Filip Ruzicka made 31 saves in his first Western Hockey League game as the Brandon Wheat Kings completed a 3-0 weekend win over the Moose Jaw Warriors in Western Hockey League action at Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Sunday afternoon.
Brandon (21-12-1-0) scored goals from Joby Baumuller, Caleb Hadland and Brady Turco in front of 2,705 spectators.
The six-foot-seven Ruzicka, who was attended by his family from Trinec, Czech Republic, said it was an amazing feeling to play well in front of them.
Brandon Wheat Kings goalie Filip Ruzicka saves Moose Jaw Warriors forward Riley Thorpe (38) during a Western Hockey League game at Assiniboine Credit Union Place on Sunday afternoon. (Perry Bergson/Brandon Sun)
“It was very good,” Ruzicka said. “I have no words. It's the best feeling because my family watched the game and it was my first shutout. It's nice.”
“The guys played really well,” he added. “There were a lot of blocked shots today, so I thank the guys. They scored goals. It was very good.”
Brandon head coach and general manager Marty Murray said Ruzicka's seventh straight win and 11th in his last 12 starts was exactly what he expected from the big goalie.
“It was another stellar performance,” Murray said. “I thought our first period was very, very good. I thought we probably deserved better than 0-0, but we didn't take advantage and their goalkeeper made a few saves.”
“After we got the first two, I thought we wanted to do something like a track meet with Moose Jaw, and we allowed ourselves some chances, and no pun intended, Philip stopped when he needed to.”
Jordan Gavin had the best opportunity in a scoreless first period when he fired a shot off the crossbar.
There were just five face-offs in the first 13 minutes and 26 seconds, and although the teams had only taken eight total shots at that point, it was an action-packed game with plenty of missed goals and passes that didn't quite connect.
“I loved our first period and thought it was one of the best periods we've had in a long time,” Murray said. “I thought we played really fast.”
When the teams were tied 0-0 in the 20th minute, it was the first scoreless first period the Wheat Kings had played all season.
When the floodgates opened briefly in the second period, Brandon scored twice in 43 seconds. Baumuller deflected Nigel Boehm's point shot just after Brandon settled into the zone after the rush – the goal came at the 4:32 mark – and on the next shift, Luke Mistelbacher sent a pass to Headland for a one-time goal that beat Moose Jaw goalie Kyle Jones cleanly.
The 17-year-old Boehm's serve was identical to the one he earned Saturday in Moose Jaw and gave him 10 points on the season.
“It was funny that shift before he embarrassed himself when he closed in to hit the net and I told you to stick your toes out,” Murray said. “It's funny how the game goes, he ended up scoring a goal. For Nigel I think it's confidence.
“Last year, when he was 16, he might have put the puck in the net, and now he has the confidence that he can hold it for half a second longer and score. It's fun to watch these kids develop.”
Moose Jaw had the best chances the rest of the period, and Ruzicka had to be sharp as the Warriors outshot the hosts 19-12 in the middle frame. Ruzicka's best save may have come on a breakaway by Landen McFadden with 3:30 left on a shot.
“After we scored the second goal we got a little loose and sloppy and maybe overdid some of the shifts,” Murray said. “In my opinion, we couldn’t play at the pace we played in the first period.”
Moose Jaw started the third period on the power play, but Brandon had its best chance when Hadland went shorthanded. He was stopped by Jones, but soon after, Brandon's captain let out some aggression as he sent Moose Jaw captain Brady Ness flying with a strong check.
Brandon called the game away with 8:34 left when Nick Johnson committed a turnover in the neutral zone, Chase Surkan found Turco on the far side and the McCreary product flew past and fired a shot over Jones' glove to make it 3-0.
Brandon made a late power play and gave up a two-on-one and a breakaway, but was able to post his second shutout of the season.
After a 3-2 win over the Warriors in Moose Jaw on Saturday, Brandon moved to 10-1 in December entering the weekend.
“The first game after Christmas is always difficult,” Ruzicka said. “We did it. Yesterday's game was a little more difficult than today's, but we did it. We have four points.”
Brandon went 0-for-3 on the power play and Moose Jaw failed to convert on two chances. Jones stopped 27 shots for the Warriors.
Warriors head coach Mark O'Leary said his club, which fell to 13-17-3-1, had another strong performance.
“I thought again, like last night, we played a pretty good hockey game,” O'Leary said. “We're creating all kinds of opportunities. I think the only area we struggled in was getting the puck out early in the game, but I think we made some adjustments and did a much better job of it.”
“The last three games for us we've been competitive and playing the right way. It's not always good, but we're creating enough opportunities to score, we're just having a hard time scoring.”
COVER: Brandon skated without injury D Merrek Arpin and F Easton Odut, plus healthy scratches F Ryan Boyce and D Daniil Skvortsov… When the Warriors put 19 shots on net in the middle frame, it was the second night in a row. They had just one goal in 38 attempts… Baumuller, who scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season, led the Wheat Kings with six shots on net… The game lasted two hours and 11 minutes… In the faceoff circle, Brandon won 23-21… The Wheat Kings visit the Swift Current Broncos on Tuesday at 7 p.m., hosting the Saskatoon Blades at matinee on Thursday at 2 p.m. and visit Saskatoon on Saturday at 7… The Edmonton Oil Kings made a second move Saturday, taking overgrown defenseman Austin Zemlak of Fort McMurray, Alta., from the Tri-City Americans for a 2026 second-round draft pick that originally belonged to Saskatoon and a conditional 2029 fifth-round draft pick. Zemlak played for Arizona State University.
