The Prince Albert Raiders made some big changes to their roster on Tuesday, announcing the signing of former Regina Pat Carter Massier. They also announced that they have released overager Michael Horon.

Massier, who had played three seasons in the WHL with the Pats, was most recently with the Okotoks Oilers, putting up a goal and two assists in three games so far this year.

In his WHL career in Regina, the Peace River, Alberta product totaled 27 points in 92 regular season games in Regina.

“Carter is an elite skater,” Raider general manager Curtis Hunt described Massier. “We feel he can support our club in all dimensions of the game and we’re excited to get him here.”

Horon, who joined the Raiders after being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2019-2- season, played 63 games in a Raider uniform. This season he had struggled a bit offensively, mustering just two assists in 8 games so far.

Hunt also spoke of the departure of Horon. “We thank Michael for his time with the Raiders on the ice and in our community. We wish him the best in the future.” The Raiders next game is Friday against the Brandon Wheat Kings. Puck drop from the Art Hauser Centre is at 7pm.

The Prince Albert Mintos left Swift Current with one out of a possible four points this weekend, after being shutout 1-0 by the Legionnaires on Sunday afternoon.
The Mintos, fresh off of a 2-1 shootout loss on Saturday in Swift Current, couldn’t find their offensive step on Sunday, and dropped their second straight game.
The game was even 0-0 after the first forty minutes, although the Mintos were outshot 20-10 heading into the second intermission. The third period saw just one goal, and it came 1:25 into the final frame, when Eric Hoiness beat Minto goalie Jayden Kraus, giving Swift Current a 1-0 lead.
None of Prince Albert’s 21 shots found a way past Legionnaires goalie Brayden Schenstead, as he picked up his first shutout of the season, as Swift Current improved to 7-2 on the season.
Meanwhile Jayden Kraus put in his best effort of the season for the Mintos, allowing just one goal on 31 shots in the loss. Prince Albert now sits at 6-3-0-1 on the season.
Next up for the Mintos is a home game against the Regina Pat Canadians on Saturday. The last time these two teams met, Regina came away with a 5-3 win at the Art Hauser Centre in the second game of the regular season.
Puck drop from the AHC on Saturday is at 7pm.

The Prince Albert Northern Bears kicked off a two-game road trip with a 4-2 victory over Swift Current on Saturday. The Bears not only earned their second win in a row, but their second win overall this season.

After a scoreless first period, Claudia Lammers opened the scoring 13:11 into the middle frame for the Bears. She capitalized on a dish from leading scorer Sophia Zuck, making it a 1-0 game.

The Wildcats would respond in a big way, however, scoring twice with 7:49 and 7:03 to go in the opening frame. Jerzey Watteyne scored the first Wildcat goal, and then shortly after, Sadie Keller put a shot past Bears goalie Paige Fischer, giving the Wildcats a 2-1 lead.

That lead would last just three minutes, until the Bears tied the game again, when assistant captain Taylor Leicht set up teammate Sasha Malenfant, knotting the game at 2-2 heading into the second intermission.

With 7:15 left in the third and the Bears on a powerplay, Julia Cey scored her second goal in as many games, scoring to give Prince Albert a 3-2 lead. And with 1:32 to go, Calla Kampen also scored her second goal in as many games, giving the Bears an insurance goal, making it a 4-2 final.

Fischer turned in an impressive performance, making 41 saves on 43 shots in her first win of the season. Meanwhile Aurora Van Wormer made 14 stops on 18 shots in the loss for Swift Current.

These two teams are back at it on Sunday afternoon, once again in Swift Current. Puck drops at 1:15pm.

For the third straight game, the Prince Albert Mintos headed to overtime, and for the second straight game, they needed a shootout to determine the winner.

However, unlike the previous two games, the Mintos couldn’t secure the victory, as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Swift Current Legionnaires on Saturday night.

It was a game that saw no scoring in the first period, with the Mintos leading 11-10 in shots during the opening frame.

Captain Rhett Ravndahl would open the scoring five minutes into the second for Prince Albert, giving them a 1-0 lead. However, the Legionnaires would strike back with just under twelve to go. Denyn Smith scored off of a feed from Hudson Darby, knotting the game 1-1 heading into the second intermission.

The third period, like the first, saw no scoring. The Mintos would head into overtime for the third consecutive game, after also needing extra time for both games in Estevan last weekend. 1-1 would be the score after 60 minutes, with Swift leading in shots 43-32.

Overtime came and went without any serious scoring chances, sending the game to a shootout, also the second in a row for Prince Albert. This time around, all three Minto shooters (Martin, Blanchette, and Misskey) went scoreless in the penalty shot rounds, while Darby scored the lone goal for the Swift Current side, and that would be the game winner.

Ty Shumanski stood on his head all game, turning aside 44 of 45 shots for the Mintos, while Swift Current’s Brayden Schenstead made 33 stops on 34 shots for the win.

The Mintos and Legionnaires get right back at it again on Sunday for the rematch in Swift Current. Puck drop is at 1:45pm.

It looked as if the Prince Albert Raiders would end their Alberta road trip with a win, but the Lethbridge Hurricanes clawed their way back into the game with three third period goals for a 5-3 victory.

The Raiders, held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period, but the Hurricanes scored three times in the last six minutes to secure the win Saturday night.

“We played as a team and we worked,” Head coach Marc Habscheid said after the game. “We deserved a better fate. We had four breakaways, didn’t score on any of them, and we took two penalties that we probably shouldn’t have, and that was the difference.”

The scoring came early at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge, with the Hurricanes getting on the board just over two minutes into the game.

Alex Thacker scoring his second goal of the season, putting the Canes up 1-0. Former Prince Albert Minto Logan Barlage picked up an assist on the goal, giving the 20 year old overager his fifth point in seven games.

Ty Nash took the initial shot on goal that was stopped by Raider goalie Tikhon Chaika, who is getting his first start in the WHL, but Thacker was able to find the loose puck and bury it past Chaika.

The Raiders would respond just 2:06 later on the powerplay when Evan Herman cleaned up a loose puck in front of the Hurricanes net, and stuffed it between the pads of Lethbridge goalie Jared Picklyk.

Kaiden Guhle set up Tyson Laventure, who let go a one timer from the left circle which was blocked in front, which led to Herman finding the loose puck in the crease, tying the game 1-1.

Herman would quickly score his second goal of the night and second of the season 8:40 into the opening frame, as he wired a wrist shot low on the glove side of Picklyk, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

Prince Albert maintained the one-goal advantage until the 17 minute mark of the first. Noah Boyko continued his great start to the regular season, tying the game with a slapshot that he ripped from the point that beat Chaika. The Lethbridge powerplay goal would send both teams into the first intermission tied 2-2.

The second period would find no scoring until the 18 minute mark. Michael Horon sprung Tyson Laventure on a breakaway by Michael Horon, and Laventure made no mistake, slipping a shot past Picklyk’s glove, giving the Raiders a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission. Laventure picked up his first goal of the season, as well as his second point after missing the first six games due to injury.

In the third period, the Raiders would hold onto their one goal edge until the 14:39 mark, when the Hurricanes would find the equalizer. Lethbridge had a five on three powerplay, and Alex Cotton set up Yegor Klavdiev with a one time pass on the right hash, and Klavdiev made no mistake, ripping his shot past Chaika, tying the game 3-3.

Alex Thacker would score his second goal of the game late into the third period, on a pretty pass in front from Ty Nash. Nash picked up the primary assist on both of Thacker’s goals, with the most important coming with 1:11 to go in the final frame.

Kaiden Guhle would head to the penalty box with 48 seconds left after taking a hooking penalty, and that would pretty much seal the deal for the Hurricanes. With 24 seconds left and Chaika on the bench, Justin Hall would fire a puck into the empty PA net, putting Lethbridge up by two goals. The Canes walked away with a 5-3 win, despite being outshot 31-28 in the contest.

Even after coming out on the losing end again, Habscheid saw some positives to take away from Saturday’s game.

“If we keep playing like that, we’ll win some,” he said. “The guys just have to keep competing and playing together.”

Chaika made 24 saves in the contest, but Habscheid said he’s still learning the game.

“It was his first game, and a new kind of game for him, and hopefully he’ll be better and ready to go again next time,” he said.

Next up, the Raiders return home on Friday for the first half of a home and home series with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Carlton Crusaders ended their regular season on Friday with a 28-0 shutout victory over Evan Hardy.

The win improves Carlton’s record to 4-2 to end the season, and helps them build confidence heading into the playoffs next week.

The Crusaders started slow on Friday, but that was expected from a team that hasn’t played a game for three weeks due to COVID. Head coach Lindsay Strachan said the lack of action definitely had an impact on his team’s performance.

“You could tell sometimes that we haven’t played a game in a couple weeks from looking at our offense and special teams and substitutions,” Strachan said. “Our sharpness and our execution just wasn’t where we would expect it to normally be, but we worked through it. The boys battled. At the end of the day, we did what we needed to do.”

Carlton led 7-0 after the first quarter, and finished off with three more touchdowns to come away with the 28-0 win.

Strachan was impressed with the play of his defense despite a few weeks worth of rust.

“I thought our defense played really well start to finish,” he said. “They did a good job of battling through a few things, and we stuck with it. They had a heck of a game to give our offense opportunities with the football. I thought by the end of the game we were putting ourselves in a good position for next week.”

This is the first high school football season in a couple of years, and Strachan said it was tough to put any expectations on his team since they haven’t played competitive football since COVID started.

“Everybody was kind of in the same position. It felt like we were essentially restarting a football program this year, just because you haven’t been in touch with the guys as much with having a year off,” he said. “We weren’t really in a place to have a ton of expectations with how we wanted our record to unfold this year. I’m happy for the guys. We put ourselves in a good position in terms of where I think we fit in for the playoffs.”

The Crusaders start their playoff season next week, and Strachan says his message to his group won’t change with the added pressure.

“We want and expect ourselves to play well, and we feel if we control the things we can control, then we’ll be in a good place to be successful,” he said. “We have to make the most of our opportunities. We’ve worked all year to get to this place, so we’re going to have some fun and get after it.”

The Crusaders, as well as the St. Mary Marauders, who won their last regular season game on Thursday, will both play their first playoff game this week.

Penalty troubles caused problems for the the Prince Albert Raiders as they began their two game Alberta road trip with a 6-2 loss in Medicine Hat on Friday night.

The Raiders took seven penalties in the game, and the Tigers were able to capitalize, scoring three times with the man advantage.

The Tigers opened the scoring at the 9:18 mark of the first period, intercepting a pass in the Raider end and putting a shot past Raider goalie Carter Serhyenko to make it 1-0. Two and a half minutes later however, it would be Raider forward Dallyn Peekeekoot capitalizing on a giveaway, beating Tigers starter Beckett Langkow for his first goal of the season, tying the game 1-1.

That would be the score after the first twenty minutes, with Medincine Hat putting up a handy 19 shots compared to the Raiders 12.

Hayden Pakkala would give the Raiders a 2-1 lead in the second period, scoring 5:30 into the middle frame. The Raider rookie also picked up his first goal of the season.

Also some good news for the Raiders as Tyson Laventure picked up an assist on the goal for his first point of the season. The Raider forward played in his first game of the season on Friday after being held out with an upper body injury.

That lead would only last four minutes, however, as Kaiden Guhle went to the penalty box for delay of game. That’s where Ozzy Wiesblatt’s younger brother, Oasiz, would score the first Tigers powerplay goal of the evening, tying the game at 2-2.

Just under three minutes after the Tigers tied it, they would get another opportunity on the man advantage, and with one of Prince Albert’s best penalty killers in the box in Remy Aquilon, Medicine Hat would capitalize once again. Teague Patton struck for the second powerplay goal of the night, putting a shot past Serhyenko, making it a 3-2 Tigers lead.

And Medicine Hat wasn’t done scoring there. Just moments later, Steven Arp tallied his first goal of the 2021-22 campaign, scoring an insurance marker to give Medicine Hat a two goal cushion heading into period number three.

Prince Albert couldn’t find their step for the rest of the way, as Medicine Hat scored two more goals in the third. First, at the 11:36 mark, Corson Hopwo picked up his second goal of the season, and with under three minutes to go, Noah Danielson scored his second of the season (his first came last Friday at the Art Hauser Centre) to make it a 6-2 Tigers lead. That’s also how the game would end, with the Tigers outshooting the Raiders by a 46-28 margin.

The loss drops the Raiders to 2-6 on the season, leaving them tied for last place with the Regina Pats in the Eastern Conference.

The Raiders won’t have much time to dwell on the loss, as they get right back at it again on Saturday, as they’ll drop the puck in Lethbrige against the Hurricanes.

The wait for Tikhon Chaika to start his first game in net of a Western Hockey League game might be over, as he may get the start tomorrow, after Serhyenko has started all but one game this season for the Raiders. Vlad Shilo played his first game in a Raider jersey Friday night, finishing with a -2 rating.

Puck drop on Saturday in Lethbridge is at 7pm.

The St. Mary Marauders senior football team ended their regular season with a 42-12 victory over the Tommy Douglas Tigers on Thursday, improving their record to 5-1 on the season.

Head coach Curt Hundeby was happy with how his team rebounded after a long first quarter.

“We had a bit of a slow start, especially offensively,” Hundeby said. “(Tommy Douglas) presented a different style of defense than what we’ve seen anybody else use, and it gave us a few challenges.”

Hundeby saw his team adjust as the game progressed, and coaches saw improvements on both sides of the ball.

“We really started to pick up our blocks,” he explained. “I was happy with how we finished the second quarter. We threw the ball a little bit more, missed a couple of deep passes, but also connected on a nice catch and run. I know offensively we need to be able to throw the ball a little smoother and get the ball downfield more so that teams can’t lock down on our run game as much.”

With the win, they remain tied on top of the 6A division standings with three Saskatoon teams (St. Joe’s, Holy Cross, and Walter Murray). However, based on point differential, the Marauders sit third out of the four teams in the top spot.

Hundeby said he’s happy with how his team’s football knowledge has improved over the season.

“This year was like starting over, with so many guys that have never played a down of football,” he explained. “The bulk of our guys are brand new to football. So it was a lot of learning, and how quickly they’ve picked things up this year was a real positive, and then just the last couple weeks with how our guys have come together as a team. I think they’ve really bonded, especially after our North Battleford game and after this one. It was a really good vibe in the locker room.”

However, with the way scheduling worked out, the Marauders will be the top seed of tier 2, barely missing out on the top tier bracket. Also in their bracket will be the Carlton Crusaders, who are guaranteed to play in the 2 vs 3 game. So while there won’t be a Marauders Crusaders clash in the first round, the possibility of a Canadian Tire Classic game could become a reality in the second round of the playoffs, if both teams win their first games.

Hundeby discussed that possibility, and said he just wants to focus on the next game in front of him.

“Obviously both us and Carlton would have to win our first games to have that possibility, but right now we’re taking this one game at a time,” Hundeby said. “As soon as Carlton’s game is done tonight, we should know who we’re playing and we’re going to start prepping right away to get ready for that. It’s a short turnaround, it’s a Wednesday game.”

For the Crusaders, they play their last game on Friday night at Max Clunie Field. They take on Evan Hardy, with more playoff implications on the line. This game will determine where the Crusaders will finish in their bracket, as well as who will fill in the other two spots with both St. Mary and Carlton.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

Team Saskatchewan started their WHL Cup action in Red Deer with a tough 8-1 loss against Team B.C on Wednesday. On Thursday, things were looking good for the best U16 players in the province, as they came out of the gates roaring against Team Alberta.

One of those best players on Team Sask is 15 year old phenom Ashton Tait, who currently plays for the Prince Albert Mintos in the SMAAAHL U18 league. He is enjoying a 6 point season through 7 games so far with the Mintos, leading in rookie scoring.

While he was held off the scoresheet in their loss to Team B.C, he bounced back nicely against Team Alberta scoring a pair of goals in part of a 5-4 overtime loss, a game that saw them hold a 4-0 lead early in the second period.

Saskatchewan scored twice in the first ten minutes of the game, courtesy of Dawson Gerwing from the Battlefords Stars and Cole Pearson, who picked up his second goal of the tournament. Tait added another one in the dying seconds of the first, before scoring again early in the second period to jump out to a quick four goal advantage.

Alberta would find their first goal of the game just a couple minutes after giving up the fourth goal, as Brock Souch tallied a powerplay goal to make it 4-1. Before the second period ended, Alberta struck again, as Gavin Garland put one on the board to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Alberta would add a powerplay goal in the third period after Saskatchewan took a double minor penalty, making it a one goal game. Later, Zane Saab scored his third goal of the tournament in his second game. He scored a shorthanded beauty, eventually sending the game to three on three overtime.

It did not take long in the extra session, as Marek Howell of the Calgary U18 Royals capped off the comeback for Team Alberta.

Saskatchewan drops to 0-1-1 in the tournament, and will take on Team Manitoba in their final round robin game of the tournament on Friday. Meanwhile, Team Alberta improves to 2-0, and will face Team B.C, who also remains undefeated, on Friday as well.