A six-game winning streak for the Wheat Kings finally came to a halt as the Prince George Cougars came to town and denied them that seventh straight win.
Luke Mistelbacher and Nicholas Johnson scored, and Filip Ruzicka was outstanding again with 46 saves, but the Wheat Kings fell 4-2 to the Cougars. It was the first loss against a B.C. Division opponent this season for Brandon.
“I thought we had one guy going tonight and that was Filip Ruzicka,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “Outside of him it was pretty slim pickings. We somehow stuck around, thanks to Fil, and we ended up tying the game up, but that’s when you got to dig in and find a way. And two shifts later, we’re on thee wrong side of somebody and give up a penalty shot.”
The Wheat Kings gave the home crowd something to cheer about early. On the forecheck, Prabh Bhathal picked off a pass and fed it out front to Mistelbacher, who cut to his backhand and out-waited Josh Ravensbergen for the opening goal.
Special teams were one of the major stories of the second. The Wheat Kings surrendered a shorthanded goal in the opening minute when Carson Carels fired a shot off the crossbar that bounced right to Terik Parascak, who snapped in the equalizer.
On their first power play of the game, the Cougars took the lead. Carels got the puck at the top of the umbrella and blasted a shot through traffic, sending a large crowd of supporters from Cyprus River into a frenzy.
The Cougars had two more power plays before the period was out, and shot everything they got their hands on at Ruzicka. But the rookie netminder stood on his head and kept the Wheat Kings within one.
Early in the third, the Wheat Kings rewarded their goaltender. Brady Turko took a hit to make a play in the left wing corner and left the puck for Jordan Gavin, who fed it out front to Johnson. Like Mistelbacher in the first period, Johnson cut to his backhand and stuffed in the tying goal.
But the tie would not last. The Cougars were awarded a penalty shot when Dawson Seitz was hauled down as he drove the net, and he made good on the shot to make it 3-2.
The Wheat Kings would press with the net empty, but the Cougars would take advantage of a turnover and salt the game away with Parascak providing the last tally of the game.
Next up for the Wheat Kings, a divisional opponent as they host the Regina Pats on Friday, February 27. Puck drop is 7:00.
