Greig’s short-handed goal lifts Wheat Kings past Ice

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/03/2021 (1867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ridly Greig scored on a shorthanded breakaway early in the third period as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Winnipeg Ice 4-3 in Western Hockey League action at Brandt Centre in Regina on Thursday.

Brandon (5-2-1-0), which played without injured captain Braden Schneider and overage forward Reid Perepeluk, also received goals from Nate Danielson, Rylen Roersma and Jake Chiasson, with Conor Geekie, Peyton Krebs and Owen Pederson replying for Winnipeg (5-2-0-0) in the East Division hub.

Brandon head coach Don MacGillivray said his team had a great start and was able to find its way after Winnipeg pushed back in the final 40 minutes.

“Tonight the difference was we got some big kills and got the big shortie at the end to win the hockey game,” MacGillivray said. “I’m very pleased with the effort. It was our second game in two nights with a quick turn-around against a good team who hasn’t lost since they lost to us last time. They’re our arch-rival. I’m not going to say anything negative about tonight’s game. It was a good win for our group.”

For the second game in a row between the two teams, Geekie opened the scoring on a breakaway. After a defensive breakdown by Brandon in the neutral zone, Geekie went in on a two-man breakaway and elected to shoot, putting the puck past Brandon starting goalie Ethan Kruger, off the post and in for his second goal of the season.

Brandon stormed back a few minutes later, with their youngsters leading the charge.

Danielson responded five minutes later after defenceman Chad Nychuk made a nice play at the blue-line to keep possession of the puck during a power play. He passed to Danielson, and the youngster walked in and snapped a shot through the legs of Winnipeg starting goalie Gage Alexander to score for the second game in a row.

Roersma scored his first WHL goal 64 seconds later when he was left all alone and received a terrific cross-net feed by Lynden McCallum.

“I got a pass into the zone by (Marcus) Sekundiak and then I passed it over to Lynden,” Roersma said. “He walked it in behind me, took a shot, got the puck back, made a good play behind the net and the defenceman and goalie had no idea I was there. I put it right into the net.”

“I was pretty starstruck,” Roersma added. “I didn’t even know what was going on. It was a pretty great feeling to score the first one.”

MacGillivray said the team’s five rookies who dressed on Thursday made a significant impact, including the team’s three first-rounders from the 2019 draft.

“All of the guys have contributed at different times,” MacGillivray said. “Rylen Roersma tonight had lots of energy and complemented the (Ty) Thorpe, (Marcus) Sekundiak line and then he chips in a goal. Nate Danielson is a big part of our power-play unit and he gets a goal. 

“Tyson Zimmer I thought played really well tonight. I thought he did some really good things.”

He noted rookies Brett Hyland and Logen Hammett also played well.

Interestingly, the first three goals of the game came off the sticks of three of the top 16 players chosen in the 2019 draft.

Another youngster soon made an impact as well.

Just 73 seconds after Roersma’s goal, Winnipeg made a pair of turnovers within 10 feet of the net and the second-year forward Chiasson found the back of the net on a rebound for his fifth of the season, equalling his total output from 60 games in the 2019-20 season.

But the game was far from over.

Five minutes into the second period, Krebs drew the Ice back within a goal with a slick tip on a wristshot through a maze of bodies by Winnipeg defenceman Mike Ladyman.

The penalty troubles that have haunted Brandon this season continued to plague them as they took five minor penalties in a row, including two that came just eight seconds apart early in the third period.

Peterson capitalized for Winnipeg during the ensuing 5-on-3, and after finally killing the penalty, Brandon took another minor within a minute.

This time it worked out for the Wheat Kings, with Greig scooping up the puck at his own blue-line after an Ice defender couldn’t handle it. With three Winnipeg defenders in hot pursuit, Greig put the puck between Alexander’s legs to restore the Brandon lead.

“The puck missed the net and their D-man pulled back and I ended up catching a break and poking it by him,” Greig said. “It was obviously a long breakaway and at first I was going to shoot and I ended up faking shot and going five-hole.”

It was the first goal of the season for the Ottawa Senators first-round pick, and while he has seven assists in five games, it was a relief.

“It felt good,” Greig said. “I was getting a little bit frustrated they weren’t going in for me but they always go in at some point.”

The Ice pressed for the tying goal in the last several minutes as the Wheat Kings played for the second night in a row, but Kruger was equal to the challenge, stopping 31 shots on the night.

Alexander made 26 saves for the Ice.

“Whenever we shut down guys like that, it’s the whole defence and the whole team,” Kruger said. “We try to focus on the big guys … It was a team effort out there and we did a great job today.”

Brandon went 1-for-2 on the power play, with Winnipeg scoring once in six chances.

The Wheat Kings don’t return to action until Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. when they play the Swift Current Broncos. Earlier this week, the Wheat Kings fell 6-4 to the Saskatoon Blades on Monday and blitzed the Moose Jaw Warriors 8-2.

Greig said the players were starting to feel their busy week by the end of Thursday’s game.

“Your high-end guys start to get tired when it comes down to the wire,” Greig said. “Obviously playing three in four you’re a little gassed. It feels good to get the win.”

ICINGS: Brandon also scratched F Jaxon Dube and Jacob Hoffrogge … MacGillivray said Schneider and Perepeluk are both day-to-day and would have been in the lineup if it was a playoff game. They were held back as a precautionary measure … Neepawa’s Brandt Young dressed for the Ice against the Wheat Kings for the first time and fought Thorpe, who returned to the lineup after missing a game due to a minor injury 

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson