Brandon Boys Lead The Charge As Wheat Kings Overwhelm Warriors
Prior to the game against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday, September 15, Brandon Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray said he wanted to see more offense from his young players. Clearly, the young guns got the message loud and clear.
Seven different players combined for nine goals and the Wheat Kings hammered the Warriors 9-1 in their final home preseason game. Nicholas Jones turned aside 20 of 21 shots he faced in what turned out to be a complete win.
“I’m really happy with our performance tonight,” Murray said. “Our young guys kind of led the way and it was fun to see. They made a lot of really nice plays and it was fun to sit back and watch.”
The Brandon boys in particular, Easton Odut and Jaxon Jacobson, were on a roll all game long. Odut got that roll started, winning a physical battle in the neutral zone, breaking up the right wing and snapping one five-hole on Josh Banini.
Jacobson kept the roll going, first by setting up Dominik Petr at the mouth of the crease on the power play, then with a perfectly placed shot as Caleb Hadland set him up at the bottom of the left circle.
In the second period, Jacobson repaid the favor, dangling into the slot, dragging the goalie out of position, and leaving Hadland with a tap-in. Although Moose Jaw got their lone tally soon after, a point shot by Samuel Borschowa that fooled Jones through traffic, Odut had the response from Brandon, hammering home a rebound of a shot by Boissevain’s Zach Turner.
“Easton, that’s his first preseason game, he was on the shelf a little bit with injury,” Murray said. “It was great to see him come on like that. Jaxon, he’s a special player. He’s 14 years old tonight and he had five points. It was fun seeing the hockey sense and the chemistry those guys showed together.”
They weren’t done showing their skill either. After Rylen Roersma scored with a bullet of a shot bar down to make it 6-1, Odut set up Jacobson for a quick snapshot at the bottom of the left circle, and the young Brandonite went bar down himself.
By then, a 7-1 game that the Wheat Kings were in full control of began to get chippy. A five-minute major to Max Finley led to the Wheat Kings’ eighth goal, as Roger McQueen snapped one hard and low past Dmitri Fortin, who had taken over the crease in the second period.
The ninth goal of the game was a heavy bomb of a shot from Tre Fouquette, who had plenty of time and space to walk into the slapshot that he powered past everyone for the final tally.
If Moose Jaw is upset with the result, they won’t have to wait long to vent their anger. The rematch goes tomorrow night in Moose Jaw. You can catch the game at 8:00 Manitoba time on CHL Live or Q Country 91.5.
