Down they might’ve been, but the Brandon Wheat Kings proved they were never out.
Jaxon Jacobson had the hat trick, and Joby Baumuller scored and set up Cruz Jim’s overtime winner as the Wheat Kings erased a 4-1 third period deficit to beat the Prince Albert Raiders 5-4. Filip Ruzicka made 34 saves in the victory.
“I think it’s a testament to our character,” said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. “It would’ve been easy to fold the tents there and just feel sorry for ourselves, but we dug in there. Our captain led the way, we had a huge third period, and you could feel the excitement on the bench.”
A bouncing puck, well corralled by Alisher Sarkenov, led to the Raiders opening the scoring. He found the puck hopping about in the Wheat Kings’ slot, Sarkenov spun and fired, finding the top corner to make it 1-0 for the visitors.
After a successful penalty kill in the second, the Wheat Kings nonetheless surrendered the next goal. Malaki Martin broke in and deked to his backhand before lifting a shot quickly over the shoulder of Ruzicka.
On their first power play of the game, the Wheat Kings answered. Jacobson took a handoff from Ruzicka and did the rest himself, going end-to-end and slipping a backhand shot through the five-hole of Steele Bass to cut the Raiders’ lead to one.
Early in the third, however, the Raiders restored the two-goal lead and then stretched it to three. First, just 21 seconds in, Sarkenov found another loose puck in the slot and sent it through Ruzicka’s five-hole and in. Then, just four seconds into a power play, the Raiders teed up Brandon Gorzynski for a one-timer from the right circle to make it 4-1.
In just one period, the Wheat Kings would erase that three-goal deficit. It started with Jacobson, as the captain stickhandled deftly in front and somehow made enough space for himself to fire the puck past Bass.
Baumuller kept the offensive run going. Cam Allard kept the puck onside and sent the puck down behind the Raiders’ net, where Brett Wilson found it. Wilson fed it out front, and Baumuller made no mistake from in close.
With just 3:39 to go, Jacobson completed the hat trick and tied the game. He fought through a backcheck, deked out a defenseman and cut to the slot before sliding a backhander home for his third of the contest.
It was Jim who salted the game away with an overtime winner for his first in the WHL. Baumuller won a battle on the right wing, drove his way into the Raiders’ zone, and flipped it to the middle for Jim, who buried it in close to complete the comeback.
With some time to catch their breath, the Wheat Kings remain on home ice as they host the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday.
