Wheat Kings rally but fall to Blades in overtime

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This article was published 06/12/2022 (749 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A dramatic comeback wasn’t quite in the cards for the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday night.

Jake Chiasson tied the game up for the visitors with 10.1 seconds left in regulation, but Conner Roulette completed a four-point night with an overtime snipe to give the Saskatoon Blades (20-5-0-0) a 5-4 win over the Wheat Kings at the SaskTel Centre.

The loss was the first for general manager Marty Murray since taking over the head coaching duties for the Wheat Kings (10-16-2-0). He won home games over the Prince Albert Raiders and the Swift Current Broncos last weekend.

While Murray was disappointed that the Wheat Kings couldn’t come away with a full two points, he was pleased by how they played after falling behind early to one of the top teams in the Western Hockey League.

“We found a way to hang in there,” Murray said.

“The guys stuck with it and kept things simple. I think our guys would agree that it wasn’t our best game in terms of our overall energy, but we found a way to make plays at important times.”

Calder Anderson and Brett Hyland led the way on offence for the Wheat Kings with a goal and an assist each. Rylen Roresma also scored and Nick Jones made 25 saves.

Roulette recorded a pair of goals and two assists in the triumph. Jayden Wiens, Justin Lies and Tyler Parr also scored for the Blades, while Ethan Chadwick turned aside 16 shots.

The Blades took the lead at the 1:56 mark of the first period when Roulette made a nifty pass to a wide-open Lies, who easily potted his fifth goal of the campaign.

Roulette would double up Saskatoon’s advantage midway through the frame on a top-corner snipe over the right shoulder of Jones. The play was initially waived off by the refs — they thought that the puck had hit the crossbar — but was confirmed a good goal following a video review.

Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick Brandon Lisowsky was inches away from giving the Blades a 3-0 advantage with three minutes to go in the first as his breakaway attempt beat Jones, but rang off of the iron.

The Wheat Kings capitalized on their first quality chance of the night with 1:09 left on the clock in the opening frame. Anderson intercepted a pass by Vaughn Watterodt, raced down the ice and lifted a shot over the right arm of Chadwick.

Saskatoon kept up its offensive attack to start the second period, as Watterodt and Egor Sidorov just missed the net on gorgeous opportunities in front.

The Blades were awarded for their efforts at the 8:13 mark of the frame when Wong made a pass off the boards to Parr, who raced in on a breakaway for his fourth of the year.

The Wheat Kings cut the lead back down to one with 4:04 left on the clock as Roersma tipped in an Andrei Malayvin point shot, but the Blades moved back out in front by a pair a couple of minutes later when Wiens banged home a loose puck at the side of the net.

Brandon responded just 69 seconds into the third when Hyland intercepted a clearing attempt from Blades defenceman Charlie Wright and slid a backhanded shot through Chadwick’s five-hole.

The Blades challenged the play for an offside entry, but the goal stood due to inconclusive video evidence.

While the Wheat Kings didn’t have a ton of quality chances in the third period, they were able to tie things up in the final seconds of regulation.

With an extra attacker on the ice, Nolan Ritchie found Chiasson in front and the Edmonton Oilers draft pick slammed the puck home to force overtime.

Roulette’s game-winning marker was eerily similar to the one he scored in the first. Referee Ty Skene waived the play off as he thought the puck hit the crossbar, but it was confirmed as a good goal following a quick video review.

Brandon is on the road again tonight for a meeting with the Raiders.

“I think there’s some confidence that we can take from our finish tonight going into Prince Albert,” Murray said. “If we can combine that with how we played in the two games last weekend at home, we’ll be headed in the right direction.”

They’ll return at Westoba Place Saturday for a 7 p.m. clash with the Spokane Chiefs.

ICINGS: Charlie Elick, Ben Thornton, Zach Turner, Caleb Hadland and Hayden Chaloner did not dress for the Wheat Kings on Tuesday, while the Blades were without the services of Josh Pillar, Tait Humphries, Tomas Zizka and Smyth Rebman … According to the Western Hockey League’s weekly report, Wheat Kings defenceman Owen Harris has been reassigned to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Swan Valley Stampeders. The 17-year-old from Wawanesa had a goal and three assists in 66 games over the last two seasons with Brandon, who selected him in the third round of the 2019 draft … Wheat Kings forward Nate Danielson extended his point streak to 11 games on Wednesday.

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

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