After a lackluster first period, the Brandon Wheat Kings settled into a groove against the Prince Albert Raiders and both teams responded with fast, heavy hockey. Unfortunately, the bad first period was more than the Wheat Kings could overcome.
Caleb Hadland scored twice, and Marcus Nguyen added a goal of his own, but the Wheat Kings fell 5-3 to the Raiders. Ethan Eskit was strong with 36 saves in the loss.
“We were on our heels in the first period,” said head coach and GM Marty Murray. “We didn’t really accomplish anything. I thought we were doing a lot of spectating, standing around, our execution was poor, and that’s how you get down 3-0.”
The physicality of the Raiders created the opening goal against the Wheat Kings. After a couple of hits on the forecheck, the Raiders freed up the puck for Lukas Dragicevic, who fired one five-hole to make it 1-0.
Another defenseman kept the scoring going for Prince Albert. As Aiden Oiring pivoted loose in the corner, he fed it over to a pinching Justice Christensen to extend the lead.
Dragicevic was at it again, though this time his wasn’t the last touch. Ty Meunier tipped home the point shot, giving the Raiders a 3-0 lead after twenty minutes.
Early in the second, the Wheat Kings broke through. Nicholas Johnson was robbed point-blank by Max Hildebrand, but Nguyen was right there for the rebound, stuffing it in to make 3-1.
On their second power play of the game, the Wheat Kings climbed even closer. As Nolan Flamand and Matteo Michels battled for a rebound, they won it over to Hadland, who snapped home his tenth of the season.
“We woke up and started playing a little bit,” Murray said of the second period. “Our compete was better. We were able to put some pressure on their D and turn some pucks over.”
A Raiders power play put them back ahead by two in the third, as Daxon Rudolph one-timed home a feed from Meunier. But again the Wheat Kings had an answer, and again it was Hadland. On a power play of their own, Michels created another rebound for Hadland, and again Hadland made good on it.
But the Raiders snuffed out the Wheat Kings momentum again. This time, a turnover in their own zone led to a quick shot from the left circle by Harrison Lodewyk, and he put the game out of reach for good.
The Wheat Kings killed one more Raider power play, and tried their best with the net empty, but couldn’t bridge the gap. They fall 5-3, but get right back to work tomorrow against the Saskatoon Blades at 4:00.
