Raiders forward Ozzy Wiesblatt celebrates his overtime winner and second goal of the game with teammates Spencer Moe (left) and Kaiden Guhle (bottom). Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Crazy Train is off the tracks

Ozzy gets revenge in the Wiesblatt bro matchup, ties it late and scores OT winner for Raiders

Nov 17, 2019 | 9:31 PM

In their first ever WHL matchup against each other, it was Orca Wiesblatt getting the laugh two laughs on his younger brother Ozzy. Orca had a pair of goals in the third period to lift his Calgary Hitmen over Ozzy’s Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 6.

The killer whale may have got the better of their first meeting, but on Sunday, the crazy train got off the tracks.

After the Raiders fell behind 4-3 with 4:22 remaining in the game, Ozzy pulled the game out of the fire for the Raiders. He tied it up with 2:16 left after wheeling into the middle of the ice and beating Hitmen goaltender Brayden Peters.

Ozzy then ended the game, just 1:12 into overtime to give the Raiders their 5-4 win in extra time. Spencer Moe stripped Orca of the puck and set up Ozzy in front for the game-winning backhand. The win shoots the Raiders up to a 14-4-3-1 record and first place in the Western Hockey League. They’re also 8-1-2 on home ice. The Hitmen fall to 10-6-2-1.

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“It’s always pretty cool playing your brothers. You always dream of playing them. It was pretty cool today,” Ozzy said. “We didn’t like how we’ve been playing the last couple games, so this was a huge game for us to bounce back and prove to the coaching staff that we’re here to stay, and we want to win a championship.”

The Raiders were in a bit of a slump heading into Sunday’s game. They had one win in their last four games, and still had the sour taste of a shootout loss to the last-ranked Regina Pats on Saturday.

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said that his second year forward was one of the many Raiders that have been playing in a little bit of a lull lately, but said he looked much more like the Ozzy we’ve all got to know and love the last two years.

“He played right way tonight,” Habscheid said. “Like a lot of guys, he’s been cheating a little bit. That does not work for us, that does not work for the Raiders. He played the right way tonight, and oh by the way, he got two goals. The proof’s in the pudding.”

The Wiesblatt’s were just one of three different pairs of brothers that were playing in the game. Raiders rookie Nolan Allan went up against his older brother Blake Allan of the Hitmen. The Hitmen also have brothers Josh and Luke Prokop on their roster as well.

Interestingly, all three families were represented with goals. Ozzy Wiesblatt had two for the Raiders, while Blake Allan and Josh Prokop had goals for the Hitmen.

Brayden Watts had a pair of goals for the Raiders, giving him 12 on the season. Only Aliaksei Protas has more on the Raiders with 14. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle opened the scoring on the power play, for the second straight game. Spencer Moe had a pair of assists, including on the overtime winner.

Short Hitmen

The Hitmen were also missing five players due to injury, including 19-year-old Carson Focht who represented the Hitmen on Team WHL at this year’s Canada-Russia Series, and 20-year-old scorer James Malm. Former Minto Cael Zimmerman has yet to play this season for the Hitmen following off-season hip surgery.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Kaiden Guhle from Landon Kosior and Evan Herman (power play), 15:56

1-1, Hitmen, Blake Allan (shorthanded), 19:18

Second Period

2-1, Raiders, Brayden Watts (unassisted), 3:15

Third Period

3-2, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Spencer Moe and Aliaksei Protas, 6:27

3-3, Hitmen, Adam Kydd (unassisted), 12:24

4-3, Hitmen, Josh Prokop from Dakota Krebs, 15:38

4-4, Raiders, Ozzy Wiesblatt from Jeremy Masella, 17:44

Overtime

5-4, Raiders, Ozzy Wiesblatt from Spencer Moe, 1:12

Back on the road again

The Raiders are off to Alberta to face three teams in the Central Division. They’ll take on the Red Deer Rebels on Wednesday, before playing the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday. Then the Raiders will have a home-and-home against the Swift Current Broncos on Nov. 29 and 30 to wrap up the month.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW