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WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings Bid Farewell to Season After Game Four Loss

April 4, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


The final game of the series between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Moose Jaw Warriors had a familiar theme for Brandon: a difficult start and a comeback effort that, while spirited, came up short.

Carter Klippenstein and Rylen Roersma scored, but the Wheat Kings fell 6-2 to the Moose Jaw Warriors. The loss ends the season for the Wheat Kings, who fall 4-0 in their first round series.

"The one thing that eluded us was having a full 60 minutes," said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. "There were big chunks of games, but this time of year you have to play a full 60 minutes. It is hard against a group like Moose Jaw, they do some amazing things with the puck.

A strange goal within an overall unusual first period got the Warriors on the board. Rilen Kovacevic tapped home a puck at the side of the net, but the net was only open because Lynden Lakovic was tangled up with Carson Bjarnason. The goal, however, was permitted to stand.

It took just a minute and six seconds for the Wheat Kings to respond. Dominik Petr fed the puck out front for Klippenstein to skate onto, and the rookie tipped home his first ever playoff goal.

Then, however, the Warriors got one of those bursts of offense that had plagued the Wheat Kings all series long. 21 seconds later they made it 2-1 off the rush on a snipe by Atley Calvert, then got a 3-1 lead as Lakovic snapped one home as the seas parted for him off the cycle. A quick shot from Denton Mateychuk from the left point completed a barrage of first-period goals for Moose Jaw.

In the second, the Warriors extended their lead. After a power play that should've been (Lucas Brenton delivered a vicious cross check to the numbers of Luke Shipley that went uncalled), Matthew Savoie snapped home his fifth of the series.

Following a good shift in the offensive zone, however, the Wheat Kings got that goal back. Hard work on the forecheck by Matteo Michels freed up the loose puck for Roersma, who spun and snapped home his second of the series.

The third period passed with no scoring, though the Wheat Kings had their net empty for over four minutes, until Jagger Firkus sank in an empty netter with 17.6 seconds to go.

With the loss, the Wheat Kings season comes to a conclusion. Moose Jaw will move on to face an opponent yet to be determined.

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