Keep it simple.
That was the message Prince Albert Raiders assistant coach Conor Yawney delivered to his charges as the Raiders left town for their seven-game western road trip on Tuesday.
The trip begins with a stop in Lethbridge on Wednesday to face the Hurricanes, followed by six more against the WHL’s U.S. Division. Yawney said the Raiders are looking forward to the challenge.
“We get to try out our brand of road hockey here for a couple of good stretches,” Yawney said on Monday. “Just be simple and effective. When we’re playing fast, playing simple, and playing north at our home games we’ve been effective. Now we’ve got to just do that and translate it over to another building.”
The Raiders are looking for a better showing this year compared to last season’s western road swing. In 2024, the Raiders went 1-4 during their trip through B.C., culminating with a 10-1 pasting at the hands of the Vancouver Giants in their last game before heading home.
Although the Raiders rebounded to win the East Division title, that road trip put the club in a deep hole early in the season. Yawney isn’t worried the Raiders will suffer a repeat performance this month.
“Last year, that was a tough road trip for a lot of teams,” he said. “A lot of teams went through the B.C. swing and didn’t come out without some bumps and bruises, points wise.
“There’s not really much of a change in message. It’s just we get to spend some more time together. We get in a swing here where we’re not playing two games, practicing for five, and playing for two. We get to have some back-to-backs and get into a rhythm. We’ll play our style and see what the result it.”
The Raiders open the U.S. portion of their trip on Friday against the Spokane Chiefs, then face the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Washington on Saturday.
The big test comes on Remembrance Day, when the Raiders face the Everett Silvertips. The Silvertips are the class of the WHL’s Western Conference and sport a 13-1-1 record. As of press time, Everett has a nine point lead on the Portland Winterhawks for top spot in the U.S. Division, and an eight point lead on the Victoria Royals and Penticton Vees for top spot in the conference.
When asked about facing Everitt, Yawney said they’re going to approach it like any other game.
“There’s really no bad teams in this league. How we play against Lethbridge to be successful, we’re going to have to do that against Everett to be successful as well. We’re not really so much worried about the other teams at this point in the season. Everyone more or less plays the same way systems wise…. If we have our A game against Lethbridge, we’ll hopefully get a good result, and if we have that same game against Everett, the result shouldn’t be much different.”
The Raiders close out their road trip with games against the Portland Winterhawks (Nov. 12), Seattle Thunderbirds (Nov. 14), and Wenatchee Wild (Nov. 15), who sit last in the U.S. Division with a 3-8-1-1 record.
Yawney is in his second season as a Raiders assistant coach, but he’s been calling the shots the past two games while head coach Ryan McDonald is away at the U17 Challenge, along with defenceman Brock Cripps and forward Ben Harvey.
Yawney said taking over the head coaching role has been a challenge, but he’s enjoyed it.
“It’s definitely been an eye-opening experience getting to actually do it first-hand,” he said. “Obviously you see it every day at the rink with (McDonald) at the helm, but when you’re the one that’s making the decisions you’ve got to be responsible for it.
“It’s an eye-opener, but it’s been fun. The guys have been great. They’ve been working every day so we don’t let it slip. It’s just been a fun experience.”
The Raiders open their road trip on Wednesday, Nov. 5 against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Puck drop is 8 p.m. CST.
