Raiders goaltender Max Hildebrand (left) shares a moment with Blades goaltender Austin Elliott (right) following Game 5. (Steve Hiscock/Saskatoon Blades)

By Nolan Kowal

first round exit

‘We ran into a really good team’: Raiders eliminated after Game 5 loss to Blades

Apr 6, 2024 | 2:30 AM

The Prince Albert Raiders saw their season come to an end Friday night, losing 6-2 to the Saskatoon Blades in Game 5 of their first round Western Hockey League playoff series.

The Blades scored four goals in the first period and never looked back, as they cruised to a series clinching win on home ice in front of nearly 10,000 fans at SaskTel Centre.

After the Raiders won Game 1, Saskatoon was able to rattle off four straight wins.

Following the loss, Raiders Assistant Coach Keaton Ellerby was focusing on the positives after a year of growth for a young Raiders squad.

“We weren’t just going to roll over coming into this series, we knew they were one of the best teams in the country, we’ve seen them all year,” said Ellerby. “The way we played against them all year, we knew we were going to give them some fits, and I think we did a good job. We kept the games within reach I thought in all five games.”

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“We just have to be proud of the guys…they gave it their all. We ran into a really good team”

Ellerby agreed that sometimes athletes have to go through tough losses before they can learn to win.

“I think every winner would say that…you know Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, they went through their battles and then to have the success at the end is so much more rewarding than to have the pain of defeat,” he said.

“It’s hard right now but it’s going to be worth the wait for sure.”

Sloan Stanick, Jacob Hoffrogge, and Turner McMillen are the three graduating 20-year-olds for the Raiders who will be aging out of the Western Hockey League. All other players on the roster are eligible to return next season.

The Blades will now move on to play the Red Deer Rebels in the second round of the playoffs.

The Raiders will hold their year end meetings at the Art Hauser Centre on Saturday before all of the players head home.

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nolan.kowal@pattisonmedia.com