Raiders forward Reece Vitelli has confidence his team can rebound from their slump as they face the Warriors on Saturday for their next game. (Keith Hershmiller/WHL)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raiders vs Warriors

Raiders hope to bust slump on Saturday vs. Warriors

Mar 26, 2021 | 2:11 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders may have been struggling as of late. They have one point out of their last four games, including losses to the lowest-ranked teams in the WHL East Division—the Swift Current Broncos and Regina Pats.

But the Raiders are confident they can claw themselves out of their losing streak.

“We’re in a little hump right now, but I know we have a good team here and a good culture. We’ll get out of it,” Raiders forward Reece Vitelli said after Thursday’s 5-3 loss to the Regina Pats. Vitelli has two goals and seven points to start the season with the Raiders.

That winning culture the Raiders have formed has been instilled into the players by the coaches and by some of the older players themselves.

Landon Kosior saw it first-hand when he came in as a 17-year-old rookie last year, learning how to be confident and thinking about what it takes to win hockey games. He thinks sticking to that mentality can help the team through the tough times they are facing at the moment.

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The coaching staff from head coach Marc Habscheid and down; veterans like last year’s captain Zack Hayes and assistant captain Jeremy Masella, helped players like Kosior learn the Raider way.

“It’s that winning mentality that the coaches preach. To come in every game wanting to win, you have to be the best version of yourself and hold each other accountable,” Kosior said. “I was able to learn from Hayeser and Mas last year, and I’m bringing some of the things they brought and helping guys out.”

Habscheid is certainly not one to panic. He’s been around hockey long enough to know that slumps come and go.

“We just got to keep resilient and keep going,” Habscheid said. “We just got to keep pushing, we got to keep learning. We’re getting better, and that’s all we can do.”

The Raiders will get back into game action on Saturday against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

They lost in a shootout 2-1 in the second game of the season back on March 14. Captains Kaiden Guhle and Daemon Hunt both scored in the game. Affiliate player Brayden Yager had the winner in the shootout.

Tune in to CKBI radio and listen to Trevor Redden’s call of the game.

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow