raiderstourney nov25

The Kabos Bantam AA Raiders finished just shy of a medal at their home tournament this weekend.

They had a 2-1-1 record in round-robin to finish second in their pool and make it to the consolation final, but lost to the Saskatoon Stallions 4-2 in the B-Final game Sunday to finish 4th.

Swift Current opened the tournament Friday with a 4-4 tie to the Saskatoon Outlaws, who scored the tying marker with just three seconds left in regulation. The Raiders rebounded with a 7-2 win over the Nor Man Wolves, and a 9-4 win over the Sherwood Park Sabres to have a shot at making the A Final, but lost 7-6 to the Battlefords Barons in that final round-robin game to settle for a spot in the B Final.

Coach Kent Woods said they made big strides in the tournament, especially after struggling so far this season.

"From a mental aspect, it's huge," he said. "Our guys are starting to believe, even [Sunday], down 3-1, and earlier in the year, we're probably thinking the game is going to be tough to come back from, but our guys pushed back... they never did roll over, they still pressured as hard as they could and kept moving forward."

Woods says it's now about getting success in league play, where the Raiders have yet to win this season.

"A team that loses 13 out of their first 14 games could be rolling over, but our guys arent," he added. "They're willing to battle right from the start. We're making strides, but now it's about getting success in league, and if we can get that early coming out of the tournament, it's going to be huge for us."

The Raiders play their next league game Sunday afternoon at home against Melville.