The Raiders bad luck started early on Friday on their way to Kamloops for their Thompson Okanagan Senior Lacrosse League season opener as they fell 14-7 to the Rattlers. Their bus got delayed for an hour and was forced to take a cut-off road due to a serious highway accident. The subsequent hasty warm-up seemed to throw the team’s focus off course and the team found itself behind 4-2 after the first. Gaining momentum in the third, the Raiders fought back to take the lead 7-6 after the second period buzzer. The third period was a disaster for the Raiders as the team took multiple, undisciplined penalties putting extreme pressure on goaltender Graham Cousins who did his best to stem the tide of shots from Kamloop’s skilled forwards. Kamloops forward AJ Lockwood and Riley Dunahue both unleashed a flurry of shots, each scoring three goals, to put the game out of touch for the Raiders. Both teams meet again next Friday in Kelowna when the Raiders attempt to exact some revenge. Face off at Memorial Arena is 8 p.m.
