Fans gathered alongside Gary Anderson Way outside the Art Hauser Centre to send off the Prince Albert Raiders, as they head to Medicine Hat to take on the Tigers to start there second-round playoff series this weekend. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Hitting the road

WATCH: Fans send off Raiders as they head to Medicine Hat for Round 2 of playoffs

Apr 11, 2025 | 4:49 PM

Gary Anderson Way outside the Art Hauser Centre was lined with fans wearing their Green and Gold on Friday as the Prince Albert Raiders embarked on their journey to Medicine Hat to face the Tigers in the second round of the WHL Playoffs.

Over 100 fans were cheering, waving flags, holding signs and honking their car horns as the plain white bus pulled out of the arena parking lot, receiving a full escort out of the city by Prince Albert Police and Fire, and Parkland Ambulance.

Glenda and Linda Cunningham were among the Raiders faithful sending the team out and were in the building when the team won it all in 2019. Despite the daunting road back to the top, Linda believes the team has a chance.

“We can’t give up hope, we definitely have a shot,” she said.

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“Those boys have a lot of resilience,” echoed Glenda. “They got the power, you know, some games they lose it, but they come back strong.”

(Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

Fans of all ages were at the Art Hauser Centre, cheering on the team as they passed. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

The second-seeded Raiders advanced to Round 2 following an epic seven-game series against the seventh-seeded Edmonton Oil Kings. P.A. was trailing in the series 3-1 at one point but managed to win Games 5, 6, and 7 to complete the comeback and advance to the next round.

As for the Tigers, they claimed first in the Eastern Conference and matched up against the eighth-seeded Swift Current Broncos. There, Medicine Hat made quick work of their opponent, winning the series 4-1. Looking at the season series, the Raiders and Tigers met four times this year with Medicine Hat taking three of those contests.

The last time the two met in the playoffs was in 2005, when the Raiders won in six games to move on to the Eastern Conference finals.

“They’ll need to control [Gavin] McKenna,” said another fan, referring to the all-star forward currently on the Tigers. “I feel it’s going to be a seven-game series like against Edmonton. It’s going to be a great matchup.”

Game 1 of the Round 2 series is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat, which is followed by Game 2 Sunday at 6 p.m. at the same arena. The series will then shift back to Prince Albert for Game 3 and 4, which are set for 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7 p.m. Thursday, both at the Art Hauser Centre.

(Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

The team was escorted out of the city by Prince Albert Police, Fire, and Parkland Ambulance as they embarked on the over six hour journey to Medicine Hat. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social