It came right down to the wire, but the Brandon Wheat Kings are heading into the holidays happy after a win over the Calgary Hitmen.
Nicholas Johnson and Chase Surkan scored in regulation, and Joby Baumuller was the hero in overtime as the Wheat Kings closed out their road trip with a 3-2 win in Calgary. Filip Ruzicka stood tall with 37 saves and was named the game’s first star.
“The first two periods were complete opposites,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “We had a really strong first period only giving up one shot. We knew they were going to come back and took a penalty or two and kind of got on our heels in the second period. We found a way. These games are always hard, these last games before Christmas.”
Though they missed on a power play opportunity early in the first period, the Wheat Kings got their redemption on another power play as the period progressed. Brady Turko sold the one-timer from the left circle and instead sent the puck to Johnson at the right, who lifted it over a sprawled out Eric Tu to open the scoring.
Turko put his set-up skills on display again later in the period, this time at even strength. Grabbing a rolling puck on the left wing, Turko left it right in the wheelhouse for Surkan, who ripped a shot bar-down for the 2-0 lead.
Early in the second period, the Hitmen bit into the lead on their first crack at the power play. Ruzicka made the initial blocker stop on a shot by Julien Maze, but Caine Wilke found the rebound and trickled it over the line.
With just under seven minutes left in the third, the Hitmen tied the game. Axel Hurtig took a shot from the left point that Ethan Moore tipped from the high slot, sending it pinballing in.
Ruzicka made two fantastic point-blank saves in overtime, and the Wheat Kings paid him back. Luke Mistelbacher’s shot off the rush was stopped, but Grayson Burzynski found the rebound, carried it to the bottom of the left wing circle, and fed it back to Baumuller for the overtime winner.
The win means the Wheat Kings finish their longest road trip yet at 3-1 and finish the pre-Christmas portion of December with an 8-1 record. Their next game is in Moose Jaw against the Warriors on December 27 at 6:00.
