Brandon, MB – Rilen Kovacevic had one goal and four points Tuesday in Brandon to lead the Moose Jaw Warriors to a 5-4 shootout win over the Wheat Kings.
Throughout the first period, the Warriors’ forecheck did a great job hunting pucks and forcing turnovers inside the Brandon zone, leading to a 14-6 advantage on the shot clock.
Three and a half minutes into the game, Rilen Kovacevic rushed down the Brandon right boards. When the 20-year-old got into the corner, he tossed the puck through the middle of the Wheat King zone and to the left circle for Aiden Ziprick.
The 19-year-old defenceman snapped a shot over the glove of Ethan Eskit, his seventh of the season giving the Warriors an early 1-0 lead.
In the second period, the teams picked up the pace and tossed a lot of pucks towards both nets which led to seven goals in the frame.
The scoring started close to two minutes into the period when Marcus Nguyen scored a power-play goal for the Wheat Kings to tie the game at one. Four minutes later and with Moose Jaw on the man advantage, Rilen Kovacevic scored his team-leading 20th goal to put the Warriors back in the driver’s seat.
Less than a minute later, Brandon was able to tie the game at two on a goal from Giorgos Pantelas, and then just after the eight-minute mark, Caleb Hadland scored to give Brandon a 3-2 lead.
Just before the midway point of the period, Rilen Kovacevic had the puck along the Brandon left goal line and then tossed it to the top of the crease where Lynden Lakovic scored his 15th of the season, tying the game at three.
With five minutes to go in the second period, Brandon won a faceoff in the Moose Jaw zone and then set up Luke Shipley at the left blueline where his shot got back goalie Brady Smith to put the Wheat Kings up 4-3.
In the final moments of the period, the Warriors raced up the ice and drove across the Brandon line. A second away from the intermission, Lynden Lakovic was able to whistle a shot past the blocker of Ethan Eskit, tying the game at four.
Both teams generated good looks in the third period but were unable to snag a go-ahead goal. In overtime, again, both teams were able to get zone time and look at the net, but no one picked up a game-winner, sending the game to a shootout.
In the skills competition, Lynden Lakovic was the first shooter and found the back of the net, which ended up being the game-winning goal as Brady Smith stopped all three of the Wheat Kings shooters.
Lakovic finished with two goals and three points, Aidan Ziprick had a goal and two points, and Brady Smith made 39 saves.
Moose Jaw was 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Brandon outshot the Warriors 43-30.
The Warriors enter their Christmas break with a record of 8-19-3-1, they are 4-8-0-1 at home and 4-11-3 on the road.
They return to action on Friday, December 27 with their second trip of the season to Saskatoon. Their next home game is Saturday, December 28 when the Brandon Wheat Kings come to Moose Jaw for the first time this season.