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In one of the most heated playoff matchups of round one, the Edmonton Oil Kings and Prince Albert Raiders will go toe to toe in what has the potential to be one of the most intense series' of the playoffs.
A significant loss for Prince Albert, however, is the departure of gritty, physical forward Krzystof Macias. The "Polish Prince" as he has been nicknamed, was a force in every game against Edmonton and has been missed. With that said, captain Justice Christensen as well as many other Raiders have stepped up in his place and continue to make the Raiders an annoying team to play against.
The Oil King's biggest strength has been up front, with Florida Panthers prospect Gracyn Sawchyn spearheading the team's offence all season. Right behind him is younger brother Lukas, as well as captain Gavin Hodnett and Czech forwards Miroslav Holinka and Adam Jecho. This group has gelled well together from the get go, despite a couple growing pains in the early season. Now that they have put it together, Edmonton's forwards are ready to go.
This series will be one that ultimately gets decided not necessarily by depth, but specifically the youth movement. Raiders '08-born skaters Ty Muenier and Daxon Rudolph have taken major strides since the beginning of the season, and are quickly becoming invaluable to the green and white. On the other end, the Oil Kings will be looking for breakout performances from the likes of Joe Iginla and Landon Hanson, but not to be denied on the back end is Josh Lee. Despite being criminally undersized (5'7") at 17-years-old, the young blueliner is making his case to move up the lineup very soon.
Edmonton and Prince Albert have been evenly matched against each other all season, but the latter of the two have broken out and shot up the Eastern conference standings. If the goaltending holds up (likely Alex Worthington in Edmonton, Sam Hildebrandt in Prince Albert) this should be an electric series from start to finish.
Prediction: Edmonton in 7
Season Series: Prince Albert 3-2
Scoring Leaders:
Prince Albert:
Tomas Mrsic 41-88-129
Aiden Oiring 36-67-103
Lukas Dragicevic29-32-61
Brayden Dube 39-20-59
Niall Crocker 20-27-47
Edmonton:
Gracyn Sawchyn 42-51-93
Gavin Hodnett 22-62-84
Lukas Sawchyn 34-38-72
Adam Jecho 29-37-66
Roan Woodward 26-39-65
Schedule:
Game 1: @ Prince Albert, Friday, March 28, 7:00 MT
Game 2: @ Prince Albert, Saturday, March 29, 7:00 MT
Game 3: @ Edmonton, Tuesday, April 1, 7:00 MT
Game 4: @ Edmonton, Wednesday, April 2 7:00 MT
*Game 5: @ Prince Albert, Friday, April 4, 7:00 MT
*Game 6: @ Edmonton, Sunday, April 6, 4:00 MT
*Game 7: @ Prince Albert, Tuesday, April 8, 7:00 MT
*- if necessary
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