Grayson Burzynski takes the puck behind his net while Dayce Derkatch of the Raiders gives chase during a preseason matchup. (Nick Nielsen)

By Nick Nielsen

Rematch from Sept 28

Raiders and Broncos set to do battle for second time this season

Nov 1, 2024 | 12:30 PM

After playing eight straight games against Western Conference opponents they will only see once a year, the Prince Albert Raiders are getting ready for their second straight rematch of the season as they welcome the Swift Current Broncos to town on Friday night.

The first time the Raiders and Broncos met was just the fourth game of the season for both teams, and the Raiders gave up four straight goals in the second period as the Broncos took a 5-4 win.

The Raiders have won two straight games for the first time this year, a 4-3 win at home over the Seattle Thunderbirds a week ago and a 5-1 drumming on the road against the Regina Pats on Wednesday. That brings the Raiders up to a 4-7-2 (W-L-OTL) record, sitting 20th in the league and second last in the Eastern Conference.

For the Broncos, they lost their last game 3-1 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes on the road, but won their previous four games before that with at least four goals per game. Their record of 8-6-0 is good enough for the fourth place spot in the Eastern Conference and ninth overall in the league.

The goals for and against per period is an interesting stat as both teams have done almost the exact opposite of each other per period. The Broncos are at an even 53 goals for and against this year, but they’ve been outscored in both the first and third periods all season long 22-15 and 21-17 respectively. The Raiders on the other hand have scored 43 goals to their 55 goals given up, but they have outscored their opponents in the first and third periods 15-11 and 16-15 respectively.

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Even if the trend continues for both teams and the Raiders win the first and third periods, the second period could prove to be vital in tonight’s matchup. The Broncos have doubled their opponents in the second period 19-10, while the Raiders have been outscored 27-12 so far.

Moving to special teams, the Raiders are up to the fifth ranked powerplay in the league, tied with the Prince George Cougars at 25.9 per cent, and the Raiders penalty kill went 2/2 on Wednesday to take them out of the last place spot, only ahead of the Victoria Royals, at 68 per cent. As for the Broncos, they sit 17th in the league on the penalty kill at 73.8 per cent, and their powerplay just a little bit better at 14th overall at 22.2 per cent.

Niall Crocker comes into the game with six points in his last two games, leading the team with 6G-11A-17P on the season. Tomas Mrsic follows him in second with 7G-7A-14P, tied with Aiden Oiring and Lukas Dragicevic who both have 14 points as well. Brayden Dube sits fifth and, despite being held pointless two games ago against Seattle, has nine points in his last six games.

Luke Mistelbacher leads the Broncos in points with 10G-12A-22P, tied for second in the league in points and third in the league in goals. Brady Birnie sits tied for tenth in the league in points with 9G-11A-20P, and Carlin Dezainde and Clarke Caswell both sit third with 17 points. The game will also mark the return of Eric Johnston, former Raiders captain, after he was traded to Swift Current in the offseason.

Moving on to goaltending, Max Hildebrand had two jaw dropping saves out of his 32 saves on 33 shots against Regina on Wednesday, he’s likely to get the start again with his save percentage sitting at 0.899 per cent and a record of 4-5-2 on the season. Cooper Anderson last played in the second half of the game against the Vancouver Giants, his save percentage shows 0.797 with a 0-2 record in three games played.

As for Swift Current’s goaltending, Reid Dyck has played in 15 games this season with a 0.893 save percentage on the season, good for a 5-5 record. For Joey Rocha, he sits 3-1 on the season with a shootout win to his name, and 0.870 per cent save percentage.

The Raiders drop the puck with the Broncos at 7 p.m., and Nick Nielsen and Marty Ring will have all the action for you on 900 CKBI with the pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m.

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Nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com