Photo credit - wheatkings.com

Greig sends bears flying, Wheat Kings hammer Warriors

The Moose Jaw Warriors hit the road on Friday as they made their way to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings. In the end, it was a trip that Moose Jaw will certainly want to forget.

On Teddy Bear Toss night, the Wheat Kings hammered the Warriors, 11-1, inside of Westoba Place which featured a near sell-out crowd as it often does for the annual Teddy Bear toss game.

Luka Burzan had a career night with three goals and he added three assists as Brandon gave their fans a ton to cheer about and they picked up two points in the process.

“We played a full 60 minutes and we stuck to our plan,” said Luka Burzan after the game courtesy of wheatkings.com. “We used our speed and got pucks behind their defence.

(Photo credit – wheatkings.com) Fans were treated to quite the performance on Friday by their hometown team.

It didn’t take Brandon long to score the games’ first goal. On the power play just 2:59 into the contest, Ridly Greig sent thousands of teddy bears flying onto the ice surface inside of Westoba Place with his 10th goal of the campaign.

“It was a pretty cool experience to score that goal, it felt great,” said Ridly Greig after the game. “It was a surreal moment.”

Just 46 seconds later, Luka Burzan scored his first of the night as Brandon went up 2-0 less than four minutes into the contest.

“That next goal was important. I told our line that we needed to stay focused after Ridly scored that first goal,” said Burzan. “It was big for us.”

Up 2-0, Brandon went back on the power play and they capitalized again. Ridly Greig scored his second of the game at the 4:30 mark. Brandon scored three goals just 1:31 apart and they didn’t stop there.

At the 9:04 mark, Luka Burzan scored his second of the period to make it 4-0 for Brandon.

Before the period was over, Brandon struck again and it was once again on the power play. With 4:33 left, Lynden McCallum notched his 13th of the campaign as Brandon led 5-0 after 20.

Moose Jaw would respond 5:55 into the second with a goal off the stick of Tate Popple. However, that was Moose Jaw’s first and only goal and Brandon wasn’t even close to being done.

9:20 into the second, Burzan recorded his hat-trick as Brandon went up 6-1. Ben McCartney would keep the party going with his 13th of the season at the 16:49 mark. Then just 24 seconds later, Cole Reinhardt made it 8-1 for Brandon after 40.

Cole Reinhardt would score his second of the game and 21st of the season, 8:19 into the third. That set things up for Jonny Lambos who scored his fourth with 10:13 left as the Wheat Kings hit the double-digit mark.

With 2:14 left, the game was capped off perfectly as Marcus Kallionkieli scored his first-ever Western Hockey League goal.

Brandon improved to 14-15-1-2 with the win. Moose Jaw, meanwhile, dropped to 10-17-1.

Wheat Tips:

  • Four Wheat Kings had at least three points led by Luka Burzan who had six.
  • Brandon went 3-for-4 on the power play and they didn’t take one penalty all game.
  • Jiri Patera made 22 saves on the night.
  • Brandon has earned points in four straight games.