After playing three games in three nights last weekend, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings started another three in three stretch Thursday night against the Nipawin Hawks. In a late game comeback, the Red Wings would get the win in a shootout 3-2.
The two teams would play a fairly tight checking game through most of the first period, a decent amount of shots but most from not too dangerous areas. On the man advantage halfway through the period, the Red Wings looked good with four shots, but nothing in the back of the net.
After another failed powerplay with three minutes left, Carter Wickenheiser would start the play that gave the Red Wings the lead with a breakout pass to centre to Kirk Mullen, who stopped the puck with his skate but continued forward, drawing the defencemen with him and opening a lane for Riley See down the right side. He'd fire a wrist shot past the glove of Reid Lalonde to give the Red Wings the lead with less than a minute to play in the first.
After 1: Red Wings 1 - 0 Hawks, shots 12-10 Red Wings
After their third straight powerplay came two minutes into the period, the Red Wings would start to make a trail to the penalty box of their own. Matt Reidy was called for high sticking at the eight minute mark, and once his penalty was killed he would immediately get called for boarding when he re-entered the play. That's when the highlight of the night came when at the end of the second powerplay, the Hawks would find the puck in a scramble and send it cross crease for a perfectly timed onetimer, but a sprawling Dazza Mitchell kicked over to his left and corralled the puck with his elbow to keep the lead.
After Ethan Whillans wired a wrist shot off the post so hard the net nearly came off its pegs, the Hawks would tie the game however on a shot around a screen from Joel Mabin with three minutes left in the period, and then again on their third powerplay of the period when Rylan Lefebvre tucked in a rebound, and the Red Wings would enter the third period down a goal.
After 2: Red Wings 1 - 2 Hawks, shots 10-6 Hawks in the period, 20-18 Hawks overall
Another penalty would start off the third period when Ian Maier nabbed for a trip, but the Wings would kill that off and start to go on the offensive. They wouldn't score on their first powerplay of the period, but the momentum generated by few great shots would see Whillans fire a wrist shot that bounced off Lalonde's pad and hung in the slot where Simon Pollock was able to crash the net for the rebound and tuck the puck in the back of the net, Braigh LeGrandeur picking up an assist on the play as well.
Another powerplay for the Red Wings would come moments later, but again they would cycle the puck well and generate four shots on the man advantage, but still no reward. But they would be in tough for the overtime to come.
After 3: Red Wings 2 - 2 Hawks, shots 8-6 Red Wings in the period, 26-26 overall
The Red Wings would get one shot in overtime before Blake Norris was called for hooking one minute in. His penalty would get killed, but Eduard Wruck was sent to the box 30 seconds later for high sticking and board, leaving the Red Wings shorthanded the rest of the way. Matt Reidy, Lucas Jeffries, Ian Maier, Mathieu Gautier, Nick Kovacs, anyone who stepped on the ice had a shot block in the overtime period, and the Wings would escape to the shootout.
The two teams went goal for goal through the first two rounds before stops in the third, another goal in round four, and Mitchell would get two straight saves in rounds five and six while Jakob Kalin would score the fourth shootout goal for the Red Wings and earn the 3-2 victory.
FINAL: Red Wings 3 - 2 Hawks (SO), shots 4-1 Hawks in OT, 30-27 Hawks overall
Carter Wickenheiser had arguably his best game as a Red Wing so far this season, picking up his first point of the season with an assist against his former team.
The Red Wings are on the road for the next two games, both of which are against the Battlefords North Stars at 7:30 on both Friday and Saturday evening.
With files from Nick Nielsen