Highway 11 Rivalry set to kick off for another year

This year during the preseason, the Raiders and Blades met three times. The Raiders won twice: the rookie game that kicked things off 6-5, and the final game in Prince Albert 5-4 in overtime. The Blades won this year’s neutral site game in Warman 5-2.

When it comes to personnel this weekend, the Raiders will be at full strength with the re-insertion of Brandon Gorzynski and Jonah Sivertson as they have both returned from camp with the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights respectively. The Raiders have also brought in a fourth 20-year-old for the weekend, defenceman Jordan Murray, who already has 1G-1A-2P in two games this year with the BCHL’s Okotoks Oilers.

As for the Blades, they sent three players to NHL camps: Cooper Williams to Toronto, Brayden Klimpke to Montreal, and goaltender Martin Psohlavec to Philadelphia. All three have returned, and Psohlavec will likely make his regular season debut in goal this weekend.

So far in the regular season, both teams have played two games so far. For the Raiders, they’re 1-1-0 (Wins-Losses-Overtime Losses) with a 7-4 win opening night against the Regina Pats, and a 5-2 loss on the road at the hands of the Swift Current Broncos.

The Blades are 0-1-1 to start the season in a couple of high scoring road games. The Blades failed a late comeback in their first night 5-4 to the Brandon Wheat Kings, and then fell 7-6 in overtime to the Moose Jaw Warriors in a very back-and-forth game.

Looking at special teams, the Raiders power play went 3/9 on opening weekend for a solid 33.3 per cent, but despite a shorthanded goal, the Raiders penalty kill only went 4/7 on the weekend for 57.1 per cent. The Blades’ power play went 3/13 on opening weekend for 23.1 per cent, but their penalty kill went 6/8 or 75 per cent with two shorthanded goals on the weekend.

Looking at leading scorers, this weekend’s games feature the three highest-scoring players in the league after opening weekend.

For the Raiders, Ben Harvey posted 2G-3A-5P on opening weekend, tying him for third in the league’s scoring race. Linemate Connor Howe sits second on the team with 2G-1A-3P, tied with the third member of their line Maddix McCagherty at 1G-2A-3P and Riley Boychuk with 0G-3A-3P.

As for the Blades, Hunter Laing is the league leader in points with 3G-3A-6P in the first two games of the season. Behind him and tied with the Raiders’ Harvey for third in league scoring is Brayden Klimpke with 3G-2A-5P, and Cooper Williams rounds out the top three with 1G-3A-4P.

Looking at the 12 games the Raiders and Blades played against each other last year between playoffs and regular season, Riley Boychuk leads all returning players with 2G-7A-9P. Three other Raiders tied for second with seven points: Alisher Sarkenov (2G-5A), Jonah Sivertson (4G-3A), and Brandon Gorzynski (3G-4A).

For the Blades in last year’s season series, Hayden Harsanyi lead the way with 2G-5A-7P. Brayden Klimpke was next with 1G-5A-6P, and David Lewandowski finished third with 4G-1A-5P.

Finally on to the goaltending matchup, the Raiders are returning both goaltenders from last season. Michal Orsulak is 1-0-0 after opening weekend with a 0.833 save percentage. Last year against the Blades, Orsulak went a perfect 7-0-0 against the Blades last year including three shutouts and four playoff wins, good for a 0.939 save percentage against the Blades last year.

Steele Bass also posted a 0.833 save percentage on opening weekend, but he was handed a loss in his first action. Last year against the Blades, Bass went 2-1-0 in three regular season games including one shutout and a 0.921 save percentage.

As for the Blades, they’re bringing in three different goaltenders. As mentioned earlier, Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Martin Psohlavec will likely make his regular season WHL debut.

Max Hartel played twice on opening weekend for the Blades, first losing against Brandon opening night, and then allowing three goals on three shots before being pulled against Moose Jaw. Hartel comes in with a 0-1-0 record and a 0.784 save percentage.

Taye Timmerman is the Blades final goaltender, who is 0-0-1 after coming in as relief during that game in Moose Jaw where he posted a 0.800 save percentage. Timmerman played one game against the Raiders last year where he posted a 0.867 in a losing effort on the final weekend of the regular season.

The Raiders will host the Blades at 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre Friday night. You can listen in live on 101.5 FM Beach Radio starting with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the Raiders head to Saskatoon for the rematch. You’ll be able to listen in on the usual home of Brandt Raider Radio, 900 CKBI, with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m. and puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m.

by Nick Nielsen

Highway 11 Rivalry set to kick off for another year

What's Trending