(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Raiders and Warriors battle to ascend in crowded WHL East Division standings

Nov 24, 2021 | 12:10 PM

As the Prince Albert Raiders head to the Art Hauser Centre on Wednesday to play the Moose Jaw Warriors, they will hope to get back into the win column after a two-game absence.

The Raiders lost both of their games during their weekend trip to Alberta, falling 5-3 to the Edmonton Oil Kings and 5-1 to the Red Deer Rebels.

Although the team is upset to not have anything to show for their efforts, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said his team is playing the right way and staying in their systems.

“We have leadership meetings all the time and talked to the group on Monday, they want the win. They’re frustrated without getting the points, but they knew they deserved better,” Habscheid said. “You just have to keep going, stay upbeat, and we’ll get there.”

The Raiders as a club aren’t getting rewarded with goals on a consistent basis. Habscheid said he’s been working with the team in practice on making some adjustments and even some fun gadget plays to give the opposition more to think about.

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Top trigger man Ozzy Wiesblatt hasn’t been immune to the scoreless bug this year, as he hasn’t scored in his past five games (has three assists in that span). Habscheid said the only way to work through a slump is to, well, work through it.

“I’d be not scoring, but I’d go in front of the net and one would bank off my rear-end or something, and it would go in the net. All of a sudden, I’d feel 10 pounds lighter and all of a sudden, I felt like a goal scorer again,” Habscheid said.

Capital City Challenge

Raiders rookie Harrison Lodewyk is off attending the Hockey Canada Capital City Challenge, along with Warriors’ forward Brayden Yager and goaltender Jackson Unger.

Crowded division

The bad news, the Raiders are in last place in the WHL East Division and second last in the conference with 13 points through 18 games. The Medicine Hat Tigers are the only team below them, with 12. But the good news is they are still very much in the hunt. The Raiders are only three points back of fifth place in the conference, and third in the division.

The Regina Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings both have 16 points, while the Warriors and Swift Current Broncos are on 15, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Calgary Hitmen have 14. All have played the same or more games than the Raiders have, except for the Hurricanes (one game in hand) and the Hitmen (two in hand).

Manitoba men

The Raiders will get back on the bus for two games this weekend, taking on the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time and the Winnipeg ICE on Sunday at 5 p.m. The Raiders will return to the Art Hauser Centre for a home-filled December, hosting the Regina Pats on Dec. 3, the Swift Current Broncos on Dec. 7, heading to Regina on Dec. 10, before home sticking against the Calgary Hitmen Dec. 11, the ICE Dec. 14, and the Saskatoon Blades Dec. 17.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW