A recap of this week's THN's WHL Game of the Week featuring the Brandon Wheat Kings and Tri-City Americans
Welcome to this week's edition of THN's WHL Game of the Week. In this segment, we break down the Game of the Week as mentioned on the latest episode of THN on the 'Dub. In this week's recap, we look at the Brandon Wheat Kings' thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Tri-City Americans.
For the first time since October 2019, the Wheat Kings travelled to Kennewick, Wash., to play the Americans. It was not the start the visitors were looking for, however, as Tri-City jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Seattle Kraken prospect Lukas Dragacevic got the scoring started midway through the period when he tracked down his own rebound for his first of the season.
Tri-City would then double their lead with just under five to go in the first, thanks to Deagan McMillan's third of the season. The goal came off a nice cross-crease pass from Calgary Flames prospect Parker Bell, which would be his second assist of the period.
Brandon would finally get on the board late in the first as Carter Klippenstein found Jayden Wiens in front for his third of the season. After 20 minutes, it was clear this was going to be a good game as both teams looked confident while goaltenders Lukas Matecha and Carson Bjarnason were on their game.
The second period saw plenty of opportunities as the two teams combined for six power plays. While neither team was able to capitalize on the man advantage, the Wheat Kings were able to tie up the game midway through the second. While both teams were down to four skaters, Dominik Petr beat Matecha along the ice for his sixth of the season. Despite some great chances, neither team was able to break the game open, and both skated to the dressing room tied 2-2.
Brandon was finally able to take the lead early in the third as Caleb Hadland found the back of the net off a scrambled faceoff for his fourth of the season. The Wheat Kings would add two more before the period was over. First, it was 2024 NHL draft prospect Roger McQueen scoring his sixth of the season from right in front of the net midway through the third, followed by Evan Groening's second into an empty net to seal the game. With the win, Brandon moved to 5-3-1 on the season, while Tri-City dropped to 3-2.
Make sure to check out THN on the 'Dub this week for a preview of next week's WHL Game of the Week.