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The Rivalry continues.

Nov 26, 2010 | 5:52 AM

 

The Raiders host Saskatoon tonight in the opener of a home and home series, the first head to head matchup since opening weekend which the Blades swept in a pair of one goal games.

The Raiders are trying to claw their way back into the playoff dance sitting four points out of a playoff spot while Saskatoon is in a battle for first in the Eastern Conference.

Both will likely be missing their top and overage Europeans.  Igor Revenko of the Raiders continues to recover from an abdominal strain while Saskatoon's Merek Viedensky is recovering from a concussion.

The Raiders found a way to win Wednesday with a 3-2 decision over Moose Jaw, while the Baldes have been fiding ways to win all season.

Newly acquired defenseman Antoine Corbin is the hottest Raider with six points including two goals over the past four games while Jonathan Parker remains the model of consistancy with 15 goals.  The 19 year old Californian has also equalled last year's goal total and has points in 20 of the past 23 games.

Brandon Herrod snapped a 15 game scoring droubt with a bounce to bend the twine with the winner on Wednesday and Nathan Deck made an impact with a solid performance in his first game back in a month from a torn knee ligament.

17 year old Goaltender Eric Williams has been oustanding in his last three starts, winning two of them and was good enough to win in Medicine Hat Sunday. A media room full of scouts on Wednesday watched Williams raise his save percentage to an impressive .908.

A big crowd is expected at the Art Hauser Centre for Teddy Bear toss night, with the return match tomorrow night at Credit Union Centre.

All Raider games can be heard on 900 CKBI and on 900ckbi.com.

dwilson@rawlco.com