Raiders prepare for three-in-three weekend with division lead in grasp

Herald File Photo Aiden Oiring of the Prince Albert Raiders takes a faceoff against Ben Riche of the Saskatoon Blades during a games at the Art Hauser Centre earlier this season

After stringing together three wins on home ice last week, the Prince Albert Raiders (23-15-3-0) are looking to keep the momentum rolling with a three-in-three weekend ahead.

The Raiders will host the Saskatoon Blades (23-15-2-3) at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday night before traveling to Regina for a matchup with the Pats (12-24-4-2) on Saturday. The weekend concludes on Sunday afternoon with a rematch against the Blades at the SaskTel Centre.

Raider interim head coach Ryan McDonald says Prince Albert is looking to keep their focus to the task at hand and maintain their strong play from last week.

“It’s a big weekend coming up, it’s one game at a time. Our first one’s on Friday against our rival the Saskatoon Blades, and we know they’re a team that likes to play fast, they play structured. For us, it’s keeping that good habit train going and making sure that we’re managing pucks well.”

Only two points in the standings separate the Raiders and Blades in the standings. Saskatoon is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference by virtue of leading the East Division while Prince Albert sits in sixth place.

If the Raiders can defeat the Blades in regulation on Friday night, they would vault into sole possession of the division lead.

McDonald says Prince Albert is treating the game as they would any other game against Saskatoon even with the division lead.

“It’s a big game, two points on the line. For us, it’s game by game and that next game is against Saskatoon. There’s the ability for us to tie them right at the top and continue the climb and get exactly where we want to be.”

The Raiders are pushing for the division lead despite a slow start to the season. Through 11 games, Prince Albert was sitting towards the bottom of the league standings with a 2-7-2-0 record at the end of their B.C. Division road trip.

In their last thirty games, the Raiders have posted a 21-8-1-0 record and have put themselves in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Rookie defenseman Daxon Rudolph says Prince Albert has shown that they are a strong team and will only continue to get better.

“We had a rough start. Lots of new guys this year, so we have turned it around as of late. I think this is the level we can play at, and we’re going to continue to play at. I think us climbing the standings is just showing how much work we put in every week. I think this team really works hard, has lots of good character who really are built to fight for each other and fight together. I think it all comes with compete. If we can keep competing on a nightly basis, I think the results will take care of themselves. We just got to focus on getting better as a team and keep working on little details.”

Saskatoon has undergone some major changes to their roster since they last met the Raiders on New Year’s Day. Saskatoon traded away standout defenseman Tanner Molendyk to the Medicine Hat Tigers, overage forward Brandon Lisowksy to the Victoria Royals and Ben Riche to the Prince George Cougars.

The Blades added several new faces in the lineup from their last meeting with the Raiders including forwards Kazden Mathies, Hunter Laing, Hayden Harsanyi, Tanner Scott and Frantisek Dej. Defenseman Jack Kachkowski was also acquired from Medicine Hat in the Molendyk deal.

Rudolph says the rivalry will still be intense even with all the new faces.

“Every time you play the Blades, it’s a good opportunity for us. New guys over there, but the rivalry is still there. I think we will play them six more times by the end of the year, and everyone of them is huge. They’re two points ahead of us as of right now, so we can control our own destiny with that. If we can focus on those games against them, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape.”

Puck drop between the Raiders and Blades is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday night.

sports@paherald.sk.ca

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