Justin Nachbaur celebrates his second goal of the game, converting a nice pass in front from Eric Pearce. Keith Hershmiller/WHL

By Jeff D’Andrea

Nacho Libre

Raiders’ Nachbaur goes beast mode again, but red hot Wheaties squeeze by

Apr 5, 2021 | 11:06 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders gave the hottest team in the WHL everything they could handle, but still couldn’t come away with the two points.

The Brandon Wheat Kings won 3-2 for their seventh straight victory, the longest current streak in the WHL, to sit on top of the WHL East Division standings with a 10-2-1 record. The Raiders (4-7-1-1) were not behind in the game until Ridly Greig scored a shorthanded goal midway through the third period.

“We deserved to win the game. We should have won the game,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “I thought our kids played great, they played hard. We deserved to win the game.”

Habscheid was clearly pleased with the effort from his team, especially in the last two games including a 4-2 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday. But before that, Habscheid criticized his team for just going through the motions at times during the hub centre season.

After having some discussions with the group, Habscheid passed down some philosophical truth bombs to his team that seem to have resonated.

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“You just want them to have a good day, every day. Not to get too theological, but life is precious,” Habscheid said. “The fact that you get to wake up and spend that day, you want to do your best. Just to waste a day just by putting in time doesn’t do anybody any justice, let alone yourself. You’re given the day, you make the most of it.”

The Raiders had two separate leads in the game, both delivered by big-man possessed Justin Nachbaur. After a Gordie Howe hat trick on Saturday, Nachbaur flirted with an actual hat trick throughout the game with numerous chances to get the trifecta of goals.

Nachbaur now has four points in his last two games, with three points on the power play.

“He can shoot. He’s got a heavy shot but even more than that, I just like everything about his game,” Habscheid said. “It took him a while, but he’s got a real good balance. He’s a big guy, and he’s playing like a big guy. If he gets challenged, he’ll fight and stick up to teammates. He’s a power forward, but he’s got some skill. He’s well balanced and he’s playing real good right now.”

As much as Nachbaur is feeling confident in his own play, he still has a sour taste in his mouth after the defeat.

“I’m happy about individual success, but I really care more about winning the two points at the end of the game. That’s all I care about,” Nachbaur said. “I don’t really care about the points that I got, I just want to win hockey games.”

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Justin Nachbaur from Ozzy Wiesblatt and Matthew Culling, (power play), 11:11

1-1, Wheat Kings, Jake Chiasson from Braden Schneider and Chad Nychuk, 19:02

Second Period

2-1, Raiders, Justin Nachbaur from Eric Pearce and Michael Horon, 9:05

2-2, Wheat Kings, Nolan Ritchie from Braden Schneider and Ridly Greig (power play), 14:12

Third Period

3-2, Wheat Kings, Ridly Greig from Ben McCartney (shorthanded), 9:27

Up next

The Raiders are taking on the Saskatoon Blades next on Thursday in the Subway Hub Centre. The game has been rescheduled to 6 p.m., so tune in to CKBI a little earlier to tune in to Trevor Redden’s call of the game.

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Jeff.dandre@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW