Daily Dose of the Dub: Raiders clinch spot in WHL Final, Russia takes home silver, Canada fails to medal at U-18s

WHL Final match-up set

The Prince Albert Raiders have earned their spot in the WHL final with a 4-2 win in Game Six against the Edmonton Oil Kings to win the series, 4-2. The Raiders advance to take on the Vancouver Giants who clinched their spot after defeating the Spokane Chiefs in five games. The two teams will get a bit of a break before the championship series begins on Friday, May 3rd in Prince Albert.

It’s interesting to note that the series will be played under a 2-3-2 format, meaning Prince Albert will host the first two games of the series, Vancouver will get the next three (Game 5 if necessary) and the series will return to Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert for Game 6 and 7 if necessary. The WHL has played its championship series under this format since 2015 when the Brandon Wheat Kings took on the Kelowna Rockets.

Russia takes home silver at U-18 World Championships, Canada fails to medal 

Russia took home a silver medal on Sunday at the U-18 World Championships after a 4-3 loss to Sweden at the U-18 World Championships. Nikita Sedov (Regina Pats) got into two games for the Russians, registering no points, two penalty minutes and finishing as a +3.

The bronze medal game saw Canada take on the powerhouse Americans, falling 5-2. Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes) was the only WHL representative to get on the score sheet with Canada’s first goal of the game. He finished the tournament with four goals and five assists in seven games. Nolan Maier (Saskatoon Blades) was in net for Canada and made 36 saves on 41 shots in the loss. He finished the tournament with two wins, a .925 save percentage and a 2.67 goals-against average in three games.

To recap how the other WHL representatives on Team Canada did: Brayden Tracey (Moose Jaw Warriors) four goals, three assists. Connor Zary (Kamloops Blazers) four goals, three assists. Peyton Krebs (Winnipeg Ice) six goals, four assists. Braeden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings) two goals, one assist. Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna Rockets) one assist. Daemon Hunt (Moose Jaw Warriors) one assist. Taylor Gauthier (Prince George Cougars) three wins, a .913 save percentage and a 3.02 goals-against average.

Three Stars of the Night: 

First Star: For the second consecutive game, Aliaksei Protas registered a hat-trick in a Prince Albert win.

Second Star: Prince Albert’s Ian Scott made 32 saves on 34 shots in the win

Third Star: Edmonton’s Trey Fix-Wolansky had both goals for Edmonton.

Honourable Mentions: The Edmonton Oil Kings Graduating Players: Quinn Benjafield (315 games played, 66 goals, 115 assists with the Kamloops Blazers and Edmonton Oil Kings), Vince Loschiavo (318 GP, 95 G, 79 A with the Kootenay Ice, Moose Jaw Warriors, and the Edmonton Oil Kings) and Andrew Fyten (244 GP, 35 G, 48 A with the Calgary Hitmen, Swift Current Broncos and Edmonton Oil Kings).