WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings Roar Out Of Starting Gate To Beat Hurricanes

Published on February 9, 2024 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


After their 7-2 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings, the Brandon Wheat Kings' only complaint stemmed from their start. They had no such complaints after their win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

Roger McQueen and Rylen Roersma scored in the first period, and Jayden Wiens added one in the second before Roersma added an empty netter in the third in a 4-1 win. Carson Bjarnason stopped 21 of 22 shots he faced in the victory.

"We talked about the fact that they (Lethbridge) had lost a couple in a row and we knew that they would come out hard and we had to be at our best because we had to expect a push from them," said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. "I thought our guys did a really good job of that."

It took a couple of tries for the Wheat Kings to open the scoring, but McQueen finally broke through. After multiple shots in close and a couple of good saves by Harrison Meneghin, McQueen finally found himself staring at an open cage and calmly slid it home.

Late in the first period, Brett Hyland put his setup skills to work again, sending a picture-perfect pass across the zone to a streaking Roersma. The Lethbridge native cut to the backhand and lifted home his 18th of the campaign to put the Wheat Kings ahead by a pair going into the first intermission.

A breakdown in the neutral zone gave the Wheat Kings their third goal of the game. With Caleb Hadland tied up with a defenseman, a lane suddenly opened for Wiens. He broke in alone and snapped one low-glove on Meneghin for the 3-0 lead.

On a breakaway of their own, the Hurricanes answered back. Miguel Marques busted in alone, opened up the five-hole, and tucked it in on the backhand.

Through the third, the Wheat Kings held the Hurricanes largely to the outside, limiting them to just six shots on goal and not allowing them to bite into the lead. Finally, with the Hurricanes net empty, Hyland picked up his third assist of the night by setting up Roersma in the slot for the empty netter.

The win will feel good briefly for the Wheat Kings as they have to get right back to work on the road against the Prince Albert Raiders in Prince Albert tomorrow night. Puck drop is 7:00.

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2024


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