Daily Herald
Prince Albert hockey fans may still be pondering one of the stranger bounces in Art Hauser Centre history, but the Prince Albert Raiders have already moved on.
The Medicine Hat Tigers broke a 2-2 tie with one of the weirder goals of the WHL season on Saturday. With the two teams scheduled to meet again Wednesday night, the Raiders are looking forward, not back.
“(We’ve) just moved past that one,” Raiders team captain Justice Christensen said when asked about the goal that put Medicine Hat up 3-2 with less than two minutes to play. “Unfortunate bounce, and unfortunate it was with a minute and a half left, but stuff happens. We moved past it. We had a good practice here today and we’re getting ready for Wednesday.”
The Tigers have had the Raiders’ number heading back to last season when they swept Prince Albert right out of the playoffs. On paper, the two clubs appeared to be on equal footing heading into this season after some of the Gas City’s top talent departed for the NCAA ranks.
That was the case on Saturday when the Tigers went up 2-0 early in the first period, only for the Raiders to come roaring back. The two teams played a tight third period before that unfortunate bobble.
“I thought we had a slow first period and then I thought we played really well in the second and third period,” said Raiders forward Jonah Sivertson, who got the Raiders on the board with a nifty bit of stickhandling just past the midway point of the second period. “Unfortunate bounce, but you can’t win them all and we’re looking to get back at them on Wednesday.”
Saturday’s bounce was one you can’t really blame on anyone. It’s a play you could run 100 times and never get the same result, so it’s no surprise Sivertson, like the rest of his teammates, isn’t dwelling on it.
“I think we just put it behind us and refocused on the next game coming up,” he said. “It’s a new game and we’re going to come out hard.”
The Raiders have had a fairly lax schedule over the past two weeks, but that comes to an end on Friday.
Following their game in Medicine Hat, the Raiders head to the heart of Alberta for three games in three nights.
They’ll take on the Calgary Hitmen on Friday, followed by the Red Deer Rebels on Saturday and the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday.
The last one will be the toughest test. As of Wednesday, the Central Division leading Oil Kings are the only club in the Eastern Conference with more points that the Raiders.
“I think we just have to manage our bodies,” Sivertson said. “It’s a long road trip and I think we’ve got a three-in-three, so it’s just managing our bodies like I said and coming out hard every night.”
“(It’s) just keeping our game simple,” Christensen added. “Four in five, so lots of games and travel as well, so (it’s) just keeping our game simple, making sure we stick to the basics (and) what we do best.”
News and Notes:
• The Raiders enter Wednesday’s contest tied for the fewest number of games played out of any Eastern Conference team (23). The Brandon Wheat Kings have also played 23.
• Prince Albert’s power play will certainly be put to the test on this road trip. They’ll face the third (Calgary – 84.6), fifth (Edmonton – 80.0), and ninth (Medicine Hat – 79.1) ranked penalty kills in the WHL.
@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca
