Oil Kings top tired Wheat Kings 3-1

The force was with the Edmonton Oil Kings on Stars Wars night at Rogers Place on Saturday as they handed the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings a 3-1 loss in Western Hockey League action.

Blake Fiddler, Aaron Obobaifo and Lukas Sawchyn scored for Edmonton (42-17-3-2), with Joby Baumuller replying for Brandon (38-25-2-0) in front of a crowd of 9,822. Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said his club, which was playing against a rested opponent in its third game in four nights never really found its stride.

“I thought we were kind of flat,” Murray said. “One thing we talked about was having a playoff-kind of fire in our belly and I don’t think we really did. We just didn’t get it done. I think we got out-competed. These guys were waiting for us too, which isn’t easy with the travel, but at this time of the year, you want to see a little more fire in your game.”

After Edmonton and Brandon traded power-play opportunities midway through the first period, the Oil Kings took the lead on an unfortunate bounce for the Wheat Kings. A pass attempt around the net to his partner by defenceman Cameron Allard hit the skate of referee Ben Solomon and bounced out into the slot, and it soon ended up on the stick of Fiddler, who skated in from the slot and beat Brandon goalie Filip Ruzicka on the backhand.

The second period was defined by the nine penalties that were called.

At one point, Edmonton had a 96-second, four-on-three man advantage, and then the teams had an ultra-rare three-on-three in regulation.

Brandon had an incredible opportunity with the teams playing four-on-four when Luke Mistelbacher toe-dragged through an Edmonton defender on a highlight reel move but he hit the post on the breakaway. After another four-on-three man advantage, the Oil Kings were on a five-on-four power play when Fiddler’s shot handcuffed Ruzicka, and while he got most of it, it trickled through and Obobaifo knocked it into the net behind him.

As Brandon pushed to get on the board six minutes into the third period, the puck ping-ponged back and forth and on a three-on-two, Sawchyn fired a shot low on the blocker side to put Edmonton up 3-0.

The Wheat Kings went to their fifth power play with 2:20 remaining: Brandon pulled Ruzicka for an extra attacker, and Baumuller knocked in a rebound past Edmonton goalie Ethan Simcoe of Lac du Bonnet with 1:50 remaining to get them on the board.

Brandon pulled Ruzicka again with 1:44 left, but were unable to creep any closer.

Murray said the constant special teams weren’t helpful as both teams went 1-for-5 on the power play.

“Obviously you’ll take it when you’re on the power play, but those nights that you’re maybe not going to be at your best, you maybe have to get three power-play goals to stick around,” Murray said. “We got one late when the game was out of reach, and playing the PK is obviously hard minutes.”

Ruzicka made 36 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Simcoe stopping 28 shots for the Oil Kings.

The loss was even more costly because the Calgary Hitmen came back from a 5-3 deficit to beat the Red Deer Rebels 6-5 in overtime, putting them three points up on the Wheat Kings.

Calgary and Edmonton meet on Sunday.

Earlier on the Alberta trip, Brandon beat Calgary 6-4 on Wednesday and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Red Deer Rebels on Friday.

While three points isn’t a complete disaster, the Wheat Kings were aiming a lot higher after the victory in Calgary.

“That’s what I talked about before the game,” Murray said. “Five out of six would have been a real good road trip but to go 1-1-1 after winning the first game would be disappointing. Unfortunately that’s the way it ended. We have to get back on the horse and hopefully have a good week before the playoffs.”

Brandon visits the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday and the Regina Pats on Friday, and then hosts Regina on Saturday.

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured D Merrek Arpin, D Dylan Ronald, F Easton Odut, F Carter Klippenstein and healthy scratch F Gunnar Gleasman … Longtime Vancouver Giants radio analyst Bill Wilms has been named the 2025-26 recipient of the WHL’s Bob Ridley Award for Media Excellence. The 83-year-old Winnipeg product began working in the league in 1986 … The Everett Silvertips won the Scotty Munro Trophy for the second year in a row with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Penticton Vees on Saturday … Mistelbacher led the Wheat Kings with five shots on net … The game took two hours, 25 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 31-24. They won 15 of the 17 faceoffs in the first period.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com