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Raiders turning back the clocks Friday night

Nov 23, 2017 | 11:00 AM

Get ready for big hair, bright clothing, and a heavy dose of ’80s music as the Prince Albert Raiders honour the 1982 Centennial Cup champions during Friday’s contest against the Swift Current Broncos.

Members of the 1982 Raiders will be honoured in a pre-game ceremony, the current team will be wearing throwback jerseys in the style of those worn at the time, and DJ Anchor, the official DJ of the Saskatchewan Rush, will be playing ’80s favourites throughout the night.

“We’ve got [potentially] upwards of five guys coming to town for that night, and they’re excited to come back and meet our current team and be honoured that night for their accomplishments on the ice as a part of Raider history,” Raiders Business Manager Michael Scissons said.

“The jerseys the boys are going to be wearing are pretty special, the exact same jerseys that were worn in 1982 when we won our back-to-back Centennial Cup championship, and fourth in team history. They’re outstanding looking. The classic look with the stripes, the bare shoulder, no numbers on the sleeves, just a great looking jersey.”

Competing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the Raiders were the last Prince Albert team to win the National Junior A Championship, which has since been rebranded as the RBC Cup. After the 1982 victory, the Raiders made the move from Junior A to the Western Hockey League.

Raiders looking to bounce back

Friday’s game will be the first home game for the Raiders in 20 days. The team returned on Sunday from a season-long 12-day, six-game road trip spanning three provinces and three states. Prince Albert finished with two wins and four losses with wins against Kootenay and Seattle, and losses against Portland, Everett, Tri-City, and Spokane.

“We would have liked to come back .500 for sure, but it’s better than 0-6. Our heads are above water and that’s a good thing,” head coach Marc Habscheid said. “It’s a tough trip…a lot of miles travelled, and tough teams that play different down there. It’s a heavier game, most teams play a lot heavier. It was a good experience for our guys, we had a little fun along the way too, so all in all it was OK.”

The Raiders still have a four-point margin on the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as they head into Friday’s home date against the Broncos and Saturday’s trip to Moose Jaw. Furthermore, home ice has been good to the Raiders so far, with the team holding a 6-2-2 record at the Art Hauser Centre.

“Everyone always likes playing in their home building, and that’s no different than us. The bad part is we’re playing the number six team in the country and then we go to Moose Jaw, and they could probably be the number one team in the country, so it doesn’t get any easier, but we’re looking forward to it,” Habscheid said. “We were able to get a win against Swift Current last time we played them, so we’ll have some confidence going in against them. But they’re top 10 in the country so we’ll have to make sure we’re on our A game.”

 

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden