Harrison Lodewyk. (Kyle Anderson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raider Hockey

Raiders and Blades get first taste of rivalry; Lodewyk will be off to Ottawa

Nov 5, 2021 | 12:58 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders will get their first look at the Saskatoon Blades this weekend with a home-and-home series. Both teams will meet at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday before a Saturday rematch at the SaskTel Centre.

Both teams have been trending in different directions to start their season. Even while hiring new head coach Brennan Sonne and trading away Chicago Blackhawks draft pick Colton Dach to the Kelowna Rockets, the Blades are second in the WHL East Division with a 9-2-1 record.

Tristen Robins and Kyle Crnkovic are both in the top three in WHL scoring, as Robins leads the league with 22 points (seven goals), while Crnkovic has 10 goals and 20 points in 12 contests and is ranked third in points.

“We’ve got four pretty good defenders on the backend to play against them, and playing at home to get matches is always easier. Your best defender is in the pipes too, and we need him to have a good game,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said.

The Raiders’ roster has been in flux since the start of the season, as they’ve made seven different trades, added their two Belarusian imports, and signed overager Carter Massier and released fellow 20-year-old Michael Horon.

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As they get to know each other and who they are as a team, the Raiders are 3-7-0-1 to start the season. They have struggled to score goals, as they are last in goals per game in the conference at 2.18. They’ve scored three goals in all three of their victories this season.

And defenceman Kaiden Guhle actually leads the team in points despite being a defenceman and having played in up to four less games than his teammates. Guhle has eight assists in his seven contests to lead the team in points.

Lodewyk off to Ottawa at the end of the month

Raiders forward Harrison Lodewyk will be putting his skills to the test against Canada’s National Women’s Team at the end of this month. Starting on Nov. 26, Lodewyk and 65 other U17 players across the country will get to play against the best players Canadian women’s hockey has to offer as part of the Capital City Challenge in Ottawa.

It’s been a small sample size, but Habscheid likes what he’s seen from Lodewyk thus far.

“He’s still young, it’s only been 11 games. But his attitude’s great. He’s a great kid, he’s energetic, he’s upbeat and he can skate. He’s on pucks quick and he’s fearless,” Habscheid said. “He’s not afraid to go in and battle for loose pucks, and that’s what we expect with the Raiders.”

Tune in to CKBI and listen to Rob ‘Macho’ Mahon’s call of the game, starting at 6:30 p.m.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW