Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne helps welcome the Giants' team to Prince Albert. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Raider pride

The Giants have landed

May 2, 2019 | 5:01 PM

It might’ve been a comfortable flight for the Vancouver Giants, but members were hit with chillier temperatures when they landed in Prince Albert.

The temperature at the time of their arrival was 7 Celsius, and the wind was gusting up to 35 km/hr which was a far cry from the 18 C temperature the team left behind in Vancouver.

Giants leading scorer Davis Koch was among the first players to exit the plane and said he was feeling excited about the upcoming series with the Raiders.

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“I have never flown to a game before so to have this opportunity is pretty awesome,” he said.

When asked if he was concerned about the expected noise level in the Art Hauser Centre, Koch said he would try his best to tune it out and focus on his game. That sentiment was echoed by the team’s play-by-play announcer, Dan O’Connor.

“With all due respect to the Prince Albert Raiders and their fans, the Langley event centre can be pretty darn loud as well so these are going to be two arenas, two fan bases that are very deserving of this series and it’s going to be so much fun,” he said.

Mother Nature appears to be a Raiders fan based on the reception she gave the Giants team on Thursday. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

O’Connor also stressed he was very impressed Prince Albert’s mayor waited to shake his hand after he got off the plane.

“Obviously the series is about to become very bitter, but it’s nice to know Prince Albert and Saskatchewan as a whole is a very welcoming province. I think these two teams respect one another and the two communities respect one another an awful lot,” he said.

Mayor Greg Dionne was waiting on the tarmac when the plane arrived and shook the hand of each player and coach as they exited the plane.

“I wanted them to know we are a friendly city and we are a welcoming city, and at the end of the day, we are glad they are here,” he said.

To help support the Raiders team, every city facility has a Raiders flag. As well, both the city’s truck at the airport and Dionne’s truck, which helped escort the Giants’ bus back to the city, were equipped with flags. This Friday and Saturday has also been proclaimed Raider days. Dionne encouraged everyone in Prince Albert and the surrounding area to show their Raider pride.

Mayor Greg Dionne made sure the Giants received a proper escort on their way to their hotel. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

“If you see someone from Vancouver come by you, because we have a few people in town from Vancouver, say ‘Welcome’ and give then a smile and let them know we are a friendly city, even though we are going to kick them around,” Dionne said

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell