Wheat Kings blow out Broncos

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This article was published 07/03/2015 (4130 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Like a heavyweight champion snapped to attention by an unexpected shot to the chin, the Brandon Wheat Kings shook off the sting of Friday’s loss by landing a knockout blow on Saturday.

One night after suffering their second loss in two weeks to the Prince Albert Raiders, the Wheat Kings scored three goals in the second period and five more in the third to blitz the Swift Current Broncos 9-1 on Saturday at Westman Place.

"I think there’s a lot of guys that were not happy with the way they played (Friday) night," said Morgan Klimchuk, who had two goals and two assists for the Wheat Kings. "I think the coaching staff as well, obviously, were not happy with some guys. We dropped two games against a team that I guess we’ve just been struggling against and I guess we kind of took it out on Swift Current tonight. It’s definitely good to be able to respond like that."

Klimchuk’s linemate, Peter Quenneville, had two goals and an assist, while the third member of the trio, Tim McGauley, scored a goal and set up two others. Defencemen Eric Roy also had a goal and two assists, while Jayce Hawryluk, Rihards Bukarts and John Quenneville also scored to help the Wheat Kings (48-11-4-3) remain two points behind the Kelowna Rockets for first overall in the Western Hockey League.

Jay Merkley scored for the Broncos (30-31-1-4), who have dropped six games in a row, putting their playoff spot in jeopardy with the Moose Jaw Warriors lurking only two points behind them.

Tied 1-1 after the opening period, Brandon dominated play the rest of the way, outshooting the Broncos 38-11 over the final 40 minutes. Roy said the Wheat Kings focused on moving the puck out of their zone quickly and limiting the pressure on goalie Jordan Papirny, who made 22 saves for his league-leading 40th win of the season.

"I think after we got that second goal we just kind of locked it down," Roy said. "We played defence fast. That’s what (assistant coach Dave Anning) has been saying to us … and I thought all seven D-men were playing well tonight and we just responded well."

Swift Current goalie Landon Bow stopped 35 of the 41 shots he faced before he was pulled midway through the third period. His replacement, Travis Child allowed three goals on 12 shots, including power-play markers 40 seconds apart as Brandon went 4-for-6 with the man advantage.

ONE-TIMERS: The Broncos were 0-for-1 on the power play … Attendance was 4,006 … McGauley has points in 22 straight games (15 goals, 32 assists) and is up to 202 career points, while Klimchuk has points in 10 games in a row (seven goals, 12 assists) … Papirny is the first Brandon G to win 40 games since Glen Hanlon set the WHL record of 49 in 1976-77 … Wheat Kings head coach/general manager Kelly McCrimmon won his 412th game to sit 13th among the WHL’s all-time leaders in coaching victories … Brandon scratched C Nolan Patrick (upper body), C/RW Reid Duke (lower body), LW Quintin Lisoway (knee) and D Kale Clague (lower body) … Head coach Mark Lamb was not on the Swift Current bench after being hospitalized on Friday. The Broncos reported he was released on Saturday and will rejoin the team after the weekend … The Wheat Kings will host the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday.

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