Wheat Kings in trouble after second big loss

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This article was published 26/03/2018 (2764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — For the second year in a row, the Brandon Wheat Kings head to Dauphin in deep, deep trouble.

The Medicine Hat Tigers scored three first-period goals for the second game in a row and cruised to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Wheat Kings at Canalta Centre on Sunday, to give them a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final series.

The series swings to Dauphin’s Credit Union Centre for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game time each evening is 7:30.

Brandon head coach David Anning said it was a disappointing effort.

“Their group played hard and we were looking for a little bit more than we saw (Sunday),” Anning said. “We made some costly mistakes that cost us goals. They got the job done on home ice. Now it’s up to us to respond and get ready for Tuesday.”

Mark Rassell had two goals and two assists, with singles coming off the sticks of Ryan Chyzowski, David Quenneville, Elijah Brown and Josh Williams scored for Medicine Hat, with Marcus Sekundiak scoring twice and Ty Lewis adding a short-handed goal for Brandon.

“Med Hat is a good team,” Sekundiak said. “They work hard and we expected that coming in. They got the better of us these games and we’re just going to have to hit the reset button for Game 3.”

It took the Tigers four minutes and 48 seconds to open the scoring. After a back-and-forth first few minutes, Chyzowski came down the side with a shot that Brandon starting goalie Logan Thompson pawed at but went through his glove and into the net.

The game quickly went from bad to worse for the visitors. Quenneville scored through traffic 11:19 into the frame, and when Lewis took a high-sticking penalty 33 seconds later, it took Rassell just 10 seconds to put the hosts up 3-0.

Brandon had been outshooting Medicine Hat 6-2, but the Tigers held them without a shot for the last 11 minutes while they peppered Thompson with 11.

Sekundiak finally put Brandon on the board three minutes into the middle frame when he banged in a rebound past Medicine Hat starting goalie Jordan Hollett after some hard work by Ben McCartney, but it took the Tigers 19 seconds to answer when Rassell scored his second of the game and third of the series

The Tigers made it 5-1 late in the period when the fifth penalty of the game — all against Brandon — set up a power-play tip by Brown on an outstanding pass by former Wheat King Jaeger White.

Lewis brought Brandon back within three goals four minutes into the final frame when Connor Gutenberg sent him in all alone on a short-handed breakaway and he ripped a shot by Hollett. But 78 seconds later, White tipped home his team’s third power-play goal.

The fourth line of Sekundiak, McCartney and Gunnar Wegleitner — the team’s most energetic and dangerous on Sunday — struck again three minutes later when Sekundiak wristed home his second of the game.

“It’s a good confidence booster knowing that I can put the puck in the net,” Sekundiak said. “Hopefully it will give us some energy sometimes and keep us going.”

The Wheat Kings had another blow late in the third period when Thompson appeared to injure his leg. Dylan Myskiw came in with five minutes left, and after making some fine saves, surrendered a late goal to Williams on a rocket from the point.

“We needed to a better job with the puck in the neutral zone,” Anning said. “I thought that our puck management slowed us down through the neutral zone slowed us down and allowed them to transition with numbers. Certainly our entries are something that we’re going to have to clean up and make sure we do a better job with the puck.”

Thompson and Myskiw combined to make 29 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Hollett stopping 23 shots for the Tigers.

Brandon went 0-for-3 on the power play, with Medicine Hat scoring three goals in seven chances.

Medicine Hat head coach Shaun Clouston was impressed with Rassell’s play.

“He’s been effective all year,” Clouston said. “He’s had an unbelievable season. It usually gets a little bit tougher in the playoffs and we expect this series to get tougher the further we go but he’s been terrific for us and he’s off to a great start.”

ICINGS: Brandon was without injured forward Jonny Hooker and healthy scratches D Ty Ettinger and G Ethan Kruger. Baron Thompson earned a suspension for a knee-to-knee hit on Tigers D Dylan MacPherson that left the veteran rearguard out week-to-week with an injured leg … Medicine Hat scratched F James Hamblin (broken wrist, out for playoffs), F Mason Shaw, MacPherson and D Linus Nassen, who sustained an upper-body injury in Game 1 … D Joel Craven, who drew in for the Tigers on the blue-line, is the son of former National Hockey League player Murray Craven … Anning said after the game that Thompson had tweaked something and his status is uncertain going forward.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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