Caleb Hadland nets OT winner for Wheaties

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This article was published 09/01/2024 (619 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Caleb Hadland scored in overtime as the Brandon Wheat Kings snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Victoria Royals 3-2 in Western Hockey League action at Westoba Place on Tuesday.

Brandon (20-14-4-1) received its other goals from Brett Hyland and Nate Danielson, with Reggie Newman and Cole Reschny replying for Victoria (23-13-2-2) in front of an announced crowd of 1,912.

“It’s always fun playing in OT and scoring that goal obviously,” Hadland said. “It’s just good for the boys. We needed a little push there at the end and Danny got us going with that late goal and finishing it off was nice. Hopefully we can keep that going here at home.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said it was a tale of two hockey games as his club scored late to tie and then earned the overtime victory.

“It was a funny game,” Murray said. “I thought the first period we played pretty good and the first half of the second period we played well and generated a lot. I think we had 25 shots at the halfway point of the game.

“Then we kind of hit the brakes and din’t generate a lot in the second half of the second and the first half of the third. I think we got away from some of the things that gave us success in the first part of the game but we pushed at the end and had some good looks and obviously a couple of big goals.”

The visitors took the lead four minutes into the game when Brandon’s struggling penalty kill failed to contain Victoria. The Wheat Kings were unable to clear the zone off the faceoff and 28 seconds into the man advantage, Tanner Scott threaded a pass through to Newman at the top of the crease and he shovelled the puck past Brandon goalie Carson Bjarnason.

It was the 10th power-play goal Brandon has surrendered in its last six games.

Former Wheat King Hayden Chaloner went in all alone less than a minute later but Bjarnason denied the Winnipegger’s attempt for his first WHL goal.

Brandon had been shut out twice in its previous two outings and carried a lengthy 131-minute, 48-second scoreless streak into the game. That was finally snapped with 2.5 seconds remaining in the first period when Hyland patiently skated in the high slot with the puck as the final seconds ticked away and snapped a shot through traffic and over the glove of Victoria goalie Braden Holt.

“I didn’t really see the clock but I knew it had to be less than 10 seconds,” Hyland said. “I was just thinking shot on net and I had speed going around and sort of got the D-man to bite on the shot so I got around him and fortunately got a bounce off the guys’ back and it went in … I think it hit one of their guys.”

That ended the final streak at 151 minutes 45 seconds, and was Brandon’s first goal of 2024.

Danielson said it was an important goal for the team’s confidence.

“That was a great play by Brett to get us started,” Danielson said. “We definitely thought about it a little bit, not scoring in the past two games. Obviously that’s tough and frustrating at times, so just to get that first one definitely helped.”

“It was a relief,” Hadland added. “We were kind of in a little slump and we weren’t getting bounces and things weren’t going our way. It was such a relief to see him put it in the back of the net and keep that rolling.”

You would have a hard time recreating Victoria’s go-ahead goal midway through the second period. Reschny carried the puck into the Brandon zone, and it was checked off his stick. The puck bounced around Bjarnason, who was sprawled out trying to deal with the misdirection of the puck, and it snuck under his pad and lay flat in the crease, where Reschny was able to finish the play for his 15th goal of the season.

A pair of former Wheat Kings, Teydon Trembecky and Dawson Pasternak, both earned assists on the goal.

In desperate need of a goal, the Wheat Kings received their first power play 4:33 into the third period and failed to generate much, with the top unit unable to even penetrate the Royals zone.

In a scary moment a few minutes later, the game had to be whistled down to allow Victoria defenceman Nate Misskey to leave the ice with a cut on his arm after a thundering hip check by Brandon defenceman Charlie Elick at the Royals bench. The 18-year-old, third-year product of Melfort, Sask., didn’t return and was taken to hospital after the game.

Brandon had a great chance with just over two minutes remaining when Jayden Wiens was hit with a stretch pass and went in all alone, but his stick was lifted at the last moment and he didn’t get a shot on net.

Bjarnason made a terrific save at the other end when the puck went back down the ice, and it proved to be a big one.

With 81 seconds remaining in regulation, Roger McQueen’s shot off the rush went off Holt’s blocker up into the air and was tapped in by Danielson to tie the game. Bjarnason had just gone to the bench but the extra attacker hadn’t reached the play yet.

“I think it was a good play to start by Quinn (Mantei),” Danielson said. “He came around the net and threaded it through three guys to find me going up the middle with speed … Rog just put a puck on net and it bounced up and went behind the goalie and I batted it in.”

Brandon had an outstanding chance to win it 90 seconds into overtime on a two-man breakaway with Rylen Roersma and Dominik Petr but Holt came across to stop the shot when they made one extra pass.

The winner came 1:56 into the extra period after Elick’s shot from the blue-line hit Hadland’s skate on the laces as he stood in front. The puck bounced across the crease, and Hadland dove to knock it home for his ninth goal of the season.

“I remember the puck popped loose to Chuck up top and I found a little lane to the net,” Hadland said. “He got it though and it bounced off my foot and I got the rebound.”

It actually looked like a normal five-on-five goal with a shot from the point and a goal on the rebound.

“You talk about puck possession, and you get to the front of the net,” Murray said with a chuckle. “I’m not sure if Hadland got a tip on it to keep it loose or him just being there was a distraction but I thought he did a real good job of having a second effort on the puck.”

Bjarnason made 25 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Holt stopping 38 shots for the Royals. Brandon went 0-for-1 on the power play, with Victoria scoring once in three chances.

“Nobody likes losing two in a row and that’s the difference between losing three in a row and getting back on the winning streak,” Hyland said. “That’s a big game for the standings as well and also for our confidence as a team. The fact that we climbed back wasn’t pretty but we had the will to get the job done even when things weren’t going our way. It shows a lot.”

Victoria head coach James Patrick didn’t like his team’s first period, especially in terms of how his blue-liners handled the puck. He was more pleased with the final two periods, but said an error proved costly.

“In the third we didn’t give up as much but I still thought we played on our heels to start the period,” Patrick said. “You give up a three-on-two with a one-goal lead with just under two minutes left in the game, you’re playing with fire and it ended up costing us. Obviously losing Misskey really hurt us. In overtime, we were pretty short on the back end and lost some coverage and it ended up in the back of our net.”

ICINGS: Brandon skated without healthy scratches D Seth Tansem and F Hayden Wheddon … In the sole deal on Tuesday, the Edmonton Oil Kings sent 19-year-old forward Mason Finley to the Tri-City Americans for an eight-round pick in 2026 … Brandon’s Luke Shipley and Trembecky, who were traded for each other, both had good scoring chances in the third period … Hadland led the Wheat Kings with eight shots on net … The game took two hours, 18 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 31-29 … The Wheat Kings return to action when Strathclair’s Conor Geekie, Brandon’s Clarke Caswell and the Swift Current Broncos visit on Friday. Geekie scored in his Swift Current debut, a 6-2 victory over the visiting Tri-City Americans, with the goal assisted by Caswell.
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