Fans were shoulder to shoulder in the Art Hauser Centre to cheer on their Raiders to a dominant 5-0 win in Game 7. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Hauser registers louder than thunderclap

Raiders alumni shares the excitement of coming back to the Hauser for Game 7

Apr 9, 2025 | 3:54 PM

Tuesday, April 8. Most of the time, a day like that on the calendar would not be one you would expect to see one of the largest and loudest parties in Saskatchewan.

Most Tuesday nights however aren’t a Game 7 at the Art Hauser Centre.

After the Raiders win in Edmonton on Sunday brought their first round playoff series back to Prince Albert, the community was abuzz for the next two days. Bringing the series back from a 3-1 deficit to tying the series up with a chance to win it at home brought a sellout crowd of 3,293 people into the Art Hauser Centre for Tuesday night’s game.

It wasn’t just the fans that came out to support either, but it even brought out some Raiders alumni.

“I’m lucky I got to experience a couple of games, but I never played any game sevens. So I’m so excited to see what that’s like,” said former Prince Albert Raider Landon Kosior as he was on his way to Prince Albert. “My first ever game there was when we raised the banner from the championship, so I have seen some great atmospheres, but I’m sure this game seven will be nothing like I’ve ever seen.”

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Kosior was right. After the seats in the rink sold out within six minutes of opening up sales on Monday, it was the standing room that filled up first in the Art Hauser Centre with two rows deep nearly the entire way around the building.

Before the game even started, the 50/50 was over $20,000 having opened up online sales earlier in the day. By the time the draw came, a total of $91,630 was on the board, meaning someone took home $45,815 at the end of the night.

The closest draw to that saw the Raiders saw this season was the final game of the year against the Saskatoon Blades where the winner took home $22,005.

Raiders in game host Andy Cohen helping get the crowd fired up before puck drop. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

One fan even brought a noise meter app out during the game where the noise levels hit 119 decibels at the loudest point, louder than a Boeing 707 aircraft and about as loud as a thunderclap.

While the fans were a big help to the Raiders, Kosior believes the players on the ice deserve to have that support given to them. Not only was Kosior excited to come back to the Hauser to be part of an amazing moment, but he wanted to support his former teammates who came to support him earlier this year.

Kosior finished his second season with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Canada USports earlier this year During their Canada West Championship final, Max Hildebrand, Justice Christensen, and Niall Crocker traveled to Saskatoon to cheer on their former teammate, along with a couple other former Raiders Keaton Sorenson and Rhett Rhinehart playing for the Huskies, as the three former Raiders battled for a Canada West Championship.

“It was so nice that those guys came out and that’s another reason why I want to come out to see this game seven too. I mean, those guys coming out to support meant a lot to me. It’s so nice for them to come out for our season. It was unbelievable. The crowds as we went on in the playoffs were just crazy. That’s probably the closest thing I’ve experienced to the Art Hauser since I’ve left the WHL for sure.”

Raiders fans are guaranteed two more chances to cheer on their team this year as the Raiders advanced to the second round against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Raiders will host games three and four on Wednesday, April 16, and Thursday, April 17.

Tickets for both games go on sale starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 11.

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Nick.Nielsen@pattisonmedia.com