By Jeff D'Andrea

‘Very interesting battle’ for Raiders goaltenders this season

Aug 26, 2011 | 7:02 AM

Although he played 40 regular season games for the Prince Albert Raiders last year, goaltender Eric Williams’ spot on the roster isn’t sitting and waiting for him—he’ll have to earn it again.

“I’m just battling for my spot because it’s not guaranteed,” said Williams, after his training camp scrimmage Thursday at the Art Hauser Centre.

“There’s a lot of good goalies out here so I’m just focusing on being consistent and getting my job back.”

Williams will be one of four 1993-born goaltenders fighting for a spot between the Raiders’ pipes as Cole Holowenko, Luke Lee-Knight and Ty Riechenbach are looking for a spot. Mix in 16-year-old Brenden Fiebelkorn, who appeared in one game for the Raiders last season and fellow Raiders draft picks in local product Taryn Phaneuf (fourth round) and Matthew Zentner (10th round), an all-out war could ensue looking for those two precious spots.

“I think we have a very interesting battle shaping up for our goaltending the position, we feel it`s going to be extremely competitive,” said Raiders general manager and coach Bruno Campese. “It`s going to be one of the more competitive positions at camp here and we`re anxious to get going and see our goalies battle it out.”

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Holowenko came over to the Raiders from the Chilliwack Bruins (now the Victoria Royals) in the Emerson Hrynyk deal in November. Originally drafted in the second round, 28th overall by the Bruins, Holowenko posted a 3.08 GAA and an 88.2 save percentage in the BCHL for the Westside Warriors last season.

Lee-Knight made it to the Alberta Midget Hockey League All-Star Game as a member of the Calgary Royals, posting a 0.912, 2.56 GAA and a 7-7-7 record and Reichenbach, from Billings, MT, was stuck on the rebuilding Notre Dame Hounds roster that won four games all year.

Williams has the advantage over the other goalies as he has by more the most WHL experience, posting a 17-17-1-1 record with the Raiders last season in 40 regular season appearances, with a .898 save percentage and 3.71 GAA. Holowenko appeared in two games for the Bruins in 2009-2010 and Fiebelkorn has played in just 18 minutes in WHL action.

Williams said he learned a lot from his first WHL season, especially when he had to start 12-straight games from Feb. 9 to Mar. 9, posting a 6-6 record in that time.

“I think starting 12 games in a row when (former Raiders goaltender Jamie) Tucker was injured was a great experience in knowing what it takes to be physically ready and mentally ready for every game,” said Williams, who hails from Langley, B.C.

Assuming he makes the team, Williams wants to take on more of a leadership role and has already done so in camp this year with 15-year-old goalie Rylan Parenteau, who was selected in the third round of this year’s WHL Bantam Draft.

“There’s definitely a lot of young guys in camp, I got Rylan Parenteau on my team (Team Hartnell), he’s 15 and coming into his first camp so I’m trying to show him the ropes so he can have success in the future and then moving on forward in camp,” said Williams.

Raiders Rumblings

Although he is eligible to return as a 20-year-old, goaltender Jamie Tucker did not show up for the first day of Raiders camp. Instead of trying to battle out with six other 20-year-olds for only three available overage spots, Campese said that Tucker chose to stay at home and play for the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL instead.

“We talked to him about our 20-year-old situation and coming in to compete for a job and compete for time, but he just felt where he was at that, it would be in his best interest to be in a situation where he would be better off playing Junior A in his hometown of Victoria with the Grizzlies,” said Campese.

“We left the option to come to camp, but he decided not to. At this point right now, he`s at home waiting, possibly clearing waivers through the league and beginning his Junior A career.”

jdandrea@panow.com