Raiders playoff success creating community in small town Saskatchewan
When the Prince Albert Raiders return to Saskatchewan this weekend, they’ll either be carrying a trophy or have a chance to win one in front of an adoring home crowd.
Either way, mayor Greg Dionne is sure they’ll be greeted at the airport by hundreds of fans.
The junior hockey club has been a source of pride for the city’s 35,000 residents this season, cruising first to the top of the Western Hockey League standings and now to the league finals, where they led the Giants 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Friday in Vancouver.
“Our community is just so excited,” Dionne said in a phone interview on Thursday. “We’re all in economic slowdown — the whole country, not just us — and (the Raiders) have now given us a positive thing to grasp onto and feel good about.”