Through the opening 20 minutes, the Wheat Kings were carried to a lead over the Medicine Hat Tigers by their veteran forwards. In the second, however, the Tigers stole the lead back and never let it go.
Nicholas Johnson scored twice and Luke Mistelbacher also scored but the Wheat Kings fell 6-3 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Filip Ruzicka was busy again with 48 saves.
“I didn’t love our second period,” said Wheat Kings assistant coach Mark Derlago. “They came out pretty hard and had a pretty good push, and we didn’t respond the way we would’ve liked. We had a power play we didn’t love to start off, and things didn’t work out well for us.”
Medicine Hat demonstrated their power play proficiency early. Just 20 seconds into their first power play of the game, the puck found Bryce Pickford at the right circle, and he snapped one past Ruzicka’s right pad for the opening tally.
At even strength, however, the Wheat Kings responded. Ryan Boyce broke the puck in up the left wing and waited exactly long enough to put the cross-ice pass right in Johnson’s wheelhouse for the one-timer and the equalizer.
As the two teams went end-to-end, it was the Tigers who struck next. Andrew Basha took a handoff off the rush and danced to the slot, made a move to his forehand, and chipped it to the top corner.
The Wheat Kings’ response was lightning quick. First, Brady Turko broke in with speed up the left wing and put a perfect spinorama pass on Johnson’s tape, and the veteran forward buried his second of the game.
Then, just nine second later, the Wheat Kings won the ensuing faceoff and sent the puck back to Grayson Burzynski. Burzynski hit Mistelbacher with a perfect stretch pass, and the Wheat Kings’ leading goal scorer made no mistake, opening up the five-hole on Jordan Switzer and tucking in his 39th of the season.
Another Tiger power play saw them tie the game in the second, and it was Pickford again. This time, he got the puck on the left wing wall and just flung it on net as none of his pass options appealed to him, and the tricky shot fooled Ruzicka and leaked in.
With 5:31 to go in the second, the Tigers got their lead back. Off forecheck work by the Ruck twins, the puck popped free to Noah Davidson, who lifted home his 26th.
Though it would not count as a power play goal, the Tigers’ power play set up another goal to extend their lead. As a power play expired, Pickford let another one-timer go to get his hat trick.
The third period proved to be one devoid of offense despite some great chances by the Wheat Kings. Switzer made no fewer than four ten-bell saves, and the Tigers rewarded their netminder with an empty netter.
The Wheat Kings will have to reset in a hurry as they travel to Swift Current to face the Broncos for the first game of a home-and-home on Friday night. Puck drop is 7:00.
