The scoring and goaltending worked hand in hand for the Wheat Kings against the Saskatoon Blades on December 3. Filip Ruzicka made the saves, especially in the second period, and the Wheat Kings rewarded him with offense in the third.
Caleb Hadland and Grayson Burzynski each picked up a goal and an assist, and Ruzicka was simply incredible with multiple jaw-dropping saves in his 31 saves on 32 shots as the Wheat Kings took a 4-1 win. Joby Baumuller and Luke Mistelbacher also scored in the win.
“Overall, we’ll take it,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “The first period was relatively solid, they got one off at a foot at the end which was unfortunate. The story was the second period. We did a great job killing penalties and Ruzicka was a big part of that. After all those kills, we responded well in the third period.”
A three-man forecheck led the Wheat Kings to open the scoring. Jimmy Egan led the way, tying up two Blades as he went for a loose puck, and while Brady Turko wasn’t able to get a shot away, he was able to leave the puck behind for Hadland, who snapped it home for the 1-0 lead.
With only 42 seconds on the clock in the first period, however the Blades got a bounce. Jack Kachkowski carried his way to the bottom of the Wheat Kings’ left circle and fired a backhand pass out front. The puck bounced off a Wheat King and in to tie the score.
Early in the second, the Wheat Kings restored their lead. Egan fed the puck across to a rushing Baumuller, who broke up the right wing and ripped a shot so cleanly off the back bar that it took a moment before everyone aside from Baumuller and the referee realized it was in.
The Wheat Kings went to three consecutive penalty kills from there, and Ruzicka put on a show. He made multiple diving cross-crease saves, highlight reel worthy stops with both his blocker and glove, and preserved the Wheat Kings’ lead.
When the Wheat Kings got a chance to answer on the power play, they made it count. Chase Surkan fed the puck from the goal line to the top of the left circle for Burzynski, who sniped the insurance marker.
The Blades pulled their goaltender, but the only chance with the net empty went the Wheat Kings way. Hadland sent the puck to centre for Mistelbacher to skate onto, and the team’s leading goal scorer made no mistake to salt the game away.
The Wheat Kings will continue their run of East Division opponents against the Regina Pats on Friday night in Regina. Puck drop is 7:00.
