After a heartbreaking overtime loss to Melfort Friday night, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings were looking to bounce back in a big way Saturday against the Kindersley Klippers.
In front of one of the largest crowds of the season, which included many of the parents and billet families, the Wings would score four goals in the third period en route to a 7-1 victory over the lowly Klippers.
The Wings got on the board first, scoring the lone goal of the first period, when Simon Pollock beat Cody Jaman with 5:37 left on the clock. His 9th of the campaign was assisted by Jakob Kalin and Matteo Turrin.
It didn’t take long in the second period for the Wings to expand the lead.
Just 6:46 in, Jackson Hassman notched his 17th of the season, assisted by Ty Mason and Jordan Edwards. Then, with 6:16 to play, Nicholas Kovacs scored his third of the year on the power play, assisted by Kalin and Carter Briltz.
The Klippers would finally respond with just under two minutes to play in the second with a power play goal of their own. Alex Mack managed to get the puck past Matt Schoephoerster to make it 3-1 Weyburn.
In the third period, the Red Wings pulled away and didn’t even make it close.
It started at the 7:58 mark of the period, when Ty Mason scored his 17th of the season, assisted by Edwards and Hassman. The goal came during an extended period of 4-on-4 hockey after a pair of staggered penalties each way.
Then, with 7:29 to play, Mason scored his second of the night, unassisted, and Weyburn was up 5-1. It would only take 41 more seconds to extend the lead to 6-1, as Blake Betson took a feed from Braigh LeGrandeur on a 2-on-1 break. The other assist on the goal was credited to Briltz.
Weyburn wasn’t finished.
With 1:16 to play, Pollock notched his second of the year as he re-directed a point shot by Balke Norris past Jaman to make it 7-1.
With the win, the Wings opened up their lead over the Notre Dame Hounds to five points and managed to close the gap with the Nipawin Hawks for 7th to seven points.
The Wings also got a bit of help in the race to secure a playoff berth from the Flin Flon Bombers. They beat the Estevan Bruins 3-1. The Wings are now 11 points back of Estevan for 6th place, and also have five games in hand over their Highway 39 rivals.
Weyburn now has a little time off before their next game, not returning to game action until next Friday when La Ronge is in town.