Baumuller’s OT winner lifts Wheat Kings

Joby Baumuller scored in overtime as the Brandon Wheat Kings finished the first half of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Hitmen in Western Hockey League action at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday afternoon.

Brandon (19-12-1-0) received its other goals from Nick Johnson and Chase Surkan, with Caine Wilke and Ethan Moore replying for Calgary (17-9-4-1) in front of a crowd of 2,555.

Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Marty Murray said the first two periods of the game were striking, with each team taking a turn dominating the other.

“I thought we had a real, real strong first period on the road,” Murray said. “We got up two and kept them to one shot. We took a penalty and gave them some momentum and they got a bunch of shots and the next thing we know, we’re just hanging on and give up 20-plus shots in the second period, which isn’t ideal.

“(Goalie Filip) Ruzicka kind of held us in and we bent, but we didn’t break.”

Brandon had six minutes on the power play in the first half of the opening frame due to a pair of high sticks. On Julien Maze’s high-sticking double minor, the visitors didn’t put a shot on net during the first penalty with Calgary’s tight defensive structure.

When they finally did a shot after two minutes 31 seconds with the man advantage, it was a good one. Brady Turko sent a cross-seam pass to Johnson at the side of the net and he sent the puck over a fallen Calgary goalie Eric Tu for his 10th of the season and a goal in his hometown.

Surkan increased the lead four minutes later when Turko got the puck to the 16-year-old rookie, and he sent a laser beneath the crossbar to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.

Brandon held Calgary to just one shot in the first period, but it certainly wasn’t going to stay that way.

The hosts carried a power play into the second period, and with 22 seconds remaining on the man advantage, Wilke jumped on the rebound of a shot by Maze and put a shot past Ruzicka to make it 2-1 just 1:14 in.

The game had completely changed by that point, with Calgary equalling the shots on net at 11-11 in the first five minutes of the middle frame.

Brandon had some chances as the period went on, with Tu denying Jordan Gavin on a nifty between-the-legs move and another puck hitting the post after it bounced off a body in front.

By the end of the period, the surging Hitmen held a 24-17 on the shot clock.

“In the second period we were guilty of being spectators a little bit and kind of sat around,” Murray said. “When you do that, the puck is in their possession most of the time, and they’re going to get shots on net. It was a tale of two periods.

“I said to the guys after two, I didn’t think it was what they did as much as what we didn’t do in the second period to allow them to have 20-plus shots.”

Baumuller hit a crossbar six minutes into the final frame on the power play — the third time Brandon had struck the iron — but they failed to widen the lead. He then hit the post with the teams playing four-on-four as the Wheat Kings continued to just miss the target.

That cost them because Moore tipped a shot by Axel Hurtig past Ruzicka with 6:55 remaining. The play went to video review to check for a high stick but was judged to be a good goal.

Brandon went back to the power play with 2:49 remaining, and while the Wheat Kings had a lot of time in the offence zone, they didn’t create any Grade A chances.

“Unfortunately they got that one on a tip,” Murray said. “We had a few chances in the third but hits posts and crossbars and couldn’t capitalize on it.”

In overtime, it took Brandon 67 seconds to touch the puck as the Hitmen pressed, with Ruzicka making a pair of saves against Andrei Molgachev. Tu was sharp at the other end, with Jaxon Jacobson denied on a short breakaway.

The winner came off a two-on-one involving Luke Mistelbacher and Baumuller. Mistelbacher’s pass attempt was denied, but the puck bounced out into the slot, where the trailer Grayson Burzynski picked it up and fed Baumuller for his first overtime winner. It was Baumuller’s 11th goal in nine games in December.

“That’s what those top guys do, and Joby has established himself as a top player here,” Murray said. “Those guys shine in big moments. It was a big goal for Joby to give us the win and have a successful road trip.”

Brandon went 1-for-5 on the power play, with Calgary scoring once in two chances.

Ruzicka made 37 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Tu stopping 23 shots for the Hitmen.

“He’s kind of the story most nights,” Murray said of the Czech netminder. “He’s steady and has a lot of confidence and has solidified himself as a pretty good goalie in the league. He’s 15-4 and made some big saves in big moments, including the one in overtime.”

The game was Brandon’s fourth in six days on their Alberta swing as they weather an especially heavy part of the schedule. The Wheat Kings beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-2 on Sunday, topped the Red Deer Rebels 2-1 on Tuesday, and fell 7-3 to the Medicine Hat Tigers.

“That’s nine games in 17 days, and we went 8-1, which is quite remarkable if you take a step back and think about it,” Murray said. “That’s a lot of hockey in a short period of time, and we were banged up and dressing 10 forwards for part of that stretch too. I’m just real proud of the guys and the way they competed in the last 20-plus games.

“We’ve established ourselves as a pretty strong team.”

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured D Merrek Arpin, D Adam Hlinsky and F Easton Odut, plus healthy scratches F Gunnar Gleasman and D Nigel Boehm … The Wheat Kings were 12-1-1-0 when leading after two periods as they entered the final frame … Baumuller led the Wheat Kings with four shots on net … The game took two hours, 26 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Calgary won 38-22 … The Wheat Kings headed home for the Christmas break after the game. They return with a home-and-home series against the Moose Jaw Warriors, with the teams meeting at Temple Gardens Centre on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 6 p.m., and Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 4 p.m.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com