By Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders

Gregor sets new career marks

Feb 1, 2019 | 12:00 PM

The Raiders are back on home ice this weekend and have had a week to get re-acquainted to the winter freeze of Prince Albert after two weeks in mild British Columbia.

There wasn’t much choice in dealing with the cold either, as the team practiced at the Kinsmen Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday while the Art Hauser Centre was being converted back to a hockey rink after curling took over the building for two weeks.

“It’s minus 40 outside and probably minus 90 in the Kinsmen rink,” Head Coach Marc Habscheid deadpanned before cracking a smile. “But we practiced there [Tuesday] and that was probably one of our best practices of the year. The guys were crisp and fast — probably just to stay warm out there.”

While acknowledging the cold, forward Noah Gregor said it was a unique experience.

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“The weather makes things a little different. But getting dressed [at the Art Hauser Centre] and driving over in full equipment was just like we used to do in atom hockey or pee wee hockey,” Gregor said. “It’s fun, and it’s great to get out to a community rink like that every once in a while.”

If anybody out there saw a vehicle jam-packed with fully dressed hockey players heading across town this week, now you know the rest of the story.

Gregor knocks off milestones

It was a convincing game all around on Saturday night in Cranbrook as the Raiders finished their six-game road swing with a 7-3 trouncing of the Kootenay ICE. In the process, forward Noah Gregor checked off a couple of new milestones in his career.

Despite scoring two goals in a game an astonishing 25 times over the past four seasons, including nine already this year, Gregor had never scored a hat trick in the WHL before. Saturday night, he scored twice in the second period and once in the third to help lead the Raiders to victory.

The third of the night on Saturday was Gregor’s 30th of the season, marking the first time he’s reached that mark. Incredibly, Gregor topped 25 goals three times with 28 goals in 2015-16, 27 goals in 2016-17, and 29 goals last season. The San Jose Sharks prospect is on pace for career numbers in every category with 30 goals and 63 points in just 44 games played this year.

ICE on the move

The announcement was made this week that the ICE will be moving from Cranbrook to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 season, with Commissioner Ron Robison saying the franchise is no longer viable in its current market.

“It is a difficult decision, but given low attendance trends and the support required to operate a WHL club, it is necessary to move the franchise to a market where it can be sustainable on a long-term basis,” Robison said.

Looking at the last five seasons, the ICE sit at the bottom of the league in average attendance with 2,122 per game. Next lowest is Swift Current at 2,205, and then Prince Albert at 2,315.

Of course, the Raiders are buoyed to a certain degree by an attendance spike this year, but in general it’s a good reminder for fans of small market teams that it’s tough to make ends meet unless the whole community comes out.

One thing that stood out to me from the press conferences this week was Robison’s admission that there were concerns as far back as the 2011 WHL Championship Series. The ICE finished fourth in the Eastern Conference, and sixth overall in the league, but went on a run to the title.

In two home games during the final series as Kootenay beat Portland four games to one, the ICE averaged approximately 3,500 fans per night. The listed capacity of Western Financial Place in Cranbrook is 4,654 which puts that over 1,000 fans short of a sellout.

Here in Prince Albert it’s been a dream season so far with the Raiders holding down the top spot in the country for 15 straight weeks, but there’s still room for more fans in the building. With 11 home games left plus playoffs, it would be great to see a few sellouts down the final stretch.

Don Cherry night

Don’t forget that Saturday night’s home game against Moose Jaw is the Raiders’ turn to wear special Don Cherry-themed jerseys. This is the second season of WHL Suits Up with Don Cherry to Promote Organ Donation, with proceeds all going to the Prince Albert chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada.

The jerseys are available via online auction, closing Monday at noon.

Trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden