Faced with the most important third period of their season so far, the Wheat Kings delivered a performance fit for the occasion.
Jaxon Jacobson was named first star with a goal and two assists, and Joby Baumuller, Chase Surkan, Prabh Bhathal, Max Lavoie, and Brett Wilson all scored as the Wheat Kings downed the Hitmen 6-4. Filip Ruzicka made 31 saves for his 25th win of the season.
“The first kind of ten minutes we were on our heels a bit but the last half of the first was really good,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “After that it was back and forth. We bent a little but didn’t break and scored some timely goals.”
The Hitmen had a goal disallowed early in their first power play, but buried another one late. With just six seconds to go in their power play, Julien Maze fired one through a screen from the top of the umbrella that found its way past the sea of bodies and in.
Already on a power play, the Hitmen were awarded a 5-on-3 for 1:47 later on in the first period. But determined shot blocks from the unit of Nicholas Johnson, Gio Pantelas and Nigel Boehm helped keep them within one.
Once they were back to five-on-five, the Wheat Kings rewarded their penalty killers. Jacobson forced a turnover, and Luke Mistelbacher picked up the puck and fed Baumuller in the high slot. The 18-year-old forward sniped his 37th of the season to put an exclamation mark on his return to the lineup.
With under a minute to go in the first, the Wheat Kings took their first lead. Bhathal led the break-in, feeding Grayson Burzynski as he joined the rush. Burzynski sold the shot, but instead fed it off to Surkan at the right circle, and the rookie quickly snapped home his 20th of the season.
Given another power play opportunity, however, the Hitmen answered. Andrei Molgachev picked up the puck at the left circle and did it all himself, walking into a shot through traffic to tie the game.
It took the Wheat Kings just over a minute and a half to respond. This time it was Surkan feeding Bhathal, spinning the puck out of the left corner and leaving it on Bhathal’s tape, with the 16-year-old cashing in from close range.
After the Wheat Kings missed on their first power play, however, the Hitmen fought back quickly. Keaton Jundt found the puck at the right circle, faked a drop pass, and snapped one low and hard through Ruzicka to tie the score again.
Early in a critical third period, the Wheat Kings took the lead back. Mistelbacher and Jacobson passed the puck back and forth again, but this time it was Lavoie jumping up into the play and beating Eric Tu, bouncing one off the post, off his skate, and in for the 4-3 lead.
Having already shown his set-up skills, Jacobson showed his sniper’s touch. He broke in up the right wing, dangled past a Hitmen defender, and quickly snapped a shot through Tu and in.
Another Hitmen power play would make things interesting. Maze would send another slick shot through traffic with the Hitmen at 6-on-4 and this would cut the Wheat Kings’ lead in half.
Once the Hitmen pulled the goaltender again, however, the Wheat Kings quickly restored their two-goal lead. Caleb Hadland won a battle on the right wing and sent Wilson into the clear, and he dodged a thrown stick to find the empty net and put Brandon up 6-4.
“It was a one-period game heading into the third and I’m really proud of the guys for coming out on top,” Murray said. “It’s not easy to beat this team here but the guys dug in and got it done.”
The win moves the Wheat Kings within two points of the Hitmen for the fourth and final home playoff spot. They get a day off to recuperate before they face the Rebels in Red Deer on Friday night at 8:00 Central Time.
