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Wheat Kings sweep Warriors

By: Rob Henderson

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 at 10:56 PM | Comments: 0

As modest as it may be, the Brandon Wheat Kings are on their first winning streak since September.

The Wheat Kings scored three times late in the third period to double the host Moose Jaw Warriors 4-2 on Saturday, earning back-to-back victories for the first time since winning their first four games of the Western Hockey League season.

Chad Robinson scored two goals, one of them into an empty net, while Taylor Cooper notched the winner for the Wheat Kings (13-18-2-2). Jens Meilleur rounded out the Brandon scoring.

Considering Brandon fell behind 36 seconds into the game and didn't get its first lead until Cooper's goal with 2:08 to play, Wheat Kings head coach Dwayne Gylywoychuk was pleased with the way the team stuck with the game plan in the third period.

"We wanted to stick with structure and I think that's something we're really stressing is that if we play structurally we will get opportunity," said Gylywoychuk, whose club also beat the Warriors 4-2 on Friday in Brandon, "and I think we were rewarded with that tonight."

The Warriors (12-17-3-4) got their goals from Sam Fioretti and Josh Uhrich, who opened the scoring with his first WHL goal on Moose Jaw's teddy-bear-toss night.

Meilleur responded to Uhrich's goal by tying the game for the Wheat Kings late in the first, dumping Warriors defenceman Tyler Bell and scoring on a wrap-around.

The Warriors controlled the second period and got the go-ahead goal from Fioretti, but Brandon righted the ship in the third, knotting the score on Robinson's bad-angle shot with 6:08 to play.

Brandon potted the winner off of a rush as Tim McGauley deked a defenceman and got a shot away despite falling down, with Cooper charging to the net and scoring his first goal since the season opener on the rebound.

"That line of Tim McGauley, Taylor Cooper and Jens really, really were skating all night long," Gylywoychuk said. "They had a lot of jump."

Getting back-to-back starts for the first time this season, Curtis Honey made 23 saves in the Brandon net, while Daniel Wapple stopped 28 shots for Moose Jaw.

The Wheat Kings wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on the road tonight against the Prince Albert Raiders (6:35, CKLQ) before getting an 11-day break.

"We've got to realize we've got three periods of work to do before we have some time off," Gylywoychuk said. "We've got to make sure we play a simple game and realize that it would be a great way to end before the break if we could get six points (for the weekend)."

ONE-TIMERS: Brandon went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Moose Jaw was 0-for-1 … The Wheat Kings scratched LW Alessio Bertaggia (Swiss junior team), LW Geordie Maguire (ill), C Tyrel Seaman (suspected concussion), LW Jack Palmer (upper body) and D Rene Hunter (personal), while the Warriors played without D Morgan Rielly (Canadian junior team).

» rhenders@brandonsun.com

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