Hapless penalty kill sinks Wheaties

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Roger McQueen made his return to the lineup after more than four months and 50 games away due to injury but left early due to a boarding major and game misconduct as the Red Deer Rebels beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-2 in Western Hockey League action at Peavey Mart Centrium on Tuesday.

Matthew Gard of Winnipeg had a hat trick on the power play and Jhett Larson also scored on the man advantage for Red Deer (24-28-5-2), with Brandon (32-20-4-3) receiving its goals from Caleb Hadland and Joby Baumuller in front of a crowd of 2,933.

Brandon also welcomed back forward Carter Klippenstein and defenceman Merrek Arpin to the lineup, along with 16-year-old callup Isaac Davies, allowing them to dress 18 skaters.

They skated without injured forwards Jaxon Jacobson, who will return later in the trip, Easton Odut and Ben Binder Nord plus defenceman Adam Belusko, who had to return to Slovakia to deal with an academic commitment.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the inability to stop Red Deer’s power play was the story of the night.

“We just didn’t get it done,” Murray said. “They had four power-play goals and special teams was the difference in the game.”

The teams traded power-play chances midway through the first period, with the Rebels capitalizing on theirs when Gard put a rebound behind Wheat Kings goalie Ethan Eskit 12 minutes three seconds in.

The hosts controlled the play in much of the first period, earning a 14-5 edge in shots.

“I didn’t like our first period at all,” Murray said. “I thought we only had maybe one scoring chance and didn’t really generate a lot. I think we got outshot 14-5. Just starting the game and getting our mojo going, we didn’t really get out of the gate.”

The Rebels, who had the worst power-play unit in the league coming into the game, added a second goal on the man advantage 2:34 into the second period after Larson got his stick on a pass towards the net and guided the puck between Eskit’s legs as the Wheat Kings took back-to-back penalties.

Hadland brought his team back within a goal three minutes later on a highlight reel goal. He picked up the puck near his own blue-line and skated around four Rebels defenders before sending a shot past Red Deer goalie Peyton Shore for his 20th goal of the year.

Baumuller tied the game before the period ended. He skated the puck into the Red Deer zone, went to shoot and briefly lost the puck, and then gained it back and fired it past Shore to tie the game 2-2.

Early in the third period, Baumuller was crushed face-first into the boards at the 2:15 mark by Larson. Arpin immediately fought the Red Deer forward, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct minor, but Larson was flagged for a major.

That meant the teams would play four-on-four for two minutes and then the Wheat Kings enjoyed three minutes of power-play time.

Baumuller, meanwhile, struggled to his feet and headed straight to the dressing room with athletic therapist Zach Hartwick. He didn’t return, and his teammates didn’t do much with the opportunity in his absence.

“I thought we moved it around the perimeter a lot on the power play,” Murray said. “We didn’t get much going. They had a young 16-year-old in net who played well but didn’t generate any traffic or opportunities there.”

Six minutes later, McQueen wiped out forward Beckett Hamilton with an ugly hit and drew a major of his own, and when the Rebels took a penalty, the game once again went to four-on-four and three minutes of power-play time.

Hamilton was eventually able to head to the dressing room with some help and didn’t return.

During four-on-four play, Red Deer forward Samuel Drancak was stopped on a breakaway by Eskit off a turnover, and he had to be good as the Rebels poured on the pressure once the power play began.

Gard scored his second power-play goal with 1:27 left in the man advantage — and 8:07 remaining on the clock — when he tipped a shot by Ollie Josephson past Eskit. Gard then got his hat trick goal 80 seconds on the power play when he was fed in front by Kalan Lind.

Brandon pulled Eskit with 2:45 remaining but neither team was able to score. Eskit made 32 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Shore stopping 22 shots for the Rebels.

Brandon went 0-for-4 on the power play, with Red Deer scoring four times in five chances, the most goals the Wheat Kings penalty killers have allowed in a game this season.

McQueen’s suspension on the hit, which is inevitable after he drew a boarding major, will be the first of the season for the team. They are also likely to be without the services of Baumuller, dropping them back down to 10 forwards after just one night with 12.

“We’ll probably be short a couple of bodies again tomorrow,” Murray said. “It’s incredibly frustrating on the injury front and obviously taking a five-minute major at a poor time of the game. They score on the power play and we probably lose a good player too. It was incredibly frustrating.”

ICINGS: McQueen skated with Jordan Gavin and Baumuller … The game took two hours, 24 minutes to play … It was the WHL debut for Davies, who stepped on the ice for the first time 2:36 into the game wearing No. 54 … Brandon had the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot with a win. Any combination of Red Deer losing three points or Brandon gaining three points in the next three weeks will get the Wheat Kings into the post-season … The host has won the last eight games between the Rebels and Wheat Kings, spanning two seasons … Brandon also lost 4-2 in Red Deer on Nov. 30 … The Wheat Kings last won in Red Deer on Nov. 19, 2022 … McQueen, Baumuller, Brady Turko and Marcus Nguyen led the Wheat Kings with three shots each on net … In the faceoff circle, Red Deer won 30-27 … The trip continues tonight in Edmonton as they meet the Oil Kings. They play the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday afternoon.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson

 

LATE TUESDAY
Rebels 4, Wheat Kings 2
First Period
1. Red Deer, Gard 14 (Josephson, Larson) 12:03 (pp).
Penalties — Dowhaniuk RD (tripping) 8:29, Klippenstein Bdn (roughing) 10:46, Ronald Bdn (roughing) 11:47, Coupland RD (roughing) 11:47, Thurston RD (checking to the head) 15:16, Arpin Bdn (hooking) 19:32.
Second Period
2. Red Deer, Larson 9 (Drancak, Brigley) 2:34 (pp).
3. Brandon, Hadland 20 (unassisted) 5:50.
4. Brandon, Baumuller 16 (Pantelas) 18:33.
Penalties — McQueen Bdn (slashing) 0:47, Gard RD (boarding) 18:48.
Third Period
5. Red Deer, Gard 15 (Josephson, Brigley) 17:53 (pp).
6. Red Deer, Gard 16 (Lind, Brigley) 13:13 (pp).
Penalties — Arpin Bdn (fighting major, unsportsmanlike conduct) 2:15, Larson RD (boarding major, fighting major, game misconduct) 2:15, McQueen Bdn (boarding major, game misconduct) 8:20, Missours RD (unsportsmanlike conduct) 8:20,
Shots on goal by
Brandon     5     12     7     —    24
Red Deer     14     13     9     —     36
Goal — Brandon: Eskit (L, 11-5-1-3). Red Deer: Shore (W, 5-3-0-0).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Brandon: 0-4; Red Deer: 4-5
Referees — Simon Desbiens, Mike Langin.
Linesmen — Jacob Hicks, Chad Huseby.
Attendance — 2,933 in Red Deer.