It took the Wheat Kings extra time and some strong goaltending, but they left Regina with their first road victory of the season on the night of Wednesday, October 29.
Caleb Hadland and Nicholas Johnson scored, and Jordan Gavin scored a beauty for the shootout winner as the Wheat Kings took their first road win of the season 3-2. Filip Ruzicka was strong for the second straight game with 28 saves on 30 shots.
“It’s always nice to get a win on the road, especially as we hadn’t done so yet,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “There were parts of the game I didn’t love but we found a way to get a win. Two points is two points, and we scored some timely goals. Great move by Gav in the shootout and I thought Ruzicka was good all night.
It took almost the entire power play, but with one second left in their first man advantage of the game, the Wheat Kings broke through. Nigel Boehm fired a shot through traffic that created a rebound, which Joby Baumuller tipped neatly to a wide open Hadland for the opening goal.
The skate was on the other foot in the second period, when the Pats struck back late in a double-minor power play of their own. With just 16 seconds left in the power play, the Pats fed the puck out front to an open Ellis Mieyette, who slid home the equalizer.
Late goals continued to be a theme, and the Wheat Kings were the beneficiaries. After taking the puck away on the backcheck, Jaxon Jacobson slung the puck up ice to a wide open Johnson, who went in alone and made no mistake with a snapshot to the five-hole.
Early in the third, at four-on-four, the Pats replied. Cohen Klassen broke in down the left wing with speed, took the puck to the net, and lifted a backhander home.
Each team had chances aplenty in regulation, including power plays, but neither team could break through. In overtime, despite glorious chances each way again, the game-winner was nowhere to be found.
The Wheat Kings only needed one goal in the shootout. Gavin came in and faked out Marek Schlenker with a slick backhand-forehand move, and at the other end, Ruzicka stopped all three shooters, two of them with pokechecks.
The shootout win marks the first road victory of the season for the Wheat Kings, and their third straight overall. The rematch with Regina goes Saturday night at ACU Place.
