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Raiders guarantee win over Broncos, players ready

Jan 11, 2018 | 11:00 AM

In every sport, it’s an unwritten rule that players refrain from guaranteeing victories.

The Prince Albert Raiders have thrown all that out the window for Friday’s game against the Swift Current Broncos. Despite the Broncos being the fourth-ranked team in the country, and being a part of some of the biggest deals in the WHL, the Raiders are guaranteeing a win and are putting their money where their mouth is.

If the Raiders win, they win and everybody has a great time. But “in the small chance that the Broncos pull off a miracle” as the Raiders’ tongue and cheek release suggests, the Raiders will take Friday’s used tickets and turn them into game vouchers on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for that night’s contest against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

“Some fans from outside our market are saying ‘you don’t have a chance, they’re going to pound you,’ but we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think we had a chance to win,” Raiders business manager Mike Scissons said, who originally came up with the idea. “We feel we have a pretty good team. We hope fans will come and check it out. If we happen to lose, they get to come to the next game for free.”

Raiders captain Curtis Miske said the promotion is a fun challenge for the team’s players at the same time as being “still another game.”

“It’s a guaranteed win and we’re coming ready to play,” Raiders captain Curtis Miske said. “It seems like all these teams are loading up in our division and it’s good to be in that underdog role. We’re looking forward to it.”

“It’s an exciting time of year. It’s a playoff push,” Miske said. “We’ve got 30 games left, it’s important and it’s a lot of fun.”

The Raiders beat the Broncos 5-1 in the first meeting this season Nov. 3 at the Art Hauser Centre. The other three games have been one-goal games won by the Broncos including a 3-2 shootout win Nov. 24 at the Art Hauser Centre, and 5-4 OT on Dec. 5, and 2-1 Dec. 12 both in Speedy Creek.

 

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW