Wheat Kings captain Braden Schneider is swarmed by Lynden McCallum and the rest of his Wheat Kings after scoring the OT winner against his hometown Raiders. Keith Hershmiller/WHL

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raiders vs Wheaties

P.A.’s Schneider wins it for Wheaties over childhood team

Apr 24, 2021 | 9:05 PM

Even when facing his hometown team for what was most likely the last time in his WHL career, all Prince Albert’s Braden Schneider wanted was two points for his Brandon Wheat Kings.

Schneider was able to secure them himself, as he scored the overtime winner to lead his Wheat Kings to a 5-4 OT win over his hometown Prince Albert Raiders. That’s his second overtime winner and fifth goal of the season.

The win puts the Wheat Kings on the verge of winning the WHL East Division banner, as they have a three-point advantage over the Winnipeg ICE with two games remaining.

But as much as the Wheat Kings wanted the victory, the Raiders did too, even if the stakes aren’t nearly as high for them. The Raiders are fighting for a wildcard spot for a playoff season that will not exist this year, as they trail the Regina Pats for the top wildcard spot by one point (21 points to 20).

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They were down 3-1 in the second period, but the Raiders scored three consecutive goals to take a 4-3 lead from Landon Kosior, Evan Herman on the power play, and Matthew Culling. Dallyn Peekeekoot had the Raiders’ first goal of the contest.

Ben McCartney tied the game up with 5:29 remaining on the power play—the Wheat Kings’ third of the game before Schneider ended it in overtime.

Although they didn’t get the two points, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said the Raiders were still fighting for them—for one simple reason.

“We’re defending champions, that’s the way it is,” Habscheid said. “When you win, you always like to keep winning. It’s part of the culture here, even though it is a developmental year, or exhibition, or whatever they call it. We know there’s no championship on the line, but at the same time, we want to win every game. That comes from inside the room, the character, the personal pride. The guys in this bubble, for the most part, have given us that.”

Raiders forward Evan Herman got a glimpse into that championship-winning season, as he appeared in three games during the Raiders’ 2018-19 championship year. Although it was a short period of time, Herman soaked in what it means to be a Raider. Part of that means always keeping the rest of the team in your mind—especially the graduating players in Spencer Moe, Justin Nachbaur and Max Paddock.

“There’s always something to play for, right? Right now, we’re playing for our 20’s,” said Herman, who scored a goal in the contest. “Obviously, we want to do everything we can, and for Raider pride. We built the culture here a few years ago, and we’ll carry that over to next year now.”

Rough stuff

With Justin Nachbaur’s first-period fight against Reid Perepeluk, Nachbaur went into the WHL lead for fights with five. The scrap also moved the Raiders into a tie for first place in fights with the Red Deer Rebels, who both are on 16 scraps for the season.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Wheat Kings, Brett Hyland from Nate Danielson and Vincent Iorio, 3:03

2-0, Wheat Kings, Lynden McCallum from Chad Nychuk and Nate Danielson (power play), 8:27

Second Period

2-1, Raiders, Dallyn Peekeekoot from Logan Linklater and Niall Crocker, 3:20

3-1, Wheat Kings, Lynden McCallum from Ben McCartney and Nolan Ritchie, 7:23

3-2, Raiders, Landon Kosior from Justin Nachbaur, 9:09

Third Period

3-3, Raiders, Evan Herman from Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reece Vitelli, 0:23

4-3, Raiders, Matthew Culling from Spencer Moe and Tayem Gislason, 8:55

4-4, Wheat Kings, Ben McCartney from Ridly Greig and Braden Schneider (power play), 14:39

Overtime

5-4, Wheat Kings, Braden Schneider from Nate Danielson, 2:30

–

jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW