Raiders beat Hitmen, clinch at least a tie for final playoff spot in WHL East
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The Prince Albert Raiders are one step away from a first round date with the Saskatoon Blades.
The Raiders (29-36-2-3) clinched at least a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference with a 6-2 victory in Calgary Wednesday evening. Six different players scored and Jamie Tucker made 34 saves in net.
The win moves the Raiders four points ahead of the idle Lethbridge Hurricanes, who still have two games remaining. If the Raiders were to lose their last two games in regulation (home-and-home against Swfit Current) and the Hurricanes were to win theirs (home-and-home with Kootenay), they would finish tied with 63 points. If that were to happen, the Raiders would host the Hurricanes in a one-game playoff to determine the eighth seed.
The eventual victor will meet the Blades in the opening round of the playoffs. The Blades (54-13-1-2) squeezed past Moose Jaw 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday night. Saskatoon is 7-0-1 since losing 7-6 to Brandon on Feb. 25.
