Weekend Preview: Raiders set to welcome two B.C. division teams

Lately the Raiders powerplay has not been getting tested much, so the numbers don’t tell you how good their man advantage has been as it sits fifth in the league at 28.6%. The penalty kill on the other side has stayed put in its 11th place spot at 77.5%.

On to leading scorers, and the Raiders finally have a player in the top 20 point scorers in the league. Both Brandon Gorzynski and Aiden Oiring are fighting for the 20th place spot in the league with identical stat lines of 27G-37A-64P. Daxon Rudolph sits third for the Raiders with 24G-39A-63P, and Max Heise sits third with 24G-32A-56P.

Scoring streaks:

Brandon Gorzynski has 3G-4A in his last four games

Daxon Rudolph has 1G-4A in his last four games

Maddix McCagherty has 2G-1A in his last three games

Max Heise has 0G-4A in his last three games

Riley Boychuk has 0G-2A in his last two games

In goal, the Raiders are lead by Michal Orsulak who has a record of 21-4-3 on the year, a save percentage of 0.900, a second best in the league 2.36 goals against average, and two shutouts on the year.

Backing up Orsulak is Steele Bass, who still has not played enough games for the Raiders to qualify for a rank amongst the rest of the WHL’s goalies. Still, his stats are impressive with a 10-2-1 record, a 0.911 save percentage, a 1.92 goals against average, and two shutouts on the year.

Friday vs. Penticton

This will be the first ever matchup between the Raiders and the visiting Penticton Vees, the same team Raiders forward Max Heise played for in the BCHL last season. The Vees are coming in as the second place team in the Western Conference and leader of the B.C. Division with a record of 37-13-8 on the year. The Vees are 10 points ahead of Prince George sitting third in the Western Conference, but they’re a full 15 points back of Everett for the top spot.

The Vees are currently on their Saskatchewan/Manitoba road trip, and their game in Prince Albert is their fifth stop on the tour. The Vees opened their road trip with a 4-0 loss in Brandon, then won 7-3 in Regina, won again in Swift Current 3-1, but then lost their most recent game on Wednesday 5-3 in Saskatoon.

On special teams, the Vees powerplay is one of the better ones in the league sitting seventh at 26.8%. Meanwhile their penalty kill is the second best in the league at 82.3%.

Looking at the leading scorers for the Vees, it’s a unique group that leads the team. Jacob Kvasnicka played for the U.S. Development Program last year and leads the Vees with 33G-42A-75P. Then it’s one of the few men who was a member of the Vees last year, Ryden Evers who sits second with 31G-38A-69P, then former Swift Current Bronco Brady Birnie with 21G-41A-62P. Rounding out the top four is former Prince George Cougar Matteo Danis with 24G-24A-48P.

Scoring Streaks:

Matteo Danis has 4G-1A in his last three games

Louis Weber has 0G-4A in his last three games

Brady Birnie has 1G-2A in his last two games

In goal for the Vees is the tandem of Andrew Reyelts and Ethan McCallum. Reyelts, an American, has had most of the starts this year with a record of 25-5-6 on the year which is tied for the league lead in wins, a 0.905 save percentage, a third in the league 2.49 goals against average, and three shutouts on the year.

In the backup spot is former Saskatoon Blades goaltender Ethan McCallum. He comes into the weekend with a record of 15-10-1, a 0.907 save percentage, a 2.70 goals against average, and three shutouts this year.

Saturday vs. Prince George

On to Saturday where the Raiders will play host to the Prince George Cougars. Last year’s matchup on Oct. 12, 2024 saw the Raiders open their B.C. Division swing with a 5-4 loss in Prince George.

The Cougars come into the weekend as the third place team in the Western Conference, and second place in the B.C. Division. As mentioned earlier, they sit 10 points back of Penticton in second, and the Cougars are just one point ahead of Kelowna.

Also on their Saskatchewan/Manitoba road swing, the Cougars will play in Saskatoon on Friday before their Saturday matchup in Prince Albert. In the other four games of their road trip, the Cougars started the trip with a 6-2 win in Swift Current, a 4-2 win in Moose Jaw, another 4-2 win in Brandon, but then in their most recent game they stumbled and lost 4-2 to Regina.

The Cougars have an argument to be made for the top special teams units in the league. Both their powerplay and penalty kill are third in the league, with their powerplay operating at 30.7% and their penalty kill at 81.6%.

Leading the Cougars in scoring is Terik Parascak with 28G-40A-68P. In second is Kooper Gizowski sits second at 26G-36A-62P, tied with Brock Souch with 23G-39A-62P. Finally defenceman Carson Carels sits fourth 17G-42A-59P.

Scoring streaks:

Terik Parascak has 5G-4A in his last four games

Carsen Carels has 2G-5A in his last four games

Kooper Gizowski has 1G-3A in his last three games

Finally in goal for the Cougars, Joshua Ravensbergen leads the charge for the second straight year with the Cougars. With a record of 25-12-0 on the year, including the best save percentage in the league at 0.917, fourth in the league 2.59 goals against average, and two shutouts on the year.

Alexander Levshyn has been his backup with a record of 9-9-2 on the year, a 0.892 save percentage, and a 3.25 goals against average.

The Raiders will first welcome the Penticton Vees on Friday, then welcome the Prince George Cougars on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre, and if you can’t make it then you can listen on 900 CKBI starting at 6:30 p.m. with the pregame show on Brandt Raider Radio.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com

by Nick Nielsen

Weekend Preview: Raiders set to welcome two B.C. division teams

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