Thorpe nets pair as Wheat Kings beat Ice 5-0

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2019 (2342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new era in Manitoba hockey began on Friday as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the visiting Winnipeg Ice 5-0 in Western Hockey League pre-season action at Westoba Place.

Ty Thorpe scored twice for Brandon, with Connor Gutenberg, Nolan Ritchie and Jonny Hooker notching singles.

Brandon starting goalie Ethan Kruger played two periods, stopping 19 shots, and Connor Ungar turned aside 16 in the final frame for the goose egg.

Their shared effort became that much more important when Brandon drew six minor penalties in the second period, sending Winnipeg to five power plays. The Ice outshot the Wheat Kings 29-16 in the final 40 minutes.

“It was a good defensive effort,” Kruger said. “I was seeing the puck and only had to make a couple of bigger saves. There were no rebounds and I got the job done.”

Brandon head coach Dave Lowry said the two netminders were very good in the 35-save shutout.

“I really liked the goaltending,” Lowry said. “I really liked the way they competed for pucks. They fought to find them and they fought to make saves.”

It was the first matchup between two Manitoba teams in the WHL since 1984. The Winnipeg Warriors moved to Moose Jaw for the 1984-85 season.

During the off-season, the former Kootenay Ice relocated to Winnipeg from Cranbrook, B.C.

The teams meet again tonight at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie at 7 o’clock.

Brandon opened the scoring after the teams traded power plays midway through the opening frame when Thorpe tipped a shot by Caiden Daley past Winnipeg starting goalie Will Gurski.

The Ice responded by taking another penalty soon after, and Gutenberg, who returned to last season’s spot on the point with the man advantage, ripped a shot over Gurski’s shoulder to give his team a 2-0 lead.

The goals came three minutes apart.

Thorpe extended the lead when he added his second power-play goal early in the middle frame, banging home a rebound.

“Obviously it doesn’t mean anything as far as standings but getting back into action and making some chemistry with some guys and getting your feet under you is definitely huge,” said Thorpe, who scored once last season as a rookie. “To produce in the first game is awesome.”

Ritchie, who lit the lamp with 10 goals in six intrasquad games during training camp, continued his fine play when he benefited from some hard work by Cole Reinhardt. The big Albertan’s forechecking forced a loose puck, which Reinhardt shovelled out front to Ritchie, who was all alone.

Ritchie picked up an assist in the third period when he found Hooker in front of the net, and the Winnipegger hit the mesh behind goalie Daniel Hauser, who played the final 20 minutes.

Ungar made a number of terrific saves for Brandon in his period of action to preserve the shared shutout with Kruger.

“It’s good to get a taste of them,” Kruger said. “We only saw them last year four times so it’s good seeing new faces and new jerseys. It’s exciting.”

Brandon went 3-for-6 on the power play, with Winnipeg going scoreless in seven chances.

“I liked our power play the way we started the game,” Lowry said. “We just went and we played and we executed. I know that we talked about the number of penalties. That’s an area we’ll have to address: Stick fouls will cost you games.”

Gurski and Hauser combined to make 29 saves for the Ice.

Winnipeg head coach Steve Patrick said he liked the play of Austin Schellenberg and Logan Danis up front and Nolan Orzeck on defence, so there were positives for his team. But the negatives simply outweighed them.

“Our special teams gave up three power-play goals, and for me, that was the difference in the game,” Patrick said. “Twice we weren’t in the shot lane where we could have been. When you have guys trying to earn a spot or a role or ice time, that was something we definitely have to be better at but there were some positives. I know we created come chances but I don’t think we stuck around the front of the net to score goals.”

ICINGS: Vinny Iorio had three assists for Brandon, while Reinhardt and Daley each had a pair … Attendance wasn’t announced … Brandon’s scratches were Jiri Patera, Ben McCartney and Luka Burzan (pro camps), plus the healthy scratches, 15-year-olds Nate Danielson, Tyson Zimmer and Rylan Roersma, 16-year-old rookie Jacob Hoffrogge and veterans Lynden McCallum, Zach Wytinck and Chad Nychuk … Winnipeg’s scratches included Strathclair’s Conor Geekie, top 2019 bantam pick Matthew Savoie, Wheat King defenceman Jonny Lambos’ younger brother Carson and 2018 second overall pick Connor McClennon … The Wheat Kings will be on hand Sunday morning as the Brandon Humane Society hosts its 18th annual Wag-a-Tail Walkathon at Kin Park at the corner of First Street and Aberdeen Avenue. The event begins at 9 o’clock with a barbecue to follow at 11 a.m.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson