BRANDON -- The Moose Jaw Warriors will undoubtedly look to stay out of the penalty box and keep a much closer eye on Chase Surkan the next time they face the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Brandon scored five times on the power play and Surkan racked up a hat trick and five points as the Wheat Kings went on to an 8-4 victory in Western Hockey League in Brandon on Sunday afternoon.
Moose Jaw falls to 7-6-1-0 on the season and remain in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, while Brandon improves to 4-7-1-0 and are tied for eighth.
The Warriors got off to a great start and had a handful of good scoring chances in the early minutes, but Brandon goaltender Filip Ruzicka would make a handful of big saves to keep the game scoreless.
Moose Jaw goaltender Matthew Hutchison would come up with the saves of the period, though, sprawling in his crease to get a glove on shot by Brady Turko and then reaching to stop Nicholas Johnson on the rebound midway through the frame.
Brandon would receive the first power play of the game with 6:03 remaining in the period, and they’d capitalize. Luke Mistelbacher took a feed into the slot from Surkan and put home a shot five-hole for the 1-0 lead with 5:04 to play in the first.
The Warriors had a handful of great scoring chances in the final 30 seconds of the period, taking advantage of their first power play of the game to get four shots in close as time ran down.
Moose Jaw would have 17 shots in the period, Brandon 12.
The Wheat Kings took another penalty early in the second period and the Warriors would end up with a lengthy five-on-three power play, but they’d be unable to capitalize and Brandon held on to their one-goal lead.
As it turns out, that would mark a huge momentum swing in the game.
A minute after the second penalty ended, the Wheat KIngs struck again.
Surkan stripped the pick from a Warriors defenceman and found Jaxon Jacobson alone in the corner, and his backhand pass to the slot for Mistelbacher resulted in a one-timer goal and a 2-0 lead with 3:37 gone.
The Warriors would get that one back three minutes later. Steven Steranka sent a no-look backhand pass from behind the net out to Jan Trefny in front, and the rookie Czech import would score his first career WHL goal to get Moose Jaw within one.
Another Brandon power play led to their third goal, as Surkan finished off a slick passing play with Jordan Gavin and Grayson Burzynski for the 3-1 lead with 7:05 remaining.
Burzynski then made it a three-goal edge, pinching in from the blueline to put home a rebound off a Brabh Bhathal shot from the side of the net. The goal at 8:46 marked the end of the game for Hutchison, who gave way to Kyle Jones after allowing four goals on 21 shots in 28:46
The Wheat Kings weren’t done there, as Surkan struck again on the power play with 11:28 gone, scoring his fourth point of the game on a back-door tip in from Jacobson.
The Warriors would escape without any further damage despite putting Brandon on the power play again late in the period, and the Wheat Kings would end up outshooting Moose Jaw 23-10 in the frame.
Despite Brandon’s power play being on an obvious roll, the Warriors couldn’t stay out of the penalty box, and the Wheat Kings would score their fourth on the man advantage with 4:04 gone in the third.
Surkan finished off his hat trick and took over the WHL goal-scoring lead with his 12th goal of the campaign, setting up in front of the Warriors net and tipping home a pass to the top of the crease from Jacobson.
Mathieu Lajoie would get one back for Moose Jaw with just over six minutes to go, scoring his first WHL goal on a pass to the front of the net by Landen McFadden.
Mistelbacher then finished off his hat trick, continuing his career as a thorn in the Warriors side with his ninth goal of the season with 7:36 gone in the third.
The Warriors power play had a chance to go back to work midway through the period, and Connor Schmift would make it a 7-3 game when his shot from the high slot into a scrum found the back of the net.
Another Moose Jaw power play with just over six minutes remaining saw Lajoie pick up his second of the game, getting to the front of the net and tipping a shot by Riley Thorpe five-hole with 5:11 to play in the game.
Brandon received their final power play with two minutes remaining and would score their final goal, with Dylan Ronald hammering home a one-timer from Jordan Gavin with 30 seconds left.
Jones ended up with 24 saves for the Warriors as Brandon had 48 shots in total. Ruzicka stopped 39 in taking the win.
Moose Jaw is now off until Saturday, Nov. 1 when they travel to Prince Albert to face the Raiders. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.
