The faithful of the Prince Albert Raiders got an early Christmas gift courtesy of the WHL.

On Monday, the WHL released the results of a midseason player survey with regards to the question of what is the most difficult building to play in as the road team. More than 300 players from all of the WHL’s 23 clubs cast votes and the Prince Albert Raiders legendary home in the Art Hauser Centre came away with the title as the toughest building for the road team to play in at 22.9 per centre. The Hauser just edged the Everett Silvertips home barn in the Angel of the Winds Arena, which came in second at 22.2 per cent.

The WHL has made it a habit to do these midseason player surveys where the results of the various questions asked to the players are released during the circuit’s Christmas break. Last season, the Hauser came in second on that exact same question as 15.6 per cent of players said it was the toughest road building to play in. The Angel of the Winds Arena topped last year’s survey with 25.4 per cent of the votes.

It should be noted the Silvertips really do have an outstanding home ice advantage in their rink. If you are a junior hockey fan, getting to Everett to see a Silvertips game is a bucket list item.

If you want a recent example of how good Everett’s home rink is, all you have to do is check out video of their home win last Friday, where they scored twice in the last 71 seconds of the third period and again in overtime to rally for a 3-2 victory over the Prince George Cougars. The 6,073 spectators at that contest nearly blew the roof of the Angel of the Winds Arena.

With that said, you know the fans of the Raiders are going to love the fact their home rink topped a player survey as the WHL’s toughest road rink to play in. It adds reinforcement to Raiders supporters in “Hockey Town North” that they are making a difference with their support in helping their team win games.

Currently, the Raiders top the WHL’s Eastern Conference and sit second in the circuit’s overall standings with a 23-5-4 mark. They are 10-1-2 at the Art Hauser Centre for the league’s second best home winning percentage at .846.

You can almost imagine someone in the Saskatoon Blades office saying, “Please don’t let Raiders fans know they are having a positive impact on their team during games.”

Truth be told, the Hauser has become one of the storied shrines for junior hockey being the home of a Raiders club that is a legacy franchise. The four Centennial Cup wins as national champions from the club’s junior A days and two WHL titles and one Memorial Cup triumph as CHL champions reinforces the legacy franchise title.

Kevin Jordan, who is a fan of the OHL’s London Knights and is from London, Ont., made it his life mission to see a game in every CHL venue starting in 2003. The only rink he hasn’t seen a game in out of the 61 CHL venues is the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, B.C., which is home to the Vees. The Vees are currently playing their first season in the WHL after leaving the junior A ranks.

Out of the 60 venues he has visited in the CHL, Jordan rated the Hauser as the fourth best rink to see a game in and the top building in the WHL to see a contest in. He gave high marks for how well he was treated by the Raiders faithful during his stop in Prince Albert.

Dayton Reimer from The Hockey Writers site also gave the Hauser high praise for being a great venue to watch a game from.

During my travels through the WHL circuit, I’ve run into numerous media members who have come to work in Saskatchewan for a short stay, and they often tell me one of their bucket list things is to attend a Raiders game as a ticket buyer at the Hauser. For junior fans, the Hauser has become a tourist rink stop where you have to go see a Raiders game in.

On top of the Raiders having many great moments at the Hauser, it has become well-known for having an atmosphere that is second to none. You step into the Hauser, and it feels like you are in a true junior hockey facility. The concessions always get high praise, and it is common for coaches from visiting teams to stack up on orders of burgers, fries and hot dogs as part of a pre-game routine.

Just hearing things like “The Song in Prince Albert is Go Raiders Go” echoing through the Hauser’s rafters in its traditional form by Russ Gurr or in its rock cut by Barry Mihilewicz adds to the uniqueness of the experience of going to a Raiders game. From that aspect, you get reminded the Raiders are more than just a hockey team to Prince Albert and the surrounding area.

Plus, how many memories have been made at post-game gatherings inside the Ches Leach Lounge. Those gatherings allow for further community connection.

Attending games at the Hauser also brings back memories and the ghost images of players who have suited up for the Raiders since they first took the ice in 1971. When you step into the Hauser, it feels like you can still see the likes of Alvin Moore, Theran Welsh, Dan Hodgson, Dave Pasin, Dave Manson, Mike Modano, Kyle Chipchura, Leon Draisaitl, Josh Morrissey, Parker Kelly, Sean Montgomery and Max Hildebrand out there playing.

It feels like you can still see Terry Simpson and Marc Habscheid working behind the Raiders bench coaching.

It is a blessing to have the Hauser in Prince Albert and everyone from the Raiders, the Prince Albert Mintos under-18 AAA squad, the Prince Albert Northern Bears female under-18 AAA club and everyone in Prince Albert and surrounding area contributed to making it a revered rink. For as long as the Hauser continues to exist, here is hoping all who visit the storied facility keep the good times rolling and treasure new memories that will be made there.

Murray nails review in Saskatoon, other notes

Cianna (Lieffers) Murray crushed one of her biggest moments for the games she has officiated in the WHL.

On Wednesday, December 17, Cianna along with her husband Troy Murray were referees that worked the WHL regular season clash between the host Sasktoon Blades and the Kelowna Rockets at the SaskTel Centre. With the Blades holding a 2-1 lead, the Rockets appeared to score the equalizer with 1:58 remaining in the third during a net scramble, where the Blades goal was dislodged.

Cianna was the referee positioned behind the Saskatoon net, and she blew the play down when the net came off and initially ruled no goal. With everything happening so fast, the play went to a video review.

After a lengthy review, it was determined the puck had just gone into the Saskatoon net before the net itself came fully off its posts resulting in a good goal. Rockets offensive-defenceman Will Sharpe was given credit for scoring the equalizer.

Also in that situation, officials are allowed leeway in that case to rule a goal being good, if they determined the puck was on its way into the net and it would have been a good goal even if the net was dislodged before the puck crossed the goal-line. On the replay, it was easy to see the puck was finding its way comfortably into the Saskatoon net no matter if the net was dislodged or not.

Since Cianna was the referee who had the best view of the play, she worked the phone with the video officials to work on the ultimate outcome of that call. In that case, she would have had sizable input in helping overturn her own original call and ruling the goal as a good one. Ultimately, that was the correct call in that instance.

The Rockets proceeded to win that contest 3-2 after a tiebreaking shootout

• On Monday, the WHL also released the result of a midseason player survey question of who would win the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL rookie of the year. Kamloops Blazers 17-year-old right-winger J.P. Hurlbert claimed top spot in that survey with 44.6 per cent of the vote. Hurlbert leads the WHL in scoring with 55 points coming off 22 goals and 33 assists to go with a plus-10 rating in the plus-minus department appearing in all of the Blazers 33 games to date.
• In two games since being acquired in a trade with the Calgary Hitmen on December 15, 18-year-old left-winger Brandon Gorzynski has three goals and three assists in two games with the Raiders. It looks like he is going to be a big addition via the trade route.
• In eight games since being acquired in a trade with the Wenatchee Wild on December 3, 19-year-old left-winger Maddix McCagherty has three goals and six assists for the Raiders. Noting his career high for points in one season is 38, he might be a surprise big addition via the trade route.
• One of the surprise teams in the WHL might be the Cougars, who top the B.C. Division with a 22-9-1 record. After graduating stars like Riley Heidt, Borya Valis, Ben Riche, Koehn Zimmer and Viliam Kmec at the end of last season, the Cougars looked like they were on the road to a big reload.
• The WHL trade deadline is slated for Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time.