A tough second period in Prince Albert could’ve turned disastrous on the scoresheet for the Brandon Wheat Kings, but goaltender Jayden Kraus stood on his head with 19 saves. Kraus couldn’t keep the Raiders to the outside perpetually, however.
Kraus made 39 saves, and Luke Mistelbacher and Grayson Burzynski scored, but the Wheat Kings fell 5-2 to the Prince Albert Raiders. The final shots were 44-17 Prince Albert.
“They came at us hard and we were on our heels (in the second period),” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “We kind of panicked with our puck decisions and threw the puck away a lot. Anytime we had control we kind of lobbed it into the neutral zone and they came right back down our throats.”
The 11-forward seven-defenseman configuration for the Wheat Kings paid a dividend in the first period. Because of their setup, Prabh Bhathal ended up on a line with Mistelbacher and sent him into the clear with a high and virtually perfect backhand flip pass. Mistelbacher finished off the breakaway with a quick step to his forehand and a well-placed snapshot.
After the referees handed the Raiders a 5-on-3, however, the home team responded. Daxon Rudolph took the puck off the faceoff and, with plenty of room at 5-on-3, walked to the high slot and fired a shot bar-down to tie the game.
Kraus was sensational in the second period, but he couldn’t keep the Raiders off the board forever. A bad bounce sent the Raiders in on a 2-on-1, and while they didn’t convert on the initial attempt, Linden Burrett cut to the backhand and stuffed home the go-ahead goal moments later.
After killing off another Raiders 5-on-3, the Wheat Kings tied the game. Burzynski picked up a rolling puck and walked in to the high slot before sniping his eighth of the season.
The Raiders quickly retook the lead, however. After Braedan Cootes’s forecheck forced a turnover, he sent it out front to a wide open Riley Boychuk, who deked his way past Kraus and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
That was not, however, the last of the scoring for the Raiders. First, Rudolph shot for a rebound and got one, which Owen Corkish buried from close range. Then, Brandon Gorzynski flipped the puck up the middle to Brayden Dube, who pulled into the clear and flipped home his 19th.
The Wheat Kings have a chance to end their losing streak tomorrow when they travel to Saskatoon to face the Blades. Puck drop is 7:00.
