Photo by Brandi Crowe
Brandon, MB (CKLQ) – Luka Burzan (3G-2A) recorded his 2nd career hat-trick as the Brandon Wheat Kings beat Seattle 7-3 on Friday night.
The line of Burzan, Stelio Mattheos (2A) and Cole Reinhardt (2G-1A) combined for ten points on the night as the offense finally found some confidence.
For the second straight game, the Wheat Kings opened the scoring. Cole Reinhardt broke through the Seattle defenders and snapped home his 8th of the season to give Brandon an early lead. The powerplay goal was the first for the Wheat Kings in three games.
Moments later, Luka Burzan would find a loose puck and bank it in off a Seattle forward to give Brandon a 2-0 lead prior to the media timeout of the first period.
Seattle would get one back on the powerplay. Noah Philp fired a shot through a screen that fooled Jiri Patera, who was making his first start since returning from the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Patera would finish the night with 37 saves.
The Wheat Kings broke the game open with a four-goal second period capped off with Luka Burzan’s 2nd career WHL hat-trick. The Wheat Kings offensive explosion chased Cole Schwebius from the Seattle goal after scoring 4 goals on 13 shots.
Seattle would chip away at the Brandon lead, scoring twice including the second of the night for Noah Philp but it was a close as they would come.
Brandon’s win snapped a four-game losing streak and moves them to 16-14-3-3 on the season. The win was also just the 2nd regular season victory over Seattle in the last six seasons.
Saturday is a travel day for the Wheat Kings who will head to Saskatoon to take on the Blades in a matinee affair. (4:00 on QCountry Radio)
SCORING SUMMARY
1st PERIOD
BWK – Cole Reinhardt (6) (Schneider, Hartje) 3:40 PPG
BWK – Luka Burzan (20) (Unassisted) 9:21
SEA – Noah Philp (12) (Kubicek, Mount) 11:07 PPG
Shots: 15-10 Seattle
2nd PERIOD
BWK – Connor Gutenberg (10) (McCorrister) 1:12
BWK – Luka Burzan (21) (Reinhardt, Wytinck) 4:32
BWK – Cole Reinhardt (9) (Hartje, Burzan) 9:49
BWK – Luka Burzan (22) (Gutenberg, Mattheos) 13:59 PPG
Shots: 16-14 Brandon
3rd PERIOD
SEA – Brecon Wood (2) (Carpendale, Philp) 3:46
BWK – Chase Hartje (4) (Burzan, Mattheos) 4:36
SEA – Noah Philp (13) (Kubicek) 6:49
Final Shots: 40-35 Seattle
