The Raiders celebrate Evan Smith's first goal as a Raider as part of the 5-2 win over Regina earlier this week. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

First time at the Art Hauser

Raiders set to welcome Wenatchee Wild to Prince Albert for first time

Feb 1, 2025 | 6:21 AM

The Prince Albert Raiders are one of the hottest teams in the WHL right now with points in each of their last eight games, rattling off seven wins in that time to take the top spot in the East Division. They’ll look to continue that momentum Saturday night at home as they welcome the Wenatchee Wild to the Art Hauser Centre for the first time since the team moved from Winnipeg.

Most recently the Raiders picked up a 5-2 win over the Regina Pats on Wednesday, and before that the Raiders picked up two wins against Saskatoon and a shootout loss to Regina in a three games in three nights stretch. The Wild are the last team in the WHL the Raiders have not faced yet this year.

The Wild were in Saskatoon last night where they lost 4-2 to start off their six game road swing through Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Before that, the Wild were on a four game homestand where they won two and lost two. They lost 5-2 to Medicine Hat, won 5-2 over Portland, won 3-2 in overtime over Everett, and lost 3-2 to Tri-City.

In the standings, the Raiders lead the East Division with a record of 26-15-3-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL) on the year, a full two points ahead of Saskatoon trailing them. The Wild are one of four teams fighting for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a record of 17-24-3-1, good for 38 points, sitting well behind Tri-City in seventh, and the Wild are now sitting one point out of a playoff spot behind Kamloops.

For goal scoring numbers, the Raiders have climbed up to third in goals for in the Eastern Conference with 177 goals for, good for an average of 3.9 goals per game. The Raiders have given up 163 goals against on the season, bringing their goal differential to the highest it’s been on the season at +14 goals.

Becotte's reaction

'Pretty excited': Teachers and STF still digesting Tuesday's decision

13h ago

Economic unrest

Car dealerships remain optimistic after one month pause on tariffs

14h ago

Tariff response

Prince Albert council already discussing procurement options

14h ago

For the Wild, they sit second last in Western Conference scoring with 148 goals for, good for an average of 3.2 goals per game. They’ve also given up 193 goals against, second hightest in the Western Conference which brings their goal differential to -53.

The Raiders powerplay has dropped to it’s lowest rank in months as it sits third in the league at 28.5 per cent. Penalty killing however stayed right where it was, second last in the league at 71.8 per cent, despite going 7/8 in their last game against Regina.

The special teams sit in the middle of the pack this ear with their powerplay ranked 15th in the league at 22.2 per cent. Their penalty kill is ranked seventh in the league at 79.5 per cent.

Tomas Mrsic took over the team lead in scoring for the Raiders on the weekend, and he continues to hold that spot with 28G-38A-66P on the year. Aiden Oiring had a goal in his last outing to bring him to 20G-42A-62P for second. Lukas Dragicevic and Rilen Kovacevic are tied for third with 10G-40A-50P and 25G-25A-50P respectively.

Mrsic’s seven game point streak has him leading he team with 5G-9A in that time. Brayden Dube has switched between lines a couple of times over the course of the last four games, but he’s managed 3G-4A in his last four games. In the last two games, Raiders captain Justice Christensen has 2G-1A, Harrison Lodewyk has 1G-2A, Rilen Kovacevic has 0G-2A, and both Ty Meunier and Riley Boychuk have 1G-1A.

Evan Friesen is the only Wild player with a point per game as he leads the team with 21G-26A-47P. Miles Cooper sits second with 17G-23A-40P, and defenceman Reid Anderson sits third with 4G-29A-33P.

Former Regina Pat Tye Spencer has 2G-0A in his last two games, and Luka Shcherbyna has 1G-1A in that same span.

Finally on to goaltending where Raiders starter Max Hildebrand sits alone at the top of the league save percentage standings with a 0.914 on the season, tied for second in wins with a record of 22-9-3-0 on the year, and tied for second in league shutouts with two. Dimitri Fortin will backup once again with a 0.883 save percentage on the year and a record of 5-6-0-1 on the year.

Despite the Wild making their first ever appearance at the Art Hauser Centre, they will be bringing a goaltender the Raiders have faced already this season in Alex Garrett. Originally starting the season with Everett, Garrett helped the Brandon Wheat Kings win 5-3 over the Raiders last time he was in Prince Albert. On the season, Garrett has a save percentage at 0.895, and a record of 13-4-1-1 with a single shutout. Brendan Gee is their backup, he sits at 0.882 with a record of 5-5-0-0 on the year.

The first and only meeting of the season between the Raiders and the Wild is set for 7:00 p.m. The pregame show on 900 CKBI begins at 6:30 p.m.

—

nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com