When the members of Saskatchewan’s under 16 men’s hockey program met up in Regina two weeks ago, their first activity was to stand up in a team meeting and introduce themselves to their teammates.

The get to know you process proved to be a key in getting off to a good start ahead of the Canada Winter Games, as the program came away with a fourth place finish in Red Deer last weekend.

“We came a long way from that first meeting,” Prince Albert Mintos forward Gabe Klassen said.

“It felt like we really clicked from the first time we went out on the ice. We had played against each other a lot over the years, but once we started played as a team everything started to click.”

Klassen was one of four Prince Albert players on the team, which included Mintos teammates Marek Schneider, Logan Cox and Ashton Ferster.

“It was great to be playing together and it was also great to be playing with guys that we’ve faced in our careers, as it seemed like we all knew what skills we brought to the table,” Schneider said.

Saskatchewan also featured signed Prince Albert Raiders defensive prospect Nolan Allan of Davidson and drafted forward Logan Linklater of Kindersley.

“I think the biggest highlight for me was getting to face the Eastern provinces and going up against the top players in Canada that are in our age group,” Allan said.

“The pace was pretty much balls out from the first game with every team and I think having that experience of being in the WHL helps a lot. You are going up against bigger, stronger and faster players and it really gets you ready for what’s next.”

Although Saskatchewan’s week ended with a tough 12-0 loss to Alberta in the bronze medal game, it was still a strong tournament for the program as they were one win away from winning the province’s first medal in the men’s hockey event since 1995.

“Even though the result didn’t go our way in the bronze medal game, I think we still brought the effort right until the very end,” Klassen said. “We all played really well during the week and I think we turned a lot of heads.”

“We beat the hosts from Alberta in our first round-robin game and I think that was a real eye-opener to the rest of the field and ourselves as to how good we could be,” Schneider added.  “Every team wants to come away with a medal and the level of play picks up three or four notches as the tournament goes along. It was pretty crazy.”

Allan had four goals and two assists during the week, while Linklater lit the lamp four times.

Klassen had four points at the tournament, while Ferster and Cox had three or two points respectively.

Schneider, who was an assistant captain on the team with Allan, was held off of the scoresheet.

Forward Tyson Laventure, who was a second round pick by the Raiders in 2018, earned a bronze medal with Alberta and had six points at the tournament.

Raiders defensive draft pick Tayem Gisalson had a pair of assists for Manitoba, who finished the tournament in fifth place.

A bronze medal result in a team’s first trip to the Scotties is something that many curlers can’t say they have accomplished.

For Prince Albert’s Kara Thevenot, she was able to do that this week in Sydney, N.S. as the lead for Robyn Silvernagle’s rink out of North Battleford as they reached the podium for Saskatchewan at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“Obviously it’s a little bit different from the provincials and the Grand Slam of Curling events, but we just treated like one of those bonspiels that we have been to,” Thevenot said. “We all have our routines that we feel comfortable with and we all just focused on each game.

“It was great to be curling with three of my best friends and it was great to have a whole bunch of our family and friends there in Nova Scotia. You have to embrace going to an event like that, because you never know when you’ll have the chance to go there again.”

The rink, which also includes multi-time provincial champion Stefanie Lawton at third and Jessie Hunkin at second, finished in second place in a highly competitive round-robin with an 8-3 record.

“There were a lot of games during the week that we felt like we were in control out there, but with the five rock rule this year you have to be play well until the very end as the other teams have a chance to come back and win,” Thevenot said.

“The game that stands out the most to me was our last round-robin game on Friday against (Ontario’s Rachel) Homan. We were in control of our own destiny and we played a great game. We forced them into a couple of mistakes and we got ourselves into the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game.”

Although the Silvernagle rink would lose that contest to eventual champion Chelsea Carey of Alberta and fell to Homan in the semifinal, they were able to claw their way back after giving up big ends to their opponents in both games.

“That’s something we’ve really become better at over the last year and a lot of that comes from the work we’ve done with our sports psychologist,” Thevenot said.

“It really came down to a shot here and a shot there in both games and we just kept the pressure on both of those teams as it wasn’t over till it’s over. Obviously, we would have loved to be in the final on Sunday, but if someone told us before we left that we would finish in third place at the Scotties, we would have been really happy.”

One of the biggest highlights of the week for Thevenot was seeing the amount of support the rink got from all over Canada.

“Most of our families had to leave on Friday as that was all the time they had booked off, but we looked up in the stands during the playoffs and we saw a bunch of people that we didn’t recognize waving the Saskatchewan flag,” Thevenot said. “It turned out they were from Sydney and they hopped on board to support us.

“Obviously the support from my friends and family in Prince Albert and my hometown of Birch Hills was fantastic, but it really sunk in with how much support we got from the province when we found there were people at hockey games in Tisdale and Nipawin that would rush out to the lobby in the intermission to watch our game.

“The chance to wear the green jacket is something that we’ve all dreamed about since we were little kids, and it’s a feeling that’s hard to explain when you get that opportunity.”

Thanks to their performance at the Scotties and on the World Curling Tour this season, the Silvernagle rink have been invited to take part in the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling’s final two events later this year.

They will travel to Toronto for the Players’ Championship on April 9-14 and will compete in the Humpty’s Champions Cup in Saskatoon from April 23-28.

“We’ve worked our way up to being among the top level teams in the country this year and we’re looking to stay there,” Thevenot said. “If we have good showings at those two Slams, it gives us a chance to take part in other big events like the Canada Cup next year.

“There’s been a lot of hard work to get into tournaments like this and it gets a little easier to go to more of the Slams thanks to the success that we’ve had this season. It’s been a great year for our team.”

Friday’s game between the Kootenay Ice and Prince Albert Raiders was one that Curtis Meger and Ian Scott were looking forward to.

The encounter between the two sides at the Art Hauser Centre marked a chance for the former teammates to square off against one another, as Meger went between the pipes for the Ice and Scott was the starting netminder for the Raiders.

“It was super weird being in the other dressing room and being on the visiting bench,” Meger said. “With that said, the evening was everything that I expected to be and more.

“Obviously it’s a bit different when you look over and see him wearing a jersey other than ours,” Scott added. “We were both pretty excited about the chance to play against one another and it was a great game.”

Although Scott would have the upper hand as he stopped all 21 shots he faced in a 4-0 Raiders victory, Meger’s play helped to keep the Ice in the game.

The 20-year-old Regina product made 26 saves during the contest and was able to stymie former teammate Parker Kelly on multiple occasions.

“He came by and gave me a tap after I made the blocker save on the two-on-one rush they had in the second period,” Meger said. “He probably should have scored on me just before that on a shot that went high on my glove side, so I guess I had a little bit of puck karma going my way.

“It was a lot of fun to play against those guys and the atmosphere here made it a great night. I also got to hear my name being chanted by the fans in the second period, so that was pretty cool.”

After being the odd man out in the battle for the three overage spots on the Raiders roster, Meger began the season with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Lloydminster Bobcats.

He posted a 4-13-0 record with the team and had a 4.19 goals against average with a .887 save percentage before getting the chance to join the Ice in early January.

“There wasn’t really a lot of options in the WHL after I got cut here, so I took an opportunity to play in Lloydminster and I felt like I did pretty well there, despite our team having a bit of a tough season,” Meger said.

“Kootenay took notice of me and everything came together pretty quickly. They called me on Jan. 7 and I spent the night thinking things over before I made the drive to Cranbrook the following day.”

Meger has made eight appearances for the Ice and has a 1-6-0 record with a 4.52 goals against average and a .865 save percentage.

It’s been an interesting situation that Meger has found himself in for his final stop in his junior hockey career, as the Ice will be moving to Winnipeg at the end of the season. 

“We’ve really just taken things with a day-by-day approach and have tried to get better in every practice and every game,” Meger said.

“Even with everything that’s gone on, we’ve all come in to work and focused on what we need to do. The playoffs aren’t in the cards for us this year, but we’re all doing what we can to get the team in a better spot ahead of next season.”

While he mulls over a few U Sports options for the 2019-20 campaign, Meger will be making a few trips to the Art Hauser Centre during the playoffs as he watches his friends and former teammates battle it out for a WHL title.

“Being a Raider and being able to learn from guys like Ian and Rylan Parenteau was huge for my career,” Meger said.

“It’s an awesome organization and I’m really excited to see how they do in the playoffs.”

Sunday’s regular season finale was a bit of an interesting one for the Prince Albert Mintos.

Although they dropped a 5-2 decision at the Art Hauser Centre to the Saskatoon Blazers, it did give the team an opportunity to scout out the team that they will be facing in the quarter-final round of the 2019 Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs.

Sunday’s regular season finale was a bit of an interesting one for the Prince Albert Mintos.

Although they dropped a 5-2 decision at the Art Hauser Centre to the Saskatoon Blazers, it did give the team an opportunity to scout out the team that they will be facing in the quarter-final round of the 2019 Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs.

“I think it’s a bit of a good thing and a bad thing to be in a situation like that,” Mintos forward Gabe Klassen said.

“You get to see what they are all about and get a little bit of an idea of what their systems are like, but you can sometimes ramp things up a bit too much depending on what goes on our there before the playoffs get underway.”

The quarter-final series will get underway on Sunday at the Rod Hamm Memorial Arena at 5:15 p.m.

The Mintos will host the second game at the Art Hauser Centre on Wednesday, March 6, with the third contest set for 7:45 p.m. in Saskatoon on Friday, March 9.

If needed, a fourth game would take place at the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday, March 9 at 7 p.m., while the fifth and final contest would be held at the Rod Hamm Memorial Arena on Sunday, March 10.

“There’s going to be a lot of focus on our systems at practice this week to get ready for this series,” Mintos defenceman Marek Schneider said.

“We’re going to be taking on a really tough team in the first round and we’ll need to be prepared for that challenge.”

While the Mintos already knew that they would enter the playoffs as the sixth seed with a 23-19-2-0 record, they didn’t know their quarter-final opponent until late Sunday afternoon.

The Blazers officially ended up as the third seed when the Regina Pat Canadians won a wild 7-6 affair over the Swift Current Legionnaires.

The Pat Canadians are currently one point back of the Tisdale Trojans for the top spot in the standings ahead of their season finale in Regina against the Blazers on Wednesday night.

Klassen led the way for the Mintos with a pair of goals in Sunday’s contest, which marked his first game back with the team after he was playing for Saskatchewan at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer last week.

“I think all of us played pretty well given the circumstances,” said Klassen, who was joined on the team by Mintos teammates Logan Cox, Ashton Ferster and Schneider.

“Obviously we didn’t get the start we wanted as they scored in the first minute, but I thought we bounced back and played pretty well. We just need to make sure that we have those full 60-minute efforts in the playoffs.”

Chase Bertholet had a pair of assists for the Mintos, who received a 24-save performance from Carter Woodside.

Josh Nagy has three assists to pace the Blazers’ on offence, while Matthew Pesenti made 30 stops.

Alec Saretzky, Rhett Gibson and Carter Stebbings all found the back of net for the visitors, along with Prince Albert Raiders prospects Nolan Allan and Cole Nagy.

“It’s nice to have a game against the Mintos at this part of the season, especially since we’ll see them here in the playoffs,” Allan said.

“We’ve been battling hard in our practices here lately and we’ve been taking that over into our games over the last month. We’re pretty amped up about what’s ahead.”

The long wait is nearly over for Kate Ball, Miranda Heidt, Jadyn Kushniruk and Abby Soyko.

On Sunday in Red Deer, the Prince Albert Northern Bears teammates will take to the ice as members of Team Saskatchewan as they take part in the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

“We’ve known that this opportunity was coming for about a year so this was something that we all had as a goal for this season,” Heidt said.

“It’s obviously going to be a once in a lifetime experience and we’re all looking forward to it.”

Heidt, Ball and Kushniruk are all representing Saskatoon at the event while Soyko is the lone Prince Albert product on the roster.

A former member of the team will also be in Red Deer.

Warman’s Jayda Sachs, who played for the program from 2014-16, is now a member of the Saskatoon Stars.

“A lot of has played together before on provincial teams and we all have chemistry from our time here in the Midget AAA league,” said Soyko, who is the lone Prince Albert product on the roster. “We all know what we were capable of and all of us are accepting of the roles that we are being asked to play on this team.”

“It’s nice knowing that you have girls with you that have your back and it should be a comfortable feeling when we go to a different environment,” Heidt added.

Following a training camp in Regina this week, Saskatchewan will open up Pool A play on Sunday against Manitoba.

They will then take on New Brunswick on Monday before a Tuesday matchup with Quebec to conclude their round-robin schedule.

“Our team has a lot of speed and a lot of skill,” Heidt said.

“I think if we use those elements of our game correctly, and put in the hard work, we will be rewarded with a good result.”

The playoff round will get underway on Thursday, with the gold medal game taking place on Saturday afternoon.

A new banner will soon be hanging in the rafters at the Art Hauser Centre.

For the first time since 1999, the Prince Albert Raiders have captured the Western Hockey League’s East Division regular season title as they clinched home ice advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs following a dominant 7-1 performance Saturday against the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings.

“We’re obviously happy about it but we still have bigger fish to fry,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.

“I’m proud of the guys and the season they’ve had so far. To get a banner is great, but we have much bigger plans.”

Saturday’s showing was also a big statement from the Raiders as they stopped a Wheat Kings side that had beat them twice last weekend and was riding a six-game winning streak.

“We were all looking forward to this one,” Habscheid said. “They were trying to take some liberties, they were running around at us and they were taunting us a bit after they got those two wins, so the guys were pretty excited to face them again.

“That was probably as dominant of a performance as we’ve had all year, which is good to see as we continue to get in that playoff mindset.”

As they did on Monday against the Moose Jaw Warriors, the line of Cole Fonstad, Noah Gregor and Ozzy Wiesblatt proved too much for the opposition to handle.

Fonstad led the charge with a goal and three assists, while Gregor scored twice and dished out a helper to move into a tie with Brett Leason for the team scoring lead with 81 points.

Wiesblatt had a goal and two assists for the Raiders, as they won their third straight game and improved to 49-8-1-2 on the season.

“We had a lot of fun out there tonight,” Fonstad said. “Noah and Ozzy are both highly skilled players and we’ve had some good chemistry together all season when we’ve played together.

“We were all focussed on the little details tonight and that’s going to be what we need to do in the playoffs. You have to make the smart plays if you want to succeed.”

Dante Hannoun had a pair of assists for the hosts, who took the season series over the Wheat Kings by a 4-2 margin and also got goals from Jakob Brook, Sean Montgomery and Parker Kelly.

Ian Scott turned aside 15 shots in the contest, with his only blemish coming in the first period as Vinny Iorio put home a point shot for his first career WHL goal.

Jiri Patera got the start for the 29-23-3-4 Wheat Kings, but he was pulled just past the midway part of the second period after allowing five goals on 30 shots.

Ethan Kruger finished out the game and made 16 saves over the final 28 minutes.

The Raiders will continue their five-game homestand Wednesday when the Lethbridge Hurricanes come to town for a 7 p.m. matchup

That will be followed up by a Friday night affair with the Red Deer Rebels before a Saturday road contest with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“It’s good for us to be playing teams like that to get us in that playoff mindset,” Raiders captain Brayden Pachal said. “You can’t just flip the switch once the first round gets underway.

“I’m sure we’ll have some more fans coming into the rink here before the post-season and that’s going to get our legs going for sure.”

Post-Game Notes

This marks the fourth time the Raiders have won the East Division since entering the WHL in 1982, as they previously accomplished that feat in the 1984-85, 1991-92 and 1998-99 campaigns.

The 1999 playoffs marked the only time that the team didn’t have home ice advantage for the first three rounds of the post-season, as the Calgary Hitmen had a 15-point advantage over the Raiders in the Eastern Conference.

When it comes to clinching home ice advantage through the entire playoffs, which the Raiders have only accomplished during their 1985 run to the Memorial Cup, the team just needs to earn four points over the final eight regular season games to hold off any charges from the Everett Silvertips or the Vancouver Giants.

Despite their setback to the Raiders, the Wheat Kings still have a four-point lead in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as the Red Deer Rebels dropped their fourth game in a row Saturday.

It was a rough night in more ways than one for the Wheat Kings as they lost the services of three forwards during the game.

Lynden McCallum left the contest after a hit in the second period, an already banged-up Stelio Mattheos did not return after a fight with Brayden Pachal late in the middle frame and Marcus Sekundiak was out of action after he was on the receiving end of a hard hit by Parker Kelly with a few minutes to go in regulation.

Mattheos and Luka Burzan saw their seven-game point streaks end Saturday, while Cole Reinhardt and Zach Wytinck both had five-game runs come to an end.

Max Martin was the lone scratch for the Raiders, who reassigned goaltender Brett Balas to the Calgary Canucks and forward Cole Nagy to the Saskatoon Blazers earlier in the day.

Defenceman Jonny Lambos and forward Linden McCorrister did not dress for the Wheat Kings.

Saturday’s Scores

• Moose Jaw 5 Regina 2 (Tristin Langan – Two Goals and One Assist)
• Saskatoon 4 Kootenay 3 (Kyle Crnkovic Shootout Winner – Brad Ginnell – One Goal and Two Assists – Saskatoon Clinches First Playoff Berth Since 2013)
• Calgary 6 Swift Current 1 (Carson Focht – Four Assists)
• Edmonton 5 Red Deer 2 (Vladimir Alistrov – One Goal and One Assist)
• Portland 4 Seattle 3 (Seth Jarvis Shootout Winner – Shane Farkas – 22 Saves In a Relief Role)
• Lethbridge 5 Medicine Hat 0 (Calen Addison – Two Goals and One Assist – Carl Tetachuk – 35 Saves – First Career Shutout)
• Kelowna 2 Kamloops 0 (Roman Basran – 18 Saves – Second Shutout This Season and Third Career)
• Spokane 2 Tri-City 1 (Reece Klassen – 24 Saves)
• Victoria 5 Vancouver 4 (Phillip Schultz Shootout Winner – Griffen Outhouse – 38 Saves – Vancouver Clinches First B.C. Division Title Since 2010)
• Everett 6 Prince George 3 (Gianni Fairbrother – Three Assists)

Sunday’s Schedule

• Kootenay vs. Moose Jaw – 4 p.m.
• Vancouver vs. Victoria – 5 p.m.

Even though they hadn’t played in two weeks due to lower body injuries, Brett Leason and Ian Scott didn’t miss a beat as they stepped back out on the ice Friday.

In their first appearances in a Prince Albert Raiders uniform since a road game against the Calgary Hitmen on Friday, Feb. 8, Leason had three assists and Scott stopped all 21 shots he faced as their team shutout the Kootenay Ice in a 4-0 affair at the Art Hauser Centre.

“It sucks when you are up in the stands and watching the guys play so it was great to be on the ice once again,” Scott said.

“I’ve really missed being out there with the team so it was a good feeling to play a role in helping us get the win tonight,” Leason added.

Leason’s playmaking abilities were on full display Friday as he set up a pair of goals for linemate Sean Montgomery and also dished out a helper on a first period snipe by captain Brayden Pachal.

“Our line (which includes Aliaksei Protas) was really feeling it out there tonight and I think this game was a good example of what we can do when we are all clicking,” Leason said.

“There was a physical aspect of our game that everyone brought tonight,
which is going to be a key part of how we play here as we get closer to the
playoffs.”

Scott’s shutout performance was his fifth of the season and also marked the
fourth time that he had held the Ice off of the scoresheet in his WHL career.

“I have no idea what the secret is against them,” Scott joked.

“We did a really good job of shutting down their offence and we didn’t
give them a lot of chances. It felt good to have a game like that as we’re all
trying to get into the right mindset before the post-season gets
underway.”

Rookie Ozzy Wiesblatt rounded out the scoring for the 48-8-1-2 Raiders, who have won two straight games.

The 11-37-7-2 Ice, who are on a seven-game losing skid ahead of a trip to Saskatoon Saturday, received an excellent performance from overage netminder Curtis Meger as the former Raider turned aside 26 shots.

“He had (Parker) Kelly’s number a few times tonight,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.

“Curtis helped us quite a lot when he was here and he’s a quality person, so it was nice to see him have a good game.”

The Raiders will look to keep up their winning ways against the Brandon Wheat Kings in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Art Hauser Centre Saturday.

They will then take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes Wednesday and the Red Deer Rebels next Friday night.

“We talked a lot about playoff hockey this morning and getting into that mentality,” Habscheid said. “The advantage that we had last year was the fact that we had been playing playoff hockey for about a month before our series with Moose Jaw, which is obviously not the case this year.

“We went over how we need to play in these last 10 games and I thought we did a good job of playing that playoff style of hockey tonight.”

Post-Game Notes

Marc Habscheid became the eight head coach in WHL history to reach the 1,000 game mark when he stood behind the bench for the Raiders Friday.

The other members of that club are as follows:

• Ken Hodge – 1,411
• Don Hay – 1,364
• Don Nachbaur – 1,333
• Mike Williamson – 1,176
• Lorne Molleken – 1,136
• Ernie McLean – 1,067
• Peter Anholt – 1,019

Friday’s victory for the Raiders was their sixth straight over the Ice and it also marked their eight consecutive win over the team at the Art Hauser Centre.

The Raiders also swept the season series over the Ice for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

This marked the final time that the two teams will face each other in their current iterations, as the Ice franchise will be leaving Cranbrook, B.C. at the end of the year and will be based out of Winnipeg next season.

Raiders forward Dante Hannoun was held off of the scoresheet Friday, which brought an end to his eight game point streak.

Forward Cole Nagy, goaltender Brett Balas and blueliner Max Martin did not dress for the home side, while the Ice scratched netminder Duncan McGovern, defencemen Marco Creta and Jordan Chudley, plus forwards River Fahey and Holden Kodak.

Canada Winter Games Update

Prince Albert Raiders prospect Tyson Laventure picked up a bronze medal with Team Alberta on Friday in Red Deer as they cruised to a 12-0 romp over Saskatchewan in the Canada Winter Games men’s hockey event.

Laventure had a goal and an assist for Alberta, who were led by a natural hat trick performance in the first period by underage forward Matthew Savoie, who is expected to be the first overall pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.

A second round pick by the Raiders last May, Laventure had five goals and an assist for Alberta during the tournament.

The Saskatchewan team featured Raiders defensive prospect Nolan Allan and draft pick Logan Linklater, along with Gabe Klassen, Marek Schneider, Logan Cox and Ashton Ferster of the Prince Albert Mintos.

Allan, the third overall pick in the 2018 WHL Draft, had four goals and two assists during the week, while Linklater lit the lamp four times.

Klassen had four points at the tournament, while Ferster and Cox had three and two points respectively.

Schneider was held off of the scoresheet.

Zachary L’Herueux was the hero in overtime for Quebec as they took home the gold medal with a 4-3 win over Ontario.

Friday’s Scores

• Regina 5 Calgary 4 (Logan Nijhoff Overtime Winner – Mark Kastelic – One Goal and Two Assists)
• Moose Jaw 4 Swift Current 2 (Justin Almeida – One Goal and Two Assists)
• Brandon 6 Saskatoon 2 (Luka Burzan – One Goal and One Assist)
• Edmonton 2 Red Deer 1 (Dylan Myskiw – 29 Saves)
• Lethbridge 6 Medicine Hat 3 (Nick Henry – Three Assists)
• Prince George 2 Kamloops 1 (Vladislav Mikhalchuk Shootout Winner – Taylor Gauthier – 41 Saves)
• Kelowna 4 Spokane 3 (Nolan Foote Shootout Winner – Leif Mattson – One Goal and One Assist)
• Tri-City 4 Portland 2 (Beck Warm – 33 Saves)
• Vancouver 4 Victoria 0 (David Tendeck – 26 Saves – Fourth Shutout This Season and Seventh Career)
• Seattle 3 Everett 2 (Jarret Tyszka Overtime Winner – Roddy Ross – 39 Saves)

Wednesday’s Scores

• Brandon 5 Calgary 1 (Stelio Mattheos – Two Goals and Two Assists)
• Regina 5 Kootenay 4 (Garrett Wright Shootout Winner – Brady Pouteau – One Goal and One Assist)

Tuesday’s Scores

• Everett 4 Prince George 1 (Reece Vitelli – Two Goals)
• Tri-City 6 Red Deer 3 (Kyle Olson – One Goal and Two Assists)
• Victoria 6 Kelowna 2 (Kaid Oliver – Two Goals and Two Assists)

Pre-Game Notes

Saturday’s meeting in Prince Albert is the final one of the regular season between the two sides, which see the Raiders currently holding a 3-2 advantage.

The 29-22-3-4 Wheat Kings, who swept a home-and-home series with the Raiders last weekend, are the hottest team in the WHL at the moment as they’ve won their last six games.

Following a 6-2 victory at home over the Saskatoon Blades on Friday, the Wheat Kings hold a two-point advantage over the Red Deer Rebels in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Forwards Luka Burzan and Stelio Mattheos have played key roles in the team’s recent run of form as they are both on seven game point streaks, while forward Cole Reinhardt and blueliner Zach Wytinck have recorded points in five straight games.

Prince Albert’s Braden Schneider is second among Brandon blueliners in scoring this year with 21 points in 48 games.

Saturday’s Schedule

• Regina vs. Moose Jaw – 2:30 p.m. (Airing Nationally on Sportsnet)
• Brandon vs. Prince Albert – 7 p.m.
• Kootenay vs. Saskatoon – 7 p.m.
• Calgary vs. Swift Current – 7 p.m.
• Edmonton vs. Red Deer – 8 p.m.
• Portland vs. Seattle – 8 p.m.
• Lethbridge vs. Medicine Hat – 8:30 p.m.
• Kamloops vs. Kelowna – 9 p.m.
• Tri-City vs. Spokane – 9 p.m.
• Vancouver vs. Victoria – 9 p.m.
• Prince George vs. Everett – 9 p.m.

The Prince Albert Mintos will be the sixth seed when the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs begin next week.

However, as they head into their regular season finale at the Art Hauser Centre against the Saskatoon Blazers on Sunday at 1:30 p.m., the Mintos opponent for their best-of-five quarterfinal series remains a mystery.

Heading into this weekend’s slate of games, the Regina Pat Canadians and Tisdale Trojans are tied for first place in the 12-team loop with 66 points, while the Blazers sit four points back.

The Pat Canadians and Trojans have a pair of contests left on their slate and the Blazers have three games remaining.

The Mintos, who have a 23-18-2-0 record going into this weekend, officially clinched sixth in the standings on Wednesday night after the Beardy’s Blackhawks dropped an 8-2 decision to the Moose Jaw Generals in their regular season finale.

The Saskatoon Contacts also had a chance to overtake those two sides but ended up finishing in eighth spot after a 3-2 loss to the Battlefords Stars Tuesday.

The only matchup that’s set in stone will be between the Notre Dame Hounds and the Swift Current Legionnaires, but both teams are currently tied for fourth place heading into this weekend.

Sunday’s matchup with the Blazers will give the Mintos a chance to enter the playoffs on a winning note.

They picked up a 3-2 road triumph over the Yorkton Maulers last Saturday afternoon but were shutout 6-0 by the Pat Canadians in Regina a day later.

“Even though we were missing a few guys with the Canada Winter Games, we were able to get some more ice time to some other players and I think that will help us a lot moving forward,” Mintos head coach Ken Morrison said.

“We played well at times during our five-game road trip, but we didn’t have a full 60-minute effort in some of those games.”

Andrew Schaab had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s win in Yorkton, which also saw Turner McMillen and Ethan Ironside find the back of the net and Spencer Welke make 20 saves.

Jayden Harris had a goal and an assist for the Maulers, who will finish the season at the bottom of the 12-team loop.

Carter Belitski scored three times for the Pat Canadians on Sunday, while Parker Hendres and Adam Kydd had three-assist showings.

Max Kotyk, Braden Birnie and Luc Marleau also scored for the hosts, who received a 17-save performance from Jared Thompson.

After being reassigned by the Regina Pats, Carter Woodside was back in goal for the Mintos and stopped 25 shots.

As they gear up for Sunday’s finale, it’s not yet clear if Gabe Klassen, Marek Schneider, Ashton Ferster and Logan Cox will be back in the lineup for the Mintos as they take on the Blazers.

The quartet were going for a bronze medal at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer Friday evening as Saskatchewan went up against Alberta.

In other news, Mintos forward Chase Bertholet signed a standard player agreement with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice earlier this week.

Bertholet, who was a fifth round pick by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft but had his rights dealt to the Ice in December in a trade that saw the Rebels land forwards Brett Davis and Cameron Hausinger, is third in team scoring this season with 42 points in 42 games.

“Chase has improved a lot since the season started and he’s become one of our most consistent players,” Morrison said.

“He knows that he has to get a little bit stronger and I’m sure you’ll seem working on that during the off-season.”

Heading into the start of this season, Cole Nagy had no idea what his hockey future was as he prepared for his final year in the midget ranks with the Saskatoon Blazers.

The 17-year-old forward from Saskatoon would get an answer to that question in January, as the Prince Albert Raiders signed Nagy to a standard player agreement.

“To be able to know where I could be potentially playing in the future after not knowing what was in store for me when the season started was a great feeling,” Nagy said. “Hopefully I can start playing with the Raiders at the start of next year.”

Nagy, who stands 6’4” and weighs 195 pounds, made his Western Hockey League debut for the Raiders last Wednesday in Swift Current against the Broncos.

He would then suit up at the Art Hauser Centre on Monday to take on the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“It’s a lot different out there but it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve really enjoyed it,” Nagy said. “The speed of the game is probably the biggest difference here compared to midget hockey. Everyone’s moving out there and there’s not as much stick handling.

“I felt like I played better in my second game. I was more aggressive out there and I was harder on the puck.”

A sixth round pick of the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft and a second round selection by the Nipawin Hawks in the 2016 SJHL Bantam Draft, Nagy made the jump up to the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League last season with the Blazers.

After putting up 15 points in 37 games in his freshman campaign, Nagy increased his production this year with 25 goals and 38 assists in 40 games.

He is currently second in the league scoring race behind 15-year-old Medicine Hat Tigers prospect Cole Sillinger, who has 69 points in 37 games

“I’ve been able to get more of a role this year compared to last season and it’s been a pretty fun year so far,” Nagy said.

Heading into a home game with the Pat Canadians on Thursday, the Blazers had a 29-9-2-0 record to sit in third place in the SMAAAHL standings as they trailed the Pat Canadians and Tisdale Trojans by six points in the race for the top seed in the post-season.

“We’ve all come together as a team this year,” Nagy said. “No one’s playing as individuals out there.”

With two games of WHL experience under his belt thus far, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid hopes that Nagy can build on that as he prepares to make a full-time leap to major junior hockey next fall.

“Cole’s a big guy and he’s a smart player out there,” Habscheid said after Monday’s game. “It’s good for a guy like that to get a chance to play in the league as it really gets you ready for the upcoming season.”

The 47-8-1-2 Raiders, who remain second in the Canadian Hockey League’s Top 10 rankings behind the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, are at the Art Hauser Centre this weekend for a pair of games.

They will welcome the Kootenay Ice to town Friday and will battle it out with the Brandon Wheat Kings for the third time in a nine-day span Saturday.

Both games will get underway at 7 p.m.

Pre-Game Notes

In addition to being the 1,000th time that Marc Habscheid has stepped behind a WHL bench, Friday’s matchup marks the final time that Kootenay will visit Prince Albert as the Ice will be moving from Cranbrook, B.C. to Winnipeg following this season.

Parker Kelly is the Raiders’ all-time leading scorer in head-to-head matchups with the Ice, as his 16 points has him one ahead of Simon Stransky and two markers in front of Reid Gardiner, Milan Kraft and Mark McNeill.

Sam Reinhart’s 22 points is the most by an Ice player against the Raiders, with his brother Max close behind him with 21 markers.

After a 5-4 shootout loss to the Regina Pats Wednesday, the 11-37-7-2 Ice have lost six straight games and will be missing out on the WHL playoffs for the fourth consecutive campaign.

Former Raiders netminder Curtis Meger joined the Ice in January after starting the season with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Lloydminster Bobcats.

The 20-year-old from Regina has a 1-4-0 record with a 4.52 goals against average and a .868 save percentage.

On the health front, Raiders goaltender Ian Scott, defenceman Max Martin and forward Brett Leason are all listed as day-to-day heading into this weekend.

After a pair of losses to the Brandon Wheat Kings, the Prince Albert Raiders made sure that they wouldn’t finish the Family Day weekend on a losing note.

In a rare Monday matinee affair at the Art Hauser Centre, the home side outshot the Moose Jaw Warriors by a 20-6 margin and scored three times in the opening frame on their way to a 4-3 victory.

“I liked the whole game from start to finish,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “We didn’t cheat the game in any way and it a was strong showing all the way through, except for the last couple of minutes when we took some penalties and we didn’t get a save there as they closed the gap.

“Our compete level was good, we were better with our structure and we were on the right side of pucks.”

The line of Cole Fonstad, Noah Gregor and Ozzy Wiesblatt dominated proceedings as the Warriors were unable to slow them down during the course of the game.

Gregor led the charge for the Raiders with two goals and two assists, while Wiesblatt banged home a rebound in the opening frame and Fonstad helped set up Gregor’s second period marker.

“Our line had some decent chances against Brandon and we tried to just built off of that today,” Gregor said. “We seemed to be finding each other right from the start and all of us were skating well, which I think was the key for us having a good night.

“This was the type of game that our team needed after those losses to Brandon. We all came out strong and it was a good bounce back game for us.”

Gregor also had an assist on Sean Montgomery’s power play goal in the first period as the San Jose Sharks prospect recorded his fifth four-point outing of the season.

“That was a good game for everybody to see about Noah and why he can be frustrating at times,” Habscheid said.

“When he’s indifferent to the game, you don’t notice him and he doesn’t help the team. Then you have nights like tonight where he’s the best player in the league by far. When he puts his mind to it, he can be a dominant player. He just needs to get a hold of doing that on a consistent basis.”

Boston Bilous made 23 saves for the Raiders and had a shutout bid going until Tristan Langan found the back of the net at the 8:31 mark of the third period.

The 31-16-6-2 Warriors almost tied things up late as Brayden Tracey scored twice in the final two minutes in a pair of six-on-four situations, but it proved to be too little too late.

Adam Evanoff made 17 saves in the opening period but was pulled after 20 minutes in favour of Brodan Salmond, who stopped 21 shots in the final two periods.

The 47-8-1-2 Raiders will continue their five-game home stand Friday at 7 p.m. as they will welcome the Kootenay Ice to the Art Hauser Centre for the final time.

The Ice will be leaving Cranbrook, B.C. at the end of the 2018-19 campaign and will play out of Winnipeg starting next season.

Post-Game Notes

Overage forward Dante Hannoun had an assist on Sean Montgomery’s power play goal in the first period as he extended his point streak to eight games.

That matches his longest run in the WHL, as he went on a pair of eight game streaks with the Victoria Royals last year and also reached that mark in 2016-17.

Brayden Tracey’s two third period markers put the Warriors rookie forward back in the lead among first year players in the league with 27, which puts him two goals ahead of Spokane Chiefs forward Adam Beckman.

Brett Leason and Ian Scott were out of action for the fifth straight game for the Raiders, while Max Martin did not dress Monday after he took a shot off the helmet in the late stages of Saturday’s matchup with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

As a result of the injuries, forward Cole Nagy was called up from the Saskatoon Blazers to suit up in his second WHL game after he made his debut on Wednesday in Swift Current.

Twin brothers Keenan and Kaeden Taphorn were among the scratches for the Warriors, along with forward Alec Zawatsky and defenceman Drae Gardiner.

Monday’s Scores

• Brandon 3 Swift Current 2 (Cole Reinhardt Overtime Winner – Isaac Poulter – 39 Saves)
• Edmonton 5 Medicine Hat 0 (Vladimir Alistrov – One Goal and Two Assists – Dylan Myskiw – 38 Saves – First Career Shutout)
• Lethbridge 5 Kootenay 2 (Calen Addison – Three Assists)
• Kamloops 3 Tri-City 1 (Connor Zary – Two Goals)
• Everett 4 Prince George 1 (Max Patterson – One Goal and One Assist)
• Kelowna 5 Victoria 2 (Kyle Topping – One Goal and One Assist)
• Portland 5 Vancouver 3 (Joachim Blichfeld – Three Goals and One Assist – Fourth Hat Trick This Season and Fifth Career – Cracked the 50-Goal and 100-Point Plateau)

Sunday’s Scores

• Portland 5 Seattle 2 (Joachim Blichfeld – Three Goals and One Assist – Third Hat Trick This Season and Fourth Career- Portland Clinches 10th Straight Playoff Berth)

Tuesday’s Schedule

• Everett vs. Prince George – 9 p.m.
• Red Deer vs. Tri-City – 9 p.m.
• Kelowna vs. Victoria – 9 p.m.

Wednesday’s Schedule

• Calgary vs. Brandon – 7 p.m.
• Kootenay vs. Regina – 7 p.m.