Blades comeback falls short, fall 5-4 in season opener vs. Wheat Kings

Photo Credit: Jermemy Champagne/Brandon Wheat Kings

Blades special teams shine despite opening night loss

Brandon, MB – Defenceman Brayden Klimpke’s three-point night nearly helped the Saskatoon Blades overcame two three-goal third period deficits, falling short 5-4 at Assiniboine Credit Union against the Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday.

“It’s always tough when you dig yourself into a hole like that,” said Klimpke. “It’s early in the year, that stuff will happen, but just try and take that out of our game and get ready to go tomorrow.

Fans in Brandon were treated to a barnburner for the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Opening Night. Trailing 4-1 going into the third period, the Blades scored a pair of powerplay goals and a shot-handed goal to bring themselves cut the deficit to one with 4:24 left in regulation. The Blades were 0/4 on the man-advantage heading into the final frame and finished the night 2/7.

“It was pretty effective, especially in that third period, it was unbelievable ” said Blades Head Coach Dan DaSilva. “When you create that many chances, obviously we got two on the powerplay, when you create that many chances eventually they’re going to start going in for you.”

DaSilva also made note to mention the penalty kill’s efforts, going 3/3 on the evening.

“They (Brandon) has some highly skilled players. We did a great job on our kill not giving anything on that.”

16-year-old Blades rookie Max Hartel stopped 25 of 30 shots in his WHL debut.

“I’m super proud of him,” said Klimpke. He’s a stud, you can tell. It’s tough coming in, playing your first game as a goalie in front of a big crowd, home opener, but he played well.”

“I thought he battled,” said DaSilva. “We got down, but he didn’t get down on himself, he continued to fight and make saves when we needed him, and he gave us a chance to win.”

The Wheat Kings opened the scoring 1:14 into the game courtesy of sophomore forward Chase Surkan. Brandon’s leading rookie point scorer from last season buried a rebound past Hartel for his lone point on the night.

Klimpke responded 11 seconds past the midway point of the first period with a highlight reel goal against former Blades netminder Ryley Budd. The Montreal Canadiens draft pick took the puck along the near wall all the way to the crease for his ninth career WHL goal.

The Wheat Kings responded with a pair of goals before the end of the opening frame. Forward Colin Grubb scored unassisted with 6:04 left on the clock, followed by 2026 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) draft pick Ilari Kapanen’s first career goal with 1:05 remaining in the first.

Saskatoon went to a four-minute powerplay after 20-year-old Wheat Kings forward Kris Miussu was assessed a double-minor for boarding on defenceman Tyrone Sobry. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Cooper Williams had the best chance on a cross-crease feed but was stopped off a great pad save by Budd.

Brandon extended their lead to three with 6:04 left in the second thanks to forward Prahb Bathal. The three-goal cushion stood ahead of the final 20 minutes of play.