Niall Crocker collides with Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman Majid Kaddoura during the Raiders 3-2 win on Wednesday night in Moose Jaw. (Submitted Photo/ Nick Pettigrew)

By Rob Mahon

Raiders vs Warriors

Raiders and Warriors meet for round two in Prince Albert

Oct 15, 2021 | 12:15 PM

It’s been two weeks since the Prince Albert Raiders last played on home ice, and the squad will look a little different from the one fans saw most recently. Some of that is due to returns from the NHL, some of it is due to injuries or even suspensions.

Fresh off their first victory of the season over the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Raiders will meet that same Moose Jaw team tonight at 7:00 at the Art Hauser Centre. The Raiders took a 3-2 win in their meeting on Wednesday night, with both Moose Jaw goals coming on a late five-minute-major power play.

“When you get a win, it makes your legs a little lighter, things a little better, the sun a little brighter,” said Raiders coach Marc Habscheid. “It was good to get the win but we’ve got a long ways to go. But for sure, getting that zero out of the win column was nice.”

That’s not to say the Raiders walked away from the win unscathed. An already-shorthanded forward group due to injuries got even more so when Sloan Stanick was suspended for the same goaltender interference major on which the Warriors struck twice late in Wednesday’s contest.

To that end, the team has recalled forward Alex Mack, who played the preseason with them but was returned to the Alberta AAA ranks, where he has four goals and five points in five games.

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“We brought in Mack and we’ll be one under in the forward department, so we’ll double up some other guys to help them out,” Habscheid said. “We’ve got guys that are close (to returning), Sorenson and Laventure are close. Unfortunately for Stanick, he got suspended for three games.”

The bright side, according to Habscheid, was that some of the top players in the lineup get a little more ice time that way. They certainly got a workout in during the third period against Moose Jaw as they not only had to kill the five-minute major at the end of the game (which resulted in some desperate shot blocking during a lengthy period of 6-on-4) but nearly a minute and a half of five-on-three time at the start of the period as well.

“Our kills, for the most part, have been ok,” Habscheid said. “Our percentage isn’t that good for various reasons, but the five-on-three was good. It also helps when you get (Kaiden Guhle) in on the play and killing penalties. That’s a process as we get our guys back.”

Puck drop between the Raiders and Warriors is 7:00 tonight. The pregame show begins at 6:30 on 900 CKBI.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP