It’s been another successful week for the Warriors. After missing the start of the season due to a heart condition, women’s hockey forward Keiara Raitt has scored six goals across three matches to continue the team’s nine-game win streak. Over at Carl Totzke court, men’s basketball point guard Isaiah McRae averaged 22.5 points, 5.5 assists and 6 rebounds to snag his second athlete of the week award in a row, and the fifth of his career.
Keiara Raitt
(Photo credit: Tianna Dip)
Poor health is an athlete’s worst nightmare. But sprained ankles and twisted arms can be resolved in a few weeks, whereas heart arrhythmias cannot. The time off required to treat the condition can derail a promising career and leave an athlete a shell of their former selves, unless you’re Keiara Raitt, who came back after being out for two months and is now averaging a goal a game this season.
“When I found out about [the arrhythmias] in October, I’d been practicing with full intention to play, and the day before the game [medical staff] told me we were shutting things down for a bit,” she recalls. “You feel good and healthy, but you can’t play, and that’s the toughest part. It was an emotional time.”
Skating since the age of two, the Ancaster-born player started playing hockey at the age of four, going “to outdoor rinks with my mom and my two older brothers.” She came to UW after connecting with women’s hockey head coach Shaun Reagan when she was in grade 11.
“He watched a few of my games, and then had me out for a campus visit, then he offered me a spot on the team,” she says.
The graduate student has been a key part of the team since 2021, combining fierce skating skills with an unmatched IQ for the game, which culminated in a second-place finish at the 2025 U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship.
After a tough 2-4 start to the 2026 season, the Warriors were headed into a marquee matchup against the top-rated Queen’s Gaels when Raitt got the news she wouldn’t be playing.
But something as small as a heart condition wouldn’t stop her. She admits she “counterintuitively” continued to go for runs, strapping up her “Apple Watch, spending just about every minute in the gym, doing anything to feel some semblance of normal.” Her methods paid off when she got the green light to play against the Nipissing Lakers on Jan. 9.
“Something that stayed with me is, I thought ‘this is the opportunity you’ve wanted since you were 12 years old,’ and I’m so grateful to have it. It was a grounding moment for me,” she says.
She and the Warriors absolutely dominated the Lakers, with the final score being 8-2, and Raitt skating off with two goals and two assists for a total of four points in her comeback game. She wouldn’t slow down either; she had another two goals in the rematch against the Lakers and went for another two in a ferocious 4-1 win against the Guelph Gryphons.
She now has 12 points this season in 9 games played, tying her for 20th in the OUA. But here’s the kicker: she’s the only skater in the top 50 with less than 10 games played. Everyone else has at least 16.
The Warriors are heavy contenders for another deep run in the playoffs this year and will be hosting the U Sports nationals at the end of the season. Despite having a 3-7 record at one point, the Warriors have now won nine games in a row and are 12-7. Hockey fans shouldn’t count UW out yet, especially with Raitt on pace to have her best season so far. She’s already scored more this year than in every other individual season of her career.
Off the ice, she credits her “wonderful” team for their success.
“We’ve had so much adversity this year, I could write a book about it. We’re like a family,” she says. “There wasn’t an ‘aha’ moment [for us to win] or anything, just hard work and effort from everyone.”
The Warriors will head to St. Catharines this Friday, Jan. 23 to take on the Brock Badgers. The Badgers are 10-8 after losing to the Nipissing Lakers.
Isaiah McRae
(Photo credit: Karsen Campbell)
No introduction is needed for McRae; it’s his third time winning athlete of the week this season. The Burlington native had another incredible performance last weekend against the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs.
Against Windsor, he finished 7-16 from the field, alongside 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and a steal. He finished with 20 points, a game high for both teams. In the next day’s match against the number 1-ranked Western Mustangs, the Warriors overcame a nine-point first quarter deficit to win the game 82-74.
McRae caught fire, scoring another game-high 25 points while shooting a ridiculously efficient 71 per cent from the three-point line and 66 per cent from the field. A two-way player, he finished the game with another 6 rebounds and 6 assists, along with one steal.
Efficiency is the key to his MVP-level season: in his past five games, he’s only shot below fifty per cent from the field once. His selfless play style enables him to score when the opportunity presents itself, while simultaneously creating opportunities for his teammates.
The Warriors will return to Carl Totzke court on Saturday, Jan. 24, where they’ll be facing the Laurier Golden Hawks in the Battle of Waterloo. The Golden Hawks are 6-9 after a loss to the Guelph Gryphons.
