Will it be a Happy Anniversary?

The Raiders host Everett on Saturday night in the team's 40th anniversary game. It will be 40 years to the night that the expansion SJHL Raiders beat the Regina Pat Blues 9-3 in the Communiplex (now known as the Art Hauser Centre).

The last 40 years has included four Centennial Cups (Canadian Junior-A Championship) and the 1985 Memorial Cup championship in just its third year in the Western Hockey League.

Yes there have been some lean years since then, including the last three seasons in which the Raiders have finished out of the playoffs. Their closest call was the 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton in front of a packed house at the Art Hauser Centre in the 2009 sudden death game for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The magical playoff run of 2005 is still fresh in our minds. The Raider team led by Rick Kozak, Jeremy Colliton, Kyle Chipchura and Rejean Beauchemin went all the way to game 7 of the Eastern final (including a four-game sweep of Saskatoon in the first round) before bowing to the Wheat Kings in Brandon. The city was taken by storm. There were standing-room-only crowds and long line-ups for tickets and excitement that was reminiscent of the old days.

The Raiders have played only three playoff games since and going to a Raider game has fallen to the deepest depths of the priority lists of the so-called fans on the fringe. Raider Hockey is no longer the number one event of that evening. I understand there is much more to do in the city and families are extremely busy with a myriad of activities. However, there was a time when for even some fans on the fringe, Raider game night came first. Social events and evenings at the movies were planned around Raider Hockey.

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Some say for those days to return the team needs to establish itself as a winner. That may be, but fringe fans and former supporters have been finding excuse after excuse to stay away from the rink. Many, who proclaimed, ‘I’m not coming back until Donn Clark (former GM) is fired, still haven't returned. Other excuses have ranged from warm weather in the fall to the fact there are not enough local kids on the team. The bottom line is many people who like to talk big in the coffee shops and at the water coolers are not coming back regardless of any of their alleged reasons.

I look at Saturday's anniversary game as a check on the Raider pulse in the community and I hope it gets a better response than the alumni game a few seasons back which featured about a thousand empty seats.

The die-hard fans can't wait but it's also a chance for those who don't eat, sleep and breathe Raiders to check out the rich history of the franchise and check out what the current characters of the WHL have to offer.

The Raiders had the lowest attendance in the league for a second straight season in 2009-2010 and although there is an increase of about 10 per cent, the franchise is still looking at another substantial financial loss if fan support doesn't increase significantly in the second half.

Saturday's game is a perfect excuse to put away the excuses and reasons you have stayed away.

dwilson@rawlco.com