KASPICK GOAL SINKS WARRIORS
Brandon, MB. – The Brandon Wheat Kings have drawn first blood in their Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Semi-Final against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Tanner Kaspick’s dramatic shorthanded goal with 6:39 remaining in regulation time snapped a 3-3 tie as the Wheat Kings beat the Warriors 5-3 in the opening game of their best of seven series.
His game winning goal came seconds after Brandon was hit with a bench minor for too many men. With the teams tied at three, defenceman Ivan Provorov cleared the puck behind the Warriors net and when goalkeeper Zach Sawchenko came out to stop it – he mishandled it, lost it to Kaspick – who then scored on the wraparound.
“I got out there and the puck was already in their end so I was just trying to be an option in the middle of the ice,” said Kaspick on CKLQ’s post-game show. “The puck rimmed around and I kind of saw Sawchenko bobble it a bit so I just kind of saw it was as a green light. The puck bounced to me and I was fortunate enough to be able to wrap it in.”
John Quenneville – with his second of the night – added some insurance when he fired home an empty netter with just over a minute remaining.
The two teams were tied at one after twenty and 3-3 through two periods Friday night.
The Warriors, who outshot Brandon 17-7 in the first, opened the scoring on a goal by Jayden Halbgewachs at the 2:23 mark. Kale Clague tied things up five minutes later when his shot from the point beat Sawchenko, who was the WHL’s Eastern Conference 1st All Star goaltender in 2015-16.
In the second, Moose Jaw regained the lead twice, only to see the Wheat Kings battle back to even the score through forty. Noah Gregor and Brayden Point scored for the Warriors while Tyler Coulter and Quenneville tallied for Brandon.
“Tonight’s game, we never led,” says Brandon head coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon. “Big goal to tie it 1-1, big goal to tie it 2-2, really big goal by Quenneville to tie it 3-3 and it wasn’t until the game-winner by Tanner that we led in the game.”
Netminder Jordan Papirny, who won five of six starts against Moose Jaw during the regular season, made 24 saves for the win while Sawchenko, who entered the game after posting back to back shutout wins over Prince Albert in the opening round, was called upon to stop 33 shots.
The win was Brandon’s fifth straight playoff victory and came before well over 4,600 fans at Westman Communications Group Place.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday night, with puck drop set for 7:30pm. Following the game the series will shift to Moose Jaw for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Tickets to game two go back on sale first thing Saturday morning at the Keystone Centre box office. Fans can also order online at keystonecentre.com or by calling (204) 726-3555.
