Current Raiders assistant captain Aiden Oiring takes a faceoff during the last time the Raiders hosted the Rockets back in December of 2023. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Super Hero Night

Raiders host Memorial Cup Host Rockets in final game before Christmas break

Dec 19, 2025 | 11:55 AM

The final game before the Christmas break is going to be a test for the Prince Albert Raiders as they face off against the Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets.

The team is coming off of a disappointing 5-4 loss to the Regina Pats on the road Wednesday which broke up a five game winning streak. Before that, the Raiders had wins over Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Swift Current, Edmonton, and Red Deer.

In the standings, the Raiders are one point back of Medicine Hat for the first place spot in the Eastern Conference, but they still have two games in hand. The Raiders record sits at 22-5-4 (Wins-Losses-Overtime Losses) on the year.

Kelowna has made a number of trades to bolster their roster ahead of the 2025-26 Memorial Cup, but those pieces have taken some time to gel and as a result, the Rockets are tied for fourth in the Western Conference with a 16-11-4 record, a full eight points out of second and 19 points out of first.

Friday’s game serves as the last game of a six-game road swing through Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the Rockets, and they have not strung together consecutive wins or losses yet. Most recently, they picked up a 3-2 shootout win over Saskatoon, but then a 6-2 loss in Moose Jaw, an 8-5 win in Regina, a 6-3 loss in Brandon, and a 6-4 win in Swift Current.

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The Raiders enter the game with the more successful powerplay this season with a 24.1per cent success rate, good for 14th in the league. On the penalty kill, the Raiders are 12th in the league 76.2 per cent on the year.

The Rockets powerplay so far sits 18th in the league at 19.5 per cent. They have the better penalty kill as they sit sixth in the league at 80.5.

Aiden Oiring still sits at the top of the Raiders scoring with 13G-19A-32P, but now Riley Boychuk has tied him at the top with 5G-27A-32P. Daxon Rudolph takes up the third place spot with 14G-16A-30P, also tied with the newly acquired Brandon Gorzynski at 13G-17A-30P.

Recently, it’s the two young defenceman carrying the offence for the Raiders. Brock Cripps has the longest active point streak with 1G-7A in the last eight games. Daxon Rudolph has a goal in each of the last six games, and a seven game point streak going with 7G-5A. With a four game streak going, Brayden Dube has 2G-2A. In their last three games, Riley Boychuk has 0G-6A and Brandon Gorzynski has 2G-3A including his first assist as a Raider. Finally in the last two games, Evan Smith has 1G-2A, Justice Christensen has 2G-0A, and Connor Howe has 1G-1A.

Leading the way for the Rockets in scoring is former Lethbridge Hurricanes assistant captain Shane Smith with 17G-20A-37P. Following him is San Jose Sharks third round pick Carson Wetsch with 12G-23A-35P, and sitting third is Utah Mammoth first rounder Tij Iginla with 13G-14A-27P, but he has not made the trip with the team as he joins Team Canada at the World Juniors.

The Rockets don’t have a single player with points in consecutive games coming into Friday’s action.

In goal, the Raiders are still without Michal Orsulak who is in the running to get the starting job for Team Czechia at the World Juniors. As the team’s veteran goaltender, that means the weight falls on Dimitri Fortin’s shoulders with a 10-2-1 record, a 0.874 save percentage, a 3.21 goals against average, and one shutout on the year. The young Steele Bass has had one start since he was called up and has a perfect 2-0-0 record on the year, a 0.878 save percentage, and a 2.50 goals against average.

As for the Rockets goaltending, it’s a pair of goaltenders the Rockets acquired from other teams splitting starts. American Harrison Boettiger’s rights were acquired from Lethbridge as part of the Caden Price trade. He’s earned a record of 9-3-2 on the year with a 0.919 save percentage, and a 2.64 goals against average. Former Moose Jaw Warrior Josh Banini has a 7-8-2 record on the year with a 0.882 save percentage, and a 3.80 goals against average.

The Raiders will host the Kelowna Rockets for their one and only meeting of the season Friday night at 7 p.m. The Brandt Raider Radio pregame show starts at 6:30 p.m. on 900 CKBI.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com