The Wheat Kings watched a lead slip away from them in the third period against an undermanned but determined Edmonton Oil Kings squad. No sooner had they lost the lead, however, than they got it right back and built on it en route to their sixth straight win.
Joby Baumuller scored twice, including the game winner, and Carter Klippenstein and Max Lavoie also scored as the Wheat Kings started their road trip with a 4-2 win. Filip Ruzicka was strong again with 32 saves on 34 shots.
“It wasn’t pretty by any means, but it’s been a wild ride and we’ve played a lot of hockey lately,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “We had a travel day yesterday and didn’t skate and I think that showed, but we found a way to get it done and that’s what good teams do.”
Though the Oil Kings had the better of the shots, it was the Wheat Kings with the only goal of the first period. Baumuller picked off a pass on the right wing, danced past a defenseman, and cut to the backhand, outwaiting Parker Snell for his 21st of the season.
As soon as the second period began, the Wheat Kings roared out of the gate. Off the opening faceoff, Caleb Hadland fed Brady Turko for a shot from the right circle, which produced a rebound for Klippenstein. The Minnesota Wild prospect, like Baumuller before him, made a move to his backhand and beat Snell to the far post.
Just 17 seconds later, however, the Oil Kings cut the lead in half. Ruzicka made the initial save on a point shot, but the Oil Kings found the puck in the right corner of the Wheat Kings’ zone and Kanjyu Gojsic bounced it off a Wheat King and in to make it 2-1.
After killing an Oil Kings’ power play, the Wheat Kings got a five-minute major advantage when Gojsic was hit with an attempt to injure penalty. But the Wheat Kings’ best chances came late in the power play and they were not able to break through.
A double dose of bad news for the Wheat Kings came in the third as a high-sticking double-minor cost them their power play, and the Oil Kings tied the game at four-on-four. Miroslav Holinka carved his way off the wall from the left wing, drove the slot, and fired a shot through a screen that slipped through.
But the Wheat Kings didn’t falter. On the ensuing penalty kill, Klippenstein and Baumuller went in 2-on-1, and Baumuller’s heavy shot was too much for Snell to handle as the puck trickled over the line and gave the Wheat Kings a lead they would never relinquish.
They weren’t done there either. Good work in the Oil Kings’ zone saw Jordan Gavin win the puck over to Baumuller, who fed it across to Lavoie at the left point. Lavoie sent a low, hard shot through traffic that found the back of the net and wrapped up the scoring.
The Wheat Kings win their sixth straight game with the victory and pack up to head down the road to Red Deer to face the Rebels. Puck drop in that game will be 7:00 local time, 8:00 Central.
