Gardner, Blades edge Wheat Kings 3-2

The Brandon Wheat Kings, who have goaltending to thank for some recent victories, got a taste of their own medicine on Thursday afternoon as Evan Gardner made 34 saves in a 3-2 Saskatoon Blades victory in Western Hockey League action at Assiniboine Credit Union Place.

Zach Olsen, Hunter Laing and Kazden Mathies scored for Saskatoon (20-14-2-1) with Brandon (22-13-1-0) receiving its goals from Caleb Hadland and Carter Klippenstein in front of a crowd of 3,078.

“We ran into a hot goalie, which happens sometimes,” Klippenstein said. “You have to find a way. The power play wasn’t really going. We had a lot of chances so we have to touch up on that and bring it to them in a couple of days.”

The teams meet again on Saturday evening in Saskatoon.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray also said the 19-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Gardner was a difference maker.

“He’s a signed NHL goalie and he played real well,” Murray said. “We had enough chances to win the hockey game and unfortunately we didn’t score goals. We have to be ready to score and a little heavier leaning on our sticks will be important going into the game on Saturday.”

Just nine seconds into the matinee game, Saskatoon’s Jordan Martin took a delay-of-game penalty, but Brandon’s hopes for an early lead evaporated when they managed just one shot on goal.

After the Wheat Kings carried the play in the early going, the Blades began to press back and scored the game’s opening goal eight minutes 48 seconds into the first period.

After a faceoff in the Brandon zone on an icing, the puck squirted to the corner and Cooper Williams sent a pass out front to Olsen, who put the puck between the legs of Brandon goalie Filip Ruzicka on his team’s seventh shot. That snapped Brandon’s shutout streak of 151:28.

After some furious pressure, the Wheat Kings tied the game with 4:53 left in the period when Luke Mistelbacher’s pass into the crease hit the skate of Hadland and bounced in behind Saskatoon goalie Evan Gardner.

The four officials briefly discussed the play, but with no kicking motion in the crease — the puck simply ricocheted in off Hadland’s skate — it was a good goal.

The Wheat Kings had another outstanding shift a minute later, but Joby Baumuller hit a crossbar behind Gardner.

In the second period, Brandon had back-to-back power plays, and while they were more successful than the game-opening chance, neither resulted in a goal. Gardner made his best save of the game just after the second ended when he slid across to deny Mistelbacher with his blocker on a one-timer.

Brandon continued to press, building a 16-5 advantage in shots despite handing the visitors their first power play late in the period.

Gardner made a pair of sensational saves to start the third period, and was repeatedly tested on Brandon’s fourth power play, but stood tall.

On a shorthanded breakaway, Jordan Gavin beat Gardner between the legs, but defenceman Tristen Doyle fired the puck away as it trickled towards the goal-line.

A couple minutes later, at the 7:42 mark, Brandon dumped the puck deep and Saskatoon forward Hayden Harsanyi was the first to it. His backhanded pass behind the net was intercepted by Gavin, and he sent a pass out front for a Klippenstein one-timer that gave Brandon its first lead.

“I read that there would be some open space in the slot and I knew Gav (Jordan Gavin) was on him, and Gavin is going to make that pass nine times out of 10,” Klippenstein said. “I was ready for it. I had my spot picked and hit it so it was nice.”

The Wheat Kings handed the Blades another power play 50 seconds later, and this time a man advantage finally worked, with Laing lifting a shot over the glove of Ruzicka to tie the game 2-2.

Two minutes after that, Blades veteran Rowan Calvert intercepted a telegraphed Brandon pass in the neutral zone and broke back up the ice, getting the puck over to Mathies, who wired a shot off the far post and into the net to restore the Saskatoon lead with 8:46 left.

Still down a goal with 4:05 left, Brandon took its third penalty in 11 minutes. The Brandon bench was outraged when Harsanyi played the puck with a broken stick on the power play but didn’t get the call.

Soon after, with 2:35 left, mayhem ensued when Klippenstein was upended at the blue-line knee-to-knee by Cooper Williams as he tried to chase the puck, resulting in a scrum involving all nine skaters and one fight.

While Baumuller fed Doyle in the scrap, Brandon lost its top goal scorer. The Wheat Kings pulled Ruzicka with 1:37 remaining, and mostly kept the puck in the Saskatoon zone but couldn’t beat Gardner for the equalizer.

“I thought our guys played hard,” Murray said. “I thought we did a lot of good things. We had some chances we didn’t score on, and got soft on a couple of plays and they ended up biting us.”

The win drew Saskatoon back within two points of Brandon for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, although the Wheat Kings have a game in hand.

Brandon went 0-for-4 on the power play, with Saskatoon scoring once in four chances.

“It was the difference,” Murray said. “Their power play gets a big goal in the third and our power play was kind of flat. In tight games, 1-1, 2-2, special teams are often the difference.”

Ruzicka made 18 saves for the Wheat Kings and had his personal seven-game winning streak snapped.

Saskatoon head coach Daniel DaSilva liked his team’s effort.

“I thought we were solid,” DaSilva said. “Our goalie was our best player here tonight and I think that’s obvious. We get contributions up and down our lineup every single night and it feels like every night we have someone or more than one person stepping up to help us win.

“It was a good effort. We were resilient to get down by one in the third period and not just roll over and die. We fought back and were able to get two big points.”

Both teams now have a pair of regulation victories against each other, with one game left in Brandon and three in Saskatoon to complete the eight-game season series. The Wheat Kings actually play better against the Blades in Saskatchewan, with an 8-7-1-0 record there in the last five years and a 5-10-3-0 record at home.

Klippenstein is looking forward to Saturday’s matchup.

“It’s an awesome opportunity,” Klippenstein said. “We head on the bus (today) and we’ll get a chance to steal one back from these guys.”

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured D Merrek Arpin, F Easton Odut and healthy scratch Dylan Ronald … Saskatoon was without German forwards David Lewandoski and Elias Pul, who are at the world junior championship … The Blades are also without D Kaden Allen of Hamiota, who is out week to week with a lower-body injury … Mistelbacher led the Wheat Kings with nine shots on net … The game took two hours, 27 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 30-25. The Wheat Kings next play at home on Wednesday, Jan. 7 when the Red Deer Rebels visit. The puck drops at 7.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com