Nicol scores five, leads U15 Wheat Kings to final

Give a hungry team an opportunity to bounce back in their own barn with a 140-plus point scorer and suddenly, it’s not a fair game.

The Brandon Wheat Kings weren’t ready for their season to be done just yet and they didn’t hold back.

Now, they’re final bound.

The Wheat Kings (6-2) advanced to the Winnipeg Hockey League U15 AAA championship after flattening the Winnipeg Bruins Gold (5-3) 9-5 in Game 5 of their best-of-five semifinal matchup at J&G Homes Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Forwards Beckett Boguski, Jordan Lang, Daniel Flett-Neapew and Mason Shorting all hit the back of the net for Brandon, but it was superstar Kale Nicol who delivered the heavy blow to the Bruins after grabbing the bull by the horns and scoring five goals, including four in just the first period.

“It was just amazing,” Lang said of his teammate. “We probably couldn’t have won it without him and he was just a big part of the game.

“We had a tough loss in Game 4 so it feels good to come back. We kind of had something to prove going into the next game and I think we proved it.”

The Wheat Kings had a lot to play for coming into this game with not only their season on the line, but also with how their last contest in Winnipeg went.

Brandon began the game with chance to close out its opponents with a 2-1 series lead and by the end were more than displeased after getting shown up in a 9-4 loss.

Luckily, they had a chance to get the Bruins back — and they did exactly that.

Nicol got the party started less than five minutes into the game after burying one past Nicolas Fontaine from Riley Mangin and Brayden Olsen, and then doubled down less than three minutes later, with Graycen Van Meiji grabbing the lone assist.

After eight minutes of domination from the hosts, they broke through again after Boguski tipped one home from the slot off with three minutes 34 seconds remaining in the period after defender Ayden Mott fired a wrister from the blue-line.

If you’re the Bruins in this situation you’re probably thinking to just get out of the period and regroup for the second down three goals, but Nicol clearly had other ideas.

With 48 seconds left, the 14-year-old found himself all alone in front of the net and tapped one into the back of the net after Flett-Neapew fed him with an impressive pass from the corner to complete the hat trick.

He still wasn’t done, though.

Brandon continued its pressure and puck pursuit and it paid off, as Nicol grabbed a loose puck and rushed in on Fontaine for a partial breakaway before sliding one five-hole with a second left on the clock to give his team a 5-0 lead.

When the first 20 was all said and done, it was crystal clear which team wanted it more as the Wheat Kings had more goals than the Bruins had shots after outshooting them 21-4.

Nicol said it was great to see he and his club get off to the start they did considering how last game went.

“It was really relieving,” he said. “It was our goal to win the first period and then go from there.

“We knew that they were gonna push back hard after the first period because of that lead, but we came out strong and tried to keep on pushing and just doing what we did best.”

Lang ripped one from the left circle blocker side past Jaxon Smedvik — who came in relief of Fontaine after the first period — just over six minutes into the middle frame and then Jack Duguay got on the board for the Bruins on the man advantage a few minutes later to make it a 6-1 game.

Then the game turned, as the Wheat Kings were not just playing for a spot in the final, but were finishing the game with a fellow teammate in mind.

Just 20 seconds after Winnipeg added its first of the game, Van Meiji was checked from behind by Chimezie Uzoruo along the Bruins halfwall and was down and out for more than five minutes. Uzoruo was assessed a 10-minute game misconduct and Van Meiji was eventually helped off the ice in what was a scary moment for everyone in attendance.

“Obviously we were just hoping and making sure he’s OK,” said Nicol.

After the game head coach Dave Lewis said Van Meiji’s injury wasn’t anything major and that he would be fine.

Not knowing in the moment, though and still having to finish a hockey game wasn’t an easy task, but they found a way.

Flett-Neapew dented the twine shortly after, before the Bruins replied with two of their own with goals from Rhylan Murray and Bentley Peters.

Shorting then finished off the scoring in the second with 1:29 remaining to make it 8-3 and then Jhase Jarzyna added a pair in the third with Nicol’s fifth of the game sandwiched in between to cap off an absolute barnburner.

Brandon’s Aurick Veldhuisen notched his fourth win of the post-season after collecting 26 saves in the win, while Nicol’s scoring count has now gone up to 13 goals and 23 points in just eight games.

“I felt great,” Nicol said of his five-goal performance. “I felt like I took charge in a way that led the team to a win and I feel good about it.

“It was a grind, for sure. They’re a team that doesn’t give up, like we had games in Winnipeg with them that we were up, and then they got up too quick on us, and so it was really a grind of a series.”

He’s now looking forward to playing for a championship.

“It feels great to be in the finals, close to hanging up that banner.”

Added Lewis: “It’s good. It’s been a long six, seven months, a lot of work going into it and it was our goal at the start of the year, so giving ourselves a chance to attain that goal is great and we’re looking forward to it.”

Now only the Eastman Selects (6-1) stand in the Wheat Kings way after they also clinched a berth into the final after downing Thrashers Blue 3-1 in Round 1 and sweeping Bruins Black in the semis.

Brandon is 2-0 in their head-to-head with Eastman this season after winning 7-5 in Landmark on Dec. 5 and then shutting them out 3-0 at J&G on Dec. 6, but the playoffs are called a new season for a reason.

The Wheaties will have to prove they’re the better team beginning on Tuesday, when they host the Selects at J&G at 7 p.m. Game 2 is the same time and place on Thursday, while Game 3 will head to Landmark on Saturday with another 7 p.m. start. If necessary, Game 4 is on Sunday at Landmark at 2:30 p.m. and Game 5 is next Tuesday at J&G at 7 p.m.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com