Blades slice through listless Wheat Kings

Zach Olsen scored twice and added an assist as the Saskatoon Blades skated to a 6-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings in Western Hockey League action at SaskTel Centre on Wednesday.

Hayden Harsanyi, Kazden Mathies, David Lewandowski and Elias Pul also scored for Saskatoon (34-25-5-2), with Luke Mistelbacher and Gio Pantelas replying for Brandon (38-26-2-0) in front of a crowd of 3,510.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said his team played a good opening 20 minutes and then just didn’t have much to give.

“I just felt like we had a real lacklustre effort,” Murray said. “That’s what it came down to. Our jam and our fire and our willingness to do the right things to help us win a hockey game weren’t there. We tried to fake our way through a hockey game and when you do that, that’s what it usually looks like.”

The loss means fifth-place Brandon officially can’t catch the fourth-place Calgary Hitmen, even though they lost 5-1 to Edmonton Oil Kings. The Hitmen are five points up on Brandon, which finishes up the 68-game regular season against the Pats this weekend, with Friday’s game in Regina and Saturday’s matchup in Brandon.

Sixth-place Saskatoon, which also has two games left, moved within three points of Brandon but faces a tall task with a weekend series against the Eastern Conference-leading Prince Albert Raiders.

The Blades struck first off the rush, with Harsanyi streaking down the wing and beating Brandon goalie Filip Ruzicka under his glove five minutes one second into the game.

Four minutes later, the Wheat Kings tied the game on a lucky goal from the overage sniper Mistelbacher. Brandon broke into the Saskatoon zone and Brett Wilson’s shot from the circle hit Mistelbacher and deflected past Saskatoon goalie Evan Gardner.

Brandon had back-to-back power plays late in the first period, but in a troubling trend of late, allowed the best chance shorthanded, with Ruzicka turning aside a shot by Mathies on a partial breakaway.

As it turned out, the first period would be the only good one for Brandon.

The Blades dominated much of the second period, regaining the lead on a four-on-two break at the 6:57 mark when Jack Kachkowski set up Olsen in the slot.

Four minutes later, just after a power play ended, Mathies was all alone in front and redirected a pass by Olsen off the inside of the goal post to make it 3-1.

The Wheat Kings, who were outshot 15-4 in the middle frame, were fortunate to get back within a goal with 50.9 seconds left when Pantelas broke in on a two-on-one with Caleb Hadland and elected to shoot, tucking the puck over Gardner’s shoulder into the top of the net.

In the third period, the Blades restored the two-goal lead at the 4:49 mark on a power play when Lewandowski found the mesh through traffic.

Wilson hit a post for Brandon on the next shift as they pressed back — and then Brandon’s top line had a pair of terrific chances on rebounds — but when the puck went back up the ice, Olsen leaned into a shot off a long rebound and it was 5-2.

The hosts finished up the scoring after Tyler Parr broke in and Ruzicka made a nice save, but Pul popped the rebound in.

The loss extended Brandon’s streak to three games after a 3-2 overtime defeat against the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, and a 3-1 setback to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday.

Murray admitted it’s worrisome with playoffs nearing.

“It is a concern,” Murray said. “Frankly, the effort in Edmonton wasn’t a lot better. You give the benefit of the doubt because it was a three in four, but to me that’s two clunkers in a row.”

Ruzicka made 28 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Gardner stopping 16 shots for the Blades.

Brandon went 0-for-2 on the power play, with Saskatoon scoring once in six chances.

With overage defenceman Grayson Burzynski out of the lineup, rookie prospect Cruz Jim slid in and played his third WHL game of the season.

“He’s going to be a real good player,” Murray said. “He has the ability to break pucks out, read the play, we feel he’s going to run the power play in the very near future here. He had a good showing but we have to remember he’s 15 years old and coming into a playoff-type setting.

“I thought he handled himself well.”

ICINGS: Brandon also skated without injured D Merrek Arpin, D Dylan Ronald, F Easton Odut and F Carter Klippenstein, plus healthy scratches F Ryan Boyce and F Ahmad Fayad … Harsanyi and Olsen were both returning to the Blades lineup on Wednesday after missing time due to injury … Luke Mistelbacher led the Wheat Kings with four shots on net … The game took two hours, 23 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 31-28 … The Brandon-Saskatoon season series ended 4-0-0-0 with both clubs winning twice at home and twice on the road.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

 

LATE WEDNESDAY
Blades 6, Wheat Kings 2
First Period
1. Saskatoon, Harsanyi 14 (Lewandowski, Martin) 5:01.
2. Brandon, Mistelbacher 41 (Wilson, Allard) 9:11.
Penalties — Mathies Sas (slashing) 16:46, Klimpke Sas (cross checking) 18:43, Jim Bdn (interference) 19:35.
Second Period
3. Saskatoon, Olsen 17 (Kachkowski, Lewandowski) 6:57.
4. Saskatoon, Mathies 19 (Olsen, Kachkowski) 10:50.
5. Brandon, Pantelas 6 (unassisted) 19:09.
Penalties — Allard Bdn (slashing) 8:57, Gleasman Bdn (boarding) 15:02.
Third Period
6. Saskatoon, Lewandowski 17 (Klimpke, Laing) 4:49 (pp).
7. Saskatoon, Olsen 18 (Mathies) 7:32.
8. Saskatoon, Pull 11 (Parr, Lavallee) 11:56.
Penalties — Johnson Bdn (holding) 0:46, Williams Sas (tripping) 0:46, Skvortsov Bdn (high sticking) 3:25, Turko Bdn (hooking) 8:56, Gleasman Bdn (fighting major, instigator, game misconduct) 13:36, Allan Sas (fighting major) 13:36,
Shots on goal by
Brandon     9     4     5     —     18
Saskatoon     6     15     13     —     34
Goal — Brandon: Ruzicka (L, 25-14-1-0). Saskatoon: Gardner (W, 25-15-4-2).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Brandon: 0-2; Saskatoon: 1-6.
Referees — Brayden Glynn, Jesse Wood-Schatz.
Linesmen — Jordan Frey, Tanner McGregor.
Attendance — 3,510 in Saskatoon.