Klimchuk clutch in debut with Wheat Kings

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This article was published 03/01/2015 (4286 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Morgan Klimchuk had an instant impact with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Klimchuk, acquired from the Regina Pats in a blockbuster deal on Friday, scored the winning goal on Saturday as the Wheat Kings downed the Calgary Hitmen 7-4 in a Western Hockey League game at Westman Place.

Klimchuk tipped home a Macoy Erkamps point shot, 5:43 into the third period and only 1:38 after Michael Zipp of the Hitmen had tied the game 4-4 with his second goal of the night. Klimchuk also had a key assist on Rihards Bukarts’ second-period goal, kicking off a three-goal surge that turned a 3-1 Brandon deficit into a 4-3 lead.

"I was a little bit nervous for sure and then you just get more comfortable with the guys as the game goes on," Klimchuk said of developing chemistry with linemates Bukarts, who scored twice, and Tim McGauley, who potted an empty-net goal. "You get your feet under you."

"To play the way the team did and to play the way I did, I’m really happy with how it went," he continued.

Jayce Hawryluk also scored two goals — one of them into an empty net — and added an assist as the Eastern Conference-leading Wheat Kings (29-7-3-1) won their fifth straight game coming out of the Christmas break. Nolan Patrick scored Brandon’s other goal and dished out two assists.

The Hitmen (20-15-1-2) took a 2-1 lead out of the first period on goals by Ben Thomas and Zipp, who was credited with the opening marker after the Wheat Kings scored on their own net. Brandonite Jordy Stallard deposited his own rebound to put Calgary up 3-1 in the second period, before the Wheat Kings broke out late in the frame with Bukarts, Patrick and Hawryluk all scoring in a span of 3:34

"I think we just got some momentum that got contagious," Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. "We started putting more pucks deep, had more offensive zone play and got more shots to the net. and that’s kind of where the game turned a little bit in terms of getting ourselves in it."

After Zipp and Klimchuk traded markers early in the third, the Wheat Kings locked up the win with the pair of empty-net goals to improve to 2-1 in the season series versus the Hitmen, including 2-0 at Westman Place.

"When you only play a team four times in a year … basically you want to win all of them," said Hawryluk, who has five goals and six assists in a seven-game point-scoring streak. "You never know if you’re going to face them in the playoffs. You just want to have that confidence, knowing that you beat the team and you can beat them, I think especially beating them in our own building is huge."

ONE-TIMERS: Erkamps and D partner Ryan Pilon were both +4, with Pilon picking up three assists, while Erkamps had one … Wheat Kings G Jordan Papirny made 23 saves and is tied for the WHL lead with 24 wins … Hitmen G Evan Johnson stopped 22 of 26 shots in the first two periods before being replaced by Mack Shields who turned away 13 of the 14 shots he faced … D Travis Sanheim of Elkhorn had an assist for Calgary but was -2, while RW Taylor Sanheim, Travis’s twin brother, was scoreless but, at +1, was one of only four Hitmen with a positive plus/minus … Attendance was 4,139 … Brandon scratched D Ivan Provorov (Russian junior team), D Kale Clague (upper body, week-to-week) and LW Tanner Kaspick … LW Ty Lewis was assigned to the Midget AAA Wheat Kings, putting Brandon’s WHL roster at 23 players … Calgary scratches included LW Jake Virtanen (Canadian junior team) … The Wheat Kings, who are 8-0-1-1 in their past 10 games, will host the Everett Silvertips on Tuesday … LW Jesse Gabrielle, who was traded to Regina for Klimchuk, was scoreless and went -1 in his debut with the Pats on Friday.

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