Through forty minutes, the Brandon Wheat Kings and Portland Winterhawks had played a remarkably even game. The final twenty, however, were anything but even.
Nolan Flamand, Dyland Ronald, and Jaxon Jacobson all scored but the Wheat Kings fell 6-3 to the Winterhawks. Carson Bjarnason stopped 37 shots in the loss.
“They just wore us down,” said head coach and GM Marty Murray. “They out-skated us. They play a really relentless style of hockey and we didn’t back that up, especially in the third period.”
A defensive breakdown left the Winterhawks with a great chance in front, and with the wrong guys left alone, they made good on it. Kyle Chyzowski fed the puck across the crease to his right, where Alex Weiermair was waiting for the tap-in.
Off the rush, however, the Wheat Kings responded with a tap-in of their own. Matteo Michels and Carter Klippenstein worked the puck over the line quickly, and Klippenstein sent it back door to Flamand for the tying goal.
Michels was at it again, off the cycle to give the Wheat Kings the lead. He left the puck at the right point for Merrek Arpin, who ripped a shot through traffic that pinballed all the way back to Ronald at the left point. Ronald walked the line and sent his shot through traffic and in.
After a bevy of chances at both ends, including a power play each, the Winterhawks tied the score, as Ryder Thompson tipped home a shot pass from the blue line. Then, the Winterhawks took their second lead of the evening as Reed Brown made a move to his backhand from the slot and lifted one past Bjarnason.
It took the Wheat Kings only 40 seconds to respond, however. Luke Shipley fired one on goal from the right circle that produced a big rebound for Jacobson, who made no mistake from his backhand, tying the game at three.
The third, however, was all Winterhawks. It started with Weiermaier being left alone in front again, and cashing in again with a perfect shot to the top corner.
Two more Winterhawks tallies, each off funny bounces, put the game out of reach. First, a shot from inside the blueline hit Ronald in the shoulder, rolled up in the air, and slipped by Bjarnason. Then, while they were on the power play, the Wheat Kings dove back to try to break up a rush, only for the puck to bounce off one of their backcheckers and in.
The Wheat Kings will hop on a bus tomorrow morning and begin their trek west for the longest road trip of the season. First up are the Calgary Hitmen at 3:00 Central Time on Sunday afternoon.
