Wheat Kings Down Rebels In Game 2
April 24, 2016 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release
Brandon, MB. - The Brandon Wheat Kings have taken a 2-0 lead in the Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Final.
Nolan Patrick scored twice, including the winner with just over five minutes remaining in the third period, as the Wheat Kings scored an exciting 6-4 victory over the visiting Red Deer Rebels in game two of their best of seven series.
Patrick's game winner capped off a flurry of action that saw the lead change twice and the two teams combine for four goals over a span of 3:53 midway through the third period.
After dominating the second, outscoring the Rebels 19-8 and grabbing a 3-2 lead, the Wheat Kings saw their one goal lead evaporate when Red Deer scored back to back goals in the third - 57 seconds apart - stunning the "Standing Room Only" crowd of over 5,300.
The Red Deer lead didn't last long though as Tyler Coulter picked up a loose puck in the crease, muscled his way behind the net and then beat Rebels' netminder Rylan Toth on a wraparound.
Coulter's goal tied the scored and set the stage for Patrick's game winner - a wicket wrist shot beating Toth on the glove side with 5:31 to play.
Tim McGauley in the first, Kale Clague in the second and John Quenneville into the empty net rounded out the scoring for the Wheat Kings, who got a four assists from Jayce Hawryluk.
"It was a real close game," Brandon coach and general manager Kelly McCrimmon told Perry Bergson of the Brandon Sun. "I liked our first period a lot and I thought our second period was the best of the series. The only thing I didn't like at the end of the second was the score. We played awfully well to be only leading by one goal. We expected a push in the third, which they gave us."
Haydn Fleury, Colton Bobyk, Luke Philp and Jake DeBrusk scored in a losing cause for the Rebels, who were outshot 41-33 on the night.
The series will now shift to Red Deer for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and Hawryluk is expecting more of the same.
"It was a full battle, right to the end this weekend. Both games were tight and both teams played well. It was nice to come out on top both nights."
The Wheat Kings, who are in the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight year, are meeting Red Deer in the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The Rebels, who last played in the WHL's Final Four in 2004, are hosting the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup next month.
This year's playoffs are a presentation of Sunrise Credit Union, Montana's Barbecue and Bar, The Brandon Sun and Precision Toyota.
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Western Hockey League Stories from April 24, 2016
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- Wheat Kings Down Rebels In Game 2 - Brandon Wheat Kings
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- Thunderbirds Get Late Goal to Take 2-0 Series Lead - Kelowna Rockets
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