The Prince Albert Raiders will wrap up a five game road trip on Friday when they visit the Moose Jaw Warriors. Going 2-2 on the Alberta part of the trip, the Raiders took a bit of a hit, falling six points back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
With seven points over his last seven games, Sloan Stanick has been one of the players on the team that has helped keep Prince Albert’s playoff hopes alive. He chimed in on the road trip up to this point.
“It was good to be able to play .500 out there,” he said. “I think we could’ve won that game in Red Deer and we probably deserved to win it. I think if we would’ve pushed with a little more offense we would’ve pulled out a win, but I thought those were some good building games for us in Alberta.”
The Warriors have had the upper hand on the Raiders this season, winning four straight meetings and four of five overall to this point. Stanick says it will be tough to head into Mosaic Place, but explained what the team will need to do to come out with a win, and put the brakes on a brief two game slide.
“Tomorrow would be a really big two points for us,” Stanick said. “We just need to get off to a good start in Moose Jaw. I think if we stick with it and play our game, we’ll have a good chance to pull out a win.”
With five teams fighting for the final two playoff spots, the time to start winning games for the Prince Albert Raiders is now. They’re six points behind the Calgary Hitmen, Swift Current Broncos, and Lethbridge Hurricanes, who are all tied with 47 points. The Regina Pats are two points ahead of Prince Albert with 43.
Prince Albert will have to try and claw their way back on level ground with two of those teams. The Raiders have the same amount of games played (50) as the Hitmen, and one more than the Hurricanes. Only the Broncos (54) have more games played than Prince Albert out of the five teams vying for playoff spots.
“We just have to keep believing and keep trusting the process,” Stanick added. “I think we’re doing the right things and we’re going to get rewarded. We just need to keep creating offense and doing the right things and we should be good.
“We have an amazing coaching staff, and I think ever since I joined the team my elevation in games has been outstanding, and credit to them for that. We just need to keep trusting the process and trust what they’re teaching us.”
Puck drop in Moose Jaw on Friday night is at 7 p.m. The Raiders return home for the first time since Feb. 19 on Saturday night, when they welcome the Winnipeg ICE to kick off a three game homestand.
@kyle_kosowan•sports@paherald.sk.ca
