For the first time since winning it all in 2019, the Prince Albert Raiders will battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
The Raiders captured the Eastern Conference Championship with a 7-6 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Championship on Sunday night.
A five-goal second period sealed the win for the powerhouse Prince Albert squad on the road, highlighted by a two-goal, one-assist effort by Lacombe, Alta.’s Daxon Rudolph and a one-goal, two-assist performance from Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes.
2026 NHL Draft-eligible Riley Boychuk netted the series-deciding goal.
Michal Orsulak steered aside 23 of 28 shots in the win.
Prince Albert and the reigning champion Tigers swapped blowout wins in the opening games of the third round, with Prince Albert harnessing an 8-3 Game 1 win and Medicine Hat rebounding with a 5-0 shutout in Game 2.
The teams also split in Medicine Hat as the Tabbies eked out a 2-1 overtime victory before Prince Albert muscled out a 6-3 road win.
The Raiders clinched a second consecutive victory with another 6-3 outcome in Game 5 to set up Sunday’s clinching scenario.
Orsulak, who is ranked second among all North American netminders in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft, is 12-2-1 with a 2.26 goals-against average, a .900 save percentage and three shutouts.
Rudolph, a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, leads all skaters in postseason scoring with 23 points (20G-13A) in 15 games.
Prince Albert has hoisted the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions twice, most recently in 2019, and in 1985, when the club also captured the Memorial Cup.
The Raiders topped the Eastern Conference with a 52-10-5-1 record to capture a second consecutive East Division title.
Prince Albert will battle the Western Conference Champion Everett Silvertips for the 2026 WHL Championship.
