MCCALLUM SCORES FOUR TO BEAT THE PATS, WHEAT KINGS WIN EAST DIVISION PENNANT
The Wheat Kings clinched the East Division title on Sunday night with a 5-1 win over the Regina Pats in the Subway Hub at Regina’s Brandt Centre. It’s the 14th division banner in club history for the Wheat Kings and the highest rank the team could accomplish in a season that won’t see Western Hockey League teams compete for the league championship. Sunday’s win mathematically eliminated the second-place Winnipeg ICE from catching up in the standings as Brandon now leads all other East Division teams with 38 points, five points in front of the ICE.
The game began with a healthy level of compete from both sides, Brandon getting outshot 15-11 in the opening period. Ridly Greig scored his 10th for the Wheat Kings at the 7:53 mark of the first on the penalty kill, his league-leading fourth short-handed goal of the year.
GOAL 🚨@NYRangers prospect @bradenschneid ➡️ @ArizonaCoyotes prospect Ben McCartney ➡️@Senators prospect @RidlyGreig SH to make it 1-0!
Lot of @NHL prospects teaming up there on that HON candidate! #BWK 🌾👑 pic.twitter.com/Rl88hpXadB
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 26, 2021
Rookie Tanner Howe answered for the Pats less than four minutes into the second period on a tough shot that beat Wheat Kings netminder Ethan Kruger up high.
With the game tied 1-1 late in the second period, overage forward Lynden McCallum exploded for four-straight power play goals to give the Wheat Kings a 5-1 lead. His first came with less than two minutes before intermission on a hard drive to the net with his backhand.
GOAL 🚨
Lynden McCallum makes it 2-1 with a Power Play goal! #BWK 🌾👑 @mccallum_lynden pic.twitter.com/Rb0f1aUbxx
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 26, 2021
McCallum would add another just 25 seconds later, this time after a Schneider point shot bounced off the end wall to the side of the net where McCallum was in position to get his stick on it.
GOAL🚨
This is NOT a repost! Lynden McCallum with another Power Play goal just 45 seconds after his 1st one!
3-1 Wheat Kings lead#BWK 🌾👑@mccallum_lynden pic.twitter.com/yii6U8rUWn
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 26, 2021
The goal was a huge shift in momentum for the Wheat Kings after the Pats outplayed them for much of the second. McCallum’s pair stole the period from Regina and put the Wheat Kings in a much more comfortable spot than they’d been in a minute before.
“They were pressing but we’ve been in those situations before where we’ve had a little lull in the game and our team is good at keeping our composure,” said McCallum. “We just stuck with it and we knew it would come.”
The next goal to make it 4-1 was McCallum’s first hat trick in his Western Hockey League career, one game before the overager plays his last in major junior hockey. Once again, a Schneider point shot got the puck deep in the Pats’ end where Ben McCartney scrambled to get the rebound off the pads of netminder, Matthew Kieper. The puck found McCallum who put it in to extend the Wheat Kings lead.
GOAL🚨
Lynden McCallum with his first career @TheWHL Hat Trick!! 🎩🎩🎩
Another Power Play goal!#BWK 🌾👑 pic.twitter.com/F7qT3JvtKf
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 26, 2021
McCallum’s fourth and final goal of the evening came less than a minute later and once again off a pass from McCartney. The puck was cycled around the Wheat Kings’ power play unit until it got to McCartney near the goal line and he set up McCallum for a beautiful one-timer.
GOAL🚨🚨🚨🚨
Ok… Wow.
4th GOAL of the game for Lynden McCallum!!
It's also now 4 points on the night for @bradenschneid AND Ben McCartney! @mccallum_lynden #BWK🌾👑 pic.twitter.com/LuzNlF3Ev8
— Brandon Wheat Kings (@bdnwheatkings) April 26, 2021
From his first to his fourth goal, it took just 2:58 of game clock for McCallum to record all four goals. That’s the second fastest four goals scored by a single player in the WHL since Boyd Anderson did it in 2:35 for the Flin Flon Bombers in 1972.
Despite McCallum’s incredible flurry of goals, when the Wheat Kings took the 5-1 final it was the team’s division victory they were most excited for.
“Right from training camp, we said ‘let’s be the best team here,'” said McCallum, when asked what it means to bring home a division banner. “Whatever they let us play for, we want to try and win it. So before the game, I was so proud of all the guys. Everyone was so focused. We had some rocky moments there in this game but we stuck with it.”
McCallum, McCartney, Greig and Schneider were the only names on the scoresheet for Brandon on the evening. Schneider recorded his first four point game in the WHL with four assists, McCartney recorded his 11th multi-point game of the season with four assists, Greig had the short handed marker and an assist and McCallum led all scorers and earned the league’s first star of the night with four goals.
“Lynden was feeling good, he felt good last game and he felt good today,” said Wheat Kings head coach, Don MacGillivray. McCallum had two goals on Saturday night in the Wheat Kings’ 5-4 overtime win over the Prince Albert Raiders.
“He understands what we’re trying to achieve here and he was in good spots, he takes pucks hard to the net. The guy can score. He can find the net and he’s done a terrific job as a graduating 20-year old and he’s done everything he can to give himself a chance to play at the next level”.
Sunday’s win was the second last game of the season for the Wheat Kings who now sit with a record of 18-3-2. They’ll face the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday night at 5 PM.
