Eskit blanks Pats in 4-0 victory

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This article was published 22/03/2025 (208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ethan Eskit made 24 saves as the Brandon Wheat Kings blanked the Regina Pats 4-0 in the Western Hockey League regular season finale for both clubs at Brandt Centre on Saturday.

Brandon (38-23-4-3) received its goals in the third period from Luke Shipley, Carter Klippenstein, Nick Johnson and Roger McQueen, with Kelton Pyne making 26 saves for Regina (16-33-5-3) in front of a crowd of 5,691.

With the win, Brandon finished second in the East Division after the Prince Albert Raiders beat the Saskatoon Blades 4-3 to earn the division title and the second seed in the playoffs. Brandon finished fifth overall in the conference and will face the fourth-place Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said his netminder played well in earning his first shutout of the season and second his career.

“He was really good,” Murray said. “He’s a good goaltender and made some big saves, especially in the third period to preserve the shutout. He earned the shutout himself.”

McQueen nearly opened the scoring 22 seconds into the game on the first shot but it hit the post behind Pyne.

There were just two whistles in the first nine minutes with both teams having good chances on odd-man rushes as the Wheat Kings built a 7-3 edge in shots. Quinn Mantei also rang a shot off the cross bar as Brandon had a pair of near misses.

In the second period, Ashton Brown was stopped on a breakaway two minutes in by Eskit, and at the other end, Brady Turko hit the post on a one-timer.

After the teams combined for 10 goals a night earlier in a 7-3 victory on Friday at Westoba Place, Saturday’s first goal didn’t come until 64 seconds into the third period when Shipley beat Pyne over his glove. The power-play marker gave Shipley a goal in six straight games and his career-high 20th of the season.

The Wheat Kings made it 2-0 four minutes later when Turko found Klippenstein with a terrific cross-ice feed off the rush.

Regina forward Cameron Kuzma had an incredible chance with six minutes remaining when he got the puck on the backdoor on an odd-man rush, but Eskit slid across with his glove to perform an act of larceny.

Pyne went to the bench for an extra attacker with 2:32 remaining and a faceoff in the Brandon zone, and 29 seconds later, after another terrific Eskit save, Johnson found the empty net to make it 3-0.

While an empty-net goal usually spells the end of the scoring, there was a notable goal left.

After a turnover in the Pats zone, McQueen got the puck down low, put his stick and the puck between his legs and lifted a shot over Pyne’s glove for a highlight-reel goal with 1:45 left. It was his second goal in nine games since returning to the Brandon lineup on March 4 after missing five months with a back injury.

“We were kind of in and out a little bit,” Murray said of his team’s offensive efforts. “In the first 10 minutes we had a lot of chances we didn’t finish and then there was a lull for about 30 minutes when we didn’t really do a whole lot. In the third period, we created a little more and that resulted in some goals.”

Brandon went 1-for-3 on the power play, with Regina unsuccessful in three chances.

Next up is the playoffs, which will begin Friday in Lethbridge.

“It’s the best time of year,” Murray said. “That’s what we play for. We’ve had some ups and downs throughout the season and but it’s all behind us. It’s been a long time — and it is a grind — but it goes by quick. Hopefully guys can recharge the batteries and get ready for a tough series starting Friday.”

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured F Easton Odut, D Merrek Arpin and D Dylan Ronald plus healthy scratches D Cam Allard and F Isaac Davies and F Dominik Petr (illness) … F Ben Binder Nord made his return to the Brandon lineup and earned an assist and a minor penalty … Regina was shut out for the ninth time this season … Brandon overagers Shipley, Marcus Nguyen and Nolan Flamand stayed after the game to give Regina overage defenceman John Babcock a hug after his final WHL game. Regina’s other overager, forward Braxton Whitehead, missed the game due to injury … McQueen led the Wheat Kings with six shots on net … The game took two hours, 20 minutes to play after starting at 6:22 local time as Regina handed out its awards … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 28-23.

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