Riley the Raider looks at a trunk full of toys raised from the Teddy Bear Toss game Saturday at the Art Hauser Centre. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Teddy Bear Toss

Raiders start too late vs Blazers; Martin finally gets his ring

Dec 14, 2019 | 10:46 PM

If Prince Albert Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid could sum up Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Kamloops Blazers in one word, it would be the word “flat.”

He used it quite in a bit as he gave his thoughts on the game, as the Raiders didn’t have their usual jump or energy during the game. They trailed 3-0 after the first 40 minutes and didn’t really find their legs until Brayden Watts scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal with 11:27 remaining in the third period.

Warning—the following quote has excessive use of the word “flat.”

“I don’t know what it was, but the only time we got our game going at all was when we scored the goal. Up until that, we had nothing going on. I don’t know, it was just flat. The guys are usually pretty good that way, but they were flat. The building was flat, you guys [the media] were flat, the coaches were flat, the earth’s flat, everything’s flat. We were just flat today,” Habscheid said.

Watts scored his 16^th goal of the season to give his team some life and make it a 3-1 game. The Raiders started to buzz in the Blazers zone and Evan Herman tacked on another with 4:31 left in the game to make it 3-2, but Orrin Centazzo scored his second of the game to put an end to the Raiders’ comeback.

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“I don’t think we started out the way we wanted to. Some guys showed up, some guys didn’t,” Watts said. “We need to have 20 guys going to beat a team like that, they’re a good team. We made a push too late.”

Watts’ Teddy Bear Toss goal marks the fifth consecutive time that a Raiders 20-year-old has sent the fur flying onto the ice. Snipin’ Sean Montgomery had that honour last year, Curtis Miske, Austin Glover and Jesse Lees are also part of the streak.

“It means a lot. It’s a very special honour to score a goal like that,” Watts said. “It’s a good thing for the kids, too.”

The game turned on its head in the second period when the Raiders took eight minutes’ worth of penalties in a six-minute timeframe, including a high-sticking double minor on Kaiden Guhle. Blazers’ Ryan Hughes and Logan Stankoven scored power plays in the double minor to take a 3-0 lead after two periods.

Martin gets his ring

When the Raiders received their championship rings on Nov. 2, Zack Hayes and Spencer Moe kind of half-joked that they had to wait quite a long time, but it was worth the wait. Max Martin had to wait a lot longer than that.

Martin, who was a big part of the Raiders 2019 Ed Chynoweth Cup winning squad, finally got to put the ring on his finger just before Saturday night’s game. Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt presented Martin with the honour on the green carpet before the opening faceoff.

The Raiders had four 20-year-olds on their team to start the year and needed to trade one away. That happened to be Martin, who was dealt to the Blazers on Oct. 4 for a second-round and fourth-round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

Martin has been so focused on his season with the Blazers, he actually forgot he was getting his ring.

“I kind of forgot about it until this morning until somebody mentioned it to me,” Martin said. “That’s been on my mind for the last few hours…it’s going to bring back a lot of memories.

“With being a 20-year-old this year and the situation we had here in P.A., I was the one that got moved. I’m really happy to be in Kamloops now, it’s a great spot for me. We’ve got a good coaching staff and a good team. I feel like I fit in really well.”

Habscheid was able to have a little reunion with Martin before the game, catching up and even holding a “fake ring ceremony” as well.

“He’s a big part of our organization, well thought of and did a lot not only on the ice but in the community too,” Habscheid said. “We were certainly glad to see him. We didn’t wish him luck until after the game, but he’s a good man. It was good to see him and it was good for him to get his ring.”

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Blazers, Orrin Centazzo from Zane Franklin and Max Martin, 16:29

Second Period

2-0, Blazers, Ryan Hughes from Max Martin and Zane Franklin (power play), 9:45

3-0, Blazers, Logan Stankoven from Brodi Stuart and Josh Pillar (power play), 11:06

Third Period

3-1, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Reece Vitelli, 11:27

3-2, Raiders, Evan Herman from Spencer Moe and Kaiden Guhle, 15:29

4-2, Blazers, Orrin Centazzo from Zane Franklin, 17:19

Rivalry

The Raiders take on the Saskatoon Blades at 4 p.m. on Sunday for their last game before the holidays.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW