Keith Hershmiller
Eastern Division, Game Recap

Pats beat Wheat Kings 7-6 in a barnburner

Written by Kevin Shaw on

 

The Regina Pats picked up a much-needed 7-6 win on Wednesday at Westoba Place in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. Each team at one time or another had two-goal leads and an offside challenge led to a hat-trick being canceled.  Unfortunately, the win will be remembered for a late-game injury to Nate Danielson.

The Pats moved to 20-26-2-1 which is good for 43 points and moved to within four points of a playoff spot.

“It was a bit of a loose game,” Pats assistant coach Ken Schneider said. “I would admit that. But a poor start, a [really] poor start on our part. We’re showing out resilience that we showed on the road trip and I think this is just carry over from that.”

The Wheat Kings opened the scoring just over a minute in. The first of six goals combined in the opening twenty minutes.

A turnover in the Pats zone and the Wheat Kings take advantage of the lackadaisical play. and Brett Hyland made the Queen City Kids as he tucked home his 10th of the season past Pats starter Drew Sim 1:04 into the first period.

19-year-old Nolan Ritchie made it 2-0 as the Wheat Kings’ successful penalty kill gave Ritchie a clear-cut breakaway and he made no mistake as he put his 21st of the season five-hole past the Pat netminder just 4:49 into the game.

Stanislav Svozil cut the lead to one at 2-1 when he ripped a shot from the top of the right circle blocker-side past Wheat King overage goaltender Ethan Kruger at 8:22. Connor Bedard picked up an assist on Svozil‘s seventh goal of the season to extend his point streak to 13 games (13G-15A).

Hyland gave the Wheat Kings their two-goal lead back. The Pats get scrambling in their zone and he made them pay as he picked off a pass by a Pat and fired it past Sim‘s outstretched trapper. His 11th of the season at 12:07 made it 3-1 Brandon.

Easton Armstrong got the Pats back to within one when he scored his fifth of the season at 14:04. Bedard took the puck into the Wheat King zone and took it to the net, he was unsuccessful but Armstong followed it up got a shot off which was stopped by Kruger but was able to put the rebound past the Wheat King goalie to make it 3-2.

1:04 later, Tanner Howe tied the game with his 21st of the season when he did some clean up in front of the Wheat King net. The Pats’ Cole Carrier won the faceoff to Neithan Salame who feathered a pass to Parker Berge, Berge then let a point shot go that was stopped, and Howe buried the rebound to make it 3-3 at 15:08.

After a wild first period, the Pats came back from a pair of two-goal deficits to tie it both times and headed into the intermission tied up at 3-3. The Pats outshot the hometown Wheat Kings 14-10.

“We had a really strong second period,” Schneider said of the second period when the Pats rallied and took the lead. “We scored those goals in the blue paint tonight which was really great to see.”

Carson Bjarnason replaced Kruger in the Wheat Kings net at the start of the second period.

While on a four-minute powerplay, the Wheat Kings worked it around the Pats zone and Ritchie was johnny on the spot and buried his second of the game. He put home a rebound from directly in front of the Pats’ goal. His 22nd of the season gave Brandon a 4-3 lead 6:30 into the second.

Just over 10 minutes into the period, Howe buried his 22nd of the season. Luke Bateman took a point shot that was stopped by Bjarnason the rebound bounced out and off Braxton Whitehead in front where Howe was. He wired a backhand past the Wheat King goalie to tie it up at 4-4 10:37 into the second period.

Just over the blueline, Howe fed a nice pass up to Whitehead who fired home his fifth of the season to give the Pats their first lead of the contest 5-4 at 13:59 of the middle stanza.

Svozil one-timed a pass from Bedard and sniped his second of the game and eighth of the season past Bjarnason. The powerplay marker at 15:32 gave the Pats a two-goal lead.

Nate Danielson took advantage of the hometown bounce off the boards and put home his 19th of the season past Sim to pull the Wheat Kings back to within one at 6-5.

The second period was not quite as frantic as the first but the teams did combine for five more goals and 36 shots (23-13 Brandon) in the middle frame. The Pats carried a 6-5 lead into the second intermission but trailed on the shot clock 33-27.

Ritchie and the Wheat Kings thought that they scored and completed the hat-trick as he got past the Pat back checker and put his 23rd of the season over the glove of Sim at… of the third period.

But wait…

As the Wheat Kings and their faithful were celebrating, Pats play-by-play announcer Dante De Caria said that Pats Director of Hockey Operations Landon Watson scurried down to the Pats bench from up in the booth and got Brad Herauf to challenge the play as being offside.

Cue the Jeopardy theme.

And after a lengthy review…the result…No Goal. The Pats were still up 6-5.

Layton Feist blasted home his sixth of the season from high in the slot on a pass from Carrier. The goal came with four seconds left on a Pats powerplay to restore the two-goal lead at 7-5 at 11:12 of the third period.

A scary incident involving the Wheat Kings’ 17-year-old Danielson with 4:30 left in the third. As he went on the forecheck, he fell and as Pats defenseman Ryker Evans attempted a check on Danielson they both crashed hard into the boards. Evans was fine, Danielson needed some serious attention as he appeared to hit his head into the boards. Both athletic therapists and the Wheat King team doctor attended to him and they needed to stretcher him off the ice.

With just under 14 seconds left in regulation and with the net empty Riley Ginnell made it 7-6 with his 12th of the season as he popped the puck past a scrambling Sim.

“Tanner [Howe] doesn’t take very many nights off,” Schneider said of Howe’s two-goal, three-point performance. “The great thing about goal scorers like Tanner is he’s willing to go there, he goes where it’s not so much fun to be.”

The Pats managed to kill off the last 14 seconds and pick up a much-needed 7-6 win.

Each team had 13 shots in the third and the Wheat Kings held a 46-40 advantage at the end of 60 minutes.

The Pats went 2-for-4 on the powerplay while the Wheat Kings went 2-for-6.

Sim stopped 40 of 46 for the Pats in the win. Kruger stopped 11 of 14 in his 20 minutes of work. Bjarnason got the loss, making 22 saves on 26 shots in two periods of relief.

Patterings: Eastyn Mannix made his WHL debut for the Wheat Kings…Howe extended his point streak to 10 games (6G-9A)…Howe, Ritchie, and Salame were named the three stars…The Pats’ next action is Friday, March 4 when they play host to the Red Deer Rebels.