Raiders forward Niall Crocker battles for the puck against the Cougars at the Art Hauser Centre on on Nov. 4, 2023. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Roadtrip kickoff

Raiders embark on B.C. road trip in Prince George

Oct 12, 2024 | 1:54 PM

A five-game road swing through British Columbia starts tonight for the Prince Albert Raiders as they take on the Prince George Cougars at the CN Centre.

Prince George comes into the game with a B.C. Division-leading 4-2-3 record so far but they’ve lost their last three games, all at the hands of the Portland Winterhawks. In each of those games, the Cougars had a lead in the third period before Portland came back to win, once in regulation, once in overtime, and the most recent in a shootout.

As for the Raiders, their last action saw them take on the Spokane Chiefs in a 2-0 losing effort. While having the least amount of games played, the Raiders sit last in the East Division at 1-3-2, with their lone win over the reigning WHL Champion Moose Jaw Warriors.

Through their first nine games, the Cougars have scored 33 goals for a +5 differential and an average of 3.7 goals per game. In P.A.’s six games, the Raiders have 15 goals and are -6 in that regard, scoring an average of 2.5 goals per game. That said, the Raiders are outscoring their opponents in both the first and third periods, 6-4 and 7-4 respectively, but have been outscored 11-2 in the second.

On special teams, Prince Albert’s powerplay has had some success recently until Spokane, bringing them to 17.4% while Prince George has been consistent at 24.1%. On the penalty kill, the Raiders sit at 77.8% while Prince George sits fifth in the league at 84.2%.

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The Raiders are still led by Aiden Oiring with 1G-6A-7P to start the season, followed by linemate Tomas Mrsic with 3G-1A-4P who did not finish Wednesday’s game with Spokane, but is expected to be in the lineup tonight. Niall Crocker and Lukas Dragicevic both have four points on the season as well.

Leading the Cougars is undrafted Denver, CO native Borya Valis with 3G-9A-12P who sits third in league scoring. Behind him is Jett Lajoie with 5G-4A-9P and Riley Heidt with 1G-7A-8P.

In goal, Max Hildebrand currently has the WHL Play of the Week with a save he made last Friday against the Everett Silvertips, he comes in with a 1-2-2 record and a 0.923 save percentage after facing 95 shots in the last two games Cooper Anderson has made one start for the Raiders in a losing effort where, despite making some big stops, his save percentage hit 0.773

For Prince George, Josh Ravensburgh has a 0.910 save percentage with a 4-0-2 record, while Cooper Michaluk started the season with the Spokane Chiefs, his record sits at 1-2 with a 0.894.

Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. Saskatchewan time, with the pregame show set for 7:30 on 101.5 Beach Radio.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com