The Prince Albert Raiders have one more challenge in front of them in order to punch a ticket to the Memorial Cup in Halifax later this month.
The Raiders are preparing for the Western Hockey League (WHL) final versus the Vancouver Giants, one of the few teams that beat them during the 2018-19 regular season.
“We’re looking at some tape on them and they got pretty mobile defenceman and some high-end guys that are able to put the puck in the net,” Raiders forward Noah Gregor said.
“And three pretty deep lines that are evenly distributed throughout their lineup … so there are some things we are going to look at here over the next few days.”
After splitting the first four games of the Eastern Conference final, Prince Albert won their last two to knock out the Edmonton Oil Kings and advance to the championship round.
The Raiders seem to have found their groove in those games and hope it carries forward into two sold-out games on home ice in the final.
“The fans here are crazy,” Raiders defenceman Brayden Pachal said. “The city has been behind us the whole way here, so it’s a tough rink to play in and home ice is huge.”
The City of Prince Albert announced May 1 it is flying Raiders hockey club flags at six civic facilities. May 2 will also be Green Day in the city, with the community encouraged to wear their jerseys in support of the team.
“The Prince Albert Raiders have qualified for the Western Hockey League championship series for the first time in 34 years,” Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said in a press release.
“It is a huge accomplishment for our community-owned team. The flags are a small gesture to show our support.”
This is the first time since 1985 — when they won the Memorial Cup — that the Raiders are in the WHL final.
The Raiders kick off the best-of-seven series Friday night at the Art Hauser Centre.