Prince Albert, SK –  On the night they raised their 2026 East Division and 2026 Eastern Conference Championship banners, the Prince Albert Raiders (1-0-0-0) continued the celebration with a 7-4 win over the Regina Pats (0-1-0-0) in the 2026-27 Home Opener at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday night.

Connor Howe had a pair of goals in the win for the Raiders. Ben Harvey (1g-3a), Maddix McCagherty (1g-2a), and Riley Boychuk (2a) also had multi-point efforts for the Green & Gold.

The Raiders got out to a fast start in the opening frame. Benett Kelly’s wrister from the point beat Taylor Tabashniuk to get the Raiders on the board for the first time this season.

About eight minutes into the first, Howe struck for the first time. McCagherty outwaited a sliding Pats defender and fed Howe in front of the net. Howe was able to make a quick move to his backhand and lift a shot over Tabashniuk to put the Raiders up 2-0.

The hometown kid made it a three-goal game with 5:46 left in the opening 20. Boychuk found Howe with a backdoor feed and the Prince Albert product one-timed it home.

Regina got one back before the end of the first. Keets Fawcett crept in from the left faceoff circle on the power play and snapped a shot past Michal Orsulak to make it a 3-1 game after the opening period.

Less than six minutes into the second, the Raiders restored their three-goal lead. Harvey dropped it for Darius Hordal off the rush. Hordal’s shot was stopped by Drake Mooney – who started the second period in goal for the Pats – and McCagherty banged in the rebound.

Jace Egland brought the Pats back within one. He was able to cut back in the offensive zone and fire a shot that beat Orsulak, making it 4-2 at the 9:30 mark of the second stanza.

Three minutes later, Athens Shingoose lifted a pass from his own end to spring Carsyn Dyck on a breakaway. Dyck’s shot went off the post, but it ricochetted off the back of Mooney’s pad and into the net for his first as a Raider.

The Pats got their own fortunate bounce to bring them back within two. Fawcett’s shot went high over Orsulak off the glass behind the net. The puck bounced off the glass, hit Orsulak’s back, and went into the net.

In the final minute of the second, the Pats struck again on the power play. Ellis Mieyette’s toe-drag release found the far corner to beat Orsulak and make it a 5-4 game after 40 minutes.

The Raiders restored their two-goal lead late in the third period on the power play. Boychuk collected the puck in his own end. He danced through the Pats defence and dished a cross-crease pass to Alisher Sarkenov who buried the one-timer for a highlight-reel goal.

Harvey rounded out the scoring with 2:15 remaining when he found the empty net from his own zone, completing his four-point night.

Orsulak picked up his first win of the season with a 20-save performance. Mooney was credited with the loss after making 12 saves in relief for the Pats. Tabashniuk stopped 10 shots in his period of action.

The Raiders head to Swift Current on Saturday night to take on the Broncos at the InnovationPlex. Game time is 6 p.m. Listen to Nick Nielsen on 900 CKBI, or watch live on the WHL’s YouTube channel.

The next Raiders’ home game is on Friday, September 25 when they open a home-and-home series with the Saskatoon Blades. Puck drop at the Art Hauser Centre is 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Raider Office and at sasktix.ca.