The Prince Albert Raiders try to take a 2-0 series lead over the Everett Silvertips in Game 2 of the Western Hockey League Championship Series on Saturday night.
The WHL Championship Series features a battle between the two best regular season teams with Everett leading the league with a 57-8-3 record following closely by Prince Albert with a 52-10-6 record.
Prince Albert has previously appeared in the final two other times, taking home the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 1985 and 2019. The Silvertips appeared in the WHL final twice before, falling to the Medicine Hat tigers in 2004 and again to the Swift Current Broncos in 2018.
The Raiders took Game 1 on Friday 4-2 with a tremendous amount of support from netminder Michal Orsulak.
Everett outshot Prince Albert 41-26 but Orsulak was up to the challenge making 39 saves in the victory.
The Silvertips jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the opening frame but three unanswered goals in the second period gave the Raiders the lead entering the final frame.
Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen scored late in the third for Everett to cut the deficit to a goal, but an empty-net tally by Aiden Oiring sealed the win for Prince Albert.
Vancouver Canucks top prospect Braden Cootes provided a goal and an assist in the win while forward Jonah Silvertson and captain Justice Christensen each tallied.
Cootes was a key acquisition for the Raiders at the CHL trade deadline and he registered 14 goals and 40 points in 28 regular season games since he joined the team in January. He is tied for third in WHL playoff scoring with Miettinen with seven goals and 20 points in 14 games.
Blueliner Daxon Rudolph recorded an assist in the win, increasing his WHL playoff scoring lead with nine goals and 24 points. The 6-foot-2, right-shot defenceman finished third among defencemen in WHL scoring with 28 goals and 78 points in the regular season and is ranked No. 8 in TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s march draft list for the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo.
Detroit Red Wings prospect Carter Bear also provided a goal for the Silvertips in the loss while 16-year-old phenom Landon DuPont was limited to an assist.
DuPont is the Canadian Hockey League’s most recent recipient of the exceptional player status in 2024. He recorded 18 goals and 73 points with a plus-59 rating during the regular season and has four goals and 18 points in the playoffs.
The 5-foot-11, right-shot blueliner is a favourite to go No. 1 in the 2027 NHL Draft.
The series shifts to the Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert for Game 3 on Tuesday which can be watch LIVE at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on TSN3, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
