John MacNeil
Daily Herald
Five-plus months after the Prince Albert Raiders swept the Saskatoon Blades out of the Western Hockey League playoffs, the Blades have turned the tables on the Raiders early in the new season.
Including a 5-2 victory in their home-opener Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, the Blades won both ends of a home-and-home weekend series between the archrivals.
A combined 10,198 fans watched the two games, including Saskatoon’s 3-2 win Friday at Prince Albert. The turnouts — 7,379 in Saskatoon and 2,819 in Prince Albert — added more tangible evidence of the interest and intrigue attached to Blades-Raiders clashes, even when they face off in September.
Saturday’s game got off to a rousing start, as the Raiders’ Jonah Sivertson and the Blades’ towering Hunter Laing dropped the gloves — picking up from the animosity at the end of Friday’s game — but that Saturday rematch didn’t prove to be much of a fight.
Prince Albert opened the scoring just 1:49 into the game as Riley Boychuk finished off a two-on-one and made no mistake on Owen Corkish’s rebound to beat Saskatoon goaltender Martin Psohlavec, a standout on both nights.
Soon after Boychuk’s goal, Ben Harvey almost put the Raiders up 2-0 as he chipped a shot off the crossbar.
The Blades went on to score the next four goals before Raiders forward Connor Howe’s power-play marker with 5:10 remaining closed the gap to 4-2. Saskatoon’s Kazden Mathies added an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left, while his Blades were shorthanded.
With two more goals Saturday, six-foot-six, 210-pound Blades’ forward Laing continued to post big numbers in the early going. He has five goals and nine points after four games.
In similar fashion, David Lewandowski collected a goal and an assist for the second straight game since returning from his pre-season stint with the Edmonton Oilers just in time for Friday’s game in Prince Albert.
Hayden Harsayni, who was foiled on multiple scoring chances Friday, cashed in Saturday to pull the Blades even early in the second period. Cooper Williams added a pair of assists, giving the Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect seven points after four games. Williams was also a difference-maker in the faceoff circle.
Both goaltenders — the Blades’ Psohlavec and the Raiders’ Michal Orsulak — each made 24 saves.
Prince Albert played both weekend games without head coach Ryan McDonald behind the bench. He wasn’t available because of personal reasons, the team announced Friday.
One of the Raiders’ three 20-year-old players was Jordan Murray, a defenceman added last week from the BCHL’s Okotoks Oilers. In each of his first two WHL games, Murray assisted on a power-play goal from Howe.
Maddix McCagherty also dressed for both weekend games as part of Prince Albert’s overage complement. Carsyn Dyck, who sat out Friday, stepped into the lineup Saturday while Evan Smith was the 20-year-old on the sidelines.
The Raiders’ other scratches Saturday were defencemen Kade Corbet and Darius Hordal and forward Malaki Martin.
Most notably for the Blades, they were missing a couple of 19-year-old defencemen, Jordan Martin and Isaac Poll, because of injuries.
After opening the season with a home-ice victory over the Regina Pats, the Raiders have lost three straight games, including a road defeat against the Swift Current Broncos. The Blades improved to 2-1-1 as they collected their first two wins of the 2026-27 campaign.
Both the Raiders and Blades face the Red Deer Rebels this week. The Rebels (2-1-1) visit Prince Albert on Wednesday and Saskatoon on Friday. The Raiders hit the road this weekend to play the Lethbridge Hurricanes (0-3) on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers (3-1) on Saturday.
For Wednesday’s game in Prince Albert, the Raiders will wear customized orange jerseys to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The Indigenous representation on the Raiders’ roster includes Boychuk, Dyck, Hubert Clarke and Athens Shingoose.
Keeping track
Cash Lanigan, an 18-year-old forward who began this season with Prince Albert, has signed with the Spruce Grove Saints of the BCHL. Lanigan, who is from Regina, played his first two games with Spruce Grove on the weekend.
The Raiders had announced a week ago that Lanigan would be returning to the SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers, with whom he scored 19 goals and 48 points in 55 games last season.
Prince Albert goaltending prospect Chase Kettles won his SJHL debut Saturday as the Battlefords North Stars defeated the Humboldt Broncos 5-4 in overtime. The 2009-born Kettles, who is from Headingley, Man., made 23 saves.
The Raiders’ final goalie cut, 19-year-old Brady Holtvogt, has resurfaced in the SJHL with Humboldt, the Broncos revealed Monday. The former Prince Albert Minto has played junior A with Humboldt for the past two years.
“To add one of the best goaltenders in the league is a huge boost to the club,” Broncos coach/GM Brayden Klimosko said in a news release. “Any championship team needs a goalie that can steal games, and we have that in Brady. Super pumped that he’s coming back this season.”
Saskatoon announced a roster move Monday as the Blades returned 16-year-old goaltender Max Hartel to his Alberta Elite Hockey League team, the U18 AAA Calgary Buffaloes.
