Raiders’ captain leads way in bounce back win

Vitelli’s three-point effort powers 4-1 victory over Blades

Reece Vitelli had two goals and an assist for the Raiders.

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The captain ensured his Prince Albert Raiders left the stumble against the Swift Current Broncos in the rearview mirror.

Going into their WHL regular season clash on Saturday against the visiting Saskatoon Blades, the Raiders aimed to bounce back from a disappointing effort in a 6-3 setback against the Broncos at home last Wednesday night.

Captain Reece Vitelli provided the spark the Raiders needed. The 20-year-old centre collected a pair of goals and an assist to power the Raiders past the archrival Blades 4-1 to the delight of the standing room crowd of 2,721 spectators at the 2,580 seat Art Hauser Centre outside of a small contingent of Blades fans.

Vitelli scored his second goal of the contest into an empty net with 2:24 remaining in the third period to round out the 4-1 final. That allowed the Raiders faithful to indulge in the playing of The Guess Who’s “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon” for an extra long period of time.

Reece Vitelli and the Raiders played a strong game on Saturday.

“Whenever we beat the Blades, it is awesome,” said Vitelli, whose team wore special alternate uniforms on Saturday. “The crowd was unreal tonight.

“It was one of the biggest crowds this year definitely. They were loud and in it, so it was awesome.”

For the Raiders who are in a heated race for the last two playoff berths in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, the bounce back win was the biggest thing on Saturday, and the fact that victory came over the Blades was a bonus.

Reece Vitelli, right, battles past a Blades defenceman.

“We knew we had to be committed and be better from last game,” said Vitelli. “We need (the standings) points.

“We were just moving our feet and playing together as a team. Guys stepped up, and it was awesome.”

The Raiders came out of the gate bringing the physical play with right-winger Dallyn Peekeekoot and defenceman Terrell Goldsmith throwing big hits.

The hosts held a 15-5 edge in shots on goal over the opening 20 minutes and had the three best scoring chances in the frame. The first chance came from left-winger Sloan Stanick who couldn’t bury a goal during a net scramble where Blades overage star netminder Nolan Maier slipped down on the ground.

Vladislav Shilo scored for the Raiders on Saturday.

Prince Albert left-winger Keaton Sorensen tried to score on a wraparound chance with about 30 seconds remaining in the first, but he was stopped by Maier. In the final seconds of the opening frame, Raiders standout defenceman Nolan Allan drove a midrange shot off the post of the Saskatoon goal.

Just 1:51 into the second, the Raiders jumped ahead 1-0 when Vitelli slipped home a shot from a bad angle by the right side boards.

Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid said Vitelli’s goal at that point in the contest was huge. The veteran star bench boss added the Blades could have turned the game on its ear had they gotten the first goal after the Raiders had carried the play to that point in time.

Josh Paulhus had the Blades lone goal on Saturday.

“It was one of those games where the first period was pretty dominant,” said Habscheid. “The start of the second was too.

“Then if they (the Blades) happen to sneak one in, all of sudden they get belief, and we maybe get on our heels a little bit. We knew that first goal was important especially going into the second period. We got it.

“Then, we really seemed to carry the period from there.”

The hosts extended their edge to 2-0 just 77 seconds later on a goal from import right-winger Vladislav Shilo. Shilo had the puck alone in front of Maier at the right side of the Saskatoon goal, made a toe drag move and lifted home a high shot for his fifth tally of the season.

The Raiders celebrate a goal from Landon Kosior, centre.

The Blades caused a pause to the Raiders run at the 10:01 mark of the second, when Saskatoon left-winger Josh Paulhus floated in a shot on a rush down the right wing to cut the host’s lead to 2-1.

Just 82 seconds later, the Raiders restored their two-goal edge going ahead 3-1 with offensive-defenceman Landon Kosior fired home a seeing-eye shot from the right point.

Vitelli said it was big for Kosior to come through in that moment after the Blades had trimmed the Raiders lead to one goal.

“He (Kosior) has been a rock back there,” said Vitelli, who picked up his assist on Kosior’s goal. “He has been our best defenceman.

Dallyn Peekeekoot played a strong physical game for the Raiders.

“He controls the play so well out there, and he skates so well. He has an unreal shot. He has 16 goals this year as a defenceman.

“Whenever that guy is shooting from anywhere, it has a good chance of going in. We’re all confident in him, and he has been playing very well.”

The Raiders were able to clamp down the game defensively in the third to set the stage for Vitelli to get his empty netter.

Tikhon Chaika stopped 25 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (24-29-3-1). Nolan Maier turned away 31 shots to take the setback in net for the Blades (33-21-3-1).

Habscheid said he thought the Raiders were pretty dominant on Saturday night. He liked how his players responded after falling to the Broncos last Wednesday and believed they would have a better outing against the Blades.

The Raiders and Blades scrum it up.

“You never doubt their character for sure,” said Habscheid, whose Raiders are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. “They were ticked off.

“Everybody was ticked off about it. When you watch the tape, it just wasn’t a good effort. Sometimes, we had some chances to score tonight, and they didn’t go in.

“Guys try so you can’t get upset with that. With effort, togetherness and attention to detail, those are non-negotiable when you put on the Raiders jersey. Tonight, they did that.”

Centre Evan Herman takes care of the puck in the defensive zone.

The Raiders return to action on Tuesday when they host the WHL East Division leading Winnipeg Ice (7 p.m., Art Hauser Centre).

The Blades get back at it on Wednesday when they host the Ice (7 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

The Raiders have won three out of their five head-to-head meetings so far this season with the Ice. Before even thinking about the Ice, Habscheid said he wanted his team to enjoy the win over the Blades for the night.

The Raiders salute their fans after their win on Saturday.

“I haven’t even thought about it (the game with the Ice),” said Habscheid. “They (the Ice) are good.

“We’re just going to take this, enjoy it and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Raiders underdog Peekeekoot easy player to root for

Dallyn Peekeekoot jets up for the Raiders on Oct. 1.

Based on just his draft status, Dallyn Peekeekoot might always be an underdog story.

Peekeekoot was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the 10^th round and 220^th overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, which is now known as the WHL Prospects Draft. With that selection, the product of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation had no guarantees of being a WHL regular.

The draft selection meant he would have a chance to come to at least a couple of Raiders training camps to try and make an impression. The high energy right-winger ended up being able to do just that.

Peekeekoot cracked the Raiders roster as a 16-year-old to play a shortened regular season in a bubble environment at the Brandt Centre in Regina this past March and April against the WHL’s other member teams from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The shortened season was developed to allow teams to play with health orders that were in place to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This column of mine appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald. To read the full article, feel free to click the link right here.

Raiders’ Habscheid sits alone in sixth for WHL coaching wins

Prince Albert downs Swift Current 4-2 for victory 549

Marc Habscheid mans the Raiders bench in September of 2019.

During his coaching career, Marc Habscheid is often showered with praise from his players that might be greater than any championships he’s won or the victories he’s piled up.

After being guided by Habscheid, it is common for players to refer to him as the best coach they’ve ever had. Players will also say they couldn’t imagine playing for another coach after being coached by Habscheid or it was hard at first to play for another coach after playing under Habscheid.

When players start playing for another coach, they will at times have a habit of comparing what that coach was doing to what Habscheid would do in various circumstances often concluding Habscheid would handle things better.

On Saturday in a bubble environment without fans in attendance at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Habscheid hit another milestone in his coaching career. When his Prince Albert Raiders doubled the Swift Current Broncos 4-2, Habscheid picked up his 549th head coaching win of his WHL regular season career.

The victory allowed Habscheid to move one win ahead of Ernie “Punch” McLean to sit alone in sixth spot on the WHL’s all-time career regular season wins list. McLean is best remembered for being the head coach of the rough and tumble New Westminster Bruins teams that won the Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1977 and 1978.

Habscheid took up coaching in the 1996-97 season when he became the head coach and general manager of the Melfort Mustangs in the junior A Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Swift Current, Sask., product’s coaching career came right after a lengthy playing career.

Marc Habscheid sits sixth on the WHL’s career wins list.

From 1979 to 1982, Habscheid played one partial season and two full seasons as a star centre for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades piling up 107 goals and 169 assists for 276 points in 148 career regular season games. He was a member of the Canada’s first ever gold medal winning team at world juniors in the 1981-82 season.

In the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected in the sixth round and 113^th overall by the Edmonton Oilers, who had stars like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Habscheid played seven games with the Oilers in 1981-82 and would earn a full-time spot in the professional ranks the next season. His NHL stops included spending time with the Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Calgary Flames.

Habscheid played his final professional season with the Augsberger Panther in 1995-96 before joining the Mustangs as head coach and general manager.

After one season with the Mustangs, Habscheid moved up to the WHL ranks as head coach and general manager of the Kamloops Blazers in 1997-98. During his career in the WHL, Habscheid would also serve stints as the head coach and general manager of the Kelowna Rockets and the Chilliwack Bruins/Victoria Royals franchise.

In Kelowna, Habscheid led the Rockets to a WHL title in the 2002-03 campaign and a Memorial Cup title as the tournament hosts in 2003-04. 

Marc Habscheid has coached with four different WHL franchises.

In the 2004 WHL playoffs, the Rockets advanced to the Western Conference Championship series before falling in a series deciding Game 7 to the Everett Silvertips, who were skating through a Cinderella expansion season.

Habscheid was hired as the Raiders head coach on November 1, 2014 as a midseason replacement for Cory Clouston.

When Curtis Hunt became the Raiders general manager before the start of the 2015-16 campaign, Hunt and Habscheid became a hockey power couple. They restored the luster of the Raiders franchise to a level that hadn’t been seen in some time.

Under their watch, the Raiders would finish first overall in 2018-19 WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record. The Raiders advanced on to win their second WHL title in team history on Dante Hannoun’s epic Game 7 overtime winner in the WHL Championship series at the Art Hauser Centre.

Hannoun’s winner in May of 2019 gave the Raiders a 3-2 victory in Game 7 over the Vancouver Giants that will live forever in the hearts of the Raiders faithful.

In all of Habscheid’s coaching stops, the players he coach always turned out to be first class citizens. His teams won with class and lost with class, and it should be noted that winning was often the norm.

Curtis Hunt, left, and Marc Habscheid have made the Raiders go.

On the ice, the biggest thing he did was allow his players the play the roles they were suited for. Skilled players who scored were skilled players who scored and were encouraged to execute creative plays.

Defensive players played defence. In goal, Habscheid’s netminders usually had the confidence to shine in big moments.

Overall, Habscheid instilled confidence in his player that they could accomplish big things as long as they focused on getting better every day. He also makes coming to the rink enjoyable.

In Saturday’s win over the Broncos, the Raiders received an inspired performance from overage power forward Justin Nachbaur, who had a goal, two assists and engaged in a first period fight with Broncos overager defenceman Kaleb Bulych.

The goal, assist and the fight allowed Nachbaur to pick up the “Gordie Howe hat trick” for the night.

Dallyn Peekeekoot, who is a 16-year-old rookie centre from the Ahtahkakoop First Nation in Saskatchewan, scored his first career WHL goal tallying 67 seconds into the first period to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.

After Broncos defenceman Sam McGinley evened things up at 1-1 at the 15:46 mark of the opening frame, Nachbaur scored with 2:50 remaining in the first to put the Raiders up 2-1.

Justin Nachbbaur had a “Gordie Howe hat trick” on Saturday.

Overage centre Spencer Moe scored early in the second to increase the Raiders advantage to 3-1.

Broncos rookie right-winger Josh Filmon, who turned 17-years-old in March, scored on a breakaway early in the third to cut the Raiders lead to 3-2.

Raiders veteran centre Eric Pearce sealed the 4-2 win scoring into an empty net with 47.5 seconds remaining in the third.

Overage netminder Max Paddock made 19 saves to pick up the win in goal for the Raiders (4-6-2). Veteran 19-year-old netminder Isaac Poulter turned away 22-of-25 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos (3-8-1).

Star centre Ozzy Wiesblatt picked up three assists for the Raiders, while 19-year-old veteran centre Reece Vitelli had a pair of helpers.

The Raiders return to action on Monday in the Regina bubble against the Brandon Wheat Kings (8 p.m., 900 CKBI).

The bubble environment is being utilized due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world.

So far during the shortened 24-game developmental 2020-21 campaign, the Raiders have dealt with a rash of injuries. They also weren’t able to bring in bring veteran Belarusian forward Aliaksei Protas and Belarusian forward newcomer Vladislav Shyla to Canada due to how the COVID-19 pandemic has played out.

Marc Habscheid raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup in May 2019.

With all that noted, Habscheid has the patience to allow newcomers to learn and grow playing in the WHL. While he will be challenging and providing road maps for ways that players can improve and be better, Habscheid knows there will bumps in the road and won’t panic.

When the developmental season comes to an end, you can bet the Raiders players will depart for their respective homes believing they had never played for a better coach.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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