Wheat Kings drop overtime thriller against Blades
Fittingly for two teams precisely deadlocked in the standings entering play, the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades needed overtime to decide a winner. The extra frame proved to be the Wheat Kings’ downfall, however.
Dylan Ronald and Jordan Gavin each had a goal and an assist, and Carson Bjarnason was excellent with 39 saves, but the Wheat Kings fell 3-2 in overtime to the Blades. Similarly brilliant was Blades netminder Ethan McCallum, with 39 saves of his own.
“Both teams probably weren’t thrilled with certain parts of their game,” said head coach and GM Marty Murray. “But overall it was a back-and-forth game that could’ve gone either way.”
On their first power play of the game, the Wheat Kings got the game’s first goal. Matteo Michels sent the puck across the seam from the right circle to the left, and Gavin sniped his fourth as a Wheat King and second on home ice.
Early in the second period, the Blades squared the score. William James got a step and broke in up the left side, lifting home a wrist shot from the circle to make it 1-1.
Later, as a four-on-four situation turned to a brief Wheat Kings’ penalty kill, Brandon reclaimed the lead. Adam Belusko sent the puck from the right point down to Gavin in the corner, who sent it over to Ronald at the left point, and with plenty of room to walk in he picked his spot, beating Ethan McCallum glove side for his fifth of the season.
It took the Blades four power plays, but they broke through. From the left wing boards, the Blades sent the puck out front, and Hudson Kibblewhite was ready and waiting to tip in the equalizer from the lip of the crease.
The third period saw a barrage of shots and power play chances each way. It even saw Gavin hit a crossbar. What it did not see was a go-ahead goal, so the two teams went to overtime.
Overtime passed with prime chances at both ends, but it was the final minute of overtime that sealed the loss for Brandon. After a turnover inside the Wheat Kings’ blueline, Cooper Williams went away to the races and finished off a nifty backhand move with just 17.2 to go in the extra frame.
The Wheat Kings get only a few days off to reset as they’re back in action on Tuesday night in Swift Current. Puck drop is 7:00.
