A wild third period boiled down to a heavyweight matchup in the closing minutes. The Calgary Hitmen’s third-ranked penalty kill was pinned against the Brandon Wheat Kings’ second-ranked power play for nearly two full minutes of six-on-four action.
The Wheat Kings are one of the best teams in the Western Hockey League on home ice and proved it once again. The Hitmen played a great game, but blew three two-goal leads, as they fell 6-5 in overtime Tuesday night at Westman Place.
Stelio Mattheos and Mark Kastelic fought earlier in the first period, with Kastelic picking up the slight edge. In the third period, the pair faced off in a crucial defensive draw for Kastelic and the Hitmen.
The Wheat Kings trailed 5-4 and pulled their netminder with just over two minutes remaining. Shortly after Logan Thompson left his crease, Andrew Fyten got called for high-sticking, sending one of the league’s best power plays to work.
Mattheos got the best of Kastelic this time, as the puck came back to Ty Lewis. His point shot went off Connor Gutenberg and took a home team bounce over to Linden McCorrister, who slapped it past a confused Nick Schneider, who was still tracking the original shot.
McCorrister’s sixth of the season was his third point on the evening and more importantly, forced overtime with 1:29 remaining in regulation.
The extra frame didn’t last long, as Lewis split the gap between Matteo Gennaro and Jakob Stukel, charging in on Schneider, beating him over the glove to complete the comeback.
The overtime win marked the first time this season the Wheat Kings won a game which they trailed after the first period.
For the Hitmen, it can’t be nice knowing they led 2-0, 4-2 and 5-3 at different moments. The six goals on Schneider tied a season-high, dating back to Sept. 29, when the Hitmen lost 6-5 to the Prince Albert Raiders in overtime.
The Hitmen led 5-3 in the third period, after Tristen Nielsen scored a pair — only one of which he appeared to have touched — and Stukel finished off a speedy two-on-one with Gennaro.
Picking up a secondary assist on Stukel’s 10th, was 17-year-old defenceman Layne Toder, a Elkhorn, Man. native. Playing his first-career WHL game in his home province, a large contingent of Toder fans made themselves heard when the goal scorers were announced.
November 14th is a productive date for Stukel. Two years ago, he recorded his first hat trick with the Hitmen, in a 4-3 win over the Tri-City Americans.
Stukel netted the opening goal of the game, when he banged in a third rebound opportunity on shots from Fyten and Vladislav Yeryomenko.
Stukel is one of the hottest Hitmen (6-11-3-0) scorers, as he now has four goals in his past three games and points in four-straight.
Yeryomenko has quietly been having a career season in his second year with the club.
The 46th overall pick in the 2016 CHL Import Draft picked up his second assist of the game when alternate captain Jake Bean snapped a shot from the left hash marks of the left circle past Thompson. Bean is also scorching, with points in nine of his last 11 games.
The Belarusian Yeryomenko has already matched his career-high in goals (6) and is only six points shy of eclipsing his total from last season, in which he played 62 games.
His blue line partner, Bean, was playing against his World Junior and Team WHL teammate, Kale Clauge.
Clauge, who is four days younger than Bean, had himself a nice game, too. He added to his league leading scoring for defencemen with four assists.
After being shutout in the first period, right winger Baron Thompson got his team going at the 7:12 mark when he chipped a loose puck that came out from the corner past Schneider.
Three and a half minutes later, Baron was in the giving mood, as he drew Hitmen rookie defender Andrew Viggars over to him on a rush, leaving former No. 1 overall Bantam Draft selection Mattheos wide open. Mattheos, who is nearly automatic in open space, faked stick side, working back over to the glove hand, to slide it past Schneider.
Gutenberg really kicked the Wheat Kings (12-6-0-1) comeback into overdrive, when the right-handed shot flew down the right wing, beating Schneider to a loose puck behind the net on a Hitmen power play, swiftly wrapping around the net and tucking in his fourth of the year. It was the third short-handed goal allowed by the Hitmen this season and the fourth of the sort pulled off by the Wheat Kings this season.
Mattheos tipped in his second of the game and 13th of the season, knocking down a waist-high shot, bouncing the puck through Schneider’s legs, to bring the Wheat Kings within one with 7:53 left in regulation.
It was the second-straight overtime loss to start their five-game eastern swing. There won’t be any time to rest on what could have been, as they take on the Regina Pats in a first-round playoff rematch from last spring.
The Pats (11-8-2-0) will be debuting newly acquired Cale Fleury, a Montreal Canadiens prospect who they traded for Monday afternoon with the Kootenay ICE in exchange for 18-year-old defenceman Jonathan Smart and 16-year-old forward Cole Muir, along with a second- and sixth round pick in the 2018 Bantam Draft.
The Hitmen return home Nov. 22 to host the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
