Wheat Kings hold off Pats for third straight win

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This article was published 05/04/2022 (1437 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Wheat Kings hold off Pats for third straight win

 

Tuesday’s contest at Westoba Place won’t go down as a Picasso for the Brandon Wheat Kings.

However, the Western Hockey League side did just enough to record their third win in a row.

Jake Chiasson and Nolan Ritchie had a goal and two assists each nights for the hosts as they improved to 33-25-3-2 on the season with a narrow 5-4 win over the Regina Pats.

“There were parts of our game that I really liked, but then there was part of our game tat I didn’t like at all,” Wheat Kings head coach Don MacGillivray said. “If you look at the goals they scored — especially the first two — they were self-inflicted goals where we turned the puck over, and we also had bad penalties that we can’t afford to take.

“However, I thought we scored some really nice goals and the guys made some good plays at the end of the game to get pucks out and block shots when Regina was pressing. We did enough good things to get the win, but there’s still lots of room for improvement.”

Those thoughts were echoed by Wheat Kings overage blue-liner Chad Nychuk.

“There were a few mishaps in the defensive zone that we’re going to have clean up for sure,” Nychuk said. “We didn’t get pucks deep and behind them at times, but those are mistakes that we are easily correctable.

“Overall though…I thought it was a pretty decent game for us and we got the win.”

Even with the absences of Ridly Greig and Marcus Kallionkieli from the lineup, the Wheat Kings had a balanced attack on offence.

In addition to Chiasson and Ritchie’s three-point outings, Brett Hyland and Nate Danielson both had a goal and an assist, while Nychuk got on the scoresheet with a pair of assists.

Mason Ward also lit the lamp early in the third period.

“I think we were all just moving the puck well tonight,” Danielson said.

“We were playing well down low, which is our strong suit, and we got a couple of goals just from getting puck and bodies to the net.”

The Wheat Kings — who remain five points back of the Saskatoon Blades but have two games in hand in the race for fifth in the Eastern Conference — might not have picked up the win if it was for the strong 28-save outing by Ethan Kruger.

The overage netminder made several big stops in the opening frame to keep the game scoreless, with his best stops coming on a pair of chances in tight by Pats forward Cole Dubinsky.

“He’s been a rock for us all year long,” Nychuk said.

“In my opinion, ‘Krugs’ is one of the most underrated goalie in the entire league. He’s does his job every day and we’re excited to have him on our team.”

Meanwhile, the 24-34-3-2 Pats suffered their third straight loss on Tuesday and remain in 11th spot in the Eastern Conference table with five games to go in their regular season slate.

They are currently six points back of the Swift Current Broncos for the eighth and final playoff spot going into a crucial clash between the two sides on Friday night in Swift Current.

Pats captain Logan Nijhoff recorded the first hat trick of his WHL career in the loss, with Roblin’s Jakob Brook also finding the back of the net.

Leyton Feist and former Wheat King Neithan Salame had two assists each for the visitors, who received a 24-save performance from Drew Sim.

The Wheat Kings will continue their four-game homestand at 7 p.m. Friday when the Medicine Hat Tigers will come to town.

They will then face the Moose Jaw Warriors Saturday before squaring off with their East Division foes again Tuesday.

“As we’re getting closer to the playoffs, we need to make sure that we aren’t drifting away from our game plan,” Danielson said. “When we do that, we seem to get burned out there.

“Our goal right now is to get that full 60-minute effort on a consistent basis so that we can be fully dialled in four our first round series.”

ICINGS: In addition to Kallionkieli and Greig, Jacob Hoffrogge, Zach Turner, Owen Harris and Jesiah Bennett were not in the lineup for the Wheat Kings on Tuesday, while Matthew Kieper, Stanislav Svozil, Adam McNutt, Ryker Evans, Zack Stringer, Tye Spencer and Easton Armstrong did not dress for Regina … The Wheat Kings took five out of seven meetings over their East Division rivals this year as they won the season series for their third straight campaign … Nijhoff became the first Pats player to record a hat trick against the Wheat Kings since Adam Brooks scored three goals in a 7-4 win at the Brandt Centre on Dec. 27, 2016 … Connor Bedard recorded an assist on Nijhoff’s second marker for his 87th point of the season, which puts him one back of the late Doug Wickenheiser for the most points by a 16-year-old player in Pats history … Seattle Thunderbirds forward Lukas Svejkovsky signed an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday. The 20-year-old from Point Roberts, Wash. — who was a fourth round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft — has recorded 159 points in 194 games over the last four seasons with the Vancouver Giants, Medicine Hat Tigers and Thunderbirds. 

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