Chiasson, Ritchie enjoy four-point nights in win

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This article was published 09/04/2022 (1436 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jake Chiasson and Mason Ward each scored twice and Nolan Ritchie added four assists as the Brandon Wheat Kings won their fourth game in a row, 6-3 over the Medicine Hat Tigers in Western Hockey League action at Westoba Place on Friday.

Rylen Roersma and Chad Nychuk also scored for Brandon (34-25-3-2), with Reid Andresen, Oasiz Wiesblatt and Andrew Basha replying for Medicine Hat (11-50-3-1) in front of a crowd of 2,517.

Chiasson and his linemates, Ritchie and Riley Ginnell, were a threat all night, and were rewarded with a combined eight points.

“It just goes to show how much doing the right things can benefit yourself and the way that you’re playing,” said Chiasson, who also earned a pair of assists for a four-point night in his 100th game. “I thought Gins, Ritchie and I were good (Friday) in all areas of the ice. We didn’t cheat for offence, we took care of our zone and the spots that needed to be taken care of. Fortunately, I came out with a couple of chances and it’s always nice to bury them.”

Brandon head coach Don MacGillivray said it was a good overall effort from his entire lineup. With only four penalties assessed the entire game — and the last one coming in the dying seconds — the lack of special teams play allowed him to skate all four lines and three defensive pairings.

“I liked how we started the game,” MacGillivray said. “I thought we had the right mindset coming into the game. We were playing a team that’s out of the playoffs and sometimes those are difficult games to get yourself ready for. The guys were skating hard, we had some pace to our game and some of our details were really good early in the game.

“I thought we got away from it a little bit but when we recaptured it and had some really good moments throughout out the rest of the game as well.”

The Wheat Kings certainly came out flying.

Ward put Brandon on the board three minutes 11 seconds into the opening frame. Chiasson won the faceoff back to Ritchie, who passed it to the big defenceman at the point. Ward sent a wrist shot at the net that drifted over the right shoulder of Medicine Hat goalie Beckett Langkow, who clearly hadn’t seen the shot.

“I thought it was huge,” Ward said. “Medicine Hat is a hard team to play against, they’re small and fast, so to get one early gave myself some confidence and to get the team going was huge.”

Medicine Hat took the first penalty of the game 80 seconds later and Brandon smartly moved the puck around. After the first unit had multiple chances to score but couldn’t find the back of the net, the second unit cashed in when Roersma sent a one-timer from the slot past Langkow.

The onslaught continued two minutes later when Nychuk danced in from the blue-line and ripped a shot into the top corner to give the hosts a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes.

Medicine Hat began to settle in at that point and responded 13:08 into the frame when Andresen’s shot from the point beat screened Brandon goalie Carson Bjarnason.

It was the Jake Chiasson show in the middle frame as he scored both goals, benefiting from a pair of terrific passes.

Brandon restored the three-goal lead 13 minutes into the middle frame when Ritchie streaked down the wing and sent the puck into the middle for a tap-in goal by his linemate. Before the period ended, Chiasson tipped a slap pass from Nychuk for his second of the game to put the hosts up 5-1.

“There’s not much to say about those guys’ vision,” Chiasson said of Ritchie and Nychuk. “It’s exceptional. It’s pretty easy to get to spots when you’re playing with guys like that. I was fortunate to have those go in. Those are the ones you want to bear down on and tonight they went in.”

Medicine Hat drew back within three goals on a dominant shift four minutes into the final frame that also saw Andresen hit the post. They maintained territorial possession and Wiesblatt’s tip on a shot by Andresen trickled between Bjarnason’s legs.

The Tigers actually outshot the Wheat Kings 7-1 in the first eight minutes of the third period but their comeback hopes were effectively ended with Ward’s second goal. He skated deep, and instead of shooting, carried the puck around the net and on a wrap-around, banked it in off Langkow’s pad as the goalie came across the net to cover the post to make it 6-2.

The Tigers responded 14:08 into the third on their sole power play when Basha was fed by a pass off the end boards by Andresen, who earned his third point of the night.

The four-game winning streak has effectively erased the six-game losing streak that came before, Ward said.

“We’ve just been playing our game and had some good practices and we’re getting lots of the guys back,” Ward said. “We’re just building confidence as a group. I think we’re all excited for playoffs so that’s the motivation to win these next games.”

The Wheat Kings face the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors tonight and then again on Tuesday in their home finale.

Bjarnason made 18 saves for the Wheat Kings, with Langkow stopping 28 shots for the Tigers, and also earning an assist.

Brandon went 1-for-2 on the power play, with Medicine Hat scoring on its only opportunity.

Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins said his squad got better as the night went on.

“I thought it was a pretty good game,” Desjardins said. “I thought we started slow and that was the difference. We got behind but I thought we played OK in the second and third.”

ICINGS: Brandon skated without injured forwards Ridly Greig, Marcus Kallionkieli and Zakhar Polshakov, plus healthy scratches Owen Harris, Zach Turner and Charlie Elick … Brandonite Ethan McCallum served as backup for the Tigers … Vincent Iorio and Nychuk both earned a pair of helpers as well … Ward and Nate Danielson led the Wheat Kings with four shots each on net … The game took two hours, nine minutes to play … In the faceoff circle, Medicine Hat won 30-28.

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