Wheat Kings beat Tigers 5-3 in Game 3

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This article was published 27/03/2018 (2811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DAUPHIN — The Brandon Wheat Kings aren’t done yet.

The Wheat Kings rebounded from a pair of drubbings in Medicine Hat on the weekend to beat the Tigers 5-3 at Credit Union Centre in Dauphin on Tuesday. 

Medicine Hat still leads  2-1 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final series.

Ty Lewis scored twice for the Wheat Kings, with Connor Gutenberg, Ben McCartney and Evan Weinger adding singles  for Brandon

Mark Rassell, Gary Haden and Jaeger White replied for Medicine Hat.

“It’s a big win,” Lewis said. “Going in there and trying to capitalize on the first two games was what we were trying to do,  and I thought our mindset after Game 2 was really good. Guys still felt good and the room was good. Guys were still positive and looking forward to Game 3. You just take it one game at a time. It was huge win tonight and tomorrow we’ll try to get them both at home.”

Game 4 is tonight in Dauphin at 7:30 p.m.

Brandon head coach David Anning liked his team’s pace on Tuesday.

“You could see we had a lot more speed with our group,” Anning said. “Our forwards executed well on our exits. It allowed to get through the neutral zone with some speed. We established a forecheck and had some zone time. Tonight we responded well to all the challenges we faced.”

Some bad luck led to Medicine Hat’s first goal. 

Schael Higson’s stick shattered when he went to take a shot from the point. The Tigers picked up the puck and came up the ice on a two-on-one, with Rassell electing to shoot and sending a shot over the blocker of Brandon starting goalie Dylan Myskiw.

Brandon had a fine chance to tie the game with three minutes remaining in the first period when Linden McCorrister hopped out of the penalty box and was sent in on a breakaway, but Medicine Hat starting goalie Jordan Hollett made a good save.

Lewis tied it with less than nine seconds remaining in the first period after a Medicine Hat defenceman was stripped of the puck and Lewis fired a shot by Hollett.

Brandon took its first lead of the series exactly three minutes into the second period when Higson sent a pass to McCorrister in the slot and he sent it over to Gutenberg on the half-wing for the Brandonite’s first goal of the playoffs.

Haden tied it for the Tigers 10 minutes later when he directed a rebound by Myskiw on a broken play.

The Tigers regained the lead on a power-play goal by former Wheat King White five minutes and 41 seconds into the third period, but it didn’t last long.

McCartney raced into the offensive zone, beat two defencemen to the puck and scored on a wrap-around just 42 seconds later for the nicest goal of the rookie’s young career.

“I was actually going to go for a change and then the puck kind of got loose and the defenceman was fumbling it,” McCartney said. “I poked it away from him and had a bunch of speed coming up the ice and the goalie was way too aggressive I found, and I don’t know where I pulled the skill out of, but I went around the net and wrapped it around.”

And 18 seconds after that, Weinger tipped home a nice pass by McCorrister to draw Brandon ahead 4-3.

Lewis put the game away on a one-timer from the low slot with 1:42 remaining.

Myskiw made 30 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Hollett stopping 27 shots for the Tigers. 

Brandon went 0-for-1 on the power play, with Medicine Hat scoring once in three chances.

Tigers coach Shaun Clouston wasn’t unhappy with his group’s effort.

“(I saw) lots of good things,” he said. “I don’t think we played a poor game but I don’t think we were quite at the same level and intensity as (Game) 1 and 2. I think we were spread out a little bit and that doesn’t work real well for us; We need a little bit closer group of five. I thought their guys were real good. It’s what I expected. That’s a good hockey team. They won 40 games in a real tough division. Their top guys were great tonight.”

ICINGS: Brandon was without injured F Jonny Hooker and G Logan Thompson, healthy scratch Ty Ettinger and suspended F Baron Thompson, who served the second of his three-game suspension   … Medicine Hat scratched F James Hamblin (broken wrist, out for playoffs), F Mason Shaw, D Dylan MacPherson, D Linus Nassen and D Dawson Heathcote … Brandon won 41 of 78 faceoffs … It was Brandon’s first-ever win in Dauphin. They lost both games last season in their first visit … Brandon’s last playoff victory came on May 13, 2016 when they beat the Seattle Thunderbirds to win the WHL title … Attendance was 1,247 … Medicine Hat lost another defenceman in Trevor Longo after he sustained an arm injury on a hit behind the Tigers net. 

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