NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Lukas Dragicevic shakes hands with Medicine Hat Tigers' forward Gavin McKenna following the Tigers 3-0 Game 4 win Wednesday at the Art Hauser Centre, eliminating the Raiders from the playoffs with a four-game sweep of the second-round series.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
It will take time to heal this wound but the Prince Albert Raiders will be stronger from it.
The Raiders’ East division champion season came to a close Thursday night on home ice, falling 3-0 to the regular season Eastern conference champion Medicine Hat Tigers, the last loss of a 4-game sweep in the second round of the WHL Playoffs.
Prince Albert earned their spot in the second round with a gutsy effort in the opening series of the playoffs. The Raiders trailed the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 before winning three in a row to face the Tigers.
Raiders interim head coach Ryan McDonald was proud of his group’s effort in the regular season and throughout the playoffs.
“The way that we continued to learn and work and improve throughout the season,” McDonald said. “To the division championship, coming back in the first round and again, continued to battle right until the bitter end.”
Prince Albert showed comeback efforts in Games 1 and 2 of the series, scoring first in Game 1 and then three times in the third period of that contest (April 12) to make it a 6-4 Medicine Hat win. They stormed back in Game 2 the next night with four third period goals, tying the game up at 4-4 to force overtime that Medicine Hat eventually won on a power play goal.
They were outscored 9-1 in the last two games of the series, falling 6-1 Wednesday before the series clinching, 3-0 shut-out loss Thursday.
The Raiders’ East division regular season title was their first since the 2019-20 season, a year removed from their 2019 championship. Getting back to that level of success and the resiliency needed in the first round are a few of the takeaways McDonald hopes his club leaves the season with.
“We talked lots about how games get tight, the details, the habits, the game management and continuing,” McDonald said. “You’re either winning or you’re learning for us. So once again, sitting back and taking a breather after this, looking back on some of the areas that as a group we can improve and continue to instil in our group as we move forward.”
Prince Albert was missing leading scorer Tomas Mrsic for the entire second-round series as the former Tiger was knocked out of action after taking a skate to the face in Game 5 of their first-round series with Edmonton.
The 18-year-old St. Louis Blues prospect had 33 goals and 90 points in 65 games in his first season with the club after being traded to Prince Albert ahead of the season.
The Raiders graduate forwards Niall Crocker, Rilen Kovacevic and goaltender Max Hildebrand. Crocker played five seasons in Prince Albert, tallying 70 goals and 163 games across 288 games. He suited up in 21 playoff games with eight goals and 11 points.
Kovacevic was acquired by the Raiders ahead of the WHL’s trade deadline in January, joining the green and black from the Moose Jaw Warriors who he won a WHL championship with in 2024. He had five goals and 19 points in 27 games with the Raiders, adding six goals and 10 points in 11 playoff games this season.
Hildebrand finishes his WHL career with a career season, recording 33 wins with three shutouts, working a 2.87 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in 55 regular season appearances. He finishes his five-year WHL career with 69 wins and five shutouts, earning player and goaltender of the year nominations this season.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” McDonald said of Hildebrand. “I’ve been with Max for four years and watching his work ethic, his attention to detail, he’s a tremendous teammate, tremendous leader. He’s a Raider through and through. His battle and his compete is second to none.”
The Raiders carry a young lineup chock full of talent with 2023 first overall pick Daxon Rudolph anchoring the blue line and forward Riley Boychuk, a second overall pick in the same draft, wrecking havoc in the forward group.
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins says they were lucky to get through the Raiders this year, crediting Prince Albert general manager Curtis Hunt for building the team he did.
“Curtis did an incredible job this year, he could have been an executive of the year for sure, he made some big trades,” Desjardins said. “He found a way with that club, they had a rough start, we had a rough start too, we were 1-4 to start as well, but I thought he made a lot of really good moves, he’s a really smart man. They have some really, really good young players and I’m glad to get them while they’re young.”
