Raiders players celebrate after scoring against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 7, 2023. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Logan Lehmann

Gameday Preview

Raiders visit BC capital for clash with Royals

Jan 31, 2023 | 1:00 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders (17-25-3-0) are on the island for tonight’s matchup where they shoot for three-in-a-row against the Victoria Royals (14-28-4-1) at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena.

Prince Albert enters the contest having won their last game 4-1 against Prince George on Saturday. The Cougars got on the board just 61 seconds in before the Raiders climbed back and scored four unanswered in the remaining 59 minutes of the game.

The Royals on the other hand also coming into tonight on a high note, having downed the Kamloops Blazers 3-2 in their last matchup. Victoria held a 2-0 lead at the start of the third before the Blazers gathered momentum and scored a minute into the period to shave into the lead. Jake Poole added the dagger for the Royals later in the third to make it 3-1 before Kamloops added one more later that period.

This is the first meeting between these clubs since Jan. 29, 2020, when P.A. blanked Victoria 3-0 at the Art Hauser Centre. The last time the Raiders visited the island was on Jan. 22, 2019, when they won 4-1.

A quick turnaround for Prince Albert after tonight’s game as they play again tomorrow night in a rematch of the 2019 WHL Finals against the Vancouver Giants. Puck drop is at 9 p.m.

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A look at the East Division standings ahead of tonight’s contest. The Raiders currently sit nine points back of the Regina Pats for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Who to Watch

Raiders captain Evan Herman potted two goals for P.A. in their last game, scoring the final markers for the Green and Gold in the back half of the contest. The two goals helped him improve his totals to 26 points on the year and 109 in his career. Herman is also the only active Raider to score a point against the Royals where he netted an assist on a Reece Vitelli empty net goal back in 2020. Additionally, the veteran centerman is nearing 200 career games and will appear in game 192 tonight.

Forward Hayden Pakkala also had a pair of points in Prince George where he registered a goal and an assist. The 19-year-old had the tying goal for the Raiders on the powerplay then potted an assist on Carter Anderson’s game-winner in the second period where his season totals now sit at 14 points. The Okotoks product sits just four points shy of tying a career-high.

Winger Sloan Stanick scored his team-leading 41st point of the campaign on Saturday, assisting on Herman’s second tally. The assist was the biggest of his career as it was his ticket into the 100-point club. The pride of Rapid City, Manitoba achieved the milestone in 183 games and will shoot for point 101 tonight.

More information on tonight’s contest.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann