Raiders set to welcome Wheat Kings in mid week matchup

Last Five Games:

The difference in the last five games for the Raiders, where they are 2-0-3, has been the third period. In their last two games, the Raiders put up four goals in the third to help beat Swift Current 7-2, and put together a solid defensive-playoff-style third period to shut down Everett in a 3-2 win. In the three games prior, the Raiders blew a three-goal lead to lose 5-4 in overtime to Brandon, lost 4-3 in a shootout two games in a row against Moose Jaw.

As for the Wheat Kings, they’re 3-2-0 in their last five games, and are coming off a 6-2 win last night in Moose Jaw. Before that, the Wheat Kings lost 5-3 at home to Everett, then won 2-1 over Seattle, that 5-4 win in overtime over the Raiders, and an 8-1 loss at home to Medicine Hat.

Season Series and Team News:

Wednesday night’s game is the second of six meetings between the two teams, and the Wheat Kings lead the series after last Sunday’s overtime win. After Wednesday, the Raiders and Wheat Kings don’t play each other again until the Raiders host on November 14.

A couple changes to the rosters for both teams will be in effect.

The Raiders this week acquired defenceman Henry Chmiel from the Seattle Thunderbirds, and he could make his Raiders debut Wednesday night. On the injury report, forward Athens Shingoose and defenceman Oskars Luks are both listed as ‘day-to-day’ with lower body injuries.

The Wheat Kings haven’t added any players to their roster since the last time they played the Raiders, but they did add Aiden Foster from the Prince George Cougars while he was suspended. Foster’s suspension is up, and has 1G-2A in three games since joining the Wheat Kings. On the injury side of things, Gunnar Gleasman is day-to-day with an upper body injury, and Ilari Kapanen is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Looking at special teams, the Raiders and Wheat Kings are neck and neck both on the powerplay and shorthanded. The Raiders hold a slight edge on the powerplay, ranked sixth in the league at 24.5%, while the Wheat Kings are seventh at 23.5%. On the penalty kill, the Wheat Kings are ranked 18th in the league at 76.1%, and the Raiders are just behind them at 20th in the league at 72.3%.

Leading Scorers:

Brock Cripps has taken over as the Raiders leading scorer with 1G-14A-15P, and his 14 assists have him tied for the league lead. Cripps is followed by a tie for second between Alisher Sarkenov (8G-6A-12P) and Ben Harvey (6G-6A-12P). Brandon Gorzynski rounds out the top four with 6G-4A-10P.

Scoring streaks:

Brandon Gorzynski: six games, 5G-4A

Brock Cripps: five games, 1G-10A

Alisher Sarkenov: five games, 5G-3A

Benett Kelly: two games, 0G-3A

Jonah Sivertson: two games, 2G-0A

Riley Boychuk: two games, 0G-2A (1G-4A in last five games)

Owen Corkish: two games, 0G-2A (1G-3A in last five games)

The line of Malaki Martin, Kyle Obobaifo, and Evan Smith have all scored their first goal of the season in each of the last three games.

As for the Wheat Kings, Kris Muissu (8G-8A-16P) and Chase Surkan (6G-10A-16P) are tied at the top of the scoring leaderboard. There’s also a tie for third between Joby Baumuller (9G-5A-14P) and Jaxon Jacobson (5G-9A-14P).

Scoring streaks:

Joby Baumuller: two games, 2G-2A (3G-3A in last four)

Aiden Foster: two games, 1G-2A (6G-2A in last six)

Cameron Allard: two games, 1G-1A (1G-2A in last three)

Levi Ellingsen: two games, 1G-1A

Three other Wheat Kings have had streaks snapped recently.

Jaxon Jacobson has had three multi-point games in his last four – good for 3G-5A in his last four games including a hat trick against the Raiders. Chase Surkan also has 2G-3A in his last five, and Kris Muissu has 4G-1A in his last five.

Goaltending:

In goal, Michal Orsulak is starting to find his groove for the Raiders. Orsulak comes in with a 4-4-2 record, along with a 0.889 save percentage and a 3.13 goals against average. Steele Bass was in goal last time the Raiders played Brandon, and Bass comes in with a 0-2-1 record along with a 0.859 and 3.48.

As for the Wheat Kings, they’re running with Filip Ruzicka who boasts a record of 6-3-0, along with a 0.909 save percentage and a 3.17 goals against average. Former Blades goaltender Ryley Budd has been the backup, although he has a perfect 4-0-0 record, along with a 0.931 and 2.49.

The Raiders play host to the Brandon Wheat Kings Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. You can listen in to the action on 900 CKBI and Brandt Raider Radio starting with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.

by Nick Nielsen

Raiders set to welcome Wheat Kings in mid week matchup

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