By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders lose sixth straight; Herrod plays his 300th game

Nov 23, 2011 | 11:16 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders are third last in the Western Hockey League in both power play and penalty killing situations and their not-so-special, special teams came into play in their 6-1 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers Wednesday night, their sixth loss in a row.

Not only were the Raiders 3-7 on the penalty kill, but 0-4 on the power play and surrendered their 11th shorthanded goal of the season. That leads the league and is five more than the next closest team in that category, the Portland Winterhawks.

“It’s frustrating from a staff standpoint or coaching standpoint when you set the parameters and what’s supposed to be done, and you get out there and it’s not executed,” said Raiders head coach Steve Young. “Whether it’s not seen or executed at the time, it’s breaks down. I thought we did have some chances early on the power play, and maybe if you score those goals, you get some momentum but you have to believe in the execution.”

Tigers sniper Emerson Etem was especially a pain in the Raiders side. Two of his three points were in special teams situations, including his shorthanded marker in the second period. That shorty was his seventh of the year which leads the league.

“On the PK, you’re obviously down a man so you just gotta be smart before you think offence,” said Etem, first round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2010 NHL Entry Draft. “I’m playing with a great guy, great partner, Curtis Valk. He’s able to find me, he’s got his head up and he looks for me on the backside and using a lot of speed on the outside.”

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Etem also leads the league in goals scored with 26 in 25 games played, but right behind in the WHL goals race is 17-year-old teammate Hunter Shinkaruk with 25 ginos on the season. Both scored in the game and have developed chemistry with each other on the Tigers’ top power play unit.

“We have a connection, he’s a very skilled guy, he’s a smart, shoot-first type player and it’s real nice (playing with him),” said Etem of Shinkaruk, who isn’t eligible until the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. “I’ve been able to build a lot of assists this year because he’s been shooting a lot of pucks and they’ve been going in.

“He’s a great player, great future prospect with the draft coming up next year and a guy you gotta watch out for.”

With all of the issues the Raiders have had this season, especially recently, their 5-on-5 play has been there. The Raiders outshot the Tigers 38-27, but are 3-8-0-1 on the season when outshooting an opponent.

Specialty teams weren’t their only problem on Wednesday as Raiders goaltender Eric Williams surrendered six goals on 27 shots. Two of those goals were given up within the first three shots. Young did not choose to spell Williams with backup Cole Holowenko and explained after the game

“I’m tired of playing musical chairs with these guys, they have to be accountable,” said Young. “I could have easily pulled Williams and made it easy on him and bring the next guy in but I think there comes a point where everybody has to be accountable on this hockey club and the goaltenders are included in that.”

On the other side of the rink, Tyler Bunz made 37 saves in net for the Tigers.

Back on Oct. 24, the Raiders and Tigers struck a deal with each other, as the Raiders landed forward Kellan Tochkin, while defenceman James Bettauer went to Medicine Hat. Both players scored a goal against their former teams.

Valk scored two goals in the game, including the first one 1:25 into the game and added an assist. Reid Petryk also registered a goal and an assist.

The Raiders were without the services of two important pieces of their puzzle, Mark McNeill (illness) and Harrison Ruopp (upper body). Both are considered day to day. Shane Danyluk is still at least a month away from returning.

Herrod reaches rare milestone

Suffering a 6-1 loss certainly wasn’t the way Raiders co-captain Brandon Herrod wanted to celebrate his milestone 300th WHL career game, but it doesn’t tarnish the accomplishment.

Herrod has played five full seasons, all of which the Prince Albert Raiders and is one of three Raiders to reach the 300 game milestone. He could break the franchise record of 330 games played this season, set by Brett Novak in 2000-2006.

“First of all, it’s very big to play that many games and play those games for one hockey club,” said Young. “Brandon is a character guy that always comes to work, whether it’s games or practices and he’s just a solid guy.

“Getting that milestone is great for him, but it shows his character to work hard through everything.”

Herrod said the time he’s spent in Prince Albert has not only made him a better hockey player, but a better person as he’s learned quite a few things since starting his WHL career as a 16-year-old.

“It means a lot, I learned a lot from this franchise,” said Herrod. “It’s my fifth year here, so I’ve been through the ups and the downs over the last couple years and the lessons I’ve learned will stick with me forever.”

Playing on the Raiders who are 5-19-1-1, Herrod said the biggest lesson he’s learned this year is dealing with adversity.

“We have to overcome a lot of adversity,” said Herrod. “You might say we’re in a little hole here, so we just have to keep working at it and try to get out.”

The Raiders (5-19-1-1) will have a chance to do that on Friday against the Vancouver Giants (15-9-0-1). The game will be played at the Art Hauser Centre at 7 p.m., will also be broadcasted on Shaw TV.

jdandrea@panow.com