A heartbreaking home ice loss at the Sportsplex on Sunday afternoon to end the league title aspirations for the Brandon AAA Midget Wheat Kings.
Brandon gave up three straight goals including the game-tying marker with 18 seconds left in the second period en route to a 4-3 loss against the Eastman Selects in the deciding game of their league semifinal.
"We were so close to taking it. We just needed one more and we would have been good to go. It was tough and we just couldn’t bounce back," said captain Duncan Campbell. "We have a two-goal lead and we need to protect it. They got lucky, they squeaked in, they rolled in, none went in clean. I’m still in disbelief that the season is over."
Campbell, Bradley Schoonbaert and James Shearer did the goal scoring for Brandon, who finished in top spot in the regular season standings.
"Sometimes it doesn’t always go how you want. I’m so proud of these guys and we accomplished so much, but just couldn’t get it done," said Schoonbaert.
"I said to the guys that it’s pretty evident that you should go home and hug your parents because they’ve raised such great people and such highly skilled players. They’ve given us some ‘wow’ moments all winter long," said coach Ken Schneider.
Eastman advances to meet the Winnipeg Wild in the championship final.
