Raiders give up 14 total goals in back-to-back losses

One of the toughest pills to swallow is that all these losses have come on home ice. Habscheid wants the Raiders to make the Art Hauser Centre a real tough building to come visit, like it was back in the team’s glory days in the SJHL and their 1985 Memorial Cup winning team.

“I grew up watching the old P.A. Raiders when they were in the SJ, and this was a tough place to play—nobody worked harder than them,” said Habscheid. “That’s what we need to be. You can talk about structure or whatever you want, but you need a foundation.

“Back in the 80’s, their foundation was hard work and the ability to compete. We weren’t that tonight—that’s what we need to be.”

The Raiders actually had a 1-0 lead just 1:40 into the game as Jordan Tkatch scored his third goal of the year—all coming against the Pats this season.

After that however, it was all Pats as they scored the next eight goals of the game. Six of those goals came in a 12-minute interval of the second period.

When asked about it in post-game interviews, Raiders defenceman Sawyer Lange was still so upset; he had trouble finishing his answers.

“We had a lot of unforced turnovers and we… um… sorry, I’m just a little frustrated,” Lange said as his face reddened in one of his attempts.

Raiders captain Josh Morrissey had more luck with his answer.

“Turnovers, miscues defensively, bad responsibility, bad effort—that’s pretty much it,” said Morrissey.

Morrissey suited up for the Raiders on Wednesday, his third game in as many nights after representing Team WHL in the Subway Super Series. Team WHL lost both games 3-2 to the Russians, Monday in Saskatoon and Tuesday in Brandon. Morrissey, an assistant captain for Team WHL, was held pointless and was +1 in the two games.

On Wednesday, Morrissey was also held pointless and was -4 on the night—tied for the game-worst in plus-minus with 20-year-old teammate Jayden Hart.

“I wasn’t too happy with my game, personally,” said Morrissey. “I’m not using it as an excuse, but obviously it’s pretty tough to play three (games) in three nights and travel and fly and don’t get much rest.

“I’m not making any excuses, I have to be better.”

Last year, the Raiders had the Pats’ number with a 5-2-0-1 head-to-head record against them. The tables have turned this season as the Pats are a perfect 3-0 against the Raiders this season—outscoring the Raiders 17-8 in that span.

Pats captain Kyle Burroughs said more players are scoring and contributing this season, making them a deeper team and tougher to play against.

“I think, you look at our young guys and they’re producing this year—going back to all our previous games this year,” said Burroughs. “Guys are stepping up, same with our veteran players. We’re getting scoring from all four lines and our D-men are even pitching in. It’s been working well for us.”

Seven different Pats scored a goal and 11 players registered a point.

The biggest contributor was overage Euro forward Pavel Padakin, who had a monstrous night with two goals and two assists and was +4. His linemate Austin Wagner had a goal and two assists.

Still no Messier

Raiders overage forward Marcus Messier missed his first official game since returning home because of “personal family matters.” The team reported him ill for his absence in Friday’s 6-2 loss against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Next matchup with mascot

The Raiders will take on the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, the same night they’ll unveil their new mascot. That will conclude the Raiders’ five-game homestand as they’ll go on the road Saturday to face the Swift Current Broncos.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

by Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders give up 14 total goals in back-to-back losses

What's Trending