Slobodian plays OT hero for streaking Wheaties

Cole Slobodian was the unlikely overtime hero as the Brandon Wheat Kings finished their B.C. Division swing in style, beating the host Kelowna Rockets 3-2 in Western Hockey League action at Prospera Place on Saturday.

Brandon (7-2-0-0) received its other goals from Brady Turko and Prabh Bhathal, with Jakub Frolo and Jacob Henderson replying for Kelowna (3-2-2-0) in front of a crowd of 4,437.

The win was Brandon’s fifth in a row, a new team record in the Internet era for a trip to the Western Conference, and also its fifth consecutive victory over Kelowna.

Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said his team responded after some adversity early in the game against a Rockets team that had been waiting for them.

“Kelowna has a good team,” Murray said. “They’re big and they’re heavy and they’re fast. I think we were pretty overwhelmed in the first period and I thought we showed some courage to get that first one early in the second to get us back in the game, and ultimately tie it up. We found a way to get it done.”

Brandon looked like a tired team in the first period as the fast-skating game quickly proved to be a physical affair. Even with the puck zipping up and down the ice, it took more than seven minutes for the hosts to get the game’s first shot on net.

The Rockets scored on their third shot when the 19-year-old Czech forward Frolo picked the puck up near the boards, cut in towards the net and beat Brandon goalie Ryley Budd between his legs for his first WHL goal. It came eight minutes 33 seconds into the game.

The Wheat Kings finally got their first shot midway through the period on their first power play.

Brandon’s best chance came when Ryan Boyce beat Kelowna goalie Harrison Boettiger but hit the post on a breakaway with 3:30 left on a hard-work play when he outskated Rockets defenceman Will Kelts to catch up to a loose puck.

The Wheat Kings sent the Rockets to a 24-second, five-on-three late in the period, and the Rockets put the puck into the net, but it was after Budd had it and was immediately ruled no goal. But with two seconds left in the two-man advantage, Henderson wired a wicked shot from the high slot and the hosts led 2-0.

By the end of the period, the teams had combined for nine minor penalties and Kelowna had 10-4 edge on the shot clock, with Brandon’s shots coming on their two power plays.

To compound a tough opening 20 minutes, Budd suffered a lower-body injury late in the period, so starter Filip Ruzicka took over to start the second period. He was called on quickly, stopping Cole Braunshausen on a breakaway for his first save just after the Wheat Kings scored.

Brady Turko got his first goal of the season — in the 150th game of his WHL career — 29 seconds into the middle frame with the teams playing four-on-four after rookie defenceman Cruz Jim set him up for a tap-in at the far post.

“Brady is a third-year guy and NHL picked so it was good to see him be able to pot one and set up the game winner,” Murray said. “He’s one of those guys, a little like Joby (Baumuller), who is streaky, so hopefully that gives him some confidence.”

The Wheat Kings had a great chance to tie after Chase Surkan forced a turnover and went in on a breakaway but Boettiger got his glove on the puck.

The Wheat Kings tied the game on a bit of good fortune. Bhathal stepped out of the penalty box to a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated in on a breakaway and beat the Kelowna goalie on the backhand with a deke.

“Prabh has always been an offensive player and scored a big goal at a big time to get us back into it,” Murray said. “Hopefully that will give those two guys confidence because we need that secondary scoring and they both have the ability to do it.”

Just 78 seconds later, Surkan grabbed a second rebound and fired it in from the slot. The play went to an offside review — the first use of the new rule in both Wheat Kings and Rockets history — and the video clearly showed Surkan was several feet offside and it was correctly ruled to be no goal. Murray chuckled when asked about it.

“We threw our line out instead of going through the fly-by,” Murray said. “I don’t know if that got them thinking, but I knew it as soon as it was flipped in. Surks (Surkan) was probably 10 feet offside. It was pretty obvious if they challenged it that we wouldn’t be thrilled with the outcome.”

Brandon limited Kelowna to just eight shots in the third period as they finally settled in. The Rockets had an outstanding chance inside the final two minutes of the third period but Baumuller disrupted a pass out front to a wide-open forward to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, after some back and forth, Slobodian took a pass from Brady Turko and fired a shot from the slot over Boettiger’s glove for the third goal of his WHL career and his first as a Wheat King. The winner came at the 1:41 mark.

“It’s good,” Murray said. “… He has shown the effect he’s going to have on our group here in his first six games. When you play a team-first game like he does, it’s nice to see him get rewarded.”

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

Budd made eight saves and Ruzicka stopped all 26 shots he faced for the Wheat Kings, with Boettiger turning aside 18 shots for the Rockets.

“We’re not 5-1 without the goaltending we had on the whole trip,” Murray said. “Ryley was really good too in his games. Filip, coming in, he looked pretty calm and composed. He probably had one or two he would want back from (Friday) night but he was having one of those nights (on Saturday) when they might be here all night trying to score one on him.”

During the trip, the Wheat Kings fell 3-1 to the Prince George Cougars on Friday, Oct. 2, and then rallied with five wins, 6-2 over the Victoria Royals on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2-1 in a shootout over the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday, 3-1 over the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday and 7-4 over the Penticton Vees on Friday.

“If you take a step back and look at the big picture, this trip is pretty gruelling and we faced a lot of adversity where we were playing and travelling and the other team was sitting there waiting for us,” Murray said. “Tonight was the biggest test with four in five and they hadn’t played since Wednesday. It was a good effort and I’m proud of the kids.”

ICINGS: Brandon skated without healthy scratches F Ahmad Fayad and D Ethan Young, along with injured D Ilari Kapanen, F Gunnar Gleasman and F Jimmy Egan … Brandon flies home on Sunday … Seven Wheat Kings led with two shots on net … The game took two hours, 38 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Kelowna won 40-19 … Brandon has a week off, kicking off a four-game home stand against the Medicine Hat Tigers next Saturday.

» pbergson@brandonsun.com