The Prince Albert Raiders played with fire on Friday, but managed to escape without getting burned.
The Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Regina Pats in their home opener at the Brandt Centre, but the Pats fought back to make it a 5-4 game before Max Heise’s empty net goal with 1:31 to play cemented the win.
“We came out with a tremendous start and got up a couple early,” Raiders coach Ryan McDonald said afterward. “We were playing north and playing fast, and we then started to get a little east-westy. It was a couple mistakes that ended up costing us, but give our guys a lot of credit. We found a way to get the two points.”
The Pats looked demoralized and defeated after Aiden Oiring’s goal just over a minute into the second period made it 4-0 and sucked the life out of the hometown crowd. But goals from Julien Maze, Caden Brown, and Cohen Klassen brought the building back to life and turned a 4-0 rout into a 4-3 thriller.
During the second intermission, McDonald said the coaching staff told the Raiders to stay composed and keep doing the things that made them successful for the first 20 minutes. That message paid dividends early in the third when defenceman Daxon Rudolph scored on a one-timer from the blue line just seven seconds in.
“Continue to get pucks north. Continue to get pucks in behind and continue to play the right way,” McDonald said when asked what the message to his team was. “You saw the details and the habits that just continue to lead to success for us (and) we get rewarded right off the start with a great faceoff jump. We get the puck back and we have possession into the zone and a little bounce pass off the boards and we get rewarded for it right away. Again, it’s the details and habits and just continuing to stick with them.”
Regina made it 5-4 when Reese Hamilton, who the Pats acquired from Calgary in the Tanner Howe trade, scored with 3:33 to go third. Number one overall pick Maddox Schultz then came within inches of tying it when he fired a shot off the crossbar with roughly 1:45 to play. The Raiders recovered to score an empty netter a few seconds later.
McDonald gave the Pats credit for clawing their way back into the game, but also praised the Raiders for staying calm and focused.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to the Regina Pats,” he said. “I mean, they’re a team that we know will continue to compete. They work and they push hard. They capitalized on a couple mistakes. Give our guys a lot of credit, we came out in the third and put our foot back on the gas and continued to play north.”
Steele Bass made 18 saves to earn the win in his first WHL start. The Raiders third round pick from 2023 was victimized by some bad puck luck, but made several key stops in the third to keep the Raiders in front.
Kelton Pyne started the game for Regina, but was pulled 1:04 into the second after Oiring made it 4-0. Pyne stopped eight of 12 shots he faced, but like Bass, was victimized by some band bounces. Taylor Tabashniuk came on in relief and made 17 stops.
The Raiders are back at it on Saturday when they face the Brandon Wheat Kings in Brandon. Puck drop is 6 p.m. local time, 5 p.m. in Prince Albert.
Brayden Dube opened the scoring 7:49 minutes into the first period when his one-timer deflected off a Pats defender and over a sprawling Pyne to make it 1-0.
The Raiders extended their lead roughly four minutes later when Owen Corkish tipped home an Oli Chenier point shot on the power play for his first WHL goal.
The Raiders made it 3-0 on another WHL first. This time it was 2024 first round pick Ben Harvey scoring his first WHL goal when he converted a cross-crease pass from Harrison Lodewyk.
Oiring made it 4-0 early in the second when he picked up the puck behind the net and jammed it short-side on Pyne. The Pats then replied with three straight goals to make it 4-3.
Maze started the comeback with a between the legs that appeared to slip under Bass’ arm and into the net. Brown made it 4-2 when he fired a shot into an empty net after Maze’s point shot missed the goal and ricocheted off the boards and right on to Brown’s stick.
Klassen made it 4-3 when he found himself wide-open in front of the net and converted a cross-ice Liam Pue pass with 2:29 to play in the second.
Rudolph restored the two goal lead on a point shot seven seconds into the third. The score remained 5-3 Prince Albert until the final minutes when Hamilton scored with the goalie pulled.
Max Heise finished the scoring with an empty netter with 1:31 to play. It was also Heise’s first WHL goal.
News and Notes
• Defenceman Hubert Clarke recorded four shots in his WHL debut. The Norway House, Man. product was drafted 230th overall by Prince Albert in 2022. The Raiders announced on Thursday that Clarke had signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement, making him eligible for Friday’s game. He had a goal in four pre-season contests.
• Friday’s win was a small measure of revenge for the Raiders. The Pats spoiled Prince Albert’s home opener in 2024, winning 3-2 in overtime at the Art Hauser Centre. In 2025, it was Prince Albert returning the favour, with a 6-4 win in Regina’s home opener at the Brandt Centre.
