Ice blank Wheat Kings 5-0 in rematch
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/03/2022 (1466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
An injury-riddled Brandon Wheat Kings squad simply couldn’t do much against the Winnipeg Ice in the back half of a Western Hockey League home-and-home weekend, falling 5-0 at Wayne Fleming Arena on Saturday.
Nolan Orzeck, Owen Pederson, Jakin Smallwood, Skyler Bruce and Evan Friesen sniped for Winnipeg (39-9-3-2), which also scored the last five goals in a 6-3 victory on Friday in Brandon. Ice goalie Daniel Hauser stopped 25 shots for his fifth shutout of the season.
The Wheat Kings (28-20-3-2) played without veteran forwards Ridly Greig and Marcus Kallionkieli after they were hurt on Friday, plus the previously injured duo of Nate Danielson (upper body, day to day) and Mason Ward (lower body, day to day).
Brandon head coach Don MacGillivray said his players understand that they won’t be at their best every night, but at the same time, they have to find a way to return to the formula that has proven successful for them this season.
“We’re not going to win every game and we’re not going to play great every game, and we haven’t been playing very good lately,” MacGillivray said. “It’s about digging in, getting back to work and getting back to playing the way we can. We know that when we play well, we’re a good hockey club.
“It doesn’t just come, we have to work at it. We have to get some games where we have everybody going. The other night, I thought we played very, very well for a good portion of the game, two-thirds of the game, but the one-third portion of the game we didn’t play well cost us a hockey game against a good team.
“We didn’t have enough going tonight. We just didn’t have it.”
Playing against the league’s top power play, the Wheat Kings desperately needed to stay out of the penalty box. Instead, they took two penalties in the first six minutes, and Winnipeg cashed in on the second one when Orzeck’s shot found its way through Brandon goalie Ethan Kruger and trickled into the net.
Six minutes later, Pederson beat Wheat Kings defenceman Zach Turner wide to the net on a rush and tucked the puck under Kruger to give the hosts a two-goal lead.
“I thought the first shifts we played the way we wanted to,” MacGillivray said. “Once they scored, (the bench) definitely sagged. We just didn’t have enough guys stepping up into an opportunity. Winnipeg is a good team and you need everybody going. Even when you have a full lineup, you need everybody going.”
In the second period, Carson Lambos, the brother of former Wheat King Jonny, sent a shot at net that was deflected by Smallwood, to put the hosts up 3-0.
The Ice gave the Wheat Kings ample opportunity to get back in the game when Smallwood took two minor penalties in less than three minutes shortly after he scored, but Brandon was unable to capitalize. To make matters worse, after the second power play ended, Bruce jumped on a grievous turnover on a pass off a Brandon skate to make it 4-0.
Friesen, who was standing in front of the net, finished the scoring late in the third period when the puck bounced off him and by Kruger for his second goal of the season.
Despite the loss, MacGillivray did see some positives.
“We had a few guys who competed hard and were battling hard and trying their best,” MacGillivray said. “The one thing I look at is we had a lot of guys who don’t play that much who got some playing time. That will help us down the road here hopefully.”
Kruger made 34 saves for the Wheat Kings. Brandon went 0-for-2 on the power play, with Winnipeg scoring once in four chances.
It’s just the second time all season Brandon has been shut out. The last time was when Winnipegger Isaac Poulter stopped 47 shots in a 3-0 Swift Current Broncos victory.
MacGillivray said there was a reason for the lack of goal-scoring tonight.
“There just wasn’t enough time spent in the offensive zone,” he said. “When we did, we were one and done. We didn’t have any net-front traffic, and that’s where the goals are scored.”
ICINGS: Brandon dressed seven forwards and 11 defencemen … The attendance was 1,621 … Tyson Zimmer led the Wheat Kings with six shots on net … The game took two hours, 26 minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Winnipeg won 32-28 … Orzeck had two assists for Winnipeg, as did Matthew Savoie.
» pbergson@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @PerryBergson