunderbirds to Art Hauser Centre

Jan 13, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders (14-22-3-0) wrap up their homestand on Friday night when they host the WHL’s top team, the Seattle Thunderbirds (29-6-1-1).

It will be a bit of a bittersweet contest for Raiders fans as former captain and long-time Raider Nolan Allan makes his return to the Art Hauser Centre after getting dealt to Seattle earlier this season for Gabe Ludwig, Easton Kovacs, Brayden Dube, and six draft picks. Allan played 162 games in the Green and Gold and registered 63 points during his time in Prince Albert.

The Raiders enter tonight having lost their last matchup 5-3 to the Portland Winterhawks which didn’t see the Hawks pull away until late in the contest when they scored twice with two minutes to go to seal the win. Throughout this homestand, PA is 2-2 with wins against Red Deer and Brandon and will look to close it out with a win against the league’s number-one team.

So far, the sailing on the Thunderbirds East Division road trip has been a bit choppy, donning a 2-2 record including back-to-back losses in Moose Jaw and Brandon. However, Seattle bounced back in their previous game against Winnipeg when they downed the CHL’s best ICE 4-3 in an overtime thriller.

This is the first meeting between these teams since Oct. 22, 2019, when the T-Birds downed the Raiders 3-1 in Seattle. Tonight will be the first game that Seattle has visited the Art Hauser Centre since Jan. 9, 2019, when the T-Birds also won that game 4-1.

An updated look at the East Division standings

Who to Watch

Rookie Ryder Ritchie continues to impress in his first WHL season where the tallies just keep on coming. In his last game against Portland, the Calgary product sniped one past the Hawks netminder for his eleventh of the year, and to improve his season totals to 23 points in 32 games.

Forward Carter Anderson also potted one against the Winterhawks on Tuesday night. That marker combined with his stellar outing was enough to earn him the second star in the contest. The 18-year-old is looking to set a new career high in points tonight where he currently sits with seven goals and three assists.

Rookie defensemen Seth Tansem earned the game’s third star for his performance on Tuesday where he netted one assist. So far in his first WHL season, the Kelowna product has two assists in 21 games played.

How you can listen to tonight’s game.

logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann

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