Warriors top Wheat Kings in shootout

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This article was published 31/01/2025 (309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings parlayed a subpar first period into a 4-3 shootout loss to the cellar-dwelling Moose Jaw Warriors in Western Hockey League action at Moose Jaw Events Centre on Friday.

Brandon (23-16-3-3) received its goals in regulation from Matteo Michels, Luke Shipley and Carter Klippenstein, with Connor Schmidt, Krzysztof Macias and Carson Deichert replying for Moose Jaw (11-30-4-2) in front of a crowd of 2,811.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the poor start that put his team behind 3-2 after 20 minutes was key.

“It was probably the difference in the game,” Murray said. “We got down 3-1, and two goals we tried to handle the puck at the blue-line and turned it over for breakaways. Those are killers. We got shots at the end and stuff and we fought back to tie it up but overall I’m really disappointed with the outcome.”

After a power play two minutes 12 seconds into the game when Brandon failed to get a shot on net, the unsuccessful man advantage was compounded when the speedy Schmidt came out of penalty box as the puck bounced into the neutral zone and beat Brandon goalie Ethan Eskit high on the glove side on the long breakaway.

Brandon tied the game four minutes later when Shipley put a shot on net that was stopped by Moose Jaw goalie Matthew Hutchinson despite a dual screen by Michels and Klippenstein, but Michels swept the rebound in to make it 1-1.

By that time, Brandon had a heavy territorial advantage, with Moose Jaw taking nearly nine minutes to get a second shot on net.

The Warriors took another lead when Wheat Kings forward Joby Baumuller turned the puck over to Macias at the Moose Jaw blue-line and the Polish forward beat Eskit low to the blocker side, then the hosts Warriors sniped again just 48 seconds later off the rush when the 16-year-old AAA callup Deichert scored his first WHL goal for his hometown club after he tucked a shot inside the far post.

Brandon replied late in the period when Dominik Petr fed Shipley for a quick one-timer that was the overage defender’s 14th goal of the season.

After a scoreless second period, the Wheat Kings evened the game 3-3 on a broken play 3:21 into the third period when Michels backhanded a pass to Klippenstein, who was camped out just above the crease.

The Wheat Kings went to their third power play with 9:26 remaining, and Brandon furiously pressed but couldn’t take their first lead.

In overtime, both sides had multiple possessions and chances, with each putting four shots on net.

Murray said his team’s play improved as the game went on, but still left something to be desired.

“Better, but we have a long way to go,” Murray said. “We need everybody firing on all cylinders at the same time and it’s frustrating because we have one line going one night and then another line picks it up. For us to be successful, we need to have everybody at the top of their game and we can’t have those lull games where you’re just average. We need everybody going.”

In the shootout, Eskit stopped Pavel McKenzie and Aiden Ziprick but Moroz scored on a beautiful move for the only goal of the shootout. At the other end, Hutchinson stopped Petr, Jordan Gavin and Shipley, with the puck squirting into the air and landing near the goal-line but staying out on Shipley’s attempt.

In all three cases the Brandon shooters tried to deke.

“The ice gets awfully chewed up and they do a half job of scraping it and it’s uneven,” Murray said. “The less you complicate it, probably the better at that time of the game. You don’t want to take int away if a guy has a move but I think probably in those situations it’s best to shoot the puck.”

Eskit made 23 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Hutchinson stopping 42 shots for the Warriors, who snapped an 0-9-1-1 streak.

Brandon went 0-for-3 on the power play, with Moose Jaw unsuccessful in one chance.

The trip continues tonight in Regina when the Wheat Kings meet the Pats at Brandt Centre. The puck drops at 6 p.m.

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured forwards Roger McQueen and Easton Odut, plus healthy scratch D Adam Belusko … Moose Jaw star forward Lynden Laconic remains out after a hit by Brandon callup Garrett Thom hit on Dec. 28 and he’s still out … Michels led the Wheat Kings with seven shots on net … The game took two hours, 30 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, both teams won 34 draws.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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