The Sunday matinee contest in the Regina Subway Hub had the Swift Current Broncos host the Brandon Wheat Kings.
The Wheat Kings (6-2-1-0) were looking to extend their winning streak to three games in the match-up against Swift Current. The Broncos (2-6-1-0) had been coming on as of late. They had collected points in their last three contests.
In their first meeting of the season, Brandon beat Swift Current 4-1 on March 18. Nolan Ritchie had three points (2G, A) to lead the way. Lynden McCallum and Reid Perepeluk each scored singles. Michael Farren replied for the Broncos.
Wheat Kings’ captain Braden Schneider returned to the lineup after a two-game absence.
Brandon scored five unanswered goals to beat Swift Current 5-2 at the Brandt Centre. Special teams were key as the Wheat Kings scored twice on the powerplay and killed off all of their penalty kills.
First period
Swift Current held the early edge in play thanks to a Brandon penalty. They held a slight advantage until Brandon got things together and they took over for the middle part of the frame. Solid game up until the halfway mark of the first with the shots even at 6-6 and score at 0-0.
In a back-and-forth first period neither team was able to find the back of the net. Each team put up 11 shots in the first period.
Second Period
The Broncos took over to start the second period. Michael Farren pounced on a rebound and beat Connor Ungar just 27 seconds into the frame.
Six minutes later Broncos defenseman Owen Williams gave the Broncos a 2-0 lead. He followed up on a shot and flipped the rebound past the Wheat King netminder.
Brandon grabbed the momentum back when Marcus Sekundiak scored Brandon’s first goal just a minute later. He ripped a shot top glove side over Isaac Poulter’s shoulder.
The Wheat Kings tied the evenly contested battle when Lynden McCallum scored. He converted a pass from behind the net. His powerplay marker tied the game at 2-2 with less than six minutes left in the period.
Riley Ginnell gave the Wheat Kings a 3-2 lead with another powerplay goal less than three minutes later. He tipped in a pass while standing just outside the crease giving Brandon their first lead of the game.
Brandon took a 13-10 shot lead that period and a 24-20 overall heading into the final 20 minutes.
Third Period
Halfway through the third period Chad Nychuk roofed a shot bar down past Isaac Poulter to extend the Wheat Kings lead to two.
The Broncos kept on battling but some penalty trouble late in the third took most of their time and momentum.
With 90 seconds left Ridly Greig added an empty netter to make it a 5-2 score and seal the deal.
Brandon outshot Swift Current 14-10 and 38-31 overall.
Just Notes
Brandon finished 2-for-7 on the powerplay and killed all five of the Broncos powerplays. Ungar made 29 saves in the Wheat King net and picked up the game’s first star. Nychuk had a pair of points (1G, 1A) for the Wheat Kings and was awarded the game’s second star. The Broncos’ Farren added a pair of points (1G, 1A) in the loss and garnered third-star honors.
