Ozzy Wiesblatt was the hero the last time the Raiders faced the Hitmen on Nov. 17. (Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Trevor Redden

Redden on the Raiders

Redden on the Raiders: War of the Wiesblatts, Part III

Feb 7, 2020 | 12:48 PM

It couldn’t happen again, could it?

The Prince Albert Raiders and Calgary Hitmen have met twice so far this season, with two games remaining. Both took place back in November, and both had eerily similar finishes.

Back on Nov. 6, the Raiders led the Hitmen 2-1 heading into the third period, twenty minutes away from their sixth straight win. However, Orca Wiesblatt had other ideas.

It was the first-ever WHL meeting between Orca and his younger brother Ozzy, and he made sure to make a statement. Five minutes into the third, Orca drew the game even at 2-2 and things looked destined for overtime. The elder Wiesblatt wouldn’t let it get that far as he scored his second of the night with 1:22 remaining to lift his team to victory, and an Egor Zamula empty netter made it a 4-2 final in favour of the Hitmen.

Just 11 days later, the Hitmen and Raiders met back at the Art Hauser Centre in the rematch. In his home arena, Ozzy wasn’t going to let his older brother get the upper hand again as he tied the game at 4-4 with 2:16 to play and buried his second of the game in overtime to lift Prince Albert to victory.

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The Raiders and Hitmen face off Friday night in Calgary, and will wrap up the season series Mar. 3 in Prince Albert.

Will the Wiesblatt magic continue? Will the brothers Allan [Nolan and Blake] get in on the action?

We’ll find out Friday night.

Paddock hardware

For the second time this season, but the first time as a Raider, Max Paddock was awarded this week as the WHL Eli Wilson Goaltending Goaltender of the Week for his performance against Victoria and Lethbridge.

Adding Wednesday’s victory in Medicine Hat, Paddock now has six wins and a pair of shootout losses in eight games with the Raiders, boasting a save percentage of .941 and a goals against average of just 1.58.

“[Goaltender of the week] is a good accomplishment to be awarded, but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Paddock said. “I think I only faced 36 shots in two games, that’s pretty remarkable. The guys block a lot of shots…so it’s more of a team award than anything.”

Having a month to settle in with his new team, Paddock has had a good opportunity to now see everybody in games and in practice day after day, gaining a better appreciation for his new teammates.

Despite facing the Raiders consistently as a member of the Pats, Paddock pointed out a couple players who have exceeded his expectations since switching sides.

“I think definitely Guhles and Hayeser have been some of the biggest eye openers for me. They’re shutdown guys…I haven’t seen them make a bad play since being here.”

More broadly, Paddock said he’s been impressed by the skill and work ethic of the Raider lineup from top to bottom.

The weekend ahead

After Friday night’s showdown in Calgary, the Raiders carry on to Lethbridge to face the Hurricanes on Saturday night.

This will be the fourth and final meeting of the year between the two teams, with the Raiders holding a 3-0-0-0 record against the Central Division’s second-ranked team. The last meeting at the Enmax Centre was on Nov. 22 with the Raiders winning 5-3. Aliaksei Protas had two goals and Kaiden Guhle had a multi-point effort.

All games this weekend will be broadcast on CKBI, with pre-game hitting the air at 7:30 p.m.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden