Wheat Kings even things up at their home away from home

Above all else, home ice has played the biggest factor in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal tilt between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Medicine Hat Tigers.

Even if that home ice wasn’t exactly a team’s home rink.

Playing away from home at the Credit Union Place, the Wheat Kings defended the ideology of home ice by skating to a 5-2 victory Wednesday night over the Tigers.

As is always the case this time of year, the Wheat Kings were displaced from the friendly confines of Keystone Arena, to accommodate the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, which began two nights ago.

Throw two games in their alternative home digs, the Wheat Kings haven’t seemed to mind whatsoever.

For the second-straight game, 20-year-old netminder Logan Thompson was scratched from the lineup. Thompson was lifted from the third period of Game 2 in Medicine Hat.

Starting for the second-straight evening was the 1999-born Dylan Myskiw with the affiliated Ethan Kruger serving as his backup.

Myskiw showed that he was capable of playing meaningful games in the final stretch of games in the regular season and has filled in nicely for his injured teammate. This evening, he turned his best game of the weekend with a 38-save performance to even up the series 2-2.

Ben McCartney, who is having a fantastic series for the Wheat Kings, skated down the left wing and swung around a diving Tiger defender and flipped a pass to the front of the net but it glanced off affiliated defencemen Dan Baker. The deflection landed right on the stick of Daniel Bukac, who ripped a shot of the left post and in to give the Wheat Kings a 1-0 late in the first period.

Ben McCartney

McCartney now has four points in four games after scoring 12 points in 51 regular season games during his first full season with the big club.

Slightly move than one minute later, Stelio Mattheos raced into the Tigers’ zone, toe-dragged his way to the centre of the slot a ripped a shot past Michael Bullion, who was making his first start of the series.

After finishing 13th in the WHL with 43 regular season goals, it took until Game 4 before Mattheos found the back of the net.

With Ryan Chyzowski in the box in the second period for tripping, James Shearer’s one-timer attempt from Evan Weinger below the goal line was stopped. Crashing the net was Cole Reinhardt, who whacked in his first goal of the series.

After only chalking up seven shots in the first period, the Tigers got their act in gear in the second b firing 17 shots on net.

Josh Williams saw his second goal of the series fall when he was the right guy at the right spot at the 16:59 mark of the second stanza.

David Quenneville’s point shot was gloved down by Caiden Daley. Scooping up the loose puck was Williams, who spun and pulled the trigger to sneak one past Myskiw.

Linden McCorister started the third period by picking off a high-risk pass from Tyler Preziuso right in front of Bullion. Making a quick move, he was able to find some space and tuck in his first of the series.

The Tigers answered three minutes later, the playoffs leading sniper was back at it, when Mark Rassell ripped home an unassisted marker for his fifth of the postseason.

Rassell is now tied with Morgan Geekie and Michael Rasmussen with five goals.

Midway through the third, Gunnar Wegleitner chipped in his first of the playoffs for the Wheat Kings to put the Tigers to bed once and for all.

The series now shifts back to Medicine Hat, where Game 5 is slated for March 30 (7:30 MDT) at the Canalta Centre.

While the scores themselves haven’t been that close or captivating, having the series tied at two after four games is exactly how many Western Hockey League fans imagined this series would pan out.

The biggest takeaway from this game was that the Wheat Kings effort did ensure at least one playoff game will be at the Keystone Centre this postseason, at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is set to wrap up March 31, one day before puck drop in Game 6.