Two games in a row on their road trip, the Wheat Kings gave up points in the standings thanks to troublesome third periods. There was no such lapse this time around as the beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-1.
Brady Turko scored twice, and Carter Klippenstein, Matteo Michels, and Easton Odut also scored in the win. Carson Bjarnason was in fine form, stopping 23 of 24 shots thrown his way.
“We had a really good all-around commitment tonight,” said head coach and GM Marty Murray. “It’s not easy to play these 3-in-3s, and they did too but to keep them to 24 shots with some travel built in, I thought it was a really impressive 60-minute effort by our guys.”
Turko both started and finished his chance on the lone goal of the first period. After blocking a pass in the Wheat Kings’ zone, he chipped the puck to himself, caught up to it in the neutral zone, and snapped home his third of the season to make it 1-0.
Another shot off the rush stretched the Wheat Kings’ lead to two, and this one came with a release so fast it was nearly impossible to pick up. Klippenstein fired the puck from the left wall and put it bar-down for his third of the season.
The line of Klippenstein, Turko, and Jaxon Jacobson connected again on the third Wheat Kings’ goal. Jacobson fed the puck out from behind the Oil Kings net and Turko was ready and waiting for it in the slot, one-timing home his second.
Before the period was out, the Oil Kings got a little of their own back. Fresh out of the box, former Wheat King Rylen Roersma drove the net and lifted home a backhand pass from Gavin Hodnett to get them on the board.
But the Wheat Kings saved their best period for last. After forcing a turnover down low, Dominik Petr fed the puck to Nicholas Johnson for a shot, and while that was stopped Michels was right there to cash the rebound to make it 4-1.
Jacobson worked his set-up magic again to help the Wheat Kings get a little further insurance. Taking the puck from behind the net, he fed it out front to Odut, whose shot rode the stick of an Oil Kings’ defender and went in.
The win stops a brief two-game slide for the Wheat Kings and effectively makes use of one of their games in hand. They’ll be back home next weekend for games against the Red Deer Rebels and Prince Albert Raiders.
