The Prince Albert Raiders enjoyed some much-needed rest at the start of the week before returning to business as usual following a successful western road trip.
The Raiders played seven games in 11 days, going 5-1-1 in the process. Forward Brayden Dube said they’re glad to be back in Prince Albert preparing for their first home game since the start of November.
“These first couple days back (there was) a little bit of fatigue, but I think the coaches are doing a really good job of letting us have lots of rest,” said Dube, who had four goals and four assists on the road trip. “I think we’ll be well energised for Friday night.”
The Raiders opened the road trip with a win in Lethbridge on Nov. 5, then chalked up wins against the Spokane Chiefs, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, and Western Conference leading Everett Silvertips. Their lone regulation loss came on Nov. 8 to the Tri-City Americans. They also lost in overtime to the Wenatchee Wild.
Dube said the team’s discipline and camaraderie played a big part in their winning record.
“We stuck close to the process,” he said. “We’re all close as a team. (We) hang out and have fun out there. When you have fun, you play better. I think that was a big part of our success.”
The Raiders’ record was even more impressive considering they started the trip without defenceman Brock Cripps, forward Ben Harvey, and coach Ryan McDonald, who were all away at the U17 Challenge.
Putting up five wins in seven games was enough to boost Prince Albert to number two overall in Tuesday’s CHL’s Top 10 Ranking.
“We won in different ways,” McDonald said when asked about the road trip. “It’s a grind as you continue to go through it. We felt our guys did just a tremendous job embracing the challenge, which was different each night—just continuing to simplify, continuing to play our game, continuing to play with pace, and just grunting it out.”
McDonald said fatigue was “a big area of focus” as the Raiders returned home. The club returned injury free from the U.S., and the coaching staff wants to keep it that way.
“Getting back, (we’re) making sure that rest and recovery are top of mind,” he said. “Again, we’re ramping up and we’re ready to be prepared for a repeat performance come Friday night.”
After two weeks of cross-conference competition, the Raiders will meet a familiar foe in the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday.
The Wheat Kings have ripped apart WHL defences this season, scoring 96 goals in 19 games. That’s the second highest total in the WHL. Only the Edmonton Oil Kings have more, and they’ve played four more games than Brandon.
“We know Brandon’s a team that lives on the transition, so for us it’s about managing pucks, making sure that we don’t feed into that transition game for them,” McDonald said. “We know they’re lethal off the rush. We know they have a very good power play, so discipline is extremely key and again, just continuing to play our game, play north, and make them have to defend.”
The Wheat Kings have scored 34 goals so far in the month of November. That includes an 8-5 victory over the Regina Pats, a 9-4 win over the Swift Current Broncos, and an 8-7 loss to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
“Obviously we’ve got to play good defence,” Dube said. “I think we’ve just got to stay in front of them, make them go through us and just play our game.”
The Raiders and Wheat Kings hit the Art Hauser Centre ice at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21. The two teams meet for a re-match on Friday, Nov. 28 in Brandon.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
News and Notes:
• The Raiders haven’t played at home since Nov. 1 when they defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors 6-5.
• This upcoming series will be a home-and-home for the Raiders, who only play one game this weekend. It won’t be for the Wheat Kings, however, they have a game against the Saskatoon Blades in Saskatoon sandwiched between their two dates with the Raiders.
• The Raiders climbed three spots in the CHL Top 10 Rankings thanks to their success against the U.S. Division. The Raiders are ranked number two overall, just behind the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs who still have not lost in regulation (16-0-4-1).
