Wheat Kings win royal rumble

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This article was published 27/02/2025 (254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon Wheat Kings snapped a two-game losing streak as they scored four unanswered goals in a 4-1 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings in Western Hockey League action at Westoba Place on Wednesday.

Brandon (31-18-4-3), which vaulted back into fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the win, received its goals from Adam Belusko, Marcus Nguyen, Gio Pantelas and Joby Baumuller, with Gracyn Sawchyn replying for sixth-place Edmonton (32-22-2-2) in front of a crowd of 2,366.

“We’ve kind of been on a skid with a two-game losing streak,” Nguyen said. “We had to find a way to get back in the win column and I thought all lines played great.”

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said were some ups and downs but his team made enough plays to earn two points.

“It was maybe a little wide open for us,” Murray said. “They have some high-octane players obviously. I thought in the first period we turned the puck over a lot and allowed their transition game to really bite us, but I thought we got a little better as the game wore on.

“Offensively I thought we did some good things. We created a lot and had a lot of shots and scoring opportunities. Their goalie (Alex Worthington) played good and I thought Barney (Carson Bjarnason) was great tonight as well.”

Edmonton beat the Moose Jaw Warriors 4-0 on Tuesday as they launched their four-game trip through the East Division.

The Oil Kings took the lead three minutes seven seconds into the first period. After the Wheat Kings had poured on the pressure at the other end, Lukas Sawchyn made a tremendous effort to keep the puck in the zone on a clearing attempt.

The puck came around the boards to defenceman Blake Fiddler on the other side at the blue-line and the young defenceman put a high shot on net that skipped past Bjarnason after a deflection by Gracyn Sawchyn.

It was the fifth game in a row Brandon’s opponent scored first.

The game featured a pair of teams that like to get up and down the ice in a hurry, and the chances reflected that with both teams having multiple opportunities.

Worthington made an outstanding save with his blocker late in the period when he came across to deny Wheat Kings rookie Jaxon Jacobson, and Bjarnason somehow stretched across the crease with his pad to deny Adam Jecho on a tap-in with two minutes remaining.

The Wheat Kings tied the game very, very late in the period. They intercepted the puck in the neutral zone with six seconds left and Jacobson broke back into the Oil Kings zone.

He fired a shot that Worthington deflected with his pad to the side boards, and Belusko immediately fired a slapshot that sailed over Worthington’s shoulder with 0.4 seconds remaining in the period.

The play immediately went to a video replay and was judged to be a good goal.

“It was the end of the period, there were 15 seconds (left) when I got to the ice,” the Slovakian defenceman said. “If you will not shoot, you will not score. I tried to shoot, and I think it was a lucky one, but it counts.”

“I think it brought some energy to the team,” he added. “I thanked it helped lots.”

If that sounds like a book you’ve read before, Brandon was beaten by a goal with 0.1 seconds left in the second period in a 4-2 loss on Saturday to the Swift Current Broncos. The late goal by the Broncos proved to be the winner.

“That was the first thing that went through my mind on the bench, .04 seconds and we gave up one,” Murray said. “Those are killers. You always talk about the first two minutes and the last two minutes of periods. That gave us some momentum. We were kind of reeling a little bit. We gave up quite a few shots in the first period and that certainly gave us a big lift going into the break.”

The hosts took their first lead 6:46 into the middle frame. Worthington made a great save on Nick Johnson and the puck came back high into the zone.

Overage defenceman Luke Shipley fed Nguyen, who beat Worthington from the slot with a wrister for his team-leading 30th goal of the season and the 100th goal of his WHL career.

“That was awesome,” Nguyen said of the milestones. “It’s funny how that lines up in that sense. It’s a great feeling to get that one out of the way. It’s the first time I’ve hit the 30-goal mark in my career so it’s another big step. With the games remaining, I want to achieve more and there’s more to come, especially with playoffs too.”

Neither team went to the power play in the first 32 minutes of the game, with the former Wheat King Rylen Roersma becoming the first after being flagged for goaltender interference when he accidentally backed into his former teammate Bjarnason, but Brandon took a too-many-men penalty a minute later when the goalie fired a pass into the neutral zone as the Wheat Kings were making a change.

The Wheat Kings nearly scored four-on-four when Quinn Mantei fed Jordan Gavin backdoor but Worthington got his blocker on the puck, and soon after, Matteo Michels hit the post shorthanded.

Brandon took a two-goal lead with three minutes left in the middle frame. Dominik Petr put a shot on net and Worthington directed a rebound away from the net with his pad but it landed on the stick of the rookie defenceman Pantelas, who fired it by him to put Brandon up 3-1.

The hosts nearly scored a minute into the third period when Caleb Hadland’s wicked shot hit the crossbar and bounced straight down but stayed out, which was immediately signalled by the official who was a few feet away.

Brandon did take a three-goal lead 2:26 into the final frame when Belusko found Baumuller in the slot for a one-timer into the top of the net.

The Oil Kings began to press, swarming in the offensive zone, creating long stretch of sustained pressure for the first time since the opening frame. Bjarnason did his part, robbing Cole Miller with his glove when he was left all alone.

Bjarnason made 45 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Worthington stopping 36 shots for the Oil Kings.

“He was excellent,” Murray said of his goaltender. “He made some excellent saves and some point-blank saves that really allowed us a chance to win. The last game Barney played (a 5-0 defeat by the Calgary Hitmen last Friday), it didn’t go so well, but the thing I love about him is he always seems to respond.”

Belusko agreed.

“Carson is unbelievable,” Belusko said. “Not just a player, but also a person. He’s great. I think he saved not just today but the whole season.”

Both teams went 0-1 on the power play.

Edmonton head coach Luke Pierce said his team got caught in a bit of a track meet with Brandon.

“I liked out start,” Pierce said. “That was a really tough one at the buzzer. It was a learning lesson for young guys. Then I felt we got caught up in their game and we need to play a little more rag-it-out style against their kind of pace. I think we did enough to generate and the goaltender was really good.”

ICINGS: The Wheat Kings host the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday. The latter squad will be without star forward Gavin McKenna, who received a three-game suspension for a slashing major and game misconduct he took against Edmonton on Sunday … Edmonton forward Marshall Finnie was out of the lineup after he received a one-game suspension for taking his fourth checking to the head or elbowing minor on Tuesday against Moose Jaw … The Wheat Kings played without forwards Roger McQueen, Carter Klippenstein, Ben Binder Nord and Easton Odut, plus defenceman Merrek Arpin. As a result, they called up forward Raiden Zacharias from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires … Baumuller and Petr led the Wheat Kings with seven shots each on net … The game took a speedy two hours, 13 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 36-17 … Brandon has won all three games with Edmonton this season. They meet one last time next Wednesday in Edmonton to complete the four-game season series.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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Wheat Kings 4, Oil Kings 1
First Period
1. Edmonton, G. Sawchyn 27 (Fiddler, L. Sawchyn) 3:07.
2. Brandon, Belusko 3 (Jacobson, Baumuller) 19:59.
Penalties — None.
Second Period
3. Brandon, Nguyen 30 (Shipley) 6:46.
4. Brandon, Pantelas 4 (Petr, Hadland) 16:59.
Penalties — Roersma Edm (goaltender interference) 12:23, Bench minor Bdn (too many men) 13:26, Nguyen Bdn (10-minute misconduct) 13:26.
Third Period
5. Brandon, Baumuller 15 (Belusko, Boehm) 2:26.
Penalties — None.
Shots on goal by
Brandon     12     18     10     —     40
Edmonton     15     16     16     —     47
Goal — Brandon: Bjarnason (W, 16-12-3-0). Edmonton: Worthington (L, 20-16-0-2).
Power plays (goals-chances) — Brandon: 0-1; Edmonton: 0-1.
Referees — Troy Murray, Taylor Friesen.
Linesmen — Nick Grenier, Josh Miko.
Attendance — 2,366 in Brandon.