Raiders forward Brayden Dube battles with Hurricanes forward Logan Wormald in the only matchup of the season between the Raiders and the Hurricanes. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Alberta Road Swing Continues

Weekend preview: Raiders look to bounce back against Lethbridge and Medicine Hat

Feb 7, 2025 | 12:25 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders started off their Alberta road swing in Calgary on Wednesday with a 3-1 loss, snapping a nine-game point streak for the Raiders. Now with two more tough opponents on the schedule, the Raiders will look to bounce back with games against the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday.

Before the loss in Calgary, the Raiders had eight wins and a shootout loss in the previous nine games. The end of that streak saw the Raiders pick up three straight wins, 5-2 at home over both Wenatchee and Regina and a 4-3 overtime win in Saskatoon.

The first opponent of the weekend for the Raiders is Lethbridge who won nine straight games in January but have not strung together consecutive wins or losses in the five games since. They last played on Sunday where they won 4-3 over Calgary at home, then lost 2-0 at home against Edmonton, won 2-1 in Edmonton, lost 3-2 at home to Calgary, and won 4-1 over Red Deer at home.

The Raiders prevailed in their only matchup of the season against the Canes back on November 30 when the Raiders took a 3-2 lead late in the second and held on through the third for the win.

In the standings, P.A. is still at the top of the East Division and therefore have the second spot in the Eastern Conference at 27-16-3-1 (W-L-OTL-SOL). Lethbridge sits third in the Central Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, but their record of 31-13-3-2 would technically have them ahead of the Raiders in the standings.

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Looking at goal differentials, the Raiders are +15 on the year with 183 goals for and 168 goals against. The Hurricanes have allowed the second least amount of goals against this year at 137, only one more than Everrett, and have scored 155 goals for this year for a +18 rating. The Raiders are averaging just below 3.9 goals per game, while Lethbridge is averaging 3.2.

On to special teams where the Raiders powerplay only got one opportunity against Calgary, keeping them at 28.5 per cent and second in the league. The penalty kill is slowly climbing out of the basement in the league, now up to 20th at 72.9 per cent.

The Hurricanes on the other hand are sitting in a three way tie for second in the league penalty kill at 81.3 per cent. Their powerplay however has allowed 10 shorthanded goals against, the fourth highest in the league, and they sit 12th in league standings at 23.1 per cent.

With only one goal scored for the Raiders on Wednesday, Tomas Mrsic kept his spot at the top of the Raiders scoring with 29G-39A-68P this season. Aiden Oiring sits second in team scoring with 21G-44A-65P, and Lukas Dragicevic rounds out the top three with 10G-42A-52P, with Rilen Kovacevic right behind him at 25G-26A-51P.

Justice Christensen was the only Raider able to extend his point streak on Wednesday with an assist, bringing him to 3G-2A in his last four games.

Looking at the Hurricanes, Logan Wormald is their leading scorer with 28G-29A-57P on the year. Brayden Edwards sits second with 20G-35A-55P, and former Moose Jaw Warrior Brayden Yager sits third with 18G-33A-51P.

Because they were shut out two games ago, no Hurricanes are currently on a point streak.

As for the goaltending matchup, Max Hildebrand still holds the top save percentage in the league at 0.915, and his record of 23-10-3-0 on the year has him third in wins. Dimitri Fortin sits at 0.883 and 5-6-0-1 on the year.

For the Hurricanes, former Moose Jaw Warrior Jackson Unger has started 39 games this season with a 0.900 save percentage and a record of 18-14-3-1, but since joining the Hurricanes those numbers are up to 0.920 and 14-3-0-0. Koen Cleaver has been their backup with a record of 8-8 on the year, and save percentage at 0.895.

Now for Saturday’s matchup, the Raiders will take on the Medicine Hat Tigers. They’ll play the Swift Current Broncos Friday night while the Raiders are in Lethbridge, but before that the Tigers had their six-game road swing through the United States. In the U.S., the Tigers picked up wins over everyone including Spokane and Everett at the top of the league, but they finished off poorly with a 4-3 shootout loss to the second last in the Western Conference Seattle Thunderbirds to snap a 12-game win streak.

The Tigers have the second best record in the league and lead the Western Conference with a record of 33-15-2-1 on the year, a full 11 points ahead of the Raiders. In two meetings this year, the Tigers have won both most recently 7-4 in Medicine Hat in early January, and a tight 3-2 overtime win in November in Prince Albert.

The Tigers have the second most goals and second best goal differential in the league with 218 goals for, 156 against, and a differential of +62. On the year, they’re averaging just under 4.3 goals per game.

The Tigers’ power play sits fourth in the league at 27.9 per cent. Their penalty kill has seen the second most ice time in the league with 205 times shorthanded only three behind Red Deer, and so far they’re operating at 79.5 per cent with a league-leading 14 shorthanded goals.

Despite missing nine games due to the World Juniors, Gavin McKenna sits second in league scoring with 27G-61A-88P on the year, just one point back of Spokane’s Andrew Cristall. Oasiz Wiesblatt sits second for the Tigers with 23G-51A-74P, and then there’s a steep drop off to Hunter St. Martin in third with 32G-16A-48P.

Harrison Meneghin started the year in Lethbridge but has become an integral piece in goal for the Tigers. On the year he has a record of 14-8-0-1 and a save percentage of 0.903, but after an injury in Prince Albert the first time the two teams played he’s returned with a record of 7-0-0-1 and a 0.930 save percentage. Backing him up will be the combination of rookie Jordan Switzer with a 0.886 save percentage and a record of 18-6-2-0, and Zach Zahara with a 0.883 save percentage and a 3-8-0-0 record.

Both games this weekend will be at 8:00 p.m. Saskatchewan time and broadcast live on 900 CKBI. Nick Nielsen will have the pregame show starting at 7:30 on Friday from Lethbridge, and Saturday from Medicine Hat.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com