Raiders Carson Latimer wins the puck against Vincent Iorio in the Wheat Kings' zone. (Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D’Andrea

Carson 'The Mayor' Latimer

LatiMayor lifts Raiders with pair in first period for huge win over Wheat Kings

Mar 30, 2022 | 10:07 PM

As much as he doesn’t want to, Carson Latimer can’t help but take a peek at the WHL standings. He knew his Prince Albert Raiders needed a big two points, so he went out and scored two goals in the opening frame to lift his Raiders to a 2-1 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings Wednesday at the Art Hauser Centre.

“It’s a tight race here. The one thing we can do is control our own destiny now, that’s all we have to worry about,” Latimer said. “We can’t think other teams are going to lose, we have to try and win every game because it’s super tight.”

The Raiders’ win was made even more important on Wednesday with how the rest of the scores shaped up in the WHL Eastern Conference.

The three teams the Raiders did not want to get wins did, as the Raiders are chasing the eighth-place Swift Current Broncos, and have the Calgary Hitmen and Regina Pats nipping at their heels.

The Broncos beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 6-4 to keep a four-point cushion over the Raiders for the last playoff spot. The Hitmen defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-2 to stay one point back of the Raiders, while the Pats defeated the Saskatoon Blades to stay two points back of the Green and Gold.

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“I don’t think we’re getting a lot of help tonight in the out-of-town scoreboard,” Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said. “A win’s a win, and when you don’t have a lot of games left and you need to make ground, you need the points.”

Latimer did all the damage for the Raiders in the first period, but he certainly had some help. Evan Herman’s ferocious forecheck caused a turnover, and Herman put the puck in front of the net where Latimer pumped in his first goal, 14 minutes in. Then at the 16-minute mark, Vladislav Shilo put a dent in the crossbar on the power play. The puck bounced over to Latimer, who promptly made it 2-0 in the first period.

For Latimer, he has three goals now in his last two games—all of which came right in front of the net.

“I think I’m getting to the dirty areas a little bit more, in the paint and around the paint,” Latimer said. “However you score, you score. It’s nice to contribute.”

The Wheat Kings did make pushes in the second period, as they were able to create more chances. They managed 18 shots on goal in the second alone, but the one puck that got by Tikhon Chaika was off a weird bounce. Charlie Elick, the third overall pick in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, shot a puck going well wide, but it deflected off the skate of Raider defenceman Eric Johnston and went into the net 13 minutes into the game. That was the only puck that got by Chaika, who made 34 saves for the victory.

‘I think we watched a little bit in the second period. Sometimes you watch, you stare and your feet don’t move because you’re trying hard, and it ends up in your net,” Habscheid said. “It was just important for the third period to get back on our toes and not try ‘to not to lose’ instead of trying to win. That’s a big difference in terms of your energy, in terms of the type of game you want to play.”

Game Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Carson Latimer from Evan Herman, 14:27

2-0, Raiders, Carson Latimer from Vladislav Shilo and Remy Aquilon (power play), 16:33

Second Period

2-1, Wheat Kings, Charlie Elick from Logen Hammett and Rylen Roersma, 13:20

Third Period

No scoring.

Second bowl of Wheaties

The Wheat Kings will return to the Art Hauser Centre on Friday for a rematch against the Raiders. The Raiders will then host the Regina Pats on Saturday, completing a three-home-game week for the Raiders.

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Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW