Raiders ‘didn’t show up’ in big contest against Wheat Kings

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“It was a big game. Some guys responded to it being a big game, and some guys, I’m not sure they wanted it,” Habscheid said. “That’s disappointing. Hopefully, we’ll be better tomorrow.”

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The players felt that way, too.

“It’s just disappointing. We knew how big this game was,” Raiders assistant captain Brayden Watts said. “We could’ve put ourselves that much further [up] against these guys to win the first banner. It’s just disappointing we didn’t show up to play.”

Watts was definitely one of the Raiders that did show up, as he scored another pair of goals. That gives him four in his last two games and 27 goals on the season. Aliaksei Protas set him up on both of his goals with lovely set ups. But Watts’ goals weren’t the only thing that impressed his coach.

“That was probably the best game I’ve seen Watts played. Forget about the two goals, he was just engaged in the game, taking hits, giving hits and wanting to make a difference,” Habscheid said. “We want those players, we want the players to play in big games like this. We don’t want players that wait on teams having missing players so they can get easy goals.”

And of course, Max Paddock made his impact in the game as he made 32 saves on 35 shots. When the Wheat Kings were able to pen the Raiders in their zone, Paddock was able to quiet several storms throughout the game.

“He’s been great for us since we acquired him at the deadline,” Watts said. “It’s going to be really good down the stretch.”

Returning from injury

Raiders forward Justin Nachbaur didn’t miss Friday’s game at the Art Hauser Centre, after sitting out the final 27 minutes of Tuesday’s 8-3 victory over the Calgary Hitmen due to injury. Nachbaur also received the Hardest Working Raider Award for the month of February.

For the Wheat Kings, Vegas Golden Knights draft pick Marcus Kallionkieli returned to game action after missing the last nine games with an upper body injury.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Aliaksei Protas, 14:11

1-1, Wheat Kings, Jake Chiasson from Marcus Sekundiak, 16:28

Second Period

2-1, Wheat Kings, Ridly Greig from Cole Reinhardt and Connor Gutenberg, 4:13

2-2, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Aliaksei Protas and Spencer Moe, 13:32

Third Period

No scoring.

Overtime

3-2, Wheat Kings, Ridly Greig (unassisted), 0:29

Manitoba bound

The Raiders’ weekend is far from done. They’ll have a rematch against the Wheat Kings on Saturday at Westoba Place in Brandon. Then on Sunday, the Raiders will stick around in Manitoba to play the Winnipeg ICE at the Wayne Fleming Arena.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW