Dec. 7 at Kamloops

HOCKEY TOWN NORTH NOTES: Wednesday the Prince Albert Raiders started this three game road trip with a 7-3 loss to the Hitmen in Calgary, the teams’ fifth straight set back…Their last win was Nov.21, 4-1 over the Swift Current Broncos at the Art Hauser Centre…The Raiders longest losing skid of the season was 6 games from Oct.7 – Oct.20…The Raiders record is 10-18-3-1 (4-10-2-1 at home, 6-8-1-0 on the road, 0-3 in overtime, 1-1 in shoot outs) for 24 points, 5th in the WHL Eastern Division…For the third straight game Wednesday, the Raiders found themselves down 2-0 by the mid point of the first period…The Hitmen ended up scoring 3 goals in the first 12 minutes of the contest before the Raiders answered on the power play with just under 2 minutes left in the first to trail 3-1 after the opening frame…PA scored 1:11 into the second to make it 3-2 before the Hitmen scored goals 18 seconds apart two minutes later, adding another 4 minutes after that to go up 6-2 after the second…The teams traded third period markers…Calgary out shot PA 44-21…When the Raiders lead after 2 periods they are 9-0-2-0, but when trailing after forty minutes are 0-14-0-1…The Raiders have 25 players on their roster including 3 twenty-year olds, 8 nineteen year-olds, 3 eighteen year-olds, 9 seventeen year-olds and 2 sixteen year-olds…The Raiders roster includes 10 first year WHL players.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Raiders scored 1 power play goal in three tries in Calgary Wednesday…On the season the Raiders have scored 26 power play goals in 151 tries (17.2 % – 18th best in the WHL)…On the road the Raiders have the 3rd best PP in the league (17/71=23.9%)…Calgary scored two power play goals in 5 tries Wednesday…On the season the Raiders have surrendered 35 power play goals against in 176 chances (80.1% – tied for 16th in the WHL)…The Raiders have scored 2 short handed goals and surrendered four short handed goals against.
UPCOMING GAMES: Following tonight the Raiders have 2 home games and 1 on the road before the Christmas break…They wind up this road trip in Prince George tomorrow night…The Raiders conclude the pre-Christmas portion of the regular season on home ice to Kelowna Friday, Dec.14 and Brandon, Saturday, Dec.15…They return to action Dec.27 at home to Saskatoon.
VS. THE BLAZERS: This is the 1st of 2 meetings between the Raiders and Blazers this season…Last year the teams met only once with the Blazers prevailing 6-4 on home ice Jan.30…In the last six seasons the Raiders have one win over the Blazers (3-0 in Kamloops Oct.10/05)…Their record since 2001 is 1-5-1-0…The Raiders have not defeated the Blazers in PA in that stretch…Kamloops is in Prince Albert Feb.29.
INJURY REPORT: Jeff May – Shoulder (4-6 weeks), Andy Smith – Knee (2 weeks), Bryce Lamb – Wrist (2 weeks), Kyle Aschim – Concussion (week to week). 
RAIDER REPORT: Devon LeBlanc, Ryan McDonald and Matt Robertson were the goal scorers for the Raiders in Calgary Wednesday with assists to Ryan DePape (2), Robertson and Ryan White …Steven Stanford started in goal and stopped 21 of 27 shots he faced in the first 28 minutes of the game…He was replaced by Dustin Butler who blocked 16 of 17 shots in the final 32 minutes…It is the first time in his WHL career that Stanford was replaced during a game…Tonight is the return of overages Butler and White to Kamloops after being acquired by the Raiders in separate trades earlier this season…Butler is tied for 12th in save percentage (.907)…McDonald leads the team in scoring, but Wednesday’s goal was his first since Nov.7 (12 games)…Justin Bernhardt has 9 points in 14 games as a Raider after being acquired from Kelowna Nov.1…Dustin Cameron has 15 points in 23 games after being acquired from Saskatoon Oct.7 and is within two points of setting a new career high for points in a season (18 established in 64 games in 06-07 with the Blades)…Team Captain Jeff May suffered a shoulder injury Nov.24 and is out 4-6 weeks…It is the first time in 4 and a half seasons with the Raiders that May has been injured…May has played 279 games with the Raiders over that time…May had 20 points in 25 games, including 19 assists and is tied for 14th overall in scoring by defencemen… Max Brandl is tied for 10th in first goals (4) and tied for 17th in the league in game winning goals (3)…Brandl has left the Raiders to play for Team Germany at the World Junior Championships “B Pool” in Germany…Team Germany starts the Championships Sunday against Lithuania…Brandl is expected to return to the Raiders Dec.27…15 year-old centre Ryan Harrison of Kelowna may join the Raiders for tonight’s game…Harrison was the Raiders second round selection in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft…Harrison is 5’10”, 175 lbs. and would wear #15…This season with the Okanagan Rockets in the BC Major Midget League Harrison has 12 goals and 11 assists in 20 games and is tied for 11th in league scoring…Robertson played both games for Team WHL in the ADT Canada Russia Challenge in November…Robertson was an Assistant Captain and had an assist in Team WHL’s 4-1 win over the Russians in Medicine Hat Nov.29…When Robertson scores a goal the Raiders are 7-3-1-0…Brandon Herrod has been named to Team West and Ryan Button to Team Pacific for the Under 17 World Challenge in London, Ontario Dec.29 – Jan.4…Last week the Raiders acquired 19 year old defenceman Zach Sim (#14) from the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for a 5th round Bantam pick in 2008…Nov.18 they acquired 17 year-old defenceman Zak Stebner (#8) from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for the WHL rights to 18 year-old goaltender David Aime.