Tomas Mrsic of the Raiders puts a hit on Marcus Ngyuen of the Wheat Kings at centre ice. (Mark Peterson/Prince Albert Raiders)

By Nick Nielsen

Raiders Lose 4-1

Raiders and Wheat Kings kickoff 2024-25 rivalry with physical battle in P.A.

Sep 28, 2024 | 7:55 AM

After a successful weekend saw the Prince Albert Raiders earn three of a possible four points, the Raiders opened their second weekend of the season by playing host to the Brandon Wheat Kings. While the Raiders had their chances throughout the game, the Wheat Kings would ultimately take a 4-1 win.

You could tell the game was going to be a physical battle right off the opening draw thanks to a shoving match between Aiden Oiring and Wheat Kings forward Roger McQueen, and that battle would continue on their second shift to the point where McQueen would take the game’s first penalty for interference. Every whistle in the game was physical, and after a big hit from Caleb Hadland on Oli Chenier, Niall Crocker stepped up to protect his team for the second game in a row and dropped the gloves to fight Hadland in a tilt where both men were throwing heavy shots.

Late in the period with Cole Peardon in the box for a high sticking double minor, the Wheat Kings set up a passing play that took the puck from the right side wall from Nolan Flamand, down low behind the goal to Dominik Petr, and then into the slot for a waiting Marcus Ngyuen who ripped home a onetimer to open the scoring at the 16:04 mark.

After 1: Raiders 0 – 1 Wheat Kings, shots 9-9

Another penalty filled period saw the Raiders start the period with 42 seconds of powerplay and get another before the four minute mark, but still they couldn’t find a way past Ethan Eskit. Both teams got another powerplay in the period, neither were successful. It wasn’t until late in the period where the Raiders had trouble with their breakout, and a pass would hit a body and bounce into the air for Ben Binder Nord. He’d knock the puck down and send it into the middle for Dominik Petr, and he fired the puck immediately to double the lead for the Wheat Kings at 17:12.

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The period ended on a high note when Riley Boychuck helped keep the puck in for the Raiders on the left wall before finding Lukas Dragicevic, and the defenceman circled the entire offensive zone before settling back in at the top of the blueline, and he fired a shot through traffic. Ethan Bibeau was parked in front with a great screen, and he tipped the puck home for his second game in as many games at 19:07.

After 2: Raiders 1 – 2 Wheat Kings, shots 12-12, 21-21 overall

The Wheat Kings scored early in the third when Luke Shipley sent a breakout pass ahead to Roger McQueen to spring a 2-on-2 rush. McQueen had a man open in the middle, so he tried to get the pass across, but he hit a defender’s skate and the puck came right back to him. Everyone on the ice had shifted their attention to the cross crease pass while McQueen picked up the puck again himself, and he just decided to fire on goal to get the Wheat Kings their two goal lead back at 6:46.

With just over three minutes left and coming out of a timeout by the Wheat Kings, the Raiders pulled their goaltender on a faceoff in the offensive zone. The Wheat Kings won the draw, and Marcus Nguyen streaked down the ice for his second of the game on the empty net at 16:55.

FINAL: Raiders 1 – 4 Wheat Kings, shots 12-7 Raiders, 33-28 Raiders overall

The Raiders went 0/4 on the powerplay in this game, again using it to build some momentum and generate some offensive chances, but they just aren’t getting rewarded for their efforts yet. The Wheat Kings went 1/6 on the man advantage.

Max Hildebrand again was stellar in net for the Raiders as he posted a .889% save percentage with two incredible pad saves on his right pad throughout the game.

The Raiders are on the road for the game Saturday night as they head to Swift Current to take on the Broncos for the first time since the preseason. You can listen live on Beach Radio 101.5 FM with the pregame show at 6:30, and puck drop at 7:00.