Raiders captain Justice Christensen throws a hit on Hurricanes forward Gavin Lesiuk during the Dec. 13 game at the Art Hauser Centre. (Image Credit: Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Weekend preview

Raiders looking to find consistency as they welcome Hurricanes and Wheat Kings

Feb 6, 2026 | 12:51 PM

With a playoff spot officially secured, the Prince Albert Raiders are welcoming the parents and families of the players to Hockey Town North for a busy weekend of on-ice action.

On Friday, the Raiders close out the season series with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and on Saturday they’ll welcome the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Of note, this will be the first game the Raiders play since Daxon Rudolph was named the captain for the upcoming WHL Prospects Game next Wednesday in Vancouver.

The Raiders have points in their last two games, but they are coming off of a 5-4 loss in overtime to the Calgary Hitmen on Wednesday. However, the one point gained in the standings was enough to secure a playoff spot for the club. Ranked as the top team in the Eastern Conference with a record of 37-7-5 (Wins-Losses-Overtime Losses), the Raiders have a five point cushion between them and Medicine Hat, and the Raiders are back two points from Everett for the top spot in the league.

The Raiders powerplay has struggled as of late, going 2/15 in their last four games. They still sit at the fourth ranked spot in the league at 28.8%, while their penalty kill has been solid at 77.5% on the year, good for the 11th spot in the league.

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The tie at the top of the Raiders scoring is still between Aiden Oiring with 23G-33A-56P and Daxon Rudolph with 21G-35A-56P. After that is Brandon Gorzynski in third with 23G-31A-54P, and Max Heise rounds out the top four at 24G-25A-49P.

Scoring streaks:

Because they were shutout three games ago, the Raiders only have two game streaks going into the weekend. On four goals last game, the Raiders had twelve players register a point.

• The group of Braeden Cootes, Ben Harvey, and Aiden Oiring each have 2G-0A in the last two games
• The group of Evan Smith, Daxon Rudolph, and Matyas Man each have 0G-2A in the last two games

For goaltending, Michal Orsulak has been on the ice this week and could be ready to go this weekend. He has missed the last three games; his record sits at 16-4-3 on the year, a 0.900 save percentage, a 2.45 goals against average, and two shutouts this season.

Behind Orsulak is Steele Bass, who has started the last three games for the Raiders. He has a record of 8-1-1 on the year, a 0.906 save percentage, a 1.89 goals against average, and one shutout on the year. Humboldt Broncos goaltender Brady Holtvogt has been backing up in the last three games. In the SJHL this year, he has a record of 4-8-1, but an impressive 0.921 save percentage, a 2.87 goals against average, and one shutout.

Friday vs. Lethbridge

The Raiders start parents weekend against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who the Raiders are a perfect 3-0 against on the year. Those matchups have seen the Raiders win 2-1 on Nov. 5 in Lethbridge, 5-1 on Dec. 13 at home, and most recently, 3-1 on Jan. 16 back in Lethbridge.

The Hurricanes are sitting in second-to-last place team in the league with a record of 12-33-3 on the year, but they have won three of their last four games. Most recently, they lost 8-4 to Medicine Hat on Saturday, but then had three straight wins: 4-1 over Calgary, 5-2 over Saskatoon, and 6-2 over Regina.

On special teams, the Hurricanes are ranked 16th in the league at 21.5%, and their penalty kill is even lower at 20th in the league and 71.3%.

Looking at the Hurricanes leading scorers, it’s Easton Daneault in the top spot with 8G-27A-35P on the year. Kayden Longley sits second with 9G-25A-34P, Owen Berge is third with 16G-16A-32P, and Kade Duell rounds out the top four with 13G-18A-31P.

Scoring streaks:

• Kade Duell has 2G-3A in the last five games
• Easton Daneault has 1G-4A in his last four games
• Owen Berge has 5G-0A in the last three games including a hat trick against Calgary
• Kayden Longley has 1G-4A in his last two games

At the backend, it’s been Koen Cleaver with the majority of the starts this year. Cleaver comes into the weekend with a 9-20-1 record, a 0.865 save percentage, a 4.75 goals against average, and a shutout this year.

Behind him is Leif Oaten with a 5-13-0 record, a 0.877 save percentage, and a 4.16 goals against average.

The Raiders take on the Hurricanes Friday night at 7 p.m.

Saturday vs. Brandon

Moving on to Saturday’s matchup, the season series against the Brandon Wheat Kings has also seen the Raiders go undefeated at 4-0. Back on Sept. 27, the Raiders won 5-4 in overtime in Brandon, then another 4-1 win at home Nov. 21, a 2-1 win Nov. 28 in Brandon, and most recently a 5-2 win at home on Jan. 13.

The Wheat Kings themselves are coming off of their U.S. road swing where they went a solid 4-3-0 including a stop in Lethbridge before crossing the border. They finished their road trip with a 4-0 loss in Spokane, along with losses in Everett and Seattle, but earned wins over Lethbridge, Wenatchee, Tri-City, and an overtime win in Portland. The Wheat Kings will play at home Friday against Calgary before heading on the road to Prince Albert Saturday.

On special teams, the Wheat Kings have the 10th ranked powerplay in the league with a 26.2% success rate. The penalty kill is operating at 76.2%, good for 14th in the league.

Leading the way for the Wheat Kings is Luke Mistelbacher with 30G-28A-58P on the season, tied with Jaxon Jacobson at 14G-44A-58P. Third is Joby Baumuller with 36G-19A-55P, and fourth is Grayson Burzynski with 9G-38A-47P.

Because they were shutout in the end of their U.S. road swing, the Wheat Kings don’t have any active point streaks coming into the weekend. That said, before their most recent loss:

• Joby Baumuller had 5G-1A in the four games prior
• Giorgos Pantelas had 2G-3A in the three games prior
• Brady Turko had 3G-1A in the two games prior
• Nicholas Johnson had 0G-4A in the two games prior
• Caleb Hadland had 0G-2A in the two games prior

The Wheat Kings have split time this season between Filip Ruzicka and Jayden Kraus. Ruzicka has the most starts with a record of 19-9-0 on the year, a 0.900 save percentage, a 3.22 goals against average, and one shutout on the year.

Kraus, a Prince Albert local, has a 9-10-1 record on the year with a 0.893 save percentage, a 3.74 goals against average, and two shutouts on the year.

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nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com