A total of 50 shots were taken between the Prince Albert Raiders and Brandon Wheat Kings on Friday night inside of Westoba Place.
More often than not, that number is the recipe for at least a couple of goals, but that wasn’t the case on this night.
Both Jiri Patera and Boston Bilous stole the show as only one goal was scored, but it was Patera who got the last punch in as he earned a 29-save shutout to fuel the Wheat Kings to another big win in the early days of 2020.
The offensive hero for the Wheat Kings in the 1-0 win was an unlikely source, but they’ll take it. Off a pass from Ben McCartney, Chad Nychuk scored his fourth goal of the season and it proved to be the only marker in the defensive battle between two teams that believe they have a team to contend for a title.
In a scoreless first, Patera made 11 saves while Bilous turned away seven shots.
The second period brought another 12 shots combined and a goal. Nychuk scored the game winner at the 10:52 mark. Patera made another seven stops in the frame while Bilous saved four.
Patera stood strong in the third, making 11 more saves.
Brandon has now moved above the .500 mark with the win. The team is 18-17-1-2 thanks to its hot play as of late. Brandon has won three straight and they’re 6-2-0-2 in their last 10.
Prince Albert, meanwhile, can’t buy a win. They have lost seven straight games, six of which have come in regulation. In their past 10 games, the Raiders are 2-7-1. Despite the struggles, the team is just two points behind Winnipeg for the top spot in the East Division. Prince Albert heads to Manitoba’s capital to play the ICE on Saturday and Sunday.
Brandon gets Saturday off before heading to Regina to play the Pats on Sunday inside of the Brandt Centre. After Sunday’s game, Brandon will play six of its following seven games at Westoba Place leading up to a trip to Alberta to end the month.
Wheat Tips:
- Neither team could get things going on the power play, mostly because of the play of Patera and Bilous. Prince Albert went 0-for-3 on the man advantage while Brandon went 0-for-6.
- On top of Nychuk’s winner, he also was tied for the team lead with three shots in the game.
- Brandon has now won three games in a row this season for the first time.
