Sports stats



WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings Give up Lead, Forced to Take Single Point in Edmonton

January 28, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


The Brandon Wheat Kings appeared determined to wrap up their road trip on a high note against the Edmonton Oil Kings. Then, very suddenly, they ran out of gas.

Matteo Michels, Roger McQueen, and Jayden Wiens scored, but the Wheat Kings fell 5-4 in overtime to Edmonton. Ethan Eskit made 26 saves in the loss.

"I thought our problems started at the end of the second period," said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. "We're up 4-1 with four minutes left and we're clipping along pretty good, then we take a retaliation penalty and we have the puck in complete control with 20 seconds left in the period and we can't get it out. Those come back to bite you."

Michels opened the scoring off the rush after Nolan Flamand gave him a perfect area pass to skate onto. Michels wasted no time corralling the puck and snapping it home to give the Wheat Kings the lead.

McQueen scored a thing of beauty on the power play to extend the lead for the Wheat Kings. Taking the feed from Luke Shipley in the neutral zone, he knew just what he wanted to do with it, driving the puck into the zone with speed and beating Kolby Hay to the far post to make it 2-0.

The Oil Kings bit into the Wheat Kings lead just as one of their power plays expired, but the Wheat Kings answered on a power play of their own when Wiens took a feed from Dominik Petr and one-timed it home.

Wiens picked up another power play goal off a goalmouth scramble. After Shipley sent the puck on net through traffic, Wiens found the rebound out of the scramble and cashed in.

The rest of the period, however, was tilted in the Oil Kings favor and they scored twice. First, Marshall Finnie scored on a power play to cut the lead in half. Then, with only 20 seconds to go, former Wheat King Eastyn Mannix slapped home his first WHL goal on a drive from the top of the left circle.

The Wheat Kings still held a lead going into the third but gave it up when Finnie scored his second of the game to force overtime. In overtime, Roan Woodward ended it with a snapshot from the left circle to complete the comeback for Edmonton.

The loss means the Wheat Kings go 0-for-3 on their road trip. They have a home game against the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, February 2.

Check out the Brandon Wheat Kings Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Brandon Wheat Kings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central