Hard-luck Wheat Kings fall 3-2 in OT

Matej Mikes scored twice, Matthew Kondro made 39 saves and Beckett Hamilton scored in overtime as the Red Deer Rebels edged the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings 3-2 in Western Hockey League action at Marchant Crane Centrium on Friday.

Brandon (38-24-2-0) received its goals from Caleb Hadland and Jaxon Jacobson as Red Deer improved to 25-34-3-2 in front of a crowd of 3,846.

Brandon’s Alberta swing finishes up on Saturday when they meet the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Marty Murray said his club, which hit several posts and crossbars and missed a pair of open nets, didn’t have a strong second period and it cost them.

“I thought the first and the third were pretty good,” Murray said. “The second was the difference. We had four power plays and were 0-for and they get a shortie so that’s probably the difference in the game.”

Hadland, who is from nearby Sylvan Lake but played his minor hockey in Red Deer, opened the scoring 14 minutes 52 seconds into the game when he ripped a shot of the rush past Red Deer goalie Matthew Kondro for his 15th goal of the season.

Brandon goalie Filip Ruzicka made his best save three minutes later when Hamilton danced in all alone but had his shot snagged by the Czech netminder’s trapper.

The Wheat Kings were a goalpost away from a 2-0 lead with a minute remaining but Jimmy Egan’s shot, again off the rush, beat Kondro but not the iron. The Wheat Kings did establish a 15-7 edge in shots and took a 1-0 lead into the intermission: They entered the game with a 13-0-0-0 record this season in games where they led in both categories.

It took just seven minutes in the middle frame for Mikes and the Rebels to undo all the good the Wheat Kings achieved in the first period.

Just 54 seconds in, Mikes carried the puck behind the net, cut back the other way and took a shot from down low that tied the game.

Red Deer then took the lead at the 6:13 mark when Brandon’s power play — which has only scored seven power-play goals in their last 11 games while allowing three shorthanded markers — surrendered their seventh shortie of the season after a shot by Mikes was stopped by Ruzicka but the puck popped into the air and the big Czech forward tapped it into the net.

The play came just after Luke Mistelbacher knocked down a clearing attempt at the blue-line with his glove and the puck went straight to Grayson Burzynski at centre-ice. It was clear the Wheat Kings relaxed as they anticipated a call, but the Rebels didn’t, and Mikes was gone after he intercepted Burzynski’s soft pass in the neutral zone.

“I think everybody thought it was going to be a glove pass and we quit playing,” Murray said. “I’m not sure what was going through their heads. You say it all the time, that your power play has to outwork the PK, and if it doesn’t, not only are you not scoring, you’re at the risk of giving stuff up.

“Your special teams have to get it done. We flirted with that (in a 6-4 win) in Calgary on Wednesday and it didn’t bite us, and tonight it did.”

Brandon had four incredible chances to tie the game in the first six minutes of the third period as they enjoyed 3:14 of power-play time. Jacobson narrowly missed an open net early in the third period on an opportunity that had him looking skyward, and three minutes later, Joby Baumuller sent a shot over an open net. Then, with Brandon on its third power play, Grayson Burzynski rang a shot off the crossbar and Brady Turko hit a post.

The Wheats Kings enjoyed a terrific penalty kill late in the game — they created far more than they allowed on the first Rebels power play — and then Mikes used his hand on the puck to win a faceoff and took a penalty with 3:30 left, but Mistelbacher was called on an interference minor 53 seconds later.

With the teams playing four-on-four, Brandon pulled Ruzicka for the extra attacker with 2:30 remaining, and after Jacobson hit another crossbar, he finally evened the game with a bad-angle shot with 2:02 left that bounced off Kondro’s mask and in.

In overtime, Brandon won the opening draw, but after an ill-considered pass into the middle in the offensive zone was intercepted, Rebels forward Poul Andersen flew back up the ice and Hamilton won the game on a shot from the top of the circle that beat Ruzicka cleanly 29 seconds into overtime.

“We made a bad read coming back into the zone and left him unattended,” Murray said. It was only the second loss of the season for Brandon in eight overtimes or shootouts.

Ruzicka made 24 saves for the Wheat Kings.

Brandon went 0-for-4 on the power play, with Red Deer unsuccessful in two chances.

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured D Merrek Arpin, D Dylan Ronald, F Easton Odut and F Carter Klippenstein, G Jayden Kraus, plus healthy scratch F Gunnar Gleasman … Red Deer was without two overagers, D Aleksey Chichkin and F Tyson Yaremko … F Cole Temple of Brandon returned to the Red Deer lineup on March 3, and had six points in six games entering Friday’s contest … Brandon entered the game 17-6-0-0 in games they outshot their opponents … Jacobson led the Wheat Kings with five shots on net … The game took two hours, 25 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 30-27.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

 

FRIDAY

LATE FRIDAY
Rebels 3, Wheat Kings 2 (OT)
First Period
1. Brandon, Hadland 15 (Wilson, Egan) 14:52.
Penalties — Boyce Bdn (fighting major) 17:53, Chadi RD (fighting major) 17:53.
Second Period
2. Red Deer, Mikes 10 (Lodge) 0:54.
3. Red Deer, Mikes 11 (unassisted) 6:13 (sh).
Penalties — Hadland Bdn (roughing) 14:06, Varga RD (roughing) 14:06, Hamilton RD (slashing) 19:14.
Third Period
4. Brandon, Jacobson 25 (Burzynski, Allard) 17:58.
Penalties — Sopiarz RD (interference) 4:00, Bhathal Bdn (tripping) 13:07, Mikes RD (faceoff violation) 16:30, Mistelbacher Bdn (interference) 17:37.
Overtime
5. Red Deer, Hamilton 23 (Andersen) 0:29.
Penalties — None.
Shots on goal by
Brandon     15     11     15 0     —     41
Red Deer     8     10     8 1    —     27
Goal — Brandon: Ruzicka (OL, 25-12-1-0). Red Deer: Kondro (OW, 18-17-3-1).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Brandon: 0-4; Red Deer: 0-2.
Referees — Adam Forbes, Mason Stewart.
Linesmen — Jason Nedinis, Josh Meier.
Attendance — 3,846 in Red Deer.