Raiders pose problems for Pantelas, Wheaties

The Brandon Wheat Kings play just once this weekend, but it’s certainly a stout challenge as the Prince Albert Raiders (16-1-4-0) make their second trip of the season to Assiniboine Credit Union Place in Western Hockey League action tonight.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the Raiders are a handful.

“They’re an exceptional team,” Murray said. “I think they have one regular season loss so far this year. They’re the real deal. They work extremely hard, they skate, they play fast and they’re real competitive on 50-50 pucks.”

The Raiders have certainly bedevilled the Wheat Kings (11-10-1-0) this season. On Sept. 27, Brandon led 4-2 eight minutes into the third period and Prince Albert tied the game with just over two minutes left in regulation.

In overtime, Raiders forward Aiden Oiring scored the winner after a pair of plays on the sequence that had the Wheat Kings bench unsuccessfully hollering for penalties.

The teams certainly didn’t have to go to overtime last Friday, with Prince Albert coasting to a 4-1 victory while holding the visitors to just 19 shots. In fact, they’ve outshot Brandon in five of the six 20-minute periods and the overtime, and won the battle in the faceoff circle in both games.

“They work as a five-man unit in their structure and everyone is on the same page,” Murray said. “They’ve got good goaltending and that’s a start. They have a nice mix on the back end with some bigger bodies but some skill as well. All the forwards work and skate and take away time and space.”

Luke Mistelbacher, who leads Brandon in goals with 17 in 22 games this season, agrees with his coach.

“They all just buy in and they all play the same way,” Mistelbacher said. “They’re obviously really well coached. They back check hard and clog the middle.”

Brandon will likely be without Mistelbacher’s linemate, leading scorer Jaxon Jacobson, who was injured on the first shift of the game between the teams last Friday and missed Saturday’s 3-2 victory over the Saskatoon Blades.

The injury is thought to be short term, but they’re not so lucky with Ryan Boyce (lower body) and Easton Odut (upper body), who at least had light skates before practice on Thursday.

They also remain without defencemen Merrek Arpin and Adam Hlinsky, who remain away indefinitely.

The good news for Brandon on Thursday was that 17-year-old defenceman Gio Pantelas skated onto the ice just as the team was stretching following practice after returning from the two-game CHL USA Prospects Challenge.

He and Prince Albert star defenceman Daxon Rudolph flew back from Lethbridge to Brandon on Thursday afternoon, with Pantelas jumping on the ice while Wheat Kings vice president of business operations Mike Filipchuk ensured Rudolph was fed and then checked into the team’s hotel.

“It was a great experience,” Pantelas said. “Just seeing old buddies again and making new buddies was amazing. There’s nothing bad I can say about it.”

The event featured the top National Hockey League draft prospects from the two countries squaring off against each other. Pantelas, who was ranked by Central Scouting as a B-rated prospect that could see him taken in rounds two or three, was just amazed he was part of the action.

“My first day arriving, it was like ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m here! I don’t think I belong here,’” Pantelas said. “After the first practice I got used to it and it was ‘Wow, this is just a once-in-a-lifetime moment.’ Everyone is watching me and everyone is watching everyone else. Just even my teammates, seeing them play, there was so much I could learn and so much I’m hoping I can take into my game now.”

In Game 1 in Calgary on Tuesday, USA Hockey earned a 4-2 win. When Team CHL won 4-3 in Lethbridge, it forced a 20-minute “super overtime,” with the next goal deciding the series.

Six minutes in, Victor Plante sniped for the Americans.

“The level of play was amazing,” Pantelas said. “It was out of this world. Everyone was there to compete, everyone was playing hard, it was physical, it was fast. It was nothing you would see anywhere else. Just seeing the teams, everyone’s star player was there.

“There wasn’t anyone who wasn’t willing to play or not playing fast. It was the best of every team.”

The game won’t slow down much tonight with Prince Albert in town. Pantelas has been suitably impressed by his buddy Rudolph and the Raiders.

“They’re an amazing team,” Pantelas said. “I’m hoping we can get back at them for what they did in their house. They’ll be good — we can expect that — but I think if we play hard we have a chance to win, and not just win, but dominate.”

The teams have three games left after tonight, in Prince Albert on Jan. 13 and Feb. 7, and in Brandon on Feb. 13.

The stocky defenceman is hoping the Wheat Kings can build on what they’ve learned from the Raiders this season, and maybe even borrow elements of their game.

“Their compete really separates them,” Pantelas said. “They have a few star players but nothing out of this world. But their compete up and down the ice is world class. That’s why they’re number one. “If we can adopt that, that’s how we’ll get a winning team. Hopefully we can take that starting against them.”

The puck drops at 7.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com