After an incredible offensive run, the Wheat Kings suddenly ran up against a defensive structure they couldn’t break through against the Calgary Hitmen on Sunday, November 2.
Gunnar Gleasman scored and Jayden Kraus was strong with 35 saves on 38 shots but it wasn’t enough as the Hitmen won 3-1. The Wheat Kings managed just ten shots on goal until the final half the third period, whereupon they equalled their game-long total in just under ten minutes.
“Calgary, they skate and they work and work and work, one through 2o in their lineup,” Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray said. “We didn’t match that work ethic and that left us a step behind pretty much the entire game.”
A quick transition in the neutral zone turned into the first goal of the game for the Hitmen. Off a faceoff, Kale Dach and Brandon Gorzynski broke in 2-on-1, and worked a quick passing play finished off by Dach with a one-timer from the right circle.
The Wheat Kings gave up a power play in the second period and the Hitmen made them pay on a funny bounce. Kaden Meyer took a seemingly harmless shot from the point that bounced off of two different Wheat Kings before leaking through the traffic and sliding behind Kraus.
Another Hitmen power play turned into another Hitmen goal, and this one required no fortunate bounces. Only seven seconds into the power play, they worked a precise passing play that ended with a between-the-legs pass to a wide open Gorzyynski, who made no mistake.
In the back half of the third, the Wheat Kings finally broke through. Nicholas Johnson sent the puck to the net and both Prabh Bhathal and Gleasman were there to whack away at it, with Gleasman cashing in to get his team back within two.
Two late penalties, however, more or less stifled the Wheat Kings comeback efforts. The Hitmen didn’t score on either one, but they didn’t need to in order to kill the clock.
The loss ends a four-game winning streak for the Wheat Kings. They get a chance to start a new one on Wednesday night when they host the Swift Current Broncos at 7:00.
