Wheaties edge Ice

The Score – Brandon 4 – Kootenay 3

What Happened – An end-to-end hockey game that finally ended on the last shot taken.

The Goals – After the Wheat Kings came out firing – only to be stopped by Nathan Lieuwen who was stellar on three of the Wheaties first six shots – the Ice got their legs under them. Levi Cable took a puck off the half-wall and fed Tanner Muth at the point. Muth sent a shot to the net that Brock Montgomery neatly deflected past Wheat King starter Brandon Anderson for a 1-0 Ice lead… The supporting cast continue to produce when Jon Martin burst down the right wing with speed, cut to the middle in front of Wheat King D-man Rene Hunter and then deked Anderson for his 5th of the season and a 2-0 lead… All that great work and nine seconds into the second Lieuwen had a 45-foot slapper go by him to cut the lead in half when Mike Ferland notched his 32nd of the season… Brandon completed the comeback with the teams 4-on-4, Eric Roy went to the net on a give-n-go and Lieuwen poked checked it, only to have it go off Roy and right to Mark Stone. He doesn’t miss the hard ones never mind the open net. 2-2… With Dirk in the box, the Wheat Kings took the lead on the power play when Stone got the pass down low and fed Ferland in the slot. He one-timed his second of the night and 33rd on the season past Lieuwen. 3-2 Wheaties…. Late in the 3rd Walker put one into the seats and Ismond made him pay for it with a nice goal after walking out from the half-wall and putting the puck around a prone Anderson… You can live by the sword and also die by it. A week or so ago the Ice beat the Hitmen at home on a last second tip-in by Sam, tonight Eric Roy intercepted a weak clear, made a move to the middle of the ice and ripped a wrist-shot that beat a surprised Nathan Lieuwen to give the visitors the win. Highlites of the game are here.

The Hit and fight – Shortly after the second goal Brock Montgomery ran over Jason Swyripa and was going to get the gate but Hunter obliged him in a tussle. Hunter got the first right in but not much else, taking an overhand right that sent him to the ice and the dressing room. The video of the scrap and knockout punch by Montgomery is here.

One he’ll be seeing in his sleep – The so-called 4th unit of Descheneau, Martin and Pearce – more on that later – had a glorious 3-on-2 opportunity that resulted in Jon Martin having a wide-open net to shoot at. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they go wide.

Out of the doghouse – F Elgin Pearce, 19, returned to the lineup after missing two games against Saskatoon and Calgary over the weekend – both wins – as a healthy scratch. With 18 goals – tied for 3rd on the team – Pearce has but one goal in his last 13 games. The line played well but there’s an obvious message there.

Noticeable for the Wheaties – Mark Stone – an obvious choice for the Team Canada forward – but Michael Ferland is a beast. The 6’3” 208lb Flames draft choice gave Ice D-men fits all night. Trade deadline acquisition Kevin Sundher didn’t turn any heads.

Clouston – The former Ice coach managed to get some key line match-ups with Stone, Ferland and Walker matched up against Kootenay’s third line at times. And I'll say this: Firewagon and Clouston were never in the same sentence during his tenure here. Those Wheaties are a big, fast and offensive team. Defense? Not so much.

Stat you should know – The loss was Kootenay’s 11th against teams in 8th place or worse in the Eastern Conference. Another one you might want to wrap your head around: the Wheaties are 10-3-1 at the Rec Plex over the past six seasons, by far the best winning percentage of any visiting club to the Plex over that span.

Stat you should know Part II - That big line of the Wheat Kings - Stone, Ferland and Walker - notched 7 points between them last night. Stone was a 5th round Bantam pick while Walker was snapped up in the 12th round in 2007, just four picks from the last player taken. Ferland? A list player who made the club as a 17-year-old. All are Manitoba boys.

The Turning Point – Just as I finished typing Ismond’s power play goal late to tie it Eric Roy’s beauty finished the sentence.

The Crowd – This was a great hockey game. Entertaining as hell with some great end-to-end action. Firewagon hockey might not be what’s successful for the Ice all that much but it’s a blast to watch. Too bad only 2447 – one of the smallest of the season after Nathan Lieuwen’s Faith Night drew the season largest on Saturday – bothered to show up.

Rec Plex Three Stars
1. F Brenden Walker – Wheaties big line was on fire and he set up three of the four goals
2. F Jon Martin – Goal and more chances that he’ll care to remember. Hungry at the net.
3. F Michael Ferland – Two goals and a big bruiser.

What it means – The game was the one in-hand for the Ice as they drop to 31-18-4-4 on the season and 70 points, still 4th in the Eastern Conference.

Up Next: Spokane, also in 4th place – in the Western Conference – are here Friday. The Pats are here Saturday.

Summary:

Wheat Kings 4 @ Ice 3

CRANBROOK, B.C. - Western Hockey League summary for regular season game between the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Kootenay Ice; February 14, 2012

Brandon defenseman Eric Roy scored with three seconds left in the third period to give the visiting Wheat Kings a 4-3 win over the Kootenay Ice in WHL action Tuesday.
The Ice took a 2-0 first period lead on goals by Brock Montgomery, with his 18th, and Jon Martin who notched his 5th before the Wheat Kings stormed back in the second period with three straight goals, two by Michael Ferland and another by Mark Stone for a 3-2 lead headed into the third period.
The Ice tied it late in the game with a power play goal by Jesse Ismond but just as the game looked to be headed to overtime, Roy ripped a wrist shot that beat Nathan Lieuwen over his shoulder.
Brandon Anderson stopped 31 of 34 shots to get the win while Lieuwen turned aside 26 of 30 shots in taking the loss.

First Period
1. Kootenay, Montgomery 18 (Muth, Cable) 12:02
2. Kootenay, Martin 5 (Simpson) 12:56

Penalties -- Ciarelli Bdn (roughing) 16:41.

Second Period
3. Brandon, Ferland 32 (Walker, Pulock) 0:09
4. Brandon, Stone 37 (Walker, Roy) 7:33
5. Brandon, Ferland 33 (Walker, Stone) 16:08 (pp)


Penalties -- Descheneau Ktn (hooking) 6:03, Pulock Bdn (tripping) 6:31, Hunter Bdn (instigating - served by Asham, fighting, misconduct) Montgomery Ktn (charging, fighting) 8:43, Dirk Ktn (interference) 15:31, Ciarelli Bdn (checking-from-behind) 16:35, Ismond Ktn (goaltender interference) 17:08

Third Period
6. Kootenay, Ismond 15 (S. Reinhart, M. Reinhart) 17:39 (pp)
7. Brandon, Roy 8 19:57

Penalties -- Walker Bdn (delay-of-game) 16:49.

Shots on goal by
Kootenay: 14 7 13 - 34
Brandon: 10 8 12 - 30

Goal -- Kootenay: Nathan Lieuwen (L, 24-13-4-2); Brandon: Brandon Anderson (W, 14-17-2).

Power Plays -- (goals-chances)
Kootenay: 1-4
Brandon: 1-3

Referee -- Derek Zalaski. Linesman -- Chris Carlson, Cory Lundquist.

Attendance -- 2447 (4264)

Scratches --
Kootenay: Jeff Hubic, Spencer Wand.
Brandon: Curtis Honey, Alessio Bertaggia, Tyrel Seaman, Dominick Favreau

Summary courtesy Jeff Bromley of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman