Raiders lay down the hammer against likely playoff opponent

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It was the fourth game in five nights for the Raiders, but you wouldn’t know it by the score. They tied their season-high for goals in a single game with eight, last accomplishing that feat on Oct. 12 in a 8-4 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

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Despite all the games the Raiders have played in a short period of time, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was most impressed with how much zip his team seemed to have.

“I liked our energy. Their goalie [Jack McNaughton] had a tough night to be fair, but I liked our energy,” Habscheid said. “I thought we were on the puck. Our ability to get the puck back when we lost in their end was key. We just had good energy.”

At the beginning of the season, Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid would look down his bench during an important faceoff, or a key penalty kill and look for his most trusted faceoff man—Sean Montgomery. You couldn’t blame him, as Habscheid coached him almost every game since he joined the team in 2014. But now that Montgomery has moved on to USports with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.

That’s where Reece Vitelli comes in, who scored twice in Tuesday’s game.

The Raiders acquired Vitelli, the faceoff maestro and penalty killing phenom, who also plays a key role in front of the net on the power play—just like Montgomery. But when the comparison was suggested, Habscheid rejected it but still loves what Vitelli brings to the table.

“There’s only one Monty. I know his parents are watching, there is only one Monty,” Habscheid said, while breaking the fourth wall on the Raiders’ video cast after the game. “Reece has carved a bit of a niche, he’s a faceoff guy, he blocks shots, he plays the right way and he’s a good teammate. He fits in well.”

Vitelli is a streaky goal scorer. He has eight goals on the season in 60 games, but a pair of two-goal contests this year. The first one came in his hometown in a 5-3 win over the Winnipeg ICE on Jan. 5. But before Tuesday’s game, Vitelli hadn’t scored since Jan. 29, a 3-0 win against the Victoria Royals.

“They weren’t going in for quite some night, so it was nice to get two tonight, that’s for sure,” Vitelli said.

Aliaksei Protas, Spencer Moe and Ilya Usau all had a goal and two helpers each. Zack Hayes also scored. Ozzy Wiesblatt got an assist, extending his point scoring streak to nine games (four goals, 14 points). Kaiden Guhle had a pair of helpers.

Former Prince Albert Minto Cael Zimmerman had a pair of goals for the Hitmen.

No Nacho

Raiders forward Justin Nachbaur left Tuesday’s game early due to injury. Nachbaur fell awkwardly during a puck battle at his own blueline and limped off the ice with seven minutes remaining in the second period and did not return.

When asked about what the Raiders knew about Nachbaur’s status, all Habscheid would say was that Nachbaur has “a body injury, not upper or lower, just body… We don’t know about Nacho. Body injury, day-to-day.”

The Raiders currently have 13 forwards on their roster. Matthew Culling is out week-to-week with an upper body injury.

Getting Gotaas

Earlier on Tuesday, the Raiders were able to sign defenceman Graydon Gotaas to a WHL Standard Player Agreement. The Raiders drafted Gotaas in the second round of the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. He’s also the nephew of Raider great Steve Gotaas who was on the Raiders team that won the 1985 Memorial Cup.

“I’m very excited. There’s a great group of guys around here, a great coaching staff and everyone around here is just awesome,” Graydon said. “I’m really excited to get started.

Now that his Sherwood Park Kings are out of the playoff race, Graydon Gotaas will be practicing with the Raiders for the rest of the season and said he “hopefully can get in a game.”

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Spencer Moe and Remy Aquilon, 9:01

2-0, Raiders, Zack Hayes from Kaiden Guhle and Brayden Watts, 11:42

3-0, Raiders, Reece Vitelli from Spencer Moe and Landon Kosior, 13:58

4-0, Raiders, Brayden Watts from Ilya Usau and Aliaksei Protas (power play), 17:17

Second Period

4-1, Hitmen, Cael Zimmerman from Carson Focht and Kyle Olson, 5:16

4-2, Hitmen, Mark Kastelic from Riley Stotts and Orca Wiesblatt, 5:28

5-2, Raiders, Aliaksei Protas from Ilya Usau and Kaiden Guhle (power play), 12:10

6-2, Raiders, Reece Vitelli from Evan Herman, 14:50

Third Period

7-2, Raiders, Ilya Usau from Aliaksei Protas and Ozzy Wiesblatt (power play), 4:05

8-2, Raiders, Spencer Moe (unassisted), 10:00

8-3, Hitmen, Cael Zimmerman from Carson Focht and Kyle Olson (power play), 13:47

Back to back with Brandon

This weekend, the Raiders will take on the team nipping at their heels in the WHL East Division race in the Brandon Wheat Kings. Both teams will play at the Art Hauser Centre on Friday, before heading over to Westoba Place on Saturday.

The Raiders have 79 points through 61 games. That’s five more points than the Wheat Kings, who have also played 61 games. The Winnipeg ICE are still on 69 points through 59 games to sit in third in the division. The Blades are in the second wildcard spot with 67 points through 59 games.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW