Ruzicka back to take on Tigers

Filip Ruzicka will be in the lineup for the Brandon Wheat Kings tonight as they face the Medicine Hat Tigers, but his coach won’t even be at Assiniboine Credit Union Place.

The big goalie got in a fight with his Regina Pats counterpart Taylor Tabashnuik just after the final whistle of a 4-1 victory on Friday. The problem was that Brandon defenceman Daniil Skvortsov and Regina blue-liner Jonas Kohn began chuckling the knuckles moments before when a melee erupted, so it became a multi-fight situation.

Despite a referee straining to hold him back and Murray and assistant coaches Del Pedrick and Mark Derlago yelling at him to stop because his partner Jayden Kraus was already hurt, Ruzicka wasn’t stopping.

When the dust settled, the Wheat Kings and Pats were both fined $1,000 for their second multiple-fight situation of the season, and head coaches Marty Murray and Brad Herauf were fined $500 and suspended for one game due to the goalie fight.

“I was worried about Ruzicka, I wasn’t thinking about myself,” Murray said. “We’re down Kraus to injury and that was probably the last thing on my birthday card I thought I would see, Filip getting into a fight.

“I was worried about it being a second fight that he would get suspended but because it was our team’s second multi-fight situation of the year, that carries a one-game suspension for the coach.

“Here we are. I’ll be out (tonight) I guess.”

Murray is allowed at the rink until one hour before game time, and then can return one hour after the game is over.

“I’ll be watching on my TV from my couch,” Murray said.

Brandon under-18 AAA goalie Urijah Moosetail was on the bench on Friday, but he’s busy in the playoffs so they’ll have someone different for the next while.

Wheat Kings goaltending prospect Joffrey Chan arrived in Brandon on Monday evening during a break in the schedule at St. George’s prep school in Vancouver and will stay for the next three games. When the team heads out on its Alberta swing, the team will be joined by Alberta Junior Hockey League goalie Hudson Perry, who started the season in Brandon but was reassigned after Ruzicka arrived.

“We’re going to limp through it, but if Filip was suspended, we would probably ending bringing in both Perry and Chan,” Murray said. “It’s hard to do at this time of year because teams are in playoffs and you don’t want to disrupt them too much. If we were in a dire situation like that, we would have to ask for a personal favour for sure.”

Overage forward Luke Mistelbacher said the players were just happy the suspension wasn’t levied at Ruzicka.

“There was definitely a lot (of relief),” Mistelbacher said. “We’re going to need him Wednesday night. Obviously our coaches weren’t too pleased with the fight but now that he’s not out, I’m sure they’re happy about that.”

Both clubs have plenty left to play for as they chase a team four points ahead of them in the standings. The second-place Tigers (42-9-5-3) are battling with the first-place Prince Albert Raiders, while the fifth-place Wheat Kings (35-23-1-0) are trying to make up ground on the fourth-place Calgary Hitmen.

(The Tigers were in action on Tuesday evening in Regina against the Pats in a game that ended after deadline.)

Murray is certainly impressed by Medicine Hat, which has two of the top four scorers in the league with twins Markus Ruck (88 points) and Liam (86). They also have overage star Andrew Basha, who was reassigned by the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers on Jan. 2.

“They’re a very high-octane team,” Murray said. “The Ruck brothers are having a tremendous season, especially in the second half. They’re one and four in the league in scoring, and getting Basha back really helps them too.

“And in my opinion, they have the two best D in the league play as partners so they’re a handful when they play together. We’re going to have to be at our best. We’ve played them relatively tough in the three games this year, but out of the four games, this will be our biggest challenge. Hopefully we’re up for it.”

The defencemen Murray is referring to are Bryce Pickford and Jonas Woo, who each have four goals and three assists in the three games between the clubs so far.

Both players are in their 19-year-old seasons and enjoying remarkable years, although the Montreal Canadiens prospect Pickford is having one for the ages.

He is third in goals in the entire league — not just defencemen — with 37 in 47 games this season, and is 14th in points with 71. Woo, a Winnipeg product who is the younger brother of former Moose Jaw Warriors and Calgary Hitmen blue-liner Jett, is eighth in assists in the league with 48, and also has 26 goals. They are also one-two in scoring by defencemen.

Mistelbacher is certainly aware of what they bring.

“We have to try to give them as little time and space as possible,” Mistelbacher said. “We have to try to get in their lanes and try not to give them one-timers for sure.”

Murray said the best thing his club can do is to make them play defence 200 feet away from the Wheat Kings net, and make it hard on them all night. But he said his players have to be mindful of how they play, ensuring they’re not the ninth and 10th guys out of the zone when Medicine Hat breaks out.

“We have to make sure we’re on the right side of them,” Murray said. “How we manage the puck, the offensive blue-line turnovers and hope passes from behind the net, they pick those up and they’re gone the other way. We’re going to have to be very aware when they’re on the ice.

“They’re very dynamic in the O-zone. Pickford is a guy who has a tremendous shot. Woo is very dynamic, he’s moving around the offensive zone like a forward. They both bring a lot to the table and they really complement each other as well. They’re elite players at our level.”

The Wheat Kings hold the edge in the high-scoring season series right now, winning 7-4 on Nov. 8 on the road and 6-5 in overtime on Nov. 15 at home. In their last meeting, which was on Dec. 17, the Tigers earned a 7-3 decision at home.

“I think we have to play with some good defence and have some good goaltending,” Mistelbacher said. “Obviously they’re an offensive powerhouse. If we can do that, we can score enough goals to win that game.”

Team captain Caleb Hadland and high-scoring winger Joby Baumuller are practising with the team, albeit in non-hitting capacities. That suggests their returns to the lineup can now be counted in days rather than weeks.

Hadland last played on Feb. 6, with Baumuller injured on Feb. 13.

“Both of those players are a big part of our team in all areas,” Murray said. “Our guys have done a tremendous job of holding down the fort with key players out, but when you’re getting close to getting those players of their calibre and what they mean to our team back, you can’t help but be excited.

“Saying that, just because we get guys back doesn’t mean we can take our feet off the gas. A lot of guys have come a long way in the last little bit because of more opportunity, and they have to maintain that level.

“And the guys coming back into the lineup have to understand what we’ve been going through and play to the best of their abilities as well.”

Mistelbacher said as well as the club has played lately — they are 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games — it will be a relief to welcome the duo back.

“It’s really good,” Mistelbacher said. “We’re going to need them come playoffs. It’s really nice to see them back out there for sure.”

At the same time, the Steinbach product is proud of what his group has accomplished in their absence, winning seven of their last eight.

“It’s been awesome,” Mistelbacher said. “It just shows the character in the room. We’re missing quite a few key guys and we’ve been able to pull some wins off. It’s been fun.”

The puck drops at 7 tonight.

ICINGS: After tonight, Brandon has eight games remaining. Next up is a home-and-home with the Swift Current Broncos, in Saskatchewan on Friday and Manitoba on Saturday. After that, they head to Alberta to play the Calgary Hitmen (March 11), the Red Deer Rebels (March 13) and Edmonton Oil Kings (March 14). After a visit to the Saskatoon Blades (March 18), they finish up with a home-and-home series against the Regina Pats on March 20 in Regina and March 21 in Brandon.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com