By Trevor Redden

Raiders begin preparations for Warriors

Mar 20, 2018 | 2:00 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders and Moose Jaw Warriors could not have taken more different paths to the 2018 WHL playoffs.

While Moose Jaw was ranked nationally all year long, eclipsing 100 points for the first time in franchise history and earning the WHL’s regular season title, the Raiders had to fight tooth and nail to earn a playoff berth in the final week of the regular season, on the heels of a nine-game winning streak. After triggering a rebuild in the 2016-17 season with the trades of Brendan Guhle and Reid Gardiner among others, the revamped green-and-gold have proven many doubters wrong by getting back into the playoffs just a year later.

“We’re going to play free, we’re going to play structured, we’re going to play hard, but the pressure’s all on them because they’re the number-two team in the country,” Raiders Head Coach Marc Habscheid said.

Despite missing playoffs a year ago, the Raiders received a crash course in managing the day-to-day emotions of a do-or-die setting as the team raced the Saskatoon Blades for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference all season long. It wasn’t until the fourth-last game of the regular season that Prince Albert clinched their playoff berth.

“We’ve had some games where we’ve been down a goal, down two goals, and we’ve had to rally back and stay positive within the dressing room. That kind of experience during the regular season will definitely pay off in the playoffs,” Forward Kody McDonald said.

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McDonald will be making his fourth straight postseason appearance after coming to Prince Albert from the Prince George Cougars in January.

“It’s all about the highs and lows in playoffs,” he added. “You can score three goals but the next minute you can be down 4-3 and anything can happen, so it’s all about keeping your emotions calm.”

This is the second time in three years the Raiders and Warriors have met in the postseason, as they clashed in the spring of 2016. On the Prince Albert side only Sean Montgomery, Vojtech Budik, Parker Kelly, and Ian Scott took part in that series, while Zack Hayes and Curtis Meger were with the team as call-ups but didn’t play.

That year the Warriors dropped the Raiders in five games, but those players remembered the atmosphere fondly.

“We all know how the energy is in this building, and we’re excited to get it back,” Hayes said.

The Warriors’ place at the table this spring has been set for some time, as the team was carrying lofty expectations all season long. For the Raiders, the spot was never guaranteed, but now that they’re here they want more.

“They deservedly have the Scotty Munro trophy for the regular season, but all I know is the regular season is over. Good for them, they’ve got their name on that trophy, but now all the teams that made the playoffs are fighting for the same trophy and it’s not the Scotty Munro trophy, it’s the Ed Chynoweth Cup,” Habscheid said.

“We respect them, they’re a good team, but all we know is we have to beat them four out of seven and we think we can do that or we wouldn’t bother showing up to Moose Jaw on Friday. And trust me, we’ll be there on Friday.”

trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden