It was the epitome of what has become a strange and difficult year.
The Brandon Wheat Kings were awarded the Subway Cup Wednesday as the first place finishers in the W-H-L’s East Division “Dubble”…before the final game of the Hub was played and after they lost their last game in Regina by a 5-2 score to the Saskatoon Blades!
Captain Chase Wouters (pictured), playing in his 280th and final game in a Saskatoon jersey, broke a 2-2 tie late in the second period and added an assist. Following the game, Blades’ president and general manager Colin Priestner told Wouters…and a Zoom media availability…that his number 44 would be retired, never to be worn by another Blades’ player!
Fellow Blades’ overagers Wyatt McLeod and Caiden Daley chipped in…McLeod with the game’s opening goal and Daley with an assist…while goaltender Nolan Maier back-stopped Saskatoon to their third win in four meetings with the Wheaties, stopping 35 shots for his 12th victory of the “Dubble.”
The triumph capped the Bridge City Bunch’s “Dubble” experience with a 16-5-3 record, good for third place behind the 18-4-2 Wheat Kings and 18-5-1 Winnipeg ICE. The Blue and Gold’s win snapped Brandon’s winning streak at seven games.
Colton Dach added two insurance goals for the Blades in the third period while rookie Brandon Lisowsky had the other Saskatoon tally. Lynden McCallum scored both goals for Brandon, on the power play, giving him a W-H-L-leading 21 goals in 24 games…nine of them on the man advantage. McCallum scored the Wheaties’ last six goals of the Hub over the final four-and-a-half periods of play. Following is the official game summary from the W-H-L…..
Brandon Wheat Kings 2 at Saskatoon Blades 5 – Status: Final
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 – Brandt Centre – Regina, SK
Brandon 0 2 0 – 2
Saskatoon 1 2 2 – 5
1st Period-1, Saskatoon, Wyatt McLeod 3 (Lisowsky, Wright), 13:59. Penalties-Stevenson Sas (cross checking), 1:31; Wright Sas (tripping), 5:21; Nychuk Bdn (interference), 10:09.
2nd Period-2, Saskatoon, Lisowsky 8 (Wouters, Daley), 0:51. 3, Brandon, McCallum 20 (Greig, Ritchie), 11:59 (PP). 4, Brandon, McCallum 21 (Greig, Nychuk), 17:56 (PP). 5, Saskatoon, Wouters 10 (Rhinehart), 18:38. Penalties-Ginnell Bdn (hooking), 1:50; Wyatt McLeod Sas (tripping), 11:33; Dach Sas (tripping), 13:19; Ginnell Bdn (interference), 15:10; Dach Sas (tripping), 16:29.
3rd Period-6, Saskatoon, Dach 10 (Crnkovic), 15:55 (PP). 7, Saskatoon, Crnkovic 11 18:31 (EN). Penalties-Salame Bdn (high sticking), 4:11; Salame Bdn (holding), 15:12.
Shots on Goal-Brandon 14-12-11-37. Saskatoon 7-12-9-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Brandon 2 / 5; Saskatoon 1 / 5.
Goalies-Brandon, Ungar 5-2-1-0 (27 shots-23 saves). Saskatoon, Maier 12-3-1-1 (37 shots-35 saves).
A-1
Referees-Adam Bloski (16), Bob Millette (61).
Linesmen-Lucas Nagel (170), Ryan Lundquist (106).
