Wheaties top Hitmen in likely playoff preview

In a preview of a likely first-round playoff matchup, Joby Baumuller scored and added an assist in his return to the lineup as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Calgary Hitmen 6-4 in Western Hockey League action at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

The Hitmen now lead the Wheat Kings by just two points with five games remaining for both clubs. Barring a dramatic development, the two will meet in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, although who will host Games 1 and 2 is yet to be decided.

Fifth-place Brandon (38-24-1-0) received its goals from Joby Baumuller, Chase Surkan, Prabh Bhathal, Max Lavoie, Jaxon Jacobson and Brett Wilson, with Julien Maze scoring twice and Andrei Molgachev and Keaton Jundt also replying for fourth-place Calgary (35-19-8-1) in front of a crowd of 2,408.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said it was a terrific start to the trip, but it will all be for naught if his club doesn’t continue to rise to the challenge. They visit the Red Deer Rebels on Friday and the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday.

“It’s a big four-point game with Calgary kicking it off,” Murray said. “We checked this box off, but as great as it is to win, if you don’t follow it up, it might not mean as much. To start the trip off with a win here against a good team is hopefully a good confidence booster for our group.”

Baumuller played for the first time since Feb. 13 after missing nine games due to an upper-body injury, and joined Jaxon Jacobson and Luke Mistelbacher on the top line.

Forward Ryan Boyce also came back from a lower-body injury he suffered on Saturday, giving the Wheat Kings 13 healthy forwards.

“That was the first time in a long time,” Murray said with a chuckle. “It was a little less chaotic on the bench trying to get bodies out, we just rolled the lines and had everybody. It’s clear we’re a pretty deep team up front so it was good to spread the lineup out a little bit, especially on a trip when we’re playing three on four.”

Both teams had great chances in the opening minutes, with Jacobson narrowly missing the net on a backdoor feed by defenceman Gio Pantelas when he sent the puck between Calgary goalie Eric Tu and the net.

Brandon goalie Filip Ruzicka made his first great save soon after when Molgachev set up Ethan Moore on the backdoor and the Czech netminder slid across with his pad.

The Hitmen appeared to open the scoring four minutes 31 seconds into the opening frame on the game’s first power play when the puck went in off the skate of Harrison Lodewyk. It went to a replay to determine if he kicked it in, and it was quickly concluded he had made a kicking motion and it was ruled to be no goal.

Instead, Calgary got a goal that counted with six seconds left in the power play when Maze fired a shot from high in the zone through a maze of bodies in front of the net.

The Wheat Kings appeared to tie the game three minutes later but it was also called off.

Grayson Burzynski wired a shot in at the 9:36 mark when he picked up a puck that Brady Turko had knocked out of the air with his glove and never touched again. It was correctly judged to be a hand pass and immediately called off.

Thirteen minutes in, the Wheat King sent the Hitmen to a two-man advantage for 1:47 and had shot blocks from all three penalty killers — Nigel Boehm, Pantelas and Nick Johnson — to thank for surviving a Hitmen onslaught.

Brandon tied the game 16:21 into the period on just their fourth shot when they forced a turnover in the Calgary zone and Mistelbacher set up Baumuller in the slot for his first goal since Jan. 30.

With just 53.0 seconds left in the opening frame, Bhathal carried the puck in and left it for Burzynski, who sent a pass back across the grain to the rookie Surkan for his 20th goal of the year.

“We were kind of on our heels a little bit in the first 10 but with that gigantic five-on-three kill, I thought we did a heckuva job there and gained some momentum off it,” Murray said. “I thought we closed out the first period real well.”

Five minutes into the second period, the Hitmen went to their fourth power play and Molgachev fired home the tying goal.

But just 82 seconds later, Bhathal struck back for Brandon when Surkan set up him up down low and he fired a shot through Tu’s legs to put Brandon up 3-2.

“Arguably the difference in the game tonight was those two guys,” Murray said of Surkan and Bhathal. “That’s one thing we talked to them about earlier in the week. It was ‘Don’t sit back and think I’m on the fourth line. We feel like we have an advantage with you guys playing against a third pair or fourth line or whatever.’”

Eight minutes later, and nine seconds after the Hitmen killed off their first penalty, Jundt showed pass and then beat Ruzicka between the legs to tie the game for the third time.

Nick Johnson nearly gave Brandon another late goal but rang a shot off the crossbar with 26 seconds in the middle frame.

The Wheat Kings restored the lead 4:49 into the third period with a goal from an unlikely source when Lavoie jumped into the play and sent a shot off the post and Tu for his fourth goal.

Jacobson then gave Brandon a two-goal lead at the 10:56 mark when he made a move at the top of the slot that burned a defenceman and snuck the puck through Tu’s legs.

The hosts weren’t done, however.

Kale Dach narrowly missed on a shorthanded breakaway on Calgary’s second penalty kill, and then the Hitmen went to their fifth power play with 2:35 left and Tu on the bench for the extra attacker. It took just 16 seconds for Maze to score his second power-play goal and the game was back within a goal at 5-4.

The Hitmen pulled Tu again with 1:51 left, and with a faceoff in the Brandon end with 1:32 left, Calgary called a timeout.

Off the ensuing faceoff, it took 10 seconds for Brandon to put the game away. After Pantelas got the puck out of their end, team captain Caleb Hadland gathered it up in the neutral zone and found Wilson with an unselfish pass for an empty-net goal at the 18:38 mark.

“In the second and third periods we were up and down and back and forth. We capitalized on some opportunities and scored some big goals at the right time,” Murray said. “It was a big win.”

Ruzicka made 31 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Tu stopping 15 shots for the Hitmen. Brandon went 0-for-2 on the power play, with Calgary scoring three times in five chances.

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured D Merrek Arpin, D Dylan Ronald, F Easton Odut, F Carter Klippenstein and G Jayden Kraus … F Gunnar Gleasman was a healthy scratch … Former Wheat Kings goalie Hudson Perry will serve as backup this week. He was reassigned to the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Grande Prairie Storm after Ruzicka arrived … Bhathal extended his point streak to nine games with an assist on the Surkan goal … Mistelbacher led the Wheat Kings with three shots on net … The game took two hours, 26 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Calgary won 34-33 … Surkan’s goal gave Brandon five 20-goal scorers. Turko is next closest with 17. Turk’s secondary assist on Bhathal’s goal ran his point streak to seven games … Mistelbacher and Jacobson both had two assists … Lavoie was a tidy +4 on the evening.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

 

LATE WEDNESDAY
Wheat Kings 6, Hitmen 4
First Period
1. Calgary, Maze 36 (Wilke, MacBeath) 6:09 (pp).
2. Brandon, Baumuller 37 (Mistelbacher) 16:21.
3. Brandon, Surkan 20 (Burzynski, Bhathal) 19″07.
Penalties — Burzynski Bdn (hooking) 4:15, Bhathal Bdn (tripping) 13:00, Lavoie Bdn (cross checking) 13:13,
Second Period
4. Calgary, Molgachev 26 (MacBeath) 6:18 (pp).
5. Brandon, Bhathal 7 (Surkan, Turko) 7:50.
6. Calgary, Jundt 10 (Pisarczyk, Hurtig) 16:00.
Penalties — Jacobson Bdn (tripping) 5:45, Vanek Cgy (roughing) 13:51.
Third Period
7. Brandon, Lavoie 4 (Mistelbacher, Jacobson) 4:49.
8. Brandon, Jacobson 24 (Lavoie, Baumuller) 10:56.
9. Calgary, Maze 37 (unassisted) 17:41 (pp).
10. Brandon, Wilson 2 (Hadland, Pantelas) 18:38 (en).
Penalties — Vanek Cgy (tripping) 14:59, Mistelbacher Bdn (interference) 17:25.
Shots on goal by
Brandon     7     7     6     —     21
Calgary     12     11     12     —     35
Goal — Brandon: Ruzicka (W, 25-12-0-0). Calgary: Tu (L, 22-13-6-0).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Brandon: 0-2; Calgary: 3-5.
Referees — Mike Langin, Josh Grimm.
Linesmen — Michael Roberts, Josh Meier.
Attendance — 2,408 in Calgary.